A podcast for Mage: The Ascension players, storytellers, and World of Darkness fans.
What does an New World Order science museum look like? Why did the Tremere frame House Díedne for diabolism? What’s it like to have an Arcane of 7? All of these questions are answered in the curious Isle of the Mighty, a crossover book for Mage the Ascension and Changeling the Dreaming. If you do not speak Changeling, do not fear, this episode features noted faeinmageologist, Victor Kinzer.
We talk with two creators about their Storyteller Vault creations. Charles Siegel, discusses Sources of Magick, a book on Nodes, what they could be, and how to use them. The second interview is with Secrets of the Masquerade on their Major Arcana Optional System which is a system to make magick dynamic during a game of Mage with changing rules to reflect the ebb and flow of the Spheres.
Some vampires have Thaumaturgy, some changing breeds have sorcery, but what about unAwakened mortals? World of Darkness: Sorcerer vastly expands the systems and options for linear or hedge magic beyond what previous books present. Adam and Terry walk through the world of sorcery and those who employ it and how to include sorcerers in your game.
People say it’s “just money” but money can turn into seemingly anything but how about turning into the very stuff of magick? Hypereconomics is a paradigm where practitioners manipulate reality and desire itself with tools no mystick would recognize. In addition, they also have access to the Primal Utility Sphere, pulling quintessence out of businesses and practicing some of the most subtle magick of any mages. This toolbox isn’t just for Technocrats and Victor Kinzer, Mage writer, and host of the always excellent Walking Away from Arcadia podcast, tells you how to use it.
Fighting the Ascension Conflict isn’t all about daring and fighting for principles. Someone has to pay for the Devices, the Sanctums, the cleaning crew, and that’s hoping there’s enough coin left over to get a vacation every now and then. Enter the Technocracy’s Syndicate. Adam and Terry talk about the last 2e Convention book and what makes the shine, as well as the skeletons they have in their closet as they make millions while making billions.
Mages are often behind the scenes in the war for reality, but what’s behind the veil of reality itself? What if reality were just the visible part of some impossibly advanced program? Who’s the programmer and what happens if you get access to the code? The God-Machine Chronicle gives a twist on the classic tales of god, angels, and demons. and developer Danielle Lauzon gives us a tour of what awaits those who plot against them.
Drawing their roots back to ancient Greece and Egypt, the Order of Hermes claims access to hidden knowledge only available to those willing to learn dead languages, find lost tomes, and push their cognitive and physical capacities almost to a breaking point, but it seems to work. Asshat or academics par excellence, schemers or savants? Adam and Terry discuss the storied history of a pivotal Tradition in Tomes of Magick: Order of Hermes.
It’s been almost 7 years since the last Technocracy-only book came out. So what are they up to now? Technocracy Reloaded, the upcoming M20 release on Kickstarter starting April 28th, answers that question in spades. Developers Danielle Lauzon and Travis Legge sit down with Terry for a wide-ranging conversation on how the Technocracy has been updated for the 21st century. Has there been a civil between the Syndicate and the N.W.O.? What’s it like having a family in the Technocracy? Can one of the Fallen possess a HIT Mark? Listen and find out!
Mage is a sprawling game and while it has dozens of supplements, how do you put them together into an actual game? Book of Mirrors: Mage Storytellers Handbook was written to provide ideas on alternative chronicle settings, some basic how tos, and an invaluable survey of the Ascension War. Adam and Terry walk through what it has to offer and provide recommendations for the parts that haven’t aged so well.
Mage has the Marauders, Nephandi, and Technocrats as default antagonists, but what about something a little off the beaten path? In Enemies of Ascension, we look at antagonists Storytellers can introduce and NPCs players can encounter from the wider World of Darkness. Charlie Cantrell, Changeling the Dreaming: 20th Anniversary writer, talks to Terry about the Adhene, Thallain and Dauntain from the world of the Changeling and how to add them to your game.