Medium Types
Medium types classify sorcery by what carries the operation's work. Where activation structures ask 'how does the spell fire,' medium types ask 'what does the spell flow through.' Four canonical mediums cover most operations: totem, sigil, blood, and true name.
Each medium has its own properties. Totems and charms carry persistent effects in physical objects; sigils and mantras carry symbolic operations through written or spoken patterns; blood carries operations through the bond of life itself; true names carry operations through the binding power of identity.
On this page we walk the four mediums together — what each is, when each is used, and how the same effect flows differently through different mediums.
Core characteristics
The defining properties that set this category apart from others.
- Carrier-centricSplits sorcery by what carries the operation.
- Persistence-awareEach medium has different persistence properties.
- Cross-structureThe same medium can be used with multiple activation structures.
- Effect-shapingThe medium choice changes how the effect feels.
How it differs from neighboring categories
Even within the same family, each category has a distinct character. Comparing side by side is the fastest way to grasp the differences.
Medium Types
What carries the sorcery operation.
Activation Structures
How the operation fires.
Pact Origins
Where the power comes from.
Effect Types
What the operation actually does.
When medium types help
Best when you need to understand how a spell's work is carried.
- Persistence checkingVerifying how long an operation lasts.
- Counter-designDesigning how to break a sorcery operation by destroying its medium.
- Range estimationEstimating how far an operation can act from its medium.
- IdentificationRecognizing what kind of sorcery is in play by its medium.
The four mediums
MoonWiki uses four canonical mediums.
Totem / Charm
Physical objects carrying persistent operations.
Sigil / Mantra
Written or spoken symbolic patterns.
Blood
Operations carried through the bond of life itself.
True Name
Operations carried through the binding power of identity.
Limits of medium classification
Medium doesn't answer every question.
- Activation-blindHow the spell fires lives on the activation page.
- Effect-blindWhat the spell does lives on the effect-type page.
- Hybrid mediumsOperations that blend mediums (blood + sigil) are awkward to classify.
Subcategories
How medium classification is used
Read each medium alongside its neighbors.
First, identify the medium that actually carries the operation.
Then layer on the activation structure, origin, effect, and rank.
Finally, place the full spell into the work's broader sorcery system.
Digging deeper into mediums
Open each medium directly.
Start with Totems & Charms for the physical-object tradition.
Move to Sigils & Mantras for the symbolic tradition.
Read Blood Sorcery and True-Name Sorcery for the highest-cost mediums.