Brindlewood Bay vs Mage: The Ascension

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

	Brindlewood Bay	Mage: The Ascension
Genre	Horror, Modern	Fantasy, Modern, Horror
Tags	Investigation, Mystery, Collaborative, Player-Only Rolls, Narrative, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Corruption	Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics
Core Mechanic	PbtA framework: roll 2d6 plus ability modifier, with 10+ as a strong hit, 7–9 as a hit with complication, and 6 or less as a miss. Mysteries have no pre-written solution; players gather clues through the Meddling Move, then use the Theorize move to propose a solution and roll to see if it is correct. The Theorize roll adds the number of clues found minus the mystery's complexity rating (6–8). Putting on a Crown after any roll lets a player bump the result up one tier at the cost of marking narrative consequences on their character sheet.	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	2d6	d10 dice pool
Complexity	Low	Very High
Accessibility	Medium	High
Runnability	Low	Very High
License	Carved from Brindlewood (third-party content license)	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	The Gauntlet	Onyx Path Publishing
Year	2022	2015
Languages	English, French, German, Polish	English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish
Best For	Groups who want a collaborative mystery game where players piece together clues and collectively theorize solutions, blending cozy small-town charm with creeping cosmic horror	Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world.
Highlights	Mysteries have no predetermined solution: players gather clues, then Theorize to assemble the answer themselves. The Day/Night structure balances cozy daytime vignettes against dangerous nighttime investigation. The Crown lets a player bump a roll up one tier in exchange for marking long-term character consequences.	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	Keeper must improvise heavily since mysteries have no fixed solutions, Day/Night move split requires tracking time of day carefully, the dark conspiracy campaign arc may not appeal to groups who only want standalone mysteries, combat is not a focus and physical danger is resolved through the same general moves as everything else	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.