Calling

Calling is not the divine summoning of classic fantasy; it is the volatile, high-stakes craft of reaching through the veil of reality to drag matter, energy, or entities from “elsewhere”. A Caller acts as a “reality-mechanic,” operating with the dangerous understanding that space is not a constant, but a fabric that can be folded, torn, and forcibly re-threaded. It requires extreme precision; the practitioner must calculate the “viscosity” of the local reality to ensure that whatever is brought through remains stable and does not tear the surrounding environment apart in the process.

The Caller creates a clean, controlled tear in the veil. The object or force is manifested exactly where and how it was intended, appearing with minimal disturbance to the local reality. The tear seals instantly upon the object’s arrival, and the Caller maintains total control over the summoned entity or force, keeping their composure as the breach stabilizes perfectly.

The roll lands between 1 and the Threshold. The calling is successful, but the breach is “ragged.” The portal fails to seal cleanly, causing a lingering, hazardous “spatial bleed” or leaking entropy into the area. The Caller achieves their objective, but the summoned entity may be slightly “uncalibrated”—aggressive, unstable, or difficult to direct—forcing the Caller to expend additional Willpower to maintain the containment field before the breach widens.

A natural 20 represents a catastrophic structural collapse of the breach. Rather than simply “missing,” the energy of the attempt backfires violently, resulting in a Sympathetic Reaction. The “hole” meant for the arrival of the summoned object snaps back onto the Caller’s own location. This manifests as a sudden, localized spatial implosion or an “over-spill,” forcing the Caller to absorb the full, raw weight of the unchecked reality they tried to pull through. The environment itself is corrupted by the failed ritual, potentially leaving a permanent scar in reality that invites unwanted “hitchhikers” from the backlog to cross into the world.