Elemental Fire
AX.GAN.08.03 - Elemental Fire
Lore
The Ashari do not distinguish between fire they carry in their blood and fire they project into the world. To them it is the same substance, the same act, practiced at different scales. An Ashari Hearthspeaker lighting the evening fire in a hearth-circle and an Ashari practitioner throwing a bolt of flame across a battlefield are doing the same thing: making their will into something that moves, transforms, and does not take back what it gave.
The Elemental Fire tradition formalizes this. It does not teach the Ashari how to use fire; they already know how to use fire. It teaches them how to use it deliberately, at ranges that exceed their body, with precision that exceeds instinct, in ways that persist beyond the moment of application. The tradition is not a new skill so much as the disciplined extension of what they already are.
For non-Ashari practitioners, the tradition is something else entirely: an adopted theology learned through proximity to hearth culture, mentorship, and years of practice that can approach but never quite replicate the Ashari's embodied relationship to fire. Non-Ashari Fire practitioners are considered skilled; they are never considered native.
The three Expressions of Elemental Fire correspond to the Ashari's threefold description of what fire does:
- Motion, fire projected outward; force, direction, combat application. The fire that arrives.
- Will, fire as conviction made manifest; presence, warmth, rally, communal expression. The fire that stays.
- Transformation, fire as change agent; heat, purification, burning away what was to create what will be. The fire that changes what it touches.
Most practitioners develop one Expression deeply and use the others situationally. Hearthspeakers almost universally favor Will. Ember Sworn favor Motion. Dedicated artisan-practitioners specialize in Transformation. All three Expressions draw on the same Odd Talent pool.
System Integration
Elemental Fire as an Odd Talent
Elemental Fire functions as an Odd Talent per Core Part 4. All standard Odd Talent rules apply:
- The roll is: Governing Attribute + Elemental Fire (+ Focus if applicable)
- Elemental Fire dice are purchased from the Talent budget at character creation, or improved through Advancement at the standard Odd Talent cost (Governing Attribute × 2 XP for a new Tradition at 1D; current value × 2 XP to improve)
- Maximum Tradition rating: 5D. Maximum Focus rating: 3D
- A character may use any of the three Expressions with the same Odd Talent pool. Expressions are not separate Talents; they are applications of one Talent
Governing Attribute
The governing Attribute is chosen at character creation and is permanent.
| Expression | Common Choice | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Motion | Wit (default) or Speed | Wit for directed precision; Speed for instinctive combat expression |
| Will | Wit or Body | Wit for communal/social expression; Body for the Hearthspeaker's physical-spiritual presence |
| Transformation | Wit or Body | Wit for precision; Body for sustained physical-contact work |
A practitioner who chooses Body as their governing Attribute applies it to all three Expressions; they cannot switch attributes per Expression. The governing Attribute choice shapes which Expression feels most natural, not which ones are available.
Most Ashari choose Wit. The Ember Sworn tradition of Body-governed fire reflects a different philosophical emphasis: fire as physical commitment rather than directed will.
Access
Ashari Lineage: Elemental Fire is granted at 1D at character creation through the Ashari Lineage Power Access perk. Choose governing Attribute at that time.
Ember Sworn / Hearthspeaker Professions: Non-Ashari who choose these Professions receive Elemental Fire access at 1D through their Profession Power Access. Governing Attribute chosen at character creation.
Independent Study: Any character may pursue Elemental Fire access outside of Lineage or Profession, but it requires an Ashari mentor with at least 3D in Elemental Fire, one week of Deliberate Training (sustained, focused practice with the mentor), and costs Governing Attribute × 2 XP for the initial 1D. Independent study practitioners are rare and regarded as adopted fire-kin rather than native practitioners. They receive no free access from the Ashari Ember Blood perk's Ember Touch interaction (see Expression: Motion, below).
Duplicate Access: If a character is both Ashari and selects a Profession granting Fire access, they begin with 2D in Elemental Fire at no additional cost (per Core Part 9.3 duplicate access rule).
Recovery
Elemental Strain clears automatically on a Short Rest (10 minutes of minimal activity, no elemental use during this time). Also clears on Long Rest or Full Rest.
A Strained character may attempt to recover mid-scene without resting: spend a Primary Action to center their attunement (the Ashari describe this as "finding the hearth again", a moment of interior stillness). Roll Governing Attribute + Resolve vs Threshold 3. On success, Strain clears. On failure, they remain Strained and may not attempt this again until after their next rest.
Backlash
When a character rolls Elemental Fire while Strained and achieves a Critical Failure, the Wild Die shows 1 (Implosion) AND total successes equal zero, Backlash triggers immediately.
Backlash severity is determined by the Threshold the character was attempting:
| Threshold Attempted | Severity |
|---|---|
| 1 or 2 | Minor, a momentary disruption; briefly inconvenient |
| 3 or 4 | Moderate, a scene-affecting consequence; meaningful impact on character or environment |
| 5+ | Severe, a significant event; immediate damage, a lasting condition, or an environmental response |
Backlash effects are listed per Expression below. GMs should treat these as guidance, not a script, the specific circumstances should shape the expression of the backlash.
Internal vs. External Fire
Ashari lineage perks and certain Profession abilities reference fire damage that originates inside the practitioner (Ember Touch, Full Burn's self-damage, Heatskin Strike's grapple damage). This internal fire is not affected by the Ashari's own fire resistance (Ember Blood reduces external fire damage; it does not reduce the cost of being fire). Elemental Strain Backlash fire damage is also internal and bypasses the practitioner's fire resistance.
Mechanics Summary
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tradition Category | Force, energy projection and physical causation |
| Default Attribute | Wit (most common); Body (combat expressions) |
| Action Type | Primary Action (most effects); Free Action (minor/instant effects) |
| Signature Feel | Immediate and committed; effects do not reverse, fire has already changed what it touched |
| Power Access | Ashari Lineage; Ember Sworn Profession; Hearthspeaker Profession; Independent Study |
| Signature Focus | The Hearthstone |
| Expressions | Motion (projection/combat), Will (presence/community), Transformation (change/purification) |
Threshold Scale for Elemental Fire:
| Threshold | Scale of Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Minor; instant or brief; self or Touch range; trivial environmental change |
| 2 | Standard; single target or small area; Near range; scene duration |
| 3 | Significant; multiple targets or extended range; requires Short Rest to reverse or end |
| 4 | Major; large area or lasting alteration; persists until Long Rest; requires counter-fire to reverse |
| 5+ | Profound; fundamental transformation; permanent unless specifically addressed |
Excess Successes: On any non-attack roll that exceeds the Threshold, each excess success may be allocated to one of: extend duration by one step; increase range by one Band; increase number of affected targets by one; enhance a secondary effect as noted under the specific application.
Expression: Motion
The fire that arrives.
Motion is the combat-facing expression of Elemental Fire. It governs fire as projected force, directed bolts, sustained streams, area ignition, and the escalation of fire that is already burning. When non-Ashari imagine what it means to practice elemental fire, they are imagining Motion. They are not wrong, but they are seeing only one face of the tradition.
For Ember Sworn practitioners: Motion is the primary Expression. Their Heatskin Strike (Stage 1) and Full Burn (Stage 2) Progression Track abilities are not separate from the tradition; they represent the practitioner's combat refinement of Motion applied through their body. The ability costs in those Perks are fixed and do not require a separate Elemental Fire roll; they are martial applications that happen to channel elemental power.
For Hearthspeaker practitioners: Motion is available but secondary to Will. Hearthspeakers who use Motion typically do so defensively, creating fire to deny terrain or cover a retreat, rather than as their primary combat mode.
Motion, Challenge Applications
Fire Bolt (ranged attack) Roll Governing Attribute + Elemental Fire (+ Focus if applicable) vs target's Defense. On hit, damage = total successes rolled. Range: Near. Fire damage type. The attack may also ignite combustibles at the target location.
Extending range to Far: add Threshold 1 (one additional success required on top of the target's Defense, allocate before rolling).
Fire Stream (sustained attack) As a Primary Action, maintain a fire stream on one target at Close range. The target takes 1 fire damage automatically (no roll required to maintain; they are in the stream). Additionally, the target must make a Body Save vs Threshold 2 at the start of each of their Turns or become Hindered. The stream requires the practitioner's Primary Action to maintain each Turn. If they move, the stream follows only if the target remains within Close range.
Roll to establish (Threshold 2). Stream continues until the practitioner stops maintaining it, moves out of range, or becomes unable to act. Stacks with Elemental Strain as one roll (establishment), not as ongoing rolls, but if the practitioner uses any other Elemental Fire effect while maintaining the stream, that additional roll is Strained.
Area Ignition (environmental) Create a fire zone at a point within Near range. The zone extends to Close range radius (roughly 5 ft). Any creature that enters the zone or starts a Turn there takes 1 fire damage. Combustible materials in the zone begin burning. Duration: until extinguished or until the scene ends, whichever comes first. Threshold 3.
Scaling: Each excess success above 3 may extend the zone radius by one range Band (Close → Near → Far), increase the damage to 2 per Turn (1 excess), or extend duration by one scene (1 excess).
Backlash: - Minor: The fire turns back, practitioner takes 2 fire damage (internal; fire resistance does not apply). - Moderate: Uncontrolled burst, practitioner takes 1D3 fire damage and becomes Hindered until end of their next Turn. One ally within Close range takes 1 fire damage (GM chooses nearest; warn players this is a risk when using high-Threshold Motion while Strained). - Severe: Fire eruption, practitioner takes 1D6 fire damage. Every combustible item they are carrying or wearing that is not fire-resistant begins smoldering; the GM determines specific equipment effects. Practitioner gains Staggered (until next Long Rest).
Kinetic Option, Fire Escalation (Free Action, Threshold 1) When an ally (or the practitioner themselves) has dealt fire damage to a target this Turn, the practitioner may declare Fire Escalation as a Free Action. The next fire-damage roll against that same target this Turn gains +1D. This does not require a roll if the practitioner is Clear; if already Strained, they must roll Governing Attribute + Elemental Fire vs Threshold 1 (at Disadvantage) to channel the escalation. Represents feeding existing fire rather than creating new.
Expression: Will
The fire that stays.
Will is the communal, expressive, and social face of Elemental Fire. It governs presence, warmth, light, and rally effects, the Ashari theological principle that fire is conviction made visible. Where Motion projects, Will declares.
Hearthspeakers practice Will as their defining discipline. Their Progression Track abilities (Hearthfire, Burning Word, Becoming the Hearth) are Profession-specific refinements of Will practice that do not require a separate Elemental Fire roll; they are mastered applications built into the Profession's progression. Independent Will Expression rolls represent the same domain used improvisationally or outside the Profession's specific framework.
Non-Ashari practitioners find Will more difficult to develop than Motion; it requires an internalization of fire as community that feels abstract to those who did not grow up in hearth culture. Mechanically, it works identically. Fictionally, it sounds different: an Ekhari practitioner using Burning Word sounds like an oration; an Ashari practitioner sounds like a Hearthspeaker. Both work. They are not the same.
Will, Challenge Applications
Hearth Presence (Free Action, Threshold 1) The practitioner extends elemental warmth with intent. All allies within Close range gain +1D on their next Body Save roll made before the end of the current scene. The warmth is literal; it can be felt by anyone adjacent. In cold environments, this additionally prevents cold-based condition effects for the scene for all affected allies.
Scaling: Excess successes extend range (1 excess = Near, 2 excess = Far) or extend duration to the next Long Rest (2 excess, for cold protection only).
Burning Declaration (Primary Action, Threshold 2) The practitioner delivers a vocal declaration with elemental force, a short, direct statement of conviction that their fire amplifies. One enemy within Near range who can hear the declaration must make a Wit Save vs Threshold 2 or become Shaken until the end of their next Turn. No attack roll is required. The fire in the practitioner's voice does the work.
The declaration must actually be spoken aloud. A practitioner who cannot speak cannot use this application.
Scaling: Excess successes extend Shaken duration by one Turn per success, or apply the effect to a second target within Near range (1 excess).
Inspire Commitment (Primary Action, Threshold 3) The practitioner makes a specific, declared statement of intent and channels elemental fire into it, a formal utterance of what they and their allies are committed to in this moment. All allies within Near range who hear and understand the declaration gain Advantage on their next action roll made toward the stated goal or against a stated target before the end of the scene. The Advantage applies once per ally; it is consumed on use.
The declaration must be specific. "We fight!" is insufficient. "We hold this door until they are clear" or "We take that position" are sufficient. The GM adjudicates.
This effect does not stack with other Advantage sources. If an ally already has Advantage when they act, the benefit is not doubled; they simply confirm and keep their Advantage.
Scaling: Excess successes allow additional allies to be affected (+1 per excess).
Signal Fire (Primary Action, Threshold 1) Create a controlled fire signal visible at up to Distant range. The fire is directional, visible from a specific direction or directions the practitioner chooses. Simple information can be encoded in timing and pattern (pre-agreed signals; not an arbitrary information medium). Duration: up to one hour or until extinguished. Does not ignite surroundings unless the practitioner chooses otherwise.
Quell (Primary Action, Threshold varies) Reduce or extinguish an existing natural fire by asserting elemental control over it rather than generating new fire. The fire recognizes the practitioner's authority and reduces. Threshold scales with the fire's size and intensity: candle or torch (Threshold 1), fire pit or hearth (Threshold 2), burning room (Threshold 3), structure fire (Threshold 4), elemental fire manifestation (Threshold 5; or contested roll against the fire's controlling practitioner, whichever is appropriate).
Quell cannot extinguish fire that is actively maintained by another practitioner without a contested roll. Roll Elemental Fire vs their Elemental Fire; higher total successes determines control.
Backlash: - Minor: The practitioner's kerath fails, their next Persuade or Attunement roll is at Disadvantage as their fire-presence falters visibly. - Moderate: The fire turns inward, practitioner takes 1D3 fire damage (internal; fire resistance does not apply) and becomes Shaken until end of their next Turn. One ally within Close range must make a Wit Save vs Threshold 2 or also become Shaken, having witnessed the practitioner's fire go briefly wrong. - Severe: Hearth connection breaks, the practitioner cannot use Will Expression effects for the remainder of the scene. Additionally, their elemental presence becomes chaotic: −1D to all Persuade and Attunement rolls until Long Rest, as their fire-signature reads as unstable rather than committed.
Expression: Transformation
The fire that changes what it touches.
Transformation is the least visible and most theologically central face of Elemental Fire. Fire consumes what was to create what will be; this is the Ashari's deepest conviction about the nature of the universe. Transformation applies that conviction at the practical scale: heat as healing, fire as purification, burning as the mechanism of renewal.
This expression requires the practitioner to accept something the Ashari take for granted and others find counterintuitive: that the fire takes something to give something. Cauterizing a wound heals but burns. Burning out a condition costs the patient something. Refining ore through elemental fire produces pure metal but destroys the dross permanently. The Transformation practitioner is not sparing anyone pain; they are converting it into something useful.
The internal/external fire distinction matters here: a practitioner using Transformation on themselves is working with fire that knows them. The cost is real but does not surprise them.
Transformation, Challenge Applications
Cauterize (Primary Action, Threshold 2, Touch range) Apply controlled fire to a wound to close it and prevent infection. The target must be willing or unconscious. The target may immediately recover from the Bleeding condition (if applicable). Additionally, the target's next Medicine-based recovery roll or Long Rest recovery gains +1D.
The target takes 1 fire damage as an unavoidable cost of the treatment. For Ashari targets, the practitioner's Ember Blood fire resistance applies to this damage (it is externally applied, not internally generated).
Scaling: Each excess success above Threshold heals 1 Health immediately (representing the precision of the application, the fire is perfectly placed, and the healing begins at once). Maximum: excess successes equal to the practitioner's Elemental Fire die value.
Heat Metal (Primary Action, Threshold 2, Touch to Close range) Heat a metal object to extreme temperature over one full Turn. On the following Turn and each Turn thereafter, any creature that is holding, wearing, or in direct contact with the heated object must make a Body Save vs Threshold 2 or take 1 fire damage and drop or doff the object (their choice). Objects not held by living creatures simply become dangerously hot.
Duration: The object retains heat for the scene or until cooled by immersion in water or equivalent. The practitioner does not need to maintain concentration, the metal retains the heat without ongoing action.
Scaling: Excess successes increase the fire damage by 1 per 2 excess successes (to a maximum of 3 fire damage per Turn), or apply Hindered to a creature that fails their Save instead of the drop-or-take-damage effect (1 excess, choose one or the other).
Burn Out (Primary Action, Threshold 3, Touch range) Channel fire through a willing or unconscious target to consume a physical affliction. Remove one non-magical condition the target is currently suffering (Hindered, Slowed, Poisoned, or equivalent). The fire takes something to give something: the target takes 1 fire damage as the cost of the treatment, which cannot be avoided or reduced.
This application requires the target's willingness or unconsciousness. The process is not subtle, the target will feel it clearly.
Scaling: 2 excess successes above Threshold allow a second condition to be removed; the target takes 1 additional fire damage for each additional condition removed. The fire damage cost increases linearly with scope.
Magical conditions cannot be removed by Burn Out. A magical curse, enchantment, or equivalent requires the appropriate counter-tradition. Burn Out that targets a magical condition fails automatically, but does not cause Backlash, the fire simply finds nothing to consume.
Refine (Extended work, Threshold varies) Apply elemental fire to raw or contaminated material to improve its quality or purity. Ore becomes refined metal (Threshold 2; one hour's work; the practitioner handles the material throughout). Spoiled food or water is purified by burning off the contaminating element (Threshold 2; the food or water is safe but reduced in volume by roughly 20%, the fire took something). A diseased organism's virulent material is neutralized by carefully applied heat to the afflicted tissue (Threshold 4; extended work under safe conditions; not applicable in combat).
Refine is out-of-combat work. The practitioner cannot Refine under active threat without severe Disadvantage conditions (GM discretion on whether this is permitted at all).
Scaling: Excess successes on ore refinement produce higher-quality metal (+1D on relevant crafting rolls using the refined material). Excess on disease treatment reduce recovery time for the patient.
Contest Fire (Reaction or Primary Action) When another elemental fire practitioner is maintaining a sustained effect (Fire Stream, Area Ignition, a sustained Transformation), this practitioner may contest control of that fire. Roll Governing Attribute + Elemental Fire vs the controlling practitioner's total successes on their establishing roll. Higher roll wins. A win ends the contested effect or transfers its control. A loss means the contesting practitioner is Strained (if not already).
This is not a separate Threshold application; it is a direct contest. The outcome is determined by who rolls more successes.
Backlash: - Minor: Transformation inverts, the practitioner burns themselves in the act of applying fire to another; take 1D3 fire damage (Touch-range work; the hand used). Practitioner is Hindered until end of scene (the hand is impaired). - Moderate: The fire overspends, for Ashari practitioners, Ember Touch does not function for the remainder of the scene as elemental energy is temporarily depleted. For non-Ashari practitioners, reduce Elemental Fire pool by 1D until Short Rest. Additionally, the target of the Transformation application (if any) takes 1D3 fire damage from the misfire. - Severe: Full backlash, the practitioner takes 2D3 fire damage (internal; fire resistance does not apply). One equipped item is destroyed by the fire (GM chooses the most dramatically appropriate object). Practitioner gains Staggered until next Long Rest.
The Hearthstone (Elemental Fire Focus)
A fragment of stone, fired ceramic, or worked metal taken from a specific Ashari hearth and kept in contact with the practitioner's body, typically worn at the chest, carried in a belt pouch, or braided into a cord at the wrist. Old hearthstones are passed down through families and hearths for generations. A new hearthstone is kindled in a hearth-ceremony of commitment: the piece is heated in the hearth while the practitioner declares their affiliation and intention. The stone holds the warmth long after the fire is out.
Hearthstone | Focus | Elemental Fire
Mechanical Effect:
+2D to all Will Expression rolls (the hearthstone channels
communal fire; it was made in relationship and amplifies
relational power).
When using Transformation Expression for Cauterize or Burn Out,
the target does not take the standard 1 fire damage cost. The
hearthstone absorbs it, the community's fire pays the price
so the individual doesn't have to.
Illumination: The hearthstone emits dim warmth-light at Touch
range at all times. This is not bright enough to navigate by,
but it is visible. An Ashari practitioner with a hearthstone
cannot fully conceal their location in total darkness, the
hearthstone's glow supplements the Ember Blood Illumination
perk.
Acquisition: Standard among Ashari practitioners, any Ashari
with hearth affiliation has access to or can earn a hearthstone.
Non-Ashari practitioners must be formally gifted one by an
Ashari hearth, which requires the gifting hearth to acknowledge
the practitioner as a legitimate student of the tradition. This
is not a commercial transaction. It is a relationship.
Improvised Focuses: Other fire-associated objects may serve as an improvised Fire Focus at GM discretion, a live ember in a fireproof container, a fire-set gemstone, a small brazier that the practitioner carries. These provide +1D to one Expression (chosen when improvised) rather than +2D, and lack the Hearthstone's secondary effects (cost absorption, relational amplification).
Access and Cross-Lineage Notes
Non-Ashari Kin practitioners: The four Kin traditions are distinct expressions of four distinct elemental legacies. A Durakai practitioner has no natural affinity for fire; a Mirelen practitioner has no natural affinity for fire. Each Kin lineage's tradition is its own thing, not a variant of a generic elemental system. A Kin practitioner from another lineage can learn Elemental Fire through Independent Study, but they are adopting a foreign tradition; they will never interact with it the way an Ashari does, and this should be reflected in how the GM and player frame that practice.
Anima practitioners: Anima lineages do not carry lineage Power Access to any tradition. An Anima who develops Elemental Fire practice through Independent Study typically does so through long proximity to Ashari hearth communities, often Misa or Kasia individuals who have worked closely with Ashari for generations. It is uncommon enough to be notable.
Human practitioners: Ekhari, Kyne Daas, and Ustara all carry their own Force/Resonance/Form traditions. Sereindal practitioners who want fire access must pursue Independent Study. Given the Sereindal's maritime character, fire-on-a-ship is a topic of deep cultural anxiety, an Elemental Fire practitioner aboard a Sereindal vessel holds a specific and socially loaded position.
Example Rolls
Embara is an Ashari Ember Sworn: Body 3D, Elemental Fire 2D, Motion Focus 2D (no Hearthstone, Ember Sworn typically carry nothing fragile). She is in combat.
Situation: Embara wants to throw a fire bolt at an enemy Archer at Near range. The Archer has Defense 2.
Roll 1, Fire Bolt (Motion, attack vs Defense 2): Pool: Body 3D + Elemental Fire 2D + Motion Focus 2D = 7D. Status: Clear. Result: 3 successes. Hits (3 ≥ 2). Deals 3 fire damage. Archer is on fire if combustibles are present. Status after: Strained.
Situation: A second enemy rushes Embara at Close range. She wants to establish a Fire Stream.
Roll 2, Fire Stream (Motion, Threshold 2): Pool: 7D at Disadvantage (only 6s count). Status: Strained. Result: 2 successes (two 6s). Meets Threshold, Fire Stream established. The enemy takes 1 automatic fire damage per Turn they remain in Close range and must Save vs Threshold 2 or become Hindered. Embara must spend her Primary Action each Turn to maintain it.
Embara chooses not to attempt Strain recovery, maintaining the Fire Stream is her Primary Action. She uses her Heatskin Strike perk (passive, no roll needed) for her other attacks.
Solvaan is an Ashari Hearthspeaker: Wit 3D, Elemental Fire 2D, Will Focus 2D, Hearthstone (+2D to Will). The party is pinned down and low on morale.
Roll 1, Hearth Presence (Will, Threshold 1): Pool: Wit 3D + Elemental Fire 2D + Will Focus 2D + Hearthstone +2D = 9D. Status: Clear. Result: 4 successes. Exceeds Threshold by 3. All allies within Close range gain +1D on their next Body Save. Solvaan spends 2 excess to extend range to Near (covering the full party). Status after: Strained.
Situation: An enemy is threatening the most vulnerable party member. Solvaan wants to deliver a Burning Declaration.
Roll 2, Burning Declaration (Will, Threshold 2): Pool: 9D at Disadvantage (only 6s count). Status: Strained. Result: 2 successes. Meets Threshold, the enemy must make a Wit Save vs Threshold 2 or become Shaken. Solvaan spends a Primary Action to attempt Strain recovery ("Solvaan closes their eyes for one breath and finds the hearthstone warm against their sternum"): roll Wit 3D + Resolve vs Threshold 3. Result: 3 successes. Strain clears.