The Rhythm of the Heavens
The Three Moons are never still. Each follows its own celestial path, moving through a continuous cycle of waxing, fullness, waning, and renewal. Because each moon completes its journey at a different pace, the night sky is constantly changing, creating an endless variety of celestial arrangements that have guided the people of Erosia for countless generations.
These lunar cycles influence far more than the appearance of the night. They shape calendars, determine the dates of festivals, guide religious observances, influence agricultural traditions, and provide scholars with a framework for recording the passage of time. Throughout history, the movements of the Three Moons have become one of the few constants shared by every civilization.
Measuring Time
Although individual cultures maintain their own calendars and methods of recording history, nearly all recognize the importance of the lunar cycles. Months are traditionally measured by the changing phases of the moons, while many years are remembered by significant celestial events that occurred during particular lunar seasons.
Communities that live far apart often use different names for the same phases, yet the underlying observations remain remarkably consistent. Farmers anticipate planting and harvest according to familiar lunar patterns, sailors plan long voyages around predictable night skies, and scholars carefully compare centuries of astronomical records in search of recurring cycles.
The Practice of Magic
Spellcasters have long observed that the practice of magic changes subtly as the Three Moons progress through their individual cycles. Although these changes are rarely dramatic, experienced practitioners often speak of certain nights feeling more harmonious for particular forms of spellcasting or more favorable for extended rituals and magical research.
Exactly why these changes occur remains the subject of ongoing debate. Some arcane scholars argue that the lunar cycles influence the relationship between the Veil and the mortal world, while many priests believe the moons simply reflect deeper truths established at the dawn of creation. Regardless of the explanation, few experienced spellcasters ignore the heavens when planning important magical undertakings.
The Rhythm of Daily Life
The influence of the lunar cycles extends well beyond those who practice magic. Markets, festivals, marriages, pilgrimages, and community celebrations are frequently planned according to familiar celestial rhythms. Hunters, travelers, and merchants often choose their departure dates with the changing phases in mind, while many communities preserve traditions that have been observed beneath the same moonlit skies for generations.
Even those who have never cast a spell recognize the practical importance of the Three Moons. Their light illuminates roads, marks the changing seasons, and serves as a trusted companion to anyone who travels after sunset.
Observation and Discovery
The study of the lunar cycles remains one of the oldest scholarly pursuits in Erosia. Great observatories continue to record the movements of the Three Moons with remarkable precision, preserving generations of astronomical knowledge for future study. New observations are constantly compared against ancient records, allowing scholars to refine calendars, improve navigation, and better understand the subtle relationship between the heavens and the practice of magic.
Although much has been learned through centuries of careful observation, the Three Moons continue to surprise even the most accomplished astronomers. Small irregularities, unexpected patterns, and newly discovered cycles remind every generation that the heavens still hold mysteries waiting to be understood.
The changing faces of the Three Moons are more than a measure of passing time. They are a constant reminder that creation itself moves in enduring rhythms, inviting every generation to observe, learn, and wonder.
Lunar Resonance: Optional Spellcasting Rules
The phases of Erosia’s three moons influence magic through their matching Erosian disciplines. Azure governs Shadowlust, Pearl governs Erothaumaturgy, and Crimson governs Carnamagic. A spell’s traditional school does not determine its moon; its Erosian discipline does. This correspondence is part of the world described in The Three Moons, but the numerical effects below are optional and apply only when the Master of the Veil enables Lunar Resonance for the campaign.
Using Lunar Resonance
- One use. A character may invoke Lunar Resonance once per long rest, regardless of how many moons are visible or how many different spellcasting features the character possesses. You declare the use when you begin casting an eligible spell. It is never automatic.
- Eligible spell. Cast a spell of 1st level or higher through your own class Spellcasting, Pact Magic, an explicitly granted class spell, or an Invoker’s eligible Champion Spell Memory. The spell must bear an Erosian discipline tag. A spell cast through a magic item qualifies only if that item specifically says Lunar Resonance applies. Cantrips and spells with no Erosian discipline do not qualify.
- Matching moon. Azure applies only to Shadowlust, Pearl only to Erothaumaturgy, and Crimson only to Carnamagic. The Master of the Veil determines each moon’s current phase separately. Choose the effect shown for the matching moon’s actual phase at the time of casting; a moon need not be visible to exert its resonance.
- Blended spells. A spell tagged with more than one discipline can use the current phase benefit of one corresponding moon, chosen when you invoke Lunar Resonance. No spell may gain two Lunar Resonance effects from the same casting, even if multiple moons are full or aligned.
- Timing and limits. Apply a benefit at the time its description states. If it modifies a roll, choose the roll before it is made. If it changes Arousal after a spell resolves, resolve that change and any resulting Climax normally. Lunar Resonance grants no extra spell slots, spell save DC bonus, or independent class resource unless a rule explicitly says so. It obeys the shared limit on Arousal gains.
- Traditional spells. A standard 2014 Fifth Edition spell has no automatic Erosian discipline. For a traditional spell to qualify, the Master of the Veil must assign it an Erosian discipline based on its purpose and magical expression. Record that choice as part of the spell’s campaign entry; it remains consistent between castings. This tag does not change the spell’s traditional school, level, class availability, or other rules. A traditional spell can remain untagged.
Azure Moon: Shadowlust
The moon of hidden craving, shadow, dream, masquerade, and the freedom to reveal or conceal.
| Moon phase | Optional Lunar Resonance benefit |
|---|---|
| New / Renewal | After the spell resolves, you have advantage on the next Dexterity (Stealth) or Intelligence (Investigation) check you make before the end of your next turn to conceal, interpret, or investigate a magical trace or illusion. This does not hide the original casting or allow you to Hide without normal concealment. |
| Waxing | After the spell resolves, you may voluntarily gain 1 Arousal. If you do, you may immediately move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks from one creature you can see. Resolve any Climax before the movement. |
| Full | After the spell resolves, you may voluntarily gain 1 Arousal. If you do, the next attack against you made before the start of your next turn by a creature relying on ordinary sight has disadvantage. Truesight ignores this illusory interference. The benefit ends after that attack. |
| Waning | After the spell resolves, you may reduce your Arousal by 1 (minimum 0). You also have advantage on your next Wisdom (Insight) check to recognize a disguise or deception made before the end of your next turn. |
Pearl Moon: Erothaumaturgy
The moon of warmth, nurture, attachment, devotion, pleasure, and willing bonds.
| Moon phase | Optional Lunar Resonance benefit |
|---|---|
| New / Renewal | After the spell resolves, one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus. These temporary hit points follow the normal rules for temporary hit points. |
| Waxing | After the spell resolves, you may voluntarily gain 1 Arousal. If you do, one willing creature affected by the spell, including yourself if applicable, gains 1d6 temporary hit points. If the spell affected no willing creature, you cannot choose this benefit. |
| Full | After the spell resolves, you and one other willing creature within 30 feet may each choose to gain 1 Arousal. If both accept, each gains 1d6 temporary hit points and advantage on the next EROS Save it makes before the end of its next turn. If either declines, neither gains Arousal or the benefit. This establishes no romantic or intimate obligation. |
| Waning | After the spell resolves, choose a willing creature you can see within 30 feet. It may immediately repeat one saving throw against an effect currently causing it to be charmed or frightened, ending that condition if the save succeeds. If it has neither condition, it may instead reduce its Arousal by 1 (minimum 0). |
Crimson Moon: Carnamagic
The moon of flesh, sensation, chosen restraint, transformation, endurance, and release.
| Moon phase | Optional Lunar Resonance benefit |
|---|---|
| New / Renewal | After the spell resolves, you or one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains 1d4 to add to the next Strength or Constitution saving throw it makes before the start of your next turn. The creature chooses whether to use the bonus before rolling the save. |
| Waxing | After the spell resolves, you may voluntarily gain 1 Arousal. If you do, one willing creature you can see within 30 feet has its walking speed increased by 10 feet until the end of its next turn. |
| Full | When you cast the spell, you may choose one of its damage or healing rolls and add 2d6 to that roll, then voluntarily gain 1 Arousal after the spell resolves. If the same roll would affect several creatures, this bonus applies to only one creature you choose. If the spell has no damage or healing roll, you may instead grant one willing creature within 30 feet 2d6 temporary hit points after it resolves and gain 1 Arousal. You must declare the enhancement before any relevant roll. |
| Waning | After the spell resolves, you or one willing creature you can see within 30 feet may reduce its Arousal by 1 (minimum 0) and gain temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus. |
Classic, Veiled, and Unveiled Play
In Classic Play, ignore references to numerical Arousal and Libido; a character can use the non-Desire benefits of the chosen phase, still limited to one Lunar Resonance invocation per long rest. Willingness and other qualifications remain mandatory. In Veiled Play, resolve all explicit Arousal changes normally, including transitions between Composed, Stirred, and Overwhelmed. In Unveiled Play, use the full numerical Arousal track and its normal Climax and Libido consequences. No moon automatically sets a character’s Desire state. See Mechanics of Desire for the shared rules.
Class features remain authoritative. Bloodborn Flux and Current Communion, Summoner Sublimation and Titan Manifestation, Pactsworn Favor and Terms, Reveler Resonance, Anointed Grace or Mercy Marks, and other class systems gain no automatic extra activation from a lunar effect. Where a Lunar Resonance effect causes Arousal or Climax, resolve class features only when their actual printed triggers are met. In particular, Lunar Resonance never adds a Manifestation or Fistbound tag to a Summoner spell.
The Three Moons: High Resonance
Optional Advanced Lunar Spellcasting
Some Erosian traditions teach that magic follows a living tide, growing stronger when its moon is ascendant and becoming subtler or harder to channel when that moon is diminished. A careful caster can accept the current and wait for an auspicious night. A reckless one can overchannel a difficult phase, knowing that the Veil may answer with more intensity than the body or mind can comfortably sustain.
High Resonance is an optional advanced layer. It extends the basic Lunar Resonance rules above rather than replacing them for every campaign. Ordinary 2014 Fifth Edition spells, spell slots, saving throw DCs, concentration, class resources, and spellcasting ability modifiers never rise or fall automatically with the moons. A character who does not choose High Resonance casts normally; they may still use basic Lunar Resonance if that module is enabled. This system models meaningful lunar strengths and weaknesses through an optional, higher-risk act of spellcasting.
Invoking High Resonance
- Same daily use, not a second resource. When casting an eligible spell of 1st level or higher that bears a matching Erosian discipline, you may spend your normal once-per-long-rest Lunar Resonance use to invoke High Resonance instead of receiving that moon’s basic phase benefit. Declare this before making spell attack rolls or before a target makes a saving throw against the spell. The chosen surge replaces, and never stacks with, the ordinary lunar phase benefit.
- Phase and identity. Azure empowers Shadowlust, Pearl empowers Erothaumaturgy, and Crimson empowers Carnamagic. Use the matching moon’s current phase, whether or not it is visible. A blended-discipline spell chooses only one of its eligible moons. A traditional 2014 spell must have been consistently assigned an Erosian discipline before casting; its traditional school is unchanged.
- Resolve the surge. Apply the selected phase’s High Resonance effect at the timing specified. A roll modifier applies to one chosen attack, target, or damage/healing roll, never to every roll a spell creates unless a row explicitly says otherwise. Select the affected roll or target before that roll is made. The spell is still cast normally and expends its ordinary resources.
- Overchannel pressure. After the spell and surge resolve, the caster gains 1 Arousal, then makes a single EROSave at the DC shown for that moon and phase. Choose Constitution or Wisdom normally. On a successful save, nothing further happens. On a failure, the caster gains 1 additional Arousal and cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn. Arousal is gained only as instructed, and Climax is resolved whenever the ordinary Desire Cycle requires it. This one EROSave is against the caster’s own magical overchanneling; it does not replace the spell’s normal saving throws.
- Risk cannot be negated by reaching the Arousal cap. The shared maximum gain of 3 Arousal per turn still applies. If a capped gain cannot occur, it simply does not occur, but the EROSave is still required and failure still removes the caster’s reactions. High Resonance never ignores the cap, creates extra spell slots, or recharges class resources.
- Willingness and spell type. Beneficial effects require a willing recipient. A surge does not make an unwilling enemy consent to an intimate act, enter a pact, or accept a bond. A phase bonus that cannot affect the spell’s attacks, saves, targets, or outcomes uses its row’s listed alternative if one is provided; otherwise choose another spell or the ordinary Lunar Resonance effect before casting.
Azure: Shadowlust High Resonance
The hidden moon is most potent at renewal, when secrets are safest. Its Full phase is strangely exposed: shadow magic remains possible, but forcing it becomes more volatile.
| Phase | High Resonance surge | EROSave DC |
|---|---|---|
| New / Renewal — Ascendant | Secret at the Threshold. Add 1d4 to one spell attack roll made by the spell, or subtract 1d4 from one creature’s initial saving throw against the spell. Declare the affected roll before it is made. If the spell has neither, immediately after casting you may teleport up to 15 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. | 16 |
| Waxing — Gathering | Two Steps Through Shadow. Immediately after the spell resolves, teleport up to 20 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. One willing creature within 30 feet of your arrival point may use its reaction to move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks from one creature it can see. | 14 |
| Full — Exposed | The Unwanted Spotlight. The first time one creature fails an initial saving throw against this spell, it cannot take reactions until the start of your next turn. If the spell allows no such saving throw, the first attack roll made against you by a creature relying on ordinary sight before your next turn has disadvantage. The moon is dissonant at full brightness, so the risk remains high for this lesser benefit. | 16 |
| Waning — Receding | Vanishing Footnote. Immediately after the spell resolves, you or one willing creature you can see within 30 feet may use its reaction to attempt to Hide, but only if the normal conditions for hiding are met. Add 1d4 to that Dexterity (Stealth) check. The spell does not itself grant invisibility or concealment. | 12 |
Pearl: Erothaumaturgy High Resonance
Pearl gathers power as its light grows and is strongest at fullness, when freely shared connection and restoration become extraordinary. At renewal, its gifts are modest but dependable.
| Phase | High Resonance surge | EROSave DC |
|---|---|---|
| New / Renewal — Quiet | First Kindness. After the spell resolves, one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains 1d8 + your proficiency bonus temporary hit points. The target may decline the gift. | 12 |
| Waxing — Gathering | Growing Accord. After the spell resolves, up to two willing creatures you can see within 30 feet each gain 2d6 temporary hit points. They need not have been targets of the original spell, but each must accept the effect. | 14 |
| Full — Ascendant | Chorus of the Whole Heart. After the spell resolves, choose up to two willing living creatures you can see within 30 feet. Each regains 3d8 hit points, to its hit point maximum. This surge cannot restore a dead creature or affect undead or constructs. | 16 |
| Waning — Settling | A Freely Offered Release. After the spell resolves, one willing creature within 30 feet may either repeat a saving throw against an effect currently making it charmed or frightened (ending the chosen condition on a success), or reduce its Arousal by 2 (minimum 0). A creature never has to accept either option. | 12 |
Crimson: Carnamagic High Resonance
Crimson builds through anticipation and reaches its physical apex at fullness. When its light recedes, flesh magic favors endurance and recovery over spectacular exertion.
| Phase | High Resonance surge | EROSave DC |
|---|---|---|
| New / Renewal — Quiet | Skin Remembers. After the spell resolves, one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains 2d8 temporary hit points. Until the start of your next turn, that creature’s walking speed is reduced by 10 feet (minimum 0) as its body settles into a protective stance. It chooses whether to accept both the protection and limitation. | 12 |
| Waxing — Gathering | Rising Pulse. Add 2d6 to one damage or healing roll of the spell, affecting only one chosen creature even if a single roll affects multiple creatures. Declare the target and roll before rolling. If the spell has neither kind of roll, after it resolves one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains 15 feet of walking speed until the end of its next turn. | 14 |
| Full — Ascendant | The Scarlet Crest. Add 3d8 to one damage or healing roll of the spell, affecting only one chosen creature even when that roll applies to several creatures. Declare before rolling. If the spell has neither, after it resolves one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains 3d8 temporary hit points. Normal spell saves and resistances still apply. | 16 |
| Waning — Afterglow | Sensation Held in Reserve. After the spell resolves, one willing creature you can see within 30 feet gains resistance to one of fire, cold, lightning, or thunder damage (its choice) until the start of your next turn. This resistance does not stack with existing resistance to the same damage type. | 12 |
Play Modes and Overchanneling
Classic Play: Ignore the automatic and failed-save Arousal gains. Make the EROSave as an ordinary Constitution or Wisdom saving throw, chosen by the caster, at the printed DC. On failure, the caster still cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn. Effects that mention reducing Arousal instead grant the willing recipient temporary hit points equal to the caster’s proficiency bonus; they do not change an emotion or impose a condition.
Veiled Play: The caster’s overchanneling generates Desire pressure through the existing Composed, Stirred, and Overwhelmed progression. Resolve the automatic pressure and any failed EROSave using the group’s Veiled Play rules rather than maintaining a separate numerical Libido account. The spell’s mechanical result determines the Desire state; neither the chosen moon nor the spell’s theme sets a state by decree.
Unveiled Play: Apply each Arousal gain to the existing 0–6 track, with the shared three-Arousal-per-turn limit, and immediately resolve Climax, Libido loss, and applicable class triggers when their actual prerequisites are met. The High Resonance effect is resolved for the triggering spell; a Bloodborn Manifestation that empowers the next spell does not retroactively empower the spell just cast.
Choosing the Night
High Resonance is intentionally uneven: New Azure offers a potent Shadowlust saving-throw adjustment while Full Azure is riskier for a weaker effect; Pearl and Crimson flourish at Full and offer smaller surges at New. This is why spellcasters maintain observatories, anticipate festivals, postpone rituals, or gamble on a poorly aligned night. No calendar calculation is required at the table: the Master of the Veil determines each moon’s phase, and spells follow the phase in effect when cast.
These advanced mechanics are Erosia’s own rules rather than imported Dragonlance modifiers. They do not grant additional spell levels, change a caster’s effective level, adjust the number of prepared spells, or cause spells to fail automatically under a weak moon. The spell’s discipline, not the caster’s moral alignment, determines the relevant moon.
Astronomy at the Table
The three moons have independent cycles. An Azure Full Moon can coincide with a Pearl New Moon and a waxing Crimson Moon. A campaign calendar or the Master of the Veil establishes their phases; groups do not need to calculate orbital periods. The phase in effect at the moment a spell is cast is the phase used for its Lunar Resonance. Any spellcasting effect that lasts beyond a phase change continues for its printed duration without changing retroactively.
For rare alignments of the moons, see Celestial Conjunctions. For the meaning of individual discipline tags and blended magic, see The Erosian Disciplines of Magic.