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An Earthly Treatise on Magic
As a scholar residing on the planet of Earth, I lack the ability to apply any form of controlled testing to the theories presented by my Golarion colleagues. Additionally, I lack the ability to witness the results of magic or experiment with its inner workings, I have to rely on written documentation solely, and even that is limited. Only so much of Golarion’s extensive research into the phenomenon manages to reach across the metaphysical distance separating us and posit itself into written accounts for those of us on Earth to peruse. Contrarily, it may be that with our seemingly more modern and technological focused society, we have more access to these accounts than even those living on Golarion do while bringing in a unique perspective from a world with no magic at all, although there have been some reports of magic throughout our history, it appears many, if not all of them have been disproven as superstition and faulty grasp on reality. Of course, there is still the matter of the missing Soviet soldiers that disappeared about fifty years ago, but the time they disappeared in was a strange one rife with tension and potential conflict on a massive scale, so the truth may remain hidden to us for some time yet.
Regardless, I digress, so let’s focus on the matter at hand. Recently, we have received a tome of knowledge from Golarion known to our scholars as Secrets of Magic. In this tome are four treatises focused on the four traditions of magic known to the people of Golarion. We received the treatises known as Principles of Elementary Thaumaturgy, Journeys of the Spirit and Flesh, A Letter from Djavin Vhrest, and On Primal Practice 1. What I am about to suggest may shock you, but I believe it to be, at the very least, an idea just as likely as those posed in the aforementioned treatises. I posit that all magic is the same.
How can that be, you may be asking? Surely we know from both this text and ones before that there are at least four traditions of magic, right? Well, yes, but I think the idea of traditions is a limitation self-imposed by the people of Golarion. At the same time, I believe that Thassilonian Rune Magic 2 was on track to break free of the bonds of these traditions. What is magic but energy? What is the caster but a builder using the energy to build that which they desire? As we on Earth can see the various rules governing spells and their level of degree, I feel we are in an opportune place to describe a unique perspective on both rune magic and its interactions with the traditions.
Before I continue this train of thought, I want to supply the reasoning for the choices I present ahead. As stated before, I lack the ability on Earth to test my theories or watch any tests on the subject of magic altogether. Therefore, I am using examples involving the lowest degree of spells in the hopes that, should my treatise make it back across the planes to Golarion, my theories can be tested by any magical scholar due to their ease of accessibility. Now, on to the matter at hand, examples of my first theory.
Take a look at some spells shared across these traditions of magic. Magic Weapon 3, the ability to enchant a weapon with a fragment of magical power, is known to three of the four traditions; Arcane, Divine, and Occult. However, Primal is not left out of this entirely, boasting a slight variation with the spell Magic Fang 4, having the same effect but with tooth and nail rather than manufactured steel. I begin to wonder if, when taking a look at these spells’ visual runes, there is only a slight variation as well. Everything about these two spells is the same except for the type of object they affect, leading me to believe you’ll see one, maybe two runes different between the two spells. I would imagine then that if a Wizard 5, for example, were to alter the runes in their Magic Weapon spell to match those in Magic Fang, if they would not produce the same results. In fact, magic users could likely write these runes directly, without the standard need for long preparations of memory constructs, and create the desired effects. However, I will discuss this in more depth in my second theory of magic. Another two spells worth look at are those of Pet Cache 6 and Alarm 7. In both cases, these spells are available to all traditions regardless of the essences 8 they command. Perhaps it is because the effects of these spells are so simple that they barely begin to tap into the control of essence, or maybe it is because both are so generally useful that practitioners on Golarion have already broken past their system of traditions but have not yet realized it. Finally, while less accessible than the previously mentioned spells, all traditions can Summon 9. These summon spells are not always the same, but any tradition can perform this type of spell. Based on my theory, I suspect you will see similar results in this study as in research with Magic Weapon and Magic Fang. The runes on these summon spells will be extraordinarily identical with only minor alterations. While a Summon Animal 10 spell may feature runes connected to nature or animals, the base runes of the spell to cause a summon at all are likely to be the same across all traditions. Using a similar example, if Wizard wanted to summon a fey creature like an occult caster, I believe that simply casting the base summon runes and then adding the runes standard to Summon Fey 11 would have nearly identical results, circumventing the barrier of tradition.
Next, I want to discuss the origin of magic in its raw state. Where do casters get their magic from exactly? I believe that all magic comes from the same place, and most residents of Golarion have not yet discovered this connection. Magic comes almost entirely from one place, from within. Druids 12 may believe that their magic flows from nature into them, and Clerics 13 may believe something similar with their Gods, but if true, there is little explanation where a Wizard or Bard draws their powers from. I suggest that there is little explanation for this because this is wrong. Druids do not draw power from nature and Clerics, not from the divine. In all cases, magic comes from inside the caster and from nowhere else. Why, then, do we see rituals honoring nature in On Primal Practice or the belief among the faithful of Nethys in Journeys of the Spirit and Flesh? The simple answer is because these practitioners believe these things to be accurate, and their faith in these things is enough to harness their internal energy and manifest it outward. Do we not all have our habits? Our routines when we wake up in the morning to get us ready for the day? These magical concepts are no different; they are a form of meditation that helps these magic users focus their energy on things they want to accomplish. Toff Ornelos in Principles of Elementary Thaumaturgy mentions the idea of a memory palace 14 with different floors, each with its own degree of magic. Toff’s idea is close to reality, but it only scratches the surface of how spellcasting works.
Take a step back for a moment from the primary spellcasters and think instead upon those with only minor magics. These, to those of us on Earth, would be called Focus Casters 15 and include types like Champion 16, Monk 17, and Ranger 18. These types do not cast any spells at all; however, it is essential to understand that those who can cast spells have similar abilities. I introduce this concept now because I believe the energy they use is an excellent example of the internal origin of magic. In recent years we have seen these focus casters with the ability to cast their magic in a similar capacity to cantrips, though admittedly at a much slower rate. However, the most crucial detail about these focus spells comes not from their near unlimited usage but the interaction when a user receives training in two different disciplines. The best example is that of a person training as both a Monk and Champion. We can see that this focus caster can easily convert the energy from their Monk spells into fuel for their Champion spells and vice-versa, yet, most critically, we know that Monk spells can come from the Occult Tradition while Champion spells are always Divine. At the same time, we see that “recharging” this type of magic involves a 10-minute ritual of sorts designed to focus such energy. What else can explain this phenomenon other than that traditions are simply mental blocks imagined by the people of Golarion and that all magic comes from the same, internal place?
Thus, my theory is that instead of a memory palace, as suggested by Toff, magic is simply limited internally by the body’s capabilities to withstand channeling different degrees of magic. Instead of imagining a memory palace, imagine something akin to the chakra points on a body, each designed to limit the flow of magic. There are ten degrees of spells, so too are there ten points of limitation inside the body. As a spellcaster progresses their power, knowledge, and energy flow, these points unlock to allow more powerful magics to flow. It is important to note that we have recently discovered that Magus 19 and Summoner 20 have found...exploits, for lack of a better word, that allow them to focus these energies into different purposes. As a Magus becomes more experienced, they switch the flow of these points to empower their body and Arcane Cascade abilities while the Summoner forces the energy in these points to flow outward and directly into their Eidolon. In both cases, this means that both types of person cannot use the exploited points to control energy into spells, but in exchange, increases the power of the Magus itself or the Summoner’s Eidolon, respectively.
What do I hope to accomplish by publishing my treatise? While unlikely, I hope my work finds its way to Golarion for the people there to test my theories directly. Without such occurrence, I can only make loose conjectures based on what little research we see on Earth. Assuming my research is spread around Golarion, I implore academics and spellcasters alike to approach my research with an open mind, again with the understanding that what is assumed knowledge to them may be entirely unavailable knowledge to me. What magic they can visibly see and experiment with is utterly unheard of in my world.
-Novel E. Nigma
1 Bonner, Logan & Seifter, Mark. Pathfinder: Secrets of Magic. Paizo, 2021. Pg. 8-15.
2 Bonner, Logan & Seifter, Mark. Pathfinder: Secrets of Magic. Paizo, 2021. Pg. 238.
3 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 349.
4 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 349.
5 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 202.
6 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Advanced Player’s Guide. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 222.
7 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 317.
8 Bonner, Logan & Seifter, Mark. Pathfinder: Secrets of Magic. Paizo, 2021. Pg. 16-19.
9 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 637.
10 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 375.
11 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 375.
12 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 128.
13 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 116.
14 Bonner, Logan & Seifter, Mark. Pathfinder: Secrets of Magic. Paizo, 2021. Pg. 9.
15 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 300.
16 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 104.
17 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 154.
18 Bonner, Logan, et al. Pathfinder: Core Rulebook. Paizo, 2019. Pg. 166.
19 Bonner, Logan & Seifter, Mark. Pathfinder: Secrets of Magic. Paizo, 2021. Pg. 35.
20 Bonner, Logan & Seifter, Mark. Pathfinder: Secrets of Magic. Paizo, 2021. Pg. 51.
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As I conduct further research into this new tome available to us, my conviction to the theory that magic, regardless of tradition, is all the same force grows stronger. In the course of my studies, I have found discovered a truth to magic that I believe all scholars can agree on. As you shape magic, so too does it shape you. This is clearly evidenced by three types of magic explored in The Book of Unlimited Magic. Sadly, this tome appears to be rare on Golarion, and we should consider ourselves lucky that we have a copy of such rare information, including information on True Names.
Two types of magic significantly stand out in clear connection to each other, Cathartic Magic and Rune Magic. Nearly any spellcaster can cast spells while utilizing their raw emotions as a source of energy to fuel them, from Clerics to Wizards to Druids and, of course, Sorcerers. It should go without stating that this type of magic further reinforces the theory that all magic is internal and is only shaped into a particular tradition or form by the caster. Regardless, it shares striking similarities to Rune Magic, which seemingly only Wizards are currently capable of mastering. What is the Sin of Wrath, if not the emotional state of Anger? What is Lust, if not a corrupted version of Love? What is Envy, if not a form of Hatred? And, of course, Pride is a concept shared across both. These types of casting reveal that internal emotional states can shape magic. This is true even for a Cleric casting divine spells from Sarenrae or a Druid casting spells focusing natural energy.
So, where did the idea of essences and traditions come from? I believe that the theories presented in Secrets of Magic are correct in that a tradition is a way to identify spells focused on manipulating some combination of two essences. Where I think the theory fails is that the two are permanently connected. If you're a resident in a world where you are told that Wizards can only do Arcane magic, you attend a Wizard university where they teach Arcane magic, and you become skilled at Arcane magic, are you likely to question if the statement is true? Maybe you will, but you are likely to experiment to try and find ways around this block? Also possible, in fact, there is evidence to suggest that some spells were created by one tradition to emulate spells from another. However, I think the problem lies within the person's mind and body. They come to the conundrum thinking that it is a problem to be solved in the same way they approach screws with a hammer. The line of thought is something to the effect of "I only know Arcane magic, so how I can use Arcane magic to create the effects of a Divine Heal spell?". This is the wrong thought process and is counterproductive to finding the solution. The question should instead be, "I can do magic, but I only know how to manipulate Matter and Mind. How can I use my magic to manipulate Life and Spirit?". While I can only hypothesize the possible answers, I believe it comes down to one thing in particular. Using magic is the same as using a muscle in your body. With more practice, the muscle becomes stronger, capable of performing increasingly impressive feats. However, the muscles can become specialized to only be good at lifting, but not running; sprinting but not endurance running. What I mean by this is that as a Wizard practices and specializes in Arcane magic, their energy becomes increasingly adept at manipulating the two essences it practices with every day, Mind and Matter. Forcing that energy into manipulating Spirit and Life will become an increasingly difficult challenge the more specialized the wizard becomes at Arcane magic. It is possible that such a caster can reach a point where learning two manipulate the opposite two essences becomes almost impossible. More likely, based on evidence of so-called "Mystic Theurges," it appears that such a spellcaster can learn to manipulate opposite essences if they approach the problem as such. Rather than forcing Arcane magic in a roundabout way to produce effects usually reserved to Spirit and Life, a caster needs to practice manipulating those essences directly.
A counter-argument to my theory exists in the idea of "fallen clerics." Those divine casters that have fallen from the grace of their deity. If magic is all the same and is stored and used internally, why, then, are fallen clerics no longer able to cast spells? I have two theories on the matter. The first is that, while we know Wizards and many Arcane casters study magic in great detail, Divine casters such as Clerics do not. Instead of intense study of magical theory, Clerics learn prayers and rituals to prepare their spells. However, I believe the knowledge of how to actually cast the spells comes directly from their deity. This means that a fallen cleric still has the same energy and potential for magic but simply no longer knows how to cast spells. With time and study of magic like a Wizard, I believe that a fallen cleric could circumvent this. The main issue is that I do not believe that this has been done before, so there are no preexisting "divine spellbooks" or something to a similar effect. My second theory is that a Cleric enters into a magical contract with their deity, whether knowingly or not. The deity provides them knowledge of magic and the talent to do so with the caveat that the Cleric never violate their anathema. Should the Cleric do so, the magic is, at least temporarily, revoked from the Cleric.
The last thing I want to touch on is the new phenomenon of Signature Spells. What are they? Why are they exclusive to Spontaneous Casters? And how do they fit into the idea of internal magic? The answers I have come to are similar to that above, as you shape magic, so too does it shape you. Magic is a muscle, and using it in the same way repeatedly is like to become progressively easier and possibly stronger. The Soil and Path theory, as suggested by the Magaambya, comes close to this idea. The more a spell is cast, the more it depresses pathways for magic to flow in that particular way. The Magaambya believes this theory applies to magic forcing its way into reality and forming new spells, and I believe this theory also explains how Signature Spells work. As the spellcaster casts the spell, their body becomes more accustomed to channeling magical energy in that particular way to achieve the same effect. Soon it becomes easy to channel additional power through these "deepening trails," just as it becomes easy to channel less power that doesn't need to deepen the trails further; these concepts are typically referred to as upcasting and downcasting, respectively.
Recently, we have been introduced to the idea of Flexible Preparation. A style of spellcasting where every spell is a signature spell for the caster. While powerful and versatile, we know that this style of magic has significant side effects on those that practice it. Where spontaneous casters naturally generate spontaneous spells over time and practice, a Flexible Prepared caster forces this upon their body and energy. It is worth mentioning that again, any tradition spellcaster is capable of this style, and none are without side effects leading me to believe even more in my theory that raw magic is the same. This unnatural forcing of signature spells is akin to taking a jackhammer to the trails of magic inside your body. The flexible prepared caster smashes these trails into their body rather than having the magic slowly erode the trails over time like water over dirt. Each additional spell in their collection makes the side effects worse as their body and energy have to adjust to further trails to flow energy. Additionally, they possess the ability to essentially repair these trails only to smash a different spell trail into their body every day. Such a style of magic sounds extremely brutal and straining on the body, and it seems possible that possessing little restraint while utilizing it has the potential to kill the user.
-Novel E. Nigma
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I think the way Multiclassing in casting classes works points also to all magic being one. Being a Legend in Arcane prepared spellcasting does not make it any easier to get arcane spell slots through Multiclassing than it does for someone from another tradition, or even for someone with zero previous casting ability.
And you eventually get to Legendary magic as long as you started your career in that specialty, even without needing to ever become an Expert in the relevant skill. While someone with a different career start will need to become Legendary in the skill to merely reach Master-level Magic. Even when both your starting careers are for example prepared Arcane spellcaster (say Wizard and Arcane Witch).
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That's a good point. A Wizard never needs to study the Arcana skill to become better at magic because that's the underpinning of how their magic works. Of course, they need some rudimentary knowledge, which is why they start Trained in Arcana, but after that, they focus on studying spells in their tradition.
Meanwhile, if another class wants to learn how to harness magic like a wizard, they must spend much more time learning Arcane magical theory. This is probably because this either isn't their tradition of magic, or it simply isn't magic being cast in the same way. To translate their magical abilities into the same accomplishments as a Wizard, they need to continuously understand more details on how the magic works at all.
It is also worth noting that an Arcane Sorcerer doesn't "learn" magic; it just comes naturally to them. An Arcane Witch also doesn't "learn" magic, their familiar does, and its knowledge of how to use the magic is passed on via whispered secrets and the like. The only class currently that casts Arcane magic similarly to a Wizard is the Magus. However, the Magus definitely utilizes magical energy far differently than a wizard does with their Hybrid studies, so they would still need to take the time to learn more about the Arcane tradition to focus their energy into Wizard spellcasting.
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As a sidenote, an interesting point dawned on me while reading the first pages of Secrets of Magic.
First, you can only get to Legendary levels of magic in your own starting Tradition. And this corresponds to the ability to cast spells of the highest powers in said Tradition.
Second, you can get to Master levels of magic in other Traditions, or in other approaches of your starting Tradition, but only by developping Legendary proficiency in the relevant skill.
But AFAIK, a beginning education in casting spells somehow curtails your ability to increase your proficiency to Legendary in skills to only 3 skills, and thus 3 Traditions out of the existing 4.
So, either you reach Master levels of magic in the 3 other Traditions and Legendary in your own, but without additional spell slots in the latter. Or you get those additional spell slots by becoming Legendary in the skill relevant to your own Tradition, but then there is at least one Tradition where you will never reach the Master level of magic.
We know of no caster at this point who can develop Legendary proficiency in all relevant skills of the 4 Traditions.
I wonder whether yet unknown paths to magic will go beyond this.
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Would the Free Archetype variant as used in the Strength of Thousands AP modify any of the above? If so, then those limits may not be hard limits -- and maybe the Thaumaturge may have ways to get around those limits when the Dark Archive book comes out.
You can't reach legendary proficiency in more than 3 of the 4 skills for the magic traditions (Arcana, Nature, Occult, Religion) with any "base class" other than rogue*, because all other classes can only increase skills to legendary at 15th, 17th, and 19th level. However, the Unified Theory (requires legendary Arcana) skill feat allows the character to use Arcana in place of the other skills for skill checks or skill feats; so as long as one of the multiclass dedications for the character casts in the arcane tradition, eventually not having legendary in one skill is not that limiting.
An example, using the free archetype option, of a caster with spells in each of the four traditions.
*- A rogue using the free archetype option could also cast from all four traditions, but only up to master spell proficiency/8th-level spell slots. You'd also be sinking pretty much all of the character's class feats and free archetype feats into gaining/improving spellcasting.