 Revised Edition cover | |
| Designers | Stewart Wieck, Christopher Earley, Stephan Wieck, Bill Bridges, Sam Chupp, Andrew Greenberg |
|---|---|
| Publishers | White Wolf Publishing |
| Publication |
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| Genres | Supernatural fiction Technofantasy |
| Systems | Storyteller System |
| Synonyms | MtA |
Mage: The Ascension is a supernatural fiction tabletop role-playing game first published on August 19, 1993, by White Wolf Publishing. It is set in the World of Darkness universe.
Following the success of Vampire: The Masquerade , Mage: The Ascension was released as the third of four games within White Wolf's shared universe. The first chapter of the Mage series was launched by White Wolf Publishing at the Gen Con gaming convention [1] [2] on August 19, 1993. A second edition followed in December 1995, [3] [4] with a revised edition released in March 2000. [5] In 2005, White Wolf Publishing merged with CCP Games. Following company layoffs in October 2011, White Wolf's Creative Director, Richard Thomas, founded Onyx Path Publishing to continue publishing Tabletop role-playing games. [6] [7] Onyx Path Publishing later introduced the 20th Anniversary Edition of Mage: The Ascension in September 2015, [8] representing the game's fourth iteration.
Mage: The Ascension is set in the fictional World of Darkness, a fictional modern Earth wherein supernatural entities clandestinely manipulate everyday life. Players and major characters are "Mages", normal people who "Awaken" to be able to manipulate reality, usually in an expression of gnosis. The metaplot of Mage: the Ascension involves a four-way struggle between an alliance of Mages called the Nine Mystical Traditions; the New World Order of the Technocracy, which relies on its technofantasical "paradigms" versus the Marauders, a disparate group of insane Mages; and the Nephandi, a coalition of Mages serving evil cosmic entities in the pursuit of cosmic oblivion. [4] Later editions of Mage: the Ascension introduce non-aligned Mage factions such as the "Hollow Ones", a group of Goth chaos magic practitioners.
A key feature of Mage is its unique magic system. A character's magical expertise is described by allocating points to nine different "Spheres" of magical knowledge and influence: Correspondence, Entropy, Forces, Life, Mind, Matter, Prime, Spirit, and Time. Magical effects are largely spontaneously proposed by players and adjudicated by the game master, informed by the level of 'expertise' in the relevant Spheres of the effect; this is as opposed to the popular system of magic in Dungeons & Dragons, which relies upon predetermined descriptions of magical spells.
Mage: The Ascension, 2nd Edition was given an 8/10 by Arcane's Adam Tinworth, who called it "good for those who enjoy involved and challenging games." He noted that while it could be difficult for new players to grasp the game's background, develop their style of magic, or figure out how the magic worked; the gameplay system itself would be easy to understand. [9]
Mage: The Ascension was ranked 16th out of 50 in Arcane magazine's 1996 reader poll of the most popular role-playing games of all time. The magazine's editor, Paul Pettengale, commented: "Mage is perfect for those of a philosophical bent. It's a hard game to get right, requiring much thought from players and referees alike, but its underlying theme—the nature of reality – makes it one of the most interesting and mature role-playing games available." [10]
Vampire: The Dark Ages is a tabletop role-playing game published by White Wolf Publishing in March 1996. It is a spin-off from Vampire: The Masquerade, also published by White Wolf, which is set in modern times. It was released in a new edition in 2002 as Dark Ages: Vampire, and in 2015 as Vampire Twentieth Anniversary Edition: The Dark Ages.
World of Darkness is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion, and Changeling: The Dreaming, along with off-shoots based on these. The series ended in 2004, and the reboot Chronicles of Darkness was launched the same year with a new line of games. In 2011, the original series was brought back, and the two have since been published concurrently.
Changeling: The Dreaming is a tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 1995, and is part of the World of Darkness series. Player characters are changelings, fae souls reborn into human bodies, a practice begun by the fae to protect themselves as magic vanished from the world. White Wolf Publishing released a second edition in 1997, and Onyx Path Publishing released a 20th Anniversary Edition in 2017.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse is a role-playing game of the Classic World of Darkness game series by White Wolf Publishing. Other related products include the collectible card games named Rage and several novels. In the game, players take the role of werewolves known as "Garou". These werewolves are locked in a two-front war against both the spiritual desolation of urban civilization and supernatural forces of corruption that seek to bring the Apocalypse. Game supplements detail the other shape-shifters.
Wraith: The Oblivion is a tabletop role-playing game designed by Mark Rein·Hagen. It is set in the afterlife of White Wolf Publishing's classic World of Darkness setting, in which the players take on characters who are recently dead and are now ghosts.
The Fragile Path: Testaments of the First Cabal is an epic poem written by Phil Brucato, Laura Perkinson, James A. Moore, Nancy Kilpatrick, Tina Jens, Beth Fischi, and Owl Goingback. It was published by White Wolf Publishing in 1995, and is based on the tabletop role-playing game Mage: The Ascension and the World of Darkness series.
The Book of Chantries is a supplement published by White Wolf Publishing in January 1994 for the fantasy role-playing game Mage: The Ascension.
The Book of Crafts is a supplement published by White Wolf Publishing in 1996 for the fantasy role-playing game Mage: The Ascension.
Digital Web is a tabletop role-playing game supplement originally published by White Wolf Publishing in February–April 1994 for their game Mage: The Ascension. A second edition, Digital Web 2.0, followed in October 1998.
Tradition Book: Celestial Chorus is a tabletop role-playing game supplement originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 1996 for their game Mage: The Ascension.
Chicago by Night is a tabletop role-playing game supplement originally released by White Wolf Publishing in 1991 for use with the first edition of their game Vampire: The Masquerade, and released in updated versions for the game's second and fifth editions in 1993 and 2020. As a sandbox-style setting sourcebook for storytellers to use in campaigns, Chicago by Night describes the city of Chicago as it is portrayed within the game's setting, reinterpreted as having a large population of vampires.
Le Monde des Ténèbres: France is a tabletop role-playing game supplement published in French by Ludis International in January 1997, for use with the games in White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness series. It interprets France for the series' gothic-punk setting, and presents information on the region related to vampires, werewolves, mages, wraiths, and changelings, along with story hooks and pre-made characters, and introduces two new types of fae to the series. Ludis International planned to follow it with a book about Paris in June 1997, but this never materialized, and the publisher closed down a year later.
Tradition Book: Cult of Ecstasy is a supplement published by White Wolf Publishing in 1996 for the horror role-playing game Mage: The Ascension.
Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds is a supplement published by White Wolf Publishing in 1996 for the horror role-playing game Mage: The Ascension.
Loom of Fate is an adventure module published by White Wolf Publishing in February 1994, for use with the horror tabletop role-playing game Mage: The Ascension, and is part of the World of Darkness series.