Most living things have souls. From the beasts in the fields to the fish swimming in the ocean, as well as in people of nearly all kinds, the soul within the flesh defines the essential essence of the individual’s character and nature.
Souls also bear a record of one’s mortal life—pristine and unsullied for those who walk in light and goodness, but blackened and filthy in those who embrace the darkness.
A mortal creature’s soul survives death, descending into the Underworld or Hell for souls burdened by corruption, and in time returns to the world to inhabit a new body. For an immortal creature, death marks the end of existence. The soul lingers inside the flesh, dissipating as the body decays until that essence passes from the world altogether.
Within the essential essence of souls lies power that few ever realize, let alone harness. By calling upon this force, one can surpass the limits of the body and perform astonishing acts that any would deem impossible. Before scholars codified the various ways one can use magic to harness the soul’s power, mastery of Soul magic was confined to the few mystics, madmen, and wisdoms who had, by one means or another, taken the first steps on the road to becoming something more. Now, the tradition encompasses those discoveries made by pioneers of the art and offers various ways its students might follow in their steps.
Any magic capable of harvesting energy from one’s soul can put that soul into peril—and the destruction of even a single soul diminishes the world in an irreparable way, since all the souls currently in existence are all that will ever be. For this reason, masters of Soul magic never impart their knowledge of the tradition lightly.
Souls or No Souls: Many Soul spells affect only creatures that have souls. Creatures that lack souls include demons, elementals, genies, some constructs, and some undead such as animated corpses, but not sentient undead such as barrow wights, boneguards, and the like.
Transcendent Mind: Mastering Soul magic requires an ordered mind, one free from self-doubt, anxiety, or delusion. The more a student learns to call upon its power, the greater his or her ability to withstand the horrors of the world. Each time you learn a Soul spell, increase the maximum amount of Insanity you can gain by 1. For example, if you have a Will of 11 and you learn two Soul spells, your maximum Insanity becomes 13.
Trance of Excellence
Duration 1 minute
You place yourself in a serene trance that lasts for the duration. While in this trance, you are immune to the asleep, blinded, charmed, compelled, dazed, deafened, diseased, fatigued, frightened, grabbed, immobilized, impaired, poisoned, slowed, and stunned afflictions, and you take half damage from all sources. Whenever you take damage, you must get a success on a Will challenge roll or the spell ends immediately.
Feat of Will
Duration 1 minute
For the duration, whenever you would make an attack roll or a challenge roll using the modifier from an attribute or a characteristic other than Will, you can make the roll using your Will modifier instead.
Triggered When a creature would make an attack roll against one of your attributes or characteristics other than your Will, you can use a triggered action to add a bonus to the attribute being attacked. The bonus equals your Will modifier.
Triggered When you would make an attack roll or a challenge roll using the modifier from an attribute or a characteristic other than Will, you can use a triggered action to cast this spell and use your Will modifier instead.
Focused Strike
Make an unarmed strike against a creature you can reach. You can use Will in place of the attribute you would ordinarily use, you make the attack roll with 1 boon, and the attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
Overcome Affliction
Make a Will challenge roll. On a success, you remove one affliction affecting you.
Triggered When you would gain an affliction, you can use a triggered action to cast this spell. Make a Will challenge roll with 1 bane. On a success, you do not gain the affliction.
Recall Past Success
Duration 1 round
The next time you make an attack roll or a challenge roll before the spell ends, you make the roll with 2 boons.
Guarded Soul
Duration 1 minute
You impose 1 bane on all rolls made to attack you, and you make challenge rolls to resist attacks with 1 boon for the duration.
Triggered When you are the target of an attack, you can use a triggered action to impose 4 banes on the triggering attack roll.
Sacrifice You can use an action and expend a casting of this spell to heal damage equal to half your healing rate.
Leaf on the Wind
Duration 1 minute
For the duration, you have a +4 bonus to Speed and you ignore the effects of moving across difficult terrain, even when climbing or swimming. If you have the flier trait, the bonus increases to +8.
Sacrifice You can use an action and expend a casting of this spell to move up to your Speed. This movement does not trigger free attacks.
Negate Harm
Duration 1 minute
For the duration, whenever you take damage, you reduce the amount of damage you would take by 1d3 (minimum 0).
Triggered When you would take damage, you can use a triggered action to cast this spell. You reduce the damage to 0, and the spell ends.
Open the Third Eye
Duration 1 minute
For the duration, your attack rolls ignore banes imposed by obscurement or invisibility. In addition, you cannot become blinded.
Strike the Soul
Target One creature you can reach
When you cast this spell, you attack the target with an unarmed strike. You make the attack roll with 3 boons, and you can substitute Will for the attribute you would normally use. On a success, the target takes 1d6 extra damage. If the target is living, is made of flesh and blood, and has a soul, the target also gains 1 Insanity and becomes impaired for 1 round.
Attack Roll 20+ Increase the extra damage to 2d6.
Shattering Strike
Target One creature or object you can reach
When you cast this spell, you attack the target with an unarmed strike. You make the attack roll with 3 boons, and you can substitute Will for the attribute you would normally use. On a success, the target takes 2d6 extra damage. If the target is a construct or an object, increase the extra damage by 2d6.
Attack Roll 20+ Increase the extra damage to 3d6.
Soul to Soul
Duration 1 hour
You attune your senses so that you detect the presence or absence of any creature that has a soul within medium range of you. If such a creature is hidden from you, the spell reveals that creature’s location to you. In addition, your attack rolls against creatures that have souls ignore banes incurred from obscurement.
Sacrifice You can use an action and expend a casting of this spell to touch one creature you can reach that has a soul. For as long as you concentrate, up to 1 minute, you and that creature can communicate, soul to soul, even if you do not share a common language and even if the creature knows no languages.
Topple The Mountain
Duration 1 minute
You make all Strength attack rolls and challenge rolls with a number of boons equal to your Will modifier (minimum 1) for the duration.
Triggered When a creature that is your Size or larger makes a melee attack against you, you can use a triggered action to cast this spell. Make a Strength attack roll with a number of boons equal to your Will modifier against the triggering creature’s Strength. On a success, the triggering creature’s attack is automatically a failure, the creature takes 2d6 damage, and it flies 1d6 yards in a direction you choose before falling prone.
Walk The Sky
Duration 1 round
For the duration, you can move by flying. At the end of each round, you can use a triggered action to extend the duration by 1 round (to a maximum duration of 1 minute).
Introspective Trance
Duration 1 minute
You place yourself in a trance that lasts for the duration. While in this trance, you are defenseless and immobilized. At the end of the duration, you heal all your damage, and you can remove the diseased or poisoned affliction from yourself.
Phase Shift
Duration 1 minute
For the duration, you take half damage from weapons, and your attacks deal half damage. You can move through solid objects and other creatures, and you ignore the effects of moving through difficult terrain.
Soul Shivers
Make an unarmed strike against one creature you can reach. If the creature has a soul, you make the attack roll with 3 boons and you can substitute Will for the attribute you would normally use. On a success, the creature also takes 2d6 extra damage and becomes dazed for 1 minute. At the end of each round, a creature dazed in this way can make a Will challenge roll with 1 bane and removes the dazed affliction from itself on a success.
If the creature doesn’t have a soul, your attack deals 4d6 extra damage instead.
Attack Roll 20+ Increase the extra damage by 2d6.
Velocity
Duration 1 minute
When you cast this spell, you regain the ability to use an action during the same turn.
For the duration, when you take a fast turn, you can move up to your Speed and use an action at any point during your movement. When you take a slow turn, you can move up to twice your Speed and use an action at any point during your movement. You can use two triggered actions per round, and you impose 1 bane on attack rolls made against you.
Quiet The Soul
Target One creature you can reach
Duration 1 hour
You touch the target, removing the charmed, compelled, and frightened afflictions from it and rendering it immune to these afflictions for the duration. In addition, make a Will attack roll against the target’s Intellect. On a success, you remove 1 Insanity from the target.
Sacrifice When a creature attacks your Intellect, Will, or Perception, or you would make an Intellect, Will, or Perception challenge roll, you can use a triggered action and expend a casting of this spell to impose 3 banes on the triggering attack roll or grant yourself 3 boons on the triggering challenge roll. Then, remove 1 Insanity from yourself.
Rend Soul
Target One creature or object you can reach
When you cast this spell, you attack the target with an unarmed strike. You make the attack roll with 3 boons, and you can substitute Will for the attribute you would normally use. On a success, the target takes 2d6 extra damage. If the target is living, mortal, and made of flesh and blood, the target also gains 2d6 Insanity and must get a success on a Will challenge roll or become stunned for 1 minute.
Attack Roll 20+ Increase the extra damage to 4d6.
Confound the Soul
Duration 8 hours
For the duration, you become invisible to creatures that have souls and are partially obscured from creatures that don’t have souls. When you attack with a weapon, spell, or talent, you must get a success on a Will challenge roll or the target of your attack becomes immune to the effects of this casting of the spell.
Soul Dissonance
Make an unarmed strike against one creature you can reach.
If the creature has a soul, you make the attack roll with 3 boons, and you can substitute Will for the attribute you would normally use. On a success, the creature also gains 1d3 Insanity and becomes stunned for a number of rounds equal to its Insanity total. At the end of each round, a creature stunned by this spell can make a Will challenge roll with 2 banes. The creature gains 1d3 Insanity on a failure, or removes the stunned affliction from itself on a success.
A creature that goes mad from gaining Insanity in this way takes damage equal to its Health.
If the creature doesn’t have a soul, your attack deals 5d6 extra damage instead.
Attack Roll 20+ The creature also takes 2d6 extra damage.
Transcendent Recovery
You call upon the power of your soul to restore you to health and vitality. You heal all damage, remove all afflictions, remove any penalties to attributes and characteristics, and reduce your Insanity total by 1d3.
Aftereffect For 1 minute after the spell ends, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls with 1 boon.