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[[File:MageAwakening.jpg|frame|[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Ready to believe ten impossible things before breakfast.]]]]
'''''Mage: The Awakening''''' is a tabletop RPG made by White Wolf. It is part of the ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' line. The story goes that long ago people all over the world had dreams that brought them to Atlantis. Once there they got the ultimate spirit quest that enlightened their souls and gave them magic powers. Thus the [[Title Drop|Mages Awakened]]. Unfortunately, the good times soon ended: Mages wanted to get to the Supernal World, the source of all magic. To achieve their plan they built an enormous ladder that they sought to travel the gap between worlds. This ended badly. After some Mages made it to the Supernal, the ladder broke - destroying the connection between earth and the Supernal, and thus magic - and replacing it with an evil, magic-destroying realm called the Abyss. Atlantis fell, and the rest is history. Literally.▼
▲''Mage: The Awakening'' is a tabletop RPG made by White Wolf. It is part of the ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' line. The story goes that long ago people all over the world had dreams that brought them to Atlantis. Once there they got the ultimate spirit quest that enlightened their souls and gave them magic powers. Thus the [[Title Drop|Mages Awakened]]. Unfortunately, the good times soon ended: Mages wanted to get to the Supernal World, the source of all magic. To achieve their plan they built an enormous ladder that they sought to travel the gap between worlds. This ended badly. After some Mages made it to the Supernal, the ladder broke - destroying the connection between earth and the Supernal, and thus magic - and replacing it with an evil, magic-destroying realm called the Abyss. Atlantis fell, and the rest is history. Literally.
Now the Mages seek to find lost arcane secrets, prevent the Abyss from further corrupting Earth, act as [[Badass]] mage cops, find magic in normal life, and rebuild the ladder to the Supernal. They are thwarted by Abyssal demons, servants of the Exarchs, those Mages who made it to the Supernal, and pretty much everybody in the World of Darkness.
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* '''The Adamantine Arrow:''' Descended from the ''Ungula Draconis'' (or "The Claw of the Dragon") from ancient Atlantis, the Arrow believe that the best way to hone one’s strength (magical or otherwise) is through constant conflict, contest, and trial, and that the strongest and best should rise to lead. They often serve as the warriors and strategists of a Consilium.
* '''The Free Council:''' The only Order not claiming Atlantean descent, the Council was born in the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying social turmoil of the early 20th century. They believe that the works of unAwakened Mortals possess as much magic as the works of the Awakened, and that democratic rule is the best way to run a Consilium. They are activists, revolutionaries, scientists, and often members of a Consilium’s “loyal opposition.”
* '''The Guardians of the Veil:''' Inspired by Atlantis’s ''Visus Draconis'' (or "The Eye of the Dragon"), the Guardians believe that Magic should be kept carefully and hidden from the world. They feel that Paradox widens the Abyss, removing further magic from the world, and thus they oppose vulgar magic whenever possible. In a modern Consilium, the Guardians usually serve as spies, secret police, and the like.
* '''The Mysterium:''' Descended from the ''Alae Draconis'' (or the “The Wing of the Dragon”), the Mysterium believe that the collection and gathering of knowledge is the highest calling a Mage can seek. They seek out artifacts and tomes from ancient Atlantis, gather them safely, and sometimes share what they have learned – for a cost. They serve as a Consilium’s teachers, loremasters, scientists, and archeologists.
* '''The Silver Ladder:''' Heirs to the ''Vox Draconis'' (or " The Voice of the Dragon"), members of the Silver Ladder believe that it is the fate of all Humanity to Awaken, and that until then the wisest among the Awakened (which is, often, the Ladder mages themselves) should lead them well. They often serve modern Consilia in positions of leadership or oversight.
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* '''The Seers of The Throne:''' Servants of the Exarchs, the tyrannical mage-gods that broke the ladder upon reaching the Supernal. They gather in shadowy conspiracies and cults, each dedicated to a particular Exarch. When not stabbing each other in the back or currying for their god's favor, the Seers strive to strengthen the Lie, making sure that as few mortals Awaken as possible, and that those that do serve the Exarchs' will.
* '''The Banishers:''' For whatever reason, sometimes a Mage's Awakening is traumatizing rather than enlightening. Emotionally scarred and revolted by the power they now possess, Banishers view magic as an unnatural perversion of reality rather than a higher spiritual truth. Some seek to tear down the Mages' various social structures. Others won't be satisfied until every Awakened individual on the planet is dead, at which point they will kill themselves (thus, by their twisted logic, ensuring that no one ever practices magic ever again).
* '''The Scelesti:''' Servants of the Abyss, the aforementioned magic-destroying realm, who want to bathe the world in evil forever. The game's [[
'''Terminology, with translations:''' Every ''Mage'' (Character) once travelled in a dream or vision to a ''Supernal Realm,'' ending this visit by signing their name to a ''Watchtower'' and gaining affinity to one of five ''Paths'' (class). Each Path has special affinity to two ''Arcana'' (spell groups) of Magic. Most Mages choose to join an ''Order'' (faction) of like-minded will-workers for instruction and support. A city full of mages usually organizes into a ''Consilium'' often including one or more ''Cabals'' (parties) of allied mages. Some Mages join a ''Legacy'' ([[Prestige Class]]) to refine their souls and magic, gaining more power and a respite from Paradox.
* [[Affably Evil]]: {{spoiler|If Anumerus wasn't trying to destroy reality through the twisting of numbers he'd be a pretty nice gentleman}}. ▼
{{tropelist}}
▲* [[Affably Evil]]: {{spoiler|If Anumerus wasn't trying to destroy reality through the twisting of numbers he'd be a pretty nice gentleman}}.
** Dr. Lynden Chambers is a kind, albeit creepy, old mage with a [[PHD]] in Art and History who works in the Boston Athenaeum. He is always happy to help out a mage with any information he/she might require and constantly offers invitations for dinner to simply talk. {{spoiler|He is also a nihilistic abyss-worshipping Scelestus whose touch can read your past like a book or corrode any object.}}
** Theumiel, the example Aswadim (basically a Sclestus [[Physical God|archmaster]]) in ''Imperial Mysteries''. All he wants is a peaceful [[Spirit World|Shadow]]...so he's willing to use the Abyss to create one. The book actually recommends he be used as a [[Friendly Enemy]], since he just wants a compassionate world, but thinks the [[Crapsack World|World of Darkness]] prevents that.
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* [[And I Must Scream]]: Simply put, this will crop up. Whether it's what happens when possessed by a Goetic Daemon, to being locked in an otherly dimensional prison, this trope will be present eventually; on the bright side, Players can do this too. The first installment in the preview chronicle {{spoiler|can be resolved by trapping a Sloth spirit in a TV remote control - what you choose to do with the remote afterwards is up to you.}}
** Victims of Dark Angel Aphasia literally, The Crossways, The Twisting Maze... the entities of the Abyss tend to this behavior when they aren't out for wholesale slaughter.
* [[The Archmage]]: An archmage is one who's transcended the 5-dot limit in a particular Arcanum and become capable of godlike feats. However, each side has their own archmages (be they Oracles or Exarchs) who really aren't happy with a force of cosmic destruction on the other guy's side. Hence, both the Pentacle Mages and the Seers of the Throne are sworn to an ancient pact that prevents each side's archmages from exerting direct influence upon the world; that pact says nothing about indirect influence, however...
** This is actually part of a pact that archmages have among themselves, called the Pax Arcanum-given how they can do things that would cause a [[Physical God]] to [[Jaw Drop]] in disbelief, they need it to protect the continued existence of the universe. Unfortunately, this also protects the [[Dark Messiah|Aswadim]]...
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: According to the main sourcebook, tainted Hallows can "curdle milk, blight crops, sicken animals and children, attract ghosts and corrupt spirits, and ruin television reception."
* [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]: The Exarchs pulled this one off through the construction of the Celestial Ladder... and then they tore down the Ladder and created the Abyss, because phenomenal cosmic power was theirs, and no one was going to take it from them.
** On the bright side, the Oracles got up the ladder with them, and proceeded to kick the Exarchs around like soccer balls before they could finish cutting off the Supernal. The result was the Watchtowers, which allow humans to still Awaken even with the Abyss in the way.
* [[Ascended Fanboy]]: It's not uncommon for an Awakened to have been practicing what [[Muggles]] think is magic before their Awakening. The main book opens with a short story about a [[Goth|fanboy]] who [[Incredibly Lame Pun|ascended]] while performing a [[May Contain Evil|(mostly) nonsense]] ritual with Goetic elements...
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** Also, many Sleepwalkers, people who haven't Awakened, but aren't under the effect of Quiescence any more. The sole ability they have is that they don't aggravate Paradox any more (i.e. don't screw up magic by being non-supernatural creatures who witness it), so they're effectively [[Batman|living in a society with people who can set you on fire with their mind, with nothing more than their own natural talents and wits]].
* [[Bald Women]]: A young 20-something who keeps her head bald because her nimbus manifests as sparks running along her scalp serving as a sample character (for the Pygmalian Society in Legacies: The Sublime). Interestingly enough, she actually has the Striking Looks merit, indicating that she's actually exceptionally attractive in her own unique way.
* [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]]: Averted. For the most part, mages assume that none of their number were ever famous or legendary (and some cases where they believe that they were have a few holes in them). In the few cases where they believe that extremely legendary people were mages (such as Merlin), it's still ambiguous how much such mages may have inspired legends, and how much they may have been inspired ''by'' legends.
** Played straight with the Merovingians, who are said to be a Proximus Dynasty that was destroyed when they started demanding that mages recognise them as the rightful heirs of the Atlantean kings.
* [[Better Living Through Evil]]: The high end of the standard Resources merit will allow a character to live like a millionaire ($50,000 in disposable income a month). Membership in [[Ancient Conspiracy|the Seers of the Throne]], however, makes a character eligible to take the Luxury merit, which at its higher level allows him or her to live like a billionaire. (The drawback, unfortunately, is that Resources belong to the character, while Luxury belongs to the Seers as a group and can therefore be revoked.)
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** Good magic can lead to your own destruction and ruin, but going the Left-Handed Path means Every. Single. Mage. is out for your blood and soul. It's almost a [[Too Dumb to Live]] case, all mages universally despise them and the orders, especially the Adamantine Arrow and Guardians of the Veil will hunt for them.
* [[Blessed with Suck]]: It is ''not'' fun to be a supernatural being. That said, Mages have it slightly better than some of the other supernatural creatures. ''Slightly.''
** This is certainly the viewpoint of Banishers, Mages who usually serve as antagonists for the PC Mages. Banishers believe that magical power is inherently wrong and evil, and only gather it so that they can destroy other Awakened (usually before taking themselves out in a blaze of horrible glory).
** Being Awakened does give you extra protection against having your soul ripped out. Silver linings and all that.
*** Of course, there are few things more delicious to all the mind-numbingly evil forces out there than an Awakened's soul.
** Being a human of the Ractain Strain gives you a powerful memory, a super sense for supernatural activity, and whenever you first experience a life-threatening incident, without dying, your body produces a disease that can spread the infection very quickly. And your appearance is so bizarre you're barely able to interact well with society because you're so damn ugly.
* [[Boomerang Bigot]]: Banishers really, ''really'' hate mages, despite the fact that the two groups went on the same trip to the Supernal Realms and came back with knowledge of magic. The differences is that while regular mages viewed the experience as akin to religious awakening, Banishers viewed it as more like [[Mind Rape]] and feel an instinctive revulsion every time they use magic.
* [[Capital Letters Are Magic]]:
{{quote|[[Lampshade Hanging|"Note Important Capital Letters. Magicians Use Lots Of Capital Letters."]]}}
* [[Cast From HP]]: Mages can mitigate the effects of Paradox by taking it into their own Patterns.
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*** It's actually more of a shout out to the idea that even within the Technocrats, there were always two camps at play. The Utopians, who wanted to protect humanity, raise them up, and create a perfect world, and those who simply wanted absolute control. The Free Council in a sense represents all of the technocrats who favored utopia, many of whom went on to become the Sons of Ether and Virtual Adepts (the Free Council book even has Ether Goggles, after all).
* [[The Corruption]]: The forces of the Abyss seek to eat away at the Tapestry of Reality, "unraveling" individual Patterns with its dark influence. Should it come as any surprise that Abyssal forces ''love'' to invoke this trope?
** Noteworthy example: the Nemesis Continuum, a set of Abyssal ''physics problems'' that blatantly contradict the laws of physics as we know them. They force themselves into the minds of scientists, causing said scientists to obsess over the contradictions. Said obsession erodes physical law around the afflicted scientist, which in turn may lead to someone coming across the equations, which he starts to obsess over...
** Anumerus: {{spoiler|an Abyssal entity of Anti-Numbers and Negative Numerology, when in his most powerful physical presence 1+1 can not equal 2, period}}...
* [[Cosmic Horror Story]]: Subverted; The Abyss is just ''itching'' to squirm into reality and corrupt everything before it's ultimate destruction... but the real horror is that ''you let it in'', either through incompetence, hubris, or more likely both. There's only ''one'' entity in ''Intruders'' that comes in without prompting by humans, and it's not even ''malevolent''.
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* [[Crazy Prepared]]: You can choose to either be like a reality-warping Batman, or you can just shoot yourself in the head to save time as you will die without any sort of forward planning, unless you're a very skilled Acanthus, then you can just hit rewind.
* [[Cult]]: The Guardians of the Veil have a secret set of beliefs that they go to great pains to ensure the other Orders do ''not'' know about. The philosophy itself is called the Diamond Wheel, and the entire point of it is to find/create [[The Messiah|the Hieromagus]] who will bring about a new, glorious golden age for mages around the world. Of course, they don't like it when someone makes steps in that direction ''without'' following the philosophy of the Diamond Wheel, which leads the Guardians to take action...
** The Paternoster both is a cult and loves to create them to distract sleepers from the truth.
* [[Cursed with Awesome]]: At least, that's how some groups play it.
** Mages have no internal downside for being a Mage (No Vampiric lust for blood, or Werewolf short temper). However, Mage souls are incredibly potent. Whether Mages are Cursed with Awesome or Blessed with Suck depends on how much of a threat these soul eaters are.
*** Well...Your people tore the universe a new one, the universe now actively hates a vast majority of who you are, you have several groups trying to KILL you just for being who you are, and if you try to use your powers in front of anyone who is not another supernatural, you risk blowing yourself up. SO yeah, you got some good stuff, and are less likely to get screwed, but when you DO get screwed, you usually ain't coming out of it alive, much less sane.
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: The Moros "Necromancer" mages, who have the capacity to be as good or evil as any other mage. That said, there's a Moros-only Legacy of [[Black Magic]]ians (Tremere Liches), but that's because of what they do to sustain their immortality - they eat souls. Yes, you read that right, ''they eat souls''. If that doesn't fall under [[Immortality Immorality]], nothing will.
** Also could apply to the Mastigos, who develop [[Mind Rape|mind-warping powers]], as well as the ability to [[Alien Geometries|bend space to their will.]] What realm do they visit to Awaken? ''Pandemonium,'' often compared to Hell.
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** [[The Smart Guy]]: The Mysterium dedicates itself to finding ancient secrets and guarding those secrets, or using them to better mankind.
** [[The Chick]]: The Free Council is definitely the faction most prone to being [[The Heart]], wanting to bring democracy and modernization to Mage society, possessed of often the least archaic or austere Mages.
* [[Functional Magic]]: Draws from higher realms outside of existence that basically serves as the highest embodiment of ideas. Split into ten Arcanum: [[Necromancer|Death]], [[Winds of Destiny Change|Fate]], [[Stuff Blowing Up|Forces]], [[Healing Hands|Life]], [[Alchemy|Matter]], [[Psychic Powers|Mind]], [[Mana|Prime]], [[Portal Network|Space]], [[Anthropomorphic Personification|Spirit]], and [[Time Master|Time]].
* [[Gnosticism]]: The Supernal Realms are the Source (or the Pleroma), the Exarchs are the Demiurge (or the Archons), Atlantis was Sophia, and every mage is someone who has attained enough truth to become able to remember their divine origin, and actively seek ascension (return to the Source), while largely ignoring the rules of the "false" Fallen World.
** However, the Abyss is taken from [[Kabbalah]], where it separates Earth and the Astral Plane from God.
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** To make things worse ochemata are entirely capable of being archmages.
*** To make things ''better'', generating ochemata is actually an ability of all archmages, Pentacles included.
* [[Gone Horribly Right]]: ''The Unbidden'' has Gnomon, a time-traveling homunculus created to give his master "all the secrets of the universe" ahead of time. As it turns out, packing a lifetime's worth of experiences into one's head over the course of two seconds using an inaccurate method at best is... [[Mind Rape|rather]] [[Go Mad
* [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]: The Lucid from ''The Unbidden'' are Sleepwalkers who had something go terribly wrong in transition from Sleep to Sleepwalking. Being anywhere near a mage drives them insane, and they usually respond to it with violence. Watch out, if they Awaken themselves.
** The book doesn't give a definitive origin for them, but one of the supplied theories suggests that they were an attempt to breed a better Sleepwalker, which also falls under this trope.
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* [[Gothic Punk]]: Less so than the old [[Mage: The Ascension|game]], but still present in places.
* [[Hermetic Magic]]
* [[Humans Are Their Own Precursors]]: There was allegedly an Atlantis where magic was widespread until those who are now known as Exarchs ascended to the Supernal Realms and destroyed the Celestial Ladder after them, destroying the old society and causing damage to reality that shut off most of humanity from magic. Allegedly, because Atlantis might have been [[Ret-Gone]]d, or it might not.
* [[I Know Your True Name]]: Guess how you can locate someone anywhere in the world and drop the magical equivalent of a guided missile on them?
* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]: Mage + Cult + Goetic magic + Gluttony Vice = ''Delicious...''
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*** ...According to said Guardians of the Veil, who ''may'' have a source bias, and the quote itself is a throwaway. So maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Mage cosmology is confusing like that.
* [[The Men in Black]]: Division Six, but they're not a real government agency. They're actually the pawns of a Seer of the Throne (aka, a member of the evil society of mages that the player characters are assumed to be against).
** ''Summoners'' adds the Men in Black, who are Men in Black in the original, conspiracy theorist sense of the word. They're inhuman, alien, and not that good at pretending to be like us. They're rather fond of performing impromptu lobotomies on people who cause supernatural incidents or talk about having seen them after having been warned before.
** The Guardians Of The Veil do a similar role, cleaning up magical messes and investigating unaccounted for supernatural incidents. Think of them as [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Mages In Black.]]
* [[Metaplot]]: Averted, as with the rest of the [[New World of Darkness]].
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** The Celestial Masters share a name with a faction of the Order of Reason.
** The Hollow Ones of the Seers of the Throne share a name with Ascension's pseudo-Tradition.
* [[Necessarily Evil]]: The Guardians of the Veil know perfectly well what they do is morally suspect and based on rationalizations, and none of them like themselves very much for it.
* [[Oh Crap]]: Standard reaction to pretty much anything coming from the Abyss, with or without warning. Also common whenever a cabal is caught off guard by their enemies - in a game where being able to warp reality requires some time to prepare, being caught with your pants down is generally a death sentence for players.
* [[Omnicidal Maniac]]: The Scelesti. How much? They serve [[Cosmic Horror|entities]] that have a ''stated'' goal of destroying everything, [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum|including themselves]].
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** Souls are even the source of magic! Unfortunately, it also makes any and all mages high priority targets for any kind of soul eating entity.
** Mages can distill pieces of their souls into physical forms called soul stones. These have numerous uses, the most common of which is the creation of a [[Place of Power|demesne]], a place where Paradox does not occur. There are some drawbacks; creating a soul stone lowers a mage's magical potential, and also makes them vulnerable to control (see [[Rule of Three]]).
** Mages can even incorporate elements of the Supernal Realms into their very selves via a [[Prestige Class|Legacy]], allowing them to replicate certain spells without the risk of Paradox.
* [[Point Build System]]
* [[Power Perversion Potential]]: You can develop the ability to transform into any shape you like, control others' minds, inflict or remove blindness at a command...
** And the Whipping Boys Legacy (described in the ''Keys to the Supernal Tarot'') is based entirely around pain and BDSM. Yes, some mages ''shape their very souls'' in order to derive magical power from kinky sex.
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** Case in point: Abyssal deals, vulgar magic, and other things that have a high or guaranteed risk of making things ''very bad'' for the mage in question typically have comparatively little payoff for the trouble they can bring. Why would anyone make use of them? If desperation doesn't factor into it, nine times out of ten it's [[Pride Before a Fall|because they think they can handle the consequences.]]
** Pride is practically a separate cosmic force working against humanity.
* [[Promoted Fanboy]]: Dave Brookshaw went from avid fan of both Mages to freelance writer and then to head developer. [https://www.reddit.com/user/DaveBrookshaw/ He sometimes drops by Reddit.]
* [[Properly Paranoid]]: Leads to a long and productive life as a Mage. It's not very reassuring that the [[Properly Paranoid]] is probably right or probably close.
* [[Public Domain Artifact]]: Several make their way in. It's typically ambiguous as to whether the Artifact is the actual one featured in the legends, simply inspired the legends, or was brought about ''because'' of the legends.
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** Anything even remotely connected to the Abyss.
*** Becoming an archmaster involves walking up to your old limitations, flipping them off, and then claiming a bit of the Supernal for yourself so you can work [[Story-Breaker Power]] levels of Reality Warping. Balancing ''this'', besides even meaner Paradox, is Aperion, which is the tendency to change the world ''unintentionally'' in the process of doing what you want.
* [[Rule of Three]]: Mage tradition dictates that any mage who obtains the soul stone of another mage is owed three favours by them, after which they return the stone.
** Not returning the soulstone to its owner afterwards is a good way to become a social pariah, lose standing in the community and maybe even lose allies. It's not technically an actual crime against the laws of Mage society, but try convincing your peers, while refusing to give someone back a piece of their very soul, that you're not some evil tyrannical slavemaster or a [[Complete Monster|Tremere.]]
* [[Science Is Bad]]: ''[[Subverted Trope|Subverted]]'' utterly, in the sourcebook about [[Big Bad|Seers of the Throne]]. Any mage who actually says this is (A) a Luddistic hypocrite who has a morality 50 years behind the times, or (B) a Seer.
** Actually, it's a bit more complex then that-the Seers draw temporal power from narrow-mindedness, and the inability to accept that which people don't understand. While this means that they can deceive and use [[Flat Earth Atheist]]s, it's actually a bit easier to use [[The Fundamentalist|religion]] (indeed, one of their Ministries, [[Path of Inspiration|the Paternoster]], specializes in this). An ''actual'' scientist (ie, a person skeptical enough to not take things at first glance, but open enough to accept the supernatural when it's in his face) is everything they hate and dread in a person.
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* [[Sinister Surveillance]]: Extremely common, but the Guardians of the Veil and the Panopticon are still the most notorious examples.
* [[Sourcebook]]: Standard for any tabletop RPG, the quality of the M:tA sourcebooks varies somewhat but it's generally agreed that it averages better than most games.
** Hit and Miss pretty much sums it up; some can be quite pointless to buy *Cough*Sanctum and Sigil*Cough* but it's generally agreed in the fandom that after the core rules, Tome of the Mysteries and Intruders: Encounters with the Abyss are the ones to get.
* [[Splat]]
* [[Squishy Wizard]] relative to the other three gamelines.
* [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum]]: The Abyss wants to destroy everything that reminds it of its own warped existence, ie, the Universe.
** On a lesser scale a {{spoiler|Nativity}} intrusion will {{spoiler|produce a child}} that may develop this power.
* [[Summoning Ritual]]:
** For the love of god, ''don't summon anything larger than your head''! Half the creatures in the Sourcebook for Summoners are either toxic, madness inducing, undead monsters that can't be confirmed to have ever lived, Cthulu-esque creatures from the Abyss, creatures incapable of understanding the fallen world from the Supernal, or extra-dimensional monsters that exist to lobotomize people. One of the only SAFELY summonable entities just drops some rare items out of the sky...oh, but you have to [[Human Sacrifice|burn someone alive to call them up.]] There ARE instructions on summoning spirits, ghosts, and Cryptids (weird creatures from other universes that act like spirits and are implied to exist due to mortal belief), which are somewhat safer...but still potentially dangerous without the right precautions.
* [[Tarot Motifs]]: Each of the Paths is associated with one of the Major Arcana (Acanthus - The Fool, Mastigos - The Devil, Moros - Death, Obrimos - Strength, Thyrsus - The Moon), an entire sourcebook, ''Keys to the Supernal Tarot'', is dedicated to providing Tarot-inspired story elements, and there's a full Awakening-themed Tarot deck available.
** Also a recurring theme for Ascension.
* [[Tragic Monster]]: If there's a Seer-made monster about, odds are he's this (the [[Super Soldier|Myrmdions]] are [[Punch Clock Villain]]s forced into becoming minions of the Praetorian Ministry, [[Mysterious Watcher|Grigori]] are brainwashed ghosts enslaved to an artifact, and [[Blank Slate|Hollow Ones]] have had their individuality and memories destroyed). [[Captain Obvious|Seers are not nice people]].
** ''Imperial Mysteries'' reveals Qlippoth, failed archmasters who have had their soul hollowed out and replaced with the lies of the Abyss, effectively turning them into [[Gunnerkrigg Court|Zimmy]]. About the only thing archmasters agree on is that killing them [[Mercy Kill|is a kindness]].
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Seers Of The Throne skirt this trope. Anyone who summons or otherwise willingly seeks contact with the Abyss for reasons other then killing it has taken a perfect 10.0 dive into this trope.
* [[The Virus]]: Dark Angel Aphasia {{spoiler|(a contagious Aphasia)}}, Blood Worms {{spoiler|(think tapeworms spread by vampires which eat magic)}}, Abyssal Spiders {{spoiler|(invisible brain stomping [[Demonic Spiders]] summoned by abusing [[Mind Control]])}}, the Lethean {{spoiler|(a memory eating demon)}}, Ractain Strain when infectious {{spoiler|(bizarre ugly humans that carry a bizarre disease when they experience life threatening situations that causes one to be drawn into the [[Spirit World]])}}, Flesh Intruders {{spoiler|(Donor Organ rejection taken to the extreme)}} the Oath Of Ruin {{spoiler|(an inbred clan of rednecks or [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|CorruptCorporateExecutives]] depending on the needs of the game that carry Abyssal genes)}}... Essentially half of the entries in the Intruders sourcebook.
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** Given the [[Grimdark]] of the setting they're probably right.
*** Of course, given how they are [[Ancient Conspiracy|Seers]] who ''specialize'' in causing war...[[Hypocrite|maybe they should check the color of the kettle.]]
* [[Weirdness Censor]]: Paradox, a flaw built into the very structure of the universe that gives explicitly Supernal magic (e.g., throwing fireballs and freezing time) a chance to backfire spectacularly. On top of that, there's Quiescence, which causes any blatantly magical activity observed by Sleepers (e.g., a demonic servitor crafted entirely from the raw stuff of magic) to decay rapidly.
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: Consciously averted with the Seers of the Throne; the Seers are not the Technocracy, and they're painted as the Bad Guys from square one.
** Played straight with the Banishers and the more extreme members of the Pentacle.
* [[Wild Magic]]: ''Night Horrors: The Unbidden'' details how magic isn't entirely under the control of mages, and at times can even be spontaneous or actively out of control.
* [[Wizard Duel]]: The Duel Arcane, a highly formal method of combat, in which two mages choose Arcana to act as their Sword and Shield, enter a magically created ring, and pit their magical will against one another in the form of elaborate illusions. It is said to be the preferred method of resolving disputes, as it is quick, generally non-life threatening (attacks start off harming willpower before going to actual physical damage, unless the combatents agree to a [[Duel to the Death]], which are rarely permitted) and has no collateral damage.
** Take note the ring for the Duel Arcane requires a mage with Prime Arcana to create; usually this is a third party nominated by the challenger but sometimes the challenger or rarely the respondent will forge the ring. It's acceptable to reject the challenge if the mage responsible for the ring is accused of not being impartial, no loss of face or honour is incurred and it's generally considered rude to coerce someone into accepting a challenge to duel or to choose a person that is biased to either party.
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* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]: Theumiel.
* [[World Half Empty]]: The oppressive helplessness of the setting is what appeals to many.
** Also part of the appeal of the Seers after their [[Sourcebook]] came out-they aren't as powerful as the [[Mage: The Ascension|Technocracy]] was, but they're twelve times as evil-it specifically mentions that their plans for the world require them to make it ''as oppressive and helpless as possible''.
** It's not so much a case of general helplessness in the setting as it is a setting where it's possible to solve all of the troubles of the world, except for the fact that each act towards fighting for a better world is cripplingly hamstrung by so many complications and problems. It's a given that you can't fight all the troubles at once, since the scale is just too huge. But you have no chance to achieve a permanent victory against any single threat without defeating the other dangers as well.
* [[Your Soul Is Mine]]: [[Moral Event Horizon|Tremere]] [[Immortality Immorality|Liches]].
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[[Category:Horror Tabletop Games]]
[[Category:Tabletop Games]]
[[Category:Mage: The Awakening]]▼
[[Category:Tabletop Games]]
[[Category:New World of Darkness]]
[[Category:Tabletop Games of the 2000s]]
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