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Ascension is the sourcebook on Armageddon, the Time of Judgment for Mage: The Ascension.

Summary[]

From the White Wolf catalog:

The Tenth Sphere Revealed
Long have mages sought the elusive Tenth Sphere of Creation. Each Tradition has its own theories about the nature of this ultimate metaphysical truth. To some, it is Unity. To others, Power. Many Masters have battled one another in pursuit of this awesome secret, destroying enemies and friends alike to attain an unproven ideal. To no avail, for the secret has remained hidden... until now.
Prepare for Final Judgment
The omens are unmistakable, the signs are clear. The Tenth Sphere of Telos, the moment between the soul's Entropic death and Primal union, is active. The Day of Judgment is at hand. As the gods tally each soul's due, mages struggle against their rivals to tip the scales of Karma in their favor, unleashing awesome powers, heedless of Paradox. Will their final battle bring the Ascension... or Oblivion?

Chapters[]

Prologue[]

Written by Kathleen Ryan.

Ecstatic David Cho attempts a Seeking, and instead sees visions of the battle between Voormas and Senex, and of the Euthanatos chantry in Phoenix, Arizona.

Introduction: The Trumpet's Clarion[]

Written by Bill Bridges.

Chapter One: Sign of the Times[]

Written by Brian Campbell.

A summary of the metaplot to this point, as well as suggestions for how to lead up to any scenario in this book.

Chapter Two: Judgment[]

Written by Malcolm Sheppard.

The closest thing to an "official" ending. As the Gauntlet degrades, millions Awaken daily; Mark Hallward Gillan discovers he is one of Heylel's Heirs, and with help of his old foe Caeron Mustai, unlocks secrets about the Tenth Seat and the Doctrine of Unity. The Technocracy tries and fails to contain the upsurge in reality deviants, leading to open warfare with the Traditions, but the Rogue Council engineers a truce between the two factions long enough for a cabal of mages to obtain the Knife of Ixion and travel to Pluto to face Voormas. If they succeed in destroying the Pasupattra Astra and stopping Voormas, all of humanity Awakens and Ascends together.

Chapter Three: The Revolution Will Be Televised[]

Written by Brian Campbell.

The Technocracy attempts to respond to the collapsing Gauntlet, but also faces a destabilizing internal struggle between the Old Masters and the autocratic Control, and between front-line agents and their supervisors hidden in the Horizon. Increasing challenges to the Consensus result in more violent and damaging Paradox effects, and the Avatar Storm eventually takes a form that scours the Arete from the Awakened/Enlightened soul.

Chapter Four: The Earth Will Shake[]

Written by Sam Inabinet.

A planet-killing meteor heads toward Earth, with consequences in the Umbra.

Chapter Five: A Whimper, Not a Bang[]

Written by Conrad Hubbard.

Magic begins to die out on Earth due to the alien Zigg'raugglurr and the entity called Khuvon harvesting Avatars.

Chapter Six: Hell on Earth[]

Written by Stephen Michael DiPesa.

The Unnamed strikes out at the world from a hidden base on Mus, destroying the Gauntlet and empowering a cadre of Nephandi like never before. He kills vast numbers of mages, poisons the Alder Bole, and invites his masters from the Outer Darkness into the Tellurian, which he rules in their name. Descent is complete.

Chapter Seven: Designing Ascension[]

Written by Malcolm Sheppard.

Advice to Storytellers for developing another Time of Judgment scenario, if none of the above options appeal.

Epilogue: Glory Days[]

Written by Bill Bridges.

Penny Dreadful meets Doc Eon in the deserted streets of San Francisco and asks her to use the resources of the Hollow Ones to free newly-Awakened mages from the Technocracy's prison camps.

Background Information[]

When Ascension was released, the Mage game line was about 3847 days old (assuming Mage was released the first day of Gen Con 1993). Ascension itself reached that age on September 12, 2014.

In 2008, Malcolm Sheppard posted a number of details on his LiveJournal that were cut from the "Judgment" scenario due to space, including more details on the Fractured Cosmos model.

Memorable Quotes[]

(...)

Characters[]

Terminology[]

Alder Bole, Anakim (MTAs), Avatar Shard, Hive Realm, Ixoi, Panopticon (MTAs), Ragnarök Command, Tenth Sphere, World Advisory Council


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