Category: Podcast

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Dark Destinies

Dark Destinies

What makes tie-in fiction actually feel like Mage: The Ascension? Pooka and Lee Webb explore selected stories from Dark Destiny and Dark Destiny 2: Proprietors of Fate, two World of Darkness horror anthologies filled with Technocrats, Nephandi, historical occultists, former mages, reality shifts, ecstatic rituals, and more than a few questionable decisions.

Spoiler warning: Major plot details are discussed throughout.

Show Notes

That which we perceive outside contains only what we can perceive inside.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

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Reality Deviants Book Club: Algernon Blackwood

Reality Deviants Book Club: Algernon Blackwood

Adam and Pooka discuss Algernon Blackwood’s fiction, his occult interests, his fascination with nature, and what his stories can teach Mage: The Ascension Storytellers about the sublime, supernatural uncertainty, spirits, Correspondence, Awakening, and psychological horror.

Show Notes

A note on the 1910 wilderness novella

The episode discusses Blackwood’s use of material drawn from Algonquin-speaking Indigenous cultures while distinguishing his Edwardian weird fiction from the living traditions he transformed.

📄 Transcript of Reality Deviants Book Club: Algernon Blackwood

Mage is vast and contains multitudes.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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Tomes of Magick: The Other Side of the Coin

Tomes of Magick: The Other Side of the Coin

We’re returning to Tomes of Magic in Translation with a Spanish-language introductory adventure for Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition.

La Otra Cara de la Monera is an 18-page one-shot for two to five players that introduces the Traditions, Sphere magic, Resonance, Paradox, Avatars, and magical Focus through an investigation into a series of horrific supernatural crimes.

The trail leads from an impossible murder scene to corrupted young mages, the Nephandus Mark Frazier, and an expanding metaphysical void that may eventually consume the surrounding neighborhood.

We break down all seven scenes, examine the five pregenerated characters, and discuss what happened when the adventure was actually run for a table containing both new and experienced World of Darkness players.

Show Notes

  • Introducing new players to Mage
  • Spanish-language M20 material
  • Investigation using Sphere magic
  • Resonance and Paradox
  • Nephandi as introductory antagonists
  • Magical temptation and corruption
  • Focus, paradigm, and Avatars
  • Collaborative Sphere effects
  • Running the adventure as a one-shot
  • What worked—and what could be changed—after actual play

Spoiler warning: The adventure is discussed almost completely.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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Paradigm Shift: Gradient Descent

Paradigm Shift: Gradient Descent

What happens when a Mothership scenario is brought into Mage: The Ascension?

Adam examines Gradient Descent, a science-fiction horror scenario set aboard an abandoned android factory controlled by an AI called Monarch. The station contains valuable technology, discarded androids, copied human minds, unreliable allies, zero-gravity hazards, and an intelligence determined to make visitors question whether they were ever human.

The episode considers how to use the Deep as an Iteration X construct, how Monarch might connect to the Matriarch or Threat Null, and how the scenario can work for Technocrats, Tradition mages, Disparates, acolytes, or extraordinary citizens.

Show Notes

Make the Technocracy’s toys terrifying for your players.
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World of Darkness: France

World of Darkness: France

Pooka begins a new Tomes of Magic miniseries about licensed Mage books that never appeared in English.

The first subject is Le Monde des Ténèbres: France, a rare 1997 French World of Darkness supplement. Its Mage chapter presents a highly personal vision of Awakened France: Breton Verbena, technocratic influence over European institutions, Etherites at Futuroscope, an isolated French region of the Digital Web, Jules Verne working with Marauders, an awakened AI, and a system for changing the rules of reality itself.

The book is imaginative and packed with unusual chronicle hooks, but does it actually help a Storyteller run Mage in France?

Show Notes

  • Le Monde des Ténèbres: France – A French-language World of Darkness sourcebook published by Ludis International in January 1997. The 247-page book covers the five principal World of Darkness game lines and was intended to launch a larger French series that never materialized.
  • Jules Verne Museum in Nantes – While Verne never lived in the building, its surroundings reflect the atmosphere which influenced his work.
  • Joseph-Marie Jacquard and the programmable loom – It revolutionized textile manufacturing by using interchangeable, punched cards to automate the raising and lowering of individual warp threads.
  • Minitel and the history of networking in France – Minitel was a pioneering French videotex network launched in 1980. The government distributed free terminals to telephone subscribers to replace paper directories. It became a massive pre-World Wide Web success, enabling millions to shop, check stocks, and chat until the service was retired on June 30, 2012.
  • Minitel at the Computer History Museum – The CHM highlights Minitel as a massive cultural and technological phenomenon that predated the World Wide Web by a decade.
  • Official Carnac Alignments– Recognized for its breathtaking medieval architecture and dynamic natural environment, it features a Gothic Benedictine abbey founded in 708 AD and a historic fortified village.
  • Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay at UNESCO
  • Strasbourg Cathedral official – Considered to be among the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture.
  • Cité de l’espace in Toulouse– A major scientific discovery center and theme park dedicated to spaceflight and astronomy.
  • Guiana Space Centre – A spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an overseas region of France in South America.
Zoning boards are where the fight against the Technocracy must needs be fiercest and firmest.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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In Defense of Prime

In Defense of Prime

Adam and Heilong talk all about Prime, the Sphere that turns Quintessence from airy theory into table-ready trouble. They tackle the “Sphere tax,” node-scrubbing, Primal Utility, Platonic ideals, and why Prime makes Mage’s reality-wrangling feel real enough to kick the furniture, and maybe rewrite the town.

📄 Transcript of In Defense of Prime

Show Notes

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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Tower of Babel

Tower of Babel

We climb John H. Steele’s Tower of Babel, a Mage novel full of creators, characters, conspiracies, and reality getting mighty leaky around the edges. It’s metafiction, Technocracy trouble, dream-tower theology, and one poor writer learning that when your fiction talks back, maybe don’t answer after drinking.

Show Notes

  • Tower of Babel – Book man invents fascist action guy. Fascist action guy becomes real. Magic happens. Bureaucrats get spooky. Reality files a complaint.
  • John H. Steele – wrote lots of White Wolf fiction, helped shape the Clan Novel Saga, and used the pen name Gherbod Fleming.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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Join our Discord server.

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Crossover: Rokea in Mage

Crossover: Rokea in Mage

Adam swims with the sharks to bring you information and ideas to help you add the Rokea, the shape shifting sharks of the World of Darkness, to your games. What are the Kahu hiding?  What lies at the bottom of ocean trenches? Why don’t sharks floss? Tune in and find out.

📄 Transcript of Crossover: Rokea in Mage

Show Notes

  • Rokea – Immortal weresharks, ancient sea-born shapeshifters who form Slews, use electric “Sending,” heal in saltwater, and ally with Mokolé.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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Reality Deviants Book Club: Dark City

Reality Deviants Book Club: Dark City

Adam and Pooka discuss Dark City (1998). Another movie that paints the World of Darkness on the screen for you to see. This one aligns so closely with Mage: The Ascension (First Edition) ; watch out for Paradox. Can this inspire you to portray Sphere effects in your game? Is it a good example of a mage’s Awakening? Can bald, creepy kids boost your game to the next level? Tune in and find out!

📄 Transcript of Reality Deviants Book Club: Dark City

Show Notes

  • Dark City (1998) – An amnesiac fugitive hunts his identity while evading police and reality-warping “Strangers.”
  • The Paradox Wheel – An online resource for Mage fans by DrunkDez.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

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Join our Discord server.

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Paradigm Shift: Stygian Library

Paradigm Shift: Stygian Library

Adam talks about Emmy Allen’s Stygian Library, the library that doesn’t end. Will your players find the knowledge they’re looking for? Can they evade the mysterious librarians and their super computer? The sister volume to Gardens of Ynn is full of ideas that may find a place in your Mage games. Just watch out for the ink blots. They stain.

Show Notes

  • Stygian Library overview (DriveThruRPG) – A strange old place, part haunted mansion, part endless library tucked outside the world.
  • Coins and Scrolls – OSR procedural dungeon design basics
  • Mage: The Ascension (White Wolf overview) – At its heart, Mage is all about the long road to Ascension. Nt just for one soul, but for all of humanity. Trouble is, nobody’s pinned down exactly what that means or how you get there.
  • Umbral Realms & High Umbra concepts – Folks also call it the Spirit World, the Shadow, or the Velvet Shadow, one of those places that’s right there beside our world, even if you can’t quite touch it. It runs alongside the everyday, separate but close, like a reflection in a dark window just waiting to be noticed.
  • Procedural generation in RPGs (design concepts)– “Xandering” a dungeon means designing it like the old-school masters did (full of branching paths, secret routes, and meaningful choices) so players truly explore and shape their own adventure instead of being led down a straight, railroaded path.
  • Ternary computing background (for Virtual Adept ideas) – A ternary (sometimes folks say trinary) computer is just a machine that counts a little different than most. Instead of using the usual on-or-off binary way of thinking, it works in threes. So where regular computers use bits, these use “trits,” giving them an extra option to work with each step of the way.

Executive Producers

Oracles

Bad Company • Buck Gregory • Christopher Phillips • Derek Semsick • DrawnCap • DrunkDez • Jason Vines • Rebecca Pool • Sean Gallagher • Spartacus • The Krewe of Erebuss

Archmasters

Berto • Brad-O-the Blue • Dan Svensson • Glacial Indifference • Jeffois • Leroy Bryce • Morgan Aran • Wolf Larryson

Acolytes

Aleks • Alexia • Ambiversion • Anders S • Ben Bandelow • Blaise Hebert • Bruno Teixeira • Bryce Perry • Bubba, The Pale One • Chartan • Cig • Curtis Hendricks • Darren Hennessey • Daniel Cuppen • Daniel Scribner • Dan Svensson • David Röhe • Ean Robertson • EBG • Eric Schwenke • Gray -Trilug- H • Guy Stewart • Ia Bull • James B • Jason Kennedy • Jenna F • Jeremy Z • Jervis Johnson • Kathleen Hailperin • Kevin Fitzpatrick • Khris Kinner • Leslie Weatherstone • Lolz & stuff • Loren Jensen • Manel Canós • Matthew Proehl • Maurice Hopkins • Melissa Krause • Michael Parker • Nebero • Nikita Kleymenov • Patrick McNamara • RobH • Ryan • Ryan Kendy • Ryan Stray • Samuel Tobin • Sev Nessus • Shell Konch • Starfish • Stefan Carton • Tyler Bryan • Will Vincent • Ygard

Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast.

Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments, and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends.

Follow Us

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

Join our Discord server.