Verbena Tradition Book

The Traditions Gathered II: Blood and Dreams, is a compilation of the first tradition books for the Verbena, Dreamspeakers, and the Cult of Ecstasy. Much like the first volume, Songs of Science, the books were arranged in a way to present the one with the least amount of useful material and then end it with one that had the most.The Verbena tradition book had a very nice set of stories revolving around a group of new mages. We meet up with them at the beginning and follow them all the way through to their awakenings. The stories were not boring at all. However, from the standpoint of a manual that should give us the ins and outs of this tradition, the book only touched on the topics in passing. I'm sure most of the important aspects of the Verbena were mentioned in the book, but the authors should have really elaborated on them more. I noticed a lot of blank spaces in the book that was just occupied with a big Verbena symbol. The Verbena paradigm could have used some more information considering that this is a tradition that could be as diverse as the Dreamspeakers.The Dreamspeaker tradition book was useful and informative. I really got a feel of what it would be like to play a Dreamspeaker. Their paradigm, history, and practices were clearly stated and presented in an organized manner. The Dreamspeakers have to be the most diverse Tradition in the Council considering that they form an umbrella group for all mystics who specialized in the Spirit sphere. This book had a lot of information, some dry, but mostly fascinating and useful game mechanics.The Cult of Ecstasy tradition book was the best in the compilation. It really showed how the Ecstatics are not all drug-crazed irresponsible mages. In fact they are more responsible than many would believe. Their philosophies and practices were detailed well and new players and storytellers should have no problems understanding the Ecstatics. Theirs is a very free and easy-going tradition that stresses freedom from barriers, with limits of course.Overall this compilation was very good. Though I wasn't really a fan of the featured Traditions, it really did make me want to create an Cult of Ecstasy mage and use him in a game. Get this book for the Cult of Ecstasy even if you have mixed feelings about them. You will appreciate them after you are done with the book and may even find something in the other two Traditions to enjoy.

Another one in the Traditions Gathered books which also contains 3 of the original Tradition books. This time, White Wolf delivers Verbena, Dreamspeakers and Cult of Ecstasy in one single package.Verbena is, after AK Brotherhood, the worst Tradition book ever written. I love the Verbena concept, but the only thing you get in this book is a few information about modern day witches and such, and absolutely nothing about pagan beliefs. The stereotypes section is, well, too "stereotypical", too.Dreamspeakers is very well written, merging shamanism from different cultures without being irrespectful. This one's probably my favorite in this bundle.Cult of Ecstasy gives you what the cultists really think about global and personal ascension, separating them from the classical "just a bunch of losers" image most people have. The cultists are one of the most responsible Traditions (ironic, huh?), and the great Phil Brucato is here to prove it.All in all you get 2 good books and 1 bad one in this bundle. As this bundle costs the same as 2 classic Tradition books, it's a good buy cause you're buying the last 2, and get the bad one for free.

This book comprises three earlier books, the Verbena, Dreamspeaker, and Cult of Ecstacy Tradition books. The section on the Cultists of Ecstacy was possibly the best, giving desperately needed insights into the most stereotyped tradition. Has some great hints at Ecstatic factions, too. The Dreamspeaker section is satisfactory, and it stresses a very authentic core threaed for this diverse tradition: vision. The Verbena section, from the second oldest of the Tradition books, is also good; if all the White Wolf game books' superfluous stories were as good as the Verbena's, I wouldn't complain about them! And the Verbena section's embedded story does genuinely help illuminate the "flavor" ofthe tradition.

When I opened this book, I expected great things from the Verbena section, nothing spectacular from the Dreamspeaker book, and I didn't even intend on reading the Cult of Ecstasy chapter. When I closed it again, my expectations had been completely inverted: the Verbena section was next to worthless, the Dreamspeaker book was very good, and the Ecstatics had surpased my wildest imaginings about them. I'd give the Verbena Tradbook a 2.5 or *maybe* a 3; it was just a bland story about a group of Verbena apprentices with some superficial historical data tossed in. It really didn't give much information about the Tradition useful in either portraying them in a chronicle or in playing a Verbena, and instead got very bogged-down in the story it was centered around. The Dreamspeakers, on the other hand, gave a very good feel for the spirit-centered Tradition, touching on 'speakers from various native cultures across the planet, and intertwined some very good fiction about a single native american Dreamspeaker undergoing his Awakening and exploring a little bit of the Middle Umbra with the person who'd become his mentor. But the Cult of Ecstasy book was the best; design and art-wise it was beautiful, and once again Phil Brucato proved himself my favorite White Wolf author. The Ecstatic section was, once again, told from the POV of a newly Awakening mage, but rather than trying to tackle all the information he wanted to go over in the context of the story, which inevitably comes off as contrived, Phil threw in plenty of side-bars about things like the Ecstatics' three main vices (sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll, natch) and they uses as foci, the various divisions and camps within the order (I loved the two camps he based on Discordianism, being an Erisian myself), and an explanation of the Cultists' trademark 'spaced out' look. Mr. Brucato took a Tradition that I saw as goofy and gave it depth, reasonability, and a life of its own. Over all, a pretty good book, but unless you're going to play/run a Dreamspeaker or a Cultist, it's not too necessary.