Magia Espiritual Ampliada (Revista)

8/2/2019 Magia Espiritual Ampliada (Revista)

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My songs are paths said a shaman, Some

take me a short way some take me a long

way. I make them straight and I walk downthem. I look about me as I go not a thing

escapes my notice. I call but I stay on the

path.

(Townsley, Graham. Song Paths, The

Ways and Means of Yaminahua Shamanic

Knowledge, LHomme, 1993: 33:p454)

Ill tell you what shamanisms all about. Its

the quickest way to get your brains scrambled

short of falling off a cliff.

Praghos the Cursed.

RuneQuest II introduces a new, free-form

system of Spirit Magic mixing a blend of

academic realism and fantasy. The rules

provide a toolkit of ideas that can be used

to create many different kind ofanimistic

traditions but the openness of the system

can make it hard to know where to start

or how to fit spirit magic into your own

campaign. This article provides answers to

questions that have been asked and tools

to help bring spirit worship to life in anycampaign. This is the first of two articles:

the second will expand upon the range of

spirits and spirit encounters available to

spirit worshippers.

Animism is the broadest term for a

worldview in which the world is infused

by spirits, and shamanism is just one

type of animism. RuneQuest II focuses on

shamanism but the rules can accommodate

most forms of animism. For example, Shinto

or folk Hinduism can be seen as animistic

practices as can ancestor worship among

the Romans and ancient Greeks. And, as

can be seen in any bookshop, many new

age beliefs are fundamentally animistic.

RuneQuest IIspirit magic is as applicable to

the modern world as it is to the ancient.

Spirit Cults & TraditionsAlthough most spirit worshippers will be

a member of a cult, the organisation is

unlikely to be anywhere near as formal as a

divine cult or sorcery school. Spirit cults are

anyone wishing to bind a spirit need

to know about it are its Intensity and i

attitude towards the spirit mage.

IntensityIntensity is an attribute of spirits. Whe

it comes to Spirit Magic, the Intensity of

spirit measures the benefit it can give t

the spirits controller as well as how difficu

it is to command. The greater a spirits POW

the greater its Intensity. A spirits Intensit

can be calculated from the following tabl

Spirit Intensity Table

Intensity POW

POW

Range

Typical

POW

1 1D6+6 7-12 10

2 1D6+12 13-18 16

3 1D6+18 19-24 22

+1 +6 +6 +6

You do not always need to know a spirit

Intensity to know the scale of its effect

but the attribute is always there and

also used to measure how much it costs t

bind a spirit.

Shamanism for Fun and ProphetsBy Bruce Mason, Gary Goldman and Pete Nash

more likely to be loose affiliations or may

simply consist of members of single family

or clan or tradition of veneration of spirits.Such traditions share one simple insight:

the world is alive. Each rock, plant, animal

and each cloud, pool and storm has its own

spirit. Such spirits themselves, especially the

spirits of ancestors, may also be members

of a tradition or be friendly towards a

particular tradition. Other spirits may

simply have no interest in the mundane

world. Some may be actively hostile to

members of a particular tradition.

Because there are so many ways toapproach spirit worship, cults tend to be

diverse but as a rule of thumb each spirit

cult tends to have access to five or six types

of spirit with whom it is friendly and when

added up, these spirits will usually offer

7-12 different benefits. Smaller spirit cults

have access to fewer friendly spirits.

Nearly all cults will have access to

ancestors and guardian spirits plus a

number of nature spirits depending on

the cults background. Cults with particular

elemental affiliations will have access to

elemental spirits. Curse and bane spirits

are not usually part of a tradition and any

spirit magician attempting to bind them

into service is taking a serious risk.

Defining SpiritsThe denizens of the spirit plane are

varied and diverse. Spirit magic allows

practitioners to approach spirits in two

ways: as beings with which they can

communicate and as entities which can be

bound to service. A spirit magicians most

frequent interaction with spirits will be

through the use of the Spirit Walking skill

to communicate with them. In this respect

spirits are non player characters who can

be interacted with during game sessions.

Spirit Binding is the skill of persuading or

forcing a spirit into service or protecting

oneself from harmful spirits. RuneQuest II

provides a basic breakdown of spirit typesand how to quantify what benefits a bound

spirit might provide The two key elements

Occasionally spirits can be found whic

for mythical or historical reasons brea

the rules. The system here is simply

default covering most normal case

Exceptions will always occur.

AttitudeEach spirit has an attitude toward

magicians who approach it. Some w

be friendly, others neutral and som

hostile. Spirits belonging to the magician

tradition will most likely be friendly. Neutra

spirits consist of both those belonging t

traditions which are not hostile to th

shaman as well as those not considere

part of any tradition. Hostile spirits ar

those belonging to enemy tradition

or are inherently antagonistic due t

mythic, runic or elemental oppositions. Foexample, Bane spirits are hostile to almos

all non-Chaotic traditions while a traditio


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with wolf spirits will find that most prey

animal spirits are distinctly hostile to it.

The attitude of a spirit towards a spirit

magician affects how it will react to being

approached, to being bound and what it

might do if it ever escapes a binding.

Binding SpiritsThe RuneQuest II rules leave it up to the

players and Games Master in any campaign

to determine the precise procedures for

gaining spirits with the assumption each

campaign will generate its own guidelines.

There are, however, some common

elements that are likely to underlie most

Spirit Magic traditions.

Worshippers of a spirit cult gain

spirits through undertaking a ritual in

collaboration with a shaman to bind a spirit

into a fetish. The shaman searches the spirit

plane for a suitable spirit for the supplicant,

defeats it in spirit combat and then binds

it to a fetish that has been prepared by

both shaman and supplicant. While the

shaman journeys, the supplicant fasts and

mediates, purifying himself in preparation

for the gift of the spirit. The bound spirit

counts against the owners limit, notthe shamans. Although there is nothing

stopping a non-shaman undertaking the

search and binding a spirit by himself, the

task is dangerous and would be frowned

on by other members of the community.

Shamans will usually only provide spirits

to members of the same tradition or in

recompense for great favours and they

will only bind friendly spirits associated

with their cult in this manner. The fetish

costs the recipient one ImprovementRoll per point of Intensity of the spirit.

This cost represents the time and

personal development needed for a spirit

worshipper to make themselves worthy of

the gift. The ritual usually takes a week and

at the end of the week the player should

roll the spirits characteristics randomly

based on the spirits Intensity. It is possible

the spirit gained may be too powerful for

the adventurer to control.

Spirits with an Intensity of 5 or more arelikely to have a POW of over 30 and a

spectral combat skill of 150% or more

meaning that only the greatest of the

High Shamans can defeat them in spirit

combat unless several shamans join

together in a Concert (See Spellcom).

Such actions should be played out rather

than relegated to Down Time.

Once bound to the mundane plane in a

fetish a spirit can no longer regenerate

Magic Points nor can it perceive the

world around it so the spirit lies quiescent

until either temporarily released or the

fetish is broken. In previous editions of

RuneQuest, magic items featured spirits

being used as Magic Point batteries, spell

storage repositories and spell casters.

These items were generally an aspect ofgame balance and do not feature in spirit

magic in RuneQuest II. Clearly though

you can reintroduce them to your own

games as you see fit.

An adventurer may upgrade the spir

in a fetish to a more powerful spirit o

the same type by paying the differenc

in Improvement Rolls. For example a

adventurer with a fetish containing a

Intensity 2 Nature spirit can upgrade it t

an Intensity 3 Nature Spirit by paying Improvement Roll. They can also replac

the spirit with the same type of spirit of th

same Intensity if they wish and they ca

persuade a shaman.

Remember shamans are not magic item

factories. Each shaman is a combination o

priest, doctor, teacher, lawyer, undertake

and spiritual border guard for the

community. Most of their time is taken u

with mundane affairs and they have ver

little time for the extensive work requirefor creating fetishes. Most communit

members may gain a fetish as an adulthoo

ritual and maybe at one other rite-de

passage. Shamans have more importan

things to do than provide magic items fo

wandering adventurers.

Using fetishesA bound spirit must be released from it

fetish in order to use its ability. To releas

the spirit the magician simply spenda single Combat Action: this does no

Thorgelds sagaThorgeld The Bold has approached the

clan shaman, Four Tooth, and respectfully

requested his help to gain some wolf magic:

in this case the track by scent trait. A simpletrait like this merely requires an Intensity

One spirit: a good job because Thorgelds

Spirit Binding is only 32%. Four Tooth agrees

to help so Thorgelds player marks off one

Improvement Roll and gifts Four Tooth with

a wolf hide that has been treated to be

used as a drum skin. He decides the fetish

will be a highly polished piece of wolf jaw

Thorgeld keeps in a medicine bag hung

around his neck. The Games Master has

ruled there are several weeks of game time

between sessions so Thorgeld has plentyof time to journey to a sacred precipice

and undertake the purification and rituals

needed under Four Tooths guidance. The

shaman binds the wolf spirit into the fetish

and dedicates it to Thorgeld, thus the spirit

counts against Thorgelds limit and not the

Shamans. Thorgelds player then rolls the

spirits characteristics. It turns out to have

a POW of 8 with the INT and CHA of an

average wolf.


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cost any Magic Points and automatically

succeeds without any skill test required.

Commanding a released spirit is more

difficult. The spirit magician must use a

free action, spend one 1 Magic Point and

succeed at a Spirit Binding skill test inorder to make a successful Spirit Command

Test. The Magic Point is spent regardless of

whether or not the Spirit Binding skill roll is

a success. A free action is an action that can

be performed at the same time as a regular

Combat Action. Generally, one free action

can be performed per Combat Action.

Therefore a spirit magician can spend 1

Combat Action to release the spirit and, as

part of the same action, try to Command the

spirit. This is how a spirit magician normally

attempts to control their spirits because a

spirit released from a fetish without being

commanded can act as it sees fit until it

is brought under control. If the spirit is a

hostile one, such as a curse spirit, it may

take the chance to immediately attack the

owner of the fetish.

A critical success when trying to Command

a spirit means the attempt costs no Magic

Points. A failed attempt to Command the

spirit means that the spirit magician mustwait until their next Combat Action to try

again. While a spirit is under the owners

control it will perform its orders to the best

of its abilities but if the owner wishes it to

perform a new action, he will have to make

a new Spirit Command Test. There is always

the possibility of losing control of a spirit

and the more powerful a spirit is, the more

dangerous it is likely to be if the owner

loses control.

Commanding a spirit currently underits owners control to return to its fetish

automatically succeeds and does not cost

any Magic Points; this is an effect of the

binding ritual. If however the owner does

not have control of the spirit he will have to

make a successful Spirit Command Test to

order the spirit back into its fetish. Given

the potential risk of uncontrolled spirits it

is no surprise shamans will only provide

their followers with friendly, easy to control

spirits.

A fetish created by a spirit magician can

only be used with the Spirit Binding skill.

Should someone come into possession

of a fetish but not have the Spirit Binding

skill then they will not be able to use the

fetish. However he could take the risk ofbreaking the fetish and hoping that the

spirit will be grateful. As an optional rule it

is possible to release a spirit from a fetish

by spending 1 Magic Point. This does not

naturally give any control over the spirit

but fans of Sinbad tales may see ways to

utilise this rule creatively. The supplement

Spellcom also presents some options for

enchantments that hold spirits which

can be used alongside these rules in your

game.

A fetish holding a spirit will take on some

of the spirits essence over time. So a bear

tooth holding a bear spirit may seem dozy

in winter or take on bearish odour. Fetishes

holding curse or sickness spirits may emit

a miasma inducing minor symptoms in

the holder, making such fetishes extremely

unpleasant. On the other hand, a stone

holding a Salamander Spirit will be warm

to the touch, which may occasionally be

useful.

Breaking a fetish immediately frees the

spirit it contains and allows it to return to

the spirit plane. A freed spirit may attempt

to flee back to the spirit plane or, if hostile,

possibly attempt to attack the owner

who imprisoned it. Malicious shamans

sometimes trap places with easily broken

fetishes containing dangerous spirits.

Disease masters in Glorantha have been

known to thrown rotting logs binding

disease spirits into wells or lakes and letnature take its course.

The visual effects of using a fetish will vary

depending on the setting. In a pseudo-

historical setting the spirits effects would

be invisible to the naked eye. In fantasy

setting the magician might take on certain

visual cues or the shadow might change.

In an epic fantasy campaign perhaps the

snarling figure of a wolf might surround the

magician, seeming to lash out at enemies.

Your Fetish Will Vary.

Shamans and spiritsThe previous section looked at how to gai

and use a fetish provided by a shaman. Th

section examines how a shaman can gai

spirits by journeying to the spirit plane an

binding spirits to service. Using Intensit

as a measure of a spirits power, the tab

below shows what the shamans require

minimum skill in spirit binding along wit

the cost in Improvement Rolls to bind

spirit.

Shamanism for Fun and ProphetsThorgelds sagaRealising he risks losing the trail of th

foreigner responsible for the death of h

family, Thorgeld holds his fetish to the aand calls on the aid of the spirit. As part o

the Combat Action he spends 1 Magic Poin

and attempts to use his Spirit Binding sk

of 32%. The spirit is released but the skill ro

fails. Thorgelds player marks off 1 Mag

Point and Thorgeld realises he has no

managed to control the spirit. He has no

used his Spirit Walking skill so he canno

see the spirit but at least it does not seem

to be attacking him. Unsure what to do, h

spends another Combat Action trying t

control it, deducts another Magic Point anfails his Spirit Binding again. Realising th

may not end well, Thorgelds player state

that he will take 10 times as long as norma

in order to get +60% to his skill (RuneQue

II Rulebook p31). Normally it takes 1 Fre

Action to make the roll but as an adventure

can only take one Free Action per Comba

Action, it takes Thorgeld 10 Combat Action

worth of concentration. Closing his eyes, h

contemplates the lessons Four Tooth taugh

him for the best part of 30 seconds an

makes his roll successfully. When he open

his eyes he realises he can almost taste th

scent of his quarry. The hunt is resumed! A

he runs off he does not notice the nearb

lake reflects the image of a wolf rather tha

his own body.


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Spirit Hunting Table

Intensity

Spirit Binding Skill

minimum requirement IRs

1 61% 1

2 81% 23 121% 3

4 141% 4

For friendly spirits, the minimum skill

requirement is reduced by 20%. In

addition, a shaman may pay 1 additional

Improvement Roll for friendly or neutral

spirits in order to reduce the minimum spirit

binding skill requirement by another 20%.

So, a shaman spending 4 Improvement

Rolls and approaching a friendly spirit

of Intensity 3 needs a minimum spiritbinding skill of 81% rather than the usual

121%. These figures are based on shamans

acquiring spirits during Down Time and

represent a minimum of risk and maximum

guarantee of success. It takes 1D6 days

of Down Time to find and bind a friendly

spirit, 2D6 days to find a neutral spirit and

2D6+6 days of careful planning to safely

find a hostile spirit that can be bound.

The Spirit Binding Skill requirementto find a spirit on the spirit plane and

defeat it in spirit combat is not the same

as the requirement needed to control a

spirit already bound into a fetish. A spirit

magician with a Spirit Binding skill of

40% is able to control a bound spirit of

up to POW 12. However that same spirit

will probably have a spectral combat skill

of 60% (POW*5%) and would is likely to

defeat the magician if he attacked it in

spirit combat. It takes a higher skill to find

and bind a spirit than it does to merely

control one already bound in a fetish.

Of course players can have their shaman

characters undertake quests to find spirits

during play sessions. In this case there is no

Improvement Roll cost involved and the

can tackle more dangerous spirits wit

help from allies. Such sessions are full o

roleplaying opportunities.

The Shamans FetchNot every Shamanic tradition feature

fetches and those that do vary in th

nature of the fetch. In some traditions th

fetch is the awakened other half of th

shaman. In this case the fetch and shama

are two sides of the same soul with th

fetch perceiving the Spirit Plane while th

shaman exists on the mundane plane. I

other traditions the fetch is a spirit (ofte

an animal guide) who is drawn to th

shaman to become their spiritual partneIn both cases the prospective shama

must undertake a successful Vision Ques

in order to gain the fetch. As the RuneQue

II Rulebook notes (page 139) this is

dangerous ritual, and it may cripple o

kill the shaman if he fails to complete

successfully.

The precise abilities of a fetch vary wide

between traditions. The RuneQuest

Rulebook (pages 144-45) provides a li

of the most common abilities but manmore exist. In cases where the fetch

the shamans other half the fetch ofte

provides the shaman with the ability t

shapechange (see Vikings for RuneQue

II as an example). If the fetch is an anim

guide then the shaman may gain th

ability to communicate with such anima

control them or gain traits of the anima

this is commonly the case with the anim

nomad shamans in Glorantha.

A fetch is never bound into a fetish. Isome cases a shaman may create an ite

referred to as a fetish, which is used t

focus their relationship with their fetch bu

this is generally a matter of tradition an

does not usually have a game effect.

Spellcom also introduces the notion o

concerts and states that it is possible for

shaman and their fetch to form a concer

This is potentially a huge advantag

and Games Masters will have to decid

whether concerts exist in their campaig

and how easy it is to find a teacher for th


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Shamanism for Fun and ProphetsConcert skill. By default it is rare skill and

it is recommended you do not introduce

it into a game until you feel comfortable

with spirit magic.

Spirit AlliesOver time a shaman gradually makes

contact with many spirits. Rather than

binding them all to service, most Shamans

attempt to strike bargains; they provide

something the spirit wants and the spirit

undertakes some service. In game terms,

such spirits are effectively contacts and

act as non player characters. Some spirits

are willing to enter into a more formal

arrangement by providing the Shaman

with their name, becoming an ally of the

shaman. In response the Shaman agrees to

undertake some sort of repeating task or to

uphold a geas or compulsion. On the most

abstract level assume the task will cost the

shaman one Improvement Roll per year to

represent the service or inconvenience.

Summoning a spirit contact or ally requires

the shaman to make a Spirit Walking skill

test and spend 1 Magic Point; this takes a

single Combat Action and the Magic Point

is spent even if the skill test fails. It willusually take 1D6 minutes before the spirit

arrives. If the spirit is a contact then the

shaman must succeed at the Spirit Walking

skill test or else the spirit does not appear.

If it is an ally it will appear regardless of

the skill result unless the Shaman fumbles.

In either case, if the skill test is a critical

success the spirit will appear at the end of

the Combat Round.

Some allies may be willing to undertake

tasks for the magician or even fight for himby discorporating an enemy but this should

be a relationship that unfolds over time in

play. Most spirits are no more capable of

interacting with the mundane world than

mortals are capable of interacting with

the spirit world. A shaman can however

use their Spirit Walking skill to summon

a consenting spirit to the mundane

world. A High Shaman can use their Spirit

Walking skill to forcibly drag a spirit to the

mundane plane if he overcomes the spirits

Persistence.

Spirit PowersThere are four ways in which a spirit magician

can use a spirits powers. The simplest

and safest way is the augmentation

provided by nature and guardian spirits.

The spirit gives the magician a benefit by

impressing itself upon the magicians soul

and is easily returned to a fetish. Elemental

spirits however require embodiment, a

harder and more demanding act. A weak

magician who incautiously embodies an

elemental spirit risks being consumed

by it. Finally, ancestor spirits possess the

magician, taking complete control. Should

an ancestor not wish to depart there is little

the unfortunate magician can do. Finally

some spirits such as curse and sicknessspirits are freed to attack a victim. The

danger in this act is that if the magician is

weak the spirit may turn on him instead.

Ancestor SpiritsUnlike the other spirits which are generally

bound for their abilities, ancestors are

venerated by spirit magicians and their

aid is requested. If the ancestor agrees to

aid it possesses the spirit magicians body.

As the spirit magicians body is the link to

the mundane plane no fetish is required,instead there must be a blood link between

the host and the ancestor. The ancestor

may agree to inhabit the body of a willing

third party provided a blood link exists.

Some ancestors are prepared to temporarily

inhabit an item of great significance to

the ancestor in order to be manifested

for some purpose. The item might be

an altar, family sword, a crown or even a

significant place such as a tree in a secret

grove. The ancestor will voluntarily enter

the item as if it were a fetish and wait to be

released when it will perform one agreed

upon service. Being bound in this way is

extremely unpleasant so the expectation

is that this will only last a few hours. Any

longer and the spirit may extract penance

at the first possibility. Regardless of whether

the ancestor is inhabiting a body or object

it counts against the number of spirits able

to be controlled by a spirit magician.

Although ancestor spirits of Intensity

exist they tend to be too weak and too litt

known to be venerated outside of maybe

small family shrine. All venerable ancesto

tend to be Intensity 2 or greater and wer

notable heroes in their time. Since thedied, the veneration they have received

likely to have further enhanced their POW

The RuneQuest IIrulebook gives example

for an Intensity 2 ancestral spirit so w

will present a simple system for designin

ancestor spirits of any Intensity.

All ancestor spirits know the Lore an

Culture skills of their people and regio

at 90% plus their POW. They also kno

Persistence at POWx4%, and Spectr

Combat at POWx5%. In addition, for eaclevel of Intensity an ancestor spirit ca

choose one additional skill which it know

at 90% plus its POW and pick twice from

the following list:

another skill at 90% plus POW;

Discorporate skill at POW*5%;

one Heroic ability;

one Common Magic spell a

the maximum Magnitude it ca

memorise (as well as Commo

Magic skill at 90% plus POW if it

not already known);

has a fetch. (The ancestor is

shaman. The Fetch's characteristic

are equal to the ancestors +1D6

1D6. eFor example an ancestor wit

a POW of 20 has a fetch with a POW

of 20-1D6+1D6.)

has a spirit ally of one less Intensit

than the ancestor which will appea

within 1D3 Combat Rounds of bein

summoned by the ancestor throug

use of the Spirit Walking Skill. Thes

allies will not themselves usual

bring allies. That said, ancestors o

Intensity 6 or greater may control

whole army of spirits.

These abilities will cover most option

but, of course, players and Games Maste

should feel free to be as creative as the

want in designing ancestor spirits to fit th

needs of their campaign. Remember as we

that the most common interaction witancestors is likely to be the use of Spir


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Walking to talk with them or request aid

other than possession. Over the period of

a campaign, some ancestors may become

recurring non player characters, with their

own agendas.

against an enemy. They are hostile to all

traditions save those perverse enough

to revere them. The Intensity of Curse &

Sickness spirits measures the number and

severity of the conditions they can inflict

on a target once they have possessed thevictim. Each condition requires one or

more points of Intensity, so an Intensity 2

Curse spirit can inflict two Intensity one

conditions or one Intensity two condition.

Diseases tend to be a package of conditions

so you can assess the Intensity of the

Disease spirit carrying a particular disease

by looking at the conditions it causes.

Intensity 1: Blindness, Confusion,

Contagious, Deafness, Dumbness,

Exhaustion, Fever, Hallucination,Maiming, Mania, Nausea,

Unconsciousness.

Intensity 2: Agony, Bleeding, Paralysis,

Sapping.

Intensity 3: Asphyxiation, Death.

See RuneQuest II(page 56) for a description

of the effects of each condition. Unlike

normal diseases, conditions caused by

spirits do not recover naturally even with

application of healing skills. Some Higher

Magic spells may work for a while if their

Magnitude is greater than the spirits

Intensity. Thus a Divine Spell to cure

blindness of higher Magnitude than the

possessing spirits Intensity will work but

unless the spirit is driven out, the effects

will gradually return.

Elemental SpiritsThe differences between the elementals

summoned by priests and wizards and

the elemental spirits bound by Shamansare subtle but significant. An elemental

is summoned to the mundane plane and

embodied within the appropriate source.

A shaman is capable of embodying an

elemental spirit, which means that shamans

body itself becomes the elemental. While

elementals are dumb fragments of the

elemental rune from which they derive,

elemental spirits of high POW are often

intelligent and self-willed. As with any spirit,

the potency of the embodied elemental

spirit depends on its Intensity.

A Spirit Magician can bind an element

spirit into a fetish in the normal manne

but the fetish must be chosen carefully fo

even while bound some of the element

spirits power is manifested. A Salamande

spirit must be bound into a fetish capable owithstanding heat while an Undine spirit

fetish will become damp and clammy.

When the spirit magician releases a

elemental spirit from a fetish it doe

not need any source material but whi

uncontrolled it will gravitate to the neare

source of its element within range of th

binding object. By itself it is just a spirit an

has no significant effect on the mundan

plane. The spirits power does not tru

manifest until the spirit magic controand embodies it through use of the Spir

Binding Skill. As with any control attemp

the spirit magician must succeed at th

skill and spend 1 Magic Point as a Fre

Action. If the spirit magician succeeds, the

body itself becomes the elemental. A spir

magician embodying a sylph transform

into a vortex of buffeting winds while

one embodying a gnome will sink int

the ground as if they were some type o

earthen whirlpool.

While embodying an elemental spir

the spirit magician cannot turn o

or dampen the effects. Furthermor

returning the elemental spirit to the fetis

is far more difficult than for other spirit

as the magician must make a successf

Command Roll in order to successfully forc

the spirit back into the fetish. Finally, whi

in his elemental form, the spirit magicia

is vulnerable to opposing elements jus

as an elemental is. For all these reason

embodying a powerful elemental spirit

never lightly undertaken.

A spirit magician embodying an element

spirit essentially becomes an element

of size based on the spirits Intensity a

outlined on the table on the next page.

Thorgelds sagaRealising that his quest to find the seven

fingered man will founder unless he can

find some way to break into a heavily

guarded tower he decides to journey to his

clans holiest ground to quest for inspiration.

The sacred pool provides +40% to his

Spirit Walking skill and Thorgelds player

asks if the Games Master if he can find an

ancestor who can help. The Games Master

says that if he makes his Spirit Walking test

he can find Uncle Spider, an ancestor who

can find his way into any building (and

does not mention that he just invented

Uncle Spider on the spot). Uncle Spider is an

Intensity 2 POW 14 spirit knowing Athletics

104%, Perception 104%, Stealth 104%, the

spells Bandits Cloak and Coordination at

Magnitude 5 and the heroic ability Wall

Leaping. Thorgelds Spirit Binding is still

only 51% so he would struggle to prove his

worthiness so the GM Games Master asksThorgelds player to make a Culture roll for

his clan. When he succeeds, he tells him that

Uncle Spider loves gem stones and witchity

bugs. Bringing some of both will provide

+20% to his Spirit Binding. It still will not be

easy but Thorgelds player decides to give it

a go.

Pavis Rises uses ancestral intensity to

measure the power of ancestor spiritswhich reflects the fact the longer an

ancestor has been venerated, the more

powerful it becomes. The two systems

are broadly similar as the four bands of

ancestral intensity are roughly equivalent

to spirits of Intensity one through four.

Curse, Sickness and Bane spiritsAlthough these spirits can be bound for

later use they are never used to augment

the spirit magician, rather they are sent


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Shamanism for Fun and ProphetsElemental Spirit Size Table

Spirit Intensity Elemental Size

1 1 cubic metre

2 3 cubic metres

3 6 cubic metres

4 10 cubic metres

5 15 cubic metres

+1 +6, +7 and so on cubic

metres

[[[Box text]]]

This table produces more powerful

elemental spirits than the RuneQuest II

rulebook (page 144). This is a deliberate

change as there were some inconsistencies

between elementals and elemental spirits.

Games Masters wishing weaker spiritsshould stick to giving spirits 1 cubic metre

per point of Intensity.

[[[End text box]]]

The magicians STR, DEX and Hit Points

are replaced by the spirits values (which

are rolled as normal for an elemental of its

SIZ when first encountered) and he gains

all the abilities (including its weaknesses)

of the elemental. When the elemental

spirit is returned to the fetish, any damage

done to the magician while embodyingthe spirit is divided evenly between all

his Hit Locations (rounding up as usual).

For example if a human took 23 points of

damage while in elemental form then he

would take 4 points of damage to each of

his 7 locations once he returned to human

form.

Shamans forming concerts to control huge

elemental spirits face particular problems.

Although a concert with 300% in Spirit

Binding could theoretically control a boundelemental spirit of 90 POW the leader

of the concert would have to embody

an elemental of some 120 cubic metres.

Remember that all concert members need

to be within a few metres of each other,

which means they risk being incinerated,

drowned or otherwise affected due to the

sheer scale of the elemental. Furthermore,

if the concert breaks down as well as the

potential backlash the shaman embodying

the elemental spirit will no longer be able

to control it.

Although embodying an elemental spirit

can be extremely impressive it also opens

the magician up to new problems. Like

an elemental, a magician embodying an

elemental spirit will take double damage

from the opposing element and can beneutralized by an opposing elemental of

the same size or bigger in cubic metres.

Reducing the magician to 0 Hit Points

while embodying the elemental spirit

instantly breaks the fetish and frees the

spirit, possibly also killing the magician

in the process. Spells able to dismiss

elementals (such as the divine spell Dismiss

Elemental or the sorcery spell Banish) will

free the elemental and destroy the fetish

if the effect is great enough to affect an

elemental of the appropriate size or POW.

A common optional rule is to allow

elementals to mutually annihilate each

other. Generally Fire and water cancel each

other out while Earth and Air also oppose

each other. Different settings have different

elemental cosmologies, for example

Glorantha is unusual in having Darkness

as an element. Opposed elementals can

annihilate each other it by inflicting damage

equal to their Hit Points directly to each

other. Alternately any attacks launched byan elemental inflict double damage to their

opposed element. For example, a sylph

with 21 Hit Points is grabbed by a gnome

with 32 Hit Points. The sylph takes 32 Hit

Points damage and is dispersed while the

gnome suffers 21 Hit Points damage; it has

been severely knocked about by the sylph

but still standing.

Nature Spirits

These spirits augmentthe spirit magiciansabilities exactly as described. It is possible

to augment Combat Actions but that

requires a minimum Intensity of 2, giving

+1 Combat Action per point of Intensity

after the first (so an Intensity 3 spirit gives

+2 Combat Actions). Magicians cannot

command their spirits to augment others

abilities: it is the bond between magician

and spirit that allows the augmentation.

When designing Nature and Guardian

spirits for non player characters thereis no need to determine all its skills and

characteristics in advance as they ca

always be figured out on the fly. Usually

is enough to write something like: Armou

Points +2 (Bear spirit, Intensity 2, POW 14)

Finally, nature spirits do not have to bbound to be useful. Higher Intensity spiri

will be fully sapient and can be negotiate

with to undertake tasks, gather informatio

or come to the spirit magicians aid.

Spirit CombatSpirit combat occurs only on the spir

plane and requires both participants t

be there. High Shamans can discorporat

corporeal beings through spending on

Magic Point and pitting their Spirit Walkinskill against the targets Persistence as

Combat Action. The target has to be withi

range of the skill (the Shamans POW i

metres). Spirits using the Discorporat

skill likewise must spend one Magic Poin

and a Combat Action to discorporat

a corporeal being whose soul they ca

perceive and who is within their POW i


8/27

metres on the spirit plane. Naturally they

can keep trying for as long as they have

Magic Points but if the target successfully

resists with a critical then it is reasonable

to assume the target is immune to being

discorporated by that particular shaman orspirit for at least a week. As discorporation

is an extremely powerful ability then one

option is to increase the cost for multiple

attempts against the same person by one

Magic Point each time. So the first attempt

at discorporation costs 1 Magic Point, the

second costs two, the third costs three and

so on. This will prevent spirits from simply

trying over and over again until they

succeed.

Once both participants are on the spiritplane Spirit Combat may continue until one

side has been reduced to zero Magic Points.

At that point the winner may perform

various actions as listed in the RuneQuest II

Rulebook (page 142). The winner does not

have to take advantage of the loser and it is

important to remember that spirit combat

can represent any kind of contest from a

battle of wits to an artistic performance; it

does not always have to be a grim battle

to the end. The same mechanic is used but

how it plays out depends on the beingsinvolved.

Spirit Combat and bound spiritsSpirit combat happens on the spirit plane

and a fetish (or other binding object)

binds a spirit to the mundane plane so it

follows logically that a spirit bound in a

fetish cannot be commanded to attack

an opponent in the spirit plane. A spirit

magician wishing to use a curse, sickness

or even bane spirit this way must thereforefree the spirit by breaking the fetish. Of

course, breaking the fetish frees the spirit

from the magicians control so there is

no obligation for the spirit to do what

the magician wants. Indeed there is now

nothing stopping the spirit from turning

on the person who freed it. Generally the

procedure is that the magician points the

fetish at the victim and promises the spirit

freedom if it attacks the target. Usually it

will agree because its nature is to attack and

possess corporeal beings and also becauseusually the magician who bound it is more

powerful than the spirit. If, however, the

owner is weaker than the spirit the spirit is

completely free to attack its owner instead.

This is yet another reason shamans are

reluctant to provide these types of spirits

to worshippers in their tradition.

In game terms, assume that a spirit with a

lower POW than the magician will attack

the intended target. Optionally, call for a

Spirit Binding roll opposed by the spirits

Spectral Combat Skill. If the magician fails

to win, the spirit simply departs. If the

magician fumbles, or if he fails while the

spirit succeeds and the spirit is of greater

POW than the magician, it will turn on him

instead.

Generally a spirit magician does not bind

an aggressive spirit like a curse spirit to a

fetish as the risks are high and the fetish

is unpleasant to handle. Instead, if the

magician wishes to send such a spirit

against an enemy the usual procedure is

to journey to the spirit plane and defeat

the appropriate spirit; once defeated

the shaman can compel the spirit to one

service. A possession or part of the target

is burnt or otherwise consumed in order

to identify the target. Once the spirit hasregained its Magic Points it will journey

to the target and attack it. Alternately the

shaman may command the defeated spirit

to perform one service in the future. Such a

spirit will act like a spirit contact and come

within 1d6 minutes of a successful Spirit

Walking skill test to attack an opponent.

The most fearsome shamans are those from

traditions with friendly curse and sickness

spirits. Such spirits may become allies and

willingly attack victims nominated by the

shaman. Once the victim is dead, the ally

will return to the shaman to beg for more

victims.

If spirit combat happens on the spirit plane,

what does it look like back on the mundane

plane? The answer to that depends on

the victims Spirit Walking skill. Someone

with no ability in the skill has no way of

controlling their physical body while they

are on the spirit plane so when they areattacked they might writhe around and

show symptoms of the attack Someone

being attacked by a sickness spirit migh

break out in boils and cold sweats o

might vomit endlessly depending o

the conditions they are fighting agains

Someone who has training in Spir

Walking may be able to mostly control thebody showing just small signs of stres

A shaman with a Fetch will be able to s

serenely, their body undisturbed while o

the spirit plane the struggle ensues.

In campaigns with a lot of spirit comba

various questions come up about how

exactly fights occur and whether it

possible for one side to flee. General

speaking, if a spirit magician is lookin

for a spirit to bind he must hunt the spir

sneaking close enough to it to be able tattack it. Spirit walking corporeal being

as well as natural spirits can attack anyon

within their POW in metres. While adjacen

the combat looks like two enemie

exchanging blows while enemies distan

from each other appear to aim missile

or simply leap at each other. Like norm

combat, spirit combat can generat

Combat Manoeuvres although many w

be effectively meaningless. The Chang

Range manoeuvre (or action) can be use

to disengage and flee. If the fleeing spirhas a higher POW than the other spir

then once it has successfully performed

Range Change it can flee automatically.

the other spirit has a higher POW then

will be able to hunt down the fleeing spir

though that might take some time. As a ru

of thumb spirits and spirit walking morta

travel at a speed equal to their POW o

the spirit plane. Unfortunates on the spir

plane without any kind of spirit walkin

skill are virtually trapped as they can mov

but can not follow a direction so they ten

to drift aimlessly. Such characters tryin

to defend themselves in spirit comba

through using half their Persistence sk

(RuneQuest IIpage 142) are also unable t

gain Combat Manoeuvres.

Characters who have Dedicated a larg

amount of their POW can be very vulnerab

to spirit combat. One option is to rul

the cost to discorporate a character wit

Dedicated POW is one Magic Point plus onMagic Point for each point of Dedicate

POW of the target A spirit wishing t


9/27

Shamanism for Fun and Prophetsbut a powerful shaman should have bui

a strong enough web of allies that mo

predators would rather hunt less powerf

prey. Player character shamans, howeve

should expect occasional very unpleasan

surprises....

Trapped SpiritsSome spirits occasionally get accidental

bound to the mundane plane and becom

Haunts. The spirits of the dead who did no

receive the proper funeral rites or who hav

died violently may be incapable of leavin

the mundane plane. Other mortals ma

have been cursed or may have died befor

an important vow was completed or die

full of hatred and rage and become bounto the mundane world. Such spirits may b

bound to the bones of their corpse, a tre

from which they were hung or maybe a cli

from which they jumped to commit suicid

By definition Haunts are trapped on th

mundane plane and cannot discorporat

victims in an attempt to possess them

In fact most such spirits can do little bu

bewail their fate. Some, though, may hav

acquired certain powers. The list should b

limited only by your creativity but som

include.

Telekinesis: the spirit has a STR equ

to its Intensity, which it can use t

move items around.

Miasma: the spirit can induc

feelings of dread and despair, mayb

even fear and terror. The Magnitud

of the effect depends on the spirit

Intensity. An Intensity 4 Haunt ma

be able to induce a level of Fear tha

is potentially lethal.

Wraith form: the spirit is able tphysically damage corporeal being

The spirit can physically attack wit

a skill equal to its POW*3% doing H

Point damage equal to its usual Spir

Damage ignoring all physical armou

For example a spirit with a POW o

18 usually has a spectral comba

skill of 90% meaning that it normal

does 1D10 damage to Magic Point

When attacking physically it attack

at a skill of 54% and does 1D1

damage to Hit Points in a locatio

ignoring all physical armour. Magic

discorporate a character who has 4 points

of Dedicated POW would have to spend

5 Magic Points to make the attempt. This

represents the difficulty of transferring the

Dedicated element of a persons soul to

the spirit plane. Discorporating a characterwith a large amount of Dedicated POW

may also draw the attention of spiritual

guardians tasked to protect the faithful.

One of the primary tasks for shamans is to

exorcise spirits possessing the faithful. The

most common technique is to use Spirit

Walking to find the spirit within its body.

At this point a High Shaman can use their

Spirit Walking skill to forcibly discorporate

the spirit and then either he or his fetch

can battle it on the spirit plane. More juniorshamans will have to rely on their fetch

to discorporate the spirit. In both cases it

is usually the fetch that battles the spirit,

leaving the shaman free to perform physical

actions acting as a complementary skill for

the fetchs combat skill. Usually this will

be the use of the Healing skill but it may

also include drumming, singing, dancing,

burning of herbs to make the spirit drowsy

and so on. That said, once the spirit has been

discorporated it may attempt to flee if the

shaman or his fetch clearly overmatchesit so it is often up to the shaman as to

whether he wishes to pursue it.

Spirits & SocietyIn societies where Spirit Magic is the main

form of spirituality, spirits and fetishes are

ever-present and a shaman fulfils the same

role as a priest. It can be easy to forget that

spirits are not just power ups or resourcesto be used, unless of course you are a God

Learner. The spirits are not tools, however,

they are part of the society. Most people

will have a shrine to revered ancestors, a

fetish holding a totem spirit and will take

part in ceremonies of remembrance and

revitalisation. In general, animists regard

spirits in one of three ways.

they revere their honoured ancestors

and totem spirits;

they respectthe power of the spirits

of the world around them;

and they fearthe malevolent spirits

of their enemies.

Player characters who walk the spirit

plane, binding spirits against their will and

generally treating them as weapons and

armour will soon gain a poor reputation

both in the mundane world and on the

spirit plane.

Most members of the society will know

enough Spirit Walking to see the spirits

around them when they meditate and

enough Spirit Binding to use their fetishes

properly provided they take time. It is

highly unlikely they will ever engage in

a life and death battle on the spirit plane

(that is what the shaman is for) so for them

the Binding skill represents the proper

means of address, the proper visualisation

and proper state of mind needed to invoke

the power of the spirit within the Fetish.

The shaman is the bridge between the

mortal world and the spirit world. He lives

a life in two worlds and with the shamans

help, the members of the tribe can pass

through to the spirit world to converse

with those who have gone before. Naturally

a powerful shaman tends to attract

attention on the spirit plane. When viewed

on the spirit plane, the shamans soul echo

is often at the centre of many spirits eager

for attention. This can be highly distractingand may attract the attention of predators

A spirit possessing a body is trapped on

the mundane plane and therefore cannot

regenerate Magic Points. This is why

spirits tend to possess people who are

already weakened and cannot adequately

fight back because it minimises the risk

of the spirit losing Magic Points. Like

any predator, spirits tend not to attackhealthy, dangerous victims. If you wish

spirits to be able to regenerate Magic

Points while possessing a host then allow

them to leech off the hosts life force and

regenerate Magic Points at a slower than

normal rate, such as 1 Magic Point per

10 hours. A person with all of their POW

dedicated to another entity cannot be

leeched in this way.


10/27

armour such as Protection still works

however.

Glamour: the spirit can engender

illusions, which are experienced by

all within a range of the spirits POW

in metres of the item the spirit. Thisglamour is a mental illusion that

works in a similar way to the sorcery

spell Phantom (Sense). See the

RuneQuest IIRulebook page 134.

Cast magic. Becoming a Haunt

usually severs the spirit from any

form of higher magic but some may

retain the ability to cast Common

Magic. An awful lot of Haunts consist

of spirits casting magic such as

Befuddle, Disruption, Demoralise,

Fanaticism and so on.

Like bound spirits, Haunts cannot

regenerate Magic Points normally but

they are able to tap Magic Points from

the natural world around them, a process

that inevitably creates an unsettling area

shunned by animals and where the plants

are stunted and withered. A Haunt can

tap the POW of any animal or plant with

lower POW than the Haunts Intensity to

provide it with Magic Points up to the limit

of its normal POW. Generally most Hauntsmust manifest in order to use any of their

abilities. While a Haunt is manifested it

becomes vulnerable to magical damage,

however destroying it with damage simply

drives it back to its binding until it has

regained Magic Points through tapping its

surroundings.

Dealing with a Haunt is not easy. Spirit

Walking or magical senses may reveal the

location of the binding object. Sometimes

destroying the binding object is enough to

release the Haunt but usually any attempt

to release the Haunt requires determining

why the spirit became bound in the first

place and undoing the effects.

by some form of weapon enhancing mag

then it can usually block 1 size equivalen

for each point of Magnitude. As with an

kind of combat both participants cagenerate Combat Manoeuvres wher

they are appropriate; being impaled b

a spectral dagger is every bit as nasty a

being impaled by a real one.

With that cheery thought in mind, read th

second part of this article next month for

bestiary of spirits, quests and traditions.

Fighting WraithsA manifested Wraith Spirit has only one hit

location and it has a number of Hit Points

equal to its POW. Reducing its Hit Points tozero will temporarily drive the Wraith back

to its binding for 24 hours, after which its

Hit Points will be fully regenerated. The

weapon the spirit uses depends on its

Intensity. Each point of Intensity counts as

one rank of Size and Reach so an Intensity

3 spirit could use a spectral weapon with a

Size of Large and Reach of Medium. As the

spirit is intangible parrying the attack has no

effect normally but if a weapon is affected

The supplement Necromantic Arts

provides several additional options

that can be used for Haunts. It is

recommended, however, that you do not

allow spirits trapped on the mundane

plane to attempt to possess corporealbeings.


11/27

Redspear watched in wide-eyed silence asthe high shaman ended his long chant andthe last beat of the drum was sounded. Hewaited with his heart in his mouth; neverbefore had he crossed the borders of life.Slowly be became aware of the changingcolours around him, everything becamesharper and more detailed. The flames fromthe fire grew higher and brighter and seemedto dance together like children, the treesaround them were taller and full of vibrantgreens and whispered in half heard voices,the very air seemed alive somehow. Helooked about in wonder at the colours andtextures all around him as though he had

never opened his eyes before.

Welcome to the spirit world, Redspearsmiled the old shaman as he took his handand gently pulled him from his body like aleaf from water.

The spirit world is a complex and oftenconfusing realm that is both separate fromthe mundane world and yet intimatelylinked to it as well. There is constantinteraction with the mundane world fromthe spirit plane in the form of shamans

journeying there on spirit quests, haunts

A bound spirit is trapped in the mortalworld and unable to regenerate MagicPoints. Yet to bind a spirit the Shaman needsto defeat it in spirit combat by reducingit to zero Magic Points. This makes thestraightforwardbinding of an aggressiveattack spirit such as abanerather point less.For this reason, any spirit magician wishingto bind such a spirit for later use needs tofind a way to allow the spirit to regeneratesome or all of i ts Magic Points. Of course, asstated last time, a Shaman does not haveto bind spirits to a fetish. It is possible todefeat a spirit in combat and then bind itto a single, future service to be agreed later.

The spirit remains on the spirit plane whereit can recover its Magic Points. One time inthe future, the magician can summon thespirit as if it were a spirit ally and the spiritwill, if possible, attend and undertake theservice. Whether or not spirits bound tofuture servicecount against the magiciansmaximum number of bound spirits(RuneQuest II page 140) depends on thecampaign setting.

That said one generic option is to allowa spirit magic to transfer his own Magic

Points to a bound spirit he controls witha suitable ritual and a Spirit Binding skillroll. The Magic Points are transferred at arate of one per hour. This means the spiritmagician can recharge his bound spiritsMagic Points as part of a long and involvedritual. Games Masters may also requireother sacrifices to be made at the sametime depending on the campaign setting.A fumbled roll will likely release the spiritby accident.

There are also various other ways toreplenish a spirits Magic Points while it isbound. The forthcoming supplement BloodMagicexplores methods such as Avulsion(the killing and reaping of a creatureslife force) in depth. Games Mastersshould explore the creative options andimplications of different methods. Considerwhat it must be like for a Shaman who letsa disease spirit suckle his Magic Points tofeed itself.

The World of SpiritsBy Gary Goldman, Bruce Mason and Pete Nash

crossing the borders between the worldsto terrify the living and ancestor spiritsbeing venerated by their descendants.

The spirit plane is both an impossibledistance and leap of imagination to reachfor the layman and an oddly familiarenvironment accessed by ritual for thosewith Spirit Walking abilities. There are alsoplaces and times when the spirit worldcan overlap into the mundane world andcreate gateways or portals where theborders of both realms are weaker andeasier to cross.

The first article on shamanism in Signs& Portents gave background detail onshamanism and expanded upon someof RuneQuest IIs game mechanics. Withthis second article we shall examinesome of the inhabitants of this strangeand otherworldly realm; provide somemechanics for journeying there; examplespirit cults; new heroic abilities and, finally,provide a couple of non player characterswho long-time RuneQuest players mightwell recognise. But first some briefcomments about getting the most out of

bound spirits.

18


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Spirit BestiaryThe following spirits represent just smallfraction of the complex and interestingdenizens of the spirit world. Some of thesedescriptions are merely expansions or

additional information on the basic spiritsfrom the Core Rulebook, others are newand more unusual spirit s that may prove ofinterest or provide inspiration for GamesMasters to invent their own spiri ts. They arepresented in alphabetical order for ease ofreference.

As per RuneQuest II, all spirits know theskills of Spectral Combat at POWx5% andPersistence at POWx4% while some mayalso posses Discorporation at POWx5%and Stealth at POWx4%. Some spirits may

have much higher values for these skills.Other additional skills may be thoughtappropriate by Games Masters for strongerspirits such as Common Magic, Influenceand Insight . Any skill with INT, POW or CHAas a base are often most appropriate. Ahandy rule of thumb is to say that such skillsare likely to be rated at a percentage equalto around their POWx3% to POWx5%.

Ancestor SpiritsAncestor spirit s are the souls of dead family

members who reside on the Spirit Planeafter death, rather than joining a deity intheir halls on the God Plane. They remainon the spirit plane, close to their tribal landsin the mundane world, to help their formerclan and family members. Ancestors areoften the first port of call for a clan chief orfamily head looking for assistance, typicallythrough the intermediary of his local spiritmagician.

Whilst the gods can be fickle and often cruel,ancestors are often far more approachable

if they are suitably venerated and respectedby their descendants. Through venerationan ancestor worshipper hopes to emulatetheir greatness and deeds, and become anancestor himself so he may one day watchover his clan to protect and teach them,reminding them of the traditions andrituals that have made the clan strong forhundreds of years.

Ancestor spirits are just as complex andvariable as any human. They will have theirown well defined personalities completewith dislikes and opinions. Often theirpersonalities are more rigid and inflexibledue to the hundreds of years of existing

on the spirit plane. They may be wise andknowledgeable about clan affairs but mayalso be old fashioned and harbour ancientgrudges of little relevance to the modernworld.

This makes ancestor worship somethingto be defined through play and used asa backdrop that helps define the spiritmagicians approach to the rest of the spiritworld rather than just a specific magicalsource.

The powers and abilities of ancestor spiritsare detailed fully in the RuneQuest II andexpanded upon in the shamanism article inthe previous art icle (Signs & Portents 89) andso are not repeated here. Some examples ofancestor spirits follow and are ready for usein play or to provide inspiration.

Warrior BrotherWarrior Brother was renowned as a masterof weapons and military tactics. He was asstrong as two men and wore his armour

when he slept. We remember how hesingle-handedly slew three of the enemyclans thanes when they dared to cross theBlack Brook into our lands.Intensity 2 ancestor spirit, INT 12, POW 14,CHA 14Skills: Lore (Regional) 104%, Culture (own)104%, Persistence 56%, Spectral Combat(Spectral Sword) 70%, Sword and Shield104%, Lore (Tactics) 104%Common Magic: Bladesharp 4, Demoralise,Parry 4Heroic Ability: Duellist

Chief All-fatherChief All-father was the wisest and mostbeloved clan chief since the Raven bannerwas found in Badgers Wood. He madepeace with the unfriendly tribes and heled the warriors to victory over the darkraiders. We remember how the herds grewtenfold under his watchful eye.Intensity 3 ancestor spirit, INT 16, POW 21,CHA 18

Skills: Lore (Regional) 111%, Culture (own)111%, Persistence 84%, Spectral Combat(Sword and Shield) 105%, Oratory 111%,Influence 111%, Insight 111%Common Magic: Glamour 6, Fate 6, BearingWitness 6, Second Sight, Thunders Voice 6

Heroic Ability: Heroic Aura

Old MaOld Ma was a wise woman who lived nearthe village when the blood plague came.She healed the villagers and drove awaythe sickness spirits, then taught us all howto use herbs and friendly spirits to keepour children safe.Intensity 3 ancestor spirit, INT 18, POW 21,CHA 6Skills: Lore (Regional) 111%, Culture (own)

111%, Persistence 84%, Spectral Combat(Spectral staff ) 105%, Lore (Herbs) 111%,Healing 111%, First Aid 111%, Insight111%Common Magic: Heal 6, Spirit Bane 6Spirit Allies: Old Ma may also call on anIntensity 2 healing spirit ally that acts as aCure Disease spell and a guardian spirit ofIntensity 2, with a POW of 16Heroic Ability: Disease Immunit y

Old GrandpaOld Grandpa was a master boatman and

knew all the currents and best fishing spotsin the rivers and streams. He could talk tothe water spirits and often brought finecatches to the high table. We rememberhow he hid the villagers in the marsheswhen the foul raiders slipped past theguards.Intensity 4 ancestor spirit, INT 12, POW 25,CHA 8Skills: Lore (Regional) 115%, Culture (own)115%, Persistence 100%, Spectral Combat(Spectral net) 125%, Boating 115%, Lore(River) 115%, Swim 115%, Survival 115%,

Craft (Net making) 115%Spells: Endurance 4, Beast Call, Lucky, Repair4, LightSpirit Allies: Old Grandpa may also call hisold spirit ally,Keelfriend, who is an Intensity3 water elemental STR 21, SIZ 3, INT 3, POW20, DEX 8Heroic Ability: Born in a Boat (as per theBorn to the Saddleability but applies to allBoating skill rolls instead)


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Bane SpiritsBane spirits are entropic spirits derivedfrom the Chaos Rune, they exist only tocause dissolution and deterioration tothe very spirits and souls of their victims.

Bane spirits have the ability to absorband destroy the spiritual essence of theirtargets, their entropic touch permanentlydestroying any magic points they drainin spirit combat and they are capable ofutterly destroying any spirits they reduceto zero magic points, their victims literallyceasing to exist, their spirit is simply rentapart and dissipated.

As Bane spirits are both hostile anddangerous they are rightly avoided by

most sensible spiritual traditions. A fewmalign and chaotic spiritual cults mayseek out and use these twisted spirits, butmost shamans try and either avoid themor try their best to destroy or trap them toprevent them causing further damage inthe spirit world. When vengeful or maliciousspirit magicians do use Bane spirits theyare most commonly bound into a fetish,released and commanded to attack otherspirits or bound into an easily broken fetishand set as a trap for an unsuspecting foeto unleash.

SlimeThis spirit attempts to dissolve its targetinto a puddle of mucus.Intensity 1 bane spirit, INT 4, POW 9, CHA 9,CA 2, SR +7, Spirit Damage 1D6Discorporate 45%, Spectral Combat 45%,Persistence 36%

MawThis spirit appears to consume its victim.Intensity 2 bane spirit, INT 5, POW 15, CHA12, CA 2, SR +9, Spirit Damage 1D8

Discorporate 75%, Spectral Combat 75%,Persistence 60%

ScreamSurrounded by some sort of psychic screamthis spirit seems to shatter its victim intopieces.Intensity 3 bane spirit, INT 6, POW 20, CHA14, CA 3, SR +10, spirit Damage 1D10Discorporate 100%, Spectral Combat 100%,Persistence 80%

Birthing SpiritsBirthing spirits are a very specific typeof spirit creature linked to the Fertilityand Harmony runes. They provide agreat advantage to the sometimes riskybusiness of childbirth by helping to ease

the mothers pain and induce a feeling ofcalm and peace to both mother and baby.

Birthing spirits also grant a gift to the new-born child in the form of a boost to one of thechilds characteristics, this takes the form ofa fixed bonus equal to the spirits intensity,to one of the childs characteristics. Thisgift often has some physical manifestationsuch as a specific birthmark, unusual eyecolour or something similar.

Birthing spirits must be persuaded toassist the spirit magician and they maywell ask for a boon on the mundane planein reward for their services. This can beabstracted as an opposed test of the spiritmagicians Influence skill against the spirit s

Persistence if preferred.

Game Masters may wish to introduceother types of Birthing spirits whichgrant unusual abilities to the new-bornchild such as second sight, the ability tocommunicate with a certain animal, beingborn Rune Touched and so on as theyfeel appropriate to their campaign. Suchspecial birthing spirits should be at leastIntensity 3.

The World of Spirits

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An example of a birthing spirit is foundunder the cult of Pamalt in Cults ofGlorantha. A further example is providedhere.

Midwifes FriendManifests as a smiling, portly old lady withsparkling violet eyes.Intensity 3 birthing spirit, INT 6, POW 20,CHA 14Spirit Combat (Spectral slap, 1D10) 100%,Persistence 80%If convinced to help deliver a baby withinthe clans home territory, Midwifes Friendwill grant a gift of +3 to any one of thebabys physical characteristics. She requeststhe boon of three days service from themagician for this gift.

ChonchonChonchons are magical denizens of thespirit world that can break through intothe mortal plane and take physical form toterrify its inhabitants. They appear as largegrotesque human heads with huge earsthat they flap to move around. They canpass into the mortal plane at wi ll but musthide in a dark place during the day as theyare instantly dismissed back to the spiritworld by direct sunlight. Chonchons are

described more fully in Monster Coliseum(page 117).

Spirit magicians who defeat chonchonspirits in spirit combat on the spirit planemay bind them in to a fetish so theycan release them at night for their ownpurposes. Breaking the fetish releases the

Chonchon which can then act of its ownaccord. Chonchons are always hostile tomortals so usually it will attack the nearestflesh and blood mortal. If the breaker ofthe fetish looks weak enough it will attackhim. Remember that unless the magicianundertook a specific ritual, the boundChonchon may have zero Magic Points andwill be for all intents and purposes useless.Two example chonchon spirits follow.

Chon-chawIntensity 2 conchon spirit, INT 14, POW 17,

CHA 1, SR +8, CA 3, Spirit Damage 1D10Spectral Combat 85%, Persistence 68%

Chon-chomIntensity 3 conchon spirit, INT 16, POW 20,CHA 1, SR +9, CA 3, Spirit Damage 2D6Spectral Combat 100%, Persistence 80%

Curse and Sickness spiritsCurse spirits are malevolent beings whoseek to attack and covertly posses mortals.They are linked to the Disorder Rune and

are often found lingering close to areas ofgreat disaster or misfortune. Curse spirits

will have a number of poison effectsequal to their Intensity and once they arein possession of a victim they emulatethese effects (as in the Disease and Poisonsection on page 55 of the Core Rulebook).

The previous article provided mechanicalsuggestions for how to construct suchspirits and a few examples are presentedhere. The mechanics, however, are simply astart ing point . To produce new and excitingcurses simply assess the likely intensityneeded and create a spirit to match. Mostspirits covertly possess the victim.

VomiterIntensity 1 curse spirit, INT 8, POW 10, CHA9, CA 2, SR +9, Spirit Damage 1D6Discorporate 50%, Spectral Combat 50%,

Persistence 40%, Stealth 40%Vomiter manifests as a shadowy blur witha strong smell of vomit. Victims who makeany sudden activity must make a Resiliencetest or be incapacitated for 1D3 CAs withuncontrollable vomiting and retching.I am a sexy, shoeless god of barf.

SquintIntensity 2 curse spirit, INT 10, POW 15, CHA12, CA 3, SR +11, Spirit Damage 1D8Discorporate 75%, Spectral Combat 75%,

Persistence 60%, Stealth 60%Squint manifests as an indistinct andblurred movement in the air. Possessedvictims find their vision dims and blurs,this results in a halving their Perceptionskill tests for spotting things and any othersight related skills, such as missile weapons,suffer a 20% penalty.

DireIntensity 3 curse spirit, INT 12, POW 20, CHA12, CA 3, SR +12, Spirit Damage 1D10Discorporate 100%, Spectral Combat 100%,

Persistence 80%, Stealth 80%Dire manifests as an unpleasant grinningold man. Whenever the possessed victimmakes a skill roll, he must roll twice and usethe worst dice roll. If he fumbles in combatthen he must also roll twice on the fumbletable.

Sickness spirits are malevolent beings whoattack and covertly posses mortals. Theyare linked to the Death Rune and are often


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The World of Spiritsfound lingering near the bodies of therecently dead or in foul and foetid marshes,where they await passing mortals to attackand posses. Sickness spirits may have anumber of disease effects equal to their

Intensity and once they are in possessionof a victim they emulate these effects (as inthe Disease and Poison section on page 55of the Core Rulebook). As with curse spirits,new and exotic diseases can be created bycomparing their severity with pre-existingconditions and setting the spirits intensityaccordingly.

Soul WeeperIntensity 1 sickness spirit, INT 8, POW 10,CHA 9, CA 2, SR +9, Spirit Damage 1D6Discorporate 50%, Spectral Combat 50%,

Persistence 40%, Stealth 40%Soul Weeper manifests as a slowlydissolving shadowy spirit. The spirit carriesthe disease of Soul Blight at an Intensity of65.

Mad-dogIntensity 2 sickness spirit, INT 10, POW 15,CHA 12, CA 3, SR +11, Spirit Damage 1D8Discorporate 75%, Spectral Combat 75%,Persistence 60%, Stealth 60%Mad-dog manifests as an insanely rabiddog and carries the disease of Rabies at apotency of 80.

FeverfilthIntensity 3 sickness spirit, INT 12, POW 20,CHA 12, CA 3, SR +12, Spirit Damage 1D10Discorporate 100%, Spectral Combat 100%,Persistence 80%, Stealth 80%Feverfilth manifests as a hideous rottinggoat, the spirit carries Creeping Chills at apotency of 90.

Elemental SpiritsElemental spirits originate from theElemental Runes; Air, Darkness, Earth, Fireand Water. They are the spiritual form ofsuch beings as are summoned by suchspells as Elemental Summoning but a spiritmagician can invest their powers within hisownbody.

The shamanism article in Signs & Portents89 discussed elemental spirits and their

abilities in some depth, and they are alsodetailed more fully on page 144 of theCore Rulebook. Other types of elementalspirits can be derived from the elementalspresented in RuneQuest II supplements.For example a Shade (darkness elemental)spirits powers can be derived from therules for Shades given in Races of GloranthaVolume I page 270. An elemental spirit withan Intensity of 3 will be within 46 cubicmetres in volume normally and whenembodied the spirit magician acts as anelemental of that size.

Fear spiritsFear spirits are linked to the Disorder Runeand cause feelings of unease, panic oroutright terror in those they effect. When afear spirit successfully overcomes a target inspirit combat it covert ly possesses him andremains hidden unt il the possessed victimis put under stress or faces somethingwhich may cause anxiety, then the spirittakes hold again, forcing an opposed testof the victims Persistence versus the Fearspirits Spectral Attack skill. If the spirit winsthen it affects the possessed victim, itseffects varying with the spirit s Intensity asshown on the table at the bottom of thispage.:

Fear spirits may be temporarily overcomewith appropriate magic such as Fanaticism,but the spells magnitude must be equal toor greater than the spirits intensity to work.Once the spell expires or is cancelled thenthe fear spirit instantly returns and mayexert i ts influence on its victim again.

A good rule of thumb to employ withsickness and curse spirits and thepotency of their effects is to assumea potency of around four or five timestheir POW as a base level. This canthen be modified defending upon theseverity of their effect.

As stated in the previous article,elementals and elemental spirits havedifferent relationships of POW tovolume. In some settings this may beundesirable and can be modified bythe Games Master if it suits his worldbetter.

Intensity 1 Mild anxiety and unease Victim suffers 10% to all skill rolls

Intensity 2 Demoral isat ion As above plus effects as per the commonmagic spell Demoralise

Intensity 3 Fear As per the divine spell, Fear

Intensity 4+ Terror Collapses in terror a number of minutes equalto the spirits Intensity

It is possible for spirit magicians to gainelemental spirit s as allies in which case themagician cannot embody the spirit but cansummon it to the mortal world throughSpirit Walking and have the spirit manifest

within the appropriate volume of material.

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If the Guardian spirit is strong enoughto resist the spell then it does so with itsPersistence skill, which has a base level ofthe spirits POW x4%. Should a bane spiritbe present then the magician may release

the guardian spirit and it will immediatelyengage the bane spirit in spirit combat,battling to the death. Other guardianspirits which will attack hostile spirits suchas disease spirits, chonchons and so onexist but are much rarer.

Little WardenIntensity 1 guardian spirit, INT 8, POW 10,CHA 9, CA 2, SR +9, Spirit Damage 1D6Spectral Combat 45%, Persistence 36%May attempt to block spells up to aMagnitude of 4

BrightshieldIntensity 2 guardian spirit, INT 10, POW 15,CHA 12, CA 3, SR +11, Spirit Damage 1D8Spectral Combat 75%, Persistence 60%May attempt to block spells up to aMagnitude of 5

WatchwordIntensity 3 guardian spirit, INT 12, POW 20,CHA 14, CA 3, SR +13, Spirit Damage 1D10Spectral Combat 100%, Persistence 80%May attempt to block spells up to aMagnitude of 7

Ghoul spiritsGhoul spirits are the hungry demonicentities responsible for possessing andanimating fresh corpses into the physicalundead horrors known as ghouls so theycan sustain their parody of life by devouringother corpses. They are typically foundlurking in areas where fresh corpses arefound, such as burial grounds, sepulchresand battlefields, where they attempt to

break through into the mundane worldand animate a corpse to feed.

Malign and desperate spirit magicians willsometimes try to bind these spirits for theirown twisted reasons. They can be used formany dark purposes such as possessingfresh corpses or being bound to a fetishas a trap to threaten the living. Some spiritmagicians may even be insane enough tointernalise a ghoul spirit to gain one of their

special abilities, they can choose either togain the ghouls horrific demoralising howlor to gain their venomous bite attack.

Ghouls spirits typically have a POW of3D6, with an average of 11, making themIntensity 1 spirit s. Those ghoul spirits with aPOW of 13 or more are classed as Intensity2 spirits. They rarely attack still-livingsouls, preferring to animate fresh corpses

instead, but will fight with spectral claws inspirit combat if they are provoked and wil lnot hesitate to destroy a victims soul andpossess the freshly dead body.

Healing spiritsHealing spirits are linked to the FertilityRune and are gentle and peaceful bynature. Unsurprisingly, they are the naturalenemies of sickness spirits and are highlyunlikely to assist those who use or controlsuch spirits.

Should a spirit magician require theassistance of a healing spirit he mustfirst convince it to help, this can be donewith either an opposed test of Influenceversus the spirits Persistence or by makingsome form of bargain with the spirit. Suchbargains invariably involve the magicianin some minor quest to rid an area ofa sickness spirit or similar tasks. Luckymagicians may even gain a healing spirit

Guardian spiritsThese useful spirits originate from theMagic Rune and act as a ward from hostilemagic as well as being the natural enemiesof Bane spirits. They are often found inplaces where vast magics have been cast,or holy sites where a god or great heroinvoked the power of a Rune. They canalso be drawn to intense concentrations ofmagic such as ceremonial gatherings, leylines and magical nodes for example.

The usefulness of guardian spirits should

not be underestimated by spirit magiciansas they can help them counter incomingmagical attacks from divine and sorcerymagic users as well as other hostile spiritsby interposing themselves between thethreat and the magician. They can providea valuable first line of defence for themagician allowing him to unleash morepowerful and damaging spirits upon hisfoes as their offensive spells are simplystopped dead by his guardian spirit. Aguardian spirit tends to look like thespirit traditions totem animal. A badger

Hsunchen from Glorantha would havea guardian spirit looking like a badger, aSaami nomad spiri t would be a Reindeer.

The spirit can attempt to block any spellwith a Magnitude less than a third ofits POW (rounded up), spells beyondthis level are too powerful for the spiritto block and they can effect the spiritmagician as normal, although he may stillattempt to resist them himself if possible.

As an alternative system to the aboveGames Masters may prefer to usethe Fear and Madness rules fromNecromantic Arts. If this is the case then

calculate the Fear spirits Fear Ratingas its Intensity x10 instead and addthis to the Fear Rating of any creaturefaced by the possessed victim or add itto the attack roll of magic users if theyare using fear or demoralisation spellsagainst the victim. Thus a possessedvictim is far more likely to break underthe horrors he witnesses or suffer morereadily from fear-inducing magic.


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The World of Spiritsas an ally and be able to request its aid bycalling it forth with i ts true name.

The most useful healing spirits are ofhigher Intensities and provide the healing

equivalent to a Heal Body divine spell equalin Magnitude to their Intensity and costingthem an equal amount of magic points touse. This is a natural ability for the spirit andno skill roll is required, only enough magicpoints to fuel it. Lower Intensity spiritsmay posses an ability equivalent to a HealWound spell instead.

Other, rarer variants of healing spirits existthat posses different powers. These powersare equivalent to one of the followingdivine spells; Cure Disease, Cure Poison and

Heal (Mind).

Remember that a bound spirit cannotregenerate its Magic Points thereforehealing spirits are rarely bound; forobvious reasons using a blood sacrifice toreplenish their Magic Points does not work.They are usually contacted through SpiritWalking and then askedto provide healingor binding for a single future service. Onthe other hand disease masters will often

journey to spots frequented by healingspirits and imprison them in bindings so

that they can no longer be called upon.

HauntsWraiths and ghosts are both possible typesof haunts which may be encountered by ashaman, either as possible allies to darkshamanic traditions or as hostile spirits tobe confronted to save mortals from theirhorrors.

They have been covered in some detailin the previous article and the RuneQuest

II supplement Necromantic Arts alsopresents some possible interpretationof such haunts. A couple of examples areprovide below and may be used by GamesMasters as they stand or as a inspiration fortheir own haunts. Although a haunt cannotdiscorporate mortals because it is boundto the material plane, a value for spiritcombat is given in case a shaman attemptsto discorporate the haunt.

Wosil DarcWosil Darc was once a mighty sage whowandered the world seeking knowledgeof ancient civilisations. His last expeditionended in disaster when he was slain in

some ancient ruins by bandits and buriedin a shallow grave. He is now bound to theruins for eternity. He is not inherently evilbut he does desperately try to plead withmortals for their help, causing damagewith his cold spectral touch as he does so.Intensity 1 ghostCharacteristics: INT 10, POW 12, CHA 9,Attributes: CA 2, SR +10, Move 20m flying,Spectral Damage 1D6Traits: Wraith Form; Necromantic Arts(Ghostly Weapon , Possess Lesser creature).Skills: Evade 36%, Insight 27%, Influence

36%, Persistence 48%, Stealth 48%,Spirit Combat: Ghostly Touch 60%,Physical Combat: Wraith Claws 36% (S/T,1D6)Notes: He possesses the traits of Wraithform (Signs & Portents 89), Ghostly Weaponand Possess Lesser creature these allowhim to attack mortals with his touch andcontrol small animals such as rats and batsin his immediate environment. He is boundto the ruins by his stil l hidden body and canonly be truly removed by a proper burialrite. The Necromantic Arts trait Possess

Lesser Creature should be interpreted as aform of domination, not actual possession.His wraith form/ghostly weapon attackignores all non-magical armour.

RageRage is the insane spiritual remains of awarrior who was flayed alive by his foesmany centuries ago. He is utterly insaneand full of hateful vengeance and willattack any mortal who is unfortunateenough to come close to him. He manifests

as a hideous screaming parody of humanform with his skin hanging in threadsabout his body.Intensity 3 wraithCharacteristics: INT 16, POW 20, CHA 14,Attributes CA 3, SR +15, Move 20m flying,Spectral Damage 1D8Traits: Wraith Form; Necromantic Arts(Ghostly Weapon, Telekinesis)Skills: Evade 50%, Insight 60%%, Influence42%, Persistence 80%, Stealth 60%,

Spirit Combat: Strangling with ropes ofskin 75%Physical Combat: Skin strangling 80%(L/M 1D8), Thrown Rock 100% (M/ 1D4,20m)

Notes: His telekinesis trait allows him tomove objects up to his POW in metreswith a STR equal to his INT, he often usesthis ability to throw objects at mortals ashe attacks them. Rage could potentially befreed in two ways. One is to discover hisname and tell him. The second would beto find his flayed skin. It is likely that thishas been put to nefarious uses by somenecromancer.

HellionHellions are manifestations of pureenergy sometimes encountered on thespirit plane. They manifest as translucentsilvery bubbles and fil l the air with a smellof ozone. Hellions have not, as yet, beendefined in RuneQuest IIbut their statisticscan easily be adapted from previouseditions of RuneQuest or from the freeRuneQuest creatures download foundon the Mongoose website. Hellions arecertainly not a good spirit for a shaman touse as they are more closely linked to morealien magic such as sorcery and so they are

best avoided by spirit magicians. GamesMasters are most likely to use Hellions asenemies or troublesome encounters for

Magia Espiritual Ampliada (Revista)

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