GM Note: Characters lacking specialized training may prefer the more generalized field guide to Arcane Concepts & Hazards. Druidic characters or those affiliated with the Verdant Sky may find the Verdant Arcana useful as well.
Detailed Glossary: The following terms reflect specialist knowledge gathered from scattered sources — artifact recovery, Deepvoid trade, Veilwatch Concord field manuals, and surviving Kharosan-era schematics. These concepts are not common knowledge, but may be known to characters with Arcana proficiency, Concord training, or lived experience in the arcane-adjacent arts.
The magical “pressure” that builds up in unstable regions.
High arcane strain can cause spell flares, failure, or trigger unwanted effects like starbeast attraction. Usually linked to relic overuse, veil anomalies, or heavy magical activity. Field mages and Concord operatives closely monitor zones of growing arcane strain.
A silver, weightless realm that connects far-off worlds.
Time drifts strangely here, and travelers may not age. The Astral Sea links Wildspace systems and distant planes—but it’s full of strange beings, forgotten gods, and hazards both physical and mental.
A magical connection between a person and an item.
Some powerful items only work when bonded to a user’s arcane signature. This bond, called attunement, limits how many such items a person can wield at once. Breaking attunement usually takes time or a special ritual.
A harmonic reaction between magical forces, entities, or materials.
When magical fields align, amplify, or interfere with one another, they produce resonance — an effect that can be sensed, measured, or even weaponized. Resonance is a key concept in runecraft, relic tuning, veil monitoring, and arcane diagnostics.
A slow, stable way to cast a spell without using a spell slot.
Rituals take extra time—usually several minutes—and require precise steps and materials. They’re best for long-term effects like detection, summoning, or protection. In unstable areas, rituals are often safer than fast-cast spells.
A metaphysical boundary separating planes or realities.
When a veil thins, strange energies or beings may slip through — sometimes slowly, sometimes in sudden bursts.
Used casually, "the void" is just slang for space — or in this setting, Wildspace.
More darkly, it can also refer to the strange, often hostile regions of Wildspace or the Astral Sea that exhibit anomalous properties — such as areas near the Maw, remnants of Deep Wake contamination, or places where the laws of reality seem to falter.
The invisible magical structure that holds the world together — all spells and enchantments flow through it.
Most modern scholars agree that the Weave predates mortal civilization and may have been damaged or reshaped during the Ember Age cataclysm that shattered Kharos.
While fragments of its structure remain intact, its behavior is no longer uniform. Some areas resonate with latent potential, while others show signs of arcane strain, making magic unstable or erratic. Attempts to restore or rewrite the Weave remain theoretical, and most stable enchantments rely on local harmonization or anchor foci.
Notably, planar boundaries and the veil between worlds are thought to be “stitched” into the Weave’s threads.
The vast sea of open space surrounding planets, moons, and asteroids.
Unlike real-world space, Wildspace is threaded with magic. Air clings to ships and creatures, gravity behaves locally, and spelljammers sail through the void as easily as sea vessels on water. It's more like a cosmic ocean than a vacuum — full of life, hazards, and hidden routes.
The magical “pressure” that builds up in unstable regions.
High arcane strain can cause spell flares, failure, or trigger unwanted effects like starbeast attraction. Usually linked to relic overuse, veil anomalies, or heavy magical activity. Field mages and Concord operatives closely monitor zones of growing arcane strain.
A surge of uncontrolled magical energy released when a spell misfires, is disrupted, or exceeds safe limits.
Backlash may damage the caster, disrupt nearby enchantments, or trigger unintended veil effects. Concord field manuals classify backlash severity on a five-tier scale, from minor feedback to total rupture. Often associated with arcane strain, overdrawn relics, or unstable runecraft.
A magical interference effect where voices or thoughts from the past resurface unintentionally.
Often caused by veil-thin regions, arcane strain, or unstable memory crystals. Echo bleed can result in delayed, distorted, or unintended messages, voices, or information — sometimes revealing fragments long believed lost.
Some Concord agents treat echo bleed as a warning of deeper veil instability or lingering mental imprint.
The decay or corruption of magical patterns over time, leading to weakened, unstable, or broken enchantments.
Spellrot affects everything from relics and wards to stored invocations. It can be caused by exposure to veil storms, psionic interference, or flawed runecraft. Once spellrot sets in, restoration is difficult; affected items may flicker, fail, or produce twisted effects. Some scholars believe the ruins of Kharos are still steeped in deep spellrot, slowly degrading even untriggered magic.
A site where the veil has thinned to the point of rupture, allowing energy or entities to bleed between planes.
Tearpoints may form naturally (e.g., in leyline crossings or psionic storms) or be caused by magical overload, relic failure, or reckless summoning. They are dangerous and unstable — often marked by echo bleed, strange resonance, or distortion of time and memory. The Veilwatch Concord attempts to seal or stabilize known tearpoints, often with anchored wards or rune-networks.
An anchor holds a magical effect steady in space or time. It might be an object, a glyph, or even a person’s mind.
Illusions, wards, and planar magic often require anchors. If weakened, an anchor may no longer hold its linked effect, triggering partial collapse or echo bleed from residual magic.
Example: Anchoring stones are one type of magical anchor, usually crafted from rune-inscribed crystal, used to steady teleportation circles or veils.
A natural magical “fingerprint” unique to each individual.
Arcane signatures passively imprint onto spells, wards, and arcane devices — often used to restrict access or tailor effects to a single person. Some magical items “remember” their bonded user through this signature. Powerful mages or magical entities can sometimes hide, alter, or forge these imprints, but doing so risks magical instability or feedback.
A signature is like a soulprint — often unseen, but unmistakable once attuned to.
A mineral that stores magical power.
Harvested by the Deepvoid Mining Syndicate, these crystals power everything from lanterns to spelljamming helms. High-grade arcanite crystals are rare and tightly controlled, but low-grade ones are used widely in utility magic.
A rare material that captures thoughts and memories.
Translucent and lightly shimmering, it’s used in lenses, wards, or dreamcraft tools. Can be used to reveal hidden thoughts or replay old visions. Ethically debated due to potential for misuse.
Faulty or overcharged dreamglass can trigger echo bleed, repeating fragments of stored visions without command.
A magical trap that imprisons a person inside a repeating dream.
Often used without physical restraints, a dream snare can keep someone docile for days or years. Breaking out may require outside help or strong will. Long exposure can cause mental and emotional damage.
An object used to channel or shape magic.
Common examples include staves, wands, rings, or crystals. A focus doesn’t create power—it helps control it. Many spells require a specific kind of focus to cast safely.
(also: sigil, rune)
A magical symbol used to shape, anchor, or store arcane effects.
Glyphs appear in wards, rituals, enchantments, and relics. Some act like arcane locks; others channel energy, preserve memory, or trigger effects when touched or broken. Though styles vary, most glyphs trace back to ancient patterns reused by modern mages.
A powerful rune that stores or imitates a person’s essence.
These constructed glyphs bind names, memories, or emotional states into arcane form — often etched into vaults, relics, or planar seals. Identity glyphs may reinforce or conceal someone’s identity, or preserve a mental echo long after death. If damaged, they can leak echo bleed, causing memory confusion or psychic feedback.
A refined shard of dreamglass or arcanite inscribed with runes to hold thoughts, voices, or mental images.
Memory crystals act as magical records — used in Veilwatch archives, ship logs, or research journals. Each one can hold multiple entries, often indexed by keyword, arcane signature, or embedded emotion. Access usually requires a command word, tuning focus, or ritual, and playback varies from clear vision to fractured dream-speak depending on stability.
A silvery thread that subtly reflects movement and light.
Often sewn into cloaks or wards to blur outlines or distort magical detection, acting as arcane camouflage. Originally developed by the Veilwatch Concord to shield field agents in veil-thin regions. Common in illusion and disguise-focused enchantments.
A powerful magical item or construct from the Ember Age or earlier.
Relics are rare, dangerous, and often misunderstood. Some still work as intended; others flicker, backfire, or radiate unstable enchantments. The best were crafted by ancient artificers using techniques lost to time. Most known relics are hoarded by the rich, the secretive, or the powerful. Others are pieced together from shards of ruined civilizations — often with unpredictable effects.
It’s said that intact relics can still be found in unstable Kharosan ruins, anomalous regions of the Icari Drift, or places warped by thinning veils, old magic, or the Deep Wake.
The practice of shaping magic through written glyphs and engraved patterns.
Practitioners inscribe glyphs onto stone, metal, bone, or crystal to bind magical effects into objects or locations. While most modern glyphs are copied from older templates, true mastery requires adapting symbols to new conditions — a delicate balance of art, memory, and precision.
A metal alloy infused with magical patterns.
Forged with built-in sigils, this metal holds enchantments more easily than common materials. Most rune-metal today is scavenged from Kharosan ruins or mined from dangerous zones by the Deepvoid Mining Syndicate. Often used in spelljammer construction and repair.
A ship capable of traveling through Wildspace through the use of a spelljamming helm.
Some appear as familiar sailing vessels adapted for life among the stars, but in theory they can look like almost anything. Some are even rumored to be alive.
A magical device that allows a vessel to travel through Wildspace and the Astral Sea.
Helms come in many forms and with varying properties, but nearly all are ancient and rare. In this setting, the most common helms are arcane in nature, requiring attunement by a spellcaster/helmsperson and drawing energy from a crystalline fuel called arcanite. A typical vessel able to store up a month's worth of fuel between stops.
A spell or magical effect deliberately embedded in a focus, glyph, or device for delayed use.
Stored invocations are common in wands, runes, and memory crystals. They activate upon a set trigger — such as a phrase, action, or condition. The Concord teaches strict protocols for safe invocation anchoring; misaligned triggers can cause echo bleed, premature activation, or arcane backlash.
A protective magical effect anchored to a location, object, or person.
Wards are used to shield areas from harm, alert to intrusions, or suppress certain types of magic. Simple wards might keep a door from opening. More complex ones might hide entire structures or suppress teleportation. Most require the use of a Unknown, anchor, or ritual to stay stable.
A magically bonded crystal used to transmit voice between two fixed points.
Whisper stones are always paired — each attuned to the other through ritual or anchor glyphs. Most carry only a single connection and require manual or arcane tuning to function. Their use is common among Veilwatch Concord agents, ship crews, or wardens stationed in distant watchtowers.
Variants include:
Whisper stones are vulnerable to veil storms, arcane strain, or memory-warping magic — sometimes causing echo bleed, where ghosted fragments of old messages return unbidden.