Hogwarts: An RPG vs Mage: The Ascension
Compare Hogwarts: An RPG and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Hogwarts: An RPG | Mage: The Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Modern, Horror |
| Tags | Magic School, Licensed IP, Family-Friendly, Mystery, Rules-Light, Roll to Cast, One-Shot Friendly, CC-Licensed Rules | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + trait (Bravery, Cunning, Intellect, Loyalty, or Magic). On 10+, full success. On 7–9, success with a cost or complication. On 6 or less, fail but mark Experience. Moves are triggered by the fiction: Basic Moves cover danger, stealth, persuasion, and knowledge; Magic Moves handle spellcasting, potions, dueling, and magical creatures; Quidditch Moves resolve matches. | 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 | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (original non-Harry Potter content and rules only; Harry Potter IP/trademarks excluded) | 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 Brunell-Brutman | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2020 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, Czech, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Ukrainian | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Best For | Harry Potter fans who want a rules-light, narrative RPG for playing out original stories at Hogwarts: especially groups with younger or first-time players | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. |
| Highlights | Complete 16-page game with character sheets, spell lists organized by school year, Quidditch match rules, and setting reference: all free. Mysteries mechanic drives story forward with player-generated questions. Friends & Rivals system creates immediate inter-character drama. Conditions track both emotional and physical harm with distinct recovery paths. | 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 | Unlicensed fan game with no official support from the IP holders. No structured character classes or playbooks: characters differ mainly by trait scores and House. Advancement is slow, tied to accumulating four Experience. No rules for combat beyond the Duel magic move: physical conflicts use the same basic 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. |