Mage

Introduction

Heaven and hell are within us, and all the gods are within us.
-Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

The Tree

Five came together in near-darkness from many places and destinies that night, the crescent moon shining on their faces, blossoms fluttering in twilight.

Clarissa ran her slender hands over the trunk of the ancient apple tree. "So old, so beautiful..." she whispered.

"It suits," Peter Kobie shrugged as he passed around a goblet. All drank its fiery contents, then joined hands, circling the tree. They danced in a whirl of madness, faster and faster. Just as their frenzy reached its peak, the earth began to tremble. In a burst of color, ribbons of energy rippled forth from the top of the rotting old trunk. The dancers dropped hands, each reaching out to seize the streamers of power, each pulling the nbbons into their own souls. Only when all the streamers were captured did the dance renew, this time with the flowing bands of color woven in and out by the dancers. As moonlight faded, the glowing streamers became braided about the tree, the twining of warp and weft gradually covering the apple tree from top to trunk, binding into one essence the power spewing forth.

When the moon fell and sunlight touched the faces of the five, they lay in sleep about the gnarled roots of aglorious young apple tree, its tiny green leaves glowing with renewed life, fresh blossoms brushing the contented faces at its feet.

Reality is up for grabs. Magick is the key; Ascension is the goal.

Magick is not dead, no matter what we may think. It slumbers beneath the weight of disbelief, but it is notdead. In the mists of spirit worlds and the shadows of hidden sanctums, in the laboratories of the Awakened and the sacred places of the Dreamers, magick is alive.

Humanity sleeps; our fragile minds and shackled imaginations have put the divine spark within us into a deep slumber. To Awaken from this sleep, a Mage embraces that inner spark, that Avatar, and accepts True Magick, the Art which shapes reality.

By Awakening to magick's truth, each Mage unlocks a vision. Each vision leads to a Path, a destiny of change that pits a Mage against herself, her fellows and fixed reality itself. A war is being fought in the shadows. Magick is the tool, the prize and the vision. Paradox, the backlash of disbelief, is the price of failure, and pride becomes the legacy of foolishness.

The world of Mage is a dark modern fantasy where reality is commanded with a thought and hopelessness poisons the very earth. Stories told in this mystick World of Darkness become heroes quests, journeys of self-discovery that step beyond our mundane lives. Mage is a game, true, but a game of tales told, not winners and losers. Like campers around a fire, players in a Storytelling game create shared folklore and have a damned good time doing it.

An ideal Mage story mixes mystery and wonder with action, suspense, terror and a bit of humor. Such tales are modern mythology, streetwise yet enigmatic. Like the Mages themselves, Storytelling games are active and ever-changing.

All evolution in thought and conduct must at first appear as heresy and misconduct.
--George Bemard Shaw

Mage operates on many levels, and ranges from cerebral concepts to flat-out violence. Modern wizards cross into Otherworlds, gather into strongholds called Chantries, or fight their differences out in the streets. Several concepts, however, are important road signs to this magickal world.

The Modern Mage

Mages are enlightened beings, mortal humans who embrace -heart, mind, body and soul-the truth behind reality and their own place in it. Through innate sense, hard-earned knowledge and a shard of the divine self (the Avatar), a Mage learns to rework reality at its core and becomes an active force for change. Though lesser sorcerers (often called hedge wizards) may tamper with the Tapestry's threads, True Mages direct the fires of destiny. Such change is rarely pleasant, but it is necessary.

The Awakened have always been with us; time and disbelief, however, have whittled away their power or channeled it into less obvious forms of magick. As the boundaries between the possible and impossible grow more rigid, the Mages among us dwindle in number but increase in importance. Such sorcerers are heroes in the classic sense; with their power and insight, they cannot help but affect the world around them. To do so, however, they must continually tran scend their own limits and those of the world around them. All Mages, then, even the rigid Technomancers, are threats to the established order. Dynamic to the core, True Mages are the harbingers of change.

Because Awakening is universal, Mages come from all nations, cultures, orientations and age groups. Many find their Awakenings in their late teens or 20s, but some find enlightenment at a very early age or even in their declining years. Though their vision spans global reality, Mages are very much the products of their environments. Some are balanced and contemplative; others are harsh or crude. Magick is not limited to a scholarly few; anyone can be a Mage.

The Factions of the War

Despite the infinite variety of Awakened souls, four large factions dominate magickal society. Although many Mages (often called "Orphans") do not follow any set Path, these four major groups wage an Ascension War in the name of their chosen goals:

• The Traditions, a rough Council of nine mystick styles of magick. The wizards of the Nine Traditions strive to maintain a balance of sorts while returning wonder to humanity. Although these sorcerers hold to different philosophies and practices, all nine groups are opposed to the static reality espoused by their Technocratic foes and the chaos of the darker factions.
• The Technocracy, a seemingly monolithic Union dedicated to reining in supernatural "random elements" and saving humanity from the dangers it is not fit to face. By the Technocracy's decree, mystick magick is not possible; only science is allowed to alter natural laws. Because the majority of "Sleepers," (those unAwakened to their mystick potential) trust in science, Technomancers have an edge over the other factions when it comes to getting things done.
• The Marauders are the Technocrats' polar opposites. More a state of mind than a confederation, these chaotic Mages embody dynamic change taken to a demented extreme. An ideal world, to them, would be one in which every person created his own personal reality or lived in a single Marauder's dementia. Marauders are rare, unpredictable and often deadly.
• The Nephandi have chosen to follow the absolute Path of darkness and corruption. They deem themselves a mirror which will either reflect or absorb all light. Though the most terrible of them have been cast out of the material world, these Fallen Ones work behind the scenes to further the misery and damnation of the World of Darkness.

Reality, Paradox and Ascension

Reality is a work in progress; constant change keeps the universe alive. Magick is the most dynamic example of change--the alteration of reality by enlightened force of will. As humanity settles into a mundane rut, however, magick seems out of place or even impossible. When realities clash, when the possible and impossible collide, the result is a paradox. In the most violent conflicts, this Paradox effect becomes manifest, striking back in any number of ways. A Mage--any Mage--who causes change too quickly can invoke Paradox, and gods help him then.

The vision that comes so naturally with magick's Awakening inspires most Mages to some greater goal, an ultimate end to reality's shaping. The Traditions refer to this as Ascension, but disagree as to what form such Ascension would take were it to happen. To the Technocracy, Ascension is the world made safe, purged of random elements and firmly under their control. The extreme Paths, too, have ultimate goals, but their ideals leave little room for compromise or survival. The World of Darkness

The secret thoughts of man run over all things, holy, profane, clean, obscene, grave and light, without shame or blame.
-Thomas Hobbes

Compromise is dangerous in the realm of the Mage, and survival runs at premium rates. Night glitters here like blood stained glass, and the world seems caught between a madrigal and a scream. The woods are dark and monstrous, the cities labyrinths of steel and pavement. In the shadows, beings out of nightmares plot and bicker. Welcome to the World of Darkness, a distillation of modern twilight.

Here, the landmarks are familiar, but the shadows are longer and peoples' glances are more wary. It's a place where hope is fading, where superstitions carry more weight than reason. The aesthetic of this world is Gothic-Punk, where the flowing black and towering stone of Gothic ideal meets pierced flesh and battered leather. Although few mortals ever see the shadowcultures around them, everyone feels their influence.

A spirit world surrounds the mortal one, cut offfrom material reality by mystick barriers. Ghosts and other spirits wander these mysterious lands, and beings attuned to them-werewolves, Mages and the occasional enlightened mortal-travel into the Three Worlds of this Umbra. Although few mortals are aware of them, these realms-the lands of the mind, nature and death-cast a living reflection of the mundane world.

The features and cultures we know are much the same, but an otherworldly aura pervades the mortal architecture, clothing, music and religion of the World of Darkness. People here are even more fascinated with their own mortality than we are. At the same time, the possibilities of imagination have been limited by a worldwide denial of what no one wants to see. This denial confines the once-fluid power of magick, but also cloaks the activities of the supernatural societies. In the shadows, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, sorcerers and changelings conspire, and their intrigues surpass anything folklore might suggest. This World of Darkness is myth incarnate, and that myth is equally dark.

This fantasy world shows us how far we can fall from grace; Mages, then, play a key role in the future. All this despair and violence is leading up to something big, some final judgment or destruction. The Ascension War may well determine whether the World of Darkness transcends... or self-destructs.

The Meaning of Mage

Never be afraid to risk, to risk! I've told you about Equus haven't I? That doctor, Dr. Dysart, with whom I greatly identify, saw that it was better to risk madness and to blind horses with a metal spike, than to be safe and conventional and dull.
-Christopher Durang, Beyond Therapy

At its core, Mage is about giving a damn, about caring and believing in something so deeply that your beliefs can change reality. The world is not shaped by passivity or acceptance. It is moved forward by the deeds of those who reject the old ways and carve new ones, without regard for obstacles or enemies.

Such dynamism is risky, however. Too much too quickly without insight or responsibility can spiral a person into madness and take everyone around her down for the ride. A wise Mage seeks a balance between constant change and stagnancy, between wisdom and power. The Ascension War is a battle between extremes, with the Traditions walking the delicate Path through the middle. A misstep--overwhelming pride, carelessness or doubt--can be fatal to a Mage, and to the world in general. The pride that comes with magick's vision is both blessing and curse. Without confidence, no Mage can command her will. Without balance, that will grows out of control, dominating all within reach. The great sin of the Technocracy is not science, or even murder--it is oppression under one vision.

Most mortals are rightly called Sleepers by the Awakened. They exist (or perhaps, we exist) in a passive state of blindness, shying away from true insight, avoiding the symbolic death that leads to greater rebirth. We miss the wonders and possibilities around us. Our mundane lives have conditioned us to accept what is offered, from lying politicians to MTV, and we complain but do little to change it. Mages cannot be passive; they either progress or they stagnate. In stagnation lies eventual corruption, for stasis can only decay.

There can be as many themes in a Mage chronicle as you care to include--fate, faith, tragedy, romance, despair, revenge or whatever else you want. The essence of change, however, of progress against all odds, can never be far from the game.

Mage is a game, albeit an interactive one with an epic scope. Like Mages themselves, Storytelling games are active; we offer you the ingredients, but the cake you make out of them will follow your private recipe. There are no winners or losers in these games, only participants.

How to Use this Book

Mage contains a wealth of information. For easy access, we've divided it up into three Books:

• Book One: The Flesh: These four "setting" chapters describe the concepts, cosmology and society of the Awakened. The rules themselves can be found in later sections. Chapter One examines the various worlds that Mages know. Chapter Two explains how True Mages differ from mere "magic users." Chapter Three shows us history as the mysticks understand it, and examines the four factions of the Ascension War, and Chapter Four details the beliefs and metaphysics that guide and govern True Magick.
• Book Two: The Spirit: These three chapters describe the basics of a Mage chronicle. Chapter Five explains the basic rolls used in all Storyteller games. Chapter Six tells you step-by-step how to create your Mage character, while Chapter Seven explores the fine points of Storytelling and running a game.
• Book Three: The Machine: These rule systems govern the world of the Mage in greater detail. Chapter Eight offers the game mechanics for magick within the game. Chapter Nine goes into the non-magickal systems important to the Mage world: experience, spirit rules, Realms, other supernatural creatures and more. Rounding it all out, Chapter Ten: Drama covers many overall rules pertaining to the World of Darkness-combat and injury rolls for various actions and the progression of time in the game. Finally, the Appendix section offers a wealth of background details for the Mage Storyteller.

Enjoy!

Other Mage Sourcebooks to expand upon the rules in Mage: The Ascension.

Lexicon defines the terms used in the fictional background of the rules. Includes "Common Parlance" (terms), "Titles" (ranks and names), "Old Form" (linguistics of the ancients), and "Vulgar Argot" (slang of the young).

Back to Mage: The Ascension Opener.

White Wolf, Vampire the Masquerade and Mage the Ascension are registered trademarks of White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. Vampire the Dark Ages, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Werewolf the Wild West, Wraith the Oblivion, The Risen, and Changeling The Dreaming are trademarks of White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf, Inc. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. Because of the mature themes involved, reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf on the World Wide Web at http://www.white-wolf.com

Magazine articles and contents are copyrighted property of the respective publication. All copyrights, trademarks, and other rights are held by the respective magazines, companies, and/or licensors, with all rights reserved. MagWeb, its contents, and HTML coding are © Copyright 1996 by Coalition Web, Inc.

This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com