Your First Magical Character

Fate's Edge Player's Guide — Chapter 9

So you want to play a magic-user. Good choice—but Fate’s Edge offers eight ways in. Jumping into all of them at once is a recipe for confusion. This guide helps you pick a path and then walks you through building a single, focused magical character that is powerful, fun, and manageable.

Quick Reference: Magic Paths at a Glance

Use this table to choose a path that fits your preferred complexity and play style. New players: start with Runekeeper.

All paths are viable. The table only shows the relative complexity and risk.

If you are still unsure, follow the recommendation below—you can always learn a second path later (see the Magic System chapter).

Step 0: The Recommendation

If this is your first magical character, play a Runekeeper. Why?

• One Patron: You swear to a single Patron. No juggling multiple Symbols or conflicting obligations.

• Clear costs: Every Rite costs Obligation. Track one number.

• Support from your Thiasos: Your familiar is a built-in roleplay hook and mechanical aid.

You can explore Invokers, Cantors, Witches, Psions, or Summoners later. Start simple.

Which Magic Path Fits You?

Not every player enjoys the same kind of magic. Use this table to find the path that matches how you like to play.

Still unsure? Let’s start with Runekeeper. You can always learn a second path later (see the Magic System chapter).

Two Low-Cost Alternatives

Before committing to a full magical path, consider these two low-cost options. Both give you a magical feel without the complexity of Rites, Corruption, or a Leash.

Hedge Gifts: Magic Without a Path

Cost: 4 XP (Craft of the Hedge talent)

Hedge Gifts are simple, no-roll magical abilities. A character with the Craft of the Hedge talent learns two Hedge Gifts of their choice. These are small, reliable effects that never require dice rolls and never incur Obligation.

Why take Hedge Gifts?

• Cheap: 4 XP gives you two useful abilities.

• No resource tracking: No Obligation, Corruption, or Backlash.

• Retrain later: If you want to commit to a full magical path, you can retrain this talent during downtime.

• Perfect for non-magical characters: A warrior with a few Hedge Gifts is still a warrior—just one who knows a few tricks.

Sample Hedge Gifts:

Build example (32 XP):

• Attributes: Spirit 3 (15 XP: 1→2 = 6, 2→3 = 9), Wits 2 (6 XP) → 21 XP

• Skills: Lore 2 (6 XP: 0→1 = 2, 1→2 = 4), Insight 1 (2 XP) → 8 XP

• Talent: Craft of the Hedge (4 XP) → 4 XP

• Total: 21 + 8 + 4 = 33 — one over. Drop Insight and it is 31; spend the last point on a Cap 1 Follower for exactly 32 XP.

Familiar Only: Thiasos Without a Codex

Cost: 2 XP (Familiar talent)

You can take the Familiar talent (Thiasos) without taking a Codex. This gives you:

• A small creature bound to you (raven, candle flame, fungal creature, etc.)

• Access to Patron’s Gift: Once per scene, imbue a held item with +1 Melee and +1 Thematic skill for the scene.

• A narrative companion and roleplay hook.

• No Rite Obligation (you don’t know any Rites).

Why take Familiar only?

• Cheapest magical entry: 2 XP for a companion and a useful scene-long buff.

• Minimal resource tracking: Only Obligation from Patron’s Gift (no Rites, no Corruption).

• Retrain later: If you want to become a full Runekeeper, buy a Codex (4 XP) during downtime.

• Follower potential: Your Thiasos can act as a Cap 1 follower, scouting, carrying small items, or delivering messages.

Build example (32 XP):

• Attributes: Spirit 3 (15 XP: 1→2 = 6, 2→3 = 9), Wits 2 (6 XP) → 21 XP

• Skills: Lore 2 (6 XP), Insight 1 (2 XP) → 8 XP

• Talent: Familiar (2 XP) → 2 XP

• Total: 21 + 8 + 2 = 31 XP

Patron’s Gift in action: Your familiar is a brass compass that hums when you’re on the right path (Traveler). Once per scene, you touch a map or a walking stick and gain +1 Melee and +1 Lore (navigation) for the scene. You mark +1 Obligation. No Rites. No Corruption. Just a small edge—and a small debt.

Comparison: Hedge Gifts vs. Familiar Only

Retraining Later

Both options are low-cost investments that can be retrained later.

• Hedge Gifts: During downtime, you can retrain Craft of the Hedge into another talent of equal or lesser cost (4 XP or less). The Hedge Gifts are lost, but you can buy a Codex or Patron’s Symbol instead.

• Familiar Only: During downtime, you can buy a Codex (4 XP) and become a full Runekeeper. Your Thiasos remains; you now have access to Rites and still track Obligation.

This means you can start with a magical touch and grow into a full caster as you understand the system better.

Step 1: Choose a Patron (For Runekeepers and Familiar Only)

Your Patron defines your Rites, your Obligation, and your role in the story. Pick one that matches your character concept.

New player favorite: The Traveler. Low Obligation costs, useful Rites, and a forgiving Patron.

Step 2: Buy Your Core Talents (Runekeeper)

At character creation you have 32 XP, or up to 36 with Bonds and Complications. A full Runekeeper needs two talents:

• Familiar (Thiasos) – 2 XP. Your bond to your Patron. It might be a raven (Traveler), a candle flame (Oath of Flame), or a small fungal creature (Carrion-King).

• Codex – 4 XP. Your book of Rites. It could be a leather journal, a set of carved slate tablets, or a roll of bark.

Total so far: 6 XP. That leaves 26–30 for Attributes and Skills. Keep the figure in view — magic is bought before anything else, and it does not leave much room behind it.

Step 3: Set Your Attributes

Runekeepers rely on Spirit (Obligation capacity, Rite effectiveness) and Wits (Lore, Insight). A simple spread:

Total: 21 XP. With the 6 already spent on talents you are at 27 — which leaves 5 XP at a 32 XP start, or 9 if your table is using Bonds and Complications.

Step 4: Buy Your Skills

You need Lore — it is how you understand your own Rites — and at least one social or utility skill. Here is the squeeze, stated plainly: Lore 2 does not fit in a 32 XP Runekeeper alongside Spirit 3 and both talents. Something gives. Two honest answers:

Either way you spend every point; none of it can be banked. Note what the second row actually buys: one more die of Lore, which is one more die on every Rite you will ever cast. That is what Bonds and Complications are for.

Step 5: Choose Your First Rites

You begin with two Low Rites from your Patron, and they cost you no XP — the Codex is what you paid for. What a Rite costs is Obligation, marked when you invoke it, and that is the number in parentheses below. Pick two that are useful and clear.

Example: The Traveler

• Road-Sense (Low, Obligation 4): Gain +1 die to avoid ambushes or delays on a journey. Use this every travel leg.

• Traveler’s Boon (Low, Obligation 5): Ignore one level of difficult terrain or bureaucracy for the scene. Great for crossing rivers or skipping paperwork.

Example: Oath of Flame \& Light

• Kindle Vow (Low, Obligation 4): Declare a short vow (e.g., “I will protect the villagers”). Gain +1 die to actions fulfilling it.

• Lay on Hands (Low, Obligation 5): Cleanse an affliction or downgrade Harm by 1. The classic healing Rite.

Step 6: Understand Your Resources

You track three numbers:

1. Obligation (to your Patron). Capacity = Spirit + Presence. For Spirit 3, Presence 1, capacity is 4. Each Rite marks +1 Obligation. When you exceed capacity, mark 1 Fatigue per extra segment.

2. Fatigue. Each point worsens Position. When Fatigue fills your Body track (Body 1 = 1 segment), convert to Harm.

3. Harm. Harm 1 is −1 die on related actions. Harm 2 is −1 die on most actions until treated. Harm 3 is incapacitated or dying.

Player’s job: Mark these yourself. Announce when Obligation fills. The GM does not track them for you.

Step 7: Play Your First Session

Before the session

• Write your two Rites on an index card.

• Set your Obligation to 0.

• Set your Fatigue to 0.

During the session

1. Invoke a Rite: Say “I invoke Road-Sense.” Mark +1 Obligation. Roll Wits + Lore (or as specified). Apply the effect.

2. Take a Short Rest: Clear 2 Fatigue.

3. Accept a Patron’s demand: If the GM says “your Patron requires a task,” treat it as a story hook, not a punishment.

After the session

• Clear Obligation by performing an Act of Service for your Patron (e.g., The Traveler: guide a lost traveler; Oath of Flame: speak a public vow). Describe the act. The GM will tell you how much Obligation clears.

• Spend XP to raise Attributes, Skills, or buy new Rites.

Optional: Add a Minor Talent

If you have 2–4 XP left, take one of these:

• Efficient Invocation (4 XP): Reduce Obligation cost of one specific Low Rite by 1 (minimum 0).

• Keen Senses (2 XP): +1 die on perception checks (Insight).

• Silver Tongue (2 XP): +1 die on persuasion attempts (Sway).

What to Avoid at First

• Multiple Patrons. Stick to one. Cross-Resonance (see the Magic System chapter) adds complexity you don’t need yet.

• Crack the Seal (Invoker ability). You are a Runekeeper. Let Invokers handle emergency rituals.

• Cantor’s Corruption. A great path, but the Corruption timer requires active management. Save it for your second character.

• Summoning. The Leash timer and spirit whims table are fun, but they add significant complexity. Start with Runekeeper, then explore Summoning later.

Sample Build: Kestra the Traveler’s Runekeeper

Total XP spent: Spirit 3 (15), Wits 2 (6) = 21; Familiar (2) and Codex (4) = 6; Lore 1 (2) and Insight 1 (2) = 4; a Cap 1 Follower (1). 32 XP, exactly.

At a 36 XP start: the same build with Lore 2 instead of Lore 1 (4 more XP). Her two Rites cost her nothing in XP — Road-Sense marks 4 Obligation and Traveler's Boon marks 5, against a capacity of 4. She can afford one of them cleanly and the other only by going over, which is precisely the choice the Traveler wants her making.

Kestra is a former caravan guide who swore to the Traveler after being betrayed by her crew. She carries a brass compass (her Thiasos) and a leather journal of route-maps (her Codex). She invokes Road-Sense before every journey and Traveler’s Boon to cross difficult terrain. She tracks her Obligation carefully and pays it off by guiding lost travelers through the mountains.

Sample Build: The Hedge-Witch (Low-Cost Alternative)

Total XP spent: Spirit 3 (15), Wits 2 (6) = 21; Lore 2 (6); Craft of the Hedge (4); a Cap 1 Follower — a goat that is smarter than it looks (1). 32 XP, exactly.

Insight and Craft are what the extra 4 XP buys, if your table uses Bonds and Complications. Without them she is a healer who cannot yet roll Craft — which is either a problem or a character, depending on how you play it.

Sariel is a village healer who learned a few tricks from her grandmother. She doesn’t swear to any Patron—she just knows how to tie knots that hold luck and press hands that soothe pain. If she later wants more magic, she can retrain Craft of the Hedge into Spellcraft or a Codex.

Sample Build: The Familiar-Bonded Scout (Low-Cost Alternative)

Total XP spent: Wits 3 (15), Body 2 (6) = 21; Lore 2 (6) and Stealth 1 (2) = 8; Familiar (2); and the raven itself as a Cap 1 Follower (1). 32 XP, exactly. With +4: Athletics 1 (2) and Insight 1 (2).

Finn is a scout who carries a raven (his Thiasos) that helps him find safe routes. He has no Rites and no Codex—just the raven’s guidance and the Traveler’s subtle favor. Each time he calls on that favor, he marks +1 Obligation. With Spirit 1 and Presence 1, his capacity is 2—he can invoke Patron’s Gift twice before he starts taking Fatigue. He pays off his Obligation by guiding lost travelers through the hills.

Final Advice

You are now ready to play a magical character—whether a full Runekeeper, a hedge-witch with a few tricks, or a scout with a familiar. When you feel comfortable, read about the other paths (see the Magic System chapter). But for now, start simple. The road is long. The magic will grow.

The road is waiting. Pay your toll.