Mage: The Ascension vs Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Compare Mage: The Ascension and Shadow of the Weird Wizard side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mage: The Ascension | Shadow of the Weird Wizard | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Modern, Horror | Fantasy |
| Tags | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics | Heroic, Beginner-Friendly, Short Sessions, Strong GM Support, Character Building |
| 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. | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) modify the roll. Luck replaces traditional experience, driving both advancement and dramatic moments. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | Very High | Low |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Weird Wizard SRD |
| 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 | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Year | 2015 | 2024 |
| 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 a lighter, heroic take on the Shadow of the Demon Lord engine with fast play and deep character options. |
| 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. | Streamlined rules with few exceptions, novice/expert/master path system offers deep character combinations, Luck mechanic doubles as advancement and resource currency |
| 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. | Setting tightly coupled to core rules, shares most mechanics with Shadow of the Demon Lord |