Presented here are rules and supplements by various authors for use with White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension. Note that all of the links in the table below originally went to separate pages but have all been condensed to this one page now. All rules presented below are © the author.

Walking the fine line between Chaos, Order, and Entropy, the Traditions are beset from all sides on their Quest for Ascension. Facing foes from without and within many Fall along the way, but those that survive rise to new realities that others can only dream of...

• Virtual Adept Paradigm Page by Constantine Thomas - the Virtual Adepts' paradigm according to me - how they view reality and how they explain their magick.

The Sons Of Ether/Weird Science Links (or - "The fools!! How dare they mock my theories!!!")

These links contain useful background information and inspirational reading for playing Sons of Ether, as well as some good 'Weird/Mad Science' sites that make pretty interesting alternative views to 'real science'! Fairly appropriate given the theme of this website really...!

• Anders' Mad Scientist Hub - Weird Science Central, this should be the first stop for anyone setting out on the path to World Domination, with loads of links to Weird Science sites all over the Web!
• Paradigma Online - The premier journal for Weird Science. In a very nice Journal-style format too!
• NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program - Finally, NASA starts to take FTL travel seriously! The science in here is rock-solid though (well, as far as quantum, gravitic, and multidimensional physics and engineering can be considered solid!) and it's utterly fascinating. Included here are ideas for all forms of FTL travel, including any required 'spin-off' science that might be necessary.
• Elektromagnum Index Page - A 'Real World Weird Science' page, this site is "devoted to speculative electromagnetics and especially the possible explanation of gravity/inertia by EM" - 'nuff said!
• Koestler Parapsychology Unit - Edinburgh University actually runs a working Parapsychology department and offers a degree in it too! It's well worth a look...

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Seeking and defining, the Technocracy weaves its web of Stasis and Pattern across the world. Harassed by Marauders, assaulted by Nephandi, undermined by the Traditions... the Technocrat's path is a troubled one. But Order must be established lest the world fall to Those Beyond...

• Proteus by DJ Babb.
  The Progenitors' finest creation, and one that could hold the key to winning the Ascension War... if its enemies do not subvert it first.

• The Players Guide To The Technocracy by Paul Strack.
  The best primer on the Technocracy on the Web, this was written before most of the Convention books were released. As such, while it may seem a little outdated, it nevertheless serves as one of the finest introductions to the Technocracy available, detailing the manifesto, organisation, and views of the Technocracy as a whole, as well as defining the individual Conventions.

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Beyond the Horizon lie Things that would destroy the world, that would twist and corrupt humanity beyond Redemption. These are the Nephandi, and their alien evil knows no bounds...

BLASPHEMOUS TOMES - texts, treatises, and house rules on the Nephandi.

• The Nephandi Text by DJ Babb.
  DJ Babb's highly detailed primer on the Nephandi is essential reading (along with its companion volume, 'The Marauder Papers') - it provides plenty of excellent ideas, creatures, NPCs, and cults, as well as his version of the Qlippothic Life Sphere. Like many of DJ's works, the themes and descriptions within are dark and somewhat disturbing, so reader discretion is advised. It's also very big, weighing in at 127K!

• Qlippothic Spheres by Anders Sandberg.
  These are absolutely VITAL in any Chronicle including the Nephandi. It describes the remaining eight Qlippothic 'Anti-Spheres' of the Nephandi - spheres of magick that work against the nine standard magickal Spheres presented in Mage (Qlippothic Entropy is presented in White Wolf's 'Book of Madness').

• The Darkness Manifest [PDF File] by Constantine Thomas
  A treatise on the manifestations of the Darkness for my Continuum supplement, this could equally be used as a handbook on the Outsider faction of the Nephandi - it presents the Deep Umbra as you've never seen it before and details some of the terrifying forces it spawns. This is big, and it will mess with your heads..!
  
  

LURKERS AT THE THRESHOLD - creatures and entities that comprise the Nephandi.

• Fasoma Span, The Horror That Spans Dimensions by Anders Sandberg.
  Not so much a Nephandi, more a state of perception... Fasoma Span is an alternate Correspondence Point that seeks to break into our own by breaking the minds and warping the perceptions of humans.

• The Eater of Dimensions by Anders Sandberg.
  A creature that devours space, possibly related to Fasoma Span.

• The Soul Eater by Anders Sandberg.
  A horrible, vastly powerful entity that devours souls and Avatars, digesting them for all eternity.

• The Teacher by Anders Sandberg.
  An alien entity that opens the minds of humanity to the secrets of the universe, and in doing so destroys them.
  
  

LEGIONS OF THE DAMNED - groups and cults that serve dark masters...

• The Midnight Cabaret by DJ Babb.
  A cabal of Nephandi that roam the world in the guise of a gruesome carnival. Excellent and thoroughly disturbing.

• The Parlor of Twilight by DJ Babb.
  The second part of The Midnight Cabaret, this includes descriptions of more members of the cabal and a few other surprises.

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Chaos incarnate, the Marauders relentlessly hammer against the walls of our Static Reality from beyond, perpetually seeking entry into our realm to overwhelm Order with their ever-changing dynamism. But are they truly Mad, or are they the sanest of us all...?

• The Marauders of the Periphery by DJ Babb.
  A description of some Marauder Cabals, somewhat different to those presented in the White Wolf's 'Book of Madness' - DJ has his own view of Marauders, which is detailed in the Marauder Papers below.

• The Marauder Papers by DJ Babb.
  The sister volume to 'The Nephandi Text', this is DJ's primer on Marauders, and presents many excellent ideas on the insanity of the Mad Ones, as well as a host of NPCs, Talismans, Rotes, and Cabals. It is an essential read for any Storytellers planning to include Marauders in their Chronicles.

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Included here are other groups for Mage - those that are either outside the Ascension War, or who cannot be classed as Tradition, Techocracy, Orphan, Marauder, or Nephandi. Note that this includes only those groups that are fully compatible with the Mage rules (ie. no allies from the other WoD settings).

• The Continuum by Constantine Thomas, DJ Babb, Anders Sandberg, and others.
  The Continuum is a group outside the Ascension War, devoted to defending reality against the Nephandi. They do battle with them across all the realms of Gaia, and through all the Alternative Realities derived from it. Complete rules are included here for running Chronicles in and designing Alternate Realities ('Virtuals'), as well as a complete history and paradigm of the Continuum itself and its Chantry Realm - Nexus, Shade Realm of Time.

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This section contains new Spheres of Magick for use with Mage: The Ascension, as well as alternative ways of running the existing Spheres. They were originally written for my own (extensive) house rules for Mage that used to be on this site - since they're a couple of editions out of date now I didn't think there was any point leaving them up anymore.

• The Sphere of Chaos by Constantine Thomas.
  Originally written as a replacement for the Sphere of Entropy in my Mage Re-Write, I've adapted it here for general use in the basic Mage system. It expands the lower levels of Entropy, dealing with Chance and Probability, into a completely separate 5-tiered system.
  

  GAME NOTES: The Sphere of Chaos should be used in the conventional Mage system as a Specialist Sphere, usable only by those of particular and compatible paradigms (i.e. the Chaoticians of the Virtual Adepts, The Continuum, and the Statisticians of Iteration X). You could also try to incorporate its effects into the Sphere of Entropy (simply by adding the top three Chaos levels to the existing upper levels of Entropy), but this tips the balance of power quite severely in the game and is not recommended.

  
  
• The Sphere Of Prime by Constantine Thomas.
  The rules for Prime as presented in Mage1 were to me very confusing, contradictory and unclear. This led me to revamp them completely, on the way making a few new deductions about what was possible with the Sphere of Prime. I've also updated this for Mage2 (which does clarify Prime quite a bit). This document presents new rules and clarifications on the nature of the Avatar, Enchanting items, and using the Sphere of Prime. Bear in mind also that this is just my take on the subject, so you may not agree with anything I say at all. How much you do agree with is entirely up to you of course, but the assumptions given here are vital to understanding my treatise On The Nature Of Wraiths And The Cycle Of Life And Death.

  GAME NOTES: If you're going to use my version of the Sphere of Prime, you should entirely replace the old version presented in the Mage rulebook - it is not paradigm-specific, and should be used by all Awakened factions in the same manner. Note that this is the same version as presented in my Mage Re-Write, just adapted for use with the conventional Mage system.

  
  
• The Sphere of Information by Constantine Thomas.
  The Sphere of Information initially governs the connections between all things, but progresses to the manipulation of raw data (currently impossible under any of the other Spheres) and ultimately to the manipulation and definition of Subjective and Objective Reality itself. Originally presented in my Mage Re-Write as a subset of the Sphere of Prime, the Sphere of Information is presented here as a completely new Sphere which can be incorporated into the conventional rules.

  GAME NOTES: The Sphere of Information is very powerful and should be used with extreme caution. Full details can be found in the Game Notes herein. It is intended to be used 'behind the scenes' by whoever is winning the Ascension War, helping them to define reality so it can fit their Theories. In such a 'research' capacity I'd recommend that it should be made available only to the NWO and Void Engineers - however, the $yndicate can (and often do) use this in the field to 'remove' especially troublesome people from reality by stripping them of Information. The Order of Hermes and Virtual Adepts may also be aware of some of the lower levels of this Sphere.

  
  
• Qlippothic Spheres by Anders Sandberg.
  These are absolutely VITAL in any Chronicle including the Nephandi. It describes the remaining eight Qlippothic 'Anti-Spheres' of the Nephandi - spheres of magick that work against the nine standard magickal Spheres presented in Mage (Qlippothic Entropy is presented in White Wolf's 'Book of Madness').

  GAME NOTES: Qlippothic Spheres should be made available only to Nephandi and Mages who have Fallen and turned barabbi.

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Paradox, the bane of all Mages, the most objective of all forces in the universe. It strikes without mercy or compassion, on friend and foe alike, all to preserve the status quo. For if that falls, chaos will destroy everything.

• Purgatories by Anders Sandberg.
  An adaptation of the Purgatories in the Kult RPG for the World of Darkness, these are disturbing Paradox Realms created to overcome the mage's pride and hubris by feeding on their guilt and pain.

• The Well of Blind Souls by Anders Sandberg.
  A terrible Paradox Realm, where victims are lured they stray off the path to Ascension.

• The Diamond Realm by Anders Sandberg.
  A confusing Paradox Realm of infinite reflections, from which ultimately there is no escape.

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• Phaedrus by Constantine Thomas.
  This is a complete background (of epic proportions!) for Phaedrus, my favourite character in Mage - I've been playing him for about three years now and still I have no idea where it's all going! This includes a physical description, a very detailed history and background, full character stats, his very own Paradigm Page (he's an Orphan) and some rotes he commonly uses. Phaedrus has a very unusual Avatar - it is certainly not a fragment of the Pure Ones. Rather, it is something else, something as ancient but completely different in origin with its own agenda. His 'Avatar' (known as The Phaedrus) allows him to enter the Shadowlands much more easily than other Mages, but he cannot enter the other Umbrae at all, and is also incapable of using the Sphere of Prime. In addition, he is being hunted by a very powerful entity related somehow to The Phaedrus itself, something that is tearing up the Shadowlands to find him...

• Silhouette by Constantine Thomas.
  The story of Melissa Stillbrook, a young Verbena mage whose home is destroyed by a powerful malevolent force. This is located on the Continuum Hub, as it was originally written as a fictional piece to support that background (and as such it contains many terms and concepts used therein), but I liked the main character so much I also turned her into a bona fide Player Character or NPC. Her stats and notes on what's really happening in her life are included after the main background story - despite the specialist background, it is presented so that Storytellers unfamiliar with the Continuum can still understand what's going on and can adapt the character easily to their chronicles. Note that this is also included in The Darkness Manifest, which is Book 4 of the Continuum rules.

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This section is a catch-all for material unclassifiable under any other category here - mostly a selection of Mage-related ideas and musings.

• Some thoughts about Arete, Oracles, Ascension and Normality by Anders Sandberg.
  An intriguing selection of musings that describe Arete, Awakenings, Seeking, and Ascension in much more detail. Also includes Normality Ratings for Mages.

• Daily Weirdness in the Lives of Mages by Anders Sandberg.
  A fascinating insight into the more subtle effects of unconscious magick in a Mage's everyday life. Ideal for messing with player's heads...

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