In a natural fantasy campaign, magic is a field where the themes of balance, coexistence, mistakes, and punishment emerge at their strongest. Moreover, the relationship between humanity and supernatural creatures hinges on a few core assumptions, discussed in the following pages.
Magic represents the delicate relationship between humanity, the ecosystem, and the mysteries of life itself: it’s important to ask what is the source of the magical powers wielded by the characters and how such abilities might alter the existing balance.
The “Everything has a soul” pillar, from page 14 of the Core Rulebook, comes into its highest expression in natural fantasy – magic is alive, often incarnate as a local spirit or presence, and reacts according to its own will and personality.
Depending on which characters are involved in the campaign and what kind of threat they face, this approach might express itself in many ways and should influence the game mechanics. The following sections contain advice and considerations on how to handle these themes, which require special attention.
“Divinity” isn’t something far away and limited to specific moments of prayer; it’s close, everyday, and omnipresent, but also extraordinary, sentient, and unpredictable. It’s part of everything on both an individual and universal level.
We can say that magic draws power from a universal energy through an individual medium, but in doing so it causes immediate reactions on the individual level and/or long-term consequences on a universal scale.