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Mage: the Ascension
Mage: The Ascension
Reality is a lie invented by a technocratic enemy who has written history to it's liking. The truth is magic'ae the universe can be crafted with a simple working of your will. Mages have taught this truth throughout the ages, but the proponents of technology have crushed the mystic masters. Join the last stand in the war for reality.Mage: The Ascension places you in the midst of supernatural intrigues and inner struggles. The more secrets you learn, the more important your wisdom and power become. Mage drags spirituality and metaphysics screaming through the streets of a postmodern nightmare.
The heroes of Mage: The Ascension, revised in the tradition of Vampire: The Masquerade, have lost their war for reality -- but the struggle continues in this quintessential volume. All of the Traditions are updated and elaborated upon, along with the history of mages in the World of Darkness. Explore the revised rules for the Spheres, Resonance and Paradox. See the devastating changes that signal the end for the Ascension War.
The heroes of Mage: The Ascension, revised in the tradition of Vampire: The Masquerade, have lost their war for reality -- but the struggle continues in this quintessential volume. All of the Traditions are updated and elaborated upon, along with the history of mages in the World of Darkness. Explore the revised rules for the Spheres, Resonance and Paradox. See the devastating changes that signal the end for the Ascension War.
309 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 9, 2014
I never had the opportunity to play the game, but I loved reading the background material.
I had always thought of magic users as being a bit wishy-washy, and only bought this book to complete the set.
I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong. This was a lot of fun to read, and had some interesting tales to tell.
I had always thought of magic users as being a bit wishy-washy, and only bought this book to complete the set.
I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong. This was a lot of fun to read, and had some interesting tales to tell.
December 14, 2018
Seldom has a book make me think, question the very way I think as much as this has.
This is a roleplaying book, yes, teaching the reader how to play a mage in the World of Darkness, a setting already established in Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. It describes the various factions among mages, battling for reality along with the different Traditions the player characters will probably join. It offered many creative insights into roleplaying and Storytelling a Chronicle, an on-going game many up of many interlocked, interactive stories for those who wish to try it.
What really made this book special was how it questioned our perspective of reality itself. Combined with spectacular and varied illustrations, its words encouraged the reader to step out of conventional thought and examine it. What is reality? How real is it? How much of what exists does so only within my perception?
I doubt I would have ever started my Tales of the Navel: The Shadow Forest if not for the ideas kindled in my imagination by this book. It’s one of those rare reads which truly changed me.
Its creators claim it’s only a game, but it became so much more than that to me. I almost feel like I gained a point of Arete after reading it. :)
For that, I thank Stewart Wieck and the other creators of this marvelous chapter of the World of Darkness, a chapter which shows us a way to potentially reshape the darkness itself if we learn to understand it.
There’s no way I couldn’t give this five stars.
This is a roleplaying book, yes, teaching the reader how to play a mage in the World of Darkness, a setting already established in Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. It describes the various factions among mages, battling for reality along with the different Traditions the player characters will probably join. It offered many creative insights into roleplaying and Storytelling a Chronicle, an on-going game many up of many interlocked, interactive stories for those who wish to try it.
What really made this book special was how it questioned our perspective of reality itself. Combined with spectacular and varied illustrations, its words encouraged the reader to step out of conventional thought and examine it. What is reality? How real is it? How much of what exists does so only within my perception?
I doubt I would have ever started my Tales of the Navel: The Shadow Forest if not for the ideas kindled in my imagination by this book. It’s one of those rare reads which truly changed me.
Its creators claim it’s only a game, but it became so much more than that to me. I almost feel like I gained a point of Arete after reading it. :)
For that, I thank Stewart Wieck and the other creators of this marvelous chapter of the World of Darkness, a chapter which shows us a way to potentially reshape the darkness itself if we learn to understand it.
There’s no way I couldn’t give this five stars.
May 21, 2019
Basic Premise: Roleplaying a magic-wielder hiding in plain sight in the modern day.
This is one of the most complex and imaginative worlds ever created for roleplaying in a deceptively simple system. It really requires a lot of imagination from both players and storytellers to come together to create a coherent whole. After playing D&D for years, it took me a bit to get used to the idea of not having specific spells to cast, but once I did it was a lot of fun.
White Wolf's World of Darkness is not for those who prefer "just killing stuff" or going on endless dungeon crawls. The world is rich, detailed, and very good for those who want to deep dive into a character and tell a story with friends. Combat is deadly when it happens, and there are consequences to acting like a stupid murder-hobo. I highly recommend this game/system for those who love a good role-play session and a challenge.
This is one of the most complex and imaginative worlds ever created for roleplaying in a deceptively simple system. It really requires a lot of imagination from both players and storytellers to come together to create a coherent whole. After playing D&D for years, it took me a bit to get used to the idea of not having specific spells to cast, but once I did it was a lot of fun.
White Wolf's World of Darkness is not for those who prefer "just killing stuff" or going on endless dungeon crawls. The world is rich, detailed, and very good for those who want to deep dive into a character and tell a story with friends. Combat is deadly when it happens, and there are consequences to acting like a stupid murder-hobo. I highly recommend this game/system for those who love a good role-play session and a challenge.
May 4, 2022
As a writer I use this book as a source of ideas. Definitely five stars for that reason:)
August 3, 2019
I really love how they have made a game based around Mages without the need for a spell list. All set in our own world and the worlds beyond. The system is easy to pick up much like the rest of the storyteller WoD games. Which allows them all to integrate together to allow cross overs in the chronicles.
Writing a chronicle now for some friends all set in and around London 2019. For me the Avatar Storm never happened in my game and the Ascension War continues. Well till the new edition is released from the new publishers Modiphius Entertainment.
Writing a chronicle now for some friends all set in and around London 2019. For me the Avatar Storm never happened in my game and the Ascension War continues. Well till the new edition is released from the new publishers Modiphius Entertainment.
November 3, 2022
The overall concept is extremely 1990s and has dated poorly, beyond the ability of those writing the 20th Anniversary material to really rehabilitate - but you have to admire the audacity of White Wolf in putting out an RPG this high-concept when a much more mundane "wizards in the modern age" approach would have been accepted by the market just fine. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
May 1, 2019
One of my favorite books to ever use when playing an RPG. I really wish I had more time to play but as I don't and there is no one near me that actually plays anymore I am hoping someone else gets some use out of it.
November 24, 2019
Mage first Edition is quite a game book. I will openly say that I'm just not a fan of it, and that if this was the first Mage book I'd seen, I wouldn't be neck-deep in the game to this day.
That said, about half of this book worked. Unfortunately, it was the underdeveloped half. The rest included things like the Technocracy interrupting their REM sleep so they wouldn't dream, the Void Engineers being Fae-touched and wanting to kill space, and the generally overwhelming nature of the Technocracy against the much less gray than later Traditions.
What did work though were things like study points (they dropped from Mage and now Mage is known as an XP sinkhole because it was balanced assuming them), the basic premise of a war for reality, and the mechanical effects of various foci (which could have been brought back in M20 with the Instruments, but weren't).
Overall, it's a playable game, but not one I'd want to play, and I'm glad that Mage Revised was my first Mage book.
That said, about half of this book worked. Unfortunately, it was the underdeveloped half. The rest included things like the Technocracy interrupting their REM sleep so they wouldn't dream, the Void Engineers being Fae-touched and wanting to kill space, and the generally overwhelming nature of the Technocracy against the much less gray than later Traditions.
What did work though were things like study points (they dropped from Mage and now Mage is known as an XP sinkhole because it was balanced assuming them), the basic premise of a war for reality, and the mechanical effects of various foci (which could have been brought back in M20 with the Instruments, but weren't).
Overall, it's a playable game, but not one I'd want to play, and I'm glad that Mage Revised was my first Mage book.
August 27, 2007
A really good game for it's time, but really, there's no reason to play this game when you can play the revised edition. Shimmy on over to my review of Mage: the Ascension Revised and read about how this fun, if disorganized game became one of the best roleplaying games on the planet.
April 2, 2007
The only of the five original World of Darkness games I never read nor played. In college, it was the one my friends loved, but I had drifted out of playing by then.
September 8, 2008
I actually love mage, even third editions. The rules are just horribly vague and contradict each other often.
May 12, 2010
My favorite of the White Wolf Games!
November 12, 2012
in this order best to worst
mage,werewolf,vampire
mage,werewolf,vampire
June 1, 2013
Full of all sorts of interesting information, although a little bit complicated for my tastes. Still, the magic system framework is able to be used apart from the rest.
February 5, 2014
Got more information but lacks the mysticism of the previous edition. Still one of the best RPG's to storytell for its versatility.
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June 20, 2009Mage: The Ascension (Revised Edition) (2000)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews