Art of Wuxia vs Mage: The Ascension

Compare Art of Wuxia and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.

	Art of Wuxia	Mage: The Ascension
Genre	Fantasy, Historical	Fantasy, Modern, Horror
Tags	Martial Arts, Heroic, Cinematic, Skill-Based, Character-Driven, Hackable, Random Tables, Strong GM Support, Fast-Paced	Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics
Core Mechanic	Roll d100 equal to or under a skill or ability score. Skills are calculated from a base ability score plus 10 per skill level, with bonuses for primary and secondary skill designations. Doubles (11, 22, 33, etc.) are critical: a critical success if under the target, a critical failure if over. Rolls of 00–05 always succeed and 96–99 always fail. Characters can take multiple actions per turn at a cumulative −20% penalty each, creating a press-your-luck dynamic. Qi points fuel kung fu techniques and mystic abilities.	Build a d10 pool from an Attribute plus an Ability and count each die that meets or exceeds the difficulty, usually 6. Each rolled 1 cancels a success, and a roll with no successes and at least one 1 botches. Magick uses Arete instead: the highest Sphere plus coincidence or vulgarity and witnesses establishes the base difficulty, with situational modifiers applied afterward. Successes determine the Effect, and vulgar casting risks Paradox.
Dice	d100	d10 dice pool
Complexity	Low	Very High
Accessibility	Medium	High
Runnability	Very High	Very High
License	Proprietary (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 applies to DwD Studios trademarks only; noncommercial printing of this document permitted)	All Rights Reserved
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Cost	$	$$
Publisher	DwD Studios	Onyx Path Publishing
Year	2020	2015
Languages	English	English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish
Best For	Groups who want cinematic wuxia adventures with fast percentile-based mechanics, 25 distinct kung fu styles, and adjustable sliders for how fantastical the martial arts become.	Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world.
Highlights	25 kung fu styles each with unique techniques, weapon proficiencies, and internal/external classifications. Cinematic Sliders let the GM adjust how fantastical combat and movement are: from grounded martial arts to high-flying xianxia. Moral code system ties character virtues to cultivation point rewards, reinforcing wuxia genre conventions. Built-in adventure and random dungeon generators with extensive creature bestiary.	Nine Spheres combine to build open-ended Effects, allowing the same capability to emerge through different paradigms, practices, and instruments. Coincidental and vulgar classifications make subtlety a tactical choice because conspicuous magick raises difficulty and accumulates Paradox. Focus ties belief to procedure, so a mage's worldview determines the tools and rituals used to alter reality.
Considerations	Setting is tightly focused on wuxia: groups wanting other martial arts subgenres (samurai, muay thai) would need adaptation. There is no free quickstart or SRD, and the stated Creative Commons grant applies only to DwD Studios trademarks rather than the core rules text. d00Lite system's skill score calculation (half ability + 10 per level + primary/secondary bonus) requires cross-referencing several values during character creation.	Improvised Effects place frequent adjudication on the Storyteller, who must apply Sphere permissions, focus, required successes, and consequences consistently. Vulgar magick generates Paradox even on success, so overt power can punish a mage through injury or metaphysical breakdown. Faction choices can make a cabal internally hostile, so character concepts need shared motives before play.