Mage: The Ascension
Encyclopedia
Mage: The Ascension is a role-playing game
based in the World of Darkness
, and was published by White Wolf Game Studio
. The characters portrayed in the game are referred to as mages, and are capable of feats of magic. The idea of magic in Mage is broadly inclusive of diverse ideas about mystical practices as well as other belief systems, such as science and religion, so that most mages do not resemble typical fantasy wizards.
In 2005, White Wolf released a new game marketed under the same name (Mage) for the new World of Darkness series, Mage: The Awakening
, with some of the same game mechanics but with substantially different premises and setting.
The beliefs and techniques of Magi vary enormously, and the ability to alter reality can only exist in the context of a coherent system of belief and technique, called a paradigm
. A paradigm organizes a Mage's understanding of reality, how the universe works, and what things mean. It also provides the Mage with an understanding of how to change reality, through specific magical techniques. For example, an alchemical paradigm might describe the act of wood burning as the wood "releasing its essence of elemental Fire," while modern science would describe fire as "combustion resulting from a complex chemical reaction." Paradigms tend to be idiosyncratic to the individual Mage, but the vast majority belong to broad categories of paradigm, e.g., Shamanism, Medieval Sorcery, religious miracle working, and superscience.
In the Mage setting, everyday reality is governed by commonsense rules derived from the collective beliefs of sleepers. This is called the consensus
. Most Magi' paradigms differ substantially from the consensus. When a mage performs an act of magic that does not seriously violate this commonsense version of reality, in game terms this is called coincidental magic. Magic that deviates wildly from consensus is called vulgar magic. When it is performed ineptly, or is vulgar, and especially if it is vulgar and witnessed by sleepers, magic can cause Paradox, a phenomenon in which reality tries to resolve contradictions between the consensus and the Mage's efforts. Paradox is difficult to predict and almost always bad for the mage. The most common consequences of paradox include physical damage directly to the Mage's body, and paradox flaws, magic-like effects which can for example turn the mage's hair green, make him mute, make him incapable of leaving a certain location, and so on. In more extreme cases paradox can cause Quiet (madness that may leak into reality), Paradox Spirits (nebulous, often powerful beings which purposefully set about resolving the contradiction, usually by directly punishing the mage), or even the removal of the Mage to a paradox realm, a pocket dimension from which it may be difficult to escape.
In Mage, there is an underlying framework to reality called the Tapestry. The Tapestry is naturally divided into various sections, including the physical realm and various levels of the spirit world, or Umbra. At the most basic level, the Tapestry is composed of Quintessence, the essence of magic and what is real. Quintessence can have distinctive characteristics, called resonance, which are broken down into three categories: dynamic, static, and entropic.
In order to understand the metaphysics of the Mage setting, it is important to remember that many of the terms used to describe magic and Magi e.g., Avatar, Quintessence, the Umbra, and Paradox, Resonance, as well as the game mechanics a player uses to describe the areas of magic in which his character is proficient—the Spheres, look, mean, and are understood very differently depending on the paradigm of the Mage in question, even though they are often, in the texts of the game, described from particular paradigmatic points-of-view. In-character, only a Mage's Paradigm can explain what each of these things are, what they mean, and why it's the way it is.
. Early mages cultivated their magical beliefs alone or in small groups, generally conforming to and influencing the belief systems of their societies. Obscure myths suggest that the precursors of the modern organizations of mages originally gathered in ancient Egypt
. This period of historical uncertainty also saw the rise of the Nephandi in the Near East
. This set the stage for what the game's history calls the Mythic Ages.
Until the late Middle Ages
, mages' fortunes waxed and waned along with their native societies. Eventually, though, mages belonging to the Order of Hermes and the Messianic Voices attained great influence over European society. However, absorbed by their pursuit of occult
power and esoteric knowledge, they often neglected and even abused humanity. Frequently, they were at odds with mainstream religions, envied by noble authorities and cursed by common folk.
of manufacturing
, economy
, wayfaring and medicine
. They also championed many of the values that we now associate with the Renaissance
. Masses of Sleepers embraced the gifts of early Technology
and the Science
that accompanied them. As the masses' beliefs shifted, the Consensus changed and wizards began to lose their position as their power and influence waned.
This was intentional. The Order of Reason perceived a safe world as one devoid of heretical
beliefs, ungodly practices and supernatural
creatures preying upon humanity. As the defenders of the common folk, they intended to replace the dominant magical groups with a society of philosopher-scientists as shepherds, protecting and guiding humanity. In response, non-scientific mages banded together to form the Council of Nine Traditions where mages of all the major magical paths gathered. They fought on battlefields and in universities trying to undermine as many discoveries as they could, but to no avail - technology made the march of Science unstoppable. The Traditions' power bases were crippled, their believers mainly converted, their beliefs ridiculed all around the world. Their final counteroffensives against the Order of Reason were foiled by internal dissent and treachery in their midst.
. They replaced long-held theologies, pantheons, and mystical traditions with ideas like rational thought and the scientific method. As more and more sleepers began to use the Order's discoveries in their everyday lives, Reason and rationality came to govern their beliefs, and the old ways came to be regarded as misguided superstition. However, the Order of Reason became less and less focused on improving the daily lives of sleepers and more concerned with eliminating any resistance to their choke-hold on the minds of humanity. Ever since a reorganization performed under Queen Victoria in the late 1800s, they call themselves the Technocracy.
.
Finally, from 1997–2000, a series of metaplot
events destroyed the Council of Nine's Umbral steadings, killing many of their most powerful members. This also cut the Technocracy off from their leadership. Both sides called a truce in their struggle to assess their new situation, especially since these events implied that Armageddon
was soon at hand. Chief among these signs was creation of a barrier between the physical world and spirit world. This barrier was called the Avatar Storm because it affected the Avatar of the Mage. This Avatar Storm was the result of a battle in India on the so-called "Week of Nightmares."
These changes were introduced in supplements for the second edition of the game and became core material in the third edition.
metaplot, mages dealt with renewed conflict when the hidden Rogue Council and the Technocracy's Panopticon encouraged the Traditions and Technocracy to struggle once again. The Rogue Council only made itself known through coded missives, while Panopticon was apparently created by the leaders of the Technocracy to counter it.
This struggle eventually led to the point on the timeline occupied by the book called Ascension. While the entire metaplot has always been meant to be altered as each play group sees fit, Ascension provided multiple possible endings, with none of them being definitive (though one was meant to resolve the metaplot). Thus, there is no definitive canonical ending. Since the game is meant to be adapted to a group's tastes, the importance of this and the preceding storyline is largely a matter of personal preference.
of the game involves a four-way struggle between the technological and authoritarian Technocracy, the insane Marauders, the cosmically evil Nephandi and the nine mystical Traditions (that tread the middle path), to which the player characters are assumed to belong. (This struggle has in every edition of the game been characterized both as primarily a covert, violent war directly between factions, and primarily as an effort to sway the imaginations and beliefs of sleepers.)
of secret societies
in the Mage: the Ascension role-playing game
. The Traditions exist to unify users of magic
under a common banner to protect reality (particularly those parts of reality that are magical) against the growing disbelief of the modern world, the spreading dominance of the Technocracy, and the predations of unstable mages such as Marauders and Nephandi. Each of the Traditions are largely independent organizations unified by a broadly accepted paradigm
for practicing magic. The Traditions themselves vary substantially from one another. Some have almost no structure or rules, while others have rigid rules of protocol, etiquette, and rank. Though unified in their desire to keep magic alive, the magic practiced by different Traditions are often wildly different and entirely incompatible with one another. Understanding Traditions as a whole requires understanding each Tradition separately, and then assembling them into a somewhat cohesive whole.
The nine traditions are: the Akashic Brotherhood, Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeakers, Euthanatos, Order of Hermes, Sons of Ether, Verbena and Virtual Adepts.
. Marauders are chaos mages. They are completely insane. To other mages, they appear immune to paradox effects, often using vulgar magic to accomplish their insane tasks. Marauders represent the other narrative extreme, the repellent and frightening corruption of unrestrained power, of dynamism unchecked. Marauders are insane mages whose Avatar
s have been warped by their mental instability, and who exist in a state of permanent Quiet. While the nature of a Marauder's power may make them seem invincible, they are still severely hampered by their madness. They cannot become Archmage
s, as they lack sufficient insight and are incapable of appreciating truths which do not suit their madness. In the second edition of Mage: The Ascension, Marauders were much more cogent and likely to operate in groups, with the Umbral Underground using the Umbra to infiltrate any location and wreak havoc with the aid of bygones. They were also associated heavily with other perceived agents of Dynamism, particularly the Changing Breed
s (who equate Dynamism with the Wyld) and sometimes Changeling
s. For example, the Marauders chapter in The Book of Madness is narrated by a Corax named Johnny Gore, who relates his experiences running with the Butcher Street Regulars. In the revised edition, Marauders were made darker and less coherent, in keeping with the more serious treatment of madness used for Malkavian
s in Revised Vampire. The Avatar Storm was a very convenient explanation for the Underground's loss of power and influence, though they also became more vulnerable to Paradox. In this edition, the Regulars are a cell of the Underground, and like the other cells have highly compatible Quiets.
games; see Storyteller System for an explanation.
Like other storytelling game
s Mage emphasizes personal creativity and that ultimately the game's powers and traits should be used to tell a satisfying story. One of Mage's highlights is its system for describing magic, based on spheres, a relatively open-ended 'toolkit' approach to using game mechanics to define the bounds of a given character's magical ability. Different Mages will have differing aptitudes for spheres, and player-characters' magical expertise is described by allocation of points in the spheres.
There are nine known spheres:
and psychometry. At high levels, Mages can create new complete minds or completely rework existing ones.
" or "Telos
" and that Anthelios (the red star in the World of Darkness metaplot) is its planet (each sphere has an associated planet and Umbral realm).
Because Mage's themes are potentially quite complex and esoteric, and because its Sphere system rules are relatively open-ended, Mage is often daunting, particularly to novice roleplayers and those accustomed to other games whose rules govern the use of magic with greater precision but less flexibility (e.g., games with catalogs of established "spells").
The third revision of the rules, Mage: The Ascension Revised, made significant changes to the rules and setting, mainly to update Mage with respect to its own ongoing storyline, particularly in regards to events that occurred during the run of the game's second edition. (Like other World of Darkness games, Mage uses a continuing storyline across all of its books).
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
based in the World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
, and was published by White Wolf Game Studio
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
. The characters portrayed in the game are referred to as mages, and are capable of feats of magic. The idea of magic in Mage is broadly inclusive of diverse ideas about mystical practices as well as other belief systems, such as science and religion, so that most mages do not resemble typical fantasy wizards.
In 2005, White Wolf released a new game marketed under the same name (Mage) for the new World of Darkness series, Mage: The Awakening
Mage: The Awakening
Mage: The Awakening is a role-playing game developed by White Wolf, Inc. and based in their World of Darkness setting. The characters portrayed in this game are individuals able to bend or break the commonly-accepted rules of reality to perform subtle or outlandish acts of magic. These characters...
, with some of the same game mechanics but with substantially different premises and setting.
Metaphysics
The basic premise of Mage: The Ascension is that everyone has the capacity, at some level, to shape reality. This capacity, personified as a mysterious alter-ego called the Avatar, is dormant in most people, who are known as sleepers, whereas Magi (and/or their Avatars) are said to be Awakened. Because they're awakened, Magi can consciously affect changes to reality via willpower, beliefs, and specific magical techniques.The beliefs and techniques of Magi vary enormously, and the ability to alter reality can only exist in the context of a coherent system of belief and technique, called a paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
. A paradigm organizes a Mage's understanding of reality, how the universe works, and what things mean. It also provides the Mage with an understanding of how to change reality, through specific magical techniques. For example, an alchemical paradigm might describe the act of wood burning as the wood "releasing its essence of elemental Fire," while modern science would describe fire as "combustion resulting from a complex chemical reaction." Paradigms tend to be idiosyncratic to the individual Mage, but the vast majority belong to broad categories of paradigm, e.g., Shamanism, Medieval Sorcery, religious miracle working, and superscience.
In the Mage setting, everyday reality is governed by commonsense rules derived from the collective beliefs of sleepers. This is called the consensus
Consensus reality
Consensus reality is an approach to answering the philosophical question "What is real?" It gives a practical answer: reality is either what exists, or what we can agree seems to exist....
. Most Magi' paradigms differ substantially from the consensus. When a mage performs an act of magic that does not seriously violate this commonsense version of reality, in game terms this is called coincidental magic. Magic that deviates wildly from consensus is called vulgar magic. When it is performed ineptly, or is vulgar, and especially if it is vulgar and witnessed by sleepers, magic can cause Paradox, a phenomenon in which reality tries to resolve contradictions between the consensus and the Mage's efforts. Paradox is difficult to predict and almost always bad for the mage. The most common consequences of paradox include physical damage directly to the Mage's body, and paradox flaws, magic-like effects which can for example turn the mage's hair green, make him mute, make him incapable of leaving a certain location, and so on. In more extreme cases paradox can cause Quiet (madness that may leak into reality), Paradox Spirits (nebulous, often powerful beings which purposefully set about resolving the contradiction, usually by directly punishing the mage), or even the removal of the Mage to a paradox realm, a pocket dimension from which it may be difficult to escape.
In Mage, there is an underlying framework to reality called the Tapestry. The Tapestry is naturally divided into various sections, including the physical realm and various levels of the spirit world, or Umbra. At the most basic level, the Tapestry is composed of Quintessence, the essence of magic and what is real. Quintessence can have distinctive characteristics, called resonance, which are broken down into three categories: dynamic, static, and entropic.
In order to understand the metaphysics of the Mage setting, it is important to remember that many of the terms used to describe magic and Magi e.g., Avatar, Quintessence, the Umbra, and Paradox, Resonance, as well as the game mechanics a player uses to describe the areas of magic in which his character is proficient—the Spheres, look, mean, and are understood very differently depending on the paradigm of the Mage in question, even though they are often, in the texts of the game, described from particular paradigmatic points-of-view. In-character, only a Mage's Paradigm can explain what each of these things are, what they mean, and why it's the way it is.
Early times
In the game, Mages have always existed, though there are legends of the Pure Ones who were shards of the original, divine OneMonism
Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...
. Early mages cultivated their magical beliefs alone or in small groups, generally conforming to and influencing the belief systems of their societies. Obscure myths suggest that the precursors of the modern organizations of mages originally gathered in ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. This period of historical uncertainty also saw the rise of the Nephandi in the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
. This set the stage for what the game's history calls the Mythic Ages.
Until the late Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, mages' fortunes waxed and waned along with their native societies. Eventually, though, mages belonging to the Order of Hermes and the Messianic Voices attained great influence over European society. However, absorbed by their pursuit of occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
power and esoteric knowledge, they often neglected and even abused humanity. Frequently, they were at odds with mainstream religions, envied by noble authorities and cursed by common folk.
The Order of Reason
Mages who believed in proto-scientific theories banded together under the banner of the Order of Reason, declaring their aim was to create a safe world with Man as its ruler. They won the support of Sleepers by developing the useful artsUseful arts
Useful arts are concerned with the skills and methods of practical subjects such as manufacture and craftsmanship. The word has now gone out of fashion, but it was used during the Victorian era and earlier as an antonym to the performing arts and the fine arts.The term "useful Arts" is used in the...
of manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, economy
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, wayfaring and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. They also championed many of the values that we now associate with the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. Masses of Sleepers embraced the gifts of early Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and the Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
that accompanied them. As the masses' beliefs shifted, the Consensus changed and wizards began to lose their position as their power and influence waned.
This was intentional. The Order of Reason perceived a safe world as one devoid of heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
beliefs, ungodly practices and supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
creatures preying upon humanity. As the defenders of the common folk, they intended to replace the dominant magical groups with a society of philosopher-scientists as shepherds, protecting and guiding humanity. In response, non-scientific mages banded together to form the Council of Nine Traditions where mages of all the major magical paths gathered. They fought on battlefields and in universities trying to undermine as many discoveries as they could, but to no avail - technology made the march of Science unstoppable. The Traditions' power bases were crippled, their believers mainly converted, their beliefs ridiculed all around the world. Their final counteroffensives against the Order of Reason were foiled by internal dissent and treachery in their midst.
Rise of the Technocracy
However, from the turn of 17th century on, the goals of the Order of Reason began to change. As their scientific paradigm unfolded, they decided that the mystical beliefs of the common people were not only backward, but dangerous, and that they should be replaced by cold, measurable and predictable laws of nature and respect for human geniusGenius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
. They replaced long-held theologies, pantheons, and mystical traditions with ideas like rational thought and the scientific method. As more and more sleepers began to use the Order's discoveries in their everyday lives, Reason and rationality came to govern their beliefs, and the old ways came to be regarded as misguided superstition. However, the Order of Reason became less and less focused on improving the daily lives of sleepers and more concerned with eliminating any resistance to their choke-hold on the minds of humanity. Ever since a reorganization performed under Queen Victoria in the late 1800s, they call themselves the Technocracy.
Contemporary setting
The Technocracy espouses an authoritarian rule over Sleepers' beliefs, while suppressing the Council of Nine's attempts to reintroduce magic. The Traditions replenished their numbers (which had been diminished by the withdrawal of two Traditions, the secretive Ahl-i-Batin, and the Solificati, alchemists plagued by scandal) with former Technocrats from the Sons of Ether and Virtual Adepts factions, vying for the beliefs of sleepers and with the Technocracy, and perpetually wary of the Nephandi (who consciously embrace evil and service to a demonic or alien master) and the Marauders (who resist Paradox with a magical form of madness). While the Technocracy's propaganda campaigns were effective in turning the Consensus against mystic and heterodox science, the Traditions maintained various resources, including magical nodes, hidden schools and fortresses called Chantries, and various realms outside of the Consensus in the UmbraUmbra
The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the names given to three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source. For a point source only the umbra is cast.These names are most often used to refer to the shadows cast by celestial bodies....
.
Finally, from 1997–2000, a series of metaplot
Metaplot
The metaplot is the overarching storyline that binds together events in a role-playing game. Major story events that change the world, or simply move important non-player characters from one place to another, are part of the metaplot for a game. For example, White Wolf Game Studio's World of...
events destroyed the Council of Nine's Umbral steadings, killing many of their most powerful members. This also cut the Technocracy off from their leadership. Both sides called a truce in their struggle to assess their new situation, especially since these events implied that Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
was soon at hand. Chief among these signs was creation of a barrier between the physical world and spirit world. This barrier was called the Avatar Storm because it affected the Avatar of the Mage. This Avatar Storm was the result of a battle in India on the so-called "Week of Nightmares."
These changes were introduced in supplements for the second edition of the game and became core material in the third edition.
Later plot and finale
Aside from common changes introduced by the World of DarknessWorld of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
metaplot, mages dealt with renewed conflict when the hidden Rogue Council and the Technocracy's Panopticon encouraged the Traditions and Technocracy to struggle once again. The Rogue Council only made itself known through coded missives, while Panopticon was apparently created by the leaders of the Technocracy to counter it.
This struggle eventually led to the point on the timeline occupied by the book called Ascension. While the entire metaplot has always been meant to be altered as each play group sees fit, Ascension provided multiple possible endings, with none of them being definitive (though one was meant to resolve the metaplot). Thus, there is no definitive canonical ending. Since the game is meant to be adapted to a group's tastes, the importance of this and the preceding storyline is largely a matter of personal preference.
Factions
The metaplotMetaplot
The metaplot is the overarching storyline that binds together events in a role-playing game. Major story events that change the world, or simply move important non-player characters from one place to another, are part of the metaplot for a game. For example, White Wolf Game Studio's World of...
of the game involves a four-way struggle between the technological and authoritarian Technocracy, the insane Marauders, the cosmically evil Nephandi and the nine mystical Traditions (that tread the middle path), to which the player characters are assumed to belong. (This struggle has in every edition of the game been characterized both as primarily a covert, violent war directly between factions, and primarily as an effort to sway the imaginations and beliefs of sleepers.)
Council of Nine Mystic Traditions
The Traditions (formally called the Nine Mystic Traditions) are a fictional allianceCoalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
of secret societies
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
in the Mage: the Ascension role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. The Traditions exist to unify users of magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
under a common banner to protect reality (particularly those parts of reality that are magical) against the growing disbelief of the modern world, the spreading dominance of the Technocracy, and the predations of unstable mages such as Marauders and Nephandi. Each of the Traditions are largely independent organizations unified by a broadly accepted paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
for practicing magic. The Traditions themselves vary substantially from one another. Some have almost no structure or rules, while others have rigid rules of protocol, etiquette, and rank. Though unified in their desire to keep magic alive, the magic practiced by different Traditions are often wildly different and entirely incompatible with one another. Understanding Traditions as a whole requires understanding each Tradition separately, and then assembling them into a somewhat cohesive whole.
The nine traditions are: the Akashic Brotherhood, Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeakers, Euthanatos, Order of Hermes, Sons of Ether, Verbena and Virtual Adepts.
- Mages of Akashic Brotherhood are ascetics, martial artists, and monks, largely drawing from BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, TaoismTaoismTaoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, ShintoShintoor Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
, HinduismHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and other such religions. They are masters of the sphere of Mind. - Mages of Celestial Chorus are pious believers in a supreme being that encompasses all Gods ever worshipped. They are masters of the sphere of Prime, the raw essence that fuels magicMagic (gaming)Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
itself. - Mages of Cult of Ecstasy are intuitive seers using sensory stimulation, consciousness-expanding techniques, and meditation. They are masters of the sphere of Time.
- Mages of Dreamspeakers are shamanisticShamanismShamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
emissaries to the spirit worldUmbra (World of Darkness)The Umbra is the spirit world, a shadow or reflection of the real world, in the old World of Darkness role-playing game setting. It is inhabited by spirits, gods, ghosts, and various other supernatural beings....
. They are masters of Spirit magic, such as summoning or binding spirits, necromancy, creating fetishes and travelling to the Umbra. - Mages of Euthanatos are ThanatoicThanatosIn Greek mythology, Thanatos was the daemon personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person...
willworkers and killers drawing from a legacy of death-cults in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and the cultures of the ArabArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s and CeltCeltThe Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s. They are masters of the sphere of Entropy. - Mages of Order of Hermes are formalized sorcerers, alchemists, and mystics drawing from classical occult practices. They are masters of the sphere of Forces.
- Mages of Sons of Ether are inspiration-oriented scientists dedicated to fringe theories and alternative science. They are masters of the sphere of Matter.
- Mages of Verbena are blood-shamans, healers and primordial witches and warlocks. They are masters of the sphere of Life.
- Mages of Virtual Adepts are technological adepts capable of informational wizardry. They are masters of the sphere of Correspondence, magic dealing with three-dimensional location and space, communications.
The Technocratic Union
- Iteration X
- Progenitors
- The New World Order
- The Syndicate
- The Void Engineers
Marauders
The Marauders are a group of mages that embody DynamismDynamism
Dynamism is a concept that has several meanings.*Dynamism , a cosmological explanation of the material world in the vein of process philosophy.*Dynamism , a Japanese retailer specializing in exports....
. Marauders are chaos mages. They are completely insane. To other mages, they appear immune to paradox effects, often using vulgar magic to accomplish their insane tasks. Marauders represent the other narrative extreme, the repellent and frightening corruption of unrestrained power, of dynamism unchecked. Marauders are insane mages whose Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
s have been warped by their mental instability, and who exist in a state of permanent Quiet. While the nature of a Marauder's power may make them seem invincible, they are still severely hampered by their madness. They cannot become Archmage
Archmage
Archmage, archmagi, or archmagus is a title used to identify an especially powerful wizard, usually within the context of fantasy fiction...
s, as they lack sufficient insight and are incapable of appreciating truths which do not suit their madness. In the second edition of Mage: The Ascension, Marauders were much more cogent and likely to operate in groups, with the Umbral Underground using the Umbra to infiltrate any location and wreak havoc with the aid of bygones. They were also associated heavily with other perceived agents of Dynamism, particularly the Changing Breed
Fera (Werewolf: The Apocalypse)
This Article details the Fera, as presented in the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse.- Introduction :Though the most widespread, Garou are not the only shapeshifters in the World of Darkness. The Fera is a term used by Garou to refer to other shapechangers...
s (who equate Dynamism with the Wyld) and sometimes Changeling
Changeling
A changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who...
s. For example, the Marauders chapter in The Book of Madness is narrated by a Corax named Johnny Gore, who relates his experiences running with the Butcher Street Regulars. In the revised edition, Marauders were made darker and less coherent, in keeping with the more serious treatment of madness used for Malkavian
Malkavian
The Malkavians are a clan of vampires from White Wolf Game Studio's books, role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and, Vampire: The Dark Ages. In modern times, they are associated with the Camarilla. Their symbol is a broken mirror...
s in Revised Vampire. The Avatar Storm was a very convenient explanation for the Underground's loss of power and influence, though they also became more vulnerable to Paradox. In this edition, the Regulars are a cell of the Underground, and like the other cells have highly compatible Quiets.
Others
Another tradition, but not part of the nine are the mages of Ahl-i-Batin (also known as The Subtle Ones). They are masters of the Correspondence Sphere. Others include Crafts, Nephandi, The Taftani and the Hollow Ones. Nephandi embody a corruption seductive to mages.Rules and continuity
The core rules of the game are similar to those in other World of DarknessWorld of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
games; see Storyteller System for an explanation.
Like other storytelling game
Storytelling game
A storytelling game is a game where two or more persons collaborate on telling a spontaneous story. Usually, each player takes care of one or more characters in the developing story...
s Mage emphasizes personal creativity and that ultimately the game's powers and traits should be used to tell a satisfying story. One of Mage's highlights is its system for describing magic, based on spheres, a relatively open-ended 'toolkit' approach to using game mechanics to define the bounds of a given character's magical ability. Different Mages will have differing aptitudes for spheres, and player-characters' magical expertise is described by allocation of points in the spheres.
There are nine known spheres:
Correspondence
Deals with spatial relations, giving the Mage power over space and distances. Correspondence magic allows powers such as teleportation, seeing into distant areas, and at higher levels the Mage may also co-locate herself or even stack different spaces within each other. Correspondence can be combined with almost any other sphere to create effects that span distances.Entropy
This sphere gives the Mage power over order, chaos, fate and fortune. A mage can sense where elements of chance influence the world and manipulate them to some degree. At simple levels machines can be made to fail, plans to go off without a hitch, and games of chance heavily influenced. Advanced mages can craft self-propagating memes or curse entire family lines with blights. The only requirement of the Entropy sphere is that all interventions work within the general flow of natural entropy.Forces
Forces concerns energies and natural forces and their negative opposites (i.e. light and shadow can both be manipulated independently with this Sphere). Essentially, anything in the material world that can be seen or felt but is not material can be controlled: electricity, gravity, magnetism, friction, heat, motion, fire, etc. At low levels the mage can control forces on a small scale, changing their direction, converting one energy into another. At high levels, storms and explosions can be conjured. Obviously, this Sphere tends to do the most damage and is the most flashy and vulgar. Along with Life and Matter, Forces is one of the three 'Pattern Spheres' which together are able to mold all aspects of the physical world.Life
Life deals with understanding and influencing biological systems. Generally speaking, any material object with mostly living cells falls under the influence of this sphere. Thus, being alive protects a thing from direct manipulation by the Matter sphere and vice versa. Simply, this allows the mage to heal herself or transform simple life-forms at lower levels, working up to healing others and controlling more complex life at higher levels. Usually, seeking to improve a complex life-form beyond natural limits causes the condition of pattern bleeding: the affected life form begins to wither and die over time. Along with Matter and Forces, Life is one of the three Pattern Spheres.Mind
Dealing with control over one's own mind, the reading and influencing of other minds, and a variety of subtler applications such as Astral ProjectionAstral projection
Astral projection is an interpretation of out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it...
and psychometry. At high levels, Mages can create new complete minds or completely rework existing ones.
Matter
Matter deals with all inanimate material. Stone, dead wood, water, gold, and the corpses of once living things are only the beginning. With this Sphere, matter can be reshaped mentally, transmuted into another substance, or given altered properties. Along with Life and Forces, Matter is one of the three Pattern Spheres.Prime
This sphere deals directly with Quintessence, the raw material of the tapestry, which is the metaphysical structure of reality. This sphere allows Quintessence to be channeled and/or funneled in any way at higher levels, and it is necessary if the mage ever wants to conjure something out of thin air (as opposed to transforming one pattern into another). Uses of Prime include general magic senses, counter-magic, and making magical effects permanent.Spirit
This sphere is an eclectic mixture of abilities relating to dealings with the spirit world or Umbra. It includes stepping into the Near Umbra right up to traveling through outer space, contacting and controlling spirits, communing with your own or others' avatars, returning a Mage into a sleeper, returning ghosts to life, creating magical fetish items, and so forth. Unlike other Spheres, the difficulty of Spirit magic is often a factor of the Gauntlet, making these spells harder for the most part. The Sphere is referred to as Dimensional Science by the Technocratic Union.Time
This sphere deals with dilating, slowing, stopping or traveling through time. Due to game mechanics, it is simpler to travel forward in time than backwards. Time can be used to install delays into spells, view the past or future, and even pull people and objects out of linear progression. Time magic offers one means to speed up a character to get multiple actions in a combat round, a much coveted power in turn-based role-playing.The tenth sphere
One of the plot hooks that the second edition books put forth were persistent rumors of a "tenth sphere". Though there were hints, it was deliberately left vague. The final book in the line, Ascension implies that the tenth sphere is the sphere of Ascension (in as much as spheres are practically relevant at that point in the story). As the book presents alternative resolutions for the Mage line, Chapter Two also presents an alternative interpretation that the tenth sphere is "JudgementDivine Judgment
Divine judgment means the judgment of God or other supreme beings within a religion. The concept is prominent in Abrahamic religions, most significantly in the Last judgment.-Objective and subjective judgment:...
" or "Telos
Telos (philosophy)
A telos is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term "teleology," roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology figures centrally in Aristotle's...
" and that Anthelios (the red star in the World of Darkness metaplot) is its planet (each sphere has an associated planet and Umbral realm).
Sphere sigils
The various sphere sigils are, in whole or in part, symbols taken from alchemical texts.- Correspondence is a symbol for amalgam or amalgamation, "Amalgama".
- Entropy is a symbol for rotting or decay, "Putredo/putrefactio".
- The sigil of Forces is part of the symbol for "boiling," "Ebbulio".
- Life is a symbol for composition, "Compositio".
- As with Correspondence, the sigil of Matter is another symbol for the process of amalgamation, "Amalgama".
- Mind is a symbol for the sun, "Sol".
- Prime is a symbol meaning essence, "Essentia".
- Spirit may be derived from the symbol for fumes, "Fumus".
- Time is the symbol for dust, "Pulvis".
- The tenth symbol depicted in Ascension is a symbol for the planet Neptune. Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade also presented a symbol for the tenth sphere, a combination of the symbols for stone and distillation.
Because Mage's themes are potentially quite complex and esoteric, and because its Sphere system rules are relatively open-ended, Mage is often daunting, particularly to novice roleplayers and those accustomed to other games whose rules govern the use of magic with greater precision but less flexibility (e.g., games with catalogs of established "spells").
The third revision of the rules, Mage: The Ascension Revised, made significant changes to the rules and setting, mainly to update Mage with respect to its own ongoing storyline, particularly in regards to events that occurred during the run of the game's second edition. (Like other World of Darkness games, Mage uses a continuing storyline across all of its books).