THE SOOTH DECK

The currents of magic create a complex, ever-changing tapestry of power. Their uctuations help or hinder varieties of spells and other magical practices. Vislae see these changing patterns. They feel them in their very bones and along their skin. To communicate these dif cult concepts quickly and easily, they created a set of 60 icons that play along a speci c pattern— the Path of Suns—to show the (seemingly) random changes and their effects.

The 60 cards in the Sooth Deck represent these icons of pure magical power. They are simple images, each encoded with volumes of meaning that interplay with the path and with each other. They are divided into four families of 15 cards each:

…

Effects of cards

The most recent card is the active card. Effects of previous cards end when a new card is played. The only exception is that a card played on the Invisible Sun goes into the Testament of Suns and remains in effect until a new card is played on the Invisible Sun.

Cards represent the constant uctuations of magic. Most cards make one type of magic (based on sun color association) stronger and another type weaker. For spells and effects linked to the stronger sun, either their effective level is increased by 1 (with no additional cost) or the Sorcery cost of the effect is reduced by 1—player choice. For weaker sun effects, either their level is lowered by 1 or the cost is raised by 1. For example, the Endless Maze card either increases the level of Blue spells by 1 or reduces the cost of Blue spells by 1. Likewise, it reduces the level of Red spells by 1 or increases the cost by 1.

Cards affecting magic of a particular sun double the effect when played on that sun in the path. So if Endless Maze is played on the Blue Sun,
it increases the level or lowers the cost by 2. Played on the Red Sun, it lowers the level or increases the cost by 2.

If a card is played from the family associated with a character’s heart, such as a Mysteries card for a Stoic, all of that character’s actions get a +1 bonus to their venture.