RPGs have changed over time and one new family of play options involve handing players ways to change the story outside of the actions of their characters. Matthew Dawkins is an in-house developer for The Onyx Path and talks with Terry about ways to bring metanarrative tools into your games as well as some healthy speculation about what M5 should be.

Also, if you see this before December 5th, another Matthew Project Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition is on kickstarter. If you like what you hear, go back it!

The Council gets their Tradition books, the Technocracy gets their Convention books, but what about the Hollow Ones? Not necessarily Orphans, not quite a craft, these creatures of modernity claim to go back to at least the Jazz Age but how do you play one? Outcasts: A Players Guide to Pariahs was the first supplement to give more information on this collection of goths and romantics along with information on the Caitiff of Vampire and the Ronin of Werewolf. Adam and Terry talk about the Hollow Ones changing story and the role of Orphans in Mage: The Ascension.

References!

Other Books!

Next Book!

James Estes, former Mage writer and current professor and library director, takes some time to talk with us about religion in Mage. Can it contribute something to our Chronicles and how should we handle it? He also shares his experiences about writing for Mage and offers advice for those thinking of contributing to Storytellers Vault.

James Estes bio

James Estes Web site

Wesley Theological Seminary

Celestial Chorus Tradition Book

Halls of the Arcanum

Guild Encyclopedias

Mage's Second Edition Core Rulebook had a strict page count and clocked in at fewer pages than First Edition. So what were these missing pages and where did they go? Hidden Lore was the collection of all the materials that ran over the page count and for the Second Edition Storyteller it's your best source for additional rotes and systems as well as an entire cabal.  Terry and Adam discuss what to take from it and what to leave behind. in this episode of Tomes of Magick.

Not every rule makes sense in every Mage game, but how do you figure out what to change and know when to change it? Monica Speca, developer and writer for Onyx Path Publishing walks through the design considerations for making the rules of the game fit the game you want to play. Learn about mechanics like momentum, stunts, investigation, stress, and relationship tension Jenga towers.

Second Edition's intimacy and depth is sometimes viewed as a radical departure from First Edition's cosmic stories but what are the nuts and bolts of the differences? Was the change sudden or gradual and how was Brucato's vision implemented in a core book? Adam and Terry talk about how mechanics, mood, setting, and metaplot changed and what you should remember when looking back on Second Edition's groundbreaking release and what got left behind from 2e's strict page count.

Changes:

Mechanics

Mood

Setting

Metaplot

How do you do The World of Darkness in the happiest places on earth? What's magick like when the sun doesn't set for weeks at a time? How does the Syndicate deal with social democracy? What are trolls really like and what is a well-pisser? Karl Erik Larsen Hoftaniska of the Symposium Podcast answers these questions and more.

Correction! Erik corrected himself to say that the Nordic countries were Social Democracies but the sound for that portion was garbled.

Notes!

Mage things!

Other!

Creatures!

The Council of the Nine Mystick Traditions in response to the nascent Technocracy over 450 years. After nine years of squabbling, the Council sent out the First Cabal to spread the message of the Council and counter the Order of Reason but it fell to betrayal from within. Was Heylel a traitor, savior, or insane? Victor and Terry discuss the rise and fall of the First Cabal in reviewing The Fragile Path: Testaments of the First Cabal, Mage's in-world book on those who were there.

You've introduced vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, and even changelings into your chronicle, now what? How about a fellow who learned to electrocute people by watching electric eels or if that's too subtle a psychic madman who's gotten their powers from an ancient meteorite? If those sound good, listen to Kris Newton of the MegaDumbCast go through ways to jam the lore, mechanics, and mood of Street Fighter into your Mage chronicle.

Kris's Podcast - MegaDumbCast

Mage is a game of Urban Fantasy in a gothic punk setting and Destiny's Price helps turn a city from merely a backdrop into a character in the story. Adam and Terry discuss how cities and city life has changed in the 25 years since this book came out under the Black Dog Imprint and what has and hasn't aged well regarding drug use, organized crime, and violent crime in the United States.