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Mage: The Podcast
by Mage: The Podcast
A podcast dedicated to exploring the Mage: The Ascension, a role-playing game (RPG) based in the World of Darkness.
Episodes
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Mage Fiction - City of Darkness: Unseen
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…
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Crossover: Werecat in the Ascension Part 1
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...
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Dark Destinies
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…
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Reality Deviants Book Club: Algernon Blackwood
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...
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Tomes of Magick: The Other Side of the Coin
Tomes of Magick: The Other Side of the Coin We’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,...
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Paradigm Shift: Gradient Descent
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...
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World of Darkness: France
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…
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In Defense of Prime
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 links Website...
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Tower of Babel
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…
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Crossover: Rokea in Mage
Adam swims with the sharks to bring you information and ideas to help you add the Rokea, the shape shifting sharks of the World of Darkness, to your games. What are the Kahu hiding? What lies at the bottom of ocean trenches? Why don’t sharks floss? Tune in and find out. Show Notes Rokea…
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Reality Deviants Book Club: Dark City
Adam and Pooka discuss Dark City (1998). Another movie that paints the World of Darkness on the screen for you to see. This one aligns so closely with Mage: The Ascension (First Edition) ; watch out for Paradox. Can this inspire you to portray Sphere effects in your game? Is it a good example of…
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Paradigm Shift: Stygian Library
Adam talks about Emmy Allen’s Stygian Library, the library that doesn’t end. Will your players find the knowledge they’re looking for? Can they evade the mysterious librarians and their super computer? The sister volume to Gardens of Ynn is full of ideas that may find a place in your Mage games....
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Mage Fiction: Such Pain
Pooka and Lee discuss Such Pain, the first Mage novel published in 1995. Can novel-length stories help you envision the world of Mage? Did the author hit it out of the park with this one? Hear Pooka and Lee’s review of the book. Their commentary highlights how the World of Darkness was a little...
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Reality Deviants Book Club: Arthur Machen
Adam and Pooka discuss the weird fiction of Arthur Machen, Welshman extraordinaire. Do turn of the century horror stories offer anything to modern Mage games? Is this a boon to Victorian Mage Storytellers? Do the powers of darkness really want to redecorate your office? Tune in & hear story…
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Media Club: Buckaroo Banzai
Adam, Jenna, and Pooka take a gleeful ride through The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, celebrating its pulpy charm, wild 80s style, oddball science, and Mage-ready Etherite energy. They cover what works, what wobbles, how to “Mage-ify” it, and why this messy cult classic...
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Truth Until Paradox
Truth Until Paradox Pooka and T.L. Webb crack open Truth Until Paradox, Mage’s first fiction anthology. They chat why tie-in stories matter, then speed-tour 17 wildly uneven, very ’90s tales—Technocracy vs Traditions, Nephandi schemes, HIT-Marks, odd Wonders, and fan-fic energy. Show Notes Truth...
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Stone Lore
The most powerful skill in Mage is uncovered at last. Join Adam and Pooka as they lay bare the stone cold facts about Stone Lore. The mystic qualities of malachite, how to use Stone Lore in your games and the merits of marrying Spanish dancers are all discussed as your hosts try to penetrate the...
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PAX Unplugged Conversations, Part 2
Once again, we’re going back in time to PAX Unplugged 2024 and a series of interviews conducted by Terry Robinson. This installment features five conversations with various folks in the gaming space. We hope you get some joy and wisdom out of these chats. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to jump into...
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Crossover: Ananasi in Mage
Adam talks about bringing the Ananasi into games of Mage the Ascension. Ananasi are the were-spiders of Werewolf the Apocalypse. Where do they come from? How do they operate? What can they bring to your Mage games? Whether enemies or allies, the spider folk have much to offer. This is the first…
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PAX Unplugged Conversations, Part 1
This episode travels back in time to PAX Unplugged 2024, where Terry Robinson captured interviews and loose, late-night conversations with creators and friends. This first installment (of two, or possibly three) features interviews with folks from AED Publishing, The Bodhana Group, and a rambling...
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Making Sense of the Digital Web
Adam and James walk you through the Digital Web books. Then James discusses topics to consider when taking your players to the digital realm. Where is it in the Mage cosmos? How do you get there? How do you move around and work magick? What might you meet there? How does Augmented Reality really...
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Tomes of Magick: Weird Wonders & Revolutionary Magicks
What hath Empire wrought? Pooka and Jenna poke at that question today as they open up the supplement Weird Wonders and Revolutionary Magicks for Victorian Age Mage. The book features dozens of items, rotes, and story hooks, and while your mileage may vary with how much use you get out of them,...
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Paradigm Shift: Gardens of Ynn
Ever wandered into a garden so beautiful you forgot the way out? 🌿 In this week’s Mage: The Podcast, Adam explores The Gardens of Inn — a mysterious, decaying fae realm from the OSR classic by Emmy Allen — and shows how it can bloom in your Mage: The Ascension game. Plus, a new “Paradigm Shift”...
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Reality Deviants Book Club: The Crow
Howdy, Mage fans! Adam and Pooka are back with big news, a new Changeling magic book, and invites to TryItCon2: TerryCon and PAX Unplugged. This time they dig into The Crow, from comic grief to film justice, goth rain, Brandon Lee, and Mage-style ideas. A quick stop with Philip K. Dick, a chat...
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Memorial for Terry Robinson
Today's episode is a memorial to our departed friend and co-host, Terry Robinson. Join Adam, Bryce, Charles, Josh, and Pooka as they share some memories, followed by a series of messages submitted from our community and some words from Joseph. We also invite you to download the free PDF of the…
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Tomes of Magick: Zero Edition, Part 2
In Part 2 of our Mage Zero Edition deep-dive, Adam and Pooka sift the fun esoterica—early Tradition names (Parmenidians, Initiates of the Invisible World), a clearer Celestial Chorus, Dreamspeakers’ true remit, quirky rituals, big willpower walls, Paradox wrinkles, the dream magic that never was,...
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Tomes of Magick: Zero Edition, Part 1
Adam and Pooka crack open a lost treasure — Mage: The Ascension, Zero Edition, a 1993 manuscript that shaped the game’s future. They share laughs, lore, share their thoughts on what was best left behind and what is ready to drop into your game, and a few “what were they thinking?” moments, from...
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Tomes of Magick: Bizarre Tales & Unusual Characters
Pooka and Bryce crack open Victorian Mage: Bizarre Tales and Unusual Characters. From ghostly X-ray photos to occult artists and Umbra conspiracies, what stories and characters wait around the globe for your players to discover? Plus, TryItCon 2: Terry Con Edition is set for Nov 7–9 on Discord &...
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Never-Real Worlds
Adam and Pooka explore the wild world of Paradox, those cosmic smackdowns that keep Mages humble. They chat about realms where magic bites back, share tales from the table, and review Never-Real Worlds, a Storyteller’s Vault toolkit full of roll tables to spark your own strange Paradox…
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Movie Club: Sneakers
Welcome to Reality Deviants Movie Club! Pooka, Adam, and Jenna dive into Sneakers (1992), a techno-thriller packed with heists, hacker mages, and Mage: The Ascension plot seeds. From Virtual Adepts vs. Technocracy to teamwork and codebreaking wonders, we break it all down—plus ideas for running...
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Tomes of Magick: Laws of Ascension Companion
Adam and guest Amena dive into Laws of Ascension Companion, the last Mage live action role-playing game (LARP) book. From Technocracy quirks to oddball factions, wild rotes, and Umbra adventures, they cover what works, what’s weird, and what’s worth borrowing for your Chronicle. Plus, Amena…
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Community Roundup July 2025
Adam chats with 4 guests about 3 projects. Mage 20 system reference document, Book of Common Magicks and Darkness Over Dallas fiction series. Mage 20 SRD https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_GzPNZoPabVMAKxk_y1aBpl0jic5QD8Y1TyLpCQUuKg Book of Common Magicks...
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Tomes of Magick: Seance on St. James Street
In this spirited dive into Séance on St. James Street, Pooka and Josh Heath dissect the Victorian Mage jumpstart—what works, what misses, and whether it’s a fitting intro for new players. From ghostly redemption arcs to wonky stats and page-layout sins, they unravel the spectral threads of this...
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Tomes of Magick: Laws of Ascension
Adam and Bryce dive into Laws of Ascension, Mage’s guide to live-action roleplaying! They chat rotes, rubber rats, and rock-paper-scissors magic, with plenty of laughs and a dash of heartfelt critique. Whether you’re LARP-curious or just love mage lore, this one's for you. Also, Bryce shares news...
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Interview with James Curcio
Writer, musician, and game designer James Curcio joins us for a warm, wide-ranging chat on magic, myth, and RPGs. From Dungeons & Dragons to Mage: The Ascension and Modern Mythology, we talk play, storytelling, and the mystery of it all. Oh, yeah, and we also shoot the breeze about goblins, game...
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Mystic Syndicate I
This is the final two-hander episode featuring the brilliant and sorely missed Terry Robinson, recorded with Pooka before Terry’s passing. In this deeply personal and intellectually rich conversation, Terry and Pooka dive headfirst into the mystic heart of the Syndicate , exploring its layered...
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Interview with Gary Lachman
In this episode, legendary occult historian and ex-Blondie bassist Gary Lachman joins us to talk magic, Crowley, meme sorcery, and the reality-bending weirdness of the 21st century. From shared dreams in 1970s New York to egregores, astral hobos, and the dark gravity of Trump as a Tulpa, Gary…
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Tomes of Magick: Forbidden & Forgotten Orders
What makes a great Disparate? Adam and Pooka crack open M20 Forgotten and Forbidden Orders to spotlight the most compelling crafts in Mage 20—from the dream-walking Noma to the sandstorm-riding Taftani. Along the way, they unpack what works, what doesn’t. Also in this episode: TryItCon 2, a...
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Tomes of Magick: Faces of Magick
Pooka and Bryce discuss M20 Faces of Magick. One of the final two books of Mage 20, a collection of NPCs, ideas and possibilities. Show Notes M20 Faces of Magick Final NPC-focused supplement for Mage 20 Originally a stretch goal from Lore of the Traditions Kickstarter TryItCon 2: Tarragon Edition…
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Interview with Arden Leigh
Arden Leigh shares her magical journey—from neuro-linguistic programming and trauma healing to chaos magic, sigils, and becoming Grant Morrison’s magical heir. We explore her concept of “repatterning,” her band Arden and the Wolves, the ethics of magical identity, and the risks and rewards of...
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Reality Deviants Book Club: King in Yellow
Adam and Pooka discuss Robert W. Chambers' King in Yellow mythos and other stories. Can they inspire Mage stories? Can these two stick to the subject? Yellow Signs: The Decadent Movement and its Influence on Weird Fiction Blog article on The Yellow Wallpaper, 1892 Free stories online Cosmic vs....
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Tomes of Magick WoD Hong Kong
Terry and 3 other hosts discuss World of Darkness Hong Kong Mage the Podcast social media links Website http://magethepodcast.com Patreon https://bit.ly/MagePatreon Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/magethepodcast.bsky.social Mastodon https://dice.camp/@magethepodcast Threads...
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Some Tips for New Storytellers
Adam’s riding solo on this one, and he’s pulling a bundle of helpful tricks and tips out of his Storyteller’s saddlebag—especially for folks just starting out running Mage games. If you’re a veteran, you might hear some familiar ground, but if you’re new to the Storyteller’s seat, this one’s a…
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Tomes of Magick: M20 Sorcerer
Adam and Terry discuss Mage20 Sorcerer. What do the sorcerers and psychics of the World of Darkness get up to when they can't learn Sphere magick? Mage the Podcast social media links Website http://magethepodcast.com Patreon https://bit.ly/MagePatreon Bluesky...
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Interview with Jiba Anderson on the Bata'a
Adam interviews Jiba Anderson, author of the Bata'a chapter in Forbidden and Forgotten Orders. Griot Enterprises Rocbottom Studios Mage the Podcast social media links Website http://magethepodcast.com Patreon https://bit.ly/MagePatreon Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/magethepodcast.bsky.social...
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Houses of Hermes
Terry and Michael Mercere discuss six of the Houses of the Order of Hermes. Michael's book Riddle of the Sphinx Check out OoH Tradition Book and OoH Tradition Book Revised. Mage the Podcast social media links Website http://magethepodcast.com Patreon https://bit.ly/MagePatreon Bluesky...
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Interview with Atalanti Evripidou on the Sisters of Hippolyta
Pooka G interviews Atalanti Evripidou on her Sisters of Hippolyta chapter Forbidden & Forgotten Orders. We Are Island, published in Luna Station Quarterly issue 060. In Greek, this story was published in issue 37 of "Φανταστικά Χρονικά" magazine. Shanties of the Sunless Vast, published in the...
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Satyros Brucato Interview on the Solificati
Adam interviews Satyros Brucato on his Solificati chapter in Forbidden & Forgotten Orders. Brucato's Recommendations: The Magician's Reflection by Bill Whitcomb The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley The Alchemists of Kush by Minister Faust Maynard James Keenan biography Gary Lachman books:...
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Rachelle Udell Interview on the Ngoma
Adam chats with longtime contributor Rachelle Udell. Rochelle shares her journey through Mage projects—from her early days to her favorite, The Fallen Tower: Las Vegas—and dives into her hefty chapter on the Ngoma in Forbidden and Forgotten Orders. With wit and warmth, she unpacks magical lore,...
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Tomes of Magick: World of Darkness: Tokyo
Hey folks, we’ve got something special for you—a new podcast series featuring our dear friend Terry Robinson, recorded before his passing. With the blessing of his loved ones, we’re rolling out these episodes alongside some fantastic guest co-hosts. In this first installment, co-produced by Pooka...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast dedicated to exploring the Mage: The Ascension, a role-playing game (RPG) based in the World of Darkness.
HOSTED BY
Mage: The Podcast
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mage: The Podcast have?
Mage: The Podcast currently has 371 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mage: The Podcast about?
A podcast dedicated to exploring the Mage: The Ascension, a role-playing game (RPG) based in the World of Darkness.
How often does Mage: The Podcast release new episodes?
Mage: The Podcast publishes regularly with 371 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Mage: The Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mage: The Podcast?
Mage: The Podcast is created and hosted by Mage: The Podcast.
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