Ash & Blood — Sorcery (test)

FIELD PLATE 00 / THE VOID — An artist’s interpretation of the unknown. The image is atmospheric, not a literal map of the Void.

“Stare at the Void, and the Void stares back at you.”

The Ash & Blood sorcery framework is a roleplay sourcebook for players and Game Masters. It describes how occult knowledge, the exile bracelet, corruption, perception, capability, cost and consequence fit together in our interpretation of the Exiled Lands.

Sorcery is not a free catalogue of powers, and corruption is not a simple synonym for evil or madness. A character may know more than they can perform, gain power without mastering it, or become deeply changed without understanding what has happened to them. The unknown remains unknown even when its effects can be observed.

The Void is unknown. Its true nature, origin and intentions remain beyond reliable understanding.

Its effects, however, can sometimes be observed. They may be studied, reproduced and used. That does not mean the Void is understood, nor that it can ever be fully controlled.

Sorcery begins when a person establishes a connection with something they were never meant to touch. Its fundamental principle is reciprocity: the more one perceives the Void, the more exposed one becomes to it. Knowledge creates possibilities, but it also carries consequences.

The Void is a fundamental threat, but it need not be treated as a fully understood enemy. Whether it possesses intentions, consciousness or purpose remains uncertain. No school, religion, cult or scholar can claim absolute authority over its nature.

FIELD PLATE 01 / THE BRACELET — A visual interpretation of the serpent restraint associated with exile.

The bracelet is not merely a shackle. It is a restraint against the forces that govern the Exiled Lands. For the purposes of Ash & Blood sorcery, it also acts as a regulator, restricting the wearer’s ability to interact with forces beyond ordinary reality.

The bracelet does not need to be removed, broken or destroyed for sorcery to become possible. Instead, the relationship between the wearer and the bracelet must be altered. That alteration requires corruption.

The distinction matters in roleplay: sorcery is not an escape clause, and a character’s progress toward an occult opening does not itself grant them freedom from exile.

Corruption is the progressive alteration of a person through exposure to the Void. It is not simply evil, madness or a moral failing. A corrupted person may remain intelligent, disciplined, compassionate, or entirely convinced that their actions are justified.

Corruption may be subtle. It need not produce visible mutations, madness or immediate physical deterioration. Its defining characteristic is that the person has been changed by what they have encountered.

These affinities are descriptive rather than mandatory classes. A character may develop several, abandon one, or discover an entirely different direction through roleplay.

FIELD PLATE 02 / THE EYE — A depiction of active contact with an occult force, and the danger of looking too deeply.

The Eye is a metaphor for the sorcerer’s degree of interaction with the Void. The more the Eye opens, the more the sorcerer perceives — and the more exposed they become.

A greater opening may reveal hidden patterns, unfamiliar presences or possibilities unavailable to ordinary senses. It may also attract unwanted attention, intensify corruption or expose the sorcerer to influences they cannot interpret.

These are not interchangeable measures. A highly corrupted character is not necessarily powerful. A knowledgeable character is not necessarily capable. A skilled sorcerer is never guaranteed safety.

There is no single path to sorcery. A character may discover it through experimentation, forbidden texts, observation, tutelage, accidental exposure, or study of another sorcerer’s work.

Books and rituals provide knowledge. They do not automatically provide the corruption, ability or understanding required to use that knowledge. A book can describe a technique without making its reader capable of performing it.

Learning should be earned through credible discovery, experimentation, observation or tutelage. Finding a written ritual is a beginning, not automatic proof of mastery or permission to ignore the character’s established limits.

Sorcery is not a free resource. Every act involves some degree of exposure, strain or uncertainty. The cost depends on the spell and the circumstances surrounding its use.

Minor, familiar techniques may have little immediate consequence. Greater workings may cause exhaustion, physical distress, intensified corruption, unwanted manifestations or loss of control.

Costs are proportional, cumulative and contextual. A minor spell does not need to produce a dramatic penalty every time; conversely, repeated use of small spells is not necessarily harmless.

For a fitting Conan Exiles atmosphere, sorcery should feel prepared, intrusive and costly rather than like a casual display of harmless spectacle. Ritual tools, difficult conditions, concentration, occult knowledge and the threat of corruption support this tone; the exact outcome still depends on the established roleplay and server rules.

These categories help players and Game Masters evaluate a proposed effect. They are guidelines, not a rigid universal scale.

Sorcery can fail without producing catastrophe. Failure should follow from the technique, the circumstances and the risks involved.

These outcomes are not a mandatory escalation ladder. The Game Master should select consequences proportionate to the attempted effect and the circumstances already established in the scene.

The most useful failure usually creates a meaningful new decision rather than ending a scene arbitrarily: a partial result, a visible warning, lost time, physical strain, an exposed secret or an unstable effect may be more compelling than instant ruin.

Purification is possible. It is neither simple nor guaranteed to be painless.

Reducing active exposure and removing established corruption are not the same thing. A character may learn to limit their interaction with the Void while remaining corrupted.

A character may choose to abandon sorcery. The decision should carry narrative weight without becoming an excuse to remove player agency. Choosing recovery, refusing further study or attempting to live with remaining corruption can each become a meaningful story.

Sorcery is feared because its mechanisms are poorly understood, its costs are uncertain and its consequences may extend beyond the sorcerer.

That fear does not need to be justified by superstition alone. Even a rational observer may distrust a practice capable of altering reality through an incompletely understood connection.

Different cultures and individuals may respond with hostility, fascination, religious condemnation, opportunism or cautious study. A sorcerer may conceal their abilities, seek protection, recruit students or openly pursue knowledge. None of these responses is mandatory.

A character does not need to begin as a sorcerer. Discovery, failure, transformation and refusal are all valid parts of the journey. When creating a sorcerer—or someone who may eventually pursue sorcery—consider the following prompts.

The purpose of this framework is to support consistent roleplay, not to prescribe every possible outcome. When adjudicating sorcery, consider the complete attempt rather than only the desired result.

Prefer consequences that create meaningful decisions over arbitrary punishment. Establish lasting changes through roleplay rather than introducing them without warning or justification.

Ordinary experimentation and character development should remain accessible to players. Significant rites, broad effects on the world, irreversible consequences and effects that materially constrain other characters may require coordination with the Game Master or relevant server staff.

Players control their own characters’ intentions and responses. They should not unilaterally dictate another player’s internal state, corruption, injuries or loss of agency.

Use this table as a fast reminder of the framework’s principal terms. The sections above remain the source for full interpretation.

The serpent bracelet and the lethal Cursewall are recognizable Conan Exiles setting anchors. Official game material also frames sorcery as dark, preparation-heavy power tied to corruption and sacrifice. The specific Void, Exposure–Threshold–Opening progression, Eye metaphor and purification rules on this page are the Ash & Blood roleplay framework; they should not be read as a verbatim list of in-game mechanics.