Master — The peak of power —
The final path, walked only by those who have survived the dark long enough to be reshaped by it. A peak, a title, a weight.
Abjurer
You confronted manifold dangers in your career, witnessed terrible things that had the worst intentions toward you and yours. Whether you faced hostile magic or ravenous monsters, you triumphed over these challenges by making the protection of your allies and yourself your highest priority. You learn the intricacies of the tradition and develop useful talents to ward yourself against harm. Many abjurers, perhaps yourself included, mark up their bodies with protective sigils to make them secure…
Power Read Path [ art · academician ] MartialAcademician
If your circumstances were different, you would have vanished into an academic environment, passing your time reading, studying, and learning. That life was not to be, though. Too much draws you out from the academic environment you enjoy, so that you must make yourself content with experiencing the world and all it contains first hand. Being in the field in no way diminishes your erudition; rather, you find your travels and experiences add to what you have learned already, growing your…
Martial Read Path [ art · accursed ] MartialAccursed
You made a mistake: you offended one of the gods, angered a faerie, or affronted a powerful fiend, and earned the being’s enmity. Despite your efforts to appease the power, the curse still remains. Will you bear this doom until the end of your days? Maybe. But you refuse to let this drawback stop you. Others might have buckled under this burden’s weight, but not you—you found a way to carry it and, more importantly, use it to your advantage. Through a combination of ingenuity and bargaining…
Martial Read Path [ art · aeromancer ] PowerAeromancer
You bargained with a spirit of air, forged a pact with a sylph, or discovered secret magical knowledge in a windswept place. However you discovered Aeromancy, you have chosen to master it. Now, you can take control of the winds, commanding them to drag storm clouds to you, or to lift you up into the air, to soar across the heavens. Even more, you can call forth lightning from your hands or bring it down from the skies to destroy your foes. You master the elements.
Power Read Path [ art · alchemist ] PowerAlchemist
The philosopher’s stone can defeat death, transmute base materials into precious metals, and cure any ailment. Despite the name, many believe the “stone” exists in the mind only or as some unformed substance, as indescribable as it is impossible. Peril stands on either side of the road to attaining the stone, but the threat of insanity, maiming, and death has so far failed to dissuade you from your goal. The stone might lie out of reach for now, but it will be yours. Of that you are certain…
Power Read Path [ art · alienist ] PowerAlienist
You were right all along. The experiments, the tests, the books— oh so many books—proved everything you thought was true about your world’s cosmology. You found incontrovertible evidence that other realities, other universes exist beyond your own. With suspicion firming into certainty, you used your magic to burrow a hole into a neighboring reality, but you found only death and darkness. Each universe you discovered was the same, wholly emptied of living things. Just as your hope began to die…
Power Read Path [ art · animist ] PowerAnimist
Whether new to the spirits of the land or a longtime ally, becoming an animist reveals to you the greater mysteries in communing with these entities and profiting from them. The spirits awaken all around as you travel through the wild places, causing stones to shift, plants to sway, and natural creatures to welcome you with playfulness and cheerful greetings.
Power Read Path [ art · anointed ] PowerAnointed
Your exemplary efforts earned you the esteem of the High One’s church, and you have been invited to participate in a special ceremony that will imbue you with the god’s favor henceforth. In this ceremony, a priest prays over you for hours, during which time you inhale the smoke of burning incense and receive a dab of oil on your brow that marks you as the High One’s chosen. Being anointed in this way shows great favor from both the Church and the god you serve, for they reserve the honor for…
Power Read Path [ art · archmage ] PowerArchmage
The archmages form a loose society of dangerous spellcasters, each versed in magic’s most ruinous aspect. While other magic-users can rival their power, few come close to the zeal with which they use their spells to blast apart foes and bring enemies to their knees. Many archmages withdraw from the world, lurking in crooked towers rising from the deep wilderness or burying themselves alive in terrible dungeons where they can work their art undisturbed. Still, a few take it upon themselves to…
Power Read Path [ art · astromancer ] PowerAstromancer
The lights in the heavens feed your appetite for magical energy. You reach for the stars and draw their glow into you. You bathe yourself in sunlight and shine almost as brightly. You become a master of radiance and use your powers to drive back the darkness.
Power Read Path [ art · authority ] PowerAuthority
Randomness plays no part in the outcomes of Order spells, and for that reason the tradition appealed to you. Order magic lets you compel others, strike with certainty of the desired effect, and force wild magic into useful, physical shapes. You have the right magical tool for just about any task.
Power Read Path [ art · avatar ] MartialAvatar
The gods, using criteria known only to themselves, sometimes single out mortals to serve as their agents. Some see such attention as a great honor; others find the experience maddening. Either way, when the divine eye falls upon their subjects, they undergo a profound transformation, becoming giants that resemble common depictions of the god. While in these forms, avatars become mighty and terrible forces, heedless of the ruin and chaos they create until released from the god’s attention.
Martial Read Path [ art · barbarian ] MartialBarbarian
They call you a butcher, a murderer, a killer of people. You accept these names, as they’re not far from the truth. When someone wrongs you, you make them pay. You’re not interested in talking through your differences. You respond to force with even greater force. Only when your enemy lays gasping, blood pumping from their injuries, will they learn what it means to provoke you. You can lose control at almost any time, but the battlefield breaks whatever chains of self-control you happen to use…
Martial Read Path [ art · battle mage ] PowerBattle Mage
It helps to know your way around weapons and armor, but all you really need to fight well is to keep up your studies of War magic. Veteran warriors sneer at the tradition, quick to point out that magic is only good while you still have oil in the lamp, so to speak, but only a fool would run out of castings before ending the battle. You’re no fool. You have learned the deeper secrets of the tradi- tion to enhance your already commendable abilities in hopes of becoming a truly great warrior.
Power Read Path [ art · battle master ] MartialBattle Master
A single-minded focus on excellence at arms has seen you surpass your rivals. You become a force of nature in combat, an unstoppable killing machine who hacks and hews through the enemy ranks. Even when confronted with the largest, toughest monsters, you have little to fear. You know your strikes land truly and can overcome almost any defense.
Martial Read Path [ art · bearer of the black blade ] MartialBearer of the Black Blade
Few have encountered this horrid weapon and survived to tell of it. Some claim a cyclops named Anor forged the Black Blade and used it to slay the god Kaen during the cyclopes’ failed uprising, but some whisper that the blade is a demon called from the Void and bound in the form of a weapon. The Black Blade devours souls and drives the wielder to commit horrific acts of violence to feed its hunger. There is just one bearer of the Black Blade at a time. If you take this path, no other player can…
Martial Read Path [ art · binder ] PowerBinder
You acquire a familiar, a spirit bound into the form of an animal. You gained this ally by performing a special ritual, during which you burned a mixture of incense, rare herbs, and a few drops of your blood. For over an hour you chanted and, though your head swam from the fumes, you could feel a presence taking shape, a shadowy figure of monstrous aspect. You bargained with the thing, making promises that would bind it to you and compel its service. When you finished, the smoke cleared, the…
Power Read Path [ art · blade ] MartialBlade
Being a blade has its advantages. One, you can keep your weapons concealed in your clothing. Two, you can retrieve them and stab at your enemy before they even have a chance to clear their weapon from the scabbard. And three, when all else fails, you can hurl a blade at a distant foe to take them down. Sure, some point out that against a prepared enemy, daggers aren’t very good, but when you get inside your opponent’s reach, your blades have a way of finding gaps in the armor until the enemy…
Martial Read Path [ art · blessed knave ] PowerBlessed Knave
You found favor with Fetch, the god of thieves, mischief, and freedom. Your patron bestows on you many gifts in return for advanc ing his interests in the world. The god loves humanity above all other peoples, and the mythology of the Old Faith is full of tales of him stealing trinkets and treasures from the other gods and gifting them to mortals. Some believe it was Fetch who gave knowledge to the early humans and thus lifted them up above the other animals. Fetch cannot stand tyrants, and he…
Power Read Path [ art · blighter ] PowerBlighter
One day you fell into a fever, gripped by an illness you were certain would put an end to your life. Delirious, drenched in sweat, with pools of your sick everywhere, you saw the Pale Lady before you and thought the suffering would end at last. But the goddess touched your brow, marking you as one of her own. You now carry in your wrecked body a myriad of plagues that the Pale Lady expects you to spread across the lands.
Power Read Path [ art · catastrophist ] PowerCatastrophist
You roll the dice and they come up 1s. You think you have drawn a winning hand only to find that your opponent has bested you yet again. You walk home and get splashed by a passing carriage, then are struck by night soil dumped out through an upper window. And when you get home, you find the place has burned down, your partner has run off with a lover, and your child now belongs to a diabolical cult. What else could go wrong? Anything, because you’ve caught Calamity’s eye. The goddess of…
Power Read Path [ art · cavalier ] MartialCavalier
You kick your heels into your steed’s flanks and the mount leaps forward, carrying you into the fray. Anyone in your path falls beneath the hooves of your fine animal, and those who manage to escape being trampled leave themselves open to your swings. You and your steed make an effective fighting team, and together you can take a stand against any foe. Most cavaliers began their training under the instruction of knights, who often fight while mounted, but this need not be the case for you…
Martial Read Path [ art · champion ] MartialChampion
When the duke locked away his political opponents, when the baroness was found to bathe in the blood of innocents, when reckless magicians destroyed an entire town to settle their scores, or when the Om captured hundreds to appease the inscrutable mind they serve, you were the first to take a stand. Where others quailed before the enormity of the task, you shook off your misgivings and set out to make a change, protect the innocents, and defeat evil wherever you found it. Your principles…
Martial Read Path [ art · chaotician ] PowerChaotician
The restrictions traditional methods impose on magic are arbitrary and short-sighted, or so you believe. Magic recognizes no restraints; the rules exist only to limit what casters can do. You have no need for such safeguards. Instead, you let magic pass through you to behave as it chooses. The Chaos tradition offers pure, undiluted access to magic, and thus you make it your specialty. Your recklessness causes unpredictable occurrences when you cast spells, which can both give you great benefits…
Power Read Path [ art · chorist ] MartialChorist
You feel the presence of the divine move through you whenever you lift your voice in song. The praises you sing of the gods inspire others around, firming their resolve to stand fast in the face of evil. You need only open your spirit to the divine for it to come flooding through you, and your hymns transform you and your allies into heroes worthy to serve the gods.
Martial Read Path [ art · chronomancer ] PowerChronomancer
To turn back the clock or speed up time so that the moments flow like a stream of rushing water—these desires lured you to specialize in Chronomancy. Your efforts to understand the tradition reward you with unique insights into its magic. You have no fear of paradoxes, for you have become a weaver on the great skein of time and you decide how the future shall unfold.
Power Read Path [ art · conjurer ] PowerConjurer
As a master of the Conjuration tradition, you begin to see the connectedness of all things, with faint threads reaching from one thing to another, one person to yet another, creating a tapestry that encompasses all. Need a sword? You have one, right here. You just need to cast the spell. How about some extra muscle? At your word a bodyguard appears, sword drawn, shield raised, knowing you wouldn’t have called without need. Whether you produce flames from the palm of your hand or ferocious…
Power Read Path [ art · conqueror ] MartialConqueror
The whole world, it seems, has gone mad. People rise up against their rulers, nations spend blood and treasure in bids to conquer others, plague rips through town after town, and wherever you go, people have faces pinched from hunger and the wide, staring eyes of the lost. The lands might have reached this sorry state through greedy and weak leaders, but no doubt invisible hands are orchestrating the downfall of civilization. You aim to restore order, and the surest means to bring unruly…
Martial Read Path [ art · cryomancer ] PowerCryomancer
You learn the secrets of Cryomancy, discovering more ways to shape ice and create cold with magic. At your command, you can freeze your enemies in place or savage them with serrated ice shards. Cold bleeds from your body, though you no longer feel it, and the magic gives your skin a bluish cast. Winter is always one snap of a finger away.
Power Read Path [ art · daredevil ] MartialDaredevil
Some might call you reckless, foolish even, but fortune ever favors the bold. Without taking risks, what rewards can you expect to receive? So when your companions hesitate, when they give pause to their fears, you do what needs doing, leaping headlong into peril, knowing that skill, luck, or a bit of both will see you through to victory. Becoming a daredevil makes you willing to take risks others would not. You tend toward rash action, being impulsive in tough situations, as you’re always…
Martial Read Path [ art · darkheart ] MartialDarkheart
Few people see themselves as villains. For most, acknowledging their part in making others suffer, deciding on courses of activity that feed their own selfish desires, or acting in manners that create hardship and suffering is just too shameful to be endured. People delude themselves. They justify their actions as serving some greater good. If the act resulted in someone’s harm, it was divine will, bad luck, or the dispensation of justice. You are different. You know who and what you are. In…
Martial Read Path [ art · darkslayer ] MartialDarkslayer
The air reeks of dark magic; you know your quarry is close. You have been tracking the demonist for months, and the things you saw will haunt you for the rest of your days. But this is what comes from your necessary work. You face things others never dare because someone has to take a stand against these fiends. You draw your sword, check your charms, and descend the steps into darkness. You are a hunter of the dark, a hard-bitten, self-declared enemy of evil. You search out the death masters…
Martial Read Path [ art · death dealer ] MartialDeath Dealer
People fear you and for good reason. You thrive in combat. Drawn swords and readied axes are invitations to fight that you readily accept, weapon swinging, ropes of blood leaping into the air as enemy after enemy falls beneath your brutal assault. The screams of the dying, the crunch of bones, the cries for mercy are music to your ears as you strew the battlefield with severed limbs and organs. Woe to any who dare stand in your way. You could hate what you have become, feeling remorse for all…
Martial Read Path [ art · demonologist ] MartialDemonologist
That the Church of the High One makes demons into bogeymen does a disservice to those who understand the true threat they pose. Neither monster nor fiend, demons exist apart from the world and its magical corners. They seek the utter annihilation of all things, to bring not just Erth but all of reality tumbling into the Void to feed the appetite of the one that drives them. This entity, called the Demon Lord for want of a better name, is something of such vast and terrible power that to even…
Martial Read Path [ art · destroyer ] PowerDestroyer
Embracing the catastrophic aspects of magic made mastering the Destruction tradition an obvious choice for you. Creation offends you, and you feel a growing need to reduce everything you see to rubble and broken bodies. You struggle to control yourself, but the more you delve into this tradition’s secrets, the harder it becomes to care. Let the whole world burn.
Power Read Path [ art · diabolist ] PowerDiabolist
Promises of swift and easy power seduced you to studying the Dark Arts. Before you knew what was happening, it had enfolded you in its corrupting embrace. How did you come to the darkness? Perhaps you found an old grimoire and became enamored with what you learned from its pages. A desperate bargain with a fiend could have opened the door to black magic, but so too could a cult, an encounter with something demonic, or an evil as ancient as—or even older than—the world. The Dark Arts stained you…
Power Read Path [ art · diviner ] PowerDiviner
Some believe the future has already been written, that all choices have been weighed and made before the eyes of the gods. Mortal existence is one grand drama that plays out in a manner preordained. When you look into future happenings with Divination magic, you see likely outcomes based on actions chosen in the present. More often than not, the future you witness comes to pass, so perhaps there is no such thing as free will after all.
Power Read Path [ art · dragon fist ] MartialDragon Fist
Legend holds that the Dragon Fist technique arose from observing two dragons fighting for their lives. In ancient times, the Dragon Fists wandered the lands, but the Empire’s collapse took with it these mighty warriors, or so many believed. Whispers about the Dragon Fists still carry along the roads, each seeking to test their mettle against other fighters and, more often than not, emerging victorious. Somehow, you discovered the secrets of the Dragon Fist technique. You might have found a…
Martial Read Path [ art · dragonite ] PowerDragonite
While Draconus sleeps, the Ancient Ones remain in the god’s grip, trapped there as they have been for thousands of years. So long has the Great Dragon slept that the whole world grew on his back, and there’s little to show of the deity’s slumbering form. You know better. You know the mountains grew where the Dragon’s spine thrust up from the depths, and the fire that sometimes vents from the peaks is the Dragon’s blood. You also know what’s at stake if Draconus wakes. Disaster. You joined the…
Power Read Path [ art · duelist ] MartialDuelist
You adopt a vexatious fighting style to level the battlefield and even the odds. You invite foes to duel you and then, once committed, expose their vulnerabilities. You start your contests with a mocking challenge that is hard to ignore. This is the bait in your trap. If the foe bites, it finds itself ill-prepared. You dance around your enemy, dodge its attacks, and land strikes to sap its strength and leave it open for the killing blow.
Martial Read Path [ art · enchanter ] PowerEnchanter
What have you to fear from enemies when you can control what they think and feel? Specializing in the Enchantment tradition offers you new and improved ways to seize others’ minds and make them do what you want. Fear, love, hatred, and confusion are your weapons, and you wield them expertly. Having such control might tempt you toward monstrous behavior, so you must weigh carefully the decisions you make using your magic.
Power Read Path [ art · evoker ] PowerEvoker
In studying the Evocation tradition, you learned that there was once a single language spoken by the gods, and to this language all tongues spoken today owe their existence. Now, thousands upon thousands of years after the first words were shared with mortals, their potency has been obfuscated by the intentions of the speakers, by vast, tangled lexicons, and by the muddling of speech from countless different peoples. But hidden within are fragments of those original words, and the Evocation…
Power Read Path [ art · executioner ] MartialExecutioner
The executioner’s trade appeals to few. Killing people, even those who deserve it, is difficult for most. Yet death never bothered you. People die all the time, some to disease, others to mishap. You, at least, can promise a good, clean death. So skilled have you become at the killing business, your victims hardly feel a thing. Or so you hope. It’s not like they can complain after the fact. As an executioner, you spend your time between quests lopping the heads off criminals or political…
Martial Read Path [ art · factotum ] MartialFactotum
Where your peers specialize, you found it far better to diversify. Doing so makes you ready for just about anything. You can fight, certainly, and cast a few spells, but you have a keen, adaptable mind that lets you pick up talents wherever you go. You’re nowhere as good as the real thing, but you can fit in wherever and whenever you’re needed.
Martial Read Path [ art · fate weaver ] PowerFate Weaver
The Fates have a small cult following in the mortal world, largely those with an interest in divining the future: fortune tellers, seers, prophets, and the like. You became associated with the cult, perhaps to join or having done a service for them, gaining the Fates’ attention and earning their favor. Such a gift comes with a terrible responsibility, for you now act on their behalf, helping them spin, measure, and cut lifelines. When the Fates move through you, you manifest one of their…
Power Read Path [ art · fencer ] MartialFencer
It’s easy to overlook the rapier. A thin blade, its delicate construction and overall fanciness make the weapon more suited as an accessory for courtiers than for use in real battle. You prove the foolishness of such attitudes, for the rapier becomes even more dangerous when you wield it. You strike with precision, finding gaps in your enemies’ fighting techniques, the myriad cuts draining away their vitality.
Martial Read Path [ art · flagellant of want ] PowerFlagellant of Want
The custom of allowing criminals to “go to Want” survived the fall of the Great Kingdom, and gangs of flagellants wander the wilds of the borderlands and beyond as they have done for centuries. The flagellants belong to the Cult of Want, a strange religious sect devoted to the daughter of Death who brings famines and droughts to the mortal world. The cult aims to take on the burden of the goddess’s attention and thus spare innocents from the ruin she causes. Since membership has little to offer…
Power Read Path [ art · galvanist ] MartialGalvanist
You suspected that the energies magic-users draw on to cast spells can be stored without having to use any occult methods. In pursuit of this idea, you experimented in your workshop between quests in hopes of taming this power. You designed and built several prototypes with mixed success, but your recent breakthrough with the generator you made has validated all your efforts. The generator doesn’t look like much. It’s a spindle wrapped in copper wire and mounted on a non-conductive plate. You…
Martial Read Path [ art · geomancer ] PowerGeomancer
You felt the energy thrumming through the ground, a vast and terrible wellspring that you can tap to fuel your magic. Exploring this energy marked your first step onto the road to becoming a geomancer, and as you plumb the depths of the world, you gain ever greater control over its magic. You can call forth columns of stone, hurl boulders at your enemies, and root yourself in place so that nothing can move you. The magic affects you, though, and your body assumes the appearance of stone. Your…
Power Read Path [ art · giant killer ] MartialGiant Killer
Most people, when they see a giant coming, run away as fast and as far as they can. But you’re not most people. Spotting a giant is an invitation to test your mettle against the biggest brutes in the world. You’ve been called courageous. Others have called you mad. Some think you’d have to be stupid to search out giants. But you know all the ways to fight these monsters and others, and live to boast about it. Sure, they hit hard, but they have to hit you first, and you’re excellent at ducking…
Martial Read Path [ art · graven ] MartialGraven
During a previous quest or on some side quest between your major expeditions, you came into possession of a suit of magical armor. The armor has an odd, uneven style, with great flaring shoulder guards, flanges on the greaves and leggings, and a breastplate wrought to show the face of a wizened man with wild hair. Unusual appearance aside, the armor appeared of the finest quality and fitted you perfectly when you donned it. But as you secured the final piece, the armor bound itself to your…
Martial Read Path [ art · gunslinger ] MartialGunslinger
Some say black powder flows through your veins, so deft is your hand with firearms. In truth, a steady hand, an intimate understanding of how firearms work, and so much practice have made you one of the best shooters the lands have ever seen. You carry a firearm with you at all times, as well as secret ammunition, powder, and the tools you need to maintain your weapons.
Martial Read Path [ art · healer ] MartialHealer
You have seen such pain, such suffering in the world, you were moved to do something about it. You choose to spend your time aiding others. Such a life might lack the glory of a fighter or the majesty of a skilled mage, but you play an invaluable part in the lives of people around you. You have yet to find a disease you cannot defeat, a parasite you cannot destroy. Your touch closes wounds and restores vigor to the exhausted. In time, you even learn to keep Lord Death at bay.
Martial Read Path [ art · herald of the dawn ] PowerHerald of the Dawn
In the radiance of Mother Sun, you find your future. You could have been a longtime devotee of the goddess, having committed your life to serving. In this role, you stood fast against the shadows, drove back the darkness, and spread her healing rays all across the land. Then again, you could be a recent convert. The goddess might have noticed you and your efforts so far and sees in you a potential servant of value. Or, you might have bargained with her, forming a pact that benefits you both…
Power Read Path [ art · hierophant ] PowerHierophant
The Library of Aman-Keth fell with the Empire of old. Before then, care of the place and its contents was entrusted to the hierophants. These learned people, anticipating the coming doom, committed as much lore as they could to memory, and then passed down what they had learned to their apprentices. You joined the hierophants and have only recently begun to discover the depth and breadth of their erudition. Each mystery you learn opens your mind to new possibilities. As you progress, you…
Power Read Path [ art · high priest ] PowerHigh Priest
Through your great deeds you have won the esteem of the god you serve, and upon you now rests the mantle of high priest. You have a direct line to your patron deity and can ask for and receive aid. Such are the blessings the god shows you, there is little you need fear.
Power Read Path [ art · horned apostle ] PowerHorned Apostle
The Horned Lord snatched you up by the neck and peered deep into your eyes. After a few moments, he flung you away, but you carried with you a fragment of his essence. The fragment bound you to the violent god and began your transformation into a bull-headed humanoid.As a horned apostle, you gain nearly a foot in height and 50 or so pounds of muscle. Your skin assumes a greenish color and green streaks appear in your hair, if you have any. Your eyes shine with emerald light, and a great rack of…
Power Read Path [ art · horologist ] MartialHorologist
You construct marvelous devices from clockwork. Each compo- nent takes painstaking effort to create, and the assembly of these pieces takes time, patience, and dedication. Perhaps the effort you make explains why each creation holds a special place in your heart. The “life” you give them comes from your expert precision and your mastery of engineering. These are no toys; in some respects, you see them as your children.
Martial Read Path [ art · hunter of the dead ] MartialHunter of the Dead
Each time a corpse rises from death, or a spirit escapes the Underworld to plague the living, the natural order weakens. The more this happens, the greater the threat, for reality depends on the migration of souls so that new life can be born and thrive. Some claim each soul denied to Lord Death diminishes the deity; should that happen, what other chaos might result? Could the chains holding the Ancient Ones slacken? Could the terrors in the Void break through the boundaries and lay waste to…
Martial Read Path [ art · hydromancer ] PowerHydromancer
Water extinguishes flames. The seas erode the land. The depths drown the air-breathers. Water might be a deluge from the skies, a sheet of ice, or scalding steam. Hydromancy deals with this, the most dynamic of the elemental forces, and its appeal drew you to study and gain control over it. With your focus on Hydromancy come subtle changes to your body. Your skin feels clammy and there’s a briny smell about you. Your hair and clothes always seem damp, though never mildewed. It is always as if…
Power Read Path [ art · illusionist ] PowerIllusionist
What is real and what is fantasy? The magic you study blurs the lines between fact and fiction. You create images, sounds, and sensations, and as your skill grows, the ability of others to discern their falsity diminishes until you seemingly alter reality. Your magic preys upon the senses, forcing others to perceive things that aren’t there or overlook features that are.
Power Read Path [ art · infiltrator ] MartialInfiltrator
Something about you makes you hard to notice. Exceptionally plain features, a soft voice, a furtive manner: these might be natural qualities you have always had or traits you developed through training and body modification. In any event, you know how to avoid attracting attention and slip into places with no one the wiser. The opportunities granted by being an infiltrator are obvious. You can sneak in right under guards’ noses. Once inside, you can move around freely to find whatever you seek…
Martial Read Path [ art · invoker ] PowerInvoker
The Invocation tradition stands apart from others, for the magic it offers comes not from the world or from within, but from the gods themselves. Studying its magic opens a supernatural connection between yourself and the divine, and you become a doorway through which it works. You attained this connection after con tact with one of the gods’ servants or by acquiring a holy relic. You could serve one deity, some, or even all. However, you might wield divine power without committing yourself to…
Power Read Path [ art · juggernaut ] MartialJuggernaut
You are an unstoppable force. You are likely big and powerful, a hulking brute of a person, but you don’t have to be. Natural strength and resilience make you a good fit for this path, but the talents you acquire might arise from sheer determination, extensive body training, or, more weirdly, consuming a strange potion that bulked you up and gifted you with near superhuman toughness.
Martial Read Path [ art · justiciar ] PowerJusticiar
The goddess of justice and order, Blind, incarnates the rule of law and balanced systems of government, and encourages concord in civilized lands. Nevertheless, all too often tyrants invoke her name to tighten their grip on those living under their rule. Blind despises such individuals; she seeks justice and rule by a doctrine of fairness in all societies. The goddess chose you to be her agent and gifts you with divine powers to aid you. She expects you to mete justice to law-breakers, to fight…
Power Read Path [ art · kraken thrall ] PowerKraken Thrall
So dangerous has the Sea of Fear become that many believe Oceanus, the god of the deep, hates land-dwellers. The waters become rough without warning, storms blow north, wind and rain slap coastal settlements, and countless ships have sunk to the bottom, dragging with them their crews. Luckily, sailors can enlist people like you to perform the proper ceremonies to appease the Great Kraken. Offerings of wine, animals, and gold can keep this monstrous deity at bay. You belong to the company of…
Power Read Path [ art · legate ] PowerLegate
Urbanus appeared before you and tasked you with becoming a unifying force in the world, to lift your people from cruelty and tyranny, and to become something better. The god, manifesting as the very bricks of the city held in humanoid form, explained how the world stands at the brink of collapse and that the infection of the Old Country threatens to spread into the New Lands. The time to act is now. You agreed and have become an envoy of Urbanus, charged with bringing a hopeful message to all.
Power Read Path [ art · maenad ] PowerMaenad
The Wild Woman is one half of a primal pair of deities as old as Lord Death, if not older. She and the Horned One seeded Erth with living things at Lord Death’s behest, according to the priests of the Old Faith, but they believe these gods to have been among the Ancient Ones who surrendered their more bloodthirsty aspects to join forces with Death. Most people now worship the Wild Woman as a goddess of home and hearth, family, childbearing, and childrearing, with few ever realizing that she was…
Power Read Path [ art · magister ] PowerMagister
The god of magic, Abraxus, elevates the most prized and devoted servants to the title of magister and entrusts them with the great secrets of magic. Membership in this esteemed organization demands magical proficiency, so petitioners must either have some innate ability or some formal training in the magical arts. Upon gaining admittance into this organization, you construct a magical staff, a weapon that reflects your personality, the magic you favor, and the work you hope to accomplish. Each…
Power Read Path [ art · marauder ] MartialMarauder
You see the enemy. You charge the enemy. You waste no time, for the battle calls and you are only too happy to answer. Some folk think you reckless, foolish even, but you show them the error of their ways when you get to the front lines first and bring down the biggest nastiest enemy in the bunch. Your enthusiasm for brawling does expose you to terrible danger and you can recall a few times when your eagerness almost got you killed. But you lived and that’s what counts.
Martial Read Path [ art · mariner ] MartialMariner
You sailed the high seas, saw strange things, and met people both familiar and not. You visited unknown lands and learned how to bargain with the sea god for safe voyages. You are a mariner, a master of sailing, and can chart a course to almost any destination. You have learned how to fight in close quarters when pirates come over the rails and stave off the ill luck that can turn a normal voyage into a cursed one.
Martial Read Path [ art · mastermind ] MartialMastermind
Little surprises you. Your razor-sharp intellect lets you see several steps in advance. You understand how events ought to play out and respond appropriately. While your enemies jockey for position on the battlefield, you have already deduced the most likely outcomes based on your keen observation. Your genius lets you see patterns in your surroundings and choose the best course of action.
Martial Read Path [ art · mind blade ] MartialMind Blade
You discovered within yourself the ability to solidify your thoughts, to make of them whatever tool you might need. You need only open your hand, and there appears a blade. You concentrate, and shimmering armor covers your body. So prepared, you stand ready for battle, confident in your focus on victory.
Martial Read Path [ art · moon celebrant ] PowerMoon Celebrant
Sister Moon draws most of her followers from the ranks of young people living on the edges of the wilderness, where they have an unobstructed view of the night sky. In addition to the moon, the goddess also claims darkness, the night, secrets, and rebirth in her portfolio. It’s said that souls follow her light when they are reborn into the world. It is also said that Lord Death has a hold over her, forcing her to dwell with him in the Underworld once each month. You belong to or recently joined…
Power Read Path [ art · mystic ] MartialMystic
Is this all there is to living? Is life the sum of existence? Are you bound to the form to which you were born or is there some way to transcend the limitations of birth and become something more, something greater, something eternal? Long have you felt that some greatness lay hidden within you. You lamented the body’s fragility, its propensity toward injury and infirmity, until you came to see that your existence had become a prison of sorts. You refused to accept your fate and sought answers…
Martial Read Path [ art · necromancer ] PowerNecromancer
You need no reminder of what Lord Death thinks about Necromancy and those who practice this dark art, yet you have firmed your resolve and thrown yourself into the tradition to discover it’s strange and terrible secrets. In exploring the tradition’s magic, you gain an intimate understanding of dead things and the natural processes that cause their decay and dissolution. You find ways to arrest the rot, to preserve the specimens so that you can imbue them with blasphemous magic that gives them…
Power Read Path [ art · nightshade ] MartialNightshade
People who say there’s no honor in using poison have never been desperate enough or feared enough for their lives that they would do anything to escape their predicament. You know this fear all too well, and so your business is making lethal substances and using them against targets you are hired to eliminate. It’s an underhanded, dirty trade, but you have a real talent. You appreciate how poisons do not discriminate, killing commoners or kings, wizards or monsters. That’s their enduring appeal…
Martial Read Path [ art · oblivionist ] MartialOblivionist
An extremist cult dedicated to Lord Death formed after coming to peculiar conclusions about the nature of their god and his will in the world. The founders believed that Lord Death wanted the extinction of all living things, and that the duty of his followers was to exterminate as many people as they could. To this end, the cultists devised killing techniques drawn from the power of their faith alone, and their best killers ventured out in the darkest hours to do the bidding of their grim…
Martial Read Path [ art · oneiromancer ] PowerOneiromancer
As an oneiromancer, you have ready access to the Dreamland, a place formed by dreamers long ago that now persists as a warped mirror of the mortal world. Dreamers populate the Dreamland, their minds cast into places of their imagination that might correspond to those in the real world or not. Most dreamers relive memories of past situations, or experience circumstances they anticipate or scenarios created from the darkest parts of their minds. Whenever you sleep, your mind enters the Dreamland…
Power Read Path [ art · outlander ] MartialOutlander
Survivalist, explorer, traveler: you’re these and more. You have spent so much time in the wilderness that towns and villages make you uncomfortable. You prefer fresh air and wide-open spaces to the press and stink of urban areas. Time in the wilderness hardened you. Just as when you first tried to forage for food and find a safe place to shelter, you put the same determination to work in overcoming other challenges. Self-sufficient, you can tend to your own hurts and push through the pain when…
Martial Read Path [ art · primal hunter ] PowerPrimal Hunter
You see wild shapes at the edges of your vision, hear growls and whimpers, snarls and screams. The longer you spend on the path to mastering Primal magic, the stronger and more frequent these experiences. One day, when you cast a spell, you felt a change come over you. Reason and restraint fled your mind as a thirst for blood and a need for violence took hold. The magic inside you awakened a beast that demands to be free.
Power Read Path [ art · pyromancer ] PowerPyromancer
Pyromancy’s enduring popularity stems from its raw destructive potential. Casters in search of battle magic need look no further than this tradition, for they can call forth fire with a gesture, hurl blazing balls of hungry flames at distant foes, where it explodes to burn away everything in its midst. Your focus on Pyromancy comes at a price, though. The more you explore what the tradition offers, the more you feel something burning within you. It began as a spark of creativity, but soon…
Power Read Path [ art · rakehell ] MartialRakehell
No matter the odds, no matter how high the stakes, you’re in. You’ve won fortunes, and squandered them, with this attitude. Your preoccupation with gambling has undoubtedly created problems for you, but it has offered opportunities you might otherwise have never had. The same approach you have at the gaming table colors the rest of your life, and you are tempted into risky actions that might put yourself and others in danger for a chance at glory.
Martial Read Path [ art · ravenguard ] MartialRavenguard
You bonded with a raven spirit from the Ephemera. The spirit has unfinished business in the mortal world—a debt to pay, a murder to avenge, or some other trouble to put to rest—and has offered its powerful magic to aid you in your quests. The connection attracts corvids wherever you go. You spot them in the trees, hear them through closed doors, and see their shadows pass on the ground as they wheel overhead.
Martial Read Path [ art · razor wind ] MartialRazor Wind
The chain knife takes great effort to master but offers great rewards to those who do so. This length of strong chain has a cutting blade at one end and a weight at the other, enabling the wielder to strike from a distance to either slash or bind a foe. Masters of the weapon become lethal whirlwinds, lashing out and ripping through enemies with ease.
Martial Read Path [ art · reforged ] PowerReforged
After Kaen was betrayed by and murdered at the hands of the cyclopes, Lord Death took his shade and bound it to a suit of armor. Thus the god of the forge, craftsmanship, and artistry was saved from oblivion. Kaen chose you to serve as his agent in the world. You watch over artisans, lending aid in their work and inspiring them to advance their understanding of their trades. Service calls you to travel from temple to temple, shrine to shrine, watching over the small but dedicated cult that…
Power Read Path [ art · ruffian ] MartialRuffian
Everyone fears something, and you know just the thing to say, the posture to use, to add yourself to the list of things that keep people up at night. You might be a powerful brute, but you don’t have to be. It’s all in the attitude and how you carry yourself. So long as people believe you will make good on your threats, they’re going to think twice before crossing you.
Martial Read Path [ art · sacred reveler ] PowerSacred Reveler
You’ve put up with obligations your whole life. You had to hold down a job and look after your family members, friends, and lovers. You had to stay tidy, keep your home clean, and tend to all the drudgery that goes into living. But one day, you found Revel— probably at the bottom of a bottle—and the god cut your chains and set you free. You haven’t looked back. The old life of roots and connections and responsibility fades like a bad dream. Now, there is only drunkenness and debauchery. You…
Power Read Path [ art · sanguinist ] MartialSanguinist
Scars display the brutality of your technique, and where the skin has not yet knitted closed, pus and blood weep from innumerable gouges and lacerations. You found that magic courses through your veins, and when you spill your blood, you can siphon off its energies to enhance your spells. A slash on the leg, a pierced wrist, or a cut across the palm can deliver blasts of flame, warp minds, or transport you to a distant destination in an instant. Cutting your flesh was but the first step on the…
Martial Read Path [ art · sapper ] MartialSapper
You have a knack for chemistry and can use your extensive knowledge to build potent explosives to clear just about any obstacle from your path. Your ability could stem from trial and error, the results of which might have claimed a fingertip or two, or might arise from formal training, after being attached to a military outfit and assigned to a group of engineers. Or maybe you just want to watch the world burn. Whatever your reasons, you have thrown all your effort into making and mastering the…
Martial Read Path [ art · saprophyte ] PowerSaprophyte
One day you noticed an odd growth on your body, a strange ridge pushing up the skin. Inspecting the wound revealed fibrous material underneath that stretched out like feelers. From then on, your body became a breeding ground for all kinds of fungi. Those growths have overtaken what was your original form, but you remain who you were. The reason? Grandmother Spore saw something in you and bestowed her strange blessings on you.
Power Read Path [ art · schemer ] MartialSchemer
No one should ever trust you. You wouldn’t trust you. Why? You’re always scheming, always plotting, always finding the angle to get an advantage. You do whatever you must to get ahead, even if it means betraying your friends. It all comes down to you looking after you. If you don’t, no one else will.
Martial Read Path [ art · scoundrel ] PowerScoundrel
The Skullduggery tradition provides all kinds of ways to defraud, steal, and get the better of others. Since you’re inclined in this direction anyway, putting a bit more time and effort into expanding your knowledge of such magic can only make you more successful in your criminal ventures. Along the way, you learn a few more tricks to help you get away from whatever situation you find yourself in.
Power Read Path [ art · seeker ] MartialSeeker
A mysterious stranger had been following you for some time, but after you finished your last quest, they came forward to make introductions. This person was a seeker: an agent of the druids, a soldier, bodyguard, and spy. Something you have done has earned you a place in the organization if you want it. The stranger explained the significance of the work, but also warned you of the dangers that come with it. You chose to set aside your reservations and embrace your role in the fight to…
Martial Read Path [ art · sentinel ] MartialSentinel
The sentinels formed to watch the west for signs of a resurgent Empire and to guard against the horrors spawned from its collapse. Time eroded their numbers, and few sent to patrol the towers and walls were worthy of undergoing the rites of initiation to gain full membership. Now, only a handful of true sentinels remain, and hopes for the organization’s future have begun to die. You understand the threat the west poses, especially now that the Great Kingdom and other nations fight over the…
Martial Read Path [ art · shadowmancer ] PowerShadowmancer
Your studies of Shadowmancy have left an indelible mark upon you. No matter how bright your surroundings, shadows seem to cling to your body, slithering over you like worms. Rather than repel you, though, their presence reminds you of the magic at your command. You can spin quasi-real creatures and things from shadow and use them as if they were real. Your creations seem eager to do your bidding and obey your will with chilling devotion. They are instruments of your whims, echoes of your soul’s…
Power Read Path [ art · shapechanger ] PowerShapechanger
Specialization in Alteration magic makes your form fluid. You free yourself from the limitations that others must endure and can change anything about yourself by simply willing it. No longer must you be confined to the circumstances of your birth. Today, you appear to be a man in his middle years. Tomorrow, you look like a young woman. Who knows who you will become on any given day?
Power Read Path [ art · sharpshooter ] MartialSharpshooter
Sometimes it seems as though you were born with a missile weapon in your hands. You’re a master of ranged attacks, and it shows each time you launch a bolt from your crossbow or send a barrage of arrows flying into your enemies. When you hurl a stone from a sling, you can shatter bones and punch through armor. You’ve been training with these weapons for so long, shooting has become second nature to you. As a sharpshooter, you master the use of ranged weapons, from pistols to slings and…
Martial Read Path [ art · silhouette ] MartialSilhouette
Maybe you had a knack for shadow magic. Perhaps you stumbled upon the tradition when burgling a mage’s abode, or you might have decided that Shadowmancy makes an effective tool for enriching yourself. Whatever your reasons for using this tradition, you learn its spells to develop your criminal techniques in potent and effective ways.
Martial Read Path [ art · skald ] MartialSkald
There’s inspiration in the old tales. Each hero who stood up against the tyrants, who vanquished evil, who persevered in the face of hardship should motivate later generations to walk in those steps and do what is right. As a skald, you know these stories, poems, and songs. You recite them in battle, drawing from your deep well of knowledge to lift your allies’ spirits. You are a warrior-poet, and your voice rises above the clash of swords to lead your side to victory.
Martial Read Path [ art · slayer ] MartialSlayer
The scars on your body tell the story of your life. A row of puckered dimples marks the time when a monster bit a chunk out your shoulder. You lost an ear to a lamia. The melted part of your face came from a flock of drakes swarming you. You’re ugly as sin, but you’re as tough as they come. You’ve seen a lot, fought a lot, and come through each fight with your life intact. You have yet to find something that can kill you, and you’re not about to quit looking.
Martial Read Path [ art · sniper ] MartialSniper
You work best on your own. You slip away from your companions, sneaking to wherever you can get the clearest shot, then let loose a deadly projectile to take down an unsuspecting target. Using a position of advantage, you keep enemies pinned down long enough for your allies to close in and take them out.
Martial Read Path [ art · soul taker ] PowerSoul Taker
When the specter of death appeared before you, you fell to your knees, certain that your time on Erth had come to its ends. Rather than be whisked away to the forgetting place, you found the darkness embracing you, merging its essence with your own. Only then did you realize what was being asked of you. Lord Death had chosen you to be his herald, his bringer of doom, and ender of lives. The shadow of death lays upon you. It goads you to hunt down those who refuse to heed Death’s call and end…
Power Read Path [ art · spellthief ] MartialSpellthief
You have a gift for casting spells. Probably you had a little formal training, but no one teaches what you know how to do. You have a gift for plucking spells from somewhere and adding them to your repertoire. Not even you know where they come from; they just pop into your mind when you need them. A clue into the nature of your abilities is your talent for snatching magic from others. When a magician attempts to cast a spell and you’re nearby, you can steal their magic to add to your own…
Martial Read Path [ art · spirit caller ] PowerSpirit Caller
Many cultures worship their deified ancestors, but among the dwarfs, the practice remains strong and informs how individuals conduct themselves. They believe their ancestors observe their actions and judge them, so it behooves dwarfs to act with honor, contribute to the overall health of their community, and show courage in the face of danger. Ancestors pleased with their descendants invite them to dwell in the Hall of Plenty, while dwarfs who do not live up to those high ideals are cast out to…
Power Read Path [ art · spiritist ] PowerSpiritist
You stand between the worlds of the living and the dead. Through ancient rituals and ceremonies, and after extensive training, you gain the ability to see the entities haunting the spirit world and use your magic to compel their aid. You live a haunted existence, with strangeness following you wherever you go.Most spiritists arise from cultures with strong animistic tendencies in their religion, serving as interlocutors for the dead. However, the role of the spiritist has broadened enough to…
Power Read Path [ art · storm apostle ] PowerStorm Apostle
The Sky Father pours all his anger into you, and in so doing transforms you into his avatar. When you have need, you can raise your weapon to the sky and catch a lightning bolt. Thunder booms, wind whips around you, rain and hail falls to all sides. You become the herald of the storm, and violence follows you wherever you go.
Power Read Path [ art · summoner ] PowerSummoner
Spells and other forms of magic allow casters to call forth creatures from elsewhere in the world and compel them to do their bidding. Some magically assemble creatures, others call them from faraway places, and others still rip them out of alien worlds. You focus on summoning monstrosities, odd things of tooth, claw, fang, and tentacle, writhing masses of fur and flesh that lurch toward your enemies to tear them apart. The secret of your craft is the mystic pentacle you discovered. This bronze…
Power Read Path [ art · symbolist ] PowerSymbolist
With brush and ink, with chisel, or even your very own flesh and blood, you practice drawing symbols and imbuing them with lasting magic. In so doing, you can call upon this magic later, when you need it the most. But you have gone beyond merely sketching your markings on objects you find around you. Rather than illustrating a bit of a surface or marking up a sword with runes, you turn your own body into a canvas. You have runes, sigils, and other eldritch markings tattooed on your flesh and…
Power Read Path [ art · technomancer ] PowerTechnomancer
A focus on Technomancy grants you greater control over the gadgets and gizmos you make with it. As your understanding of the magic grows, so does your command over it until you can whip up useful machinery to aid you in a raft of challenging circumstances.
Power Read Path [ art · telepath ] PowerTelepath
It could be that you always had a knack for sensing the feelings and thoughts of people around you. Then again, you might have possessed psychic powers all along. In either case, you have found the key you need to unlock the vault of your mind. And upon opening that door, the flood of your hidden potential rushes free, enabling you to cast your thoughts far and wide. Your ability to communicate with your allies extends to incredible distances, while your thoughts themselves become weapons you…
Power Read Path [ art · trapsmith ] MartialTrapsmith
You have the technical knowledge to sort out just about any trap, and if you find something you’ve never seen before, odds are you’ll find a way around it. But more than your ability to dismantle traps is your propensity for making such devices and using them to great effect. One never knows where you placed your trap, but it’s certain that you have one somewhere. Their missteps trigger intricate ballets of steel and spring, testaments to your morbid ingenuity. While others fear the unknown…
Martial Read Path [ art · traveler ] PowerTraveler
You have had your fill of chains and ropes, bindings and obligations. You sought out the secrets of Teleportation to liberate you from all constraints. Now free, there is nowhere in the world that you cannot go. No wall is too high, no door too secure, no distance too far to thwart you. You are the traveler, and the world is yours to explore.
Power Read Path [ art · trickster ] MartialTrickster
No matter the complication, no matter how tough the challenge, you have a knack for coming up with a way around or through the problem. It’s just a matter of being willing to see the situation as it really is and then have the wits to find the pattern that you can exploit. You are so good at trickery, that it seems you can even break the laws of reality. Maybe the gods favor you, or possibly you have tapped into magic or even become magical. Whatever the reason, you are no longer bound by the…
Martial Read Path [ art · twin striker ] MartialTwin Striker
Your training pays off when you master the style of fighting with two weapons at once. You might wield a sword and dagger, or keep a pistol in your off hand to shoot at foes as they close in on you. Your technique lets you parry incoming strikes and create openings for your own.
Martial Read Path [ art · uncanny acrobat ] MartialUncanny Acrobat
After a career of dodging, tumbling, rolling, and otherwise evading danger, you have come to master the movements of your body. You have balance and poise, an easiness in your own flesh that lets you move with speed and grace through the most dangerous and treacherous places. Such skill enables you to do things others find impossible. Flips, rolls, jumps, and leaps: you spring about the battlefield, always staying out of your enemies’ reach until you find the opening you need to strike. You can…
Martial Read Path [ art · valkyrie ] PowerValkyrie
Hate, the goddess of war, strides across the battlefields, inspiring combatants to ever greater acts of violence. Perhaps it was on one such killing ground that you spotted the terrible figure of Death’s most ruinous daughter. Locking eyes with the goddess, you felt your soul torn free, watched as Hate inspected it, and cried out when she restored it to your flesh, bound to her service. You have become a valkyrie, one of the choosers of the slain. Battle calls to you wherever you go.
Power Read Path [ art · war machine ] MartialWar Machine
Where others spend their time training and studying to improve themselves, you opted to make use of your technological know-how to construct armaments to aid you in your quests. You start small, building gloves and boots, but, as you advance along this path, you continue to add components until, by the end, you have constructed an armored battle suit. The suit might have components made from machinery, though it could also incorporate vegetable matter, stone plating, or other pieces in…
Martial Read Path [ art · warlord ] MartialWarlord
You’ve lost track of how many battles you have fought. The individual fights might run together, and the reasons for fighting in the first place might have disappeared into the hole of your memory, but you remember what went right and what went terribly wrong. Now, you can size up your situation and come up with a plan to take your opponents apart. Your assessment comes from not only perceiving weaknesses in your enemies, but also measuring the strengths and assets at your disposal. When you…
Martial Read Path [ art · wood watcher ] PowerWood Watcher
The mighty and ancient Grandfather Tree elevated you to be a holy guardian of the forests. The god placed a seed inside your breast that has since taken root and transformed you until you appear in his image. You now draw sustenance from the nutrients in the soil and the light shining down from Mother Sun. Although you might resemble your former self, you are an ambulatory plant. Bark covers your body, and branches grow from your head instead of hair.
Power Read Path [ art · zealot ] MartialZealot
You believe the gods made you for a special purpose. You feel it in your bones, at the very core of your being. You have confidence that the divine watches over you and aids you in times of need, provided you remain constant and faithful. Some call you a fanatic, and you’ve heard yourself described as deluded, misguided, and insane to boot. But you make no apologies for your zeal. You believe in your gods and they, in turn, believe in you. You have read the scriptures and have heard the voice…
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