A podcast for Mage: The Ascension players, storytellers, and World of Darkness fans.
Adam Simpson discusses the four editions of Mage: The Ascension and which ones are the best; Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition and Basic Expert; Satyros Brucato; Anders Mage Page; the Traditions and the Technocracy; Sleepers; Quintessence; Nodes; Talismans; the Umbra; power and politics; making Mage personal; people who become Mages; the Society of The Burning Wheel; Neil Gaiman’s Vertigo The Sandman comic book.
Adam Simpson discusses his Windy City Mage Chronicle he ran online; expectation of characters and Storytellers; side plots run amok; minor villains who become major villains; allowing players to shape the Chronicle.
On today’s show we chat with Josh Heath, Chief Operations Officer at High Level Games and host of Werewolf: The Podcast, joins us again to talk about the Storytellers Vault. We discuss camping; his Rage Across Australia podcast episode; my Marvel Universe theme park dream; what is the Storytellers Vault; the Dungeon Masters Guild; guidelines for the Storytellers Vault; adult content; Black Dog; submitting artwork; High Level Games 5 Reasons to Write for Storytellers Vault article; High Level Games editing services; Dark Shores: Lineages of the Great Lakes; Chronicle Guidelines Or Jumpstarts and why they are so difficult to write for Mage; submitting novels to the Storytellers Vault; Word, Google Docs, Dropbox Paper and Ulysses; Enlightened Grimoire; Dark New England Regional Sourcebook; Razors and Thunderbolts: The Ksirafai; Watch the World Burn; Island of the Dead God; the Onyx Pathcast episodes on freelancing and the Storytellers Vault; the High Level Games Convention in October.
Adam Simpson continues to wax eloquent on writing adventures for Mage: The Ascension. Adam discusses why he prefers to use the term “adventure” instead of “story;” globetrotting adventures; chantries; Neil Gaiman’s The Books of Magic and the synchronicity highway; traveling by ships, blimps and a Deep Umbra craft; collaborative story writing in adventures; jungle adventures; the Hierophant Altar.
On today’s show Adam Simpson discusses Paradox; Anders Sandberg and Anders Mage Page 2.0; Mage: The Ascension, 1st edition; the Loom of Fate adventure; Samuel Haight; the Chaos Factor adventure; the Book of Chantries, Digital Web, Digital Web 2.0 and Manifesto: Transmissions from the Rogue Council supplements; Adam’s subtractive method of writing adventures; settings and …
On today’s show Panos V. Skordas joins us to share the Ahriman Chronicles: Vile Nature of the Ascension War. We discuss how he got into role playing games; LARPs; what he enjoys about being a Storyteller; what he has learned in 19 years of Storytelling; the influence of authors Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker and J.K. Rowling; how his players changed his Storytelling; the tools he uses to run his Chronicles; how long it takes him to prepare his Chronicles; John Constantine, Hellblazer; how his Chronicle tied into the Ascension War; what made Ahriman Chronicles: Vile Nature of the Ascension War so special; how his Chronicle took a life of its own; orgies as a meta Chronicle; what he learned researching orgies; slut-shaming; the Blue Whale online game; American Gods; Arete.
On today’s show we chat with Josh Heath, Chief Operations Officer at High Level Games and host of Werewolf: The Podcast. We discuss Onyx Path’s Storytellers Vault; why he loves Werewolf: The Apocalypse; how he got into RPGs; Robotech and AD&D; his duties and responsibilities as Chief Operations Officer for High Level Games; Josh name dropped on last week’s Onyx Pathcast; the 25 Years of Vampire: The Masquerade podcast; what Josh has learned re-visiting Werewolf: The Apocalypse; Joseph Campbell’s myth cycle and hero’s journey; the forthcoming Gods, Monsters and Familiar Strangers WoD book Josh worked on; modern mythology and the why of the universe; Roy Scranton’s Learning to Die in the Anthropocene: Reflections on the End of a Civilization; Richard Wagner and Norse mythology; Roy Thomas’s The Mighty Thor comic book series; fairy tales; using myth in a group game; myth in Star Wars; mythological creatures, concepts and magic in the modern world; Neil Gaiman’s American Gods; Mage: The Sorcerer’s Crusade and Dark Ages: Mage; Comic-Con.
On today’s show Adam Simpson interviews Dr. Anders Sandberg of Anders Mage Page fame. Adam and Anders discuss building Mage pages for the early web; being a Research Fellow for the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford; how Anders discovered Mage: The Ascension; the similarities of Mage in science and academia; the movie WarGames; emails and message boards; the Internet Archive and the Wayback Machine; transhumanism; the Order of Hermes; Caribbean magic; Virtual Adepts; Eclipse Phase RPG; coincidental magic; versions of Mage; examples of Paradox; the holy grail; August Strindberg; Longinus; Sven Hedin; Buddhism and the Nephandi; city spirits; Cities on the Edge!; the strengths and weaknesses of Mage: The Ascension; Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman; World of Darkness crossover games; Time Bandits; how role playing games can help your career; using idea lists in your Chronicle; ending a Chronicle.
On today’s show Adam Simpson talks about Paradox in Mage. Adam discusses why magick has limitations; playing Mage without Paradox; X/1999 manga; player knowledge versus character knowledge; how to get rid of Paradox; manifestations of Paradox; Paradox Spirits; Paradox Realms; the Quiet; Domino Effect; The Sorcerers Crusade; the Scourge; Wild Paradox versus Mundane Paradox; examples of Paradox; Marauders.
On today’s show author Karin Tidbeck joins us to talk about Mage the Ascension: Refuge, a text-based interactive game for iOS and Android with a rich scenario full of plot twists, and the action takes place in a world at the dawn of a political revolution. We discuss how the game was developed; how she got involved with role playing games; Mutant; Lone Wolf; the challenges of writing a Choose Your Own Adventure-type of game; Twine; the difficulties of writing a game based on an intellectual property; Syrian refugees in Norway; accusations of political correctness; pan sexuality and polyamory; the sex magick controversy; LARPs; her books Amatka and Jagganath; the audio featured in Mage the Ascension: Refuge; what she found appealing in Mage: the Ascension; the difficulty of striking a balance in exploring dark themes in the game; freedom of speech versus safety is more important; why she chosen to portray the Technocracy agents holding anti-immigrant beliefs; her views of exploring yourself through role playing games; capturing dialogue; other intellectual properties she would like to write for; her latest novel, which has been acquired by Pantheon.