Mage: The Ascension vs The Witcher TRPG
Compare Mage: The Ascension and The Witcher TRPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mage: The Ascension | The Witcher TRPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Modern, Horror | Fantasy |
| Tags | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics | Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Dark Fantasy, Deadly, Licensed IP, Investigation, Social Combat |
| 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 1d10 + Stat + Skill against a target DC or an opponent's matching roll. Rolling a natural 10 explodes upward (roll again and add); rolling a natural 1 explodes downward (roll again and subtract). Critical wounds are triggered by beating a defense by 7+, with escalating severity at 10, 13, and 15 over the target. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d10 |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| 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 | R. Talsorian Games |
| Year | 2015 | 2018 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish | English, Polish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese |
| 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 dark, morally complex fantasy setting where monster hunting requires preparation and research, and where combat is dangerous enough that drawing a sword is always a serious decision. |
| 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. | Lifepath character creation generates backstory, enemies, and relationships through random tables tied to the Witcher setting. Hit-location combat with four tiers of critical wounds creates tense, consequential fights. Detailed alchemy and crafting systems let characters prepare oils, bombs, and decoctions before hunting monsters. Verbal Combat subsystem resolves social conflicts with the same mechanical weight as physical fights. |
| 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. | Combat involves multiple subsystems (hit location, armor penetration, critical wounds, stamina management) that slow resolution until internalized. Character creation takes significant time due to the Lifepath tables and seven-step process. The Witcher profession is mechanically stronger than most other professions. Tightly tied to the Witcher IP, limiting use outside that setting. |