About the Mage M20 rules reference
Modern occult fantasy RPG
Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary is modern occult conspiracy fantasy. All nine Spheres, Arete rolls, a Paradox tracker and vulgar-vs-coincidental magick.
Mage (M20) is a dice pool game where your magical capability is expressed through Arete and Spheres. Coincidental vs Vulgar magic changes risk (Paradox). The roll flow has 3 steps: Decide the effect and which Spheres apply. Roll your pool (often Arete with modifiers) and interpret successes as effect/scale. Track risk: Vulgar effects can generate Paradox and consequences.
This page is a quick reference for Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary rules. It links to 4 rules topics so you can look up one mechanic without reading the whole book again.
How to use this page
- Use it during play: find the topic that matches the question at the table, read the short answer, then roll or move on. The Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary dice roller sits one click away.
- Open the Mage M20 dice roller when a rule asks for a roll, so the result follows the same mechanic described above.
- Track what changes on your Mage M20 character sheet, which supports 3 creation modes, so the next session starts from the current state.
- Move to a sibling page when the question changes: quickstart, glossary, GM resources, or advancement guide. Each one is built from the same Mage M20 data, so terms and numbers match across pages.
- Return to the Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary guide for the full overview, including character creation and every tool for this game.
Nothing on this page replaces the published Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary rulebook. It is a working reference for the table: short summaries of the 4 rules topics listed here, plus links to the tools that act on them.