COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

So, you want your character to be a Thaumaturge? That isn’t really a cakewalk at all. Chances are your character has done or seen pretty messed up things.


What is Thaumaturgy: Thaumaturgy is the ancient metaphysical art that is used to alter reality to the user’s liking. They do this by manipulating aspects. Wowie Kazowie, so how does it work?

Well, to be basic, think of aspects as atoms. There’s a bajillion different types such as gold atoms, oxygen atoms, etc etc. Like atoms, there’s also a bajillion different types of aspects, some still being discovered on a daily basis.
Unlike atoms, aspects are categorized differently. For example, the aspect of water, death, and fire. All aspects make up matter, like atoms. These aspects are manipulated by the Thaumaturge, who in turn creates effects to their liking. The difference in Nobella is that things are made of aspects, as opposed to Atoms. The Thaumaturge destroys an object or pulls the aspects from place, recombining them into more aspects if necessary, then placing them into a formula that creates the desired effect.

Cool. So how do we get the weird aspects like motion, order, and chaos?

A few ways. As stated before, things are much more complex to a Thaumaturge. A rock isn’t just ‘aspect of stone’. It may have the aspect of water, fire, order, or even death. Aspects can settle in places and not be seen with the naked eye. This said, unless it’s the void of space, there’s likely some energy there.

As stated before, energy saturates itself in certain areas (often causing that place to change accordingly.). This creates hotspots of aspects where Thaumaturges can grab the necessary essentia.

Most Thaumaturges learn how to combine aspects, creating different forms of energy to their liking. Alternatively, they may break down an aspect, tearing it down into the necessary essentia required for their catalysts.
Catalysts are handled in several ways. A Thaumaturge my carry a spell book filled to the brim with different formulas for different effects. He may tattoo his body with complex arrays to allow his Thaumaturgy to be cast at all times. He could carry around chalk for the sake of drawing his formula.

Tl;Dr Aspects are Nobella’s atoms and Thaumaturges control them.




Thaumaturgy is a lifestyle, not a gift: One must give in order to get. Thaumaturges are giving up their energy (mana) to cast their spells, and overuse can kill them, corrupt them, or even worse! The dangers of Thaumaturgy makes it found in only a select few people, who often study it for the sake of discovering powerful secrets that make their sacrifices well worth it.

I will provide all the reasons I can from the top of my head. Your character doesn’t necessarily need to follow any of these, but whatever the case, they certainly have /some/ reason to be learning such a dangerous thing, right? Artifacts provide people with abilities that can be strong as, if not stronger than some Thaumaturges, so why not settle for that?


Create life:  A Thaumaturgist’s dream is to play god. They can practically bend everything around them at a whim, after all, so treading into god’s domain and creating an entire new race of sentient life is the next step towards divinity. The problem here is they don’t know how to create a soul. What is the worth of one? This question can pertain to another sub-goal to a Thaumaturge; to discover what makes up the soul, and how to create one. Many Thaumaturges have tried creating life, the cost coming at their own, or even worse.

Raise the Dead: Raising the dead is similar to creating life; the problem here is the same as above. All life, no matter how simple, requires a soul. Several Thaumaturges have bypassed this in a way, by creating golems from corpses. However, Golems are very simple minded; the only function they can perform is simple and non-tedious tasks such as carrying something to their master. And only that. If the Thaumaturge wants it to perform more, they have to replace the runes and ‘reprogram’ them. They’re literally a walking sack of meat controlled by countless catalysts. Even a stereotypical grunting, groaning zombie more complex than them.

Discover Nothing: Thaumaturges theorize that long ago, before there were many aspects, there was just one big ball of energy. This ball exploded, releasing all the aspects we know today and leaving behind what they call 'Nothing'. If Nothing truly is an aspect, then what is truly Nothing? Thaumaturges to this day seek to find that very answer.

General Research: Whether it be discovering a powerful spell for profit and the convenience of others or designing a new law that'll change the face of Thaumaturgy, Thaumaturgy is all about constant research.