The Traditions Gathered II: Blood and Dreams

Rating:
Summary: 1 bad one, 2 good ones.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Get it for the Cult of Ecstasy
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The light side of primordialism.
Review: 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.