Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition Character Creation
Bend reality to your will
Create a mage who has Awakened to the truth: reality is what you believe it to be. Choose your Tradition, master the Spheres, and fight the Ascension War.
Quick Reference
Step 1: Choose Your Tradition
Your Tradition is your magical faction, the group that taught you magic and shares your worldview. Each Tradition has a different approach to Awakened magic and its own specialty Spheres.
Martial arts mystics who see magic as physical and spiritual discipline. They perfect body and mind as one.
Religious mystics who see magic as divine will and prayer. They channel the One through faith.
Hedonistic mystics who see magic through altered states and peak experiences.
Shamanic mystics who communicate with spirits and navigate the spirit world.
Death mystics who see magic through the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
Scholarly mages who see magic as science and formula. The oldest Western magical tradition.
Mad scientists who see magic as advanced technology rejected by the consensus.
Nature mystics who see magic through life, blood, and the primal forces of nature.
Digital mages who see magic through information, code, and virtual reality.
Step 2: Understand the Spheres
The nine Spheres represent the fundamental aspects of reality. You get 6 dots to distribute (plus 1 free dot in your Tradition affinity). No Sphere can exceed your Arete.
Space, connection, and distance. See anywhere, be anywhere, connect anything.
Fate, decay, and probability. Read destinies, cause decay, manipulate chance.
Energy in all forms. Fire, electricity, gravity, light, and kinetic force.
Living things and their processes. Heal, transform, or create life.
Inert physical substances. Transform, create, or destroy inanimate objects.
Thoughts and consciousness. Read minds, project thoughts, control wills.
Raw magical energy (Quintessence). Fuel spells, enchant items, dispel magic.
The Umbra and spirits. Step sideways, summon spirits, bind ephemera.
Past, present, and future. See through time, slow or speed it, even travel.
Step 3: Distribute Attributes
Distribute 7/5/3 dots across attribute categories.
The Price of Magic
Reality resists being changed. Vulgar magic (obvious, impossible effects) accumulates Paradox, especially when witnessed by Sleepers (ordinary humans). Too much Paradox triggers Backlash: reality punishing you with damage, mutations, or being thrown into a Paradox Realm.
Magic that could be explained as luck or coincidence. A gun jamming, a fortunate meeting, feeling better after rest. Safer and generates less Paradox.
Obviously impossible effects. Throwing fire from your hands, walking through walls, flying. Generates significant Paradox, especially with witnesses.