Spirit Magic

[mayapuppies]

Hello all,

 

Here is a rough outline for Spirit Magic in my Fantasy World, any comments or suggestions would be welcomed as I'm new to this. Keep in mind, that magic is fairly uncommon and that this one of three types of magic that are available. All spells are bought individually.

 

The others are Divine (priests and the like) and Arcane (traditional mages...this is a tainted magic that corrupts the user over time...still trying to find a decent way to do this):

 

Spirit Magic

The spells of Spirit Magic are not what traditional mages would consider to be spells. In fact the shamans of these primitive peoples do not have any inherent magical talent at all. Instead they commune with the various spirits of nature that inhabit their wilderness homes.

 

The shamans, witch doctors and totem warriors negotiate with these spirits and request favors from them. As spirit folk tend to be mischievous and rather distracted, these "mages" have become consummate negotiators. Traditionally the practitioners of Spirit Magic live as one with their surroundings, never taking more than they need from their environs and avoiding the arbitrary destruction of their wilderness homes. This ecologically friendly mindset is imperative to their religious beliefs as well as establishing friendly terms in which to interact with the spirits.

 

The process that a shaman goes through to enact the favor of the spirits is as follows:

 

First the shaman must call forth the appropriate spirit (Incantations), which invariably requires the shaman to have an appropriate charm that is representative of the spirit (Focus) and then request the favor of the spirit. At this time the shaman and spirit enter into a negotiation (Requires Skill Roll), if the shaman proves a match for the spirit then the favor is enacted and the shaman must expend some of his own life force to remove the taint that the spirit has gained through its interaction with our plane of existence (Costs Endurance).

 

As some favors are more taxing for the spirits than others it is often common for the shaman to remain in negotiation with the spirit (Concentration) throughout the duration of the favor. Some spirits are wilier than others and the negotiations may take longer than “normal†(Extra Time). Other spirits may wish the shaman to perform for them and request strange dances (Gestures) to be performed. It is not uncommon for the capricious spirits to decide they wish to play a trick or some such silliness on the shaman in addition to the original favor (Side Effect). Some favors may have more detrimental effects on the spirit folk that increase the amount of taint they suffer while they are in our plane of existence and the shaman is duty bound to heal this damage (Increased Endurance Cost).

 

Despite these ramifications and conditions, the practitioners of Spirit Magic can become quite powerful and thus are able to request favors of the spirits that can be quite devastating. The key thing to remember is that these mages will never ask the spirits to perform actions that are detrimental to the surrounding lands, animals or plants. A shaman or totem warrior will never cause the rot or decay of plants, animals or even people, as this is anathema to the purposes and beliefs of the spirits.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

Actually, Spirit Magic is on my list as one of the Magic Systems Ive yet to do, replacing the "Spiritualistic Shaman" from my old 4e Magic System content.

 

My initial notes indicate that I was thinking to do this as a combination of Spirit Contacts (using the rules in Fantasy HERO to apply Contacts to Spirits), Followers, and maybe a small Cosmic VPP with required IPE & Indirect or LOS on all powers either inherently or via the appropriate advantages for "spirit mischief" type effects.

 

 

Here are the Magic Systems I have gotten thru so far; the Totemic Shaman might be of small interest to you:

 

 

 

But enough about me, lets talk about you. Your system looks solid and well thought out, but the buying of the Spells individually is pretty harsh and basically means that each Shaman will only know how to ask for two or three "favors" from the spirits. Considering the open tap on what Spirits might conceivably be able to do for a caster, this seems pretty narrow in scope.

 

Perhaps a Cosmic VPP or partially Cosmic would be appropriate. The cost alone will be a stiff Control Factor, you can place mandatory limitations on the VPP itself to maintain the "Spellcasting" flavor, and the RSR: Spirit Negotiation that you are using imposes Reliability Control. (The Adept Magic System link above will take you to a Partially Cosmic VPP System as a comparison point).

 

However, if you dont want VPP's, an EC might be more suitable to your style as the costs involved are still high, but it will increase the total number of effects available to an individual Spiritualist. (The Aldenaren Magic System link above will take you to a EC based Magic System as a comparison point).

 

 

Also, what about END Reserves? Allowed, not allowed? Will make a huge difference in the effectiveness of this system.

 

 

Otherwise 2 thumbs up, good job!

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

Just realized you're another San Diegan. Have we met before?

[mayapuppies]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

Heh, I've got your site bookmarked as one of my fav's. you have an incredible amount of stuff there.

 

I don't think we have met, but I did notice that, too. I'm an East County native and up until very recently I've had a pretty tight knit little gaming group.

 

Do you hit any of the "local" game stores (Game Towne or Game Empire)?

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

Heh, I've got your site bookmarked as one of my fav's. you have an incredible amount of stuff there.

 

I don't think we have met, but I did notice that, too. I'm an East County native and up until very recently I've had a pretty tight knit little gaming group.

 

Do you hit any of the "local" game stores (Game Towne or Game Empire)?

I swing through Game Empire whenever a new HERO System book is out, browse a bit and then jet. I dont "hang out" there however. I work near Game Towne Old Town, but I never go there. I cant stand that place for some reason -- drives me up the wall, and there is no parking to speak of.

[Devon]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

San Diegan Solidarity

Not to derail the discussion, but I'm a San Diego expatriate myself. I recall Game Towne in Old Town to have been pretty cramped last time I was there, but that was years ago. An odd place to have a gaming store, to be true, but not the worst.

 

To the point

I agree that asking these powers be bought at cost is pretty dire, but will have the (I imagine) desired effect of making such powers rare in your game, which in turn makes them more special. The effects are certainly well-considered.

 

I believe in FH there are several references to Jack Vance's universe, at least one of which explained the magical special effect as the cajoling of extraplanar entities into providing the desired effect for the spellcaster. But, if you go to a skill-based magic system, this magic will become more common than you may wish, unless you add a 20 - 40-point "Spiritual Channeler" talent as a requirement for such magic.

 

As for the corruption of Arcane Magic:

You may want to apply a mandatory Side Effect: "slowly transforms caster into "corrupted" version of itself" and then detail what this corruption does to a standard mortal.

 

A precedent: in the "Mystic Masters" Champions supplement (for 4e), the ubervillain Tyrannon had a spell or two which he'd offer to mortal casters, spells which slowly corrupted the user using a 1/2d6 Transform side effect. In the book, there was no point-cost break for these spells -- the side effect was added as a campaign note.

 

Cheers,

 

- Devon

[mayapuppies]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

San Diegan Solidarity

Not to derail the discussion, but I'm a San Diego expatriate myself. I recall Game Towne in Old Town to have been pretty cramped last time I was there, but that was years ago. An odd place to have a gaming store, to be true, but not the worst.

I swing through Game Empire whenever a new HERO System book is out' date=' browse a bit and then jet. I dont "hang out" there however. I work near Game Towne Old Town, but I never go there. I cant stand that place for some reason -- drives me up the wall, and there is no parking to speak of.[/quote']

Yeah, I'm the same. Used to game at Game Towne a lot when I was in highschool, but had a run-in with the owner during a GameFest and decided I'd never go there again.

 

I work right up the street from Game Warehouse, but it looks like they're either moving or closing shop. Killer Shrike, if you could drop me an email maybe we can continue this discussion without hijacking the thread too much more? heh

 

As for the corruption of Arcane Magic:

You may want to apply a mandatory Side Effect: "slowly transforms caster into "corrupted" version of itself" and then detail what this corruption does to a standard mortal.

 

A precedent: in the "Mystic Masters" Champions supplement (for 4e), the ubervillain Tyrannon had a spell or two which he'd offer to mortal casters, spells which slowly corrupted the user using a 1/2d6 Transform side effect. In the book, there was no point-cost break for these spells -- the side effect was added as a campaign note.

This is the thought process that I've come up with too, but I'm not overlly familiar with how Transform would work...or even what I want them to "turn" into. Though I am leaning towards a reptilian form of a Warhammer Chaos Spawn.

[grymlocke]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

There was a recent thread about magic of runequest (spirit, devine, sorcery) not long ago that may be of some interest to you......or at least leaning in your direction.

[mayapuppies]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

Cool, I'll check that out as well.

[Markdoc]

Re: Spirit Magic

 

Hi,

 

the Runequest magic stuff is now posted to it's own page here:

 

http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Runequest/heroquest.htm

 

but I'm not sure it will of much use to you, since despite the name all the spirits in spirit magic were basically special effects. What might be of more use is here:

 

http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Grimoire/magic_systems.htm#On%20Stranger%20Tides

 

which is a translation of the magic system from Tim Powers' wonderful pirate fantasy, where magic is done by contacting spirits (loas, specifically)

 

cheers, Mark