From: Tome of Gentle Unburdening
Lore
First discovered by a contemplative order known as the Stillwater Monastics, this ritual was born not from battle or desperation, but from quiet nights beside mirror-smooth ponds. They believed emotional burdens were not curses to be crushed but stones longing to rest. Over centuries, the ritual spread beyond monasteries — whispered among veterans who carried invisible scars, politicians burdened by guilt, and wanderers who feared their past choices defined them. Many say the spell calls upon the subtle Water-Mind of Saṃsāra: the living essence of equilibrium that encourages flow over force. The burden lifted does not vanish; it floats nearby, visible only to the Mind’s Eye, waiting for the future where acceptance becomes possible.
Use
The caster identifies one specific emotional weight: grief, resentment, guilt, obsession, dread, self-doubt, envy — any single burden that clouds judgment or disrupts harmony. Through meditative ritual, that weight is detached and suspended, giving the caster a full day of intentional clarity. The mind becomes quieter, decision-making more neutral, fear and fixation diminished. This is not escape — it is rehearsal for healing.
Tier-Related Stats
Tier Requirement: Tier 1 minimum (ritual complexity deepens with tier)
Casting Time: ~30 minutes focused meditation
Duration: 24 hours (or until the caster willingly ends it)
Cooldown: Once per day; cannot be forced or rushed without harm
Slot: Not a typical combat spell; ritual discipline — requires two free hands
Check: Wisdom or Insight-based ritual check DC 12 (self-focused stabilization)
Skills
Insight +3 for burden identification
Willpower/Resolve +2 for release moment
Meditation/Focus +2 during ritual stabilization
Emotion-Recognition +1 (passive) for duration
Cost
1 rare Stillwater Petal (crushed into water) or equivalent emotional foci item such as a cherished token or symbolic burden anchor
If components are unavailable: takes twice as long and requires a successful DC 14 ritual check
Requirements
Caster must willingly name the specific burden allowed to float
Caster must have slept within the last 24 hours
Caster must not be under magical compulsion or extreme fear at activation
Cannot target another creature — Selves only
Tags:
Emotion-Rite, Self-Restoration, Burden-Suspension, Clarity-Magic, Mind’s Eye Attunement, Internal-Focus, Resolve-Enhancement, Peace-Channeling, Non-Combat-Support, Acceptance-Path, Healing-Adjacent
Side Effect, Detailed
The suspended burden returns after the duration. Its emotional sharpness is blunted, its voice quieter, easier to confront in therapy-like conversation with oneself or trusted companions. After three or more successful castings focused on the same burden, permanent softening or full psychological recovery is possible — though never guaranteed.
Roleplay & Tactics
Defense
Mentally:
• Helps resist fear or distraction effects (+1 to mental saves during duration)
• Allows better leadership under pressure — actions feel firmly chosen, not reactive
• Reframes stressful encounters: panic becomes strategy, guilt becomes motivation
Socially:
• The caster speaks with poise; apologies, negotiations, and persuasion all benefit from calm speech instead of emotional spikes
• Conflicts can be de-escalated more easily when one party is not driven by internal chaos
Offense (Indirect)
• Clearer thought leads to cleaner tactics; obsession replaced with adaptability
• A tactician might remove anxiety before a siege, freeing cognitive bandwidth
• A spy might set aside fear of discovery to infiltrate quietly and confidently
• A duelist may strip away anger, avoiding reckless gambits
Environmental Narrative Use
• In temples: becomes a rite of passage toward inner mastery
• In underground tunnels during panic: a survival tool to remain rational
• On airships in storms: emotional anchoring while others lose control
• After war zones: a temporary shield against traumatic overwhelm
• During negotiations: a guarantee that decisions arise from reason, not trauma
• Beside sacred water: symbolic reinforcement — burdens visibly reflected but stilled
Tactical Caution
• Without fear, caution may slip; the mind might ignore genuine danger
• Removing guilt may permit morally questionable actions the caster later regrets
• If used repeatedly to avoid dealing with the burden, emotional snapback can intensify when it finally returns
• Observers who see the Mind’s Eye “floating stone” may learn the caster’s weakness
Narrative Impact
This spell allows characters to look their story in the eye. Their burdens remain part of them — but no longer define their next choice. It is not power over others, but sovereignty over oneself.
Perception of Activation: “The Weight that Floats Away 712”
Sight
User’s Perspective: The world brightens at the edges, as if sunlight filters through from a calmer reality. A faint ethereal duplicate of the caster’s chest lifts outward—a soft silhouette formed of translucent waterlight—carrying the emotional burden away like a leaf rising from depths.
Observer’s Perspective: A shimmering bubble or droplet forms at the caster’s chest, separating and floating upward, distorting the air around it like surface tension breaking from the heart.
Positives: The visual cue reassures allies that healing is underway and gives clarity to the caster’s release.
Negatives: Enemies may realize the caster is momentarily mentally vulnerable—emotion on display.
Sound
User’s Perspective: A hush falls over internal noise; a single chime, as though a temple bell was struck underwater, echoes inwardly.
Observer’s Perspective: A nearly inaudible watery ring—like droplets touching glass—can be sensed more than heard.
Positives: The quiet brings mental focus, allowing decisive actions free of emotional drag.
Negatives: In silence-dependent infiltration, the subtle resonance could draw attention from those attuned to magic.
Smell
User’s Perspective: A neutral scent of clean air or rain evaporating—associated with release and clarity—floods the senses.
Observer’s Perspective: Those nearby may detect a faint ozone-and-water aroma for a brief moment.
Positives: Grounding reassurance that something heavy has lifted.
Negatives: Creatures with heightened smell might detect the spell’s presence.
Touch
User’s Perspective: A gentle upward pull from within—like loosening knots in the chest and mind. Muscles unclench subconsciously.
Observer’s Perspective: Not directly perceivable.
Positives: Immediate relief enhances physical action and reduces hesitation.
Negatives: The moment of release may cause slight post-casting wobble.
Taste
User’s Perspective: A fleeting sweetness on the tongue—like fresh spring water.
Observer’s Perspective: Not applicable.
Positives: Reinforces the spell as a soothing, healing ritual.
Negatives: None significant outside personal reactions.
Extra-Sensory Perception 1: Emotional Buoyancy
User’s Perspective: Sees (with the Mind’s Eye) the burden as color and weight—a stone-dark glyph leaving the core of the self. Feels sudden lightness and expanded decision-space.
Observer’s Perspective: With Mind’s Eye active, witnesses a symbol or shade detach and drift skyward until it vanishes.
Positives: Confirms the precise emotional target removed.
Negatives: If the burden is too large, its temporary removal might feel disorienting.
Extra-Sensory Perception 2: Memory Decoupling
User’s Perspective: Memories associated with the burden remain intact—but quiet. They feel organized, distant, and tamed.
Observer’s Perspective: Those magically sensitive may feel a shift in the caster’s emotional aura, as though tension dissolves into calm.
Positives: Grants powerful clarity—better tactics, rational responses, and improved social choices.
Negatives: A significant emotional burden might also contain motivating passion—temporarily losing that drive could impair bold action.
Extra-Sensory Perception 3: Return Tether
User’s Perspective: In the Mind’s Eye, a faint, glowing thread remains connected to the burden now drifting above. It reassures that the burden will return, softer.
Observer’s Perspective: No direct perceptual cue unless highly attuned to emotional magic.
Positives: The burden returns manageable—growth through resilience rather than avoidance.
Negatives: The caster knows it will return, and this anticipation may itself be a small weight.
Burden That Was Taught to Float
(Translated from the Fragmented Copper Tablets of Silent Waters)
Long ago, in the time before clocks, when souls still argued with their own shadows, there lived a young wanderer whose heart was too heavy. The weight came not from stone or lead but from sorrow that clung like barnacles to a forgotten ship. This wanderer, named Eleshen in the broken script, walked the plains without joy, for every step was laden with memories that scalded and fears that gnawed.
Eleshen sought healers, sages, and whispering spirits of the riverbanks, but none could pry that terrible burden loose. “You must choose to let go,” they told him, but he did not know how to choose such a thing. His heart was stitched together by the very pain that weakened him.
One night, beneath a moon that wavered like water, an ancient being emerged from a still pool. It wore no face and yet smiled, its voice soft as fog. “Give me the burden you grip so fiercely,” it said. Eleshen refused, claiming he needed it to remember who he was.
The being did not argue. It lifted its hand, and the water beneath the wanderer began to calm until even the stars’ reflections grew quiet. “Look,” said the being, “the water accepts all weight but does not sink beneath it unless frightened by the storm.”
Eleshen watched as a single leaf drifted down. It touched the surface, and instead of drowning, it floated free.
The being placed a spectral hand upon Eleshen’s chest, right where the burden clawed deepest. “Your sorrow is real. Your fear is real. But they do not need to be heavy.” It then whispered a chant—fragments of which survive today—teaching Eleshen how to lift a weight without throwing it away.
In that moment, Eleshen felt his pain separate, rising like a water bubble from deep within. The weight had not vanished. It was merely floating, and in its floating he could finally breathe.
When dawn arrived, Eleshen thanked the being, but it was gone. The pool remained smooth, patient, and quiet. And as Eleshen continued his wandering, he learned that each day, his burden floated farther from his heart and closer to peace.
Generations later, the ritual became known as “The Weight that Floats Away.” Those who learned it did not forget their wounds—they made room for healing beside them. The spell traveled through villages, monasteries, bustling ports, and places beneath the earth where light seldom tread. Always it carried the same lesson: a burden is not a chain unless you force it to be.
And sometimes, at the edges of quiet places, a faceless figure is said to appear, watching with gentle patience, waiting to lift another weight into the calm.
Moral of the Story: Pain does not lose its truth when you loosen your grip. It simply learns how to float.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
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Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Mythos Ritual
Casting Time: Several minutes of calm meditation while touching the center of the chest
Cost: 1D3 Sanity points; 1D4 Magic Points
Effect: The caster suppresses a single source of emotional trauma, obsession, phobia, or delusion for 1D6 hours. They may treat any related Sanity rolls as if the burden were not present. Psychology rolls made by or against the caster involving that burden receive one bonus die.
Side Effect: When the spell ends, the emotional burden returns. The Keeper may allow the player to make a Hard POW roll to permanently soften the related trauma, gaining 1D3 Sanity points back if successful.
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Blades in the Dark
The Floating Weight
Ritual (Downtime)
Cost: 1 Stress and one downtime activity
Effect: Clear one Trauma trigger for the next job. The character still has the Trauma but feels temporarily unburdened; the GM cannot compel that Trauma during the upcoming score.
Push of Clarity: Once during the job, gain +1d to a Resolve attribute roll as you act with a rare, centered calm.
Aftermath: The Trauma returns after the score. If the player chooses, mark an additional downtime activity to try permanently reducing the Trauma’s severity at GM discretion.
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Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
2nd-level enchantment (ritual)
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 24 hours
Once per day
Effect: The caster suppresses a single condition or emotional hindrance affecting their judgment such as the frightened condition, charm, confusion, or a debilitating flaw. They gain advantage on Wisdom saving throws and Charisma ability checks related to maintaining calm or making rational decisions.
When the spell ends, the original problem returns, but the caster gains a +1 bonus to one saving throw or Charisma check involving that burden, representing learned resilience.
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Knave (2nd Edition)
The Floating Burden
Spell, daily
Casting Time: 10 minutes of reflection
Range: Self
Effect: You relieve your mind of one fear, fixation, or sorrow for the rest of the day. Treat mental struggles related to it as if they did not exist. You have advantage on any Save where composure or clarity matters.
Return: When the effect ends, you must Save vs. Wisdom. On success, the emotional fixation becomes less harmful; on failure, it returns with full weight.
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Fate Core / Fate Condensed
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Spell Type: Personal Ritual of Emotional Release
Casting: Once per session, requires a quiet moment of reflection or connection to a calming symbol
Effect:
When cast, the player creates a temporary character aspect called “Unburdened Mind.” This aspect may be invoked once for free during the scene or session to gain clarity, control, or emotional stability.
All Overcome rolls against fear, panic, shame, or fixation are made at +2 while the aspect remains active.
Compel: At the end of a scene or at a dramatically appropriate time, the suppressed burden resurfaces. The GM may compel its return, forcing the caster to confront the emotional fallout.
Stunts Option: If permanently learned as a character ability, once per milestone the spell may remove an ongoing Fear or Influence situation aspect entirely.
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Numenera & Cypher System
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Level: 3
Casting Cost: 2+ Intellect points (effort may be applied)
Frequency: Once per day
Range: Self
Effect:
The caster suppresses a trauma, fear, domination effect, or harmful mental descriptor. Tasks to resist emotional or psychic interference are eased by two steps for the next 24 hours. The GM may allow this suppression to reduce penalties from Confused, Afraid, or Obsessed-like states.
Side Effect: When the duration ends, the suppressed mental effect returns. The user must attempt an Intellect defense task (difficulty 3). On a failure, they are dazed for one round and suffer a temporary penalty of one step to all tasks involving social conflict for 10 minutes as the burden reintegrates.
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Pathfinder (2nd Edition)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Spell 2
Traditions: Occult, Divine, Primal
Cast: 10 minutes (concentrate)
Range: Self
Duration: 24 hours
Once per day
You quiet a troubling emotional burden. Choose one of the following affecting you: frightened condition, stupefied condition from emotional overwhelm, fascination from infatuation, or a mental curse that causes despair. Reduce the severity or value by 1 and treat all Will saves against fear or emotional manipulation as if you had a +1 status bonus.
Aftereffect: When the spell ends, the burden returns. Attempt a DC 19 Will save. On a success, the burden is softened permanently, reducing future penalties by 1. On a failure, the burden returns with its full severity.
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Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Rank: Seasoned
Powers: Mind Shield Variant (custom)
Casting: 10 minutes of calm ritual; 5 Power Points
Range: Self
Duration: 24 hours
Effect:
The caster may remove one Hindrance related to trauma or emotional struggle, or gains +2 to Spirit rolls against Fear, Intimidation, and Tests targeting their willpower for the spell’s duration.
Side Effect: When the duration ends, the Hindrance returns. The caster must make a Spirit roll at –2. On a failure, they become Distracted for 1d4 rounds as the emotional weight settles again.
GM Option: If the player roleplays the healing process well, they may permanently reduce the severity of that Hindrance one step.
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Shadowrun (6E)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Spell Category: Health (Mind–Emotion Regulation)
Drain Value: F–1
Range: Self
Casting Time: Complex Action
Duration: Sustained, up to 24 hours (once per day maximum)
Effect:
The caster removes a single ongoing emotional condition or negative mental status such as Fear, Paranoia, Berserk, or a relevant negative Quality (GM discretion). For the duration, they gain +2 dice to Composure and Willpower tests against emotional disruption and cannot be Intimidated.
Backlash: When the duration ends, the suppressed emotion returns. The caster immediately rolls Composure (threshold 2). Failure applies a –2 dice pool penalty to all Social tests for one hour due to mental readjustment.
Special: Street shamans and therapists view this spell as ethically powerful but caution against overuse.
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Starfinder
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Level 3 Spell
School: Enchantment (emotion, mind-affecting)
Casting: 10 minutes
Range: Self
Duration: 24 hours
Once per day
Effect:
You temporarily suspend a harmful emotional condition such as shaken, off-target from panic, or a morale penalty caused by trauma. You gain a +2 morale bonus to Will saves against fear and emotion effects during the duration.
Aftereffect: When the spell ends, attempt a DC 18 Will save.
Success: Condition returns at reduced severity for one hour.
Failure: Condition snaps back fully; additionally, you are staggered for one round as the mind re-balances.
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Traveller (Mongoose 2E)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Psionic Talent: Telepathy (Emotion Control)
Difficulty: Average (8+)
Timeframe: 10 minutes
Range: Self
Activation: Once per day
Effect:
Traveller suppresses one mental Condition or disruptor such as Fear, Panic, or Obsession. For the next 24 hours, they gain DM+2 on Willpower checks to resist social or psychological coercion.
Return Effect: When duration expires, Traveller makes Difficult (10+) Willpower check.
Success: Original Condition returns but less disruptive (DM+1 bonus to handle).
Failure: Traveller suffers disadvantage (DM–2) on all Social skill checks for 1D6 hours as emotional weight returns sharply.
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Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4E)
The Weight that Floats Away 712
Type: Blessing of Serenity (Divine/Occult Ritual)
Casting Number: 8
Casting Time: Extended (several rounds of calm ritual)
Range: Self
Duration: Until next dawn
Once per day
Effect:
Remove one psychological Condition such as Broken, Fear, or a GM-declared trauma. The caster gains +20 bonus on Cool Tests against fear and intimidation while the burden is suppressed.
Return Effect: When dawn comes, test Cool:
Success: Condition returns but the Impact value is reduced by 1 as healing takes root.
Failure: Condition returns at full strength and caster gains one Fatigue level due to emotional whiplash.