Five Torches Deep vs Mage: The Ascension
Compare Five Torches Deep and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Five Torches Deep | Mage: The Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Modern, Horror |
| Tags | Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, Resource Management, Rules-Light, Gritty, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Roll to Cast | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs DC 11 (most checks). Four classes (Warrior, Thief, Zealot, Mage), levels 1–9. Supply (SUP) abstracts consumables, load limits gear, and equipment can break via durability rolls. Magic carries mishap risk. Compatible with both 5e and B/X adventures. | 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 | Medium | Very High |
| License | OGL 1.0a | 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 | Sigil Stone Publishing | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2019 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who like 5e's core d20 feel but want OSR resource scarcity, simplified classes, and deadlier dungeon crawling. | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. |
| Highlights | Bridges 5e familiarity with OSR lethality, supply system elegantly handles torches and rations, fits in 48 pages, dual-compatible with 5e and B/X content | 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 | Very slim: GMs may need to house-rule gaps, limited character options compared to full 5e, magic mishap table can feel punishing, no bestiary included | 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. |