The Three Ways

Etched into every Soulborn's being is the importance of self-development. It is the only means for them to truly improve & hone themselves as a warrior. This is split into three different paths that they work on in congruence with one another -- the mind's improvement, the body's fortification & the soul's empowerment. These do not necessarily have to be positive improvements; a Soulborn can devolve to utter degeneracy & seemingly foul desire or intent. What truly dictates whether their path is a positive one is if it is true to their desires; if at heart they wish to be a scourge to others and do not perceive it as such, it is still progress, as honing one's Three Ways is all about pushing their tendencies closer to the ones that they truly desire.

The Ways are something that persist with a character and serve as stepping stones to abilities they may further develop down the line, be it techniques, buffs or styles. It is worth noting, however, a character can only ever possess three of these perks; one per Way, though they can be risen & upgraded to as high as Tier FIve.


The Way of the Mind is focused on altering one's mentality. Generally speaking, to progress one's mind is to render it less permeable to defamation, influence or attack from often external influences - as well as preserve their sentimentality. This is woven directly into their perk for such but also serves as a readily available tool for them to make use of when developing. This allows the enhancement of mental faculties against the influences above & allows them to maintain their default state of mind more easily.

Among the 'Ways' however, it is the least directly empowering, and can't necessarily boost a Soulborn's parameters beyond interacting with preexisting bolsters relative to it. Mechanically, it can influence how a Soulborn interacts with threats of 'pressure' like Offensive Pressure, Statistic Penalties from battle state (i.e. exhaust, anger) or even help maintain/bolster a will perk's effects.

Changing one's physicality to be more robust in given attributes. Ordinarily this practice helps harden one's body internally & externally, and raises their general constitution, rendering them less susceptible to poison, sickness, harm, disease and/or any caustic affliction that may be applied to their physique. Not all Soulborn focus on enhancing these aspects, though, especially as they've become more knowledgeable in how this is usable. When a character is developing their own Way or Method perk for this, mechanically, it is the easiest way to influence their physical statistics, in some cases granting passives or inherent physical traits based on what 'theme' the Way (be it beastial, fiery or so on) follows. Rare cases can even elevate their HP or Vitality at higher levels of expression.

It paves the way for refining aspects of their physical body like organs, bones, flesh etc., and their customization via. application of affinity to them (i.e. flaming bones/musculature via. 'Fire' for affinity) and so on through Perks / Methods, generally starting from influencing singular parts or aspects of the body (i.e. organs) and spreading out as the perk is risen in Tier (from organs to entirety of one's internal systems, for example. likewise, this improves how well its benefits). Mundane applications do things like simply refining physical stats, raising Blowback Calculation, or granting heightened resilience against damage/specific damage types.

Mastery over the spirit. This is the most volatile of Ways to pursue but also the most rewarding, as it is the foundation of one of the others. Mechanically it refines their spirit, allowing them to achieve improved feats of reiryoku/reishi use like drawing in reishi as an auxiliary, elevated spiritual statistics or other helpful passives. Tends to influence a character's Projection, too, such as causing it to inherit an affinity's qualities. This Way is also the means for creating sustained buffs that aren't wholly born by the use of the Foundations, or one's Release (should it be that type). Can improve things that directly interact with one's affinity as well, such as Burn for heat-based affinities, or damage-over-time effects.