Mage: The Podcast

Overview

A podcast dedicated to exploring the
Mage: The Ascension https://www.groupfinder.gg/library/mage-the-ascension
, a role-playing game (RPG) based in the
World of Darkness https://www.groupfinder.gg/library/world-of-darkness
.

Latest episodes

  • 52m

    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...

  • 30m

    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...

  • 18m

    Tomes of Magick: The Other Side of the Coin

    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...

  • 38m

    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. Th...

  • 33m

    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 fan...

  • 1h 01m

    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 brin...

  • 51m

    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 p...

  • 51m

    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 tren...

  • 34m

    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...

  • 51m

    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...

  • 44m

    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 o...

  • 33m

    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...

  • 46m

    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...

  • 50m

    Truth Until Paradox

    Truth Until ParadoxPooka 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, Nep...

  • 52m

    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...

  • 1h 04m

    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...

  • 38m

    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? Wheth...

  • 1h 10m

    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...

  • 1h 46m

    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...

  • 1h 30m

    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 hoo...

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Other entries

Fantasy World Generator
Tools & Platforms

Fantasy World Generator

English
Worldbuilding
Generators
Fantasy World Generator is a free, offline Android toolkit for solo players, game masters and worldbuilders. Its oracle answers yes or no questions with shifting odds and a Chaos Factor, tracks open plot threads and NPCs, and can open any of the app's 43 generators mid-scene, feeding the result straight back into the story. Every result comes from handwritten tables running on the device, with no account, and no AI anywhere in it.

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TableStage
Tools & Platforms

TableStage

Virtual tabletop (VTT)
English
Free
TableStage is purpose-built map display software for in-person tabletop games. It runs on a Raspberry Pi 4 as a flashable image and turns any TV or screen into a controllable map display, operated entirely from a phone or tablet browser. Setup takes a few minutes: flash the image to an SD card, plug the Pi into the screen, scan the QR code that appears, and the display is live. There is no open laptop at the table, no PC, no cloud, no accounts, and nothing for players to install. A Windows version is coming to Steam soon. TableStage is deliberately not a full VTT. It has no tokens, no character sheets, no dynamic lighting, and no rules automation, and it does not try to move the game onto a screen. Physical minis stay on the table. The software exists to do one job well: put maps on the table with as little friction as possible, and add atmosphere with pinned music and ambience. /images/general-media/1785795372_YVhCgnVG.png The GM controls everything from their phone, including switching maps, drawing fog of war live as the party explores, adjusting the grid, and managing audio. Maps are organised into collections, so a GM can group everything for a campaign or a session and switch between them quickly during play, with audio pinned per map. Collections can be exported and imported, which makes it straightforward to back up a library, move it to another device, or share a prepared set with someone else. The display itself shows only the map, with no menus, cursors, or interface clutter visible to players. Everything runs locally over the group's own Wi-Fi, and after initial setup the system never touches the internet, making it suitable for venues without reliable connectivity. /images/general-media/1785795379_FowVrjRg.png Key features Static and animated maps up to 4K60 Fog of war drawn on the phone, revealed live on the screen as the party explores Grid overlay calibrated to your screen (size, shape, colour, opacity) Maps organised into collections Audio pinned per map for autoplay on map selection or playable from the playlist Collections can be exported and imported for backup, transfer, or sharing Music and ambience over Bluetooth, AirPlay, HDMI, or the Pi's audio jack Idle screens, colour grading, and animated overlays such as clouds and fog Controller runs in any browser, optimised for mobile device operation Fully offline after setup /images/general-media/1785795387_L29WqWlz.png Suitable for Groups playing in person who want maps displayed on a TV or table screen without a computer at the table, who prefer to keep their physical minis, and who want a setup that works without configuration or accounts. Links tablestage.com - Official website

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Fearless Few Gaming
Video

Fearless Few Gaming

TTRPG
English
Youtube
Fearless Few Gaming is a cinematic tabletop RPG channel built for a new generation of players, those who want to experience games before they ever sit down at the table. Founded by filmmaker and video production professional Will Ezell, the channel blends high end visual storytelling with practical, no nonsense breakdowns of tabletop RPG starter sets, boxed experiences, and complete entry points into the hobby. Every video is designed with a simple goal: remove the friction between curiosity and play. At its core, Fearless Few Gaming answers a question most channels overlook: “If I buy this box...what is it actually like?” A Channel Built Like a Production, Not a Review /images/general-media/1774041361_6040Hs97.png Fearless Few Gaming doesn’t operate like a traditional review channel. It operates like a production studio. Each episode is structured with intentional pacing, visual storytelling, and layered editing designed to mirror the experience of opening, learning, and playing a game in real time. From cinematic box reveals to dice shots and fully themed environments, every visual element reinforces immersion, not just information. This is not just coverage. It’s translation, taking complex systems, dense rulebooks, and intimidating boxes, and turning them into something watchable, and exciting so that you can decide for yourself. The Starter Set Society /images/general-media/1774041350_XQs9giAp.png The flagship series, The Starter Set Society, is the backbone of the channel and its defining identity. Each episode explores a curated starter set or boxed RPG experience and breaks it down through three lenses: - What’s actually inside the box - How the system plays at the table - Whether it delivers a compelling first session The format prioritizes clarity and momentum. Mechanics are explained lightly and cleanly then the focus shifts to experience. How it feels to play, how quickly players engage, and what kind of stories emerge. Episodes are structured to guide viewers from curiosity to confidence in around ten minutes. Designed for Discovery Fearless Few Gaming is built with discoverability in mind, both for viewers and for the games themselves. Each video is optimized to serve as an entry point into the hobby, using clear framing, accessible language, and tightly structured pacing that respects the viewer’s time while delivering real value. The channel actively targets new and returning players searching for the best way to start tabletop RPGs, positioning itself as a trusted first stop in that journey. It doesn’t just serve existing fans, it helps create new ones to keep the hobby thriving. Tone, Style, and Identity The voice of Fearless Few Gaming is confident, cinematic, and grounded. It avoids over explaining, avoids gatekeeping, and avoids the academic tone that often dominates the hobby. Instead, it delivers insight through perspective: what works, what stands out, and what actually matters when the game hits the table. Visually, the channel leans into bold, high contrast presentation with thematic lighting, stylized environments, and deliberate framing choices that elevate tabletop content into something closer to film. The Mission Fearless Few Gaming exists to make tabletop RPGs easier to start, more exciting to explore, and impossible to ignore. By combining professional level production with a deep understanding of what new players actually need, the channel lowers the barrier to entry for one of the most creative hobbies in the world. It doesn’t just review games. It builds the moment where someone decides to play their first one. Links Youtube channel

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