Mage: The Podcast

Some RPGs are swashbuckling sagas, others are intimate dramas, and others are simply about surviving a brutal world. Mage can be all those things, but how? Professional game and fiction writer Rai Cole of the Bonus Experience podcast gives solid advice on how to build your Mage setting, how to change the stock World of Darkness, and things you can steal from other games that work well in the Storyteller System.Games Mentioned Monster Care Squad - A game where you serve as vets for sick monsters Americana - A supernatural game about a greaser era that never was. BXP interview about it. Blades in the Dark - A game of stress and choices with a free public SRD Last Blood - Comic about vampires protecting humans against zombiesRai's Other Work A Light Extinguished - Scion Quickstart Bonus Experience - Rai and Monica's podcast about game design Cult of the Blood Gods - Book on blood cults in Vampire RaiWCole on TwitterCommunity Works 9 Things I Like about Mage by Camak Players Becoming Characters by Undead Foodstuffs'  Remember: Modify it if it displeases you!

Mage can be a game of cosmic chess or one of gritty urban realism, but what about something in between? Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure guides storytellers in how to make a high action, not just adventure, but dark adventure chronicle without leaving the World of Darkness. Adam and Terry go through the systems, themes, and tools, what you should include and what you can probably leave out.Other setting books: Horizon: Stronghold of Hope - a guide to an otherworldly and high mage count game Destiny's Price - a first edition-ish Black Dog publication for a very gritty urban game Orphan's Survival Guide - the other "city" book for MageOther episodes: Horizon: Stronghold of Hope episode Destiny's Price episode Orphan's Survival Guide episode

Chronicles of Darkness has their vampires, werewolves, and changelings, but what are their mages like? More importantly, what can we steal from them? Occultists Anonymous, a Mage: The Awakening liveplay explains what they think makes the game so special and what the coolest bits of the game are.Books referenced: Mage the Awakening 2e - Current edition of Mage the Awakening Chronicles of Darkness 2e - Core rulebook that also includes information for the default Chronicles setting. Mage Translation Guide - An explainer on how to move a game from Ascension to Awakening and back. Also does a good explainer of the metaphysics of both games. Mage Translation Toolkit - 1e Awakening, Revised Ascension, the Translation Guide, and 1e Chronicles of Darkness. A bit outdated but a very good price.

The Ascension War is an epic struggle for control of reality but not everyone wants to be part of that war as some fight just to survive. How can a faction-less mage make it in Mage's urban fantasy setting while staying safe and independent? Orphan's Survival Guide picks up and expands where Destiny's Price and Outcasts: A Players Guide to Pariahs left off and Adam and Terry walk you through it.Books mentioned:  Destiny's Price - A book on hard-scrabble life in the city with a few locations and set pieces and rules for swarms and drugs. Initiates of the Art - A book on playing a newly Awakened mage.Other books: Travels with Lizbeth - book on traveling and surviving while homeless Down and Out in Paris and London - semi-autobiographical account of being homeless by George Orwell Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman book on the trials of a young wizard discovering magicA picture of Adam's tantoean5c8sz

The World of Darkness is full of supernatural horrors, demonic entities, subterranean monsters, and bygone creatures, but how about aliens? In the second episode celebrating weird stuff from space, Charles and Terry talk about the Ka Luon, the Zigg'raugglurr, the Hui:xa, and the Watchers in the Deep and the mortals who love them.Also! There's a 25% sale on DTRPG right now, if you order at least $100 in stuff using our affiliate code and we'll do a shout out to you. Pages Referenced: Hui:xa - possible super advanced aliens of which Khuvon is a member Zigg'raugglurr - Time-hopping reptilian quintessence thieves Ka Luon - Greys that have been either in a war with the Zigg, the Technocracy, or both since the 50sBooks referenced: Ascension - Final book in Mage series, also contains scenario Whimper Not a Bang where aliens ruin everything Beyond the Barriers - Book that details the Watchers in the Deep Infinite Tapestry - Give information on the Hive Dwellers and other maybe aliens Mage 1st Edition - Original reference of the Zigg Sorcerer Revised - Update on sorcery for Revised including the new Star Council World of Darkness: Sorcerer - Original book on sorcery, when the Thal'hun were their own thing

The Digital Web is a Zone that cuts across all layers of the Umbra and is rare for being accessible my mortals. So what does it look like, how do you get there, and how has it changed in the five years since the original Digital Web supplement was launched? Adam and Terry walk through the state of the Digital Web after the Great Whiteout, the difference between a troika and a Bogie, and how to avoid getting derezzed in their discussion of Digital Web 2.0.First Digital Web Tomes of Magick episode - Adam and Terry talk....at length about the still entirely usable book.Other Books Mentioned: Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure - Our next Tomes of Magick book Mage Chronicles, Volume 1 - Reprint book that includes the original Digital Web book as well as Book of Chantries

We've talked about changelings, and we've talked about Technocrats, but we've never talked about body snatching space changelings and the Void Engineers who love them...and by that we mean shut them down. Changeling: Countless Dreams is a 176 page supplement detailing how to introduce creatures powered by humanity's dreams and nightmares about space to your chronicle.  Author Simon Eichhörnchen and editor Victor Kinzer break the book down and provide power ideas and plots for your game.Changeling: Countless Dreams - Includes custom character sheet, Countless logos, the text, and a mobile versionWalking Away from Arcadia - The podcast that Simon and Victor do on Changeling the Dreaming.Additional STV releases from friends of Mage the Podcast: Past is Prologue - A Dark Ages: Fae supplement by Radio Free Arcadia expanding on the setting including new abilities, lore, and a new Dominion. The Second Transmission - The Second Transmission: The Secret Frequency Files 2 is collection of story hooks, settings, antagonists and rules updates, for use with Chronicles of Darkness 2nd edition, including Vampire, Mage, Werewolf, Changeling, and more.

Legends are full of magic wands, enchanted slippers, and sacred artifacts of immeasurable power, but what kind of Wonders to console jockeys, ethernauts, and mirrorshades get? Technomancer's Toybox answers that question in spades and Adam and Terry do a rapid tour of what techies and their friends use instead of cauldrons and potions picking out their favorites and those that should have stayed on the drawing board. Other Books with Wonders: Mystic Armory - Storyteller Vault title with all published Wonders in them Forged by Dragon's Fire - Big book of mystick items Guide to the Technocracy - Vastly expanded rules for Technocratic Wonders and focuses  Book of Secrets - M20 series book with expanded Wonder rulesOther Books: World of Darkness: Combat - Generic WoD supplement with vastly expanded weapons Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure - Next in our review series! Other References: Pineapple Army - Manga featuring a grenade launcher mentioned in this book Neuromancer - William Gibson novel involving using a slow virus to infiltrate a protected system

Where did the Unofficial White Wolf Wiki come from? What's the state of RPG technology? How does the Trinity Continuum work? Ian AA Watson, developer and community manager for Onyx Path answers all of these in a wide-ranging conversation. The Wiki Update Event on Facebook The Mage the Podcast DiscordThings Ian has worked on: Guide to the Traditions - Ian's first credit Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook - The core book for the Trinity Settings Trinity Continuum: Aeon - Future setting for TrinityOther things mentioned:The Scion phone editionPost Human Studios - The publisher behind the Eclipse Phase RPG

What does an NWO science museum look like? Why did the Tremere frame House Diedne 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 note faeinmageologist, Victor Kinzer. Books you may want for crossover: Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Book of Lost Dreams - Includes crossover books for the Prodigals Changeling Storytellers Guide - Earlier book that also includes crossover rules The Enchanted - Book on how to introduce the Enchanted to your games. Mortals who can see changeling magic and for whom the Mists have partedChangeling: Countless Dreams - Victor's latest project as editor with writer Simon Eichhörnchen about changelings from the dreams of science fiction. Contains amazing crossover potential with the Void Engineers.Adam's links - These are fixed links from the back of the book Stats Wales Edinburgh College Elementary Course Gaelic Glasgow Herald National Museum of Scotland Online Scotland Stirling College Bagpipe Web Directory The Book of Taliesin: Poems of Warfare and Praise in an Enchanted Britain