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, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics | Character Building, Collaborative, Crunchy, Deadly, Exploration, Freeform Magic, Journaling, Narrative, Tactical, Worldbuilding |
| 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. | 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 |
| 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 that want deep character customization, collaborative worldbuilding, and a GM comfortable adjudicating player-created magic. |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |