supernatural fiction
Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction that is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist assumptions of the real world.
Description
In its broadest def ...
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
first published on August 19, 1993, by
White Wolf Publishing
White Wolf Entertainment AB, formerly White Wolf Publishing, was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant (game publisher), Lion RampantWorld of Darkness
''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 Apocaly ...
universe.
History
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
White Wolf Entertainment AB, formerly White Wolf Publishing, was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant (game publisher), Lion RampantGen Con
Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...
gaming convention
A gaming convention is a gathering centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three business days long, and often held at ...
on August 19, 1993. A second edition followed in December 1995, with a revised edition released in March 2000. In 2005,
White Wolf Publishing
White Wolf Entertainment AB, formerly White Wolf Publishing, was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant (game publisher), Lion RampantCCP 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
A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
. Onyx Path Publishing later introduced the 20th Anniversary Edition of ''Mage: The Ascension'' in September 2015, representing the game's fourth iteration.
Game setting
''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
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where ...
. 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. Later editions of ''Mage: the Ascension'' introduce non-aligned Mage factions such as the "Hollow Ones", a group of Gothchaos magic practitioners.
Rules
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
Entropy is a scientific concept, most commonly associated with states of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the micros ...
, 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.
Reception
Chris Kubasik reviewed ''Mage: The Ascension'' in '' White Wolf'' #38 (1993), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "''Mage'' offers the jaded gamer something intriguing: creativity. The rules of the game, through both cleverness and sloppiness, challenge ''all'' the players to be imaginative, not just the Storyteller."
''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. ''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."
Mikael Sebag, in the journal ''
Games and Culture
''Games and Culture'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of culture and media studies, specializing on the socio-cultural, political, and economic dimensions of gaming. The editor-in-chief is Tanya Krzywinska (Falmouth Univer ...
'', commented that "the in-your-face
postmodernity
Postmodernity (post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is the economic or cultural state or condition of society which is said to exist ''after'' modernity. Some schools of thought hold that modernity ended in the late 20th century – in th ...
of ''Mage: The Ascension'', subjectivity fuels and defines the mage's spellcraft". He explained that "the game is richly inspired by historical and living magical traditions (including many nowiki/>Antoine Faivre">Antoine_Faivre.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Antoine Faivre">nowiki/>Antoine Faivrewould identify as belonging to Western esotericism)", noting the "central theme" is the search for Ascension. Sebag highlighted that ''Mage: The Ascension'' has a "comprehensive and richly-designed game system" except it does not include Ascension mechanics which "communicates the postmodern slant of ''Mage'' core philosophy; the nature of reality, like Ascension, is subjective" and "systems exist only to describe that which is universally agreed upon". Sebag stated the
magic system
Magic systems in games are the rules, limitations, abilities, and characteristics that define magic in a game.
Magic points
A magic point, sometimes known as a mana point, often abbreviated to MP, is a unit of measure that indicates either or ...
is one such universal system, "which, however variously different approaches to spellcasting may be described in the fiction of the game, uses a standardized set of formulas and in-game statistics to resolve these effects. Ascension, by contrast, is an experience so divine that it can be reduced to neither textual description in the game's rules nor mathematization in its systems".
Awards
* In 1994, ''Mage: The Ascension'' was nominated for the ''
Casus Belli
A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...
'' Award the best role-playing game of 1993, finishing in fifth place.
* ''Mage: The Ascension'', 2nd Edition won the
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...