Interest Check: Mage 20

I'd like to run a Mage the Ascension 20th anniversary game. Not sure yet if it will be focused solely on Tradition Mages or be more of a mixed bag for the group. I've already got a couple interested parties, so I'd only be looking for two or three players. Is there anybody alive out there?

I have virtually no experience playing a Mage so I would be thrilled to get some. I have plenty of experience with some other White Wolf lines, so I'm familiar with the core mechanics. If you don't mind someone learning the setting, I'd be thrilled to play.

Did somebody say Mage? I'm so in!

Yes

So this is quickly become a recruitment thread. I'll keep it open through Wednesday July 16 and then choose players.

Definitely very interested too. I think I played every previous version of Mage back in the day, but not M20 before.

Interested as well, but would certainly like to hear more about it. Both Mage and other WoD lines are quite flexible in terms of types of games that can be run, so I would love to hear what the general ideas/plans are. Themes, moods, genres involved, that sort of thing. I, personally, prefer the exploration of the Mage - her mind, internal struggles, conflicting philosophies and grappling with the newfound power, rather than focusing on her Magic(k) and the types of Effects being produced, and lean more towards more down-to-earth, somber, mature games, rather than light-hearted comedic whacky adventures.

I agree 100% with reversia.ch and I'm looking forward to hearing @JoshuaMabry pitch/idea

I have some ideas but am open to new ones.

I had envisioned a chronicle where several mages discover the Nephandi are almost everywhere these days, and struggle to expose them to both the Traditions and the Technocracy so both sides can be brought in to battle them.

If we want to build an introspective side to things I'm happy to explore that. Perhaps we can work in some temptations of the Fallen.

Created the game page and so the description is listed above.

Well, this can be taken quite a few different ways. Like:

Maybe it is prevalence of evil and apathy, where characters discover that their depressed, morbid colleague actually went through through the Caul and [b]nobody[/i] noticed. Even when they were exposed, the people at the top - be it the Council representatives, chantry leaders, etc - show no initiative or interest in pursuing the matter, focused on either survival in the wake of the War's end, pursuit of their own mystical/temporal power, or something else. Definitely gives a "doomed" sort of vibe, not sure it will be a lot of people's cup of tea.

Maybe it is more of a spy thriller. Characters on the one or both sides of the fence realize that their superiors are Fallen and go rogue, while being pursued by both the Nephandi's forces and their former comrades, who have been convinced that it is the characters who have betrayed their camp. Can be an interesting deep dive, where PCs who only recently joined up, are forced to abandon everything they hold dear and go on the run. Also, considering their Masters were Fallen, can they even trust their training, this belief system that they've been taught or is it a demonic paradigm? This feels like optimal plot that can include - intrigue, thriller, action, self-reflection, metaphysics and philosophies.

Maybe the "everywhere" part is related to mundane matters - the neighborhood that their chantry is at is getting gentrified by Pentex. Or maybe it's AI boom related - with Nephandic forces desiring to corrupt the Cyber Realm through tainted data-sets and energy plant built on the site of mass blood rituals/sacrifices.

Maybe it is corrupt science. The great new inventions that were supposed to benefit the humanity are being commandeered by the corps and companies and that clearly couldn't have happened without a Fallen hand somewhere inside the corporate halls of NWO or Syndicate.

Maybe it is a street chronicle, where the city/neighborhood is becoming increasingly overrun by pushers, selling weird mystic drugs.

Maybe it is a "magic school type" plot, where new students at the Progenitors university realized that bunch of their professors are not quite what they seem.

---

Tons of options, really. Pretty broad concept. It might be a good idea to think why you want the Nephandi specifically as antagonists in your chronicle. What part of them do you actually want to include/explore?

Well, I don't want to explore the magic school plot, but any of those other ideas appeal to me. You're right in that the first concept you threw out for a "doomed" story line would not be for everyone. I'd be for it though.

In the end while I enjoy shades of gray I like having an obvious "bad guy" for the heroes to punch in the face. In Mage that’s the Nephandi.

Then i feel like the "spy thriller" concept can be a good starting choice, since it be easily adjusted depending on players interests and desires.
More action? There is a hit squad on your tail.
Moral ambiguity? To achieve a certain goal (or just survive) you have to do morally questionable things. So who is the villain now?
Tension? Breaking into a facility/chantry/sanctum to recover evidence of the Masters betrayal.
The cabal also has a direct innate interest in sticking together - survival. They're in a bind together and can only rely on each other.
Social/politics? Making deals with enemy faction or trying to figure out if your former construct-mate is not a traitor as well.
Drama? Everyone has someone they care about and Nephandi have zero moral scruples to use your personal weaknesses against you.

And so on, so forth.

Though again, this all depends on what you, the Storyteller, want to get out of your Nephandi plot/connection and what type of evil we're looking at here. And then there are player's leaning to take into account.

I like the directions you’re headed. I think I will adopt the spy thriller model to begin with. And it has the potential to bring together characters from all three of the main player character factions of the game setting as well.

I’ve successfully found my copy of M20, and I see the discussion has been active.
The school plot would tend towards the comedic, and WoD in general doesn’t feel geared to such a game (though mage would do it better than many others).
I’m also down with avoiding an excessively doomed or political plotline; if I wanted that, I’d probably enjoy Vampire a lot more.
Paradox means that vulgar magic show-offs don’t tend to last long; I take that as a hint that the setting is not intended to go that way either (or at least, only rarely and at a price).
My favoured past mages have been Akashics, Hermetics, and a Batini, though I’ve dabbled with others. I would like to play an Etherite, but I’ve yet to come up with a concept that really works for me. The games I’ve seen work best are those where magic is only a part of the characters’ solution, and their other abilities play a significant part as well. Situations where creative solutions are more rewarding than a big gun (or lightning bolt) appeal the most.
Beginning magi are not that powerful, so something relatively street-level might suit; but for Mage, street level could include faerie trods and Umbral paths, according to inclination.
Used to be the go-to villains were the Technocracy, with Nephandi and Marauders for variation and flavour. Reckon I need to read up on the background of this edition. However, layered villainy (where one villain crops up through agents and proxies) was always a possibility.

It also would be nice to get some background on the setting and metaplot. I assume that this is a modern day chronicle, right?
Are we doing something closer to M2 metaplot/vibe, with open (more or less) Umbral travel, the War still going, Horizon standing strong or

Going the way of the Revised, with its Avatar Storms, Rogue Councils, etc.

Or just leaving both behind to play something more neutral and less metaplot-dependent?

I’m thinking of following more along the lines of Revised as far as metaplot. Still working some things out there though, and I’d be welcome to ideas and thoughts.

Ideally I’d like to run a modern day game. It’s a very politically charged time though, so I understand if you all wouldn’t want to do that. What does everyone think?

Personally I would perfere to have the awakening story, where my character discovers her power and learning how to use it. This can of course be tied into an existing modern-spy-story

@runekyndig I can make that happen.