Basic Fantasy RPG vs Mage: The Ascension
Compare Basic Fantasy RPG and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Basic Fantasy RPG | Mage: The Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Modern, Horror |
| Tags | Classic Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Rules-Light, Ascending AC, CC-Licensed Rules, Hackable, Modular, Dungeon Crawl | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + attack bonus against the target's ascending Armor Class. Saving throws use a d20 roll-over against category-specific target numbers. Ability checks are d20 roll-under. Character advancement uses class-based XP tables and hit dice. | 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 | d20 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 | 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 | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Basic Fantasy Project | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2023 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want a free, simple B/X-style game that modernizes classic D&D with ascending AC and separate race and class while remaining compatible with decades of OSR adventures. | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. |
| Highlights | Completely free PDF with at-cost print copies through Lulu, race and class are separate unlike B/X source material, highly compatible with classic B/X and OSR modules | 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 | Four core classes only (Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User, Thief) without supplements, racial class restrictions limit some combinations, no built-in setting or campaign framework | 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. |