Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition vs Mage: The Ascension
Compare Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition and Mage: The Ascension side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition | Mage: The Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Modern, Horror |
| Tags | Crunchy, Tactical, Character Building, Exploration, High-Fantasy, CC-Licensed Rules | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics |
| Core Mechanic | d20 + modifier vs. DC/AC with advantage/disadvantage. Adds expertise dice, combat maneuvers with exertion pool, and structured exploration/social systems. | 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 | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | CC BY 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 | EN Publishing | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2021 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Best For | 5e players who want deeper character builds, meaningful exploration and social pillar mechanics, and combat maneuvers without changing the core d20 framework. | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. |
| Highlights | Backwards-compatible with 5e adventures, much deeper exploration and social pillars, combat maneuvers for martial classes, rich origin system (heritage + culture + background + destiny) | 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 | More complex than base 5e, some players find the extra systems overwhelming, Requires the separate Trials & Treasures book for GM tools and magic items while monsters are in the Monstrous Menagerie book. | 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. |