An individual’s ability to channel is defined by several things. Each channeler has a rating between one and five in each of the five flows: Earth, Air, Spirit, Fire, and Water. These ratings indicate their adeptness and ability in handling the flows; these ratings are completely independent of a channeler’s strength. Each channeler also has a rating between one and fifteen in Power Strength, indicating the amount of the One Power they can handle. This rating in no way determines how well they can weave the flows. A third thing is what weaves a channeler is able to utilize. This is not governed by a true system so much as a GM’s personal call. If the character knows more basic forms of a weave, as their skill in the flows increases they should be allowed to utilize the more complicated weaves. If the character has worked with channelers who knew certain weaves or read books about certain weaves, or show a great Talent in the weave, it should be allowed. If the character could logically deduce how to work certain weaves or if the player can come up with a good explanation of how a certain weave could produce a certain effect, the GM should determine how skilled the character must be in which flows, how much of the Power is required, and the difficulty. A character’s rating in certain Talents, already mentioned above, also comes into play. A channeler is rated between zero and five in each Talent identified as such. These ratings serve as limits to a channeler’s ability in the areas they govern. A channeler with a rating of zero in a Talent cannot perform even the most basic weaves associated with that Talent. Finally exhaustion must be mentioned. Rather than work out a system, the GM will decide when a channeler has reached the physical and mental limits of her ability and needs to rest.

Unless the character is trying a new or unfamiliar weave, channeling in combat, channeling to cause damage, trying to weave something that is being resisted, or trying to weave something particularly difficult success should be considered automatic as long as the character meets all prerequisites for the weave. For example if a character wanted to set a ward over a small camp to sound an alarm at the passage of a Grolm, as she had done a hundred times before, no roll should be needed. In the other cases a roll will be required. The amount of the Power the channeler is using determines the dice pool you’ll use to see if your weave is successful. If the channeler opts to maintain a weave, the number of successes rolled or the minimum Power Strength required must be diverted to that weave. For example, the channeler in our earlier example has a Power Strength of five and decides to weave Fire and Air to warm her tent and actively maintains the flow (a good idea since knotting Fire is dangerous). The GM says the weave uses two ranks of her Power Strength (it’s a big tent). She then decides to make a ward to strike passing Grolm with lightning instead of sounding an alarm. The GM declares she needs three successes to form the weave, but since she’s maintaining a weave that requires two Power Strength units, she only has three of her five Power Strength units to commit to the task. Knotting Webs, or Tying off Flows is obviously a good way to save your Power Strength for other things. In order to Tie off a Flow, a channeler rolls her Rank in each Flow that is used at a difficulty set by the GM. For example, our favorite channeler decides to Tie off her Ward instead of holding it all night (smart girl). Since her Ward is now unleashing lightning on passing Grolm, she’ll need to roll her Ranks in Spirit, Fire, and Air. The GM says all are at difficulty seven. Both channeling and Tying Flows are considered extended actions with the GM deciding the number of successes needed to complete the action.

Flows may be split as well; with the channeler performing multiple weaves at once. Their Power Strength must be divided between all the Flows, making sure they commit sufficient Power Strength to a Flow for it to work. The base difficulty set by the GM for a particular weave is increased by one for each additional way the Flows are to be split. For instance, our example Channeler and her companions are in the heat of battle. She decides to both Heal a comrade at the First Rank and hurl a ball of Fire of the Rank Three type into the midst of her enemies (See below for the Rank Explanations). She has a Power Strength of five, so she can just do it, since Rank one Healing uses two Power Strength and Rank three Fireballs take three Power Strength. The GM decides to set the base difficulty for Healing at seven and for the Fireball at five. Since her Flows are being split two ways, the difficulty for each is increased by one, making them eight and six respectively.

Channeling falls into two categories: Free Form and Structured. Anything that is not listed as Structured is considered Free Form. Structured channeling is never automatically successful. The vast majority of channeling truly falls under free form, however I have set aside a few things that I felt needed to be structured. I also have listed certain Talents and common weaves under Free Form, indicating that the kinds of processes and effects governed by those Talents fall under Free Form Channeling. Since Delving has become affiliated with two different things, namely finding and identifying metals and ores and probing individuals to reveal their physical condition, I will use Delving to refer to the Talent of finding and identifying metals and ores. The aspect of Healing known as Delving will be referred to as Diagnosing. The remainder of the Talents are as follows: Aligning the Matrix (Strengthening Metals), Cloud Dancing (Controlling the Weather), Compulsion, Foretelling, Earth Singing (Controlling the movements of the Earth), Flying (Already a Lost Talent), Healing, Invisibility (Very nearly if not already a Lost Talent), Listening to the Wind (Predicting the Weather), Probability Twist (Duplicating the chance twisting effects of Ta’veren), Reading Residues, Ter’angreal Construction, Traveling, and Unraveling the Web.

Free Form Channeling	Structured Channeling
Cloud Dancing	Traveling/Skimming
Earth Singing	Weaves which inflict damage
Illusion	Healing
Warding	Slicing Threads
Compulsion	Shielding/Severing
	Wrapping

Following is a short list of common weaves and the flows required to utilize them.

Mirror of Mists	Fire and Air
Cloud Dancing	Air, Water, Fire, Earth
Lightning Lance	Fire and Air
Compulsion	Spirit with lesser amounts of Air, Water
Slicing Threads	Spirit weaved with Fire, Earth
Healing	Spirit, Air, Water, Fire, Earth
Wards	Predominately Spirit, plus weave for effect
Traveling/Skimming	Spirit
Earth Singing	Predominately Earth, with Water and Fire
Head Explody	Fire and Earth

Structured Channeling and Common Weaves that require rules

All difficulties for channeling are set by the GM.

Traveling – The basics: requires large amounts of the power and great skill with Spirit. Limited by Talent of the same name, which means the Rank of Traveling used may not exceed the Rank of the Traveling Talent. Additional successes may be used to increase height or width by an additional base unit. Spirit Rank three is required for the most basic Gateway. The skill needed to weave bigger Gateways increases by 1/2. So Rank one and two Traveling need three ranks in Spirit, Rank three and four need four ranks in Spirit, and Rank five needs five ranks in Spirit. The Power Strength for Rank one is three increasing by two at each level. Two successes are needed at Rank one; an additional two successes are needed at each level. Base units are: Rank one hand, Rank two child, Rank three man, Rank four horse, and Rank five wagon.

Skimming – Anyone with Rank one Traveling may Skim. The Ranks of Spirit required are the same as for the levels of Traveling, but it is much easier. There is only one level of Skimming, it requires but two Ranks in Power Strength and only one success. The GM should take into account the Rank in Traveling when deciding on the largest Skimming platform a character can make, but any size at all is acceptable, so long as it remains consistent for the same character throughout her life.

One Flow Attack – The basic attack mode of any Channeler. The mechanics are the same for all attacks that utilize only one flow of the Power, e.g. clubbing someone with Air, causing Water to shoot from a larger body and flatten someone, raising a needle thin column of Earth at a velocity and location so as to injure someone, hurling balls of Fiery doom, etc. The attacks are separated out into five levels. At level one only one Rank in the Flow to be used and one Rank in Power Strength, as well as one success is required. These three requirements are upped by one at each level, so at level two, a Rank of two is required in the Flow used and Power Strength, as well as two successes, and so on. A successful level one attack deals one level of damage. At level two, a successful attack deals three levels of damage, five at level three, seven at level four, and nine at level five.

Two Flow Attack – A slightly more advanced attack form, these weaves utilize two Flows of the Power to smite your enemies. Examples of two Flow attacks are Lightning Lances (Fire and Air), Head Explody (Fire and Earth), Erupting the Earth beneath an opponent (Earth and Fire), etc. These attacks are also separated into five levels and function much like one Flow attacks. One Rank in each Flow is required per level, however, two Ranks in Power Strength are needed per level and two successes are also needed per level. The damage levels go up as even numbers versus odd numbers. So the damage at level one is two levels; at level two, four levels; at level three, six levels; at level four, eight levels; and at level five, ten levels.

Healing – A complicated weave, dangerous to try without training. The upshot of it is that Healing has less to do with Power Strength, and more to do with a channeler’s Talent and skill with the Flows. A channeler’s ability to Heal is based on their Rank in the Talent of the same name. The Rank of Healing used may never exceed the Rank in the Healing Talent, just as with Traveling. The most basic Healing requires three ranks in Spirit, and one rank each in Air and Water. In addition two Ranks in Power Strength are needed, as well as two successes. The Ranks needed in Power Strength remain the same as do the successes. The required Flow Ranks advance as such: level two: Spirit three, Air two, Water two; level three: Spirit four, Air three, Water three, Fire one, Earth one; level four: Spirit four, Air three, Water three, Fire two, Earth two; and level five: Spirit five, Air three, Water three, Earth three, Fire three. Damage is restored on a par with the levels inflicted by one Flow attacks.

Diagnosing – Anyone with Rank one Healing may Diagnose someone. This is a complex, yet simpler than Healing weave of Spirit, Air, and Water. It is recommended that the GM determine the Ranks of Spirit, Air, and Water needed to detect a specific physical condition and if the channeler meets these allow them an automatic success (Note: Diagnosing is not considered Structured Channeling. It is simply included to note its relation to Healing).

Thread Slicing – A great defense against enemy channelers. By necessity initiative comes into play regarding this weave. In order for this to be effective, your base segment (see Combat Maneuvers and Initiative section for an explanation of base segments) must be greater than or equal to the segment in which the Flows to be sliced will be weaved. It is highly recommended that the further ahead the thread slicer’s base segment is, the lower their difficulty be (After all, they’ve had more time to watch the channeler prepare the flow). The Flows for thread slicing may not be begun in one round and held until the next round in order to assure a jump on the channeler. You may, of course, hold the Flows, but initiative still determines who gets the jump on whom from round to round. The Flow itself is predominately Spirit, reinforced with Fire and Earth. Neither Fire nor Earth is strictly necessary, and it is left up to the GM to decide when and if all three, or just Spirit and Fire, or just Spirit and Earth, or just Spirit is needed to slice a Flow. Your Rank in Spirit must equal or exceed the enemy’s Rank in the predominate Flow, or the highest Rank out of the Flows used. Only one Rank in Power Strength is needed to slice a Flow, and the minimum number of successes required is the number of successes the enemy achieved in weaving their Flow. GMs may add to this number if they wish. Thread Slicing has a slightly different effect when a channeler is attempting to slice a shield weave aimed at them, this is discussed under Shielding.

Compulsion – A very complex weave, beyond that even of Healing that bends people to your will. This is never considered a conscionable act and requires a Conscience check, difficulty based on the intent of the channeler (See the section on Machinations of the Dark for an explanation of Conscience Checks). It is predominately Spirit, with subtle weaves of Air and Water threaded in. The base difficulty for using Compulsion is the victim’s Willpower; however, this can be modified by physical state (exhaustion makes it easier) and the channeler’s relationship with the victim (a friend is more trusting). Certain Natures and Demeanors, if they have been well role-played, may provide characters some defense against Compulsion. Acts that fall outside of these boundaries may allow characters to escape the effects of Compulsion. Strong-willed (Willpower > 5) individuals are hard to keep under the effects of Compulsion forever. Eventually they will begin to fight it, even unconsciously, and often break free. Hurried Compulsion can cause massive losses to memory or Mental Attributes, and increases the difficulty of the Conscience Check. The GM will decide the required Ranks of Flows and successes needed to use Compulsion on someone. The victim of Compulsion may spend temporary Willpower points equal to half the channeler’s successes to free themselves, or a single point to suppress the Compulsion for a round. The Power requirements should be kept minimal. The channeler’s Rank in the Compulsion Talent should be a limiting factor in deciding what the channeler can force someone to do (Note: Compulsion is not considered Structured Channeling, however, since it is a resisted weave, it always requires a roll, and it needed some basic rules).

Shielding – Cutting another channeler off from the One Power temporarily… This weave somewhat contradicts the automatic success rule for Structured Channeling on one point. Remember Shielding, like all channeling is an extended action. We’ll go through all the scenarios for Shielding, then look at how a Shield is held, finally look at how one breaks through a Shield.

One: A channeler is NOT holding the One Power and has NOT declared an intention to channel that round, success is automatic.

Two: A channeler is NOT holding the One Power, but has declared intent to channel that round AND the Shielder has a greater base segment. The Shielder rolls the average, rounded down, of her Rank in Spirit and Rank in Power Strength. This is the roll used for Shielding. As long as one success is scored the Shieldee is Shielded.

Three: A channeler is holding the One Power and NOT slicing at the Shield weave. The number of Power units they have free, i.e. are not using for channeling, is the number of successes you must exceed on your Shield roll to Shield them. You must keep track of your total successes, since the amount of Power units they have free can change from round to round. Any time your total successes exceed the current number for the round, the Shieldee becomes Shielded.

Four: A channeler is holding the One Power and is slicing at the Shield weave. In this case, simply subtract the successes on the slice roll from the Shield successes. If the slice successes exceed the Shield successes for that roll they take away accumulated Shield successes, if any. In all other respects it works like the third scenario.

Holding a Shield: On the round a Shield is put into place, the number of successes rolled to place the Shield is the Shield Strength. At the beginning of each round after the Shield is placed a Shielder must declare the Shield Strength for that round, which cannot exceed the Shielder’s Power Strength. She no longer needs to roll for the Shield, but must commit Power units to maintain and hold the Shield. Shields can be tied off, with the number of successes gained on the Tying roll indicating the Shield Strength. If multiple people hold a Shield, the Shield Strength each provides is added, though if any Tie off their Flows, those may be attacked separately from the rest and no longer contribute to the total Shield Strength, rather they act as a separate Shield of their own.

Breaking a Shield: Once per round, after a Shield is placed a Shielded channeler may try to break through it. To do this they simply roll their raw Power Strength, or as much of it as they have left for the round. If they score a number of successes greater than the Shield Strength, the Shield is broken.

Dangers of Holding a Shield: If a Shield is broken while it is being held, the Shielder is stunned, unable to move or act for a number of rounds equal to the number of successes scored above and beyond what was needed to break the Shield.

Severing – Cutting someone off from the One Power forever… This is particularly nasty and sometimes will force a Conscience Check for merely attempting it, regardless of the success. Most channelers would consider this the cliché, “fate worse than death.” The weaves are little different from those used for Shielding. Severing works nearly exactly like Shielding, except five successes over and above the normal number are required. In the first scenario, where success is automatic, five successes are needed. If the number of successes falls in between what is needed for shielding and severing, the victim is shielded, but not severed. Any attempt to sever from this point on forces a Conscience Check.

Unraveling the Web – Not a weave of the One Power per se, but rather a Talent of unweaving what has been weaved. Rather than letting weaves fall apart or fade over time, they are unwoven one thread at a time, thus leaving no residue. Failing to do this precisely can have devastating consequences. The roll is Wits + whichever of the five Flows you must unravel. In weaves where multiple Flows are present each must be unwoven separately. The GM will set the difficulty. Only the person who wove the Flows can unweave them in this manner.

Wrapping – This weave involves binding and immobilizing people with Flows of Air. It is a good, though imperfect defense for a channeler against physical assaults. In order to Wrap someone, the channeler must engage in an extended, resisted roll of her Rank in Air versus the target’s raw Strength. For every net success achieved by the channeler, the target’s Strength is lowered by one point. When their Strength reaches zero, they are considered immobilized. Partial Wrappings may not be Tied off. The target must be fully immobilized before the Flows may be Tied.

Wards vs. Barriers – This is not intended to go into the mechanics of either, but to illuminate the differences between them. A Ward is a weave around an area that reacts to a specific stimulus. This can be the passage of a creature, the passage of a set amount of time, or the occurrence of a certain event. The stimulus must, however, be something the channeler could detect during the weaving of the Ward. When the stimulus occurs, the Ward is triggered and the effect occurs. The effect is chosen when the Ward is woven. It is limited to one weave, which must be instantaneous in duration and something the channeler themselves can weave. A Barrier is a weave that prevents the completion of something. It does not matter whether it prevents a sword from reaching its intended target, a man from reaching a door, or a Lightning Lance from burning an old lady to a cinder.