Mage: The Podcast

Robert Batton, co-host of the 25 Years of Vampire: The Masquerade - A Retrospective podcast, has been running Vampire Chronicles from the intimate tabletop environment to the grand LARP for nearly 25 years. Recently, he’s added Mage: The Ascension to his offerings. Hear this veteran podcaster and Storyteller’s advice for your Mage Chronicle, reminders of what makes the game unique, and find out what really makes Mage the sexiest game involving wizards. Show Notes Time-Life Books’ Mysteries of the Unknown series. Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - The current tome of Vampire. HoL: Human Occupied Landfill - If you’ve played this, then you're officially a WW fanperson. Fiasco - One end of the “how structured is your game” spectrum. Shadowrun - A cybermagic future where people are actually out at night. The collected works of Stephen King - Guy’s written a loooooot. Shadowguiding. Wraith: The Oblivion - Listen to our Worlds of Darkness: Mage/Wraith Crossovers episode. Call of Cthulhu RPG. Cthulu prop guild, Propnomicon. The Baali - Demon worshipers of Vampire. The Beast. Mage does not need a morality system as the world functions as a morality system. Mage is the game where you get to be the genie. The idea of a power structure is daunting, if you can change reality, why would you listen to anyone? If you run into a character that doesn’t know what to do, work through it with them, ask what their options are and help them pick one. If they can’t and it keeps happening, maybe it's not their game. One of the most terrifying things you can do as a Storyteller is just let a player do what they want, even if it’s overpowered without batting an eyelash and giving them the subtle knowledge that something is going to come stomp their face in.

Among the Traditions, the Verbena most understand the cycles of power of sacrifices required to keep them going. The Verbena also may know best the sting of the Inquisition and what was lost at the end of the Mythic Ages but the wheel turns and what was old is new again.  Listen in as Adam and Terry talk about where the Verbena got their start, their understanding of the founding cosmology of the World of Darkness, and how little they've changed over time. Show Notes The “mature” shirts of the Redbubble store for Mage: the Ascension Comparison to first edition in ignoring Sleeper concerns Wheel of the Year and a shared Google calendar of them List what your character can’t do Once the player has proven they've done their homework, lean on them to fill in your ignorances Cutting off the top of the roast Magic doesn't need to follow real world practice The Egyptian Book of the Dead Valdaermen from Dark Ages: Mage Cernunnos as mentioned in Adam’s Adventure Ideas Tradition Book: Verbena (1st Edition) Traditions Gathered: Blood and Dreams Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade’s Witches and Pagans Big Book o' Lilith Revelations of the Dark Mother The Asatru Baphomet Anders Mage Page 2.0 Verbena Our executive producers a

Mark Hope discusses street level games: what street level games are, how to make your game a success and resources you can use to bring your game to life. Show Notes Hidden Lore’s alternate combat system and sample setting. Destiny’s Price’s use of street life, street culture, crime, gutter magick, settings, characters and gear. Initiates of the Art’s exploration of the Awakening, day-to-day life, rote, merits and flaws. Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure’s high-octane, high-adventure. Bitter Road is great for newly established mages. M20 Gods & Monsters is perfect for kids you might meet on the street, Umbrood, Night Folk, etc. Orphans Survival Guide is the one book you should read for your street level game and is chock full of useful information! Outcasts: A Players Guide to Pariahs explores the outcasts of the World of Darkness such as the vampire Caitiffs, werewolf Garou Ronin and the Hollow Ones. Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition Quickstart includes information not in M20 such as the Bridge Troll Cabal. Damnation City which details real-wold cities, how cities grow, NPCs and hot pursuit flowcharts. The Technocracy Convention books have great sample locations. The Laws of Ascension LARP guide has information you can use jet never appears in the Mage RPG. Book of Mirrors: Mage Storytellers Handbook. Photo by Muhammad Nafay. Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast. Our executive producers are: Richard “Bat” Brewster Ira Grace Michael Parker Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends. Subscribe to Mage: The Podcast on

Adam Simpson interviews Mage fan Paul Strack about his involvement with the early online fan community for World of Darkness, an example of tiered play and blending Mage: The Ascension with Mage: The Awakening rules. Show Notes World of Darkness news groups and moderators “The Umbra” by Paul Strack Anders Mage Page 2.0 Demographics in Mage Tiered play Playing one’s self in the World of Darkness Early days of the World of Darkness online fan community Writing for Anders Mage Page What makes Mage: The Awakening rules appealing Playing a Chronicle set in Mage: The Ascension using Mage: The Awakening rules Mage Translation Guide Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast. Our executive producers are Richard “Bat” Brewster and Ira Grace. Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends. Subscribe to Mage: The Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and TuneIn. Follow us on Twitter @magethepodcast

The Euthanatoi have been with the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions since its founding but are they misunderstood tenders of the wheel or death dealers with alien morality? Claimed by some to be half-Nephandi and others to be the Fallen's greatest enemy, Adam and Terry discuss the tension within the Euthanatoi and between it and the rest of the Council. Show Notes Why do the Traditions use a standard court setup What is a Hunga Munga? ...and what is a garrote? What happened to the House of Helekar and the Consanguinity of Eternal Joy? Who is Senex? Who hates the Nephandi the most? How much does this book rewrite Euthanatos in first edition Mage? How do the Thuggee Cults bear on the Tradition? How about world traditions of Metempsychosis and Gilgul? Book of Chantries episode Book of Chantries Madness, Denial, and Morbidity episode Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand V20 The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra Ends of Empire Our executive producers are Richard “Bat” Brewster and Ira Grace. Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends. Subscribe to Mage: The Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and TuneIn. Follow us on Twitter @magethepodcast

We’re told that the fae and changelings are, well, just fairy tales, but in the World of Darkness dreams made manifest are very, very real. Join Terry Robinson and Walking Away from Arcadia's Victor Kinzer for a guide to adding Changelings to your Chronicle as friends, foes, or something simply strange. Show Notes Victor and Simon Eichhörnchen’s excellent podcast, Walking Away from Arcadia Simon’s book, Kithbook: Faun Shows that evoke Changeling: Gravity Falls Legion Star vs. the Forces of Evil The Little Prince Changeling Crossover books: Isle of the Mighty Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Other books mentioned: Graceful Wicked Masques - The Fair Folk Concepts: Fomorians Adhene The Dreaming Kiasyd Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast. Our executive producers are Richard “Bat” Brewster and Ira Grace. Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends. Subscribe to Mage: The Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and TuneIn. Follow us on Twitter @magethepodcast

Rachelle Udell has been the author on such diverse Mage titles as The Bitter Road, Revelations of the Dark Mother, and to the Disparate Alliance section of the Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition core rulebook. On today’s show, Rachelle and Terry talk about how Rachelle got into writing for Mage, where she sees the Ahl-i-Batini in the 21st century and, of course, why buying Neiman Marcus collard greens is a cry for help. “It’s worth noting that Revelations of the Dark Mother was written by me and my longtime Mage collaborator Rachelle Udell/Mara Elkheart, with the intention that it's essentially a Vampire/Mage crossover ‘gospel.’” —Satyros Brucato Show Notes The Mage Cookbook Revelations of the Dark Mother The Bitter Road Fallen Tower: Las Vegas Chicago By Night Ahl-i-Batin Lost Paths: Ahl-I-Batin and Taftani The Foxfire books The Nephandi Dervish The Bata’a The Kopa Loei Patti Smith The remarkably long Tartine Croissant recipe Butterhorn Cookies Tea Siphon Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast. Our executive producers are Richard “Bat” Brewster and Ira Grace. Contact us at magethepodcast@gmail.com with feedback and comments and please help extend the reach of the show by sharing it with friends. Subscribe to Mage: The Podcast on iTunes,

Adam and Terry discuss the sometimes over-the-top mechanical horror of first edition Technocracy: Iteration X. The Clockwork Convention gave us the unfeeling malevolent robots in the form of HIT Marks but what else can they bring to the table? To what extent was Iteration X just a response to the killer robot phase of the early 90s? How did the first convention to explicitly say it has non-Western origins get its start? Show Notes Technocracy Assembled Technocracy: Progenitors Primal community sphere William Smith as a Tholidomide victim Interview with Matt Webb on how the Technocracy can never truly be the good side Harry Potter Terminator movie! Possible Easter Egg in the 1953 movie, Robot Monster I, Robot by Isaac Asimov Convention of the White Tower Exalted’s Autocthonia Psychohistory and the Foundation books The myth of Procrustes Taylorism “Blindsight” The Happiness Hypothesis Daoism and Confuscianism Anders Mage Page 2.0 on The Core Become a supporter of Mage: The Podcast. Our executive producers are Richard “Bat” Brewster and Ir

Mage’s premise assumes humanity and the characters matter. What if the universe doesn't care? Terry Robinson and Josh Heath, COO of High Level Games and host of Werewolf: The Podcast discuss cosmicism, the belief that there is no divine presence and that humanity is particularly insignificant. How to combine the epic and indifferent? Show Notes The deeply problematic H.P. Lovecraft and his best critic, S.T. Joshi “The Call of Cthulhu” “The Dunwich Horror” At the Mountains of Madness “Herbert West–Reanimator” “The Colour Out of Space” “Dagon” “The Horror at Red Hook” The Shadow over Innsmouth “Pickman’s Model” The Whisperer in Darkness The Void Event Horizon Pandorum Life Nietzsche on nihilism Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff Harlem Unbound by Chris Spivey Heirs to the Mountains of Madness by Josh Heath Mage: The Podcast Myth in Mage interview with Josh Heath Nephandi Werewolf: The Apocalypse The Triat of the

We live in a world full of gods and monsters: spirits, creatures, Paradox entities, Avatar aspects, vampires, beast-folk, godheads, primordial legends, and other creatures too strange for the average mind to conceive. On this episode, Adam Simpson and Terry Robinson talk with the authors who brought these entities to life in Gods & Monsters, the latest supplement for Mage 20 from Onyx Path Publishing. The authors share their experience researching, selecting, and writing about the entities in this compendium. Discussed: The status of Satyros' car How 20,000 words in art description made sure every entity in the book was pictured Research difficulties for folklore Gamer-proofing lore How culture provides tools to deal with adversity Listener questions Guests: Hiromi Cota Dear High Elves podcast Isabella Price Nocturnal Emissions pod cast Nocturnal Emissions Youtube channel Nocturnal Emissions on Facebook Nocturnal Emissions on Twitter James H. Sambrano Presenting at Norwescon Satyros Phil Brucato Satyros Phil Brucato on Patreon Powerchords: Music, Magic & Urban Fantasy RPG Telesterion (his band!)