What is Mage: The Ascension?

In the first episode of Mage: The Podcast, Joseph Aleo interviews Mage: The Ascension co-creator and longtime developer Satyros Phil Brucato. What is Mage really about? Why do belief and consequence matter as much as magical power? How did the game change between its early editions, Revised, and Mage 20? And how can a Storyteller prepare a chronicle when the characters appear capable of almost anything? Timestamps 00:00 — Introducing Mage: The Podcast 01:14 — The story behind Satyros Phil Brucato’s name 08:06 — What is Mage: The Ascension? 10:10 — Reality, tribalism, media, and the internet 11:00 — The origins and early development of Mage 15:36 — Edition divisions and the goals of Mage 20 18:09 — Identity, representation, and cultural change 21:12 — Audience questions begin 22:21 — Gods & Monsters and Book of the Fallen 24:44 — Which World of Darkness themes remain relevant? 30:57 — Inheriting Mage and receiving creative control 35:32 — Mage as a life-changing and sacred responsibility 37:56 — How the Traditions changed over time 48:31 — The Virtual Adepts in the twenty-first century 51:14 — Moving beyond Traditions versus Technocracy 53:12 — The redesign of Focus in Mage 20 56:42 — How to prepare and structure a Mage chronicle 1:00:26 — Paradigm, Practice, Instruments, and game balance 1:03:57 — Myth, history, and avoiding definitive answers 1:06:48 — Closing thoughts and guest information IF YOU HAD THIS GODLIKE POWER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH IT? AND WHAT WOULD IT DO WITH YOU? #MageTheAscension #WorldOfDarkness #TabletopRPG #TTRPG #MageThePodcast