Brachyr System vs Mage: The Ascension

Compare Brachyr System and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.

	Brachyr System	Mage: The Ascension
Genre	Fantasy	Fantasy, Modern, Horror
Tags	Classless, Skill-Based, Tactical, Crunchy, Deadly, Social Combat	Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics
Core Mechanic	Roll a d8 'base die' plus a skill modifier equal to the number of abilities you possess in that skill, and meet or exceed a difficulty class assembled from +5 'complications' counted up for the task. You may add one tool die (sized d4 for a basic object up to d10 for a quality magical one) and one aid die supplied by a helping ally, all added together, though a check is hard-capped at those three dice (plus the modifier) so the totals never balloon. Attacks and debate arguments are resolved against a defence check the target rolls with a skill of their own, and the margin between the two rolls becomes the damage dealt to health or to a position.	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	d4–d10	d10 dice pool
Complexity	High	Very High
Accessibility	Very High	High
Runnability	Low	Very High
License	Proprietary	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	David Gower	Onyx Path Publishing
Year	2024	2015
Best For	Groups who want a crunchy, classless fantasy game where teamwork is mechanically central: coordinating tools and aid raises the whole party's odds, combat on a hex grid is deadly enough to demand cooperation, and social conflict gets the same tactical depth as a fight.	Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world.
Highlights	Most usable objects grant a tool die and an adjacent ally can lend an aid die, both added to your d8 base roll, while a hard cap of one tool die and one aid die per check keeps a coordinated, well-equipped party ahead of a lone expert without letting the totals balloon. Debates run as a full parallel to combat with their own initiative, rounds, and 'damage' dealt to a position, where gathered evidence acts as tool dice and named fallacies like Straw Man and Beg the Question function as special attacks. Weapons are assembled from a point-buy list of traits (Damage, Reach, Range, Parry, Aiding) rather than picked from a fixed list, so an improvised rope dart, torch, or household tool can be statted as readily as a sword.	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	Player options in the core rulebook reach only the lowest three of nine ability tiers, so the most powerful character abilities are defined but not accessible from this book alone. Resolution rests on a single d8 base die that tools and ally aid can supplement but never replace, so even high-skill characters see swingy results from roll to roll. There is no money or tracked coin: gear is acquired through an abstract Trade check against an item's difficulty scaled to social status, abstracting economic play away entirely.	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.