Power Tradition Overview

AX.GHW.08.01

Practitioners in the Hidden World are all mortals that have access to an extra-normal source or power.

Supernatural power in The Veil is not magic in the fantasy sense, not a discipline studied from texts and applied through formulas. It is the result of biology, contract or intimate proximity to something beyond ordinary human experience.

Blood Sense is the result of vampire bloodlines on mortals.
Mediumship is an innate connection to a Haunt's existence.
Glamour is the result of Fae influences on mortal perception.
The Marked carry the obligation of an ancient contract with powerful entities perpetuated through their family heritage.
Pact-Shifting is a primal bond that continues to grant access to an instinctive power for survival.

What this means in practice: power traditions in this catalog are almost always already present in a character before they formalize them. A Haunt with Mediumship is not learning something new, they are learning to do deliberately what their death-mark has always made possible. A Dhampir developing Blood Sense is not acquiring a power, they are putting structure around something the bloodline provides whether they want it or not.

This has one significant implication: power use, even when controlled, is always authentic. A practitioner is never performing something external to themselves. The cost of using these traditions, Veil Strain and Backlash, is not a penalty for overreach. It is the cost of being what they are, pushed harder than the body or the contract was meant to sustain in a single scene.

What Traditions Are Not

Traditions in this catalog are not generic arcane systems available to anyone with enough study time. Each tradition has a lineage or contract affinity. Humans without lineage or contract access can occasionally develop traditions through extraordinary circumstances, apprenticeship under a practitioner of relevant lineage, a specific formative experience, a rare secondhand covenant, but these are exceptions the GM adjudicates case by case, not an open door.

Traditions as Odd Talents

Each supernatural tradition functions as an Odd Talent per AX.C.04. Standard rules apply:

The roll is: Governing Attribute + Tradition (+ Focus if applicable) vs Threshold.
Tradition dice are purchased at character creation from the Talent budget or acquired through Advancement at the cost of Governing Attribute × 2 XP for a new Tradition at 1D, or current value × 2 XP to improve.
Maximum Tradition rating: 5D. Maximum Focus rating: 3D.
A character may hold only one Tradition unless a specific Profession Progression Track explicitly grants additional access.
Each Tradition has a Default Attribute reflecting its most common governing expression. Players may choose any Attribute at character creation; this choice is permanent.

Power Access

A character gains access to a Tradition through one of three paths:

Lineage Access: Some lineages may receive Tradition access directly from their Lineage entry.

Profession Access: Most traditions are accessed through a Profession that lists them as Power Access.

Independent Study: A character without Lineage or Profession access may pursue a Tradition through Extended Downtime.

Requirements: a practitioner mentor with at least 3D in the relevant Tradition, one week of Deliberate Training, and a narrative context that makes the access plausible.
Cost: Governing Attribute × 2 XP for the initial 1D. The Marked traditions (Hollow Pact, Sacred Fire) are not available through Independent Study; they require an active compact or covenant relationship.

Duplicate Access: If a character qualifies through both Lineage and Profession access, they begin with 1D at no additional cost (per AX.C.08.03 Multiple Access Grants).

Threshold Scale

All Tradition rolls use the standard scale:

Threshold	Scale of Effect
Easy (1)	Minor; instantaneous or brief; Touch or Close range; readily reversible
Standard (2)	Moderate; scene duration; single target within Near range; recoverable
Difficult (3)	Significant; extended duration; small area or multiple targets; requires Short Rest to end
Hard (4)	Major; lasts until Long Rest; large area or persistent; requires counter-tradition to reverse
Epic (5+)	Profound or permanent; wide area; fundamentally alters a subject, space, or situation

Excess successes above the Threshold may be allocated to: extend duration by one step, increase range by one Band, increase affected targets by one, or enhance a secondary effect as noted per application.

Tradition Index

Tradition	Category	Default Attribute	Lineage Affinity	File
Mediumship	Resonance	Wit	Haunt	AX.GHW.08.02
Glamourist	Resonance	Wit	Faeborn	AX.GHW.08.03
Blood Sense	Resonance	Wit	Dhampir	AX.GHW.08.04
Hollow Pact	Force	Wit	Marked (Shadow-Bound)	AX.GHW.08.05
Sacred Fire	Force	Wit	Marked (Light-Bound)	AX.GHW.08.06
Pact-Shifting	Form	Body	Skinchanger	AX.GHW.08.07

Human lineage has no tradition affinity, access through Profession or Independent Study only.