Astral

Astral is a Sorcerous path of Magic. Among the eight traditional paths, it's in some respects the purest of them all, handling the power and understanding of existence itself.

Astral magic typically deals in light and positive energies, unlike Death. It engages with higher orders and functions than mere survival, unlike Nature. And unlike Glamour, what it pulls on is real and true to this order, existing whether or not we perceive it.

The world is not made of pure concepts, however; practical things and their interactions hold sway, and understanding of Astral magic beyond mere astrology is incredibly limited in the Early Ages. By the start of the Middle Ages, an "enlightenment" of sorts has elevated Astral above the other paths, coinciding with the decline of the rest. And though the great Astral Mages of that era are lost by the Late Ages, competent understanding of the path proliferates to nearly every corner of the world.

Astral has a somewhat-short list of spells, around as long as Glamour's. Among these are the basic Communion spells, however, which most nations will find useful. Its higher-order spells benefit from Communions, while its expensive spells benefit from its gem, the Astral Pearl, being the easiest to produce via Gem Alchemy.

Most offensive Astral spells deal in "pure" Magic damage. Being untyped, and often Armor-Negating, the only defense against it is often Magic Resistance. Some Astral spells don't even allow this protection, though they have other restrictions.

Oftentimes, the best counter to an Astral Mage is another Astral Mage, or more. This is clearest in the Evocation school; those with greater skill levels can defeat lesser mages with little risk, but even a dabbler may find and undo a god-like wizard who isn't careful.

Skill Level	Early Research (0 - 3)	Medium Research (4 - 6)	Late Research (7 - 9)
1 (a dabbler)	Limited Fate-Cheating Passive Astral Projection Little Light Spells Limited Magic Resistance "Blinking" Communion Limited Etherealness Self-Empowering Paralyzing Attackers Site-Searching
2 (average)	Anti-Magic Missiles Horror Marking Sunlight-Focusing Psychic Mind-Damaging Teleporting Home	Psychic Paralysis Attacks Magic Resistance Safe Scrying Priest-Making History-Gathering Stellar Radiation Teleporting Home Safely Teleporting Items
3 ("mastery")	Teleporting Gems	All-Empowering Starlight Light Army-Healing Long-Ranged Teleporting Cursed Star Beckoning Space-Perforating Psychic Soul-Punting Limited Dispel Greater Site-Searching Enslaving Magic Beings Deleting Magic Beings	Greater Magic Resistance
4 ("god-like")		Active Astral Projection Fate-Cheating Psychic Enslavement Shielding Provinces Limited Army-Teleporting Sacred-Making	Army-Cursing Teleporting Armies Home Global Enchantment Analysis
5		Spectator Mode	Greater Fate-Cheating Wall-Enchanting Sun-Intensifying Magic-Stealing Dispel Commander-Making Battlefield Psychic Damage Mobile-Temple-Making Army-Teleporting
6			Undoing Local Magic Beings Time-Stopping Global Enchantment Gatekeeping Greater Dispel
7			Advanced Astral Projection Enslaving Local Magic Beings
8			Magic Recycling Full-Army Enslavement
9			Wishing for stuff

That is a lot of different effects. There aren't many summons, however, and there also aren't that many "buffing" spells or damaging spells.

Most other paths can "color" Astral magic for different sorts of effects. Some even provide access to beings of other planes of existence, which were cut off from our own for various reasons. These will list the effects with Astral as the primary path.

• Astral/Fire creates unusual flames that burn the "essence" of things, thus ignoring Fire Resistance.
• Astral/Air, if raised high enough, lets a god smite those who slight them with lightning from anywhere.
• Astral/Water eventually lets fellows call Beholder-esque Abominations from distant realms from beneath existence.
• Astral/Earth lets a fellow build astral constructs, such as a bridge to the Nexus; or they can carpet-bomb foes with meteors.
• Astral/Death confers Spirit Sight, power over peculiar negative energies, and the keys to various Astral gateways sealed for good reason.
• Astral/Nature creates warm light that heals at long ranges.
• Astral/Glamour lets mages bewilder Horrors, possibly keeping them away…

A mage with 3 doesn't have any extra-special traits, but a mage with 4 or higher has +1 Magic Resistance. This is presumably because their higher understanding of "pure" magic (as a lesser Astral "god") helps them grapple with the rest.

An Astral Mage is capable of perceiving things in the Astral Planes, and thus has a 40% chance per level to catch another Astral Mage snooping via Astral Projection. Thus, a "master" (3 or higher) will always catch one of these people.

Last but not least, every level of Astral skill gives a mage 20 Magic Leadership. This is more than what every other path of magic provides per-level.

There are twelve Astral path-boosting items, though seven of them are Artifacts. Of the five that aren't, one requires 55 instead of any Astral talent, and one requires 22; this one requires only Construction Level 5. For an Astral nation without Earth, that leaves the Starshine Skullcap (with 2), the Ring of Sorcery (with 6), and the Ring of Wizardry (with 7), all at Level 7.