Mage: The Ascension vs Original Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Mage: The Ascension and Original Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mage: The Ascension | Original Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Modern, Horror | Fantasy |
| Tags | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics | Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Exploration, Sandbox, Random Tables, Vancian Casting, Descending AC, Domain Management |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | Ability scores are rolled on 3d6, and combat uses a d20 attack matrix keyed to class or Hit Dice and Armor Class. Initiative uses dice, saving throws use class-and-level tables, and spellcasters have limited spells remembered per adventure. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $ |
| Publisher | Onyx Path Publishing | Tactical Studies Rules |
| Year | 2015 | 1974 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want long-form modern occult campaigns about reality-shaping power, ideological conflict, and the consequences of imposing belief on the world. | Groups who want an early fantasy campaign game with dungeon expeditions, open wilderness play, and substantial referee adjudication. It fits tables willing to choose or adapt procedures when the rules leave room. |
| Highlights | 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. | A class-and-level attack matrix turns a d20 roll into a direct Armor Class result. Separate dungeon, wilderness, aerial, and naval procedures let a campaign expand beyond expeditions. Referee-facing dungeon design and stronghold rules support an open campaign beyond a prepared scenario. |
| Considerations | 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. | Classes, race limits, spell lists, and attack matrices impose a specific early D&D structure. The original rules distribute important procedures across separate subjects rather than one universal task rule. Running strict 1974 requires separating the original rules from Chainmail references and later compilation material. |