Magic in ASTRA ARCANUM & A Small Update on Pledge Manager
7 months ago
– Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 06:48:24 AM
Greetings Gang,
In this update, we are talking about all things arcane in the world of ASTRA ARCANUM. This includes what magic means in the ASTRA universe, the ways of practicing it, and the different Armiger archetypes that specialize in the arcane, collectively known as Aethers. Strap in, tighten your helmets, calibrate your nerves and senses, and let’s get to it!
Small Intermission to Talk About the Pledge Manager
Hey guys, Sarp here. Before you get to the fun part, just wanted to say that the Pledge Manager is delayed for a long while.
The reason is that in Kickstarter, if we release the Pledge Manager, we can't accept any more Late Pledges. Therefore, we'll wait until the last moment to release the Pledge Manager.
That's it, back to the magic show!
The Arcana of the Solar Reach
“All the lives we chase
Are like drops of dew, motes of dust,
Like illusions dancing across an ice field.”
The Book of Kamara-Ganti
In ASTRA ARCANUM, we use the term magic to describe the practices of both traditional magic users and psionics, which may look similar to the untrained but are rooted in different approaches to the unseen. In a nutshell, magicis the act of forcibly manipulating unseen cosmic laws or other conceptual realms through sheer will, learned ritual, or psionic resonance. This is typically done through channeling or accessing our reality’s psychosphere (explained below). Magic is powerful, unpredictable, and dangerous: not only to your enemies, but often to yourself. There are 4 Armiger Archetypes that wield the powers of this volatile magic:
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Magus - occult spellcasters and ritualists who tap into the secrets of the furthest reaches of the conceptual realms
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Theurgist - devout or depraved spell channelers who glean powers from the psychosphere, often through connecting with monsters of thought and belief.
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Force Psion - Individuals who warp the natural forces of our reality. They do this by tapping into the raw prime conceptual realms through technology and the harnessing of the potential of the human mind.
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Neural Psion - Individuals who invade and dominate the minds of others. They do this by tapping into the raw prime conceptual realms through technology and the harnessing of the potential of the human mind.
Before jumping into the details of each of these archetypes, it’s worth giving a brief description of how magic works in ASTRA and what the other conceptual realms, the psychosphere and the primes, are.
What is Magic?
Magic is a misleading word at the best of times. It attempts to describe a thing that actively resists definition because if we could truly name magic, explain its every contour and boundary, then the word would be forever rendered redundant. Throughout human history, humans have tried to define and delineate magic: vast works of theological lore and occult history have made this attempt. Inchoate concepts have been used to understand and explain magic, such as Heaven, Hell, the Realm of Faerie, Mount Qaf, and Purgatory, to name but a few. These explanations are incomplete, like looking through a glass darkly, in the words of the Apostle Paul.
In short, magic as we know it is the attempt to draw power from other conceptual planes of existence and have those powers tangibly affect the real world. Though its form is as varied as anything else in human culture, it has been practiced by almost every culture that has ever existed, and its effects can be seen, intuited by those wise enough to see in every event and shift in human society and history. This remains true in the Solar Reach, perhaps even more so. It seems that the destruction of Earth turned a key in a lock and, through the atheism and mechanization of the 2nd millennium, has been undone: words of arcane origin resonate with new power, and occultists are able to make contact with entities long mute and forgotten.
The Psychosphere and Beyond
Typically, magic in its various guises channels, communicates with, or circumvents our reality’s psychosphere. A psychosphere is a realm of consciousness, or series of realms, that exists in and around our reality (for the purpose of this discussion, I will refer to our reality as ‘base reality,’ but this is a highly contentious statement amongst occult scholars). This nebulous region has been called many things; one of its appellations is Al-Ghaib, though that is by no means the only one. The psychosphere consists of many composite parts, only limited by human consciousness (potentially).
Beyond the psychosphere are the prime realms, fields of concepts unchanging that have been with humanity since its rise from humble apes. The landscape of the primes is static, though some suggest that it is not, that it simply changes too slowly for any human to ever perceive. These academics argue that the primes have influenced humanity as long as it has existed, but as humanity has developed and grown, we have influenced the primes ourselves in a cycle. These primes represent constants in human emotional activity: hunger, hatred, desire, and so forth. If a human has felt it, then it exists in some form as a prime. These primes are sometimes depicted as anthropomorphic entities that can be communed with, such as gods, but this is highly contested, as others argue that they are just concepts without any will of their own.
What is known, however, is that there are entities within these conceptual realms, both in the prime and in the psychosphere. Explanations for how they came to be vary: some of them are figments of the human psyche, or manifestations of faith, and so forth. Others are native to these strange places: monsters that hunt in these shifting paths. These entities could be described as the angels, demons, and djinn of folklore and theology, and much more.
Connecting Between our Reality and Beyond
Between our base realities and the primes, there are pathways through, and composed of, the psychosphere; the stronger the primes, the more solid the pathway. It is along these pathways that magical power and influence flow. These corridors and pathways are closer to our base reality than the pure realms of thought that make up the primes. Every time a human makes contact with a prime, either directly through the practice of magic or belief, or unconsciously through the action of emotion, the pathway between base reality and the primes becomes stronger. In fact, one could say that every thought that every human has ever made, every thought or feeling, no matter how fleeting, has played a part in the construction of these conceptual realms. It is by this connection that magic can occur, that power can flow.
It is also possible to travel to these places. Folk law and history are replete with stories of those who have done so both by accident and on purpose. Tales of the realms of Faerie, Al-Ghaib, the Blazing World, and perhaps even Heaven and Hell, describe these pathways. Each of these paths is different. Some are static; completely unchanging seemingly outside of time; others are riots of color and passion. It is possible that every traveler who has entered a conceptual realm has visited a different pathway from every traveler who has done so before them. Close to our base reality, the paths through the psychosphere will be governed by many of the same laws of physics and chemistry that rule base reality. However, as the path gets closer to the primes, the structure and order of reality breaks down, and the traveler enters a place of pure concept with all the contradictions that implies.
So how does a human interact with the primes and the conceptual realms that make up our psychosphere? To a certain extent, all humans are in constant communion with these realms. All emotion feeds and is fed by the psychosphere, but more specifically, it can manifest in all levels of intensity from a simple déjà vu noticed by none as life passes by, all the way to a miracle that breaks the laws of science.
The Occult Armigers - Magi and Theurgists
A Magus connects with the primes directly, channeling their power into our world. They use words, symbols, and willpower to take a small fraction of the power from the primes and bring it to base reality. Bringing the power to base reality is extremely difficult; controlling it and shaping it into a useful effect is also very hard. Suffice it to say that doing it safely is also demanding. However, it is a well-understood, by those in the know, way of wielding power not so different from the ancient sorceries of Morgana, Paracelsus, Circe, or Merlin. In the Solar Reach, though much was lost during the Sarvanāśa (the End of Earth), enough of these traditions exist to build new magical practices and systems, particularly as the psychosphere seems more active than it has been in a very long time: spells thought long wasted or fabrications are breathing new life into old rituals, and magi are able to tap into powers thought long lost.
For others, the Theurgists, the path to power does not need to reach as far or as deep as the primes, but rather seeks intercession with the entities within the psychosphere. This intercession is the basis of theurgic magic. In some ways, it is a safer form of magic that does not require the dangerous direct contact with the primes and their raw power. However, making deals for power with angels, demons, gods, and more comes with its own risks, as these entities are extremely dangerous in their own right and often desire nothing more than to lead astray and consume the unwary.
For both the Magus and the Theurgist, casting spells in ASTRA ARCANUM takes the form of performing rituals which grow more powerful the longer you channel them.
The Psionic Armigers - Neural and Force
Finally, we have psionics, the next stage in human evolution, as some have declared. Psionics attempt to replicate through technology what practice and will do for the psionic installations, build a direct connection to the primes without the need to draw power through the conceptual realms. By the use of these installations and the willpower of the user that the power of the primes is manifested in the physical worlds. Many magi of older traditions remark fearfully how trivial effects that would have taken years to master can be achieved by academy psions. They worry that this is a new technology hardly understood by those developing it, and that its capacities and dangers are not even remotely understood.
Neural Psions make use of their abilities to fortify their minds. Once they have control over their own psyche, it is not too much of a leap to begin affecting the minds of others. Psions trained with Neural abilities can unleash a formidable array of abilities that cloud the minds of their enemies and can even cause structural damage to their consciousness.
Force Psions can change the world around them and break the laws of the physical. It takes discipline, training, and dedication, but you now have power. There were many setbacks and challenges learning these abilities but in overcoming them you have learned abilities that even other Psions struggle to understand.
For both the Neural and Force Psions, manifesting spells is a faster and more flexible process than it is for the ritualist Magus and Theurgist; however, the end product won’t be as powerful as a ritual spell that has been channeled for multiple turns.
Final Thoughts
Phew, that was a big lore dump! Hopefully you enjoyed learning more about magic in ASTRA ARCANUM and about the brave (or foolhardy) Aethers who wield these powers. If you have any questions, leave us a comment below or get in touch on our Discord! In the next round of playtesting, we will include the Aether archetype for you to play with and sling some spells. Until next time!
Armigers: A Detailed Look
8 months ago
– Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 07:20:11 AM
Greetings gang,
It’s been awhile since the last update, as we’ve been working our way through the feedback we’ve been getting from the public playtests. Thanks again to all those participating in the playtest! We’ll be having some updates about that and another round of playtest material coming in the beginning of the year.
In the meantime, we wanted to shed some more light on who you will be playing in ASTRA ARCANUM. That’s right, we’re talking about armigers: their origins, their defining qualities, and more! This is a sneak peak at the lore and world of the armigers rather than game mechanics. Without further ado, strap in!
What is an Armiger?
The word armiger can conjure many different images in the minds of any given Solar Reach citizen. It can be a lonely ranger, deep in the Regolith with only their rifle and wits between them and death; a squad of commandos breaching and clearing enemy positions in the heart of a raging war zones; deniable operators with silenced pistols and armored civvies performing corporate espionage; armored Cataphracts holding bulkhead strong points; or Interdictors, clearing the hulls of merchant ships of pirate raiders. Simply put, armigers are professional military experts who work for contracts.
The faces of armigers across the Solar Reach are varied. In some places they are heroic figures, using advanced training, weaponry, and the legal application of violence to defend the helpless and mete out justice. In other companies, such as The Adnate, they are the faceless henchmen of corporate and state boogeymen doing whatever is necessary to protect the interests of their employers. Others have reputations darker still as merciless raiders, mysterious contract killers like The Sensates, or brash pirates like The Covenant of Lono. Some armiger companies are simple mercenaries, while others serve ideological or political projects; others, for instance The Asura, work towards far more occluded goals.
Origins
The origins of armigers can be traced back to the days of the Martian Core reignition. The seismic disruption was of a scale that no human had ever experienced before; volcanoes blasted out smoke and fire, earthquakes almost immeasurable in their ferocity ripped across the landscape and dust bloomed into the air. The ash and dust blotted out the sun and made atmospheric flight almost impossible and planetary escape perilous. Cut off from Earth and the rest of the Solar Reach, these surviving settlements looked to their defense and survival. Resources were extremely tight, and any supplies that were making their way from Earth or from the Belt were simply not enough for the population. Under those circumstances, most domes and hab units relied on small groups of extremely well-trained and armed soldiers, sturdy enough to survive in the hell that Mars had become. In these brutal conflicts of an incredibly small scale many of the traditions that would become cornerstones of armiger combat doctrine and lifestyle were established.
These military traditions would serve the Martian cities well after the fall of Earth. During the Wars of Coherence, many despots, corporations, and states rose and fell on isolated space stations, colony habs on distant moons, and on the surface of Mars. None could really put large numbers of soldiers into the field, so many of them had to rely on small elite groups of fighters. Some built their own squads; others recruited the services of mercenaries.
In the uncertain and deeply violent times following the Sarvanāśa, the total collapse of Earth, the people with the best fighters, training, and weaponry were able to grab whatever they could at the expense of any who couldn't defend themselves.
Similar dynamics played out across the Solar Reach, from the Samostan on Mars to the moons of Saturn. The early Wars of Coherence were a time of small, bitter conflict, a fight for a survival that none were sure was even possible anymore. Although there were many mercenary companies and self defense forces, the most famous and influential group was “The Company of Armigers,” led by the charismatic Marcus “Silver Star” Oliveira. Though, after his assassination, The Company was divided up among his lieutenants, the name Company of Armigers stuck and became the blanket term for the numerous small outfits that followed, and even to many that had never been associated with Oliveira.
After the Wars, large numbers of armiger bands and companies were spread all across the Solar Reach. People trained and hardened in some of the fierce fighting were not going to simply return to hydroponics factories or Regolith seeders. Also, in the postwar world, there were a lot of resources, war materiel, lands, and technology that were up for grabs: domes and corporations hired up companies and bands to represent their interests and ensure that the largest possible slice of this emerging new world was owned by them. They were not afraid of using force to achieve their goals, even if the operators in their employ were totally deniable.
This situation could not continue. The politicians of Mars could not allow large private companies of highly trained, heavily armed warriors to operate without any license. However, there were powerful forces within the Reach, not least some of the armiger companies themselves, who would not have been amenable to a complete outlawing of armigers. The Inheritors faction of the newly forming Major Council proposed the Licensing Agreements. Licenses would be given to armiger companies to operate and take legal contracts. They would be regulated, lightly, by a committee of the Major Council. The resolution was swiftly passed by the council with the support of several of the most prominent armiger Companies, such as Zero Division, Al-Khayat, The Adnate, and The Crew of the Cyclone.
Many did not fall in line with the regulation and were declared to be Black Bands. They were subject to prosecution by their newly legitimized cousins in a nasty series of conflicts called Pratiśōdha, the Retributio. Some of the false armiger companies survived the hunts and still operate as pseudo-resistance movements, criminal syndicates or the masters of Black armiger Contracts.
Armigers in the 25th century
This organizational structure and regulation code continues to this day. The armigers companies legitimate new members and recruit as they wish. They take on contracts from domes or corporations or operate on their own agenda, fulfilling contracts that are mostly legal. Beyond them there are pseudo-armiger companies that have a lot of the same shape and combat doctrine as the legal companies but sit in more of a grey zone. Some members of these companies may be legal armigers, while others are not. They are more likely to take on grey contracts which come very close to breaking the laws of Mars but don’t quite stray over the lines. Then there are the illegal armiger companies that accept black contracts and operate fully outside the law. Of course what exactly constitutes a green or a black contract often depends on the level of authority of the issuer rather than any moral or legal high ground.
Naturally, armigers operating outside of Mars’s jurisdiction do not have to worry about the licensing or regulation that the Major Council enforces on the Red Marble.
Armiger Organization:
Armigers tend to set themselves up into different groupings of companies, cells, and bands. Some of these companies have been around since the Wars of Coherence; others have been constituted much later.
Companies:
These are large armiger organizations ranging from tens to hundreds of individuals. Some companies are specialists focusing on one aspect of armiger work. For example, the crew of the Cyclone are peerless space combatants. Some, however, are more generalists with operatives trained for all sorts of different tasks.
The companies are wildly diverse. Sometimes they are based on ideological or political affiliation; some focus on dealing with different tasks; others are staffed by people from one particular city or solar body. Some keep tight regimental discipline like a private army, while others operate more like training academies and logistical hubs for smaller teams.
Most armiger companies are profit-motivated, making money from their members and cells being hired by corporate and state actors. However, some are motivated more by ideology and religion and take on tasks that further those agendas or make moves of their own to further those goals.
Most armiger companies deploy their operatives as cell groups whose skill sets complement each other. Occasionally, a particularly difficult or resource-intensive operation, e.g. raiding a space station or clearing a pirate ship, might require the deployment of a full company of armigers. This is only possible for employers with the deepest pockets and/or vast political influence.
Importantly, armiger companies are legitimized by the Major Council and have the ability to provide licenses to new armigers. Operating without a license is difficult, as an armiger without a contract cannot take on green contracts and may well be hunted down by the authorities…or other armigers.
Cells:
A cell is a group of armigers that work together in a structured unit. This is the most common formation of armigers. A cell is often made up of members of the same company. It can also be made up of a group of freelance armigers working together to take on tasks that would be impossible alone. On occasion, an armiger cell will be made up of armigers from different companies to make fighting forces where the different skills of different companies complement each other. Some armiger companies expressly forbid this kind of collaboration and only build cells from members of their company, while some armiger companies encourage this sort of collaboration. It is also the case that a veteran of one of the armiger companies might retire to form a new cell and maybe even a new company. This is not always taken kindly by their former employer.
Bands:
A band is a group of armigers that have come together or have been brought together to complete one particular task. These often consist of freelancers. However, it is not uncommon for armigers of different Companies to be brought in if particular types of expertise are required. An employee with a particular, specific, and challenging task might request the skills of armigers from different specialized companies whose skills complement each other.
Lone operatives:
Some armigers choose to face the Solar Reach alone. They are solitary rangers and security operatives on far-flung asteroids and space stations, perhaps on the run from the law or their former company. This is a hard way to face down the dangerous sands of Mars or the unforgiving vacuum of space. However, not all employers can afford a full armiger cell or even a ragtag band and have to resort to just one armiger for their mission. In addition, some operations that require discretion might find that a single armiger is more practical and effective than a band or a cell.
The Armiger Ocular Implant
The armiger companies of Mars needed ways of identifying themselves to each other that could be carried discreetly, something that showed commitment to their companies and identified them as licensed by the Major Council. Most armiger companies had some sort of coat of arms or symbol that they painted on their armor or hung around their necks like dog tags. However, that was replaced by the Armiger Eye. The tradition began with The Adnate, who had been giving cybernetic ocular upgrades to their warriors for some time. The Adnate had their Mountain and Dome sigil emblazoned on any eyes that were installed within the company, and this became a symbol for their company. Members would replace their eyes with cybernetic ones just to demonstrate their loyalty, and wear that loyalty proudly.
A lot of other companies would follow this tradition, as the need to show that a company was licensed became more important and the tradition stuck. The eye contains a unique code that identifies an armiger and shows their status within their company. In addition, the eye gives the user access to the green contracts database a useful resource when finding legal armiger work.
Some armiger companies that take on more clandestine operations favor eyes with false fronts to hide their memberships. Others conceal them behind visors or goggles–not uncommon on the Regolith. Many do not hide it, showing their pride in their company wherever they go. Of course, not all armiger companies show their affiliation in this way. Even amongst the legal Martian armiger companies, there is a wide range of diversity. When you start to look at non-Martian armigers or black band armiger companies, their ways of identifying themselves become even more varied or, in the case of the most clandestine of armigers, such as the almost mythical Sensates who have no known identifying marker, they never announce their presence to onlookers.
Notable Armigers:
Zero Division (company)
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Company Motto: All can be improved. Perfection is a lie.
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Company Insignia: A drone within a tesseract.
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Founded: 2368
Armiger Tracking Database Entry AC-101:
Zero Division is an independent Armiger company specializing in the modification of drones, turrets, weapons, and armor. At the formal request of their founder Rodex Solvig, they were allowed to modify their Armiger Ocular Implant with ones that are capable of detecting electromagnetic currents. Reports show that they have the smallest turnover of any company based on Mars.
Al-Khayat Dueling Academy (company)
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Company Motto: There is no honor in death; live honorably.
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Company Insignia: Crossed dueling swords in front of a shield
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Founded: 2381
Armiger Tracking Database Entry AC-45:
Al-Khayat Dueling Academy is a Samostan-based Armiger company specializing in training Armigers in the Dueling arts. The company was founded by Eyad Al-Khayat, a former orbital warden.
The Herald Militia (band)
DESIGNATION: BLACK BANDED
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Name: The Herald Militia (Name given by law enforcement)
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Origin: 2390, founded by Jonas Malek, "The Herald."
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History: Jonas Malek is a Geneticist and Armiger who mutated himself beyond recognition. He escaped to the Regolith and started a militia with the promises of gifting them with his enhancements. He now calls himself the Herald.
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Motto: Improvement at any cost.
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Insignia: A mutated version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
Legendary Skirmish: The Hunt for the Parched King
In 2277, raiders united under the banner of The Parched King began concerted strikes on shipments and supply lines between the city-states of Mars. The feuding city-states were forced to cease their hostilities and unite to deal with the outlaw.
Three years later, after many failures to find The Parched King, an armiger band called The Adnate, formed from the best of the city-state's forces, was able to locate and infiltrate the King's fortified hideout in Tharsis Tholus. Fierce combat unfurled along the tight lava tunnels and vertiginous shafts established by a previous mining corporation. After hours of tense firefights and stand-offs, the Parched King was captured and executed, and his operation liquidated. This is seen by many as the first major operation undertaken by armigers, the soldiers of the future.
Happy New Year and Glimpse of the Future!
Any thoughts or questions? Leave us a comment!
We hope you all have a safe and happy New Year! We will be back in 2026 with some more exciting developments, as we reach the final stretch of ASTRA writing.
