Benefits
Kingdom Benefits
Harmony provides constructive channels for elemental power. Like a well-controlled irrigation system, these channels render uncontrollable power into well-springs. Overflow can be directed into the wilds to feed the natural world.
In other words, Harmony blunts the worst excesses of the primordial land. Crystal eruptions are less common; the ley lines shift less; and the land remains anchored. The wards build on this power, but Harmony is the bedrock.
The same applies locally. Explosions of Fire burn less; floods of Water sink away into the earth. In a Kingdom where most structures are wood and few dams exist, these protections blunt the effects of small-scale natural disasters (and fool-hardy Path students).
Since this applies across the Kingdom, many folk consider this “normal”. It is only when a warrior travels to the Far Reaches that he sees the destructive power of the unrestrained elements!
Personal benefits
Enough about abstract questions of elemental power! What does Harmony do for you?!
Health
One day, as you pass, a worker loses a finger in an accident. Five years later, you see him again – hale and whole.
Harmony reinforces the body and the spirit. This manifests in a potent but slow regeneration.
This regeneration operates on all levels of the body. Scrapes and bruises fade in a few minutes; lacerations in a few days; and broken bones reset themselves in time. You can even regrow your limbs, though this takes years.
The same applies to the mind. Head wounds, poisons, and even illusions can all be recovered.
Regeneration can even restore petrified flesh and help you find your way back to your true form.
One caveat: Regeneration is slow. Make sure you survive the battle, or you’ll see no benefit!
Regenerative medicine
Kingdom medicine is primitive in comparison to our own. Healers seek to encourage a person’s natural healing, reliant on regeneration to cure ills. Most Kingdom medicine focuses on folk remedies, alchemical recipes, and other natural tonics said to improve the miraculous healing already latent in the folk. In the rare situation where an affliction takes hold that resists regeneration, few doctors have any recourse.
Certain cures can be exceedingly unpleasant. Take, for example, a flesh-eating mold. Should a man touch the mold and contaminate his hand, should tinctures and regeneration fail, then the next solution is to remove the affected hand. After all, it will grow back. Better to have a few years without than to die of the mold, right?
Vigor
Kingdom folks maintain their vigor longer than the folk of our world. Most folk can remain active well into old age. Similarly, rates of degenerative diseases and age-related illnesses are relatively low.
Harmony may also extend the lifespan of the people. See the setting dials section for options.
###Dreams
Harmony connects the folk, near and far, and this connection resounds in the slumbering mind. Heroes have heard their loved ones cry out for help from across the isle; royal inspectors have received visions of bandits and fiends on the road ahead; and scholars have found insight in an afternoon doze.
These visions are rare but intensely vivid. You can always tell when you have experienced such a portent.