Nature is a Sorcerous path of Magic. It is in some ways the most "Elemental" of the four, dealing in things of the world as they are, as long as those things are living. On the other hand, its spells are as subtle as snakes.

Nature mirrors Death in many respects, due to the green path's association with life. It governs far lower aspects of existence than Astral. And while Glamour and Nature go together well, Nature handles things squarely on the "waking" side of existence. In the Way of Five Elements, Nature is "expansive" and friendly.

Nature is an unmistakably ancient path in Dominions, but one that the civilized races struggle to understand. Out in the wild, many wise or intelligent fellows have become masterful Nature Mages; in a controlled or comfortable setting, however, most struggle to surpass basic competence. A few nations in the Middle Ages try to "cultivate" or exploit Nature magic, but their "farms" either wither or grow sour by the Late Ages, resulting in the path's precipitous decline. And at this point, in an Age where fighters survive blows with armor instead of endurance, only a few nations offer the old path the respect it deserves…

Nature has a very long list of spells, the longest of the ten paths. Aside from the Animals, these are mostly subtle effects that bolster or undermine the body… subtle by the standards of other paths, anyway, which set people on fire or turn them into skeletons. Picture Astral, without the light.

Poison is the preferred "element" of Nature's offensive spells. It acts slowly but surely; a poisoned fellow will still have time to make their peace (and/or kill things), but they can't do a thing about the poison once it's in their body.

Typically, the best counter to a Nature Mage is another Nature Mage, at least to apply Poison Resistance or befuddle the vast hordes of Animals. One can also narrow down a Nature nation's capabilities by process of elimination: one using Barkskin might not have the Research invested for applying Regeneration, for example, so a Fire Mage may get to dump flames on them without their hard work going to waste.

The following mention effects with Nature as the primary path.

• Nature/Fire: Causing Diseases with Seven-Year Fever.
• Nature/Air: Creating Poison Clouds.
• Nature/Water: Plenty of swampy summons, some Underwater animals, underwater Fort-making, Mossbody, and Foul Vapors.
• Nature/Earth: "Gaia" magic providing multiple buffs at the same time, and hardy lion-like beasts.
• Nature/Astral: Flying Monkeys and the Moonvine Bracelet.
• Nature/Death: Extreme Poison, extra-dangerous snakes, and viny puppeteers of corpses.
• Nature/Glamour: Slipping between forests via the Faery Trods.

A mage with 3 has 5 extra points of Poison Resistance. A mage with 4 has 10 extra points instead. This indicates a higher understanding of it, given that it's one of Nature's weapons.

Nature Mages have green thumbs, so each level of Nature understanding they have generates 10 more Supplies in whichever province they're in.

Nature Mages also have a better understanding of their life forces (if they're not Undead, Inanimate, or Demonic), and their "Max Ages" (before getting old) are increased by an additive 50% per level.

Last but not least, every level of Nature understanding gives a Nature Mage 10 points of Magic Leadership. This helps them lead the Vine Men (the Shambling Mounds) around, at least!

There are nine Nature boosters, two of whom are Artifacts. Of the seven accessed before Construction 9, only four require Nature skill; that leaves the Thistle Mace (Const 5, 2), the Armor of Twisting Thorns (Const 5, 32), the Moonvine Bracelet (Const 7, 31), and the Treelord's Staff (Const 7, 5). The Thistle Mace and the Treelord's Staff are both weapons, with the latter being a 2-handed weapon; however, the Treelord's Staff provides +2 instead of +1.

Strength of Gaia is the battlefield Nature-boosting spell. The problem is that it requires 31.