Divination

Divination (Syllabus of Perception)

Magic is fundamentally information. Divination does not change the world; it interrogates it. In current play, casting follows Technique Glyph declarations (Intent -> School -> Glyph -> Scale -> Tags). Classification: Core School

Fictional Permission

When you hold Divination in your Grimoire, you have specific fictional positioning.

Divination CAN:

  • Detect the presence, school, and complexity of active magic within range
  • Extend sensory perception through barriers (walls, floors, darkness)
  • Read residual mana imprints left by past events (psychometry)
  • View distant locations in real-time (Scrying)
  • Receive probabilistic impressions of future events (precognition, at high complexities)

Divination CANNOT:

  • Apply any physical effect to the target of observation (no damage, no debuffs)
  • Create false perceptions (Illusionism)
  • Read minds (that requires Mind Magic via Illusionism + Psychic Potential)
  • Reconstruct the past or future with 100% infallible accuracy (it is always an educated guess by the magic)

Technique identity: Divination defaults to Hall for trace-imprint reading and Puls for active scan cadence.

The Core Matrix

Your Divination training unlocks cumulative Technique Glyph access:

Use this tier ladder as canonical for live casting.

Stack example: Follow a fading imprint -> Divination -> Faden + Hall -> Standard -> pursuit, sensory

Cost Examples

Costs follow the canonical scale — see Magic System. School-specific examples:

  • Trivial (0 Ticks): Hall read of a faint local trace.
  • Regular (1 Tick): Puls scan of a nearby target/zone.
  • Hard (2 Ticks): Hall + Kreis sustained remote read.
  • Complex (2 Ticks): Spiegel + Gitter multi-layer signal reconstruction.
  • Miracle (4+ Ticks): deep-pattern truth extraction with severe narrative stakes.

Specializations

Specializations now function as Glyph Doctrines:

  • Scrying: Faden + Kreis doctrine (deep remote perception and trace clarity)
  • Chronomancy: Puls + Hall doctrine (tempo reading and timing manipulation risk)

(For sensory detail and deeper theory, see Schools Lore.)

Chronomancy

Chronomancy is an intensely theoretical and resource-heavy discipline. While true time travel is considered impossible, practitioners can manipulate localized time dilution, temporal stasis, and attempt to reconstruct the past or predict the future. Classification: Specialization Parent School: Divination

Technique Glyph Doctrine

Doctrine Pair: Puls + Hall

Chronomancy emphasizes timing windows, cadence manipulation, and costly temporal framing.

Glyph Behavior Upgrade: a pause may be stretched: the stolen beat lasts a breath longer when nobody is watching (fiction-gated, no extra tick).

[!NOTE] Doctrine Move

Stolen Beat (doctrine move): When you shape a Chronomancy declaration to buy a moment, roll + Calculation (or +Willpower to force the tempo). 10+: you act in the gap; choose one — an ally moves with you, the pause leaves no trace, you see the next beat coming. 7-9: you steal the beat, but choose one — +1 tick, the world snaps back loud (attention), you can't move far in it. 6-: the moment snaps back on you; the GM makes a hard move.

Fictional Permission

When you hold Chronomancy in your Grimoire, you have specific fictional positioning.

Chronomancy CAN:

  • Accelerate, decelerate, or pause localized time for specific targets.
  • Reconstruct past events based on the physical clues left in an area.
  • Predict immediate, short-term futures (like a sword swing a split-second before it happens).

Chronomancy CANNOT:

  • Alter the grand timeline or resurrect the dead by "rewinding" them years.
  • Provide flawless, 100% accurate visions of the distant future. The universe is too chaotic, and the spell will only ever provide a "most likely" guess.

The Core Matrix

This specialization's live-casting access follows its Technique Glyph doctrine.

Cost Examples

Costs follow the canonical scale — see Magic System. School-specific examples:

  • Trivial (0 Ticks): Pin the hour with unnatural precision. Read precise local time -> Divination -> Faden+Puls -> trivial effect, self range, instant, informative
  • Regular (1 Tick): Hasten your subjective reactions. Accelerate subjective perception -> Divination -> Puls+Hall -> standard effect, self range, one scene, short
  • Hard (2 Ticks): Stretch one moment to study fast motion. Stretch moment to read fast motion -> Divination -> Spiegel+Hall -> hard effect, self range, heartbeat duration, instant
  • Complex (2 Ticks): Borrow a skipped beat to slip danger. Skip personal beat to dodge -> Divination -> Kreis+Hall -> complex effect, self range, instant, risky
  • Miracle (4+ Ticks): Fight-wide probabilistic read (still not true time travel). Map fight timelines as information -> Divination -> Kreis+Gitter+Hall -> miracle effect, room scale, squad-linked, sustained

(For sensory detail and deeper theory, see Schools Lore.)

Core-school glyph sets by training level: Divination.

Scrying

Scrying gathers visual and auditory information from afar. It is the most common, most practical application of Divination. Classification: Specialization Parent School: Divination

Technique Glyph Doctrine

Doctrine Pair: Faden + Kreis

Scrying emphasizes deep remote read stability and trace clarity over direct control.

Glyph Behavior Upgrade: a vision may be shared: one ally sees what you see (fiction-gated, no extra tick).

[!NOTE] Doctrine Move

Clear Sight (doctrine move): When you shape a Scrying declaration to pierce concealment or distance, roll + Mental. 10+: you see; choose one — a telling detail, the subject doesn't feel watched, you hold it a full beat. 7-9: you see, but choose one — the vision is partial (one wrong detail), the subject feels watched, +1 tick. 6-: something sees you back; the GM makes a hard move.

Fictional Permission

When you hold Scrying in your Grimoire, you have specific fictional positioning.

Scrying CAN:

  • Project the caster's senses (sight, hearing) over distances (Bild, Auge).
  • Locate specific objects or people, provided the caster possesses a strong sympathetic link.
  • Be cast very cheaply. It relies heavily on shaping finesse rather than raw mana reserves.

Scrying CANNOT:

  • Penetrate Anti-Divination Wards (which scatter the scrying sensor's signal).
  • Track a target flawlessly without a pre-existing connection or physical link.
  • Read minds (that is strictly the domain of Mind Magic).

The Core Matrix

This specialization's live-casting access follows its Technique Glyph doctrine.

Cost Examples

Costs follow the canonical scale — see Magic System. School-specific examples:

  • Trivial (0 Ticks): Blurry peek through a thin wall. Peek adjacent space -> Divination -> Faden+Hall -> trivial effect, touch range, doorway-sized view, instant
  • Regular (1 Tick): Hidden sensor you can steer. Anchor invisible sensor -> Divination -> Hall+Puls -> standard effect, near range, eye-sized sensor, short
  • Hard (2 Ticks): Overhead map-like sight. Lift sight to bird's-eye frame -> Divination -> Hall+Kreis -> hard effect, long range, clearing area, short
  • Complex (2 Ticks): Pin a sensor to a distant known anchor. Place remote scrying eye -> Divination -> Hall+Gitter -> complex effect, miles range, single room frame, sustained
  • Miracle (4+ Ticks): City-wide awareness lattice. Weave citywide perception lattice -> Divination -> Hall+Gitter+Fluss -> miracle effect, city scale, networked, sustained

(For sensory detail and deeper theory, see Schools Lore.)

Core-school glyph sets by training level: Divination.