FenrisUlf Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Hi all, been gone for a while, long enough to have missed the premiere of THE ULTIMATE MYSTIC. I mean to get it, but first I'd like to know -- those of you who have a copy, how good is it? I like both ULTIMATE BRICK and ULTIMATE MARTIAL ARTIST, and I have high hopes for UM. Does it list sample characters? Just how much detail does it go into on real-world mysticism and magic? Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I've moved this to the HERO System Discussion boards, where I think it will get more response. Two quick data points from me: --UMY has no sample characters --UMY has extensive info on real-world magical traditions, mysticism, and related subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chariot Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? And the "ultimate" question for owners of the previous "Ultimate Super Mage"... is it free of authorial bias and snide remarks? //edit: as someone who has publicly denounced people who can not spell or proof-read their own work, I had to fix my mis-spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herolover Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I bought the Ultimate Super Mage. The Ultimate Mystic is on the order of another level. I would say if you like the other Ultimate books you will like this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Raven Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? And the "ultimate" question for owners of the previous "Ultimate Super Mage"... is it free of authorial bias and snyde remarks? I had forgotten that... I've got the Ultimage Super-Mage on PDF. I'll have to go back and read through it again sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Omega Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I had forgotten that... I've got the Ultimage Super-Mage on PDF. I'll have to go back and read through it again sometime. I recall this all to well. Really put me off buying the pdf's at that time. If I'd noticed anything more from that writer, I would not even have considered getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? And the "ultimate" question for owners of the previous "Ultimate Super Mage"... is it free of authorial bias and snyde remarks? Yes. Steve Long was aware of that in USM and of the complaints about it, and made a point as editor of keeping it out of Ultimate Mystic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarron Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Well, I've had the old USM for years and never noticed (I had it printed and bound even). What did I miss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Same here.Of course,I actually enjoyed the original version Of Chill (when it was produced by Pacesetter),so I certainly don't mind snide remarks in my game systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Mostly remarks disparaging real-world magic and people who believe in it, in the "A Personal Disclaimer" section of the Introduction. I have to admit that some of it is rather nasty, and if any type of magic was part of my belief system I would have been offended by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chariot Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Mostly remarks disparaging real-world magic and people who believe in it' date=' in the "A Personal Disclaimer" section of the Introduction. I have to admit that some of it is rather nasty, and if any type of magic was part of my belief system I would have been offended by it.[/quote'] Officially halting the flogging of a dead horse here. suffice it to say that I WAS offended, and still am to this day apparently. Strange thing, I enjoyed the author's other work...so I do have high hopes for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Well,judging from Dennis Wheatley novels & The Sorcery Club,he might have a point... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I liked the book. It has a lot of information on various magic systems and beliefs. There are some side comments I wouldn't have put/kept in, but that's me. But, overall, it's loaded with ideas for fantasy, pulp, and horror games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted March 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I've moved this to the HERO System Discussion boards, where I think it will get more response. Two quick data points from me: --UMY has no sample characters --UMY has extensive info on real-world magical traditions, mysticism, and related subjects. Thanks. And sorry for putting it under the wrong header; I was really stuck on where it ought to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted March 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Well' date='judging from Dennis Wheatley novels & The Sorcery Club,he might have a point...[/quote'] What sort of a point? And if we're talking about weird characters, then Wheatley was a piece of work himself. Hated Catholicism and the Inquisition, but believed everything said about witchcraft in Malleus Maleficarum was the, ahem, gospel truth, and wanted to use his connections in British foreign intel to set up a secular Inquisition (to hunt down witches and Satanists in modern England) and make sure they got the death penalty (I got all this from his unintentionally hilarious non-fiction book _The Devil and all His Works_). And oh yes, he thought Communists and Socialists were all devil worshippers. His politics were also far-right enough that, after WW2 (during which he served as a member of MI-5) he learned Himmler had his name on a list of people meant to serve as gauleiters in occupied England. That aside, his Black Magic novels are a seriously trippy cool series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I like it. The only complaint I have is that the section on psychological limitations appears missing. Other than that, it is a very good book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eosin Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Here is my review. http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11024.phtml I liked it but I am notoriously hard to offend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox1 Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? Hi all, been gone for a while, long enough to have missed the premiere of THE ULTIMATE MYSTIC. I mean to get it, but first I'd like to know -- those of you who have a copy, how good is it? I like both ULTIMATE BRICK and ULTIMATE MARTIAL ARTIST, and I have high hopes for UM. Does it list sample characters? Just how much detail does it go into on real-world mysticism and magic? Thanks for any help. Well... Ultimate Martial Artist and Brick are IMO the best supplements Hero Games have put out. Both were nice extensions of the core rules. You want to know what the life is for odd number STR values? It's here. You want to know how much body a hex of dirt is? It's here. You want to know what maneuvers various martial art styles should have? It's here. Ultimate Mystic on the other hand is more of a genre advice book. Little to no rule extensions. It's basically designed for people who don't know how to approach Mystic campaigns. For me, it wasn't worth the buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyGuardian Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I liked UMY. It contains a very good summary of real world mythology, mythological monsters and gods etc in different cultures and that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magmarock Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I am still reading my copy. I like what I've read so far... Mags "And that's a good thing." -Martha Stewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? It wasn't too bad. It was enough to get my imagination running. I'm almost done with a writeup for a mystic in a Dark Champions game who would use "Realistic Level Magic" (read the book to learn what that is ). Of course, I have no hope this character will ever see the light of gametime, but I think he's awesome anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I have to go with FOX1 here. As far as a Mystic Genre Discussion it's fine, but it doesn't fall into the same class as UMA and Ultimate Brick which were awesome expansions on thier topics from rules & creation perspectives. This is more of a "feel" and "mood" book. It was okay, but I was hoping for something with more crunch. On the topic of the author, I have noticed that he has his "non-fans" and while I don't want to start a flame war about him, I'd not mind a PM on what he wrote that some of us found so offensive. I am so liking to be in on the gossip I guess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I have to go with FOX1 here. As far as a Mystic Genre Discussion it's fine, but it doesn't fall into the same class as UMA and Ultimate Brick which were awesome expansions on thier topics from rules & creation perspectives. This is more of a "feel" and "mood" book. It was okay, but I was hoping for something with more crunch. On the topic of the author, I have noticed that he has his "non-fans" and while I don't want to start a flame war about him, I'd not mind a PM on what he wrote that some of us found so offensive. I am so liking to be in on the gossip I guess... I think some people are just offended by the idea that Dean treats "real" religions the same way he treats imaginary ones. Some people can't seem to differentiate between the imaginary Champions Universe and the one they live in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I was a bit disappointed, but the book does have some useful information. Overall though, it's the least of the three "mystic" books by Dean, with Mystic World being the best. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chariot Posted March 21, 2005 Report Share Posted March 21, 2005 Re: The Ultimate Mystic: Good, Bad, or what? I think some people are just offended by the idea that Dean treats "real" religions the same way he treats imaginary ones. Some people can't seem to differentiate between the imaginary Champions Universe and the one they live in. I would have to disagree, even though I wanted to put an end to this -- Dean made direct, derogatory remarks in the previous version of this book. They were offensive, as is your remark about "imaginary" religions, provided I take your tone correctly. My faith is as real as any one you might or might not espouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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