Attributes

Every character runs on seven attributes — the numbers behind Core Rules rolls. Mundane attributes start at 0 (max 3 at creation). Magical attributes start at 1 (max 3 at creation). When a move says roll +Attribute, add that rating to .

Mundane attributes (base 0).

Physical

Your Physical attribute represents your might, speed, acrobatics, and non-magical combat prowess. Mages are fundamentally glass cannons, but a mage who can take a punch or dodge a speeding carriage is much harder to kill than one who relies entirely on magical shields. This attribute governs mundane weapons, stealthy movement, and acts of raw athleticism.

Mechanical Uses

Whenever your character relies on their body to overcome an obstacle or survive danger, you add your Physical rating to the roll.

Associated Basic Moves

Basic Moves: Used when you employ raw physical power to smash, lift, grapple, or overcome an obstacle violently.
Basic Moves: Used when you engage an enemy in non-magical melee or ranged combat (such as using a sword, spear, or firearm).
Basic Moves: Used when you put yourself in danger to dive out of the way, interpose yourself between an attack and an ally, or rely on your reflexes to block.

Stealth and Movement

If you are trying to sneak silently past a guard, vault a high wall, or escape through a crowded marketplace, the GM will ask for a Physical roll. Wearing heavy armor imposes a penalty to these specific rolls.

Mental

Your Mental attribute measures your logic, perception, raw academic knowledge, and problem-solving capabilities. In the Academy, this distinguishes the brilliant scholars from the powerful brutes. A mage with a high Mental rating understands the theoretical underpinnings of why the world works, notices small discrepancies in a scene, and can reverse-engineer complex machinery or alchemical compounds.

Mechanical Uses

Whenever your character relies on logic, observation, or their education rather than magic, you add your Mental rating to the roll.

Associated Basic Moves

Basic Moves: Used when you are closely studying a person, place, or situation to uncover hidden truths or threats.
Basic Moves: Used when you consult your academic knowledge regarding history, science, beasts, or magical theory.
Basic Moves: You may use Mental instead of Physical if you are defending yourself or others through tactical positioning rather than raw speed or power.

Support Fields and Crafting

The Mental attribute is the primary driver behind non-shaping magical disciplines such as the Alchemy Support Field. It is also used when attempting to craft mundane items or solve technical puzzles.

Your Social attribute covers charm, deception, reading what people actually intend, and working the connections you have. Noble Houses, guild hierarchies, and clandestine syndicates rule this world, and knowing how to read a room often matters more to survival than throwing a fireball.

Mechanical Uses

Whenever your character attempts to influence an NPC or deduce their motivations using soft skills, you add your Social rating to the roll.

Associated Basic Moves

Basic Moves: Used when you have leverage and use it to charm, bribe, threaten, or extort an NPC into doing what you want.

Information and Economy

A high Social rating is gold for tracking down black market goods, digging out secrets, and picking up rumors. When attempting to earn Economy through networking, scamming, or leveraging contacts, the GM may ask for a Social roll.

Magical attributes (base 1).

Memory

Your Memory attribute measures how many spell patterns you can hold onto across a long campaign and how fast you can call them back up when it counts.

Mechanical Uses

Memory controls:

Ready Glyphs: contributes to 2 + highest of (Calculation, Memory) at scene start.
Formula Recall: keeps complex declarations and stability requirements ready under pressure.

A good Memory means fast, confident spell recall and dependable reactions when danger closes in. For mental defense, see Resist Erosion.

Associated Magic Moves

Magic Moves: Memory isn't rolled directly, but sharp recall backs faster defensive declarations when the situation allows.

Common Uses

Ready Glyph Support: Expanding and sustaining your practical ready set in tense scenes.
Formula Recall: Holding large declarations and matrix notes without relying on a physical grimoire in crisis scenes.

Attribute Tiers

1 — Novice: Average recall. Can hold simple declarations and notes under stress.
2 — Competent: Good memory. Can keep routine formula structures stable across most scenes.
3 — Skilled: Excellent recall. Can juggle layered declarations without losing sequence integrity.
4 — Expert: Exceptional memory. Near-perfect retention of long-form matrix structures and prior scene data.
5 — Master: Eidetic-level recall. Can reconstruct massive declaration structures and long chains from minimal cues.

Calculation

Your Calculation attribute measures how fast you think, how well you hold spatial problems in your head, and how steady your matrix logic stays under pressure.

Mechanical Uses

Calculation is your matrix stability governor:

It sets your comfort limit for concurrent tags.
Exceeding it means you are Pushing the Matrix.
On mixed outcomes while pushing, expect hard tradeoffs (drop potency, accept strain, or lock in instability).

Calculation also contributes to scene readiness through: Ready Glyphs = 2 + highest of (Calculation, Memory).

Associated Magic Moves

Magic Moves: Used when you coordinate your mental Calculation with an ally to provide tactical assistance during a high-complexity spell.

Common Uses

Multitasking: Maintaining an active ward while focusing on other actions.
Matrix Weaving: Processing complex declarations and tag interactions in real time.
Vector Math: Instantly calculating the trajectory of a kinetic blast or a dimensional teleportation jump.

Attribute Tiers

1 — Novice: Average mental math. Can maintain a simple, single ward. Cannot handle complex multiple-tag strings without straining.
2 — Competent: Quick thinker. Can handle multi-step calculations and dual ongoing spells.
3 — Skilled: Parallel processing. You can safely weave multi-layered formulas on the fly.
4 — Expert: Advanced parallel processing. Capable of maintaining entire defensive perimeters while independently attacking.
5 — Master: Supercomputer mind. Can calculate dozens of kinetic vectors perfectly and freely weave maximum-complexity spells without strain.

Finesse

Your Finesse attribute measures precision and control in spell shaping: how quietly you can cast, how much Mana bleeds away as waste, and whether you can pull off delicate work like bending a spell's trajectory mid-flight.

Mechanical Uses

Simultaneous Casting (Dual Casting) runs through Overcharge: substitute Finesse for Willpower on your Casting Roll and spend 2 Overcharge points to perfectly duplicate the spell's effect and hit a secondary target at the same time.

Associated Magic Moves

Magic Moves: Used when rolling precision or defensive spells.
Magic Moves: Used when you quickly manifest a Mastered ward to intercept an incoming magical attack.

Common Uses

Simultaneous Casting: Weaving multiple spell matrices at the exact same moment.
Mana Efficiency: Reducing the raw mana cost of a spell by perfectly executing its shape without energy leaks.
Subtle Casting: Casting spells with minimal visual "static" or auditory noise, useful for stealth or illusions.
Delicate Shaping: Performing intricate magical tasks, such as manipulating tiny objects or weaving a disguised glamour.

Attribute Tiers

1 — Novice: Basic control. Spells often leak Mana.
2 — Competent: Trained control. Casts without excessive collateral damage.
3 — Skilled: Precise control. Can reliably weave delicate, pinpoint effects.
4 — Expert: Flawless control. Duplicates spells mid-air under pressure without a hitch.
5 — Master: Supreme efficiency. Casts with near-perfect silence and zero structural bleed.

Willpower

Your Willpower attribute is raw force of intent: mental fortitude and the ability to force Mana through your channels by sheer stubbornness. It anchors your mind against intrusion, and when finesse isn't enough, it supplies the raw output and brute-force casting that get the job done.

Mechanical Uses

Willpower is one of three attributes that set your Mana Track capacity (via Core Resonance). It is also one of two attributes you can roll on the Resist Erosion move to protect your Sanity, the other being Memory; the player chooses whichever fits the fiction.

Associated Magic Moves

Magic Moves: Used when rolling destructive or raw energy spells.
Magic Moves: Used when you abandon formulas and blast raw, unshaped mana through sheer force of will.

Common Uses

Mental Resistance: Resisting telepathic intrusions, compulsions, and illusions through triggered defensive moves and strong fictional positioning.
Sanity & Trauma: Anchoring your mind against atrocities and psychic damage.
Raw Output: Forcing massive amounts of Mana into a spell to increase its destructive power or defensive strength.
Pain Tolerance: Pushing through severe physical pain or magical exhaustion to complete a casting.

Attribute Tiers

1 — Novice: Average resolve. Susceptible to basic coercion and intimidation.
2 — Competent: Solid resolve. Can push through minor pain and resist mild psychic nudges or illusions.
3 — Skilled: Strong resolve. Capable of sustained high Mana output; can resist direct psychic interrogation with effort.
4 — Expert: Iron will. Can generate massive, brute-force Mana surges; highly resistant to deep psychological manipulation.
5 — Master: Indomitable. Can ignore severe physical trauma to complete a spell and block powerful master telepaths from breaching their mind.