Ironsworn vs Mage: The Ascension
Compare Ironsworn and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ironsworn | Mage: The Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Modern, Horror |
| Tags | Narrative, Solo-Friendly, Rules-Light, Sandbox, Low-Fantasy, Exploration, Theater of the Mind, CC-Licensed Rules, Random Tables | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d6 + stat vs two d10 challenge dice. Beat both for a strong hit, beat one for a weak hit, beat neither for a miss. Momentum can cancel challenge dice. Progress tracks measure long-term objectives; iron vows drive the narrative forward. | 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 | d6 + 2d10 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | 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 | Shawn Tomkin | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2018 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, Spanish | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Best For | Solo or small-group dark fantasy questing with fiction-first moves, oracle tables, and zero GM-prep play. | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. |
| Highlights | Fully free PDF, well-designed solo play, momentum system creates tension, oracle tables eliminate need for a GM | 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 | Progress track math can feel opaque at first, oracle tables can produce contradictory results requiring interpretation, limited asset variety in the base game, momentum economy requires careful management | 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. |