Top 5 Books Needed to Run a Mage: The Ascension Chronicle

So which Mage: The Ascension books actually earn their keep when you’re trying to get a Chronicle off the ground?

Mark Hope and Adam Simpson go through the major editions of the core rules, then start pulling the books they keep coming back to—the ones that help with the Umbra, antagonists, Storytelling, Tradition culture, technomagic, Technocratic games, bygones, and the inevitable question of what the hell a Sphere effect is supposed to do.

They agree on Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds and the first-edition The Book of Madness. After that, things split. Same game, same shelf, two very different ideas about what a Chronicle needs before the trouble starts.

Show Notes

Mark Hope's Top Five:

1. Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds
2. The Book of Madness
3. Guide to the Traditions
4. Guide to the Technocracy
5. How Do You DO That
6. Bonus Book: Mage Translation Guide

Adam Simpson's Top Five:

1. Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds
2. The Book of Madness
3. Technomancer's Toybox
4. Book of Mirrors: Mage Storytellers Handbook
5. The Bygone Bestiary
6. Bonus Book: Book of Crafts: Whispers of Dissent