Problem → workflow → tool
Keeping campaign notes in Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary
Keep sessions, characters, and notes in one place so your table stays aligned. Use the links below to apply the workflow in Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary and keep it consistent across sessions.
Workflow (do this first)
- Create the campaign in one tool, single source of truth for the table.
- After each session: one-paragraph recap plus any rules calls the GM made.
- NPC log: name, faction, motivation, one line each is enough to keep continuity.
- Tag scenes with the characters present so you can search by player or PC later.
Roll loop reminder (Mage)
Mage (M20) is a dice pool game where your magical capability is expressed through Arete and Spheres. Coincidental vs Vulgar magic changes risk (Paradox).
Example: A coincidental effect is explainable; a vulgar effect is obviously impossible and carries higher risk.
Key facts
- 9 Spheres: Correspondence, Entropy, Forces, Life, Matter, Mind, Prime, Spirit, Time
- 9 Traditions: Order of Hermes, Verbena, Virtual Adepts, Akashic Brotherhood, Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeakers, Euthanatos, Sons of Ether
- Arete system: Determines maximum Sphere dots usable in effects
- Paradox mechanics: Accumulates from Vulgar magic
- Coincidental vs Vulgar magic: Coincidental generates less Paradox
- Quintessence: Fuels magical effects
Common mistakes
- Mistake: Notes in a Discord chat nobody can find next week. Fix: Persistent campaign space, searchable, ordered by session, linked to characters.
- Mistake: Per-player notes that don’t share. Fix: One shared timeline; private side-notes are fine, but the canonical recap is communal.
Context (system overview)
Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition is a tabletop RPG where you play as Awakened mages who can bend reality through the Spheres. As a mage, you belong to a Tradition (like the Order of Hermes, Verbena, or Virtual Adepts) and use your understanding of reality to cast magic, all while managing Paradox and Consensus.