Woke "Mages" DENY Reality! (Mage: The Ascension Player Lore)

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Wherein we talk about the basic lore of Mage: The Ascension for an hour and a half, going over all major traditions.
00:00 Intro
00:41 Mage in Context
01:39 The Nature of Mages
03:55 Consensus & Paradox
09:24 The Technocracy
12:36 Council of Nine Mystic Traditions
16:01 Spheres of Magic
17:23 Akashayana (Mind)
26:49 Celestial Chorus (Prime)
36:13 Chakravanti (Entropy)
43:56 Kha'vadi (Spirit)
52:28 Mercurial Elite (Correspondence)
59:48 Order of Hermes (Forces)
01:08:43 Sahajiya (Time)
01:17:11 Society of Ether (Matter)
01:23:50 Verbena (Life)
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[@kopz77]

imagine being a literal tech wizard but you go to a low signal area and now your spells have fucking ping

[@petalsinthebreeze]

400 ping fireball, comes out 32 seconds after you cast it, in the opposite direction, halfway across the map

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

​@@petalsinthebreezeand rubber bands right back to where it was supposed to hit, and flinging your target so fast they instantly get stuck on the skybox, a jittering nightmare in orbit.

[@Ofxzh]

Your enemies trap you in a house and bust down the door, but you rubberband behind them.

[@aegisScale]

Be careful with Correspondence, with low ping you might access a part of the map that hasn't loaded yet and fall through.

[@ericsteenbergen9470]

So basically you get to be a mage once you achive Chim and reality is a WAAAAAAGH field

[@iamnerose1658]

Dis reality need sum krumping!!!!!! Jokes aside, you really describe that well.

[@gazzmaz8830]

Mage become ork

[@iamnerose1658]

@@gazzmaz8830 no….. Mage become Weirdboyz : )

[@hz.kemalpasa2997]

@@gazzmaz8830 We are the Orkz.

[@humbertoquadros9384]

No no, he has a point.

[@user-ut5nx6hm9d]

My favorite mage character I ever played was a Virtual Adept. At one point they were separated from their computer and eventually got so desperate that they started drawing chalk lines on the floor that was vaguely reminiscent of a complex circuit board, including a chalk keyboard in the center. Then they just put dozens of textbooks thicker than their head into a square marked "memory" and yelled "THIS IS A COMPUTER D*MMIT" and it actually worked as planned.

[@bleddynwolf8463]

That’s so cool

[@alejandrorivas4585]

Literally a 40k ork lmao

[@maciejas2471]

​@@alejandrorivas4585Ork who reached the highest Ork Nirvana

[@mistahjenkins4826]

The wizard, two seconds later: "Holy shit it fucking worked."

[@siqueiravb]

WoD at it's finest... The storytelling and acting on character is so good you say "f*ck it, golden rule" and don't even draw dices...

[@wiwuno]

Not a Tradition Mage but I played a Norse themed Orphan who wiped out the entire Camarilla Leadership of a city without ever being in the same room as a vampire. We had our stealthy forces mage make himself undetectable and sneak into a Giovanni Wine Celler where they kept this odd alcoholic Vitae beverage they liked to serve at Elysium and steal a bunch of bottles from the back corner of the room. I spent a month working a Forces/Prime spell to infuse the wine with Sunlight and then the day before Elysium we swapped out the bottles set to be served with the sun infused bottles. That night they all shared and drank the wine and all died from sun exposure inside out. Operation Sunny D was a major success.

[@gvwwb6259]

stay optimistic!

[@yourfriendlyneighborhooddi3915]

@@gvwwb6259 ah yes I love acknowledging the feelings of others.

[@Ricky-jl1wf]

OPERATION SUNNY D 😂😂😂😂

[@borgshadow13]

jesus fuck that's metal af

[@kibbo86]

You stay away from my Jeanette!

[@EvilDMMk3]

Funnest thing a Virtual Adept I played with did, he was being harassed by vampires so he hacked their windows to have their other side in a city in a time zone 8hrs behind, flooding a major meeting with dawn light. Stupid amounts of paradox but hella fun.

[@jondw]

that sounds awesome

[@KaiserAfini]

What did they expect when they installed Windows Vista into them ? Its very buggy software. Still, its part of the course of troubleshooting: you find troubling vampires and you shoot them with sunlight.

[@TrinaryAdept]

I had a virtual adept use a rote he called firing squad and basically bilocated himself in 5 places at once all surrounding a hitmark and MIB agent and then unloaded on them with a shotgun and a full auto assault rifle, doing a grand total of 52 damage in one round after soak. he ended up in a coma in a verbena run medical center but hey at least he wasn't exterminated as a dangerous reality deviant.

[@Dcart5]

He should of had it Sanctum or Demanse (bad spelling I know). Then no Paradox :)

[@stephenaulds2925]

Nice! Less "'dox" to just make a sunlight powered flashlight. 😉

[@ethantaylor9613]

In the web comic kill 6 billion demons the most common sort of Wizard are “red mages“ Who basically whisper a lie to reality and do it so well that reality apologizes for the mistake and fixes things to be like how they want. “Truth speaking” is probably one of my favorite ways magic can work in a fictional setting.

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

In world of darkness I would equate that more to how demons and fae work magic (as far as "rules" go) but I like that concept as well for a mage build. One of the coolest things about WoD is the amount of cross pollination between game types and concepts.

[@theenderdestruction2362]

I kinda did this with one of my friends sorcerer's in DnD but the catch was reality will fight back if they do this over a certain limit

[@olivermorin3303]

You forgot the best part. The official name for this magic, like all names in Kill Six Billion Demons, is awesome as hell: "The Art of Lying to the Face of God". Because if there's one thing K6BD loves, it's blasphemy.

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

@@olivermorin3303 I gotta admit thats an awesome name.

[@gabnel1000]

there's a ttrpg for kill 6 billion demons, its cool

[@diamondmetal3062]

“When I was 5-6 years old, I asked my dad, “Dad, what is technology?” And my dad goes, “It’s magic, Joel, it’s magic!” Ever since that day, little Joel was never the same.” -Joel from Vinesauce

[@mihai000000]

suficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from magic for the unitiated

[@queenofsparrows9890]

the idea of wizards getting fed up with the limitations of a reality they know is fundamentally flawed due to the larger population, and thus fucking off to space is extremely funny to me. also the literal bullshitting of reality by saying like, "no it's okay that my pistol shot caused a fireball where i pointed it, i'm using dragon-breath rounds" and people are just like "nyeah okay that checks out" makes mages seem like more con artists than actual magicians - which is also extremely funny to me.

[@ATurnip]

Technically, it's the umbra, until the technocracy's reach expands there, at which point it becomes space.

[@cBake0]

Mages are the ultimate cons, they pull the wool over the eyes of reality itself. Just sometimes reality figures out what you've been doing and slaps the hell out of your whole everything with paradox backlashes

[@KaiserAfini]

Its part of the issue, a very skilled mage will know how to make everything they do seem coincidental or within the bounds of reality. But this has two issues, the first is that it makes your life more difficult, magic is very hard without jumping through hoops to disguise it. Second is that not challenging people's conception of the concensus means contributing to calcifying it via inaction, but taking action makes reality punch you. Its a hard war to win because your objective is to redefine belief globally without being annihilated by the current belief system.

[@dustind4694]

It's satire about elitism and what 'power' usually is.

[@gruffen4]

I didn't know Tim Curry was in the setting.

[@TyphoonMinecraft]

You know learning about the Order of Hermes makes the Tremere make much more sense

[@ErisRising]

Have you checked out the Blood Treachery sourcebook? Centuries-old grudges come to a head between the Tremere and the Order, and the ensuing conflict is epic.

[@shannonwright4426]

​@@ErisRising I haven't yet tbh, but I'm gonna check it out now because I KNOW it cannot end well for the tremere

[@ErisRising]

It is seriously one of the best campaign books out there. I have a general rule against using pre-written chronicles, but if I ever break that, it will be with that story.@@shannonwright4426

[@fuzzytransmissionman]

House Tremere helps betray and destroy Druidic House Diedne. Clan Tremere helps betray and destroy Clan Salubri. Because, you see, for Master Tremere, betrayal was less a hobby and more of a lifestyle choice.

[@pastelprincess2018]

​@@fuzzytransmissionman"I didn't choose betrayal. Betrayal chose me." Kinda feeling

[@valritz1489]

When you mentioned nature-themed Virtual Adepts, I remembered that thing about a stand of birch trees that are all technically the same organism, and can communicate within the root system. "Silicon is last millennium's news, man. The future is bioware!"

[@casteanpreswyn7528]

Even better, the world's largest organism is a fungus in the forests of Oregon. Kilometers in size. Theoretically, you could use individual colonies as collections of bits to run functions like a computer.

[@Row.]

Some scientists in Japan made logic gates out of Soldier Crabs some time ago, so really the possibilities are limitless!

[@MarDamas]

Two words: mycelial network.

[@thesaucemaker1319]

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." That's one RAGE of a reference.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

"Yes! Dungeon Master! Nice!" "What? No, I was quoting Mythbusters." "Oh... I was almost happy there for a second..." -SAO Abridged.

[@thesaucemaker1319]

@@RipOffProductionsLLC "Fucking Bethesda..."

[@joaovitorreisdasilva9573]

Bruh... The idea of the current scientific consensus about reality being just a front for a group of mages to do their shit in peace is so fucking funny and cool. Holy fucking shit I love this lmao

[@luska5522]

Its not a front, its an actual belief and paradigm. They dont fake Magik into science , they believ their Magic IS "Enlightned Science"

[@joaovitorreisdasilva9573]

@@luska5522 huh... This is even more interesting, wtf?

[@joaovitorreisdasilva9573]

@@luska5522 so, just to make sure I got it, it's not that gravity wouldn't be a fundamental force. It's more that they are trying to understand to better "manipulate" or control to an extent, but being aware of these things would chance the consensus itself or either their understanding of it slightly, like in our own world...?

[@luska5522]

@@joaovitorreisdasilva9573 Yeah their way of doing "Englithened Science" [read: Magick] is based around a real world theory called Antrhopic Field Theory postulated in 1957. It means that reality to exist as it is must be "observed" by counciousness. However, it is science. Most Technocrats operate using Hypertech, that is super advanced Technology [its magick]. So a lighting cannon would be a technological way of channeling "lighting bolt" magick but in a scientific way. In essence, the laws of the universe exist as they are, but Enlightned Scientists [Technocrat Mages] understand Science in such a way that its far more advanced that the common science. They have spaceships, clones, cyborgs. Its all magick, but with a technological paradigm. I recommend you read the book "m20- Technocracy Reloaded"

[@TheAngryXenite]

@João Vítor Reis da Silva Basically, they understand that reality is weirder than the Sleepers think and that it's their job to understand it and introduce the wider world to strange ideas, or erase dangerous ones, for their own good. They very much believe in a world of reason and laws and they think that "mystics" like the Tradition are essentially, well, magicians. They're using enlightened scientific processes without really understanding how they work and think they're doing "magick."

[@durema9720]

Ah yes... The mages... The one thing that makes all players and GM start to go insane when sone player decides he is a mage that isn't aware of it and thinks he is a cool cowboy untill he decides to turn off light by closing his eyes and somehow the entire world goes "Light off" for a minute.

[@mr.critical5523]

Mage is basically the TTRPG version of What If Harry Potter was found by Morpheus and then taken out of the Matrix so he and the resistance could fight against Jeff Bezos along with the rest of Silicon Valley.

[@cBake0]

This description is perfection

[@jasal5877]

Straight up!

[@mikethedriver5673]

Underrated comment

[@wandiriswan6116]

Perfect analogy

[@christyshultz6443]

It the world of darkness dumbass.

[@CannabisDreams]

I played a celestial chorus mage once - a trained catholic exorcist with true faith (yes I took the perk) who awoke during an exorcism of a "possessed" man (actually just a Sabbat gangrel) when none of his rituals could exorcize the demons and the possessed man started to break his bonds. The exorcist was able to use "sacred binding prayers" to root the "possessed man" in place and proclaimed it a miracle because he saved several other people in this catholic mental hospital. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to expel the demons and left the order shortly before the society of Leopold and technocrats showed up. He refused to accept that he was a mage, but believed he had been chosen by God to spread the gospel, and so mastered some healing magic and offensive magic, but as it was a short lived campaign never got far beyond starting a religious revival in Denver.

[@buffewo6386]

Played a Son of Æther. One of my favorite characters ever. When you have science-fiction movies, a post-doc PhD engineer who just happens to know the "rules" of technology are more like "suggestions to avoid upsetting things " can have a great life using the Blatency skill. Tricorder: check Lightsaber: check Portable briefcase 3D printer that can print you a rifle, a microwave oven, body armor, and a turkey dinner in short sucession: (Check left hand) Oh yeah!

[@thisgoddamusernamestoodamnlong]

"what do you mean you've never heard of an ion rifle??? it's simple physics!"

[@NoHeadsProduction]

I believe the justification for Night-Folk not being affected by Paradox is that a lot of people do believe in them. Maybe not literally, but rational thought and science don't do well in the face of true fear.

[@ajvanbreen]

Also: their powers are static and behave in predictable ways. (IIRC mortal hedge-mages don’t accumulate paradox either, but their powers aren’t nearly so flexible)

[@misterbrady100]

In first edition Mage, they referred to vampire powers as 'hedge magic' because these powers hedge around the rules of paradox in ways that mages don't fully understand.

[@jairoukagiri2488]

Shifters often have the reverse where their war-forms cause the dubbed Delirium hysteria to those incapable of handling the WoD. Ghosts are likely a strong factor too since the higher-ups know they aren't 'supposed' to interact with the Quick (indeed, often aren't but then you have Giovanni). It's also noted Mages are twice as juicy for Faith/Glamour, etc. Rationality doesn't do well in the face of the Wyrm, Wyld and Wyrd though, not usually. The value factor to the belief systems involved is interesting. Vamps of course just have horrible cases of Solar Paradox - over-all the Garou and Cainite are Cursed and have their weaknesses, along with other creatures, the Mages walk on a different edge where popular opinion, an enemy or oneself can curse them. Good explanations too though all over, Avatars are a big factor and hedge magic / Numina powers exist. The Lovecraftian factor behind each of the Resonances is quite interesting too, though. Even Reason itself reaches Autochthonic depths.

[@bleddynwolf8463]

I like to think paradox like only applies to mages specifically, because mages are the exception not the rule

[@bobbywilson7662]

i think the best way is to describe it from a virtuall adepts perspective and is actually touched on in the sorcerer revised book (not the latest train wreck they tried making). virtual adepts and all other mages alter the source code, rather then using the hidden laws that reality makes for them, they effectively hack the game to cheat and use other beings powers. while with vampires, wolves and even sorcerers they are using what can be described as cheat codes, giving themselves an edge against the others but no more then the devs (gods or essence of paradox) really intended. like the sorcerer revised book actually states that they don't suffer paradox because they may bend reality but they arn't breaking it, thus only the absolute most extreme spells at worst will just fizzle out but incur no paradox cause there technically not attempting to destroy the reality that consensus rests upon.

[@grimjudgment6527]

Kha'vadi mages seem like they'd be hilarious as a modern day mage because it's a funny idea that one of them can just live as an American hobo that reaches into the spirit world and rather than being possessed will just allow spirits to possess animals and they live as some type of faceless urban legend, dressed as a generic hobo that then does weird things like walking into a clean gas station bathroom and then suddenly it's defaced with years worth of graffiti and the mage is gone, now stepping outside of another bathroom at another place that started out super dirty and is now clean. It would be just interesting enough that they could possibly change the consensus because people are really interested in things like that, and suddenly it becomes a TikTok challenge to splice videos together and people just start cleaning and defacing bathrooms like mad.

[@marcelorojasvargas]

The kha'vadi of my homegame is an italian Art teacher that uses paint as his focus. And his Avatar is the ghost of his late wife, which he contacts through portraits and photos. He's pretty cool and hates Bansky to death.

[@HUNDmiau]

My chorister is a conspiracy theorist and private detective. His primary sphere is correspondence and he basically considers space to be a scam created by technocracy to sell cars. His paradigm is basically he believes reality is like a puzzle, each sphere is mystery to uncover (usually in a conspirational nature)

[@Mr.Monacle]

God, the line "Considers space to be a scam created by the technocracy to sell cars" is so genuinely funny to me

[@HUNDmiau]

@@Mr.Monacle Im happy you like it :D

[@kruxdewdrop1220]

HENRY FORD WAS A SHILL FOR THE TECHNOCRACY AND CREATED THE FIVE DAY WORK WEEK AND TWO DAY WEEKEND SO THAT MAGES CANT CAST MAGIC ON THE EIGTH DAY OF THE WEEK!

[@roguepsykerhaaker4813]

That's hilarious and I love it

[@NayrAnur]

Does he advocate for efficient mass transit infrastructure, though?

[@fredranzalot4849]

I'd love a follow up about the villains: the Technocratic factions, the Nephandi and the Marauders.

[@CannabisDreams]

Technocrats are more complex than mere villains. They're mages with a competing paradigm, and the dimensional science division is downright cordial.

[@fredranzalot4849]

@@CannabisDreams You're not wrong, but they're also kinda the designated "villain faction" regardless.

[@fredcavalcante1887]

This video is actually about the villains. The technocrats are the heroes.

[@fredranzalot4849]

@@fredcavalcante1887 That's kind of a reductive analysis.

[@blackbelt352-dd]

The Technocracy are antagonists, but not necessarily villains. They're authoritarian as hell but also advanced and stabilized society at a breakneck speed.

[@ironreed2654]

Sounds like the mages work with "WAAAAG!" (you have to yell it with at least 3 A's) energy from the Orks in Warhammer 40k.

[@TheBurgerkrieg]

yeah, 100% this basically

[@StarkeRealm]

"You can play a Technocracy campaign in Mage..." Also in Kindred of the East (Strike Force Zero), and Werewolf (Project: Twilight.) Kind of appropriately, the Technocracy is one of the more aggressive villain factions, popping up in most (if not all) of the other World of Darkness settings, though it's rarely obvious when they do.

[@luska5522]

Not villains, antagonists.

[@KairoStark]

I've always felt like the Technocracy is overpowered. They're kind of the result of the ST going bonkers and saying "you know what fuck this you get transported to the dimension of nothingness via exploding suns"

[@luska5522]

@@KairoStark read "Technocracy Reloaded". It gives you the real deal on Technocracy plots, advancement, child hering, laws and stuff. They are not shallow "fuck you" from STs, they are humans trying tô change the world for the better.

[@notsae66]

I don't know, I like them. Trying to make the world less of a shitty, random, and nonsensically dangerous place seems a noble cause to me. In a way, by creating and enforcing science, they are bringing magic to the common man and have drastically improved the lives of humanity as a whole. For all the sketchy shit they do, the world is a way better place for the average person under Technocratic Consensus than it ever was when mages ran rampant.

[@luska5522]

@@notsae66 Exactly. No ordinary man at the hands of the Traditions would learn how to do magick shit or even sorcery. The Hermetics of their time were so stuck up as nobles and dont get me started on the Celestial Chorus who destroyed countless other Mages for being "Witches". Nowadays, the common man has access to the internet, to cars, to computers, modern medicine, space travel [soon-ish] and all other marvels that began in the Union laboratories as hypertech. Thats what i love about all of this. For all the shit they did, it was their magick [Science, yes] that brought the world that we live in today in-setting.

[@EthanKristopherHartley]

Although I haven't played WoD for nigh 20 years there are those characters who just stick out. I had a Virtual Adept who was completely paralysed and living on a life support machine. Cue some tinkering and a splash of Correspondence, Mind and Prime and we had a holographic mage wandering around with the party. The number of initiative rolls I had to take to avoid touching anything so that people wouldn't realise I was just light projected from... Wait... Where is the projector? 😜

[@jamesrivettcarnac]

20 years for me too. And I've never had characters as memorable as WoD characters.

[@snorpenbass4196]

Mages: We reject your reality and substitute our own! ...if we don't get too much Paradox from it. But still!

[@jenny_of_oldstones3523]

LMAO our group got so much paradox that we'd go off into the desert to explode without murdering civilians.

[@aegisScale]

"Unlike those _prissy vampires_ and _crusty mummies,_ we actually gotta deal with the *real* limits of reality instead of getting supernatural handouts!"

[@screamingcactus1753]

I'm imagining a Verbena mage that actually specializes in the natural life of the city. Rats, pigeons, raccoons, cockroaches, scavengers and survivors able to scratch out a living even in the most inhospitable environment.

[@Brigtzen]

Now i'm imagining a mage using just some random homeless guy paid in beer as a magical wand

[@DoomedPaladin]

I feel the need to say again, OWoD was written by a handful of young guys, in the late 80s, and released in the early 90s, PRE-internet. They wrote all of this using actual encyclopedias in actual effing libraries. For a very, very tiny market. So, any time you look at something that's _that old_ and think, "This is culturally insensitive/racist," remember that they were doing the best they could with what they had, and what they knew at the time.

[@ajvanbreen]

Most of the books they definitely tried their best, and several of their books their books tackled Queer themes at a time when few were doing so. On the *other* hand they also published WoD: Gypsies, where they took a real-life ethnic group that still *to this day* experiences oppression and basically gave them magical powers. And that was when the internet was definitely a thing.

[@grandsome1]

That's what retcons are for, fixing past mistakes. But they wouldn't see the mistake without those "this is culturally insensitive" comments.

[@maxjoechl5663]

@@ajvanbreen I didn‘t even know about the ”G***y“-themed RPG… as if the Ravnos lore from V:tM wasn‘t antiziganist enough. As a clan weakness, everyone in Clan Ravnos had to be a compulsive criminal at one point. Presumably in an effort to decrease the visibility of the clan and explain various lore changes, the writers introduced an event where the Ravnos‘ Antediluvian progenitor woke from their slumber, eventually being taken down by a combination of 3 Asian vampire Bhodisattvas, a "magical nuclear strike" and satellite-reflected sunlight. This caused the whole clan to go berserk and attack everyone nearby, effectively genociding the vast majority of its members. So basically a supernatural porajmos (Romani Holocaust).

[@gs4011]

@@maxjoechl5663 Which makes the thought of all the antediluvians waking up at once all the more horrifying.

[@guyman9655]

Although WoD had a rough start I think they've done at least an alright job of fixing their past mistakes

[@muhammadedwards8425]

I actually think the Technocracy is actually the Camarilla of Mage, and the traditions are Sabbat Where the Cam are quite scientific and secular with Noddists being a minority. They want a status quo of normality, the Six Cam traditions. The Sabbat want Vampires to be vampires, their own race following their own Paths. The Sabbat hate each other based on their Paths, but work together against the Camarilla's "consensus" of humanity

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

I totally agree with this point.

[@hulmhochberg8129]

idk wouldnt that make the traditions more like the anarchs? i get the point about cam though.

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

@@hulmhochberg8129 Well there are traditions that are not part of the council. There is also a not tradition "tradition".

[@muhammadedwards8425]

@@hulmhochberg8129 Sabbat are an evolution of anarchs. They branched off and are less influenced by the Cam, since the anarchs were still Cam a century ago

[@GooglyGook12]

@@hulmhochberg8129 The Anarchs of Mage would be the Disparate Alliance.

[@Tempesta1220]

I only found this channel through your Vampire the Masquerade videos, while you say you're not a WoD lore channel, you're amazing at explaining it. You explain everything in a very easily digestible way while remaining entertaining, it doesn't become "campy" and is full of information. Bravo to you sir!

[@fern4846]

Your World of Darkness videos are amazing. They help a lot of my less-experienced players get into the setting with much more ease.

[@DJchilcott]

Unless its changed in the newest editions, Prime is also the Sphere needed to create something out of nothing.

[@somerollerskater3656]

The way I describe prime is it is the salt of magic. Alone it doesn't do much but in conjunction with a nice slab of meat (the other spheres) you get a much more powerful experience. Also prime does agg damage. A bit of salt in the wound.

[@rjp3837]

Philosophically Prime is also there to make people ask themselves do I NEED to fuck with reality to do this, or at least do I need to do it in a major fashion. I say this because Prime relates to Paradox which is the universe saying cut that shit out NOW.

[@adamhill7044]

Would not be upset about this becoming a world of darkness lore channel lol. I love your voice and how you describe things to make complex ideas easier to understand. I tried reading through the spheres in the wiki and they were very dense. This video, and the other WOD videos, are so very informative while not being overwhelming. Can't wait to look into some other videos of yours!

[@petrusjnaude7279]

My thoughts exactly. He explains this in a way that makes me want to go out, get some of the books and some friends and start a game. He is other content is also great, especially his series of system agnostic ideas about various RPG classes.

[@Pink_Noodle]

Did not get a notification but still caught this live somehow; I hope this trend of World of Darkness lore vids continues because there really is so much ground to cover.

[@kaasmaster8892]

I think that the best way to understand the sphere of prime is that just as the mind sphere is you doing magic on the mind the prime sphere is you doing magic on magic

[@jakewoodhouse9817]

Metamagic, pretty much

[@TheGrinningViking]

Brueiger: "There's no real way to science yourself into a dragon." Kaiba: "Excuse me?" You could actually make a character that was basically Sieto Kaiba in mage. I like the idea of playing a David Blaine-esque street magician who uses his magic to do things like summon mirrors, smoke bombs, and hidden cables that make him appear to disappear or levitate. Jumping through a secret trap door that was never there before, or hypnotizing someone to think they are a chicken.

[@TheGrinningViking]

He summons a demon and it's just his sexy assistant in makeup with a little red pitchfork - and then he saws her in half in an ordinary box with an actual saw (it's fine because she was a demon all along) Fun stuff, fun stuff.

[@KairoStark]

But Kaiba just wants his cute albino waifu back. He would unironically break reality to do that. Not like I wouldnt go any less far if I had a cute albino waifu.

[@Raykkie]

@@KairoStark Kaiba would do anything for his dragon gf, but oh boy did he went even further to try to see his bf in the last movie. He'd make the Technocracy look like toddlers

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

I saw you mention in a shadowrun video that it had really strong worldbuilding. In my opinion the world of darkness setting is rock solid from a cohesive whole standpoint especially if you use mage as the center as opposed to the vampire centric view that is usually taken based on the release order of the books.

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

I would really like to talk more about my point. I'll do so the lonely way by replying to myself. Why is mage the centre of the wod universe you ask? I will answer with the avatar. A mage: has a personal relationship with there own avatar A vampire: has a shared avatar placed in them by there sire A warewolf: has a portion of a shared avatar of Gaia A wraith: lacks a body and is closest and furthest from there own avatar A changeling: I can't possibly know everything but is there an avatar of everything¿ Or does the experience and understanding of everyone create the avatar? A lich (mummy): attempts to become one with there avatar but also links this experience to life itself breaking the cycle A demon: had a relationship with the avatar of all and was inspired to break away to have an experience disconnected from all This also explains why paradox only hits mages and changelings. Its also related to why changelings and demons eat the same thing. It points out where the Tremere miscalculation was. It also shows why the war of rage was a huge mistake that keeps on giving. This is related to the Weaver Wild Wyrm thing as well but that's a different topic.

[@mythfire1461]

@@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861 what's an avatar?

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot3861]

@@mythfire1461 29:40 has one explanation of it. It is also mentioned at a different point in the video as well. Its nebulous at best but if someone called it a "soul" they would not be wrong. It's most certainly not a "mind" or a "spirit" as those are clearly defined and seperate.

[@StarkeRealm]

@@mythfire1461 The best definition would probably be a personification of the mage's entelechy as a magical being. The books never really pin it down in concrete terms. It's also the conduit they use to affect reality. If a mage loses their avatar they're left as a (basically) normal human. The simplest explanation would be what the word says, "it's an avatar the mage uses to interact with, and manipulate, reality." Sort of like your avatar in any artificial space. (It's also unclear whether the avatar is subconsciously shaped by the mage, or if it takes the form of some inner, "true self.") In some cases, the avatar is a discrete entity that interacts with the mage, in other cases, it's just an extension of their will. (Oh, right, something skimmed over with this, Awakened mages are always incredibly strong willed.) While it's more descriptive then definitive, only, "normal," humans can possess avatars. If an awakened mage becomes another kind of supernatural being (usually by being embraced by a vampire), it will destroy their avatar (or, at least, sever contact with it. Usually the term I remember reading was, "shred," but that's not a technical term.)

[@robertmasengale9366]

Mage also explains why Caine and Yaweh exists in Vampire while the Weaver/Wyrm/Wild exist in Werewolf and how Lilith kind of exists for both. Reality itself being malleable makes it possible for all to be able to exist and not exist sinultaneously.

[@hermeticbear]

I love the way you say Verbena. I also love how you chose the alternate names that are more used within the tradition, than the names used outside the traditions.

[@lukkaredwolf3534]

I loved Life 3 after having been forced to get it to be the "Healer" since is was new. I took a dive into the book and found out in one location that a) pattern attacks like life spells do unsoakable damage and b) specifically life three does aggravated damage. Aggravated, unsoakable that scales stupidly with the results of the dice roll. Six successes yields 18 levels of damage. 18 aggravated unsoakable points of damage that avoids armor. That would kill almost everything stated in the rules that even have stats. And the other players thought life magic was weak.

[@KaiserAfini]

Well, a vampire would go "What Life ?" and a werewolf would feel a tickle since they are half spirit. Its a powerful and versatile Sphere, but the damage potential is limited by the target's template.

[@toasterenthusiast8023]

Yeah it really is no joke, you can heal, hurt, and if all else fails turn into a bear

[@lukkaredwolf3534]

@@toasterenthusiast8023 or convert simple animals/plants to other simple animals/plants, like the mites that are on everyone's body to carrion beetles or something similar.

[@lukkaredwolf3534]

@@KaiserAfini i know that Vamps need to either get hit with Entropy, Matter, or Prime, but don't werewolves get screwed with life? I mean it's been over a decade, but I don't recall "Rip the Man Body" having an anti-supernatural point in the verbage of the edition I had. I could see tossing in maybe Spirit 2 or 3 for full effect, but even if we cut the health levels in half, that's still 9 agg/unsoak. Unless you are Full out Crinos G.O.F. (or something similar), 9 levels is going to put a damper on your day, likely forcing a rage heal and a check for battle scars. And that's one action by one person. Don't get me wrong, werewolves are VASTLY superior to Mages in H2H. Probably among this highest H2H in the cross platforms (there might be an edge case in SOME changelings with Wayfare), but the reality warpers can be vicious in their own ways.

[@KaiserAfini]

@@lukkaredwolf3534 I think vampires require equal parts of Matter and Entropy (or maybe just Entropy's general withering powers), while werewolves its Spirit and Life. Werewolves will tear anything apart in hand to hand combat. Prepared mages can figure out one way or another to disintegrate, lobotomize, teleport away or even curse the werewolf to oblivion. But when unprepared or taken by surprise, any significant reality warping is too slow to survive the assault, with maybe an Akashic with high levels of Do standing some kind of chance.

[@markbenand]

The Prime sphere is basically like the power stone among the infinity stones. It fuels the other stones with infinite energy to increase their area and depth of influence.

[@zeropoint2594]

The somewhat funny part of the Kha´Vadi is that they are one of the few mage groups that the Werwolfs doesn´t hate in fact they are often times allies (and I guess the same is true for other Feras but that´s not mentioned in the Book) so you don´t only have to deal with an angry shaman that shaman can ask a bunch of angry werwolfs for help

[@ando5185]

The Sahajiya doing magic through drugs sounds like a really fun idea. I love the thought of a mage saying some shit like “I’m gonna do a magic! :)” and then taking 50 Benadryls at once.

[@diamondmetal3062]

Magic in this game fucking wild. Like, you know that meme about how the DnD spellcaster classes got their magic? It’s just that taken to its logical conclusion.

[@danielsos9824]

i played a sahajiya who woke up his avatar while he was on ayahuasca. he was fun.

[@Row.]

"don't worry guys, this should be enough for a very powerful spell, AND just shy of a proper overdose! If I stop convulsing call a Verbena. Or the morgue. Probably the morgue."

[@Talimara1]

“Hang on guys, I need to check with the Hat Man real quick…”

[@asturias0267]

I discovered your channel through looking for WoD lore videos and I would greatly appreciate more of them. It's my favorite kind of content on KZbin and the way you present it is entertaining.

[@incrediblyStupid678]

It's been a while since I've read the rulebook, but I believe they explained the effect of paradox and witnesses by mentioning something about a Mage being rather miffed at some townspeople and deciding on a whim to turn the whole town into a freaking snow globe. I also believe apart from 'reality cops' there was some sort of backlash a Mage could suffer if they take too much paradox all at once...because well, reality tends to correct itself and if you turn a whole town into a snow globe, it might just so happen that reality decides it's you, existing, that needs to be corrected.

[@RockiestRock]

Man, I absolutely love these longer videos on the lore of this universe! I hope you continue to make more!

[@NosferatuMonty776]

I'd love to see more like this! Helps my adhd to actually absorb this stuff instead of reading the same wiki article over and over

[@roguepsykerhaaker4813]

I love reading wiki articles, but I can only do so effectively after being introduced to a lot of base concepts so this really helps my adhd too :)

[@trevor7861]

The Akhasic Pro wrestler who must be in Kayfabe to do magick is cracking me up. I can’t help but imagine having to do a Randy Savage impression while confronting Technocrats. “I’m gonna take to the sky! Next time you see me, it’ll be me dropping an atomic elbow on you from low orbit!”

[@RunningOnAutopilot]

Will he finish the trifecta will he cover werewolf: the ecoterrorism Also would it be coincidental to use life5 to transform to a werewolf warform

[@chrisclark7285]

Nope. No more coincidental than throwing a fireball because vampire thaumaturges can do it. It's a plot point in Mage that the awakened don't know how other supernaturals don't get slapped with paradox, since doing the exact same thing as a mage will be vulgar. I will say that, as an ST, I'd rule that it's coincidental in an isolated Cairn, where reality is already pretty thin on the ground and kinsfolk are used to seeing warforms all the time.

[@scienceface8884]

There's a rule in one of the Mage books that says reality MIGHT let you get away with doing werewolf things if you're kinfolk, but it's mostly talking about invoking spiritual gifts by learning how other kinfolk do it and then basically just pretending to do that too. Same with mage ghouls pulling vampire disciplines without spending any vitae, even ones at levels that you can't possibly have. Just try to keep it out of general public perception or reality is going to start auditing your character sheet and slap you with so much paradox.

[@KairoStark]

I prefer to call it "Werewolf: real life but the monsters look like monsters"

[@notsae66]

If other supernaturals were affected by Paradox and Consensus, Wetewolves just flat out wouldn't exist. After they commited atrocities so hardcore all of mankind gained a fear and loathing of them so great they outright reject the possibility of their existence on a fundamental level, the fact Consensus didn't delete them says a lot about their separation from it. It also goes a ways to explain why so much of the factions have different histories and mythology that are all simultaneously true despite being absolutely incompatible. Consensus exists because mages believe it exists is one possible explanation though, and it might be something that actually only effects them because they're the only ones connected to it.

[@gs4011]

Yo burgerkrieg, your VTM clan video got me into the WOD and I'm loving the videos you do on it! Thanks!

[@CyberK4]

Not a Mage player, but I'm playing a Werewolf character in the campaign we're doing set in New York City. Due to certain time-related magic, we traveled back in time to deal with an issue related to a person we cared about not existing if we didn't do it. Problem is that tearing a whole in time and influencing it through magic means is the worst thing you can do stability-wise, and once we returned to the present, an Idigam (basically the equivalent of a madness spirit, but with god-like manipulative abilities) escaped from its enclosure on the Moon and set up shop at the point in New York where that time-travel occurred. Now, people have stopped dying more and more, and space within the idigam's territory is shifting more and more; it is believed that if we don't seal this idigam back, all of New York will cease to exist. My character, while he is a witch-doctor in that he can manipulate spiritual essence to his will, knows that he isn't distorting existence, more just convincing reality to nudge another direction. Basically, he doesn't try to change the fabric of the universe in that he just switches it around to be seen in a different way. However, after what happened with the idigam, he's starting to find the idea of magic, specifically the results of a magic paradox, to be too dangerous to be controlled. His boss is technically a Mage, but the fear is still there: what kind of damage could a Mage that has lost all restraint do to the world if they went off the deep end? This is exactly why he has developed a counter-measure in case his boss loses it; he'd rather kill a Mage or someone he respects than have even more people die as a result of messing with things they do not understand.

[@reconarmor99]

I got into Mage a few years ago so I already knew a lot of this but I really like the way you tell it. I hope you do the Technocratic conventions and crafts!

[@DungeonBro-wl4ps]

Would love to play a celestial chorus member that makes radder covers of the previous songs he had to practice by making them more electronic and metal whilst having a KZbin channel that he posts his covers on.

[@nathanburns5553]

Found your channel from the clans video and loving it! Keep up the good work dude

[@petrusjnaude7279]

Loved this. Had only ever vaguely heard of this as part of the same world that VTM takes place in. Now just do a video each on Wraith and Changeling. Easy right 😀? EDIT: Oh, and Werewolf of course.

[@DoomedPaladin]

I look forward to your Changeling: The Dreaming kith video! I'm sure it'll be coming along any time now.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Nice video. Still sad that not a single MAGE: The Awakening or Mage: The Ascension video game was ever made compared to a few Werewolf games and many, many Vampire games.

[@AliceTheSpider]

Vampire is a good system to make a video game, but I wouldn't want a Mage game as it would nothing to with mage other than using the lore elements. Main gamplay of the mage you creating your own paradigm or interpretation of some paradigm and breaking free of reality of the consensus there are no strict written spells or anything just suggestions since 9 spheres represents forces of reality based on your paradigm and everything else comes from that it's hard to put all possibilities of all plays maybe even most plays without it reducing to standart fantasy mage with pre-scripted magic

[@diamondhamster4320]

@@AliceTheSpider Maybe, maybe.

[@Speedyolrac]

Was Preparing to run a Vampire game, watched your two other videos, and I find this gem. I been trying to wrap my head around and teach this game for years but never quite managed it. Now I think I am ready to try again. Thank you for sharing your comprehension of the world.

[@dermotbresnehan6836]

Burger: "The Banner of the Ebon Dragon" Me, an Exalted player: I'm sure it's unrelated but I still feel an immense amount of "oh no"

[@ThulerPedro15]

Reality cops don't show up with nightfolk because they probably looking at their cellphones with punisher lock-screens, or something.

[@iosyf8409]

Wraith: The Oblivion next please and thank you. I love the way ya make lore videos.

[@Matthiastalks]

I missed the Hollow ones, but this is a cool video :D I hope that you will make an other part.

[@resumethyvideo7631]

If a mage GENUINELY thought he had knives for hands would he get knife hands 🤔

[@EvilDMMk3]

Only until the point they exploded

[@tzimiscelord8483]

If that mage had an understanding of the life and matter spheres of magic complete enough to cause such a change in reality they could will it to be so, but remember, Mages understand that the world is genuinely made up of patterns of quintessence that match up with different spheres they can control, so the mage doesnt believe his hands are knives, he genuinely understands that his hands are part of his pattern and by tweaking the patterns he can make his hands knives, and that such a change in reality is possible.

[@marcmielke]

I'd make them like wolverine, so you actually have hands too.

[@fredranzalot4849]

Sort of just believing things and them happening without invoking magic is more of a Marauder thing. They're sort of half-mages with delusions that then become reality.

[@victormeunier9075]

Just wanted to say: thank you, I love your work.

[@ghoulkinggruul7345]

Great video as always. I'm interested to see if you plan on doing a video on the other factions in Mage, like the Technocracy. While the game itself was clunky to say the least, Ascension easily had my favorite lore and factions in Old World of Darkness.

[@KaiserAfini]

One important thing to keep in mind is that there is no reason one foci is exclusive to a Tradition. The Cult of Ecstasy, for example, use altered states of perception to use their spells. This can mean perfumes, cooking, music, the high from exercise or the focused mindset while exercising, and much more. You can have an Ecstatic that produces ordered effects (Forces, Entropy, etc) by playing the violin, time travels by method acting into a person from that period, heals wounds by making the patient feel like a welcome guest in a cozy home or cures mental illnesses by using smells to invoke nostalgia of happier times. Drugs and sex are foci they commonly use, but not all of them. Each mage is different and being in a Tradition just means they have a more compatible approach to reality with other members. Nothing stops an Akashic from using Mongolian throat singing to calm a spirit any more than a Virtual Adept using an AI to generate the perfect Enochian chant/verbal program to control it.

[@TheAudacityOfHopefulHearts]

As a long time Mage fan I'm happy to see them get some love.

[@vxicepickxv]

You could probably cram the other 9 major factions into a second video. There's 5 conventions of the Technocracy, the Hollow Ones, the Ahl-I-Batin, the Taftâni, and the Nephandi. I wouldn't consider the marauders a major faction.

[@brianmccord8106]

Thank you for all this great video! I love how this baroque sci-fi & fantasy, wraps around our history & culture!

[@Lorfanatic]

I am so impressed that you made a case for Batman being the spirit guardian of and connected to the city of Gotham, and Batman Dreamspeaker is now cannon as far as I'm concerned.

[@nobafan7515]

I'm loving this. Also am I weird for thinking magic is either a metaphor for something else, or a type of technology since it always involves effort, talent, or the will of the universe?

[@luska5522]

Each Tradition sees it diferently

[@tartarustrommler5454]

Didn't you listen? Technology is (mostly) a type of magic.

[@seanconor1]

This is my first video of yours I’ve seen. I’m getting ready to play in my first world of darkness game tonight. Only took me like 5 seconds to subscribe to you thank you.

[@jagowestaway2503]

Liked and subbed, and I don't often comment but here I am doing that too. I love mage, I'm running my second game this summer and despite years of play this still taught me a thing or two, as well as being a great example of how to explain The LoreTM to new players... and backed up by good politics, too! What a find.

[@ZacMorris]

Gotta say, I love your videos! One thing I've always seen missing from the Mage discussion is a possible link to autism. I live with ASD and while I'm not a full sevant, I"ll often do or perceive something that seems very outside "the consensus" and it's kind of fascinating to watch how neuronormies react.

[@fluidthought42]

Consensus is outside of expected rules of nature and the universe, not necessarily social convention and interpersonal dynamics. Probably because the latter is very varied and the neurodivergent are plentiful and common enough (particularly more so than awakened mages) to be a significant part of that consensus. Basically the only universal commonality in the reality of Mage is both the diversity and yet the consistency of human psychology. Not of their individual thought patterns or of individual personalities or even individual mental conditions, but of the patterns of psychological principles. Most people can fear, can reason, and have reason overriden by fear. Most people host cognitive biases that they rely on day to day living and use mental heuristics rather than rely on thought out and researched ideas. Even among the neurodivergent there's still very human patterns of understanding the world, even if not necessarily of each other, that form into a functional consensus. We may not agree on proper social rituals but we can agree that throwing a lit cigarette into a dry bush covered in gasoline will have a predictable effect, and we both will (likely) have a healthy fear of burning to death. Of those that do not share those common concerns or have extraordinary concerns, their views on reality are so localized that it doesn't become part of consensus reality. The sense of dread and doom that can occur to someone with OCD failing to do a specific ritual could be very much real to them, but not to everyone else who doesn't believe in certain death and destruction coming from vacuuming the carpet at 2 AM five times in a specific pattern. Or the psychotic break from reality of someone with schizophrenia is not shared by most who don't believe in the their worldview, so it gets rejected. Autism on the other hand isn't classified by such... disturbed thinking patterns. Rather it's a different form of thinking still very much connected to this reality, without the "intuition" (read: neurological capacity to build awareness of body language and other forms of non-verbal, more abstracted communication) that neurotypicals have (and are often self defined by, it seems).

[@malcolmdarke5299]

So, the talk about the way the Consensus works reminds me an awful lot of a game called "This is a Work of Fiction".

[@Voice_of_p]

Got me thinking about a Mage Campgain i almost took part in. Great video. cute titel. Good Work. Stay Healthy.

[@bubbadumps3747]

I would love it if you became a wod lore channel. I need a good one of those in my life. I binged all of the others

[@blackmoon2128]

"The ONE place don't corrupted by Capitalism - tries not to laugh - SPACE" - I love Tim Curry

[@elainebundgaard3850]

I'm trying to learn more so I can run a game, and this was a really good synopsis of the factions. More pleeeeeease!

[@Cosmic_Yak]

I truly hope you cover the other Dark World materials...and then how it all kinda intersects. Long version... Friend on mine wanted me to play Vampire the Masquerade when I was home on leave (I was in the Army so being home was a 30 day ordeal...but I also had to visit family in that time) and I just wasn't feeling it. When I went back I mentioned VtM to some of my Role play buddies and was pointed to another group that Played (then) White Wolf products. At the time they were playing Mage (or trying to play it). Through them I learned their was other settings (if you will) and that they were all part of the same world...but none of them had a real good grasp to explain it and how they intersected with each other. I never got into Mage. It was some time later before I even entertained White Wolf games again. Vampire the Dark Ages came out and I was hooked on that like a crack addict. Later they came out with Psion and then renamed it Trinity...was ok but not exactly my jam till they came out with the Trinity prequel Aberrant. To this day Aberrant is my favorite White Wolf product I never heard nor saw anything stating Trinity and Aberrant was or wasn't part of the Dark World...I presumed not. Anywho Burgerkrieg, you seem most knowledgeable about the Dark World... so I hope to see more content and info on it.

[@rap_addict_420_blazeit2]

Dear God this is awesome 👍🏻 will you be making a Technocracy version of this, too? Please make that, too, if you have the time and energy 🙏🏻

[@user-cp6iy9rl3h]

Great video! Btw, have you ever considered looking into Chronicles of Darkness? It used to be known as the new World of Darkness but they changed the name. I know that it was kind of a mess in the beginning but it has grown into something much greater. I really think you should give it a look.

[@NeverlandSystemZor]

I LOVE your WOD content though... it's really helped my catch up on things since I last played- about 20 years ago.

[@tehwinnamon]

These videos are awesome, keep it up!

[@lucaspatricio3307]

Up yours, Reality Deviant! We see who cancels who!

[@jamesmcdonald1108]

Can we get a video on how the different groups interact? Death mages likely have interesting interactions with geists and vampires, and spirit ones might know whats up with the wyrm, and hunters of course know the least

[@voidshot]

Could you become a world of darkness lore channel, like on the side for fun? These videos have become a comfort watch for me

[@ericg34]

I love your work and your energy is so amazing keep it up you rock. 😊

[@Atljeepboy]

Saving this one to my favorites 😀Make more Mage videos.

[@krinkrin5982]

The most fun creative thing that a player did: we had a mage specializing in Matter. We found a girl whom we wanted to protect. He sits down, makes a big suit of armor out of cardboard and stuff, puts it on the girl, and then casts a spell to change all the cardboard into steel. Instant protection.

[@BhopOwnz]

Not that big on it compared to the other WoD factions but i watched the VtM lore video and immediately loved what you did. Am very big on MtA, and I'm only 7 minutes in and I can already tell this is right up my alley. Subbed and hitting that bell notification.

[@lasombra957]

The amount of times I feel the quotes made in this video are pure gold, limitless.

[@duel424]

I'd love a video covering the Technocratic union. Might even go into threat null.

[@lemonZzzzs]

"almost feature length" ...remember when movies were actually about 90 minutes long? :P them were the days... srsly tho, that's a cool overview, as usual @.@; hella stoked u started to cover mage xD

[@Defiantbeast]

Loved the video one of my all-time favorite RPG games!

[@jadencrawford2772]

If you can, do a review on the Fellowships on the Dark Age Mage supplement with their Pillars and unique allowance of Vulgar Magic. It's awesome.

[@hollowparagon1102]

Any chance of doing the werewolf clans and their lore? I like listening to your longer videos about this subject on long drives

[@mikenike6589]

Please discuss the Nephandi, you’re my go to WoD lore channel

[@calencor]

i Love this burger!

[@TheOriginalDevaad]

Fantastic Tim Curry reference, Burger. Thank you.

[@atpsoldat6108]

Btw, congrats on having video being reacted to. That’s how you know you made your mark on this platform.

[@johnwalsh4857]

Make a video on the technocracy, marauders, nephandi I find them all fascinating.