Post on 06-Apr-2018
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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