Welcome to Gaia! ::

Commonly referred to as "hunters" a human character isn't too out of the ordinary. They walk among everyday folk, go to work, chase dreams, normal things.

What differentiates them is that these humans see beyond what they have termed "The Veil" -- a supernatural camouflage that has allowed for the creatures that go bump in the night to pass by unseen. It is a gift to some and a curse to others.

The problem is that the world does not particularly appreciate people who insist that the impossible is real. To the average person, a hunter's stories are delusions, their warnings are paranoia, and their certainty is simply proof that something is wrong with them. After all, everyone knows monsters aren't real.

...Right?

As a Human...

• You gain three Supernatural Boon points at character creation. This can be spent on any of the Boons from the Human Supernatural Boons list below or which you may invest into The Second Sight.
  
• You can, at any later point, become a supernatural provided it makes sense. You lose any Human Supernatural Boons, resetting your points in Supernatural Boons to those of a starting member of the particular supernatural.
  
• You can apply The Second Sight levels to rolls to identify and investigate that which you have reason to believe is tied to the supernatural, as well as to recall specific supernatural lore. As indicated, you also can change the specialization of your Second Sight when you finish a Rest.

Human Supernatural Boons
Not outright supernatural abilities, your body and mind are adapted to counter supernatural threats.

Called Shot -- You have enough training to deduce the weak point of an enemy. Roll this Boon like a skill when you make an attack against a supernatural or attempt to manipulate one, predicting if you will roll equal or under the level of this Boon or if you will roll above its level. If your prediction is correct, you have narrative freedom to determine that your strike or manipulation is stronger than normal. If you are incorrect, if that target happens to roll an attack or manipulation against you with its next action, it does so as if specialized.
Hunter's Tenacity -- Where ordinary people suffer severe pain and consequences against the supernatural (or even physical) you can attempt to shrug it off. When resisting damage or mental manipulations from supernaturals, add this Boon to your roll. With four levels in this Boon, you can roll this Boon like a skill once between Rests to survive any phenomenon that would kill you -- fall damage, being drained dry, or even total evisceration. Although how you recover from such a state is another matter entirely...
Invert the Veil -- You have an uncanny ability to use the very Veil that the supernaturals use to camouflage yourself. Apply this Boon's level bonus to avoid being tracked or detected by supernaturals.
Walking Arsenal -- You prepare better than others, whether through resources, craftsmanship, connections, or sheer ingenuity. You may apply this Boon to any Skill roll you can use to determine you have an item prepared, crafted, or obtained. The exact level allows you to obtain more dangerous equipment. Level one is basic medical items, handguns, and simple melee weapons. Level two allows all standard fare firearms, simple explosives, and consumer vehicles. Level three allows for military-grade explosives, items made of precious metals such as silver, and advanced medicines. Level four allows for military-grade vehicles.

Commonly referred to as "mages," "witches," "druids," "arcanists," or "wizards" a Magi is someone who has awakened to a fundamental truth... Reality (with an intentional, capital-R) is not quite what it appears to be. Certainly, the world has rules. Gravity pulls downward. Fire burns. Time moves forward. A body is a body, a mind is a mind, and the dead are meant to stay dead...

Except... Those rules are not necessarily as absolute as everyone believes. Magi have learned to reach beyond those assumptions, shaping Reality through a combination of skill, will, and understanding. The exact nature of their magic varies wildly from one Magi to another, because no two Magi necessarily agree on what Reality is in the first place.

A Magi who believes that all things are governed by hidden mathematical laws may approach magic very differently from one who believes that reality is shaped by spirits, dreams, or the will of the gods. Neither necessarily has to be wrong... but that's the problem.

As a Magi...

• You gain a pool of Mana equal to the sum of all your named Skill levels. You use these points to cast spells and restore all Mana upon finishing a Rest.
  
• Define a Belief. This is your core understanding of how Reality works and the means by which you manipulate its rules.
  
• You possess an Eidolon, which is a manifestation of your awakened soul (you can consider this similar to a Persona or Stand for reference). Your Eidolon aligns with a particular Paradigm of magic while finding some magic fundamentally counter to its (and consequently, YOUR) philosophy -- its Antithesis. Define your Eidolon (which you control and can chat with in the landscape of your mind), and define the Paradigm it belongs to and its Antithesis from the following; Genesis, Kinesis, Lysis, Noesis, and Stasis. Defined further below. Casting spells in line with your Eidolon's Paradigm are easier when also in line with your Belief. Casting spells in line with your Eidolon's Antithesis are harder in general. The combination of Paradigm and Antithesis is called the Eidolon's Essence.
  
• Define an Instrument and Practice by which you cast spells. Simply, this is a material tool and a specific Skill you use to cast your spell. Missing your instrument? Spell costs increase. Can't use your Practice? You can't cast the spell! You naturally start with your Instrument.
  
• You gain five Supernatural Boon points at character creation. This can be spent on any of the Elements from the Magi Supernatural Boons list below or which you may invest into The Second Sight.
  
• Rather than solely spend your points for Skills on said Skills, you may instead spend them on Elements!

Instrument and Practice
The Practice is your primary means of channeling the spell -- always tied to an activity. It can be as simple as a motion, speaking an invocation, or even combined with an ordinary activity like jumping rope, cooking a meal, or even brandishing a weapon. Ordinary humans, however, have trouble accepting the supernatural. As a result, it is generally easier to pick a Practice that is ordinary, but as a result full use of spellcasting may be situational. Otherwise, people witnessing your spellcasting tend to respond with disbelief, and rival Magi tend to flock in -- particularly those who wish to keep the status quo.

The Instrument is a tool imbued with your Mana that you have a personal connection to. This can be something like a wand, a staff, or even a grimoire, but it could also be your reliable lucky fork, a piece of jewelry, or even a guitar you've practiced on countless times. When casting spells with your Instrument, it tends to have some sort of emanation (a glow, stretching shadows, an aura, elemental effects, etc.) that makes it obviously magical, but requires careful perception among ordinary individuals to discern as magical.

Replacing an Instrument, regardless, will take all your Mana and a full day of meditation, and you don't really need it... but casting spells without one does tend to make you have the emanation instead, to say nothing of increased Mana costs...

Belief, and Essence
Belief tells you what you believe about the way the universe works, which itself defines the form your Eidolon -- which is your awakened soul -- takes. Fundamentally this truth of yours is more easily expressed in some spells, aligned to your Paradigm, compared to others which you simply find counter or wrong in your mindset and down to the core of your soul.

In general, if you can reconcile a spell as being in line with your Belief (and get REALLY descriptive with how the spell is cast) and in line with your Paradigm, that casting roll is considered Specialized. However, all those which fall into your Antithesis are considered the exact opposite -- you roll these twice and use the higher roll instead.

Collectively, Paradigm and Antithesis are referred to as Essence. You pick one of the following for each part. The individual Paradigms are the processes by which the world is manipulated through your Practice!

• Genesis -- Your soul values the art of making things so. This covers spells that create, conjure, or otherwise bring something physical or illusory to being or that causes growth.
  
• Kinesis -- Your soul values the art of movement. This covers spells that move, agitate, transfer, or otherwise alter something through change or motion, including spells that primarily deal in physical movement or emotional change.
  
• Lysis -- Your soul values the art of dissolution. This covers spells that cause for things to end, cease, become obfuscated, propagate destructively, or otherwise any outright destructive spell.
  
• Noesis -- Your soul values the art of knowing. This covers spells that grant understanding, comprehension, communication, or otherwise deal in the art of identification, investigation, or oracular power.
  
• Stasis -- Your soul values the art of preservation. This covers spells that cause for things to stop (but not necessarily go away), stay as they are, paralyze, petrify, or otherwise cause for something (physical, mental, or even emotional) to remain in a specific way.

Typically, Magi refer to themselves or others based on their Essence. The following table illustrates that, reading horizontally as Paradigm and vertically as Antithesis.

	Genesis	Kinesis	Lysis	Noesis	Stasis
Genesis	--	Transmuter	Warlock	Scholar	Curate
Kinesis	Conjurer	--	Evoker	Oracle	Conservator
Lysis	Healer	Enchanter	--	Sage	Warder
Noesis	Sorcerer	Trickster	Inquisitor	--	Mystic
Stasis	Shaman	Theurge	Ravager	Seeker	--

Magi Supernatural Boons -- Elements
A Magi learns spells through expanding the Elements available to them. There are eight in total, and you require having a level in an Element to use it at its most basic level. Magi can also spend their Skill points to learn or advance their understanding of the Elements instead of a Skill! The key factor is that an Element defines what a spell is dealing with. You choose how you manipulate that essence of Reality through your Paradigm, expressed through your Practice!

• Correspondence -- Space, distance, position, and the dispositional relationships between things. Level 1 allows manipulation of position and immediate spatial relationships; Level 2 distance and spatial reach; Level 3 sympathetic connections across distance; Level 4 space itself, including portals and other fundamental spatial manipulation.
  
• Entropy -- Chance, decay, probability, and the forces that bring things toward an inevitable end. Level 1 allows manipulation of simple chance; Level 2 decay and deterioration; Level 3 probability and chains of fate; Level 4 inevitability and extraordinarily unlikely outcomes.
  
• Forces -- Energy and the physical forces of the universe. Fire, electricity, light, sound, gravity, magnetism, and so on fall under the sway of Forces. Level 1 allows basic physical forces; Level 2 complex forces and interactions; Level 3 fundamental forces; Level 4 forces on a massive or cosmic scale.
  
• Life -- Living organisms, biology, healing, growth, and transformation. Level 1 allows basic biological manipulation and minor healing; Level 2 significant biological alteration and healing; Level 3 transformation, regeneration, and adaptation; Level 4 fundamental manipulation of life itself.
  
• Matter -- Inanimate physical substance and its composition, structure, and transformation. Solids, liquids, gases, and all of their elements fall under Matter. Level 1 allows simple materials and properties; Level 2 complex materials and structures; Level 3 transmutation and molecular manipulation; Level 4 fundamental manipulation of matter at the atomic or subatomic level.
  
• Mind -- Thought, emotion, perception, memory, and consciousness. Level 1 allows basic perception, emotion, and simple telepathy; Level 2 thoughts, memories, and complex communication; Level 3 consciousness, identity, dreams, and the subconscious; Level 4 fundamental manipulation of the psyche and consciousness itself.
  
• Spirit -- Spirits, the spiritual world, and the boundary between material and immaterial existence, as well as the fundamental essence from which all supernatural reality is formed. Level 1 allows perception and interaction with spirits; Level 2 manipulation of the Veil between worlds; Level 3 manipulation of supernatural Essence; Level 4 direct manipulation of the Otherworld and spiritual reality.
  
• Time -- The flow of time, temporal perception, and the relationship between past, present, and future. Level 1 allows enhanced temporal perception; Level 2 manipulation of local time; Level 3 manipulation of temporal states, including glimpses of past and future; Level 4 direct manipulation of timelines and causality.
  

Spellcasting
A Magi's methods of spellcasting are broadly categorized into the combination of Paradigm, Practice, Element, and Instrument rather than there being a concrete spell list.

When casting a spell, a Magi chooses the Element and Paradigm relevant to the effect and rolls the Skill associated with their Practice, subtracting the Element Level from the result. If the spell aligns with the Antithesis of their Eidolon's Essence, it is rolled twice using the higher roll. If the spell both aligns with Belief and their Eidolon's Paradigm, the roll counts as specialized, rolling twice and using the lower roll (which is better).

Subtract the Mana cost as relevant to the target of the spell and other factors. Generally you can cast one spell per turn, and you always spend at least 1 Mana to cast a spell.

Basic costs are as follows...

• Self or Touch -- 1 Mana
  
• A Target or Targets at Visible Range -- 3 Mana, +2 per Additional Chosen Target
  
• The 10' Radius Area Around the Caster -- 5 Mana
  
• A 15' Radius Area at Visible Range -- 7 Mana, +2 per Additional 5' Radius
  
• A Known Target at Any Distance in a Given Plane of Existence -- Requires an object that belongs to or that originates from the target. 9 Mana, 1d6 Turns Cast Time, +2 Mana per Turn Duration, +2 Mana per Additional Target, +2 Mana if ANY Target is on a different plane.
  
• A 1-Mile Radius Miracle -- 13 Mana, 1d6 Turns Cast Time, +2 Mana per Turn Duration

Modifiers are as follows.

• No Instrument -- +1 Mana Cost
  
• Spell is Contrary to Belief -- +1 Mana Cost
  
• Casting as a Ritual -- Halve Mana Cost OR Double Duration, but takes 2d6 Additional Turns to Cast
  
• Casting as a High Ritual -- Halve Mana Cost, Final Cast Time Becomes Minutes and is Doubled, Any Spell Duration is in Hours, Don't Roll, You Simply Succeed if Uninterrupted
  
• Sacrifice an object owned by a Single Target of a Single-Target Spell -- -1 Mana Cost
  
• Imbue the Casting with Your Blood -- You physically wound yourself and lose 1 Pint of Blood. The next spell you cast is considered at Element Level +1. You are now bleeding and narratively suffer such effects.
  
• Imbue the Casting with Your Lifespan -- Spell Becomes Permanent (Until Dispelled) OR the Element is Considered Level 4 at the cost of One Year of Aging

A spell, provided it isn't instantaneous, can be interrupted, typically if you cannot maintain your footing, are forcibly moved, or get damaged. When you experience something like this while casting, roll any skill you can use to resist damage or maintain balance as appropriate. On failure, the spellcasting is wasted, alongside any Mana.

As a general rule of thumb for the exact effects of spells...

• An attacking or healing spell works fundamentally similar to a mundane attack but it overcomes mundane resistances as reasonable. The same applies to status-effect spells -- the target resists with the relevant Skill as normal.
  
• Spells that cause an effect over a duration last as long as the Element level in turns while in combat, or in minutes out of combat, presuming no other modifiers.

Enchantment and Storing Spells
Alternatively, in casting a spell, you can imbue it into an object or consumable. In doing so, it lasts for a number of uses (item) or a number of minutes (consumable) equal to the Art level used. Then, either the item itself can be used per its intended purpose or a specific trigger otherwise to trigger the stored spell.

Items so enchanted in this way restore one use on being charged with 15 Mana from any contributing Magi. Items may even have the specific trigger of "While Equipped" to keep the effect of the spell active, though the duration of the spell consumes one "use" in this case.

Once a consumable runs out of effective storage time, it becomes purely mundane. However, a bulk of consumables up to the Practice Skill's level can be imbued with a spell all at once, and if a Ritual or High Ritual is applied, its duration of storage is enhanced in the same way!

Spell Template
Some Magi like to record their spells in books, tomes, grimoires, or even on electronic devices so that they don't need to recall the information on casting their spells too frequently. Most Magi use the following template for such spells...


Similarly, items and consumables with stored spells or enchantmentsare documented with this template frequently...

They walk our streets. They sleep beneath our roofs. They work, they love, they laugh, they make promises they may or may not intend to keep... Some are beautiful. Some are monstrous. Some are so strange that the human mind struggles to decide whether it has seen a person, an animal, a dream, or something else entirely.

They are the Fae.

Otherwise known among their kind as the Elves, no one, not even the Fae themselves, can agree where they come from. What matters is that they are not simply humans who have been changed. They possess something fundamentally different within them... an affinity for the impossible.

From the moment a Fae can think, they know they do not belong here. Earth is not their home. Humanity is not their kind. And when humans discover what they truly are, they learn quickly why they must hide.

So they wear human faces. They adopt human customs. They live among us without revealing what lies beneath. Yet hiding forever is not enough...

There is a place called Phantasia. Every Fae knows it exists. No Fae knows what lies beyond its gates.

Nine locks. Nine keys. The ultimate quest for home.

No strength can break them. No magic can unlock them. No supernatural power can bypass them. But all Fae know one thing; Humanity is the means by which those keys are turned.

Some believe the path lies in uplifting humanity's dreams... Others believe it lies in crushing them...

What are you willing to sacrifice to reach the home your soul calls to?

As a Fae...

• You automatically know if another character is a Fae, given that all Fae can perceive their true appearance automatically. To say nothing of most Fae having pointed ears.
  
• Starting at various Human ages, you begin experiencing strange happenings with regard to dreams, sleep, and time. At the age of 9, you only need six hours to be considered Rested and become specialized in rolls against all sleep effects. At the age of 18, you become specialized in all rolls against charm effects and mundane speech to appeal to you. At the age of 22 you begin to age one year for every two human years.
  
• You cannot be magically aged older or younger unless you will it.
  
• Your powers are tied to the seasons. Choose one of the four seasons. During your particular season, all of your Skill rolls are made at -1. During the opposite season (Spring to Autumn, Summer to Winter) your Skill rolls are made at +1.
  
• Your allegiance is to either the Seelie or Unseelie Court. The tenets of either Court are explained in the below section. Break any two and you are considered Courtless until you can either re-establish yourself in the good graces of your Court... or turn coat and join the other!
  
• You can form contracts with mortals and supernaturals alike. For all who are to abide by the contract, they must follow the word of its law as written, not necessarily the spirit of its law. Should you fail to uphold your end of a contract the Fae Courts will try you, for an oath, including a spoken one, is as precious as your lifeblood. You can always tell when someone has broken the terms of a contract, though never exactly how, or if multiple parties are involved, who.
  
• You gain five Supernatural Boon points at character creation. This can be spent on any of the Boons from the Fae Supernatural Boons list below or which you may invest into The Second Sight.