Inspirisles vs Mage: The Ascension
Compare Inspirisles and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Inspirisles | Mage: The Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Modern, Horror |
| Tags | Collaborative, Beginner-Friendly, Family-Friendly, Narrative, Rules-Light, Low-Prep | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics |
| Core Mechanic | Leader rolls 3d6 against target 11. Party members assist by describing how they use elemental Shaping (sign language-based magic), adding bonuses. Roll 17–18 is automatic success; 3–4 is automatic failure. | 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 | 3d6 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | 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 | $ | $$ |
| Publisher | Hatchlings Games | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2021 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups wanting a family-friendly cooperative fantasy RPG that introduces sign language (ASL/BSL) and Deaf awareness through an enchanting Celtic-inspired setting. | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. |
| Highlights | Teaches real sign language (ASL and BSL) through play, strong safety tools and consent framework, inclusive and family-friendly, unique cooperative focus where every player contributes to tests | 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 narrow appeal, minimal mechanical depth beyond the core roll, tightly bound to its specific setting, sign language component may not suit all groups | 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. |