The Golden Triangle

3 min read

The Way

This discipline is not overt. Instead of direct power, it tunes the psychic (Sword Saint) to the hidden harmonies of causality. To outsiders, the Saint just has “amazing luck,” uncanny timing, or the ability to almost always be in the right place, but in truth, they are subconsciously shifting probability and nudging events so that things unfold as they should—not through brute force, but by being in tune with the world.

Requirements: Faith, discipline, and meditative focus are required. Powers may not work for cynics or non-believers.

Level 1: Moment of Perfect Timing

Effect: Once per round, the Sword Saint may activate this power as a free action when acting. They may choose to automatically win initiative over any one foe (or act before a declared event in narrative time, e.g. “before the bomb goes off, before the guard turns around, etc.”) if they are aware of the event.

Level 2: Thread of Connection

Effect: By focusing for a round, the Sword Saint may “read the room” and detect any concealed threats, hidden hostiles, or people with hostile intent within line of sight. This is not mind reading: it is pattern recognition, noticing small tells, shifting energies, or subtle cues.

If used in combat, the Saint may choose to intercept an attack or hazard targeting an ally within 10 meters. Both the Saint must be able to move to intercept the attack.

Level 3: The Web of Small Things

Effect: As an action, the Sword Saint may attune a creature they can see (including themselves) to the harmonies of the Way. For the next ten minutes, the target receives a +1 bonus to all skill checks, saving throws, and attack rolls.

The effect ends if the target performs a deliberately cruel or malicious act or does not have faith in the Way. When in doubt, make a Mental Effects save.

Level 4: Luminous Intercession

Effect: Once per scene, as a reaction to any skill check, saving throw, or attack roll made by a creature, you may invoke the Way:

  • If the roll would fail, it instead succeeds by the smallest possible margin, or hits for minimum possible damage.
  • If the roll would succeed, it instead succeeds with the least possible effect, or inflicts minimum possible damage.

This power never increases harm or turns a success into a failure—it only shifts outcomes toward “barely enough.” The GM resolves ambiguous cases. Each event may only be affected once.

Level 5: I am the Way and the Way is with Me

Effect: The Saint is untouchable—immune to harm, surprise, and deception, moving through chaos with perfect serenity.

All attacks and threats against the Saint fail, either through their own intuitive movement or through fortuitous environmental effects (bullets hit debris, enemies trip, alarms misfire).

The Saint can walk directly through active battlefields, cross chasms on crumbling bridges, or negotiate through hostile crowds, so long as they maintain perfect faith and composure.

Balancing Calamity: When the effect ends (duration or when the Saint achieves their purpose), a balancing calamity occurs. This could be personal (injury, loss, exhaustion), social (misunderstanding, enmity), or cosmic (the Saint’s allies face unforeseen trouble).

The Saint may not activate this power again until the balancing event has been resolved or accepted.