Encyclopedia Magical: Spirit Rules

People who commonly use spirit magic are called spirit magic users. The specialist who deeply commits himself to the magic is called a shaman. A shaman has special powers, which ordinary mortals cannot hope to match. His extraordinary abilities are gained because he has awakened his fetch, the spirit plane counterpart of himself.

The path of the shaman is not for the most. It is arduous and dangerous, and its rewards are spiritual and communal. Great shamans are, however, among the most powerful of mortals.

Assistant Shaman

A shaman will normally accept only a member of his tribe or cult as an assistant, or a stranger that has befriended the shaman. Even then, the candidate must be willing to accept a new assistant, and deem that this is a propitious time to do so.

Assistant must spend 90% of his time with his shaman. In return the shaman teaches the assistant the skills of Summon, Ceremony, Enchant, Spirit Speech and Spirit Lore. The shaman also teaches the assistant spirit magic.

Becoming a Shaman

To become a shaman, the assistant must awaken his fetch. When his master feels the assistant is ready, he shows him how to do so. In general, the assistant should have ceremony and other shaman skills at a least 50%.

Ritual

To awaken his fetch and become a shaman, the assistant must perform the ritual at a holy place that lets him enter into a mystical quest, fasting and praying to awaken the powers within him. He remains on his quest for 1d6+1 days. At its conclusion the Horned Man, the First Shaman, will appear: he will tell the assistant that it is time to go, and will escort him along the path to shamanhood. Along the path the quester performs a special ceremony, which always includes three stages.

Sacrifice

A number of points of POW are sacrificed to the future fetch. These points are permanently taken from the current POW of the quester, and a corresponding number of magic points are also deducted. A least 1-point of POW must be sacrificed. If the quester safely completes his journey then the POW sacrificed will be the beginning POW of the fetch.

Waking the Fetch

A successful Summon skill roll must be made. This can be augmented by Ceremony. If the roll is successful, then the fetch is awakened into consciousness. Its POW is the POW sacrificed to it. If the roll is a failure, the sacrificed POW is lost and no fetch awakens.

The Fight

Spirit combat with the Bad Man occurs at the journey's end. Defensive magic has no effect on the Bad Man. This encounter is abstracted as a roll against the quester's POWx5. Quester that failed to wake their fetch must succeed in a critical roll to survive. Failure means death.

The Tasks of a Shaman

Shamans are expected to perform a number of jobs in the community, for which they are, of course, fed, protected, and honored.

Exorcism

Those possessed or covertly possessed with evil spirits are brought to shamans to be cleansed. A shaman can cast out an evil spirit in a number of ways. If the target is overtly possessed, the shaman can cast out the evil spirit by using his own overtly possessing spirit, or by Discorporation and engaging the enemy spirit himself in spirit combat. If the target is covertly possessed, the task is more difficult. Normally the shaman will need to send a special curative spirit into the target to heal him.

Spell Teaching

Shamans have access to spell spirits, and are often hired to teach spells to others.

Worship

Shamans are called to tend to the spiritual welfare of their people. Some deities permit limited shamanism among their worshipers, or are primarily shamanic gods.

Finding Spirits

To find a spirit, the shaman discorporate and travels the spirit plane. The trip takes 1d6 hours under most circumstances. The shaman states what type of spirit he seeks, and attempts a Spirit Travel skill roll. His chances of success are reduced by the spirit's difficulty factor. The shaman can spend MPs when starting the search to increase his chances of success. Each MP spent for this purpose adds 1 percentile to his Spirit Travel. Note: The shaman cannot more than double his modified skill with added MP.

Example: Mugumma the shaman goes to the spirit plane and decides to seek a Hellion. Hellions have MP 3d6+6, for a base difficulty of 15. Because Hellions are Rare, this is quadrupled - total 60. Mugumma's Spirit Travel skill is only 69, and he doesn't want to spend his time trying to roll 09 or less on 1d100, so he spends 18 MPs (from his fetch) to increase his chances, to 27. At the end of the 1d6 hours, he makes a Spirit Travel die roll, and fails, rolling 34. Now he must take another 1d6 hours to try again.

Looking in an appropriate area can modify your chance of success. These areas sometimes are due to strong effects on the Mundane Plane such as ghouls can be found in graveyards, ghosts are more frequent in areas where large battles recently occurred, as well as violence, hatred, fear etc. spirits, even other shamans looking for the same or cleansing the area of them because it is their protected area and they do not want their people attacked. Temples are also a great source of spirits, though more risky.

Spirit Travel Table

Other Rarity factors

If a spirit is otherwise typical, but has some strange feature in its nature, its rarity factor is increased a level. For instance, a Rage passion spirit is Rare instead of Uncommon, as is a Wraith that attacks POW instead of STR, CON, or INT. A stone nymph is Very Rare, not just Rare.

The vicinity being searched affects rarity. It may make contacting a spirit easier by one level of rarity, or more difficult by one, or even two levels. Or it may make contacting the spirit totally impossible. Example: a tree spirit is normally uncommon. Within a major forest, these would be common. On the other hand, in the Wastes it would be rare. Atop Valind's glacier it would be very rare. And in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles from any land, it would just simply be impossible. As another example, a troll spirit could not be found in the East Isles.

A weaker version of the spirit sought is one degree less common, regardless of the degree weaker that is sought. Example -- a ghost is typically POW 4d6 for a Rarity of 12. To find a POW 3d6 ghost, the shaman increases rarity to uncommon, for a total Rarity of 18. Some spirits cannot be found in weaker versions. All Krarshtides are at least 2d6+12 MPs. The Bad Man is always POW 10d6.

Sample Spirit Rarity

*Spirit Type*	*Rarity*		*Notes*
Elemental	3 per d6 POW	Common
Ghost	12	Common
Intellect	6	Common
Magic	12	Common
Power	9	Common
Spell	3 per d6 POW	Common	Typically 1d6 POW per pt in the spell. Up to a 4 point spell.
Spell	6 per d6 POW	Uncommon	Ritual, Control, or unusual Detect. 5 or 6 point "Common" variable point spell.
Spell	12 per d6 POW	Rare	Unusual ritual, cult specialty, 7 or 8 point "Common" variable point spell.
Spell	24 per d6 POW	Very rare	Significant variant (ranged Heal, variable Fireblade) or higher than 8 point "Common" variable spell.
Disease	24	Uncommon
Healing	24	Uncommon
Passion	24	Uncommon
Wraith	24	Uncommon
Chonchon	42	Rare
Ghoul	30	Rare
Hellion	42	Rare
Nymph	24 + modifier	Rare	Dryad +16, hag +20, limoniad +20, naiad +18, oread +16
Rune Spell	36 + 12/pt	Rare	Common divine magic
Rune Spell	72 + 24/pt	Very Rare	Cult specialties (impossible if god has no presence in area)
Bad Man	240	Very Rare
Dreamwraiths	24 per d6 POW	Very Rare	Impossible outside East Isles
Hollri	144	Very Rare	Impossible too far from glaciers (Avg. = 6d6 POW)
Krarshtides	60	Very Rare
Specters	24 per SIZ	Very Rare
Sorcery spell	72 +1/pt	Very Rare	Impossible outside sorcery-using lands

Nodes

These are sites that create, attract, or imprison spirits. A shaman can always revisit a previously known Node, unless he is far from it.

*1d8*	*Result*
1	Roll once on the Element table
2	Roll once on the Power table
3	Roll once on the Form table
4	Roll once on the Element, and once on the Power table
5	Roll once on the Element, and once on the Form table
6	Roll once on the Power, and once on the Form table
7	Roll once on each table
8	Combination: roll twice and combine (this is the only way you can have two Powers or Elements in a single node). If another "8" is rolled, add and roll again

	*Element*	Power	*Form*
1	Dark	Change	Beast
2	Water	Stasis	Chaos
3	Earth	Harmony	Man
4	Sky	Disorder	Plant
5	Storm	Life	Spirit
6	Local dominant *	Death	Roll twice more, combining results
7	Local dominant *	Truth
8	Re-roll on 1d6 a sub rune picking of the chosen element **	Illusion
9		Other Rune (Power Rune)
10		Other Rune (non-Power Rune)

Example: the shaman Badthumb has encountered a node on the spirit plane. He rolls 1d8 to determine its affinities, rolling a 6: Power and Form. He then rolls 1d10 on the Power table, receiving a 9 -- hmm. "Other Rune". The gamemaster thumbs idly through Gods of Glorantha, looking for something interesting, and decides to apply the Dragonewt Rune. He then rolls a 4 on the Form table; "Plant". Dragonewt + Plant? Interesting. The gamemaster thinks some more.

STANDARD SHAMAN BENEFITS

The Fetch

What is the fetch? The fetch may be a number of things, depending on the mystical tradition of the shaman. It might be one of the shaman's own ancestors, or a totemic spirit. It might even be a spirit double of the shaman, somehow evoked from his subconscious. Among non-humans, it might be a pre-mortal monster, an unborn spirit, or a fragment of Aldrya's over mind. Whatever the source, it is certain that the maintenance and evocation of the fetch is dependent upon something within the shaman -- a special organ, a new bone, a secret name. Whatever the source, every shares many things in common, and yet every fetch is different.

The fetch provides POW and magic points to the shaman. Its magic points are always accessible, and its POW can be sacrificed at will. A Divine Intervention can be paid for partially or wholly with the fetch's POW (but the die roll is still based on your own POW alone). The fetch's POW does not rise on its own, but is increased only by sacrifice to it.

The fetch's MPs regenerate at the normal rate, in parallel to the shaman's. If the fetch's POW is 24, it regains 1 MP per hour, regardless of the shaman's POW.

The fetch shares the shaman's INT, and can act and react as just as can the shaman. However, this fetch's "INT-equivalent" is not able to memorize spells, as it is just another side of the shaman. Players irretrievably tainted by the modern view of things may be helped in comprehending the fetch by the examples of the "Left Brain/Right Brain" or "Conscious Mind/Subconscious" dichotomies so famous today. While the fetch is not the Right Brain, nor the subconscious, it is a parallel type of being -- another side of the shaman.

When the shaman is discorporate, things the fetch sees and does are not made aware to the shaman until he returns to his body. However, the fetch is privy to all that the shaman is experiencing and doing and can communicate this knowledge to others. When the shaman is not discorporate, the fetch is present on the spirit plane, and both parties are fully aware of everything that the other is doing.

Spirit Sense

A shaman automatically has Spirit Sense ability equal to his fetch's POW. This a hard magic skill which can be increased through experience.

Discorporation

A shaman, by doing a successful Summon roll and taking an hour, can free his spirit from his body and enter the Spirit Plane. His fetch stays behind to watch over his body. He can stay on the Spirit Plane as long as he wants, but there is, of course, danger from the inhabitants thereof. Also, his body can starve to death.

By casting Visibility, the shaman's spirit can manifest on the mundane plane, and engage other individuals in spirit combat. It has an apparent SIZ equal to its POW. If Visible, the Shaman can see the Mundane Plane using his normal perception skills. While the shaman is gone, the fetch can cast any spells the shaman know with a DEX SR of 1. The fetch normally has a high POW, so its spells are to be feared. It can also release spirits trapped within it or contained on the shaman's person. It can use any matrix or bound spirit on the Shaman's body.

The fetch can communicate in the shaman's absence by the use of Mindspeech or similar spells.

Incarnating Spirits

Some Shamans may incarnate spirits. This means that the spirit possesses the Shaman, bestowing a power or ability on the Shaman. Thus, in times of war, a tribal Shaman may incarnate a powerful War Spirit to lead the tribe to war. This is not overt possession, the Shaman is in full control at all times. He is also protected against possession, unless he fumbled his ceremony roll.

Channeling Spirits

Some Shamans can Channel spirits. This means that the spirit can partially possess the Shaman, being able to talk through the Shaman. This is often used for oracular purposes, or when an ancestor is summoned to offer advice or commands to his family. The spirit so summoned will usually be unable to possess the Shaman, unless he has fumbled his ceremony roll.

Spirit Defense

The shaman can draw MPs from the fetch at will. If an attack comes solely from the spirit plane, he can intercept it with the fetch, and have the fetch fight it instead of him. However, if the shaman is discorporate, the fetch cannot intercept an attacker.

If a discorporate shaman loses a fight on the spirit plane, his soul automatically retreats to his body, accompanied by the victorious spirit. Whenever he wants, he can re-attack a spirit possessing him and try to overcome and dispel it. When a spirit, which possesses the shaman, is defeated in spirit combat, it is immediately expelled to the spirit plane.

When a shaman is attacked in spirit combat, the POW of the fetch is added to the shamans own for the purpose of defending only.

SHAMANIC ABILITIES AND TABOOS

A shaman's commitment to his duties requires him to ignore skills which are not directly related to his profession. ALL agility (parry, stealth), attack, and perception skills are limited to DEX*3. Skills which are higher than DEX * 3 then the character becomes a shaman are not decreased but can no longer be increased through experience or training.

Most abilities and all taboos are always in effect. If a shaman wishes to gain a new ability or taboo, he must contact a Greater Entity.

Abilities

The very first ability a shaman takes is free. By sacrificing 1 point off any stat, a shaman may receive another level of ability. The third level costs him 2 points (for a total of 3 points so far). The fourth level costs 3 points, and so forth. A point of INT counts for 3 times as much as any other stat.

Example: When Bottasin the shaman formed his fetch under the Horned God's tutelage, he got (for free) a level of Possession. Later, he sacrificed 1 POW to add another level. Much later, he contacted his tribe's Ancestor, and sacrificed 2 SIZ for a level of Mind Expansion, then 3 DEX for another level. Finally, he sacrificed 1 POW and 1 INT (4 pts worth of stats) for a third level of Possession.

Taboos

When a shaman takes a taboo, his ability cost is "reset". That is, the next ability level he takes only costs 1 point, then 2, and so forth.

Example: Bottasin's last shamanic level cost him 4 stat pts. He now contacts Oakfed and takes the taboo "never extinguish a fire". He then takes a second level of Mind Expansion, which will cost him 1 stat pt.

Abilities List:

CONCEAL FETCH

Only a few secretive sects, such as Black Fang, know this rare ability. Each level of Conceal Fetch conceals the fetch's presence from one selected form of magical vision or spell. Normally, Second Sight is chosen as the first level, with Mystic Vision and Soul Sight making up the second and third levels.

CURE DISEASE

By laying his hands on a diseased individual, the shaman can spend 1 MP per level. Each MP lets him roll 1d6, matching the total vs. an infecting spirit's POW. If the shaman wins, the spirit is extracted, usually in the form of a stone, bit of fluff, or small bloody organ. The shaman can either exile the spirit into the Grey Zone, or trap it within his fetch or a Binding.

If the sick person does not have a disease spirit, then instead the shaman adds his 1d6/MP to the target's next roll for disease resistance.

HIDE SOUL

Allows the shaman to hide from an enemy spirit, if not already engaged in spirit combat. The shaman then expends up to 1 MP per level. Each MP lets him mask his presence from 10 MPs the enemy spirit has. Thus, a single MP would protect him against any number of enemy spirits with no more than 10 MPs each. A sensory spell such as Second Sight, Detect Enemy, etc., cancels out an equal number of Hide Soul levels. Example: a shaman with Hide Soul 3 spends 3 MPs to hide from an evil wraith. This guards him from up to 30 MPs, so the wraith, with 17 MPs, cannot see him. The wraith is suspicious, and casts Sense Life (Intensity 2). The shaman's Hide Soul can now hide only from up to 10 MPs. Since the wraith's MPs are 17, it can see him clearly and attacks.

LAY ON OF HANDS

Shamans are well known as healers but normally they use healing magic and knowledge of healing potions and plants to maintain this reputation. However, some shamanic traditions hold the secret of Laying on Hands.

There are several types of Laying on Hands and each one must be learned separately.

MAGIC ATTACK

Each level adds +1 to the shaman's effective MPs for the purpose of overcoming a foe's MPs when casting a spell.

MAGIC DEFENSE

Each level adds 1 to the shaman's effective MPs for the purpose of resisting an attack spell.

MIND EXPANSION

Each level gives the fetch pseudo-INT equal to the shaman's intelligence or 3d6, if the shaman's INT is greater than 18 for the purpose of memorizing spells only.

POSSESSION

While any shaman can discorporate and engage other folks in spirit combat, this ability lets the shaman actually take over the body of a possessed victim, and control him as he sees fit. If the victim is killed while the shaman is in possession, the shaman's spirit immediately returns to his own body, and he takes 1d6 GHP damage.

The first level lets you possess members of your own species. The second level lets you possess any creature with the same hit location as your species. Each subsequent level lets you select a new hit location table, which you are able to use.

POWER WITHIN

Take 1 melee round and concentrate, gathering your inner strength. At the end of the round, you lose 1 hp and 1d6 fatigue, and receive one of the following bonuses:

SECOND SIGHT

This gives the shaman additional abilities similar to an innate Second Sight power. Each level lets you choose an ability from the following table:

SELF-RESURRECTION

The shaman can heal himself and return from the dead. To do this, the shaman must heal himself up to 1 positive hit point -- however, it costs POW rather than MPs to heal himself in this way. This POW may come from either shaman or the fetch and takes an amount of time equal depending on the levels of Self-Resurrection the shaman has.

SHOW SPIRIT

This exposes discorporate spirits, making them visible to others. To do so, the shaman spends up to 1 MP per level. A single MP causes all spirits within his fetch's POW in meters to become visible as vague, half-unseen shadows. Each additional MP either increases the radius by the fetch's POW in meters or heightens the spirits' visibility, according to the following table:

SOUL EXPANSION

Each level of Soul Expansion adds +1 to the shaman's species maximum POW. This improves his chance to increase POW by experience.

SPELL BARRAGE

Each level of Spell Barrage allows the shaman to throw one additional spirit spell simultaneously. All spells cost the full MP amount. The SR is equal to the shaman's DEX SR, plus the MPs spent, and all the spells go off simultaneously. Only one die roll for success is made and either all spells succeed, or all fail. If multiple attack spells are aimed at a single target, the shaman just makes a single MP vs. MP roll to see if he was affected by all the spells at once. Multiple targets must all be visible to the shaman.

If the shaman gets a critical success or a failure when casting, he only spends 1 MP, regardless of the number of spells.

If the shaman has an ability to manipulate spirit spells (such as Lunar Magic), he may do so at the same time.

SPELL EXTENSION

The shaman can extend the duration of spirit magic spells. For each level of this ability, the shaman may maintain one spell. The shaman must dedicate a source of MPs to each extended spell, whether from a bound spirit, or of his own. The source must have POW at least equal to the MPs used to cast the spell, and while the spell is maintained, the source has its daily MP recovery reduced by that amount. The shaman can voluntarily drop the spell at any time. In addition, if he loses control over a bound spirit being used to power a spell, the spell is immediately dropped.

SPIRIT AFFINITY

Reflects an affinity for spirits of a particular type, or tied to a particular Rune. The most direct benefit is that spirits tied to that Rune tend to be friendlier, though spirits tied to opposing Runes may be more hostile. Spirit Affinity is normally required of shamans who belong to cults.

The affinity reduces the difficulty multiplier required to search for spirits of the appropriate type by 1. I.e., common spirits are found instantly, uncommon spirits have a factor of 1, rare spirits a factor of 3, etc. In additional, each level of Affinity gives the user a +10% bonus when casting a control or command spell on an affected spirit. It also makes it 10% harder for an enemy to wrest control away from the user. If the affinity is more restricted than a Rune - say, to a particular type of spirit, then the shaman gets +20% for his bonus. For instance, a Disease Master with Disease Affinity would get +20% per level for controlling Disease spirits.

SPIRIT DEFENSE

This gives the shaman some protection even when he is very weak. Basically, the minimum score he defends and attacks at in spirit combat, regardless of his real MP score, is always at least 3 times his levels in Spirit Defense. For instance, a shaman with Spirit Defense 3 would always act as if he had at +9 POW. A shaman with Spirit Defense 5 would act as if he had +15 POW.

SPIRIT MASTERY

Each level adds +1 to the MPs lost by a defending spirit when the shaman overcomes it in spirit combat.

SPIRIT TRAPPING

Allows the shaman to hold spirits within his fetch. Each level lets the shaman hold 1 spirit at a time. No trapped spirit may have MPs exceeding the fetch's current MPs. The shaman can use its abilities as if it were in a binding enchantment.

CULTS AND SHAMANS

Most cults, however friendly to shamans, do not permit shamans to rise higher than initiate status. Those cults, which do allow shamans to become priests generally, have all their priests as shamans.

Shaman cults generally require their shamans to take upon them a specific taboo(s). These taboos do count towards permitting the shaman to get ability levels.

Example: Tunk the shaman becomes an Ancestor Worshipper. At a great ceremony, his ancestors force upon him the two taboos (see below) of this religion. He can now take 2 levels in appropriate abilities without suffering any stat losses, if he wants.

ANCESTOR WORSHIP (Daka Fal)

BAGOG

BASMOLI

BLACK FANG

EARTH WITCH

GLOOMSHARK

KOLAT

KYGER LITOR

PRAXIAN

PAVIS RUBBLE TRADITION

SCHOOL OF RED MASKS

ULERIA

SPIRIT CULT RULES

1) First Catch Your Spirit...

A shaman needs to have the spell Summon [spirit] before he can organize Spirit Cult worship. Any friendly spirit who can be worshipped will teach this gladly to shamans it encounters: spirits can be met by chance while wandering the spirit plane, contacted deliberately by going to places they are known to frequent (their homes, territories, or favorite spots), or summoned by holding a ritual to attract their attention (in an appropriate location, appropriately garbed, with appropriate ritual objects, offerings and sacrifices).

Random Spirit Encounters

Chance encounters are up to the GM, whether using the Spirit Plane Encounter Tables (any incarnation) or his own devious devices. Such encounters could be good or bad news for the shaman. In some places, spirits are known to cluster -- as around the "generic" holy places in Prax, ruins, and oases, where hungry and forlorn spirits cluster in search of food or worship. Random shamanic encounters have brought both beneficial and malevolent spirit cults into the world. If a Shaman meets and befriends a nice spirit, he can learn how to summon it (and go back to his tribe to arrange worship). If a Shaman meets and is taken over by an evil spirit, it may (while possessing the shaman) arrange a worship service to "summon" and propitiate itself! (Cue diabolic laughter).

Finding Spirits "At Home"

Places that are "home" to specific spirits can easily be assigned depending on campaign needs. Many spirits (obviously including spirits "of" places) are sedentary, and this how "local" spirit cults survive -- the spirit that happens to dwell in the Hare Woods, or the Traveling Stone, will always be found by the people who live round that way, for better or for worse. Locals probably know of (at most!) a single place within reasonable traveling distance where a given spirit can be summoned! Summoning spirits at their known holy places (aka. "homes", "nests", "territories", etc.) is relatively straightforward, though a full summoning ceremony is usually employed (following the sensible Shamanic principle, "better safe than sorry"). If the Spirit turns up, the Shaman can learn Summon [spirit] ritual spell. If it doesn't, you've lost nothing.

Summoning Rituals

If you choose instead to call up a specific spirit, to a place with which it has little or no previous connection, it'd be best to think in "Ritual Magic" terms: go to a place appropriate to that spirit, bringing gifts (sacrifices, trappings, items) that you think will be attractive to the spirit, and try to summon it to you there. Thus a Praxian shaman summoning Sun Hawk would wear a hawk-feather cloak, a bright-eyed, beaked mask, and perform his ritual in the arid uplands ("hawk country") at high noon, offering up a live hare or similarly attractive prey to catch the spirit's attention. (And Sun Hawk still isn't guaranteed to turn up...)

The GM should modify the Summon chance depending on the suitability of the players' preparations, and their "fit" to his campaign needs. A base-chance Summon roll normally only applies under "ideal" circumstances: after enough research has been done to select a suitable location, an apposite date and time, carefully and expensively prepared "props" (costume, ritual objects, etc.), and a tasty gift, sacrifice, offering, or whatever.

The Summon roll is made, modified by Ceremony. A failure costs the Shaman one POW, and he does *not* learn the "Summon [spirit]" spell (he thought he did, and got it wrong, and blew his POW). A fumble is left to the devious and twisted imagination of the GM. On a success, the appropriate "Summon [spirit] spell is learned, the Shaman spends 1 POW to cast it, and the spirit appears.

2) Then Worship It...

A summoned spirit expects to be worshipped, sooner or later, and it may become upset, surly or uncommunicative if nothing is offered after it's gone to the trouble of turning up (and/or had its home invaded by unwelcome outsiders). NB: a Shaman who has a good "track record" with a particular spirit might be able to call it up for other purposes... this is left to individual GMs to develop.

Becoming a Cultist

Becoming a member of a Spirit Cult congregation costs 1 POW, which is sacrificed in the presence of the summoned Spirit, and creates a link to it (in a manner similar to cultic Initiation). This should be noted on the character sheet (perhaps on a list of Spirit Cults or other cult initiations), as it is normally permanent: a Praxian brave who once worshipped Sun Hawk in his wild and foolish youth can still do so as an elder, if the spirit can be found. It is very hard to be "Excommunicated" from a Spirit Cult (as no-one can be bothered to go through the motions); much more likely you will be torn to pieces by your former co-religionists if they catch you.

Worship Ceremonies

At a worship ceremony, worshippers sacrifice all but one of their MPs to the spirit. Roll 1D100: if the number rolled is less than or equal to the number of worshippers, the worship was successful. A canny GM may use the exact number rolled as an indication of *how* powerful the summoned manifestation of the Spirit is: success, POW of spirit equals 1D100 roll; special success, POW equals number of worshippers; critical success, POW equals 95; failure, what spirit were you talking about? -- It doesn't hang around; fumble - Aha! Cue evil GM laughter and cunning plots...

Outsiders!

If you attend a successful worship service but are not a worshipper (you're present, but have not given POW to the spirit), the Shaman and Spirit may detect you and feel unkind towards you: a POWx3% roll is probably appropriate (they are detecting your "uninvolved" POW, so having a high POW works against you), whether you are "hanging out" in the congregation, hiding behind a nearby rock, or whatever. Commonly, simpler and/or more malicious spirits assume such persons are intended as sacrifices, and don't ask twice before tucking in!

A note on the "Worship" spell

Spirit Cult worship does *not* require a "Worship" Rune spell. The Shaman's ability to summon the spirit is equivalent to this. Shamans who have sacrificed for the relevant Summon spell do not need to sacrifice 1 POW to participate in Spirit Cult worship: they already have a "link" of sorts to the spirit, understanding its nature well enough to direct Magic Points to it. They can participate in, and derive full benefits from, a Spirit Cult worship services in which they do not lead the congregation.

3) Then Get Its Magic...

All Spirit Cult worshippers who have participated in a successful worship ceremony can sacrifice for one or more points of the spirit's Rune spell(s). "Ordinary" worshippers regain the use of their Rune spells as per normal one-use magic. Shamans who know the relevant Summon ritual can gain their Spirit Cult Rune spells "reusable": they will regain the use of all their spirit cult rune spells (other than a just-cast "Summon [spirit]") every time they participate in a successful worship service for that spirit (whether leading worship or simply participating).

4) And Keep It Happy...

Requirements, Taboos, Restrictions

Some spirits require certain actions, attitudes or taboos from their followers. Most can't afford to be so picky, or their "cult requirements" are pathetically trivial (e.g. "always butcher frogs"). Some can be scary, though: be creative! A follower who breaks his taboos cannot successfully participate in the next worship service (i.e. his participation counts for nothing, he is not a % in the Shaman's roll, he cannot gain or regain Rune magic). A Shaman who breaks his taboos has the replenishment of his Summon spell delayed for another season, annoys the spirit, and may have to explain this to his congregation. (Spirit cults don't have spirits of reprisal, but the main spirit can usually manage well enough by them, whenever they are summoned for worship service, should malefactors be unwise enough to present themselves). Note that it is unusual for a spirit cult to have unduly onerous membership requirements, or how on earth would it survive? "Daft" requirements are far more fun!

Regular Worship

Successful spirit cult worship is commonly carried out seasonally: this is magically efficient, keeps the spirit happy, and tops up cultists' Rune spells on a regular basis. Spirits can afford to be forgiving, though -- their sense of time is different to ours -- and most won't bear lethal grudges if "neglected" for a while. Most are pathetically grateful for whatever worship they can attract, and see no point in driving away their semi-faithful worshippers. So if a Shaman only worships Sun Hawk at midsummer - or only at midsummer if his tribe is near the Sun Dome Temple - he won't be shunned for that reason.

The bulk of the members of any spirit cult may only want to worship annually, to renew their "one-use" Rune spells. For this reason, any more frequent worship usually represents a highly domineering, exploitative or obsessive Shaman -- it's no surprise that these are common Shamanic personality traits!

Can I join more than one Spirit Cult?

The Spirits worshipped by Spirit Cults are pipsqueaks compared to the Big Gods. Their Shamans and worshippers can usually worship any number of them (unless they strenuously object, such as when a Star Spirit learns you are also a worshipper of the Great Dung Beetle), and they're usually grateful for whatever worship they can obtain. In the board game "Nomad Gods", the Praxian tribal shamans 'worship' (i.e. use) any spirit they come across, regardless of existing alliances or traditional tribal friendships, except in special cases (like the Three Feathered Rivals, or raw Chaos). (NB: the mutual antagonism between the Three Feathered Rivals is famed throughout Prax: pity the Shaman who maintains good relations with more than one of these quarrelsome birds!)

In fact, as Shamans don't have the close emotional ties to their spirit cult associates that priests have towards their gods, it is entirely possible for a Shaman to summon a spirit with whom he has previously has a good relationship, only to entrap, enslave or betray it. If the tribe is very hungry, and the shaman knows how to summon Frog Woman, and his followers all know how to butcher frogs, by now... well, French cuisine comes to the Plaines of Prax! Or, for example, a Shaman wanting to do Sun Hawk a favor might summon Raven (Sun Hawk's rival) to a place of Sun Hawk's choosing for an outburst of cartoon-style violence...

What does my God think of my Spirit Cult?

Major religions consider most spirit cults beneath their notice. Most spirit cults are glad of any worship they can attract. It is unusual for a mainstream cult to bear a special animus towards a spirit cult. Clearly there are exceptions -- a Yelm priest is unlikely to sympathize with shamanisms worship in any case, even less with shamanisms worship of Darkness spirits!

Some divine or divine/spirit cults encourage worship of certain spirit cults (e.g. Kyger Litor likes her shaman-priests to worship the Troll spirit cults), and may maintain ritual knowledge, apparatus or sites so as to make this easier and more readily available to their practitioners. In a sense, a sub-cult shrine can be seen as a permanent, institutionalized "Spirit Cult", with its own occasional devotees, offering a specialized Rune spell, and attracting a fragment of the worship given by Initiates of the main cult to their deity.

So should I build a Shrine? A Temple?

In Spirit Cult worship, congregations are more important than fixed shrines. If you can get loads of your followers to chant the praises of the Great Newt, they will probably do this around a stream, pond, river or spawning-pool -- an appropriate location for summoning and worshipping such a being. So you can hold your seasonal worship there regularly, let it be known that that's where prospective worshippers of the Great Newt should join his existing dozens of followers... and it might be handy (at some point) to set up permanent facilities for your regular summoning ceremony (rune stones, changing rooms, storage space for bulky ritual objects). And this is, of course, what Shrines are!

If, on the other hand, you're out in the desolate wastes of Prax, you can forget about keeping an immobile "shrine" to yourself. A Sun Hawk shrine-equivalent would be the medicine bundle, mask, shamanic costume, and ritual paraphernalia owned by a tribal shaman, who had previously contacted Sun Hawk. If any other tribe got hold of these (by fair means or foul: spot the scenario potential!), they'd be able to summon Sun Hawk more easily themselves. And if they did so at Sun Hawk's Perch (a traditional worship spot the Big Bird is known to frequent), successful worship becomes even easier: as ever in Prax, the shrines and holy spots are known and shared by many tribes, and used by whoever happens to be in possession at the time.

You want to build a Temple for your Spirit Cult? Sounds ambitious, but why not go for it! It'll be fun to see how the local adventurers react...

Do you have to be a Shaman to start a Spirit Cult?

Frankly, I doubt it. Occasional individuals can be found who, while not "full Shamans" in the RQ rules sense, nevertheless might possess certain Shaman-like abilities -- one of which would be the ability to summon and worship a specific spirit. (Perhaps a chance encounter with the spirit first triggered this unusual ability.)

Some Spirit Cults are led by people who are in no way as magically powerful or generally competent as a fully trained shaman, priest or sorcerer, but who can nevertheless lead a worship service, summon their spirit, gain reusable Rune Magic, and so forth. This is, if you like, the flip-side to the way shamans can exploit encountered spirits: here, the spirit empowers the (damaged?) person it has contacted, but only to allow them to direct worship towards itself. He can lead worship to the Frog Woman, all right -- but he isn't a Shaman, or a Priest, or able to do very much else, come to that. In this way, rogue or predatory Spirit Cults are easier to establish: you don't need to take over a Shaman in order to get a presence in the community.

SPELL COST

To learn a spirit magic spell, one must find a willing shaman or a friendly priest, who will summon a spell spirit. In both cases the spell spirit must be reduced to 0 magic points in spirit combat, after which it teaches the spell it knows. Spell cost will vary by area but in general are as follows:

Example: A Demoralize costs 1000+1000=2,000 sp (1,000 sp with discount). A Bladesharp 4 would cost