Mage: The Ascension: Difference between revisions

Mage: The Ascension is a role-playing game from the World of Darkness line by White Wolf Game Studio. The game is generally contemporary, but can be played in all ages as the setting is quite flexible. The basic assumption of the game is that reality is malleable: What people believe exists is what actually exists. All player characters in a Mage game are mages, humans with what is called an "awakened will" or "Avatar". Using this will, they can locally bend the consensus of reality and produce magical effects. However, consensus reality can snap back with a phenomenon called Paradox.

The metaplot of the game involves a four-way war between the science-based Technocracy (Order), the insane Marauders (Chaos), the cosmically evil Nephandi (Entropy) and the nine magical Traditions, to which the player characters are assumed to belong.

The system is basically the same as in all Storyteller games. See White Wolf Dice Mechanics for a basic explanation.

Like other storytelling games Mage gives the players more freedom in comparison with conventional role-playing games, a power that can be used for deepening the story or simply to "win" more quickly.

Mage's unique point is the powerful magic system (even more free-form than Ars Magica). This poses challenges to players and gamemasters, since a large part of the game is about defining what the character(s) thinks the world actually is.

Mage has a reputation as the problem child of the World of Darkness line, with a freeform rule system, a vague and esoteric subject matter and a complex message that writers and developers complain has been ignored or misinterpreted by players. The third revision of the rules, Mage: The Ascension Revised, made significant changes to the rules and setting, and alienated many fans who stuck with their second edition rules.

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Types of Mages in the World of Darkness:

• Traditions
  • Ahl-i-Batin (extinct, or virtually so)
  • Akashic Brotherhood
  • Celestial Chorus
  • Cult of Ecstacy
  • Dreamspeakers
  • Euthanatos
  • Order of Hermes
  • Solificati (extinct, or virtually so)
  • Sons of Ether
  • Verbena
  • Virtual Adepts
• Technocracy
  • Iteration X
  • New World Order (Mage: the Ascension)
  • The Progenitors
  • Syndicate
  • Void Engineers
• Marauders
• Nephandi

• Orphans (Hollow Ones) and Crafts