Paradigm Shift: Gradient Descent

Adam and Pooka discuss Bastet, the were-cats of the World of Darkness.  Where do they come from? What do they want? Do they work well with mages? How can you mix them into your games and how do you keep them happy?  The 9 tribes, the lost tribe & just what kind of boots Puss in Boots wears are all covered.Mage the Podcast social media linksWebsitehttp://magethepodcast.comPatreonhttps://bit.ly/MagePatreonBlueskyhttps://bsky.app/profile/magethepodcast.bsky.socialMastodonhttps://dice.camp/@magethepodcastThreadshttps://www.threads.net/@magethepodcastDiscordhttps://discord.gg/V6QNT8b8

Pooka and Lee Webb revisit White Wolf's 1995 anthology City of Darkness: Unseen, a collection of interconnected stories featuring mages, vampires, werewolves, and wraiths.This episode focuses on the Mage stories and examines magical hubris, the Technocracy, supernatural crossovers, and what makes fiction feel true to Mage: The Ascension.Spoiler warning: Major story spoilers throughout.Show Notes “Assault on Treasure Island” by Bill Crider: A Dreamspeaker, a Hollow One, and their allies attempt an ill-advised assault on a Technocratic stronghold. “Persistence of Vision” by James Lowder: An Etherite filmmaker confronts a supernatural reflection and the consequences of her cinematic experiments. “Self-Portrait in Nightmares” by Thomas S. Roche: A Verbena's blood paintings become entangled with a vampire's desire to escape his existence. “Antiphon” by Jackie Cassada: A Progenitor confronts a crisis of loyalty when a Celestial Chorister becomes the target of a cloning operation. “The Dark of the Year” by Kevin Andrew Murphy: Necromancy, supernatural contracts, ghostly legal intervention, and the continuing Penny Dreadful storyline. “Sparrow's Song” by James S. Dorr: A jazz musician uses supernatural music to evade the authorities. “Career Move” by Edo van Belkom: A stage magician recovers from a previous encounter with the Technocracy while pursuing his career. “A Place to Stay” by David Chart: A young mage and a lupus Garou form an unlikely partnership around an urban Node. “Shadow of a Reflection of a Cat's Head” by Jane M. Lindskold: An Akashic mage investigates altered memories, betrayal, and the death of fellow mages. “Waiting for Goddard” by Philip Nutman: An encounter involving mages and a Silent Strider leads to further supernatural complications. Related material Truth Until Paradox — earlier Mage fiction anthology When Will You Rage? — Werewolf fiction anthology Death & Damnation — Wraith fiction anthology The Beast Within — Vampire fiction anthology

The cats are out of the bag! Adam is joined by Pooka for a tour through the Bastet, the werecats of the World of Darkness, and the many ways they can complicate a Mage: The Ascension chronicle.Show Notes Bastet biology and shapeshifting The supernatural weaknesses called Yava All nine Bastet tribes Bubasti connections to magic and ancient Egypt The mysterious Celican Qualmi riddles The possible connection between Den-Realms and Mage Shallow RealmsNever underestimate what a target word count and a heaping ladle full of passion can get you.

Pooka and TL Webb discuss the finer points of Dark Destiny and Dark Destiny 2.  These short story collections offer World of Darkness stories.  The ones that involve mages get special focus.  What drink helps a mage warp reality?  What sport do mages love to interfere with?  All that and more in today’s episode.Mage the Podcast social media linksWebsitehttp://magethepodcast.comPatreonhttps://bit.ly/MagePatreonBlueskyhttps://bsky.app/profile/magethepodcast.bsky.socialMastodonhttps://dice.camp/@magethepodcastThreadshttps://www.threads.net/@magethepodcastDiscordhttps://discord.gg/V6QNT8b8

Adam and Pooka discuss Algernon Blackwood’s fiction, his occult interests, his fascination with nature, and what his stories can teach Mage: The Ascension Storytellers about the sublime, supernatural uncertainty, spirits, Correspondence, Awakening, and psychological horror.Show Notes Mage 20 SRD Blackwood, the Golden Dawn, and psychical research Why “The Willows” remains influential weird fiction The sublime as a tool for Mage Correspondence and “A Victim of Higher Space” Magical instruments in “A Psychical Invasion” Hermetic magic in “Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House” Reincarnation and “Ancient Sorceries” Psychic vampirism and “The Transfer” Sleepers encountering the supernatural Playing Awakening instead of relegating it to backstory Using wilderness settings in Mage and “The Wendigo” Psychological horror without Nephandi or cosmic monsters Mystical isolation, obsession, and chantries Using Sphere perceptions to generate story hooks Why Blackwood may feel especially appropriate for Mage: The Ascension (Second Edition)A note on the 1910 wilderness novellaThe episode discusses Blackwood’s use of material drawn from Algonquin-speaking Indigenous cultures while distinguishing his Edwardian weird fiction from the living traditions he transformed.

Tomes of Magick: The Other Side of the CoinWe’re returning to Tomes of Magic in Translation with a Spanish-language introductory adventure for Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition.La Otra Cara de la Monera is an 18-page one-shot for two to five players that introduces the Traditions, Sphere magic, Resonance, Paradox, Avatars, and magical Focus through an investigation into a series of horrific supernatural crimes.The trail leads from an impossible murder scene to corrupted young mages, the Nephandus Mark Frazier, and an expanding metaphysical void that may eventually consume the surrounding neighborhood.We break down all seven scenes, examine the five pregenerated characters, and discuss what happened when the adventure was actually run for a table containing both new and experienced World of Darkness players.Show Notes Introducing new players to Mage Spanish-language M20 material Investigation using Sphere magic Resonance and Paradox Nephandi as introductory antagonists Magical temptation and corruption Focus, paradigm, and Avatars Collaborative Sphere effects Running the adventure as a one-shot What worked—and what could be changed—after actual playSpoiler warning: The adventure is discussed almost completely.

What happens when a Mothership scenario is brought into Mage: The Ascension?Adam examines Gradient Descent, a science-fiction horror scenario set aboard an abandoned android factory controlled by an AI called Monarch. The station contains valuable technology, discarded androids, copied human minds, unreliable allies, zero-gravity hazards, and an intelligence determined to make visitors question whether they were ever human.The episode considers how to use the Deep as an Iteration X construct, how Monarch might connect to the Matriarch or Threat Null, and how the scenario can work for Technocrats, Tradition mages, Disparates, acolytes, or extraordinary citizens.Show Notes Mothership - A sci-fi horror TTRPG with OSR-style, d100 rules and stress/panic mechanics, inspired by Alien and Event Horizon. Gradient Descent - A 64-page sci-fi horror megadungeon for Mothership, written by Luke Gearing, illustrated by Nick Tofani, published by Tuesday Knight Games (2020) Iteration X and Technocracy campaign hooks Correspondence, Life, Mind, hacking, and scenario balance Why the station works best outside the Umbra

The World of Darkness is as global a phenomenon outside the games as it is within. Many of the books have been translated by one licensee or another over the years, and a precious few have been created by and for the fans in other countries. In this installment of Tomes of Magick, Pooka cracks open the Mage chapter from 1997's Le Monde des Ténèbres: France, a French-only general WoD book that explores that country in the setting. What are the Verbena doing around the megaliths of Carnac? Who's pulling the strings of the then-nascent EU? Why is the Digital Web so weird in this part of the world? Listen in for these and other tantalizing questions.“Zoning boards are where the fight against the Technocracy must needs be fiercest and firmest.”Mage the Podcast social media linksWebsitehttp://magethepodcast.comPatreonhttps://bit.ly/MagePatreonBlueskyhttps://bsky.app/profile/magethepodcast.bsky.social Discordhttps://discord.gg/7rsy59Zz Mastodonhttps://dice.camp/@magethepodcast Pixelfedhttps://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/792325079447125841 Threadshttps://www.threads.net/@magethepodcast

Adam and Heilong discuss the Sphere of Prime. Is it worth keeping?  What can it do for you?  How does it affect quintessence and other things?  Is Primal Utility a thing? Tune in and hear about new possibilities for bringing the Sphere into your games.Mage the Podcast social media linksWebsitehttp://magethepodcast.comPatreonhttps://bit.ly/MagePatreonBlueskyhttps://bsky.app/profile/magethepodcast.bsky.socialMastodonhttps://dice.camp/@magethepodcastThreadshttps://www.threads.net/@magethepodcastDiscordhttps://discord.gg/V6QNT8b8

We climb John H. Steele’s Tower of Babel, a Mage novel full of creators, characters, conspiracies, and reality getting mighty leaky around the edges. It’s metafiction, Technocracy trouble, dream-tower theology, and one poor writer learning that when your fiction talks back, maybe don’t answer after drinking.Show Notes Tower of Babel - Book man invents fascist action guy. Fascist action guy becomes real. Magic happens. Bureaucrats get spooky. Reality files a complaint. John H. Steele - wrote lots of White Wolf fiction, helped shape the Clan Novel Saga, and used the pen name Gherbod Fleming.