Mage: The Ascension vs TALES From the Loom
Compare Mage: The Ascension and TALES From the Loom side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mage: The Ascension | TALES From the Loom | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Modern, Horror | Fantasy |
| Tags | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Urban Fantasy | Character Building, Collaborative, Crunchy, Deadly, Exploration, Freeform Magic, Journaling, Narrative, Tactical, Worldbuilding |
| Core Mechanic | Roll an Attribute-plus-Ability pool of d10s and count dice meeting the difficulty, usually 6. Each rolled 1 cancels a success. A roll botches only when no die meets the difficulty and at least one die shows 1. Magick instead rolls Arete, the mage's enlightenment rating, against a difficulty based on the highest Sphere used and whether the effect violates ordinary reality. Successes determine the effect's extent. | Players roll a pool of d6s and count dice that meet or exceed a success threshold, usually 4+. They compare the successes with a GM-set difficulty rating. Three or more matching results create a WARP on a hit or a WEFT on a miss. The player then describes an extra benefit or a costly success, subject to GM approval. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Onyx Path Publishing | Jarren Magnell |
| Year | 2015 | 2025 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want long modern occult campaigns about conflicting beliefs and the consequences of reshaping reality. | Groups that want deep character customization, collaborative worldbuilding, and a GM comfortable adjudicating player-created magic. |
| Highlights | Nine Spheres combine into improvised magical effects beyond a fixed spell list. A mage's beliefs determine the practices and instruments that make those effects possible. Concealing magick within plausible events reduces the risk of reality's backlash. | The Weaving system prices player-created spells by tier and effect, giving each caster a distinct magical toolkit. WARPS and WEFTS turn matching dice into player-described benefits or complications, distributing narrative authority when matching results trigger. Reflections reward between-session character journaling with a bonus die on a later non-combat skill roll. |
| Considerations | Improvised magick requires the group to agree on what an effect can accomplish before rolling. Accumulated Paradox can injure a mage or trap them in a distorted reality. Cabals need shared motives to keep incompatible faction loyalties from pulling the campaign apart. | Freeform spell creation requires players and the GM to negotiate effects, costs, and scope. Combat uses abstract range and speed bands, so it does not provide grid-based positioning. Characters die at 0 Wounds by default, although an optional rule permits survival with a permanent reduction. |