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Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary character sheet: every box explained
Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition uses the classic World of Darkness sheet: nine Attributes in a Physical / Social / Mental grid, Abilities split into Talents, Skills, and Knowledges, and the mage-specific Spheres section. Arete, Quintessence, and Paradox are the three numbers that define your magical capability.
Character identity
- name
Your mage's real name.
How to fill: Pick a name that fits the setting and your character concept.
Example: Dr. Adira Okafor
- concept
A short phrase capturing who your mage is.
How to fill: Combine their mundane role and magical approach.
Example: Skeptical neuroscientist who bends reality through equations
- tradition
Your magical faction (Tradition, Convention, or Craft), which shapes your paradigm and focus.
How to fill: Choose one: Akashayana, Celestial Chorus, Cult of Ecstasy, Dreamspeakers, Euthanatoi, Hollow Ones, Order of Hermes, Sons of Ether, Verbena, Virtual Adepts (or a Technocratic Convention, or Disparate Craft).
Example: Virtual Adepts
- focus
How your mage performs magic: the paradigm, practice, and instruments they use.
How to fill: Describe the belief system and tools. This is one of the most important creative choices in Mage.
Example: Hypertech: reality is code, hacked through custom devices and programming
- avatar_description
The nature and appearance of your Avatar: the fragment of the Prime that gives you magical power.
How to fill: Describe how your Avatar manifests (visions, a voice, a recurring symbol).
Example: A flickering holographic cat that appears in reflective surfaces
- nature
Your true inner personality archetype (grants Willpower recovery).
How to fill: Pick an Archetype (Caregiver, Rebel, Visionary, etc.). You regain Willpower when you act on it.
Example: Visionary
- demeanor
The personality you present to the world (may differ from Nature).
How to fill: Pick an Archetype. This is how others perceive you.
Example: Loner
- essence
Your Avatar's fundamental nature: Dynamic, Pattern, Primordial, or Questing.
How to fill: Choose one. Affects how your Seekings (Arete advancement quests) play out.
Example: Questing
- cabal
Your mage group's name.
How to fill: Decide with your group.
Example: The Midnight Protocol
Attributes
- strength
Raw physical power.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 dots. Attributes start at 1; distribute 7/5/3 dots across Physical/Social/Mental (in any priority order).
Example: 2
- dexterity
Agility, reflexes, and coordination.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Physical priority.
Example: 2
- stamina
Endurance and toughness. Determines Health levels with Bruised through Incapacitated.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Physical priority.
Example: 2
- charisma
Charm, presence, and social magnetism.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Social priority.
Example: 3
- manipulation
Ability to influence and steer others through argument, deception, or subtlety.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Social priority.
Example: 3
- appearance
Physical attractiveness and presence (M20 uses Appearance, not Composure).
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Social priority.
Example: 2
- perception
Awareness, noticing details, and sensory acuity.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Mental priority.
Example: 4
- intelligence
Reasoning, memory, and analytical ability.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Mental priority.
Example: 4
- wits
Quick thinking and reacting under pressure.
How to fill: Rate 1-5 within your Mental priority.
Example: 3
Spheres
- correspondence
Sphere of space and connections: scrying, teleportation, correspondence sensing.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots. Starting mages get 6 dots to distribute across all Spheres (max 3 at creation). Your Tradition often suggests an Affinity Sphere.
Example: 2
- entropy
Sphere of fate, decay, probability, and disorder.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your 6-dot Sphere budget.
Example: 0
- forces
Sphere of energy: fire, electricity, gravity, light, sound, kinetic force.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget.
Example: 3
- life
Sphere of living things: healing, shapeshifting, biological manipulation.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget.
Example: 0
- matter
Sphere of inert physical substances: transmutation, crafting, destroying objects.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget.
Example: 1
- mind
Sphere of thoughts, emotions, and mental phenomena.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget.
Example: 0
- prime
Sphere of raw magical energy (Quintessence) and the Tapestry itself.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget. Needed to create lasting magical effects and channel Quintessence.
Example: 0
- spirit
Sphere of the Umbra (spirit world), spirits, and the Gauntlet.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget.
Example: 0
- time
Sphere of temporal perception and manipulation.
How to fill: Rate 0-5 dots from your Sphere budget.
Example: 0
Derived stats
- arete
Your enlightenment and magical skill: the number of dice you roll for magic.
How to fill: Starts at 1 (can buy up to 3 with freebie points at creation). Increases through Seekings (in-game quests).
Example: 2
- quintessence
Raw magical energy stored in your Avatar. Spent to fuel powerful Effects and reduce Paradox.
How to fill: Starting Quintessence equals your Avatar Background rating (0-5).
Example: 3
- paradox
Accumulated reality backlash from vulgar magic. High Paradox risks Paradox Backlash (reality punishing you).
How to fill: Starts at 0. Accumulates during play when you cast vulgar magic (especially with witnesses).
Example: 0 (at creation)
- willpower
Mental fortitude and determination. Spent to gain automatic successes or resist mental effects.
How to fill: Starts at 5 (can raise with freebie points). Maximum 10. Refreshes through Nature fulfillment.
Example: 5
About Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary
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.