Mage: The Ascension vs Vaesen
Compare Mage: The Ascension and Vaesen side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mage: The Ascension | Vaesen | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Modern, Horror | Horror |
| Tags | Freeform Magic, Character Building, Crunchy, High-Power, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics | Investigation, Narrative, Atmospheric, Mystery, Character-Driven, Gritty, Deadly |
| 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 a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Push your roll to reroll failures but take a Condition (Exhausted, Wounded, Frightened, Hopeless). Mysteries follow a structured investigation format. Between mysteries, upgrade your shared headquarters. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | Low |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Year Zero Engine OGL |
| 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 | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2015 | 2025 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish | English, Swedish, German, Italian, Spanish, French |
| 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. | Investigation-focused Nordic horror campaigns where players uncover folklore mysteries, confront tragic mythological creatures, and build up a shared headquarters between cases. |
| 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. | Strong atmosphere and thematic design, structured mystery format keeps investigations focused, push mechanic creates tension, headquarters upgrades add campaign investment |
| 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. | Investigation success is heavily GM-dependent, narrow 19th century Nordic horror focus, dice system can feel too simple for complex mysteries, information layout can be hard to navigate |