Example Power Folios

AX.C.08.04 - Example Power Folios

The following folios are worked examples of how a Genre Catalog author builds a Tradition entry. They use the Fantasy Genre Catalog context, Arcane Magic, Faith Magic, and Syonics, because these are the three tradition labels with the longest AxiomRPG history. They are not default content. They are examples: the format demonstrates how a Genre Catalog should specify a tradition, what information belongs in each field, and how split-category traditions are handled.

A Genre Catalog author may use these folios directly, adapt them, or build entirely new traditions using the same format. The format itself is the deliverable.

Tradition Folio Template

TRADITION: **[Name as it appears in the Genre Catalog]**

Category: *[Force / Resonance / Form, or both if split; see Split-Category note below]*

Focus Terminology: [What this tradition calls its Foci]

Default Attribute: [Wit / Body / Speed, may note alternates]

Access Grant: [Which Lineages and/or Professions in this Genre Catalog grant access]

Genre Context: [Which Genre Catalog this belongs to; why this tradition exists here]

[Description: 2–4 sentences establishing the tradition's fictional premise and practitioner identity]

Foci Folio Template

[Repeat the following block for each Focus:]

**[Focus Name]**

Domain: *[What this Focus does, the conceptual territory it covers]*

Representative Effects:

 - Easy (T1–2): [Example of a minor application]
 - Moderate (T3): [Example of a meaningful application]
 - High (T4): [Example of a significant application]
 - Epic (T5+): [Example of a major or scene-defining application]

Recovery: [Short / Long / Full Rest, with note on what magnitude triggers each]

BACKLASH

[What happens on Critical Failure for this tradition, the characteristic consequence of power misused or overextended]

DESIGN NOTES

[Notes for the Genre Catalog author or GM adapting this tradition, what makes it distinctive, what to watch for, how it interacts with other systems]

On Threshold Examples: The representative effects listed under each Focus are illustrative, not exhaustive. They show the scale of what a Focus enables at each difficulty tier. Actual Challenges are set by the GM using standard Threshold logic (AX.C.06). The examples below are a design guide, not a locked ability list.

AX.C.08.04.01 - ARCANE MAGIC

TRADITION: Arcane Magic

Category: Force

Focus Terminology: Philosophies

Default Attribute: Wit (Body and Speed expressions valid, 
see Design Notes)

Access Grant: Fantasy Genre Catalog, assigned by Lineage 
and Profession entries

Genre Context: Fantasy Genre Catalog. Arcane Magic is the 
scholarly, pattern-based Force Tradition of the Fantasy setting. 
Practitioners, variously called wizards, mages, artificers, 
or arcanists depending on cultural context, manipulate an 
underlying energetic layer of reality through learned symbolic 
systems, written formulae, and sustained study.

Arcane Magic works through deliberate mastery: practitioners use patterns, symbols, and learned knowledge to direct otherwise inaccessible force into structured effects. The tradition rewards investment and preparation. An Arcane practitioner who has not studied a relevant Philosophy cannot improvise it, their power is bounded by what they have learned.

FOCI - ARCANE PHILOSOPHIES

Forging Domain: Creation of temporary objects and chimerical constructs from raw aether. Forging produces things that exist at the practitioner's will, objects, creatures, structures, and dissolves them when that will lapses or when the aether dissipates. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Produce a simple tool or light source from aetheric matter, lasting a scene , Moderate (T3): Summon a chimerical creature of modest capability (comparable to a trained animal); produce a functional object with moving parts , High (T4): Summon a chimerical construct with combat presence; produce a complex object (a working mechanism, a sealed container of aetheric matter) , Epic (T5+): Summon a major chimerical entity; produce an object or structure at architectural scale Recovery: Short Rest for minor conjurations. Long Rest for sustained constructs or combat-capable summons. Full Rest for epic-scale creations.

Ruin Domain: Raw destructive force, unstabilized magical energy released as blast, burn, shock, or dissolution. Ruin is the most direct Force Philosophy; it produces effects that are immediately measurable and immediately dangerous. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Force the target to make a Save (Speed or Body) or suffer a minor condition (Staggered, Prone); deal light damage to an object , Moderate (T3): Deal meaningful damage to a target or group of targets; destroy a door, wall section, or structural element , High (T4): Devastate an area (Near range burst); render a structure section uninhabitable or collapsed , Epic (T5+): Reshape a battlefield; destroy a fortification; produce an effect visible and measurable from Far range Recovery: Short Rest for single-target effects. Long Rest for area effects. Full Rest for epic devastation.

Guile Domain: Subtle influence on thought, telepathic contact, memory alteration, and persuasion that bypasses conscious resistance. Guile does not destroy or create; it adjusts. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Project a single emotion or simple impression into a target's mind (they do not know its origin); read whether a target is hostile, neutral, or friendly , Moderate (T3): Implant a suggestion the target acts on if it does not directly contradict their core interests; read a surface thought or recent memory , High (T4): Alter a specific memory; establish a persistent compulsion (the target pursues the mage's interest for a scene without knowing why) , Epic (T5+): Rewrite a substantial portion of a target's recent memory; establish lasting compulsion (until magically broken) Recovery: Short Rest for impression/read effects. Long Rest for suggestion or memory access. Full Rest for alteration or compulsion.

Scrying Domain: Extended perception beyond normal sensory limits, past impressions, present distant events, and probabilistic future states. Scrying does not change anything; it observes. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense whether an object has been recently handled; determine the general direction of a known target within the same settlement , Moderate (T3): View a known location at Near-to-Far range in real time; probe an object for its history and significant past owners , High (T4): View an unfamiliar location given only a name or object connection; receive a useful (though not guaranteed accurate) forewarning of an immediate threat , Epic (T5+): Track a target across significant distance regardless of mundane concealment; receive actionable foreknowledge of a complex future event Recovery: Short Rest for directional sense. Long Rest for active scrying. Full Rest for future-sight.

Portage Domain: Manipulation of physical space, movement, relocation, and spatial compression. Portage treats distance as a property that can be altered rather than a fixed constraint. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Step across a Close-range gap instantaneously; hold an object in place against mundane physical force , Moderate (T3): Teleport self to a known, previously-visited location within the same building or district; accelerate or arrest the movement of a Near-range target , High (T4): Teleport self and one companion to a known location within the same city or region; open a temporary passage through a non-magical physical barrier , Epic (T5+): Teleport self and a small group across significant distance; create a sustained spatial shortcut (an hours-long passage connecting two non-adjacent locations) Recovery: Short Rest for minor spatial effects. Long Rest for teleportation. Full Rest for sustained passages.

Mirage Domain: Glamour and illusion, constructions that fool natural senses. Mirage does not change what is there; it changes what is perceived to be there. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Alter the practitioner's apparent appearance (clothing, coloration, minor facial features); produce a distracting sound or false image at Close range , Moderate (T3): Create a convincing illusory environment feature (a sealed door where there is none, a crowd of figures); suppress a physical feature from perception (a wound, a weapon) , High (T4): Sustain a complete false identity including voice and movement for a scene; create an illusory double that moves and responds to simple interaction , Epic (T5+): Alter the apparent layout of an entire room or outdoor area; maintain a sustained disguise through extended interaction and scrutiny Recovery: Short Rest for passive appearance changes. Long Rest for active maintained illusions. Full Rest for large-scale or sustained illusions.

Void Domain: The magical nature of spirits, death, and the boundary between living and unliving states. Void practitioners engage the threshold between existence and dissolution. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense the presence of spirits or unliving entities within Near range; speak briefly with the spirit of a recently deceased creature , Moderate (T3): Command a minor spirit or animate corpse for a scene; suppress the animation of an unliving entity temporarily , High (T4): Bind a spirit to a location or object with specific instructions; reanimate a more capable undead construct , Epic (T5+): Negotiate with a significant spirit entity as an equal; create a persistent binding that survives without sustained concentration Recovery: Short Rest for sensing and brief contact. Long Rest for command effects. Full Rest for binding and reanimation.

Warding Domain: Defense against physical, mental, and magical threats, shields, barriers, suppression, and resistance. Warding is reactive and protective; it does not strike but it absorbs, deflects, and neutralizes. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Grant a target +1D on their next Save against a specific threat type; suppress a minor magical effect for a scene , Moderate (T3): Establish a magical barrier that prevents passage of a specific type (unliving, or one element type); grant a target resistance to one damage type for a scene , High (T4): Seal a room against magical intrusion; break an active enchantment on a target or object , Epic (T5+): Create a sustained ward on a structure; suppress or sever a significant ongoing magical effect Recovery: Short Rest for minor bonuses and suppression. Long Rest for barriers and resistances. Full Rest for structural wards and disenchantment.

BACKLASH, ARCANE MAGIC

On Critical Failure, Arcane effects misfire along the lines of the Philosophy invoked. Ruin backlashes energetically, the practitioner takes damage or deals it to unintended targets in the area. Guile backlash turns inward, the practitioner experiences the emotional or mental state they were attempting to impose. Forging backlash produces something unintended, a construct that refuses commands, an object that crumbles immediately, or an entity that acts on its own will. Scrying overloads the practitioner's perception, they receive images without context and are Disoriented (Wit-based rolls at -1D) until they make a Wit Save vs T3 at the start of their next Turn. Portage backlash displaces the practitioner, to the wrong location, or in a disorienting spatial inversion (Prone, -1D Speed rolls for one scene). Mirage backlash traps the practitioner in their own illusion, they cannot distinguish their construct from reality for one scene. Void backlash exposes the practitioner to the attention of whatever they were contacting, the spirit, the unliving, or the dissolution they invoked turns toward them.

In all cases, the specific nature of Arcane backlash should be defined by the GM to fit the Philosophy and the scene. The backlash is energetic in character but philosophically shaped.

DESIGN NOTES, ARCANE MAGIC

Body and Speed expressions: While Wit is the default, Body-focused arcane practice (ritual sorcery, physical attunement, battle-magic channeled through physical action) and Speed-focused practice (instinctive casting, reactive warding, impulse-magic) are valid. Lineages or Professions in the Fantasy Genre Catalog may specify which Attribute their access grant uses, or leave it open.

Philosophies are not siloed: A practitioner with both Scrying and Guile can combine their effects narratively, scrying what someone is thinking while simultaneously reading their memories. The GM should reward creative combination without requiring a mechanical rule for every case.

Flavor vs. mechanics: The eight Philosophies cover the most common arcane traditions in fantasy fiction. A Genre Catalog author adding a ninth Philosophy (Runecraft, Alchemy, Ritual Magic) should ask: does this do something the existing eight Philosophies don't cover? If not, it is probably a flavor variant of an existing Philosophy, not a new Focus.

AX.C.08.04.02 - FAITH MAGIC

TRADITION: Faith Magic

Category: Resonance

Focus Terminology: Spheres (with associated Ethos)

Default Attribute: Wit or Speed (see Design Notes)

Access Grant: Fantasy Genre Catalog, assigned by Lineage and Profession 
entries; typically tied to religious or community identity in the setting

Genre Context: Fantasy Genre Catalog. Faith Magic is the Resonance 
Tradition of divine attunement, power drawn not from study or innate 
ability, but from an active relationship with a Primal Force and the 
practitioner's alignment to the values that Force expresses.

Faith Magic differs from Arcane Magic in origin and orientation: where arcane power is learned from external sources, faith power emerges from alignment. A practitioner's Sphere is their window into a Primal Force, the specific aspect of that Force they have attuned to. Their Ethos is not a mechanical selection but a statement of who they are relative to that Force. A cleric of Life attuned to the Sphere of Renewal and oriented by the Ethos of Hope produces different effects than one attuned to Vital Essence and oriented by Compassion, not because the mechanics are different, but because the fiction of their relationship to the Force shapes how effects manifest in play.

FAITH STRUCTURE, PRIMAL FORCES, SPHERES, AND ETHOS

A Faith practitioner selects one Primal Force and one Sphere within it as their primary Focus. Their Ethos describes their orientation to that Force but does not restrict available effects. Genre Catalogs may allow a practitioner to hold multiple Spheres (as additional Foci) or to hold Spheres from different Primal Forces, at the author's discretion.

Primal Force	Spheres	Associated Ethos
Life	Light, Vital Essence, Renewal	Growth, Compassion, Hope
Magic	Ether, Arcane Currents, Hidden Patterns	Knowledge, Transformation, Potential
Death	Darkness, Passage, Stillness	Acceptance, Balance, Sacred Finality
Nature	Plants, Animals, Wild Harmony	Interconnection, Adaptation
Seasons	Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter	Change, Renewal, Reflection
Elements	Air, Earth, Fire, Water	Equilibrium, Power, Purification
Undeath	Entropy, Consumption, Decay	Inevitable Return, Oblivion

FOCI - FAITH SPHERES

Faith Spheres do not produce a fixed menu of effects. Instead, each Sphere defines a domain of influence; the practitioner uses their Sphere to produce Resonance effects within that domain. The following entries describe the domain and provide representative effects at each Threshold tier.

Life, Light Domain: Illumination, revelation of hidden truth, and protection against concealment and deception. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Produce a sustained, directed light source; reveal the presence of active illusions within Near range , Moderate (T3): Expose a hidden creature or object to perception; remove a Frightened condition from a target , High (T4): Reveal all concealed presences in a Near range burst; purge a magical darkness or suppression effect , Epic (T5+): Illuminate a wide area with divine light that imposes Threshold penalties on concealment-dependent entities; reveal a significant hidden truth about a location or event Recovery: Short Rest for illumination. Long Rest for revelation effects. Full Rest for area revelation and purging.

Life, Vital Essence Domain: The fundamental life force of living things, its presence, its strength, and its flow between living beings. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense the health state of a target at Close range; stabilize a dying creature , Moderate (T3): Restore Stress to a target; accelerate natural healing (remove one injury penalty for a scene) , High (T4): Remove a disease or toxin from a target; restore a target to consciousness from Incapacitated , Epic (T5+): Perform a miraculous restoration, reversing significant injury, extending life past natural expiry for a scene, or purging a curse Recovery: Short Rest for sensing and stabilization. Long Rest for healing and restoration. Full Rest for miraculous effects.

Life, Renewal Domain: The cycle of growth, restoration, and return, endings that become beginnings. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Cause rapid plant growth in a small area; restore a damaged object to functional condition , Moderate (T3): Purge corruption or contamination from a water source, soil, or small area; restore a ruined object to full function , High (T4): Revitalize a blighted location (remove a persistent environmental negative condition); sustain a dying ecosystem for a significant duration , Epic (T5+): Restore a devastated location to prior health; trigger a renewal effect that affects a community or region Recovery: Short Rest for minor growth. Long Rest for purification and restoration. Full Rest for large-scale renewal.

Death, Darkness Domain: The absence of perceivable light and the concealment that absence provides. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Extinguish light sources in Close range; impose -1D on a target's visual perception rolls for a scene , Moderate (T3): Create a zone of magical darkness at Near range that light cannot penetrate; impose a Fear effect on a target who fails a Wit Save , High (T4): Sustain a Near-range darkness zone for a scene while moving; blind a target temporarily , Epic (T5+): Blot an area's light entirely across a wide range; create a persistent fear condition on a group Recovery: Short Rest for suppression effects. Long Rest for sustained darkness zones. Full Rest for area-wide or persistent effects.

Death, Passage Domain: The transition between living and dead states, the moment and mechanism of death and what lies immediately beyond it. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense the recent dead in the area (within a few hours); feel the manner of death of a recently deceased creature , Moderate (T3): Delay the death of a dying creature for a scene (they remain stabilized regardless of further injury until scene end); communicate briefly with a recently dead spirit , High (T4): Draw a spirit back to answer questions before it passes fully; impose a death-touched condition on a living target (they feel the imminence of their death, Frightened, at -1D on all rolls until they succeed on a Wit Save) , Epic (T5+): Return a very recently dead creature to life (within minutes, not hours) with narrative cost; refuse the death of a target for one scene entirely Recovery: Short Rest for sensing. Long Rest for communication and delay effects. Full Rest for major passage effects.

Nature, Wild Harmony Domain: The attuned relationship between a practitioner and the living systems of an environment, animal behavior, weather patterns, and ecological balance. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Calm a frightened or aggressive animal; sense the general mood and activity patterns of an ecosystem , Moderate (T3): Direct an animal to perform a specific action it would not take naturally; accelerate or slow a weather pattern over a small area , High (T4): Call a significant number of animals to a location with a specific behavior in mind; shift local weather conditions meaningfully (from overcast to storm, from dry to rain) , Epic (T5+): Trigger a significant environmental response (migrating herds arrive, a storm turns, a flood crests or recedes); establish a long-duration natural harmony effect over a region Recovery: Short Rest for calming and sensing. Long Rest for direction and minor weather. Full Rest for major environmental responses.

Elements, [Any Element] Domain: Direct relationship with a specific elemental force, Air, Earth, Fire, or Water. The element can be created in small quantities, shaped, directed, and used defensively or offensively. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Produce a minor elemental effect at Close range (a gust, a spark, a ripple, a tremor); impose a minor environmental penalty on a target , Moderate (T3): Direct a meaningful elemental attack at Near range; create a useful elemental feature (a wall of flame, a stone barrier, a water current, a sustained gale) , High (T4): Sustain a significant elemental effect for a scene; produce an effect that alters terrain or movement options across Near range , Epic (T5+): Trigger a large-scale elemental event; reshape environmental features at Far range Recovery: Short Rest for minor effects. Long Rest for sustained features. Full Rest for large-scale events.

Note: Not all Spheres are detailed here. The table above lists all available Spheres. Genre Catalog authors should use the format above to define any Spheres not fully specified.

BACKLASH, FAITH MAGIC

Faith backlash reflects the practitioner's relationship to their Primal Force turning against them, not punishment, but imbalance. A Life practitioner who fails critically does not stop being faithful; they experience the weight of what they were trying to do. Life backlash might impose an injury on the practitioner as the healing they were channeling turns inward. Death backlash exposes them to the presence they were engaging, a spirit refuses to leave, a death-touched condition spreads to them. Nature backlash alienates the ecosystem, animals become hostile, plants wither at their touch for a scene. Element backlash throws the element at the practitioner rather than the target.

The specific nature of Faith backlash should be calibrated to the Primal Force and the magnitude of the attempt. Minor backlash is a complication; epic-scale backlash should have narrative weight.

DESIGN NOTES, FAITH MAGIC

Ethos is a fiction anchor, not a mechanical selector: A character's Ethos does not restrict their available Sphere effects. It tells the table who this character is relative to their Power, the values they hold and the orientation from which they approach their tradition. GMs may use Ethos as a guide for when a character's Faith power should feel strained or cost more narratively, without introducing explicit mechanical penalties.

Wit vs. Speed: Contemplative, scholarly faith expression (prayer-as-study, ritual preparation) defaults to Wit. Intuitive, reactive, embodied faith expression (the healer who acts before thinking, the elemental priest who feels the storm in their bones) defaults to Speed. Lineages and Professions in the Fantasy Genre Catalog may specify which expression they grant access to.

Multiple Forces: A character might gain access to Spheres from two different Primal Forces, a practitioner who studies both Life and Death, or one who holds both Nature and Seasons. These are separate Foci managed independently. Genre Catalog authors designing multi-Force traditions should consider whether the traditions are in tension (the setting has opinions about Life/Death practitioners) or complementary (Seasons and Nature are closely related in this setting).

AX.C.08.04.03 - SYONICS

TRADITION: **Syonics**

Category: *Force (kinetic/biological Disciplines) + Resonance (perception/consciousness Disciplines)*

Focus Terminology: Disciplines

Default Attribute: Wit (see Design Notes, Speed valid for many 
Disciplines)

Access Grant: Fantasy Genre Catalog, assigned by Lineage and 
Profession entries; also applicable in Sci-Fi and Horror Genre 
Catalogs where the tradition represents innate mental ability 
rather than magical tradition

Genre Context: Fantasy Genre Catalog (primary); cross-genre. 
Syonics is the power of disciplined mental focus, the use of 
trained psychic potential as a direct extension of will. Unlike 
Arcane Magic (which requires external systems) or Faith Magic (which
requires relational attunement), Syonics requires only the 
practitioner and their capacity for sustained, precise mental effort.

Syonics is sometimes called "magic without the crutches"; it dispenses with symbols, rituals, and divine relationships in favor of raw mental discipline. A Syonic practitioner does not learn spells or pray; they develop the capacity of their mind until it extends beyond normal limits. The tradition is as much about who the practitioner is as what they can do.

THE SPLIT, FORCE AND RESONANCE DISCIPLINES

Syonics does not sort neatly into one universal category. Some Disciplines manipulate the physical world directly (Force); others perceive, attune to, or influence consciousness and probability (Resonance). A Genre Catalog assigning Syonics access grants should specify which branch, or both, the grant covers.

Force Disciplines: Telekinesis, Healing, Protection Resonance Disciplines: Empathy, Far-Sensing, Telepathy, Psychometry, Medium, Astral Projection

A character granted Syonic access typically begins with access to both branches, unless the Lineage or Profession specifically grants only one.

FOCI, SYONIC DISCIPLINES

FORCE DISCIPLINES

Telekinesis Domain: Direct physical manipulation of objects and forces using mental effort alone. Telekinesis extends the practitioner's physical agency; they can lift, throw, crush, hold, and manipulate objects and creatures without physical contact. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Move a handheld-sized object at Close range; hold a door closed against mundane force , Moderate (T3): Hurl an object as a ranged attack at Near range; hold a creature of typical size in place (target makes Body Save to break free each Turn) , High (T4): Maintain control of multiple objects simultaneously; exert force on a creature large enough to move them against their will , Epic (T5+): Manipulate microscopic objects (lockpicking without tools, precise surgical intervention); exert crushing force on a large target; move objects at Far range with fine control Recovery: Short Rest for minor manipulation. Long Rest for sustained holds or targeted attacks. Full Rest for precision or large-scale work.

Healing Domain: The triggering and acceleration of natural biological healing processes, and the disruption of those same processes as a form of attack. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Stabilize a dying creature; reduce a Stress result by 1 on a target at Close range , Moderate (T3): Remove a physical condition (Staggered, Bleeding) from a target; accelerate natural healing to reduce one injury penalty for a scene , High (T4): Close a significant wound without medical tools; impose a disruption effect on a target (they are Staggered and take -1D on physical rolls until they succeed on a Body Save) , Epic (T5+): Perform emergency major healing that would otherwise require days of rest and care; deliver a biological disruption attack that incapacitates a target Recovery: Short Rest for stabilization and Stress reduction. Long Rest for condition removal and injury reduction. Full Rest for major healing or significant disruption attacks.

Protection Domain: Psychic and physical defense, mental shields, barrier constructs, and resistance to incoming force. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Grant +1D on the next Save against a specific incoming effect; resist a minor mental influence (an emotion, an impression) , Moderate (T3): Establish a mental barrier that blocks further psychic intrusion for a scene; grant a target resistance to one damage type for a scene , High (T4): Project a protective field across Close range, granting all within it +1D on Saves for a scene; break an active psychic compulsion or intrusion , Epic (T5+): Create a sustained barrier that deflects physical attacks as well as psychic ones; sever a significant ongoing psychic influence Recovery: Short Rest for minor bonuses and resistance. Long Rest for sustained barriers. Full Rest for major protection and severance effects.

RESONANCE DISCIPLINES

Empathy Domain: Perception and influence of emotional states. Empathy reads the emotional reality of individuals and groups, allows the practitioner to influence those states, and provides a fine-grained read on deception and hidden feeling. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense the general emotional state of a target at Close range; detect whether a target is actively lying (not whether they are mistaken) , Moderate (T3): Read the specific emotional content of a target's current state; impose a single emotional influence (calm, unease, mild sympathy) that persists for a scene , High (T4): Catalogue the emotional history of a strong experience a target carries; shift a group's emotional state (crowd influence at Near range) , Epic (T5+): Impose a deep emotional state that persists beyond the scene; read emotional impressions from a location or object connected to intense experience Recovery: Short Rest for sensing and minor influence. Long Rest for specific reads and sustained influence. Full Rest for group effects and persistent states.

Far-Sensing Domain: Extension of the practitioner's senses beyond normal range, sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch at distances the body cannot reach. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Extend one sense to a known location within the same building; hear through a wall , Moderate (T3): Remote-view a known location within the same district or settlement; listen in on a conversation at Near range without line of sight , High (T4): Remote-view an unfamiliar location given a strong sensory anchor (an object, a vivid description, a person's face); extend multiple senses simultaneously , Epic (T5+): Conduct extended remote surveillance of a location across significant distance; perceive a location the practitioner has never visited given only an indirect connection Recovery: Short Rest for local extension. Long Rest for remote viewing. Full Rest for distant or multi-sense work.

Telepathy Domain: Direct mind-to-mind communication, thought reading, memory access, and at high levels, cognitive override. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Establish a wordless emotional-impression channel with a willing target; project a simple thought (a word, an image) to a Close-range target , Moderate (T3): Conduct full two-way telepathic communication with a willing target at Near range; read a surface thought from an unwilling target (target may resist with Wit Save) , High (T4): Access a specific memory from a target; implant a false memory (target accepts it as real unless they have reason to doubt it) , Epic (T5+): Overwrite a significant portion of a target's recent memory; establish a temporary cognitive override (the target acts on the practitioner's will for one scene, this is contested, dangerous, and leaves traces) Recovery: Short Rest for willing communication. Long Rest for reading and surface access. Full Rest for memory alteration or override.

Psychometry Domain: Reading the psychic impressions left on objects, places, and people by significant events and strong emotional experiences. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense the general emotional charge of an object (was it carried with love, fear, anger?); identify the most recent significant event connected to a place , Moderate (T3): Read a specific past event connected to an object, who carried it, what they did with it; access a location's recent history (within a few days) , High (T4): Trace an object's ownership history back multiple significant events; read a location's history back weeks or months, including a specific event the practitioner is looking for , Epic (T5+): Read the full significant history of an object; experience a major past event at a location as if present (an immersive vision, not just information) Recovery: Short Rest for general sensing. Long Rest for specific reads. Full Rest for full history or immersive vision.

Medium Domain: Contact with the spirits of the dead, communication, direction, and at high levels, negotiation with entities that have not moved on. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Sense the presence of a lingering spirit in the area; attract the attention of a recently deceased spirit , Moderate (T3): Conduct a brief, clear exchange with a cooperative spirit; identify whether a spirit is lingering by choice or compulsion , High (T4): Compel a spirit to answer questions honestly; negotiate with a lingering spirit over terms for their departure , Epic (T5+): Contact a spirit that has moved fully on (not just lingerers); conduct extended negotiation with a significant spiritual entity Recovery: Short Rest for sensing and contact. Long Rest for communication and identification. Full Rest for compulsion, negotiation, or contact with departed spirits.

Astral Projection Domain: Separation of the practitioner's consciousness from their physical body, travel in a non-physical form, access to planes or layers of reality not reachable physically. Representative Effects: , Easy (T1–2): Project consciousness a short distance from the body (the practitioner perceives from a nearby location while their body is stationary and vulnerable) , Moderate (T3): Travel in projected form within the same building or district; interact with spirits and psychic impressions in the projected state , High (T4): Travel in projected form across the settlement or region; access a nearby non-physical layer (astral space, the local spirit-layer) with awareness and basic interaction , Epic (T5+): Travel in projected form across significant distance; enter a full non-physical plane with agency and interaction capability; bring back information from that plane Recovery: Long Rest for any projection (the body is always vulnerable during projection; this is never a Short Rest recovery). Full Rest for plane-crossing or epic-distance projection.

BACKLASH, SYONICS

Syonic backlash divides along the category split.

Force Discipline backlash is physical: Telekinesis backlash throws the force at the practitioner or their allies; Healing backlash disrupts the practitioner's own biology (they gain a Stress result or a physical condition); Protection backlash shatters the practitioner's own defenses (they lose any active protection effects and are Vulnerable until the end of the scene).

Resonance Discipline backlash is cognitive: Empathy backlash floods the practitioner with uncontrolled emotional input (they are Overwhelmed, Wit-based rolls at -1D, until a Wit Save vs T3); Far-Sensing backlash traps the practitioner's extended sense (they cannot fully retract, they hear, see, or feel what they were reaching for uncontrollably for a scene); Telepathy backlash exposes the practitioner's own mind (the target reads them in return, or the practitioner broadcasts their own thoughts to all within Near range); Psychometry backlash immerses the practitioner in a traumatic impression from the object or location; Medium backlash lets the spirit in rather than out, the practitioner is temporarily possessed or overwhelmed by the spirit's perspective; Astral Projection backlash severs the practitioner's return path temporarily (they are stranded in projected form and must make a Wit Save vs T4 each Turn to reintegrate).

DESIGN NOTES, SYONICS

The split matters for access grant design: When a Lineage or Profession grants Syonic access, the grant should specify whether it covers Force Disciplines, Resonance Disciplines, or both. A "natural empath" Lineage probably grants Resonance only. A "war-trained kinetic" Profession might grant Force only. A broad "gifted mind" tradition grants both. This split is the primary design variable for Genre Catalog authors building Syonics-access characters.

Wit vs. Speed: Most Disciplines default to Wit. Speed-based Syonics fits practitioners whose power is reactive and instinctive, an Empath who reads a room before thinking, a Telekinetic who catches a falling object without conscious effort. Genre Catalog authors may specify Speed as the default for Lineages or Professions with an intuitive rather than studied relationship to their power.

Cross-genre application: Syonics is the most genre-portable Odd Talent tradition in AxiomRPG. In a Fantasy Genre Catalog it is psychic power, possibly feared, possibly revered. In a Sci-Fi Genre Catalog the same Discipline list becomes psitech, precognitive probability processing, or neural augmentation. In a Horror Genre Catalog it becomes the terrifying and costly gift of a mind that perceives too much. The Discipline list and mechanics are identical across these contexts; only the fictional framing changes. Genre Catalog authors adapting Syonics for non-fantasy settings should not redesign the Disciplines, they should relabel the tradition and reframe the fiction.

FOLIO AUTHORING CHECKLIST

Use the following checklist when creating a new Tradition for a Genre Catalog:

• [ ] Category assigned (Force / Resonance / Form / split, and if split, explicitly labeled)
• [ ] Focus Terminology named and consistent with the setting's cultural register
• [ ] Default Attribute specified; alternates noted if applicable
• [ ] Access Grant: which Lineages/Professions in the catalog grant access
• [ ] Genre Context: clear statement of why this tradition exists in this setting
• [ ] Each Focus has a Domain statement and representative effects at all four Threshold tiers
• [ ] Recovery notes present for each Focus (Short / Long / Full Rest and when each applies)
• [ ] Backlash section addresses Critical Failure character and fits the tradition's category
• [ ] Design Notes address at least: Attribute flexibility, common combinations, and any mechanical interactions with AxiomRPG core rules to watch for