AT THE EDGE OF SCIENCE, THOUGHT REACHES FURTHER.
the casting law, folded for the table — and every spell, searchable
Costs, limits, and risk — the three honest words of power.
Every plaque cites its page; if this page and the book ever disagree, the book wins.
THE SHARED CASTING FRAMEWORK
Three powers, one grammar.
Magic bends the world; the mind bends the self. Spells (via Paths), Psychic powers, and Technomancy all cast through the same door:
Casting = d20 + Focus Stat + Path/Skill + specialties + mods vs a DC (objects/terrain) or the target's ResistanceFocus Stats: Magic typically Int (some Paths use Wis) · Psychic typically Wis (social/telepathy powers may use Chr). Resistance values: Magic Resistance = 10 + Mind Save + MR Skill + Natural MR · Psychic Resistance = 10 + Mind Save + Psychic Resistance Skill.
Degrees of success: fail by 5+ → Backlash · success → effect as written · beat by 5+ → Heighten (+25% magnitude, duration, or area — or the power's own rider).
Cast your first in Lesson V ►📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (§1 Shared Casting Framework).
ACTION TYPES & THE CASTER'S TEMPO
Three shapes of power; one harder-swinging die.
Powers resolve in three shapes: Singular — one-and-done; pay, resolve, end · Sustained — ongoing; holds committed resources while active (often 2 AP/turn to maintain) · Mundane — free, tiny, flavorful; no rolls, at the GG's discretion.
AP to cast = 5 + Cast Time · Snap 0 · Quick 1 · Standard 2 · Lengthy 3 · Ritual 4–5The Casting AP Roll (optional; declare before your first action, at most once per round; Tempo Shift can make everyone roll): 1: +4 · 2–4: +2 · 5–15: as listed · 16–19: −2 · 20: −4. It never modifies movement-by-meter or per-AP investments; reactions use your current round's result. The martial table (±3/±1) and the Reverse Gambit variant live on The System.
📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (AP to cast; Casting AP Roll); power categories §3.2, p. 26; sustained maintenance per power entries.
MANA & THE POOLS
One well, many springs.
One pool, spendable on any magic effect you know. Path Initiation: the sum of a Path's two key attributes must be ≥ 6. Known Effects: 2 × the lower of the Path's two keys (basic effects and Enhancements don't count).
Domain Pools ride alongside — each Magic Path carries its own (Technomage: Int + Per · Wild: Apt + Int · and so on, per Path). An effect normally spends from its Path's Domain Pool or from Personal Mana. Cross-casting surcharge: spending from a different Path's Domain Pool costs +1 Mana after reductions — Personal Mana never pays it. Attunements: after a long rest, choose up to 2 initiated Paths; once per round per Attuned Path, reduce one of its effects by 1 Mana (min 1).
📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (§2.1); Using Multiple Paths — Domain Pools, cross-casting, Attunements, p. 46.
COMMITTED MANA & OVERCHANNEL
Held power is spent power.
Sustained effects hold committed Mana while active — it is unavailable elsewhere. Drop concentration, release the effect, or fall, and the commitment returns (unless the power says otherwise).
Overchannel: short at the worst moment, you may finish a spell by paying 2 HP per missing Mana (or taking Strain 1, at the GG's option) — then answer for it: backlash check d20 + Magic Skill + Int vs 15 on a failure.
📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (§2.2 Mana Use; §2.3 Overchanneling).
THE CASTING ROLL, DEGREES & LONG CASTING
The margin is the story.
| Result | Effect |
|---|---|
| Fail by 5+ | Backlash — roll the table (Magic M-B or Psychic P-B, d12) |
| Success | Effect as written |
| Beat by 5+ | Heighten — +25% magnitude/duration/area, or the power's own rider |
Long Casting: begin the spell at the start of the round; any excess AP you invest carries into the next round until the spell completes — and when it completes, gain +5 AP before any other action. Concentration on damage: d20 + Concentration + (Wis/Int) vs 10 + damage taken.
Feel the margins in Lesson V ►📖 Core Rule Book — Combat v1.2, p. 17 (Long Casting); Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (Degrees; Concentration).
MAGIC RESISTANCE
The wall the weave must climb.
The resistance roll (where a spell grants one): whenever a spell targets a subject with Magic Resistance — d20; equal to or below the subject's score = resisted, as the spell defines. If MR has been driven below 0, no roll is owed.
Natural MR: Guardians start at 1, Psychics at 0; skills, perks, and effects move it. At ≤ 14 you may toggle it at will; at ≥ 15 it is always on — and may block beneficial spells. Self-cast bypass: your own spells always affect you, even at Natural MR ≥ 20.
📖 Core Rule Book — Magic Resistance Rolls, p. 14; Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (§2.4 Natural MR & toggling).
SPELL POWER, BOTCH & BACKLASH
The aether keeps its own ledger.
Spell power rides its own d20 on invested Mana: 1: −50% · 2–4: −25% · 5–15: as invested · 16–19: +25% · 20: +50%.
Adjusting the Range (special skill): the upper success band can be trained down from 16 as far as 11, the lower from 4 to 2 — but a roll of 1 is always a failure. If adjusted power drops below the spell's minimum, the spell is botched — outcomes range from harmless-and-funny to damaging (Magic → Botched Spells).
Backlash (Table M-B, d12) — a taste: Wild Surge (the spell picks a random valid target) · Mana Leak (lose 1d4 more) · Shorted Focus (+2 AP to casts) · Feedback (1d6 force, Body 12 half) · Dim Veil (−2 to attacks)… The full d12 lives in the book — as it should.
Roll the surge in Lesson V ►📖 Core Rule Book — Magic Rolls (Spell Power; Adjusting the Range; Botch), p. 14; Magic Backlash §2.5, p. 24–25.
PSYCHIC — THE DIFFERENCES
Life-tethered, linked, and strained.
Focus ladder: 1st free at creation (attribute ≥ 4) · 2nd ≥ 6 · 3rd ≥ 8 · 4th ≥ 10 — four at most. The Tethered Law: shape the self, extend reach, propel and deflect, perceive, influence linked minds — never detached explosions, permanent creations, weather, autonomous constructs, or summoning.
Links: unlinked use costs +2 AP · Make Link 6 AP (d20 + Psychic Skill + Wis/Chr vs PR) · maintain 2 AP/turn, up to Wis Links · targets may Sever. Strain (1–5): 1 uneasy → 2 headache → 3 −1 AP → 4 Staggered → 5 collapse (Stunned, all Links drop). Short rest −1; long rest clears.
The full Tethered Law on The System ►📖 Core Rule Book — Psychic §3.1–3.4, p. 26–27 (Pool; Focus ladder; Tethered Law; Links, Range & Strain).
LEARNING & REGENERATION
The well refills; the repertoire is earned.
Mana regen: 5/hour active · 10/hour resting · full on 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Repertoire: per Path, you can know 2 × the lower of its two key attributes in effects — depth is gated by your weaker key, so balanced keys make broad casters. Attunements reset at long rest (choose up to 2 Paths). Psychic reserves release when Sustained powers drop; Strain eases 1 per short rest.
Choose your Path in Lesson IV ►📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (§2.1–2.2); Attunements p. 46; Strain p. 27.
THE 31 PATHS
Every spring the well feeds — forged from the canon.
Each Path below opens in full — mastery ranks, abilities, and every effect it grants. Open the Path Gallery ►
Magic Paths 24
🌊 Water (Tidecaller) 9
Masters of flow, healing, and resilience. Water Elementalists bend liquid into shields, lashes, and waves. They heal allies, slow enemies, and shift between liquid grace and crushing force.
🪨 Earth (Stonewarden) 11
Masters of stone, soil, and resilience. Earth Elementalists create barriers, shake the ground, and fortify allies. They embody Gaia’s endurance, turning the battlefield into fortresses and fault lines.
💨 Air (Stormshaper) 7
Masters of winds, pressure, and mobility. Air Elementalists scatter volleys, disrupt formations, and shape the battlefield with storms. Their signature Air Form allows them to slip into wind itself.
🔥 Fire (Pyroclast) 14
Masters of flame and destruction. Fire Elementalists ignite the battlefield, burn foes, and spread chaos with blazing zones. Their gifts are raw power and relentless momentum — but also the discipline to wield flame for protection and renewal.
⚡ Lightning (Stormcaller) 11
Masters of charged air and sky-born current. Lightning Elementalists focus power into bolts, arcs, and storms — striking single foes with deadly precision or chaining devastation across entire battlefields. Their greatest weapon is momentum: lightning always finds a path.
❄️ Ice (Cryomancer) 13
Masters of frost, cold winds, and frozen barriers. Ice Elementalists blend the fluidity of water with the force of air, controlling battlefields through slowing, freezing, and shaping frost. Their strength lies in denial and control: locking enemies in place while shielding allies with ice and snow.
🌋 Lava (Magmaforged) 7
Masters of molten stone, magma, and volcanic fury. Lava Elementalists merge the destructive heat of Fire with the resilience of Earth. They melt armor, reshape terrain with molten rivers, and devastate foes with volcanic eruptions. Their power is raw, heavy, and enduring — unstoppable once unleashed.
🌫️ Swamp (Bogcaller) 7
Bogcallers command mire, rot, and fetid waters. They slow enemies, suffocate them in mud, and reshape terrain into treacherous bogs. Their summons emerge from muck and decay. Unique among elementalists, Swamp magic adapts: it resonates with either Druidic life (vines, beasts, protection) or Necromantic death (bone, rot, infection), creating different evolutions of the same base spells.
🌈 Tempest (Gaian Tempest) 5
The Tempest Elementalist embodies Gaia’s fury in its rawest form — a living storm of fire, ice, stone, and lightning. Only those who have studied all four primals can unlock this path. Their magic is unstable but devastating, weaving contradictory forces into a storm that few can withstand.
⚙️ Technomage (Magitech Engineer) 17
Technomages merge magic, science, and living code. Their signature is the creation of InsectoBots — semi-living constructs powered by insect embryos bound into mechanical shells. With the right upgrades, they can field entire swarms of specialized bots: strikers, scouts, saboteurs, and tanks. Technomages also command raw Magitech spells, bending energy, circuits, and devices to their will. Lore & Ethics of InsectoBots • • • • Embryos are ethically harvested (≤1% of any egg cluster, never adults). Magically suspended until bound into shells. Insects “volunteer” through Gaia’s pact, willingly joining the war against the Eversor. Destroyed bot ≠ dead insect; embryos survive and may be re-housed.
⚔️ Guardian Swordsman (Martial) 9
Guardian Swordsmen are the masters of tempo, steel, and survival. They read battle flow, turning enemy strikes into openings. While purely martial, their techniques can be infused with Mana or Psychic for added power. They are the frontline duelists and guardians of the Orders, blending speed, precision, and tactical brilliance.
🌳 Glade Druid (Forestcaller) 9
Glade Druids are the keepers of the forests and gardens of Gaia. They draw on the living power of trees, roots, and blossoms to protect allies, heal wounds, and bind enemies. Their visible sign is the Living Bark Armor — smooth, vine-laced bark that grows over their bodies in times of need.
🐾 Herder Druid (Beastcaller) 9
Herder Druids are bonded to Gaia’s beasts. They summon animal allies, empower companions, and take on aspects of the wild. Their visible sign is Living Hide Armor — supple natural armor resembling hide, fur, or scaled plates, often marked with animal traits.
🛡️ Battle Druid (Defender of Gaia) 11
Battle Druids are the shield of Gaia. They blend the plant mastery of Glade Druids and the animal might of Herder Druids, requiring at least MR2 in both before walking this path. Their armor manifests as Living Stone-Bark Armor, thickened with veins of green light. In battle, they command forests and beasts alike, standing on the frontline as protectors and champions.
🌑 Shadowmancer (Umbral Adept) 17
Shadowmancers reshape the darkness around them, forging blades, wings, and shields from living shadow. They are among the most common magical paths — many Guardians dabble in their early tiers to gain access to Umbral Blades or Shadow Cloaks before pursuing other disciplines. At high mastery, Shadowmancers dominate the battlefield with shadows that obscure, pierce, and transport them across space.
🩻 Body Mage (Fleshshaper) 13
Body Mages turn their own flesh into their weapon. They enhance muscle, grow claws or scales, and infuse their body with elemental energy. Their resilience makes them terrifying duelists. They cannot heal others — their power is purely selfish — but they regenerate wounds, resist psychic force, and strike with monstrous precision.
🧬 Shaper (Fleshforger) 12
Shapers specialize in altering the bodies of others. They empower thralls, modify allies with unnatural strength, or warp foes into twisted forms. Unlike Body Mages, they cannot reshape themselves beyond the most basic protections. Instead, they act as battlefield commanders, surrounding themselves with mutated servants and shifting the balance of combat through terrifying bio-sorcery.
☠️ Necromancer (Deathbinder) 12
Necromancers command the forces of death and decay. They raise skeletons, bind souls, and drain life. While feared, this path is common among Guardians seeking forbidden strength. Some blend it with Swamp or Shadow for corruption, while others wield it as a cold, clinical tool.
🔊 Sonic Mage (Resonant Adept) 12
Sonic Mages wield the power of sound and vibration. They shatter stone with resonance, stun enemies with thunderous blasts, and carry voices across vast distances. Their spells can heal morale or break minds, making them disruptive battlefield controllers and effective communicators.
⏳ Time/Space Mage (Chronomancer) 33
Time/Space Mages bend the rules of reality. They step between moments, fold space to displace enemies, and accelerate allies into impossible speed. Their spells rarely kill outright, but they dictate where and when the battle happens.
💚 Healer (Lifeweaver) 12
Healers channel Gaia’s life-force into others. They mend wounds, purge poison, and uplift spirits. Unlike druids, who heal as part of their balance with nature, Healers are fully devoted to restoration. They cannot match the destructive might of Elementalists, but they ensure their allies rise again and again. At the highest levels, a Healer can even restore lost limbs or call a soul back from death.
🧚 Fae (Glamourwright) 32
Glamourwrights work the courtly arts: oaths that bind, glamours that rewrite what the eye consents to see, and gates opened by invitation rather than force. Fae magic persuades the world instead of compelling it — which makes it subtle, social, and dangerous to the caster who forgets a bargain has two sides.
⚖️ General 3
Workings no single Path owns — the shared grammar of casting itself: unweaving another mage's spell, armouring your own against interference. Any Guardian may learn these regardless of Path.
🕳️ Void (Voidcaller) 13
Voidcallers draw on the cold that rests in the emptiness of things. The discipline mirrors Ice almost gesture for gesture, but where Ice glitters the Void swallows: its armour and its blades bite harder, its reach is shorter, and nothing it makes gives off light.
Psychic Disciplines 7
🧠 Common Psychic Path (Foundations) 11
All psychics begin with the same foundations: shielding the mind, sensing emotions, projecting basic thoughts, and defending against intrusion. This common path only advances to MR2; afterwards, the psychic must specialize (Telepathy, Empath, Telekinesis, etc.). Despite its short range, it gives essential attack and defense options so that even novice psychics can contribute in combat.
🧩 Telepathy (Mindbinder) 19
Telepaths reach into the thoughts of others. Some focus on silent communication, others on extracting secrets, and others on outright domination. Each telepathic discipline is a choice — at every mastery tier, the psychic picks one ability, and may later expand breadth by investing additional XP.
💗 Empath (Emotion Weaver) 15
Empaths reach into the hearts of others. They sense emotions, soothe fear, or incite rage. Some become healers of the spirit, others ruthless manipulators who break foes by turning their own feelings against them. At each mastery tier, an Empath chooses one power, and may buy additional options later for extra XP.
🗡️ Soul Blade (Mind Cutter) 25
Soul Blades weaponize pure thought. Their “blades” are projections of psychic energy, launched at range to strike the mind and body directly. They duel not with steel, but with focus, precision, and devastating psychic cuts. Soul Blades can disable foes, disrupt powers, and even mark a target’s soul for later pursuit. Telepathy or Empath MR1 is a prerequisite for unlocking Soul Blade.
🪢 Telekinesis (Kinetic Adept) 23
Telekinetics exert force at a distance: push, pull, lift, catch, crush, and shape invisible pressure into shields, shackles, and shockwaves. They excel at battlefield control—redirecting volleys, pinning brutes, and smashing terrain. Jane’s duel shows extreme applications (e.g., bending an energy blade into shackles, dimensional anchoring); those are called out below when they exceed normal caps.
🧍 Body Psychic (Psycho-Metabolic Adept) 18
Body Psychics override their own biology with sheer will. They spike adrenaline, accelerate reflexes, harden their skin, and alter their physical presence. Unlike Body Mages, they don’t mutate flesh with grotesque features — they refine and discipline the body, sometimes even reshaping hair, complexion, or age. All effects are self-only.
👁️ Sight & Sense (Illusionist / Astral Adept) 11
Sight & Sense psychics bend how reality is perceived. They can shroud themselves in glamour, create convincing illusions, or project their astral selves. At mastery, they control not only what others see — but also pierce every veil to perceive truth itself.
Open the Spell Compendium — every spell, filterable ►
The Book of Paths carries each school's full doctrine.