Mage: The Ascension

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{{cite magazine |last=Varney |first=Allen |author-link=Allen Varney |date=December 1994 |title=Role-playing Reviews |magazine=Dragon |publisher=TSR, Inc. |pages=90–91 |issue=212}}{{cite magazine |last=McLaughlin |first=Tom |date=May 1993 |title=Get ready—here comes the 1993 Gen Con Game Fair! |magazine=Dragon |publisher=TSR, Inc. |page=83 |issue=193}} on August 19, 1993. A second edition followed in December 1995,{{cite magazine |date=February 1996 |title=White Wolf |magazine=Casus Belli |publisher=Excelsior Publications |page=14 |language=French |issue=91}}{{Cite web |title=Mage : The Ascension (1-56504-400-2) |url=http://www.legrog.org/jeux/mage-l-ascension/deuxieme-edition/mage-the-ascension-2eme-ed-en}} with a revised edition released in March 2000.{{cite web |title=2000 Release Schedule |url=http://www.white-wolf.com/retail/ReleaseSchedule.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000303032212/http://www.white-wolf.com/retail/ReleaseSchedule.html |archive-date=2000-03-03 |access-date=2020-12-27 |publisher=White Wolf Publishing}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2006-11-13 |title=Gaming Industry Innovators CCP and White Wolf to Merge |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gaming-industry-innovators-ccp-and-white-wolf-to-merge |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions – Onyx Path Publishing |url=https://theonyxpath.com/about/faq/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |language=en-US}} Onyx Path Publishing later introduced the 20th Anniversary Edition of Mage: The Ascension in September 2015,{{Cite web |date=23 September 2015 |title=Now Available: Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition! |url=http://theonyxpath.com/now-available-mage-the-ascension-20th-anniversary-edition/}} 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. 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.

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."{{Cite magazine |last=Kubasik |first=Chris |authorlink=Christopher Kubasik |date=1993|title=Mage: The Ascension Feature Review |magazine= White Wolf Magazine |number=38 |page=43-47 |url=https://imgur.com/a/eXnwt2m}}

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.{{cite journal|last=Tinworth|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Tinworth|date=April 1996 |title=Mage: The Ascension 2nd Edition|journal=Arcane|publisher=Future Publishing|issue=5|pages=62–63}}

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."{{cite journal|last=Pettengale|first=Paul|date=Christmas 1996|title=Arcane Presents the Top 50 Roleplaying Games 1996|journal=Arcane|publisher=Future Publishing|issue=14|pages=25–35}}

• In 1994, Mage: The Ascension was nominated for the Casus Belli Award the best role-playing game of 1993, finishing in fifth place.{{cite magazine |date=April–May 1994 |title=Trophées Casus Belli 1993 du jeu de rôle |language=fr |magazine=Casus Belli |issue=80 |pages=16–17 |publisher=Excelsior Publications}}
• Mage: The Ascension, 2nd Edition won the Origins Award for Best Role-playing Rules in 1995.{{Cite web|url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1995|title=1995 list of winners|publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design|access-date=2014-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504094257/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1995|archive-date=2009-05-04}}

• Dragon No. 202 (February 1994)
• Shadis No. 27 (May 1996)
• Pyramid for Second Edition Revised{{cite web | url=http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=1482 | title=Pyramid: Pyramid Review: Mage Second Edition Revised }}
• Rollespilsmagasinet Fønix (Danish) No. 12 (Mar/Apr 1996){{Cite web|url=https://www.rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/47552/anmeldelser|title=Anmeldelser | Article | RPGGeek}}
• Envoyer (German) No. 27 (Jan 1999){{cite web|url=https://www.rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/70763/mage-ascension|title=Mage The Ascension &2124; Article | RPGGeek}}
• Australian Realms #14{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/australian-realms-magazine/Australian%20Realms%20%2314%20NovemberDecember%201993/page/4/mode/2up | title=Australian Realms Magazine - Complete Collection | date=June 1988 }}
• Backstab #21{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/backstab-021/page/n23/mode/2up | title=Backstab #021 | date=2000 }}
• Backstab #31https://archive.org/details/backstab-031/page/n85/mode/2up

• List of Mage: The Ascension books
• [https://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=812282 Sphere Sigils from Mage: The Ascension]

{{reflist}}

• [http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/classicworldofdarkness/magetheascension/ Onyx's Path's Mage Page]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080212012215/http://www.white-wolf.com/Games/Pages/MageHome.html Wayback Machine archive of White Wolf's Official Mage page]
• [http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/MageTheAscension/ GURPS edition] cancelled

{{World of Darkness}}

Category:Origins Award winners

Category:Role-playing games introduced in 1993

Category:World of Darkness

Category:White Wolf Publishing games

Category:White Wolf Publishing