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Mage: The Ascension (tabletop RPG)

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description Mage: The Ascension (tabletop RPG) Overview

Mage: The Ascension is a tabletop role-playing game published by White Wolf in 1993 as part of the World of Darkness setting. The game centers on mages, humans who can actively shape reality through their beliefs and will. These characters engage in the Ascension War, a complex philosophical and physical conflict between various factions regarding the nature of reality. Players navigate a modern world where static reality enforcers, known as the Technocracy, seek to suppress magical belief.

help Mage: The Ascension (tabletop RPG) FAQ

What is the difference between Mage: The Ascension and Mage: The Awakening?

'Mage: The Ascension' was published by White Wolf in 1993 as part of the original World of Darkness (Classic WoD) line, while 'Mage: The Awakening' is its 2005 successor set in the new Chronicles of Darkness setting. The Ascension focuses on consensual reality and the Ascension War between mystical Traditions and the Technocratic Union.

What are the Traditions in Mage: The Ascension?

The Traditions are nine mystical societies that form the main playable faction, including groups like the Order of Hermes (hermetic mages), the Verbena (blood and nature mages), and the Virtual Adepts (hackers who blend magic with technology). They oppose the Technocratic Union, which seeks to impose a single rationalist paradigm on reality.

What edition of Mage: The Ascension should I start with?

The most commonly recommended starting point is the Revised Edition (2000) or the 20th Anniversary Edition (M20) published by Onyx Path in 2015. M20 is the most comprehensive and currently supported version, compiling expanded content from across the game's history.

How does magic work in Mage: The Ascension?

Magic in the game is called 'Awakened magick' and is based on nine Spheres of influence, such as Forces, Life, and Correspondence. Mages combine these Spheres to create effects, but using magic that violates the consensual reality of sleepers causes Paradox, a backlash that can harm or curse the mage.

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