Harmonics, unlike the other Mystic schools, has a dual nature. Healing and the forces used to rid the world of undead are forces of Harmony. Discord is any use of Harmonic forces for destruction, either by directly causing harm or helping undead.

Think of Harmonics in its musical sense. Harmony is when everything blends together. Discord is a wrong note, a poor tone that rings out and interrupts the song.

Many Harmonics powers are split into two types - one Harmonic effect and one Discord effect. You can choose when using the powers which effect to bring forward. In essence, the same power that causes a curative effect can be warped to harm a person, it is the psychic's choice which essence of the power will be used. Generally speaking, any effect that heals a normal person will do double damage to an undead (and some other creatures), and anything that harms a normal person will do double healing to undead or Discord creatures. Almost all of the Harmonics powers are related to healing or the undead in some way.

In Pathways, Discord is considered illegal in game. The reason why Discord is illegal is because of what it does. Discord directly affects the body, causing damage that cannot be blocked. Not only does it disrupt the natural flow the universe, but it eventually warps the psychic, and can also have more far-reaching effects. Some Discord powers bring back the dead as walking, brainless minions, pulling the poor souls out of the peace of death. The effects can range from minor annoyances, such as a hand turning the sickly color of a healing bruise, to truly fearsome and grotesque, like twisted horns or never healing sores. Sometimes the psychic can get lucky and nothing at all happens.

The changes that occur to the psychic are equivalent to the powers used. If the psychic uses a Novice level power, the effects are going to be a lot less drastic than a Master level power. Not every use of a Discord power will cause an effect to occur, they occur most often to those who frequently use the powers of Discord.

Should you choose to use Discord for some reason, you must notify your plot as soon as possible. They need to tell you if something happened, and if it did, just what has, will, or might very soon happen to you. It’s most likely not going to be pretty, but that’s the chance you take when meddling with chaotic forces..