It is important to note that the reason for assigning each power source a different set of mechanics has nothing to do with any sense of perceived "realism"; rather, the intention is to give players a wide range of toys to play with and let them decide which one sounds the most fun. Of course, mechanical parity across power sources, as well as classes and roles, is also of utmost importance. A Martial class needs to be as effective at its role as its Divine, Arcane, and Primal equivalents, or the game should be considered a failure.
Martial
The Martial power source uses two overlapping mechanics: stances, and Power Strike. Stances add nifty effects to physical attacks, such as the ability to push enemies around or apply various conditions. Once activated, a stance lasts indefinitely, but you can only have one stance active at a time.
Power Strike is the limited resource of the Martial classes, and is expended and recharged on a per-scene basis. At first level, you can use Power Strike two times in a scene, and you gain additional uses as you rise in level. Whenever you hit with a physical attack, you can expend a use of Power Strike to add an extra +1[W] damage to the attack, though you can only do so once per turn. In addition, your stances have different, more powerful effects when you use Power Strike, so that a stance that normally allows you to slow an enemy might allow you to immobilize them instead, or a stance that normally allows you to push an enemy might knock them prone. Each stance lists what happens when you use Power Strike while in that stance.
Overall, Martial classes do not boast very long-lasting effects, but they can dish out effects frequently and immediately. Power Strike is available as soon as the scene begins, and because you only use it when you hit, you are guaranteed to get its full effects. Martial characters are very effective round-to-round, but are also most powerful in the first few rounds of combat, when it counts the most.
Divine
The Divine power source relies on a single resource pool, called Faith Points. Divine characters use special, always-available abilities called Prayers to accumulate Faith Points. Then, they expend the Faith Points to use more powerful abilities, called Acts.
Prayers are simple attacks with very basic effects that accrue Faith. Each Prayer lists the amount of Faith it provides, typically one point for stronger attacks or two points for lesser abilities. Similarly, each Act lists the amount of Faith that it costs: to use an Act, you must have at least as many Faith Points as its cost, and when you use it, that number of Faith is subtracted from your current pool. Divine characters begin each scene with an empty Faith pool, spend the first round(s) accumulating Faith Points via Prayers, then use powerful Acts, expending Faith, before having to refill the pool again, so that the process repeats.
Both Prayers and Acts come in varying levels of strength. Powerful Prayers have greater effects, but provide less Faith, while weaker Prayers provide more Faith but have less powerful effects. Similarly, the strongest Acts cost the most Faith, while Acts that cost less Faith are not quite as powerful. Divine characters have a lot of freedom in deciding when they want to break out their high-powered abilities, and also need to weigh their options between "more power now" and "even more power later". An important aspect to note is that Acts have no limitations on the number of uses beyond their Faith Point cost, so that as long as a Divine character can continue to accumulate Faith, he or she can continue to use Acts at full power.
Arcane
Characters with the Arcane power source use two sets of abilities with little inherent overlap. The first set, Cantrips, are simple powers that can be used at any time, any number of times. The second, Spells, are much more limited in their usage, but in return are much more potent.
Spells are capable of producing some of the most powerful effects in the game, having many effects that last until the end of the scene or are tagged as (Save Ends). However, they also carrying significant limitations on their uses. Each Spell requires a certain number of rounds of "charging up" before it can be cast, during which the caster cannot charge up any other Spells, but can do other things, like use Cantrips. Once charged, a Spell can be cast immediately or held for any number of rounds, up until the end of the scene, though if you begin charging another Spell you lose the first.
The other key limitation to Spells is that each time you successfully cast a particular Spell, the time it takes to charge up that spell increases by one round for the rest of the Chapter. This means that while you can cast the same Spell over and over again, doing so is not an especially good idea, as the Spell will take longer and longer each time to cast. By the time you complete your fifth casting of Deep Slumber in a scene, the fight is probably already over, so it's worthwhile to frequently switch up your Spells.
The intent behind the spellcasting mechanic is to give players access to the big, flashy, game-changing powers, but also to a) limit those powers in such a way as to keep them from dominating every scene, and b) keep the Arcane character from using the same abilities every fight and every round, while c) still allowing players to access those abilities, as long as they are willing to pay the cost. Requiring Arcane characters to charge up their Spells, and thus necessarily use them later in the fight, also acts as a balancing factor against classes that have less powerful abilities, but can access those abilities immediately, since the first rounds of a fight are generally the most important.
Primal
Characters of the Primal power source combine the benefits of immediate access to their full power with the ability to choose how much of their base resource they expend in a round. In exchange for their supreme flexibility, however, Primal characters give up some of the raw staying ability of their Martial counterparts, as well as some of the sheer power of the Divine classes.
Primal characters each choose a number of powers from their class list, called Invocations. Each Invocation can be used as-is, which provides some damage and a minor effect, or can be enhanced by spending Anima, the basic resource of all Primal classes, which represents the character's connection to the natural world. Primal characters begin each scene with a certain number of Anima points, depending on their level. They likewise know a certain number of Invocations, depending on their level. Each Invocation has three levels of effect: the first is always free, while the second requires the expenditure of one point of Anima, and the second requires the expenditure of two.
Anima operates similarly to the Faith Points of the Divine classes, in that the player needs to manage a pool of resources and decide how they dole the points out, and similarly to the Power Strike of Martial classes in that Primal classes start at full power, which gradually decreases over the course of a scene. Primal classes are great for players that want as much control over their resources as possible.
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