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''Age of Aquarius'' (Russian: Эра Водолея) is the first commercial [[Tabletop RPG]] produced in Russia. Appeared in 2001 and went through two editions to date, it is set in [[Like Reality Unless Noted|a world similar to our own]], where various supernatural phenomena are a reality but are hidden under [[The Masquerade]]. It was compared to the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'', but unlike it, '''Age of Aquarius''' is a [[World Half Full|more optimistic and idealistic world]].
According to the story, the astrological age of Pisces, associated with organized religion and science, is [[End of an Age|slowly fading]], and the new age of Aquarius, [[The Magic Comes Back|associated with magic]], is setting foot on the world. But our society is incapable to deal with it without catastrophical changes, necessitating use of [[The Masquerade]] to unveil the truth very slowly. To do that, an [[The Men in Black|international conspiracy of security agencies]] is created in 1945, called the Nettersheim Pact.
The first edition of this game was mostly concerned with the activities of the Russian organisation of the Nettersheim Pact, called [[Extranormal Institute|Institute of Applied Exophysics]]. The second edition added two more playable organizations: DEFENDER, a heroic [[Private Military Contractor]] which is aware of the big picture and is [[Crazy Prepared|preparing to fight off an apocalypse]], and the Utopists, who are a loose network of roguish, but generally [[Chaotic Good]] [[Mad Scientist
{{tropelist}}
* [[All Myths Are True]]: played with. Because of the [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|somewhat malleable]] nature of supernatural reality, everything what a lot of people believe in exists in some form. Can it interact with you is another question.
* [[
* [[Angels, Devils, and Squid]]: they inhabit the deep astral.
* [[Animesque]]: as you can see from the cover.
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* [[Heroic BSOD]]: the second edition has a game mechanic for it.
* [[He Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Boris Ivanov, the Institute's head. His stat block comes with a "TOP SECRET" instead of a portrait.
* [[Knight of Cerebus]]: the [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|Fallen Primordials]], not appearing in any of the two main edition books, but stated in previews to be the [[Big Bad
** The (now defunct) Era-Aquarius forum also contained the [[Word of God|developers' references]] to "the Black Net" and the "New World Order", who are supposed to be the Fallen Primordials' mortal agents and be capable of collapsing the intricate balance of [[The Masquerade]].
* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: vampires have it as a natural ability, the Institute has to make "forget serums" from vampire saliva.
* [[Like Reality Unless Noted]]: it can be played as anything from overt [[Urban Fantasy]] to subtle [[Magical Realism]].
* [[Magic
* [[The Magic Comes Back]]: again, the basic premise. Whether it is a good thing or not, depends on the MIB's efforts.
* [[Magic Knight]]: the DEFENDER.
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* [[Path of Inspiration]]: many cultist type enemies of the Institute. The first edition even had the guts to openly accuse Scientology of being one of those.
* [[Point Build System]]
* [[Post Modern Magic]]: called "neo-magic". It allows you mix different magical traditions and will never conflict with modern lifestyles, but will always be underpowered compared to "pure" [[Ancient Tradition
* [[Power Levels]]: spirits have these in form of the "Power Index". They range from 1 (an invisible, powerless spirit - typical for a freshly dead soul of a common civilian) through 2-4 (ghosts who can manifest, knock or sometimes even materialize, most nature spirits also go here) through 5-6 (powerful angels and demons who can work miracles) to 7 (small-g gods in full power).
* [[Private Military Contractor]]: DEFENDER.
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* [[Ritual Magic]]: all of it. That's what makes magic different from, say, [[Psychic Powers]].
* [[Sanity Meter]]: the Confidence stat doubles as one. If you lose it, you can end up with psychological disadvantages or even lose your sanity completely. A very real occupational hazard for both mages and psychics.
* [[Shout-Out]]:
** The 13th Department of NSA (the American Nettersheimer organisation) is an allusion to Bureau13.
** DEFENDER has a pilot named [[Final Fantasy|Cid]].
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* [[The Six Stats]]: a slightly altered version. The three physical stats are ISO standard; the mental stats are Education (loosely equivalent to D&D Intelligence) , Cognition (loosely equivalent to D&D Wisdom) and Confidence (loosely equivalent to D&D Charisma). There is also the seventh stat, Luck. They all range from 0 (a challenged person) to 5 (world-famous for it). A stat of 6 is too uber to be normal and typically belongs to some powerful supernatural creature. 7 and 8 are reserved for god-like NPCs than may even be honest-to-goodness gods or demigods.
* [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]]: that's how exophysics works.
* [[They Fight Crime]]: They are [[Player Character
* [[Time Abyss]]: Semyon Nikolaev, a.k.a. {{spoiler|Hermes Trismegistus, Enoch and Count de Saint-Germaine. [[Word of God]] states him to be 15000 years old.}}. Still younger than many spirits and gods, but you already expect Archangel Michael, Odin or Cthulhu to be older than the mountains, so they do not fit the trope. And you definitely do not expect the kindly old telephone prankster to be that ancient.
* [[Trickster Mentor]]: Granddaddy Semyon again. His favourite way of teaching magic is via phone prank. If Semyon [[Cerebus Syndrome|appears in person and speaks plainly and clearly]], it means [[Oh Crap|some serious trouble a-brewing]], serious enough to warrant his personal intervention. The last time he did so was [[World War Two]].
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[[Category:Tabletop Games]]
[[Category:Age of Aquarius]]
[[Category:Tabletop
[[Category:Tabletop Games of the 2000s]]
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