Animism

Animism is magic worked through communion with spirits and the spirit world. It is the magic of shamans and spirit walkers. Such practitioners do not treat with gods or learn their abilities from books or tomes; instead their powers come from the myriad spirits that inhabit the spirit realms, and interact occasionally with the mundane world. Shamans are sensitive to their presence, whether these entities are nature spirits, representatives of particular natural objects, the souls of revered ancestors, or malign things such as disease and curse spirits. Animism relies on forming multiple relationships with many spirits, that themselves embody magical effects which are made available to the shaman. Gathering spirits requires negotiation, sometimes combat, and frequent expeditions into the Spirit World.

What Are Spirits?

Spirits are a metaphysical manifestation of a particular aspect of the cosmos. Most are intrinsically linked with something existing in the material world that reflects and represents the spirit’s nature and influence. A spring in a glade, for instance, may well have a spirit representing its beauty and serenity; a species of animal has a guardian spirit watching over it, an archetype of all that the species is and does; ghosts, and certain restless spirits of the dead, are tied to the place where they died; ancestor spirits are linked to the communities they once inhabited. Spirits are non-corporeal, possess motivations, perceptions and outlooks very different to those of the material world, and have, through their connections with the Spirit World, developed great powers and abilities.

What is the Spirit World?

The Spirit World mirrors the mundane world, and resides close to it, intersecting with it in some places, but is otherwise invisible and quite separate. The Spirit World is unfettered by the laws of physics, meaning that conditions there can be very different to those of the mundane world: time may pass differently or have no meaning; colours may seem more vivid and pronounced. All physical effects in the Spirit World are the results of the spirits themselves. As a plane of existence it is infinite. It has no shape, yet reflects all aspects of the material world so that it seems at once familiar and alien. Spirits fill the Spirit World and whirl constantly through it. Also found here are the faint souls of mortal beings whose spirits are still bound to a material body. These appear as pale shadows, and can sometimes be hard to perceive. Many spirits collect in habitats that mirror mundane world communities and settlements; others congregate in clearly defined regions that are alien or hellish to human perception. Nothing physical can exist there, only the non-corporeal.

States of Being

A soul or spirit that inhabits a physical thing, be it a living body or an inanimate object, is defined as being corporeal. A corporeal spirit cannot enter the Spirit World Conversely a soul pulled from its physical body into the Spirit World is considered discorporate. Whilst discorporate, souls are separated from the senses and sensations of their body. The last state of being applies to spirits that naturally reside in the Spirit World, and lack any tie to a physical body or object. These are defined as manifested when they emerge into the mundane world.

Trance and Binding

Animists learn two magical skills, Trance and Binding. Trance enables the animist to perceive spirits and enter the Spirit World. Binding allows animists to summon, dominate, and bind spirits in spirit combat. Every animist learns Trance and Binding as part of his training, which is always conducted by a shaman or high shaman. Would-be animists learn which natural features are linked with a spirit or the Spirit World, and become sensitive to the shifts, and whorls of the Spirit World as it intersects with the mundane world.

Trance (CON+POW)

Trance represents the animist’s awareness of the Spirit World, and his ability to move between it and the material world. Anyone with Trance can, on a successful roll, detect, but not observe, the presenceof spirits within a range equal to their POW in metres. The skill is capable of far more - but such secrets are jealously guarded by tribal shamans, and only revealed to those who progress higher in a spirit cult’s hierarchy (see page 196). Each further level of knowledge allows the skill to be used in new ways, permitting observation, communication, and eventually freedom to travel the Spirit Plane. Interacting directly with the Spirit Plane takes time, normally requiring that a ritual be performed to enter a trance-like state. The amount of time required depends on the ability being used (see Trance Preparation Timetable), and costs a single Magic Point. If the skill check is successful then the animist can perform the following, dependent on his cult rank:

• Follower - Can observe and identify spirits within range, using their natural senses.
• Spirit Worshipper - Can converse with spirits within range, via empathic communication.
• Shaman - Can project their own soul onto the Spirit Plane. They can also draw a spirit into the material world (or expel a spirit possessing a mortal) for a time equal to their POW in minutes. Spirits unwilling to manifest (or depart) may resist using their Willpower in an opposed roll against the Trance skill of the Shaman¹.
• High Shaman - Can drag the souls of others onto the Spirit Plane with them, at a cost of 1 extra Magic Point per additional person. Unwilling participants can resist using their Willpower in an Opposed roll against the Trance skill of the High Shaman¹.
^{1 If the unwilling target succeeds in resisting, they cannot be affected by the same Shaman or High Shaman again, until a full day has passed. The range of these abilities is the Shaman’s POW in metres.}

Shamans and High Shamans may travel the Spirit Plane to observe and locate other spirits. The skill provides an understanding of the abstract geography and nature of the region, and the shaman can travel up to his skill’s value in kilometres away from his body. From the Spirit Plane a shaman who succeeds in a Perception test can also distinguish the souls of corporeal creatures in the material world, and thus hunt for particular species or even seek out specific people. If the roll is a critical success then entering the trance is achieved one step more quickly (with a minimum of one Action). If the roll is fumbled, the shaman is barred from entering the Spirit Plane for a full day.

Trance Preparation Time

Cult Rank	Observe Spirits	Converse With Spirits	Project Self or Draw Spirit	Drag Souls
Follower	1 Hour	-	-	-
Spirit Worshipper	1 Minute	1 Hour	-	-
Shaman	1 Round	1 Minute	1 Hour	-
High Shaman	1 Action	1 Round	1 Minute	1 Hour

Binding (POW+CHA)

Binding is the skill used by animists to induce or force a spirit to perform to his will. It has a range of applications:

• It can bind spirits into fetishes, places or creatures, and control their actions once bound.
• It can be used to persuade a spirit to perform a single deed for a mutually acceptable service.
• It can be used to summon a known spirit from across the Spirit Plane, provided its corresponding physical location is within the skill’s value in kilometres away.
• It can be used to engage in Spirit Combat.

The POW of the largest spirit which can be coerced, bound or controlled cannot exceed three times the critical range of this skill. Thus a character with a Binding skill of 45% could control spirits of up to 15 POW. When used to engage in Spirit Combat, the value of the Binding skill is used to calculate the amount of damage inflicted by the animist - see the Spirit Damage Table. The same table is used by spirits for their Spectral Combat skill.

Spirit Damage

Skill Value	Damage Inflicted	Average Roll
01-20	1d2	2
21-40	1d4	3
41-60	1d6	4
61-80	1d8	5
81-100	1d10	6
101-120	2d6	7
121-140	1d8+1d6	8
141-160	2d8	9
161-180	1d10+1d8	10
181-200	2d10	11
201-220	2d10+1d2	13
221-240	2d10+1d4	14
241-260	2d10+1d6	15
261-280	2d10+1d8	16
281-300	3d10	17
Each	+20% Follow above progression

Spirit Societies, Cults & Traditions

In cultures where animism is the main form of religion, spirits and fetishes are ever present, and a shaman fulfils the same role as a priest. In settings where animism is a core part of belief, spirits are fundamental parts of society, and treated with reverence, respect, and fear – not as magical batteries or buffs. Most people will have a shrine to revered ancestors or several fetishes holding totem spirits, and will take part in ceremonies of remembrance and revitalisation. Animists who walk the otherworld binding spirits against their will, treating them as accoutrements, will soon gain a poor reputation – not only amongst their peers but also amongst spirits friendly to that culture– and gradually be alienated as a result. Most animists possess enough skill in Trance to see the spirits around them when they meditate. It is highly unlikely that they will ever engage in a life and death battle in the Spirit World, since that is the shaman role. Thus most lay animists are content to master enough skill in Binding to learn the proper means of address and state of mind needed to safely invoke the power of their bound spirits. The shaman is the bridge between the mortal world and the Spirit World. He lives a life in two realms, and with his help members of the community can pass through to the Spirit World to converse with those who have gone before. Powerful shamans tend to attract attention in the Spirit World. When viewed there the shaman’s soul echo is often the subject of many spirits seeking attention. This can be highly distracting for the shaman, and may attract the attention of predators; but a powerful shaman should have a strong enough web of allies that most hunters would rather stalk less powerful prey. However, player character shamans should expect occasional very unpleasant surprises. Although most spirit worshippers will be a member of a cult or tradition, the organisation is unlikely to be anywhere near as formal as a theistic cult or mysticism order. Spirit cults tend to be loose affiliations of animists or may simply consist of members of single family, clan or race who venerate particular spirits. These traditions share one simple insight: the world is alive. Each rock, plant, animal, and each cloud, pool and storm has its own spirit. These spirits, especially the spirits of ancestors, might also be members of a tradition or be friendly towards it. Others simply have no interest in the mundane world. Some may even be actively hostile to members of a particular tradition. Because there are so many ways to approach spirit worship, cults tend to be diverse, but as a rule of thumb each spirit tradition tends to have:

• Direct access to 1d3+3 specific types of spirit which are friendly to the tradition.
• Knowledge of how to locate a further 1d3 types of spirit that are neutral with regards to the tradition.
• At least one enemy or competing cult, its own allied spirits being treated as actively hostile towards the tradition.

Depending on the setting, most will have access to allied medicine, nature and ancestor spirits. These are the core spirits upon which a cult can be based, but it is not necessary for a cult to possess knowledge of all of them. The types of allied spirit can vary with the focus of the tradition. In settings where animism co-exists with theism or sorcery, guardian spirits become necessary allies or neutral spirits to have access to, whereas they are not really needed in animism-only settings. Elemental spirits of differing Intensities will be available to cults having particular affiliations to large scale natural phenomena, such as earthquakes or floods. Usually (save for some high fantasy or Sword & Sorcery settings) curse, death and bane spirits are not an active part of any particular tradition, and any shaman attempting to bind them into service is taking a serious risk. The remaining types of spirit are not commonly worshipped, and tend to be propitiated rather than made into allies, unless the campaign requires diabolical spirit cults to act as antagonists for the characters.

Defining Spirits

From omnipresent spirits of nature to the restless spirits of the undead, the inhabitants of the Spirit Plane are varied and diverse: but what exactly is a spirit? Typically a spirit is an intangible entity lacking any physical substance. At their simplest they are magical fragments of life-force cycling between the material world, and the mythic or metaphysical sources of the universe. Spirits are generally aware of their surroundings and capable of reacting to circumstances. Those with plant and animal sentience use their base empathic drives, such as love, hunger or fear, to communicate. Sapient spirits are fully intelligent, capable of far more subtle communication approaching that of true language. Souls are spirits that remain tied to a living, physical body in the material world. This isolates them from the Spirit World, denying them the primordial state that they should occupy. The only ways for a soul to transcend to the Spirit World are:

• Through death, sundering the physical and spiritual, liberating the soul to attain its next stage of existence.
• Being made discorporate through the actions of another spirit.
• Using the Trance skill to temporarily free the soul.

The nature of a spirit depends on its source and purpose. An animal spirit roams the Spirit Plane in similar places to its physical counterparts. They are attracted by their kin, and drawn to conceived young within which they incarnate as souls, moving to the material world through the miracle of physical birth. When they eventually die they return to the Spirit World, only to be recycled once again. Other types of spirit serve different purposes, and their powers have a resonance affecting the mundane world. For example elemental spirits drive the natural phenomenon of the material world via their actions on the Spirit World, having a cosmic emanation that transcends the metaphysical barriers. An angered hurricane spirit tears through the Spirit World, and its anger is felt as monstrous winds on the material world. A restless earth spirit causes the ground to shake through earthquakes and rock slides. Certain malevolent spirits bring sickness or death. A plague spirit’s contagion spreads to the physical world where disease affects many. A curse spirit’s malignance lingers across the mundane world, bringing misfortune to those touched by it. Ancestor spirits are the souls of particularly powerful and revered individuals that retain their identity after death to guard their communities and faithful. Communing with the ancestors can yield advice, guidance, and secrets that provide aid in the mundane world. Then there are the restless dead: spirits that remain tied to the physical world, unable or unwilling to pass fully into the spirit realm to be reincarnated in the great circle of being. Natural, peaceful death results in the soul passing between the worlds easily, and with grace. Violent, unwarranted death can inhibit the transition, causing the soul to linger in a limbo state between the corporeal and discorporate. Ghosts and other restless spirits yearn for the transition to the Spirit World but have been denied it: in this state they become obsessive, aggressive, selfish entities that can bring pain and torment to the living – even though all they seek is the peace that the natural order of the cosmos dictates should be theirs.

Spirit Intensity

All spirits have an Intensity. Intensity is based on a spirit’s POW, and measures three things:

• The benefit it can give to the spirit’s controller.
• How difficult the spirit is to bind and control.
• The spirit’s ability to influence the material world.

The greater a spirit’s POW, the greater its Intensity. The Spirit Intensity table can be used in a number of ways to determine this relationship. To determine the Intensity of, say, a recently deceased creature, cross reference its POW range from life with its Intensity; most player characters, when they die, will produce Intensity 1 or 2 spirits, for example. To create a spirit that originates in the Spirit World, decide on its Intensity then roll POW as defined by the Spirit Intensity table (1d6+18, for instance, for an Intensity 3 spirit). The lowest Intensity spirits are by far the most prevalent, but offer the least amount of benefit. A spirit with an Intensity of zero cannot affect the material world in any noticeable manner. Intensity 6 (and greater) spirits are stretching beyond the control of a lone animist, but may still be summoned, bargained with or even bound by several practitioners working together.

Spirit Intensity

Intensity	POW	POW Range
0	1d6	1-6
1	1d6+6	7-12
2	1d6+12	13-18
3	1d6+18	19-24
4	1d6+24	25-30
5	1d6+30	31-36
+1	+6	+6

Characteristics

Spirits also possess two other characteristics: either INT or INS (Instinct – see the Creatures chapter), and CHA. INT/INS This reflects their level of intellect when alive or the corresponding physical creature if one exists. CHA reflects the force of the spirit’s personality in very much the same way as for player characters. CHA varies widely according to the nature and type of the spirit; more detail is provided in the descriptions of specific spirits starting on page 145.

Attributes

Lacking a physical body, the attributes of a spirit or discorporated soul are calculated using different Characteristics to corporeal creatures. Spirit Attributes are reckoned in the following way: Action Points Calculate using the sum of INT and POW (see Action Points table page 8). Initiative Bonus Figure using the average of INT and CHA. Magic Points Calculated as normal, but are used by spirits and souls as their Hit Points. A spirit’s Magic Points do not recover whilst bound to a fetish or location, nor when summoned to the physical world; they only begin to heal on return to the Spirit Plane. (Also see the alternative concept of Tenacity on page 139) Spirit Damage Based upon the value of a spirit’s Spectral Combat skill or a soul’s Binding skill: see the Spirit Damage Table on page 131. If a discorporated character lacks Binding, they use half the value of their Willpower on the table instead.

Attitude

Each spirit has an attitude towards animists who approach it: friendly, neutral or hostile. A spirit’s attitude affects how it will react to being contacted, to being bound, and what it might do if it ever escapes a binding. Spirits that belong to the animist’s tradition will most likely be friendly to the practitioner, and willing to ally with them. A bear spirit, for example, if being bound by a shaman of the Great Bear Clan, would be friendly towards an approaching shaman; neutral at worst. Neutral spirits consist of both those that belong to traditions which are not hostile towards the shaman, and those not considered part of any tradition. Hostile spirits belong to enemy traditions or are inherently antagonistic due to their nature. For example a tradition with wolf spirits will find that most prey animal spirits are distinctly hostile to it. Whilst water spirits and fire spirits are immediately hostile towards each other.

Locating and Gaining Spirits

In the Spirit World spirits can be found inhabiting objects or locations relevant to their originating power; subterranean caves for darkness spirits, forests for plant spirits, and so on. Remote places are generally favoured because there is diminished interference from other, more disturbing sources of magic. In the case of more transient spirits the locale can shift. Lesser herd beast spirits are found following the great migrations for example, with more powerful ones found instead at mythic Death Grounds where the greatest beasts go to die. Frequently the location is a place of striking or beautiful appearance. Ancestor spirits typically live in communities mirroring their corporeal homes, or may have made for themselves a new home, such as a Feasting Hall, Medicine Lodge or Spirit Manse. Indeed all ancestor spirits may be found in one location but with clear delineations between old culture and origins. As the mundane and Spirit worlds intersect, animists who want swiftly to access the Spirit World location for a particular kind of spirit, travel to the real-world equivalents of the spirit abode. A shaman wanting to contact the Great Bear spirit would travel deep into the woods and find the hunting trails and territories of mundane bears. A High Shaman seeking to locate and bind a death spirit would travel to a burial or execution ground, knowing that here the links to the Spirit World where such spirits lurk are strongest. Of course not all animists need to travel blindly through remote wilderness locations to find a specific type of spirit. A guardian of a necropolis might, for example, have immediate access to many ancestor spirits whilst the Spirit Tradition of a nomadic clan may maintain cult knowledge of a dozen secret locations where certain spirits gather (See Spirit Cults page 193). Locating a spirit normally requires an animist to either:

• Scour the mundane world, using Trance to view the Spirit Plane, on the off chance of noticing a suitable specimen.
• Shift fully into the Spirit World to search for a specific spirit.
• Journey to a location known to his tradition, where particular spirits are reputed to reside.
• Have someone of greater skill, rank or knowledge summon a known spirit for the animist.

Spirits might be relatively easy to locate: knowing how to control one is an entirely different matter. Each spirit has its own idiosyncrasies regarding how it can be found, propitiated or bound. Shamanic cults and spirit traditions possess fragments of this lore, which can influence their skill regarding particular spirit types. For example, the shamans of the Great Bear Clan know that the spirit of the Great Bear should never be approached during the winter when all bear spirits hibernate. They also know that the best place to encounter Grandfather Bear, when he is at his least aggressive, is after making a sacrifice of favoured prey – such as a large salmon caught fresh from the water. Once located, animists may approach spirits in two ways:

• Negotiation: looking to strike a bargain, in return for a singular service.
• Binding: seeking to bind the spirit into continued service.

Spirit Negotiation

Animists will make contact with many spirits over time, some of their own tradition, others not. Rather than binding them all to service as fetishes, most animists attempt to strike bargains – providing something the spirit wants in return for a singular service for the animist. In negotiation, the spirit must be willing to bargain, and be either friendly or neutral towards the animist. If remaining in the material world this requires the animist to successfully enter a detached reverie using his Trance skill, and possess the ability to communicate with the spirit, in line with a cult rank of Spirit Worshipper or higher. Alternatively the animist can ask a shaman or High Shaman to manifest the spirit in question. Once communication has been established, the animist may then request the spirit’s aid to perform a single task in return for performing a like service for the spirit. Some spirits are willing to enter into a more formal arrangement by providing the animist with their name, becoming an ally. In response the animist agrees to undertake some sort of repeating task or accept some form of geas or compulsion in line with the spirit’s nature. On the most abstract level it can assumed that the task will cost the animist a number of Experience Rolls equal to the spirit’s Intensity per year to complete the service or suffer the inconvenience. Such bargains can be settled by decision of the Games Master, or resolved with an Opposed Test of suitable skills, such as the supplicant’s Influence skill versus the spirit’s Willpower. Failure to reach an accord has no further effect. Fumbling the roll however, may cause the spirit to react with anger.

Spirit Binding

Binding a spirit always requires the animist to engage the spirit directly in Spirit Combat. If he is able to compel a bargain (see page 138) or lower the spirit to zero Magic Points, and its POW does not exceed the limit set by his Binding skill, the animist may then bind it into a fetish, a location, or a creature; each type of binding necessitating its own requirements in terms of use and vulnerability, often in the form of taboos. Fetish Bindings A fetish is a ceremonial object that embodies magical power. Any item can become a fetish for a spirit, but amongst primitive cultures, fetishes tend to be items made from an item associated with that spirit (a bear’s claw or tooth, for example, or its hide). Whilst confined within its fetish a spirit cannot be harmed by hostile magic or other spirits; it remains in stasis, unaware of its surroundings. For an animist to use its magical ability a bound spirit must first be called from the fetish, to serve the holder. The binding still exists, but the spirit is now able to exert its power and travel up to its POW in metres away from the fetish. Over time any animist possessing a fetish takes on some of the spirit’s essence. So the owner of a bear tooth holding a bear spirit may feel dozy in winter or take on bearish odour. Fetishes holding curse or sickness spirits may emit a miasma that induces minor symptoms in the holder, making the fetish extremely unpleasant. Conversely a stone holding a Fire spirit would be warm to the touch - which may occasionally be useful. Since the spirit of a fetish only submits to the control of whoever is holding the object, animists closely, and jealously guard their fetishes. It is usually taboo to touch an animist’s fetish without his permission, and those who try risk the animist’s ire. In certain circumstances two or more animists might end up struggling for physical control over a fetish, and by inference the spirit bound to it. In these cases both should roll their Binding skill as an Opposed test, the winner gaining command over the spirit until challenged again. Location Bindings A spirit can also be bound to a specific location. This is usually done to protect an area. Unlike a fetish the spirit is able to roam the area specified by the anamist when it was bound, but no further than ten times the spirit’s POW in metres from the exact spot the binding occurred. Within this region the spirit is both visible and vulnerable to direct magical assault, unless it has the Manifestation ability to travel back and forth from the Spirit Plane (although it will still be trapped in the binding area). In return the spirit may use its powers, and freely interact with anyone within the location. Often hostile spirits are bound to locations instead of fetishes, imprisoning them so they cannot cause harm. In such cases the binding taboo is usually linked to oaths of not trespassing into the area, non-aggravation from otherwise harmless activities like dancing, or the establishment of regular propitiatory sacrifice to placate it. Only the binder, or the cult he belongs to may exert command over a location-bound spirit. If two or more animists of that cult vie for control over the spirit, it is resolved similarly to struggles over a fetish.

Creature Bindings Spirits can also be bound into the body of a living creature. In principle the creature is loyal to whoever bound it, or the person they have assigned it to. Advantages are that the spirit may recover Magic Points naturally, can move freely as allowed by its body and gains immunity from direct magical assault (as per a fetish). Drawbacks are that it is now vulnerable to physical damage; the spirit’s abilities only affect the body it is bound to; the creature must be tattooed or branded with the spirit’s binding; and most dubitable of all – unlike Possession – the creature’s original soul must be permanently sundered from its body, in effect killing it to make space for the new spirit. Totemists are avid practitioners of creating such living fetishes, placing spirits into the bodies of their totem animals who then act as animal companions. Some spirits with the Animate ability can be bound into corpses. In such cases the bound spirit cannot regain Magic Points.

Creating a Binding The creation of a binding costs one Experience Roll per point of Intensity of the spirit. This represents the time and development needed to prepare the item, location or creature in which the spirit will be held. The ritual usually takes one week, at the end of which the animist should roll the spirit’s Characteristics randomly, based on its Intensity. It is always possible that the spirit gained may be too powerful for the animist to control. An animist can attempt to improve the binding’s potency to contain a more powerful spirit of the same type by paying the difference in Experience Rolls. Thus an animist with a fetish capable of containing an Intensity 2 Animal Spirit could upgrade it to hold an Intensity 3 Animal Spirit by paying one Experience Roll. The animist can also replace the spirit of a binding with one of the same type, at no additional cost in Experience Rolls, provided the spirit can be found or a shaman persuaded to do the finding. The recipient of a fetish or creature binding does not need to have bound the spirit himself. Lower ranking worshippers of a spirit cult often gain spirits through undertaking a ritual in collaboration with a shaman who binds it for them. While the shaman searches, the supplicant fasts and meditates, or sings and dances, purifying himself in preparation for the gift of the spirit. The bound spirit counts against the supplicant’s limit, not the shaman’s. Animists of less than Shaman rank are not prevented from undertaking the search and binding a spirit personally, save that such tasks are sometimes dangerous, and would be frowned on by peers of the community if, for instance, the attempt ended with a malicious spirit possessing the would-be fetish maker. Shamans usually only provide spirits to members of the same tradition or in recompense for great favours. Even then shamans will usually only bind friendly spirits associated with their cult in this manner. Seeking out spirits of a disparate or contrary nature is dangerous for both the shaman and the supplicant. Physically destroying a binding, by killing the host creature or shattering its fetish for instance, immediately unbinds the spirit it contains. Upon gaining its freedom a spirit can either return to the Spirit World or, if hostile, possibly attempt to attack the animist who imprisoned it. Malicious shamans sometimes booby-trap places with easily broken fetishes containing dangerous spirits. A spirit can be voluntarily unbound from its binding by its owner. Many reasons exist to do this, such as wishing to replace the spirit with a less damaged version. Owners can only manumit a spirit from its bondage if their Binding skill is capable of handling the POW of the shackled spirit.

Limits to Bound Spirits

The maximum number of spirits an animist can hold in bondage depends on cult rank:

• Follower: ¼ of CHA
• Spirit Worshipper: half of CHA
• Shaman: ¾ of CHA
• High Shaman: All CHA

If this number is ever exceeded, then the strongest spirit or spirits break free, possibly extracting revenge if they were hostile to the binding. Neutral spirits may be simply mischievous.

Using Spirits

A spirit’s magical effects are persistent, lasting until it is sent away, countermanded or recalled to a fetish. This can make animists formidable foes. However, manifested spirits are vulnerable to magic that specifically targets spiritual entities. If so dismissed or destroyed, the spirit is gone for good until a replacement can be summoned. Animists generally use their spirits in one of two ways: call upon a materially bound spirit, or summon a spirit from afar to perform an agreed task. These two different uses have different methods of resolution.

Calling Upon a Binding

Depending on its attitude a bound spirit will see its binding as either a prison or a positive relationship with its owner. Hostile spirits are always seeking to hinder or undermine whoever dared to command it; friendly spirits are sanguine and obeisant. Neutral spirits have little care either way. How the spirit behaves when called upon is thus dependent on its attitude. Commanding a bound spirit takes an Action, costs 1 Magic Point, and requires a Binding skill roll. Depending on the result of the roll the following occurs:

• Critical Success: The command is not only successful, but costs the animist no Magic Points.
• Success: The spirit is commanded successfully, and performs the deed requested of it.
• Failure: The spirit ignores the command. The animist must wait until his next Turn to try again.
• Fumble: The command is so badly botched the binding is broken, allowing the spirit to return to the Spirit Plane or to turn on the animist if hostile.

A spirit that escapes the authority of the animist, can act freely until it is compelled to obey. While under control a spirit performs its instruction to the best of its abilities, yet if the animist wishes it to perform a different task, he must issue a new command with the requisite Magic Point cost and Binding skill roll. 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 spirit’s POW is greater than the limit set by the user’s Binding skill, any attempt to command it fails. In the specific case of a fetish, the bound spirit emerges from its binding-object as a Free Action to perform the first command given it. Returning the spirit to the fetish costs the animist an Action Point on their Turn, but no further Magic Points. Only if the spirit is neutral or hostile to the animist is a Binding skill check required to succeed.

Summoning a Spirit

Animists can summon spirits they have successfully negotiated with previously or know the true name of - the latter something which is normally held secret by members of the animist’s cult or tradition. To conjure the spirit the animist uses his Trance skill to make contact with the Spirit World (though he need not enter it). Assuming the spirit is within range, the animist may then issue a summons. The summoning attempt costs the animist a number of Magic Points equal to the spirit’s Intensity, and requires a Binding test:

• Critical Success: The spirit anticipates its summons, arriving in 1d3 rounds.
• Success: The spirit hears the summons, and arrives in 1d6 minutes.
• Failure: The spirit fails to notice the call. The animist may try again the following day.
• Fumble: The spirit is mortally offended by the manner of the summons. The bond between the summoner, and the spirit is suspended until the animist can offer amends for his affront.

What happens then depends on the spirit’s attitude towards its summoner, and whether it owes the animist a service. To determine how helpful or malicious it is, the spirit makes an opposed test of its Willpower against the animist’s summoning roll. Refer the result on the Attitude of a Summoned Spirit table. Note that if the POW of the spirit is beyond the capability of the animist to control, it may act independently or place its own interpretation on a service demanded of it.

Attitude of a Summoned Spirit

Binding Test	Allied Spirit	Neutral Spirit	Hostile Spirit
Animist wins	Spirit repeatedly serves the animist for the remainder of the scenario	Spirit serves once	Spirit serves grudgingly, and attempts to pervert the command
Spirit wins	Spirit serves once then departs in friendship	Spirit departs	Spirit turns on the animist

Observing Manifested Spirits In the Spirit World spirits are imperceptible to any corporeal creature, save for those with the Trance skill or some other such ability such as a mystic’s Spirit Sense trait. However, spirits brought into the material world are manifested, potentially allowing them to become detectable by natural means. Spirits can manifest in a number of ways. Normally spirits which augment the animist form a ghostly shape, whirling intangibly as an aura about the summoner. Embodied spirits infest, and actually modify the animist’s physique, whereas a possessing spirit lurks ethereally within the mortal shell of the animist. How perceivable the spirit is depends greatly upon the setting.

Spirit Combat

Since most spirits are intangible, conflict must be resolved by other means than the clash of weapons. Spirit Combat in the mortal realm usually takes the appearance of ghostly shapes swarming the body of their transfixed victim. Nothing stops the mortal from physically responding if they desire, save for futility if they lack magic to affect the spirit assaulting them. Within the Spirit World however, such combats can be completely abstract in both the challenge presented, and in the appearance of the participants and their surroundings: it does not need to resemble a conventional fight. Instead an attack could be the replaying of a painful memory from the opponent’s past life, or forcing them to confront and overcome a hidden phobia. A combat might even be a light-hearted contest: riddling perhaps, or boastful attempts at one-upmanship and humiliation. The outcome though, is usually serious. Generally only spirits and animists initiate Spirit Combat, as characters without the Binding skill lack knowledge of how to fight in this way.

Engaging in Spirit Combat

Spirit Combat works almost identically to normal combat save that mortal combatants (if present in the Spirit World) use their Spirit Attributes, rather than physical attributes, as described earlier in this chapter. Rather than wielding weapons, spirits have a Spectral Combat skill to make psychic attacks and parries. Animists use their Binding skill, whereas those uninitiated in Animism must rely on their Willpower skill instead. As with physical combat, each attack and parry exchange in Spirit Combat is treated as a Differential Roll. If one or more levels of success are achieved then Spirit Combat Special Effects may be selected (see table overleaf). In addition, a successful attack which is not parried, inflicts an amount of damage equal to the attacker’s Spirit Damage roll to the defender’s Magic Points. (For settings with no natural Magic Points see Tenacity, page 139). If the defender runs out of Action Points with which to defend themselves, then they are left wide open, and the attacker may attempt to make an unopposed attack roll. Corporal characters engaged in Spirit Combat in the physical world may forgo their attack in order to cast magic or perform a physical act instead. Fleeing Spirit Combat is not always possible. If the fight occurs in the material world, characters obviously cannot escape unless they physically depart the area the spirit occupies. On the Spirit Plane however, a discorporated animist can, instead of trying to damage their opponent, declare that they are using a Combat Action to try and escape back to their body. An Opposed test of the animist’s Trance skill against the spirit’s Spectral Combat is required. If the animist wins they break free, and the combat ends; but if the spirit wins, then the animist fails to get away. It is impossible for souls who do not have the Trance skill to consciously escape from the Spirit World as they have no knowledge or understanding of how to move within it. Only if they defeat or drive off their attacker will they be freed from its discorporation. Otherwise they must be rescued by an animist. Combat continues until the fight is concluded by use of a Special Effect, or one of the combatants is reduced to zero Magic Points, at which point they are defeated.

Spirit Combat Special Effects

Special Effect	Offensive	Defensive	Specific Roll	Description
Bleed Essence	X	X	Critical Only	Inflict a psychic wound which leaks 1 Magic Point per cycle, until Spirit Combat ends
Compel Bargain	X			Attacker makes an opposed roll of their Influence against the Defender's Willpower. If successful combat ends, and they force the defender to perform a deed
Drive Off	X		Mortals Only	Spirit must resist attack roll with Willpower or depart the combat
Leech Strength	X		Critical Only	Attacker absorbs the Magic Points inflicted by the attack
Obscure		X	Critical Only	Attacker can no longer perceive the defender, unless attacked again
Possess	X		Spirits Only	Assuming spirit is capable of possession, the defender must resist its attack roll with their Willpower or become possessed
Psychic Stun	X	X		Opponent loses next Turn
Restrain	X	X	Mortals Only	Prevents the spirit from fleeing or engaging others in Spirit Combat
Spirit Lance	X			Roll Spirit Damage twice, and take the best result
Sunder Binding	X	X	Spirit Fumbles	Breaks the fetish or binding the spirit came from
Suppress Ability	X	X	Mortals Only	Shuts down one of the spirit's abilities currently in use
Turn Back		X		Attacker suffers its own Spirit Damage roll instead of the defender
Withdraw		X		The defender may automatically disengage from Spirit Combat, returning to their body (if mortal), fetish or the Spirit Plane (if a summoned spirit)

Consequences of Defeat If a participant in Spirit Combat reaches zero Magic Points they are reduced to a helpless state. Several things may then happen:

• Possessed: Certain spirits may possess the loser’s body, to inflict their malignance. (see Possession and Exorcism page 140).
• Bound: If the loser is a spirit it may be bound into a fetish, location or creature binding.
• Exorcised: If the loser is a spirit currently possessing a mortal, then it can be exorcised from the body of the victim, and forced to return to the Spirit World.
• Dissipated: Spirits with the Deadly ability (page 143) may destroy the loser by tearing their essence apart. If the dissipated spirit was a discorporated mortal, then the physical body dies with the destruction of its soul. Some spirits can recover from being dissipated if they have the Recurring trait.
• Obligation: In exchange for its freedom, the loser must grant one service to the victor. This is one of the more common outcomes of a combat, and forms the basis for animists compelling spirits to do their bidding.
• Expelled: If the loser is a discorporated soul, he may be ejected from the Spirit World.
• Ignored: If the loser poses no threat or interest to the victor, he may simply be ignored. Quite often a victorious spirit has no ability to do anything else to a defeated opponent.
• Sundered: Limited to spirits with the Deadly ability (page 143) such as death spirits. If the loser is a discorporated soul, he may be torn completely free of his material form, normally causing the death of the body but transfiguring the soul into a spirit. What then happens to the sundered soul depends on the victorious spirit, and it may become one of its thralls – perhaps exiled to the mundane world to bring fear to other mortals, or retained as a slave in the Spirit World.

Note that some of the above consequences can only be chosen by spirits capable of that action. Animists, however, are taught the necessary skills to be able to freely choose any of the consequences known to their cult. Defeat does not inevitably need to result in something bad. Many Spirit Combats are not antagonistic at all, but rather a test of an animist’s strength or the abstract representation of a negotiation where the spirit and animist are debating with empathic images and memory. Winning such a challenge sways the loser to regard the victor with respect, perhaps even capitulating a passionately debated issue. Even if the Spirit Combat was violent the winner may not want to inflict any additional revenge: much depends on the type of spirit to begin with. A peaceful mountain spirit may simply cast a foolish animist back to the material world; a predator spirit may inflict a ritual scar that manifests on the loser’s material body, showing that he was bested; a curse spirit will likely be driven to possessing those it defeats; and a disease spirit is likely to infect the victim. Games Masters must adjudicate the circumstances and repercussions according to the spirit’s inherent nature.

Multiple Opponents versus a Single Spirit In certain circumstances a Spirit Combat might ensue where one side has a numerical advantage over the other. This may be a group of discorporated mortals facing a single spirit of high Intensity. Conversely it could be an animist ambushed by multiple spirits of minor power. Whilst single combats between disproportionate foes may pose little threat to the more skilful practitioner, the situation can change if several lesser opponents gang up on a more powerful individual. The normal result of such a one-sided engagement is that the more numerous side is able to launch a number of unopposed attacks, which will begin to whittle down the overwhelmed defender. Attempting to flee multiple opponents requires that an animist’s Opposed disengagement roll beats all of his foes, otherwise he remains trapped by their numbers. Conversely, if a member of the attacking pack decides to flee, then they get away automatically, provided at least one associate remains behind to cover their retreat.

Spirit Combat Options

Using Magic Points as spiritual Hit Points is the default method of measuring damage during Spirit Combat: it poses considerable problems if attacked victims have no magical reserves to prevent Spirit Combat, lessen its effects, or preserve/recover Magic Points quickly. In such situations any spirit or shaman could become unstoppable. To overcome these circumstances, two alternate methods of running Spirit Combat are provided below. Tenacity As well as storing or producing Magic Points, which are used in the mundane world to fuel magic, POW also creates Tenacity Points, which measure a character’s resilience when in the Spirit World. Tenacity Points are the focus of Spirit Damage, preserving Magic Points solely for the use of magic, and ensuring that magicians defeated in Spirit Combat are still capable of maintaining their earthly magical powers afterwards. Tenacity Points cannot be used to cast magic. They are only tracked to judge the psychological endurance of those engaging in Spirit Combat. When reduced to zero the will to resist is broken, leaving the loser unable to avoid the consequences of the defeat. Adding Tenacity Points has the advantage that all magicians, be they theists, mystics or sorcerers, do not become spiritually weakened by casting magic. Tenacity is independent of magical effort, providing them with a level playing field when placed beside iron willed warrior types. Modifying Spirit Combat to use Tenacity is a simple case of adding this as a new attribute to complement Magic Points. Tenacity Points lost in Spirit Combat recover every 24 hours, provided the character is sufficiently well rested on their native plane of existence.

Physical Damage Appropriate for nearly all Sword & Sorcery genres, this option is the perfect replacement for personal Magic Points in worlds where magic and violent sacrifice is rife. Nonetheless, it is best suited for campaigns where Spirit Combat is only used to harm and destroy, rather than for abstract challenges. To avoid the difficulties that corporeal beings face in settings where they have no normal access to Magic Points, any damage they take in Spirit Combat is applied to their physical Hit Points instead of their soul. This approach has several distinctions.

• Spirits can keep Magic Points as Hit Points since they lack a corporeal form.
• All corporeal beings can take about the same amount of damage, regardless whether they are magic users or not.
• Injuries suffered during Spirit Combat become more visceral since damage is applied to locations. Although animists gain an increase in effective ‘spiritual’ Hit Points, in fact characters become increasingly vulnerable to spiritual beings with large Spirit Damage.
• To offset location vulnerability, Animists and sapient spirits possessing knowledge of armour can manifest psychic protection with a value of one Armour Point per 20% of the Trance skill.

Since spirit damage is applied directly to locational Hit Points, Serious and Major Wounds have duplicate physiological effects on an animist. On the Spirit Plane however, a serious wound prevents the victim from attacking for his next 1d3 Turns, whilst a major wound incapacitates, so that he immediately loses the Spirit Combat. Note that an animist can physically be killed by this type of combat even though something else might be happening to his soul.

Possession and Exorcism

Possession occurs when a spirit dominates the soul of a corporeal being, usually through a Spirit Combat defeat or the Possess Special Effect. The possessing entity inhabits the loser’s body, perhaps seizing control of it. Possession comes in three forms: Dominant, Passive and Covert. A possessing spirit weaves itself into the victim, so that even if it is drawn forth to engage in spirit combat, part of it remains anchored to the host. No creature can ever purge itself of a possessing entity. Others must first defeat it in Spirit Combat, and then exorcise the spirit, or banish it by successfully casting a specific type of expulsion magic. If the original body of a mortal possessor has been killed in its absence, then its soul usually dies when it is exorcised. Spirits merely return to the Spirit World.. Needless to say, a possessing spirit or soul can willingly abandon a possession at any time. Dominant Possession Dominant Possession occurs when the possessing spirit takes complete control of the body. The victim is fully aware that its body has been taken over but is absolutely powerless, unable to take any action at all. The possessor does not have access to any of the memories, skills or magic of the possessed, but substitutes its own instead. To actively detect a dominant possession requires a successful, unopposed test of either Insight if viewed magically, or Trance. Passive Possession Passive Possession occurs when the spirit lodges itself within the victim, but is unable to seize control, allowing the host to remain in full command of its faculties. Instead the spirit ‘merely’ inflicts its powers on the host’s body. Covert Possession As per Passive Possession, but the spirit remains hidden. The victim remains unaware of his possession, unless the spirit chooses to inform him of its presence. Some spirits take over the victim’s body at night when they are sleeping, thus keeping their existence secret, save for inevitable physical exhaustion, and odd fleeting nightmares. Detecting a covert possession requires a successful Opposed roll of the investigator’s Insight (if viewed magically) or Trance skill versus the spirit’s Stealth skill.

Animism Tricks

Animism provides a great deal of flexibility in mimicking most historical or fantasy forms of animism, shamanism and totemism. Yet there are a number of cunning tricks used in novels or recorded in cultural mythology that Games Masters can use, or grant to specific cults as part of their secret teachings. Rejuvenating Spirits As described in the Spiritual Attributes section, the Magic Points of a spirit only recover when it is in the Spirit World, since it is the source which provides their magical life-force. Those spirits present in the material world, whether bound to a fetish or manifested via summoning, have no way of recovering their energy, and may eventually wither away depending on how badly they are treated. In a similar way the souls of corporeal creatures cannot recover their Magic Points whilst present in the Spirit World, since their magical strength comes from the physical world. Animists whose spirits have been damaged by magical attacks or Spirit Combat may therefore have a difficult choice to make. Manumitting a spirit from a fetish so it can return to the Spirit World will allow it to recover its strength, but there is no guarantee it will permit itself to be re-bound. Conversely failing to liberate a greatly weakened spirit is effectively condemning it to impotence, or even death: something the cult, tradition or donator of the spirit may frown upon. To overcome this, animists can ceremonially sacrifice their own Magic Points directly to the damaged spirit, restoring its essence. This helps prevent a spirit from withering away, and has no detrimental effect on the animist, who may regain donated Magic Points normally through whichever methods are used in the campaign. Spirit Traps A whole array of cunning traps can be prepared using spirits, to guard a particular item or area. The classic method is to construct a fetish from fragile material (or one that will be inadvertently destroyed as part of everyday use) thereby unbinding the spirit held within; such as a log hidden in a wood pile which will be burned for heat, or a carefully inscribed mandala drawn into the sandy floor of a cave. Breaking the fetish allows the spirit to escape; and woe betide those who are in the vicinity. Hostile entities like wraiths, curse or sickness spirits are preferred for such traps because, on release they can engage tresspassers in Spirit Combat to take their revenge. Binding a Soul into a Living Creature Binding a soul of a sapient person into another living creature is a nefarious act reserved for those cults that revel in chaos and evil. The host beast is usually something considered insulting or taboo, and usually of little threat to the animist who performs the binding. Whether the original body of the victim is left to die from neglect or is utilised in some other way depends on the objective of the animist. Some Bindings are simply temporary punishments designed to humiliate; the creator permitting the victim to return to his body after the lesson is learned. Body Snatching Body snatching takes the concept of soul binding one step further, using it for subversive purposes. A demon ruling a kingdom using the body of its monarch is a familiar trope of Sword & Sorcery fantasy. To body snatch the animist chooses a victim and, after defeating them in Spirit Combat, binds their soul into another creature. The empty body that remains is then inhabited by the animist, who need not worry about a potentially hostile soul co-habiting the physical shell; nor about triggering the suspicion of anyone in search of possession regarding the snatched body via Trance or other magical means.. Body snatches are nearly impossible to detect, save for the changed personality of the occupant. Physically the disguise is perfect. The animist’s own body may be in some danger whilst he takes command of another. In settings where fetches are unknown, the usual stereotype is that the spiritualist literally exchanges bodies with the victim; so that a tenant remains who will, at the very least, feed his temporarily abandoned shell. Of course if the animist’s original body dies he no longer has any place to escape back to, causing his own death if somehow exorcised. Surviving after Death A technique passed down amongst a few highly skilled shamans is the ability to survive after death. Since highly skilled animists have rigid control over their own soul, they can hold themselves on the Spirit Plane for some specific purpose, effectively postponing their transcendence to the source of all things or whatever afterlife is destined for them. In the Spirit World they cannot regain Magic Points, and it is only a matter of time before natural attrition from aggressive spirits finally dissipates their soul. To avoid this, most animists try to locate the nearest living creature they feel capable of discorporating, defeating in Spirit Combat, and possess it. This could be anything from a small animal to their own murderer.

Once returned to a living body the shaman can recover Magic Points normally. However the maximum number of Magic Points the shaman can muster is limited by the Characteristic POW of the creature they now occupy. Of course a shaman who persists in this semi-vampiric manner is vulnerable to being exorcised. If this occurs it may result in the shaman’s true death or force them to restart the cycle, depending on how they achieved their first self-aware reincarnation. Several options are:

• Knowledge of how to survive after death is inherent with gaining the rank of High Shaman. Such animists must succeed in an Opposed test of their Trance skill against the Attack roll which killed them, or else be overwhelmed by the shock of the blow, and unable to prevent their soul from transcending.
• The shaman must succeed in an unopposed Willpower test, but also needs to define what his objective for continued living will be. Once he has achieved this aim the shaman’s soul continues to the afterlife.

Binding Huge Spirits As Spirit Combat suggests, larger spirits can be challenged by a group of animists acting in concert. Whilst fundamentally dangerous (since individual animists could easily be slain with a single backlash) such efforts can be rewarded by overthrowing spirits of impressively large Intensity. The defeat of such spirits permits the animists to bind, dissipate or extract a single service from the entity. Binding the spirit can be a liability. Choosing to bind the spirit within a fetish effectively imprisons it - a good thing if the spirit in question is malicious or destructive. On the other hand, the spirit’s POW may make it impossible to control by anyone calling it out of the fetish. Requesting a service from the spirit is also risky. Usually the boon is deferred to a later time, granting the spirit a chance to recover. Such requests are normally granted to the cult or tradition of those that managed to defeat it, rather to a specific individual. However this does permit any member of that cult who knows of the bargain and the name of the entity to call upon the owed debt.

Spirit Types

Spirits come in many forms, ranging from minor nature spirits through to powerful kami of major environmental forces, beyond mortal control; mischievous ghosts through to dreadful undead manifestations. Although spirits are living entities rather than mechanistic spells, they still have specific sources or powers to which they are associated.

• A spirit can be an incarnation of an abstract magical or natural effect
• A spirit can be the individual or collective essence of a species of plant or animal
• A spirit can be the venerated soul of a dead ancestor
• A spirit can be the vengeful remnant of a dead creature

All spirits are sentient, although the degree of sentience varies according to the spirit’s representation and type. Ancestor spirits, for example, are fully sapient, and display all the intelligence and coherence of their mortal form; but nature spirits are likely to behave, perceive, and articulate themselves in ways that reflect their origin. Skilled animists are capable of interpreting their (sometimes incoherent) ways of communicating, through their training and exposure to the Spirit World.

Designing Spirits

Most of the spirits listed in this chapter are starting examples of a vast range of possibilities. To create new and unique spirits, use the following guidelines:

• Each type of spirit possesses one or more abilities which encompass their powers. Not all spirits are designed to grant an advantage to an animist, some are intended only as challenges for characters to defeat.
• Any advantage a spirit might offer when bound should be capable of being sustained as a permanent effect. The advantage should also be roughly balanced according to other comparable spirits, and the other forms of higher magic (mysticism, theism and sorcery).
• An advantage is always proportional to a spirit’s Intensity. Since spirits usually have no defined limit to their POW, spirits often come in weaker and stronger forms.
• All spirits possess certain default skills. Spirits start with a Spectral Combat skill equal to 50%+POW+CHA, and a Willpower of 50%+(POWx2).

Spirit Abilities

Several of the following abilities rely on the spirit first infesting the target, in the form of either dominant, passive or covert possession. This requires that the victim is beaten in Spirit Combat as per Consequences of Defeat (page 138) or it gains the Possess Special Effect. Animate (Specific Substance) The spirit can embody itself into non-living matter, allowing it to shape or move the substance as if an actual body. If the material is a pure element such as earth or fire, the spirit may manifest itself physically as per an Elemental with a size in cubic metres equal to twice its Intensity (page 242). If, on the other hand, the material is flesh of a dead creature, it instead provides the powers of an Undeath spirit granting bonuses to physical Characteristics (page 153). Autonomy Spirit has the ability to venture beyond the normal distance limits of a binding or its summoner’s aura of influence. This allows the spirit to act as an independent scout or messenger. Bless The spirit can boost one Attribute or Skill of whomever controls it. The amount increased depends on the Intensity of the spirit, and the specific type of blessing (see Curse Spirit Effects table for associated costs), but no Attribute or Skill may be boosted beyond double its original value. Cannibalistic The spirit gains the ability to regenerate its own Magic Points by absorbing the essence of spirits it battles in Spirit Combat. Every successful attack the spirit makes transfers that many Magic Points to its own total. If this exceeds the spirit’s own POW, any surplus energy is wasted. Comprehension Grants the ability to understand and speak with creatures associated with that spirit or its animal totem. For example, a wolf spirit would allow its user to speak with wolves. Conjugate Spirit can maintain a permanent mental link with an animist who summons or binds it, no matter the distance between the two or seperation if one or other is within the Spirit World. Covert The spirit has a Stealth skill at 50%+INT+CHA, with which it can hide from active magical or spiritual observation by opposing the Perception skill of the observer. Curse The spirit can lower one Attribute or Skill of a victim it passively or covertly possesses. The amount reduced depends on the Intensity of the spirit and the specific type of curse. For example, a victim could be cursed with weakness if possessed by a spirit which reduces their Damage Modifier, or alternately cursed with clumsiness in war by using a spirit which reduces one of the victim’s combat styles.

Curse Spirit Effect

Curse	Type	Effect Notes
Action Points	1 per three full points of Intensity	A possessed victim can be rendered helpless if reduced to zero Action Points
Armour Points	1 per point of Intensity	Only reduces natural armour, not worn armour
Damage Modifier	1 step per point of Intensity	This can reduce a Damage Modifier to negative values
Experience Modifier	1 per two full points of Intensity	If this results in Experience Rolls being lowered to zero, the victim can no longer improve their skills
Healing Rate	1 per two full points of Intensity	A possessed character reduced to zero can no longer heal naturally, and must rely on magic instead
Hit Points	1 per point of Intensity	If a Hit Location is reduced to zero, it is treated as if suffering a Serious Wound
Initiative Bonus	2 per point of Intensity	Initiative Bonus can be reduced to negative values
Luck Points	1 per two full points of Intensity	Bad luck!
Movement Rate	1 per point of Intensity	If reduced to zero the possessed character can barely crawl
Skill	1 Difficulty Grade per two full points of Intensity	The affected skill can be rendered unusable if the Difficulty Grade reaches Hopeless

Demesne A potent ability, the spirit gains dominion over aspects of its environment within a range of one hundred times its POW in metres. Normally the limits of its influence are specified in the spirit’s description. For example, a plant spirit could control the growth, flowering and fruiting of vegetation within its area of effect, whilst a truth spirit might prevent falsehoods being uttered. If the demesne of the spirit is challenged by a character, they may attempt to overcome its power by winning an opposed roll of relevant skills. For example, to lie within the demesne of the truth spirit would require opposing the spirit’s Willpower with the character’s Deceit skill. Discorporate Assuming the spirit is not bound, it may drag the soul of a mortal from their body into the Spirit World. The spirit has a base Discorporate skill of 50%+POW+INT. An unwilling target may resist the attempt in an opposed roll of their Willpower versus the spirit’s Discorporate skill. If they succeed, they cannot be affected by the discorporation ability of that spirit again, until a full day has passed. Disease The spirit carries one or more diseases. Instead of possessing a victim, it instead infects them via Spirit Combat, providing it succeeds in an attack, and gains one or more levels of success over the foe. Once infected, the victim must roll against their Endurance skill to determine the severity of the disease, suffering a reduction if the spirit’s Willpower skill is higher, and over 100%. Depending on the result of the Endurance roll, the severity is as follows:

• Critical: severity is Chronic, effect occurs each week.
• Success: severity is Acute, effect occurs each day.
• Failure: severity is Terminal, effect occurs each hour.
• Fumble: victim is possessed by the spirit, and becomes an asymptomatic carrier of the disease, inadvertently infecting others with whom they come into physical contact.

An imparted disease endures until the sickness is cured magically. The type of condition (page 75) is limited by the Intensity of the carrying spirit. Nothing prevents a spirit carrying a combination of disease conditions, save that the total Intensity cost cannot exceed that of the spirit. For instance an Intensity 3 sickness spirit could carry Bleeding disease, or a combination of Blindness and Fever instead.

• Intensity 1: Confusion, Contagious, Exhaustion, Fever, Hallucination, Nausea, Sapping
• Intensity 2: Blindness, Deafness, Dumbness, Maiming, Mania
• Intensity 3: Agony, Bleeding, Paralysis, Unconsciousness
• Intensity 4: Asphyxiation, Death

If the spirit has more than one condition, they trigger in cascading sequence in assending order of required Intensity. Thus a victim of the previously described Intensity 3 spirit would suffer fever the first time the disease takes effect, then fever and blindness the second, after which (since the blindness might be permanent) the victim will suffer fever each occurance thereafter. Domination (Specific Species) Allows totemic spirits to command all living animals related to it within a distance equal to its POW in metres. A serpent spirit for example could dominate all snakes within range. Endowment (Specific Capability) The spirit grants the magician a special capability, sense, movement or resistance as owned by the spirit’s totem. Usually these take the form of a Creature Ability (page 214), or combat Special Effect. The minimum required spirit Intensity varies, depending on the capability endowed, and nature of the spirit cult. Eternal The spirit has Recurring trait (page 138), which enables it to return after being dissipated. Glamour Enables the spirit to create illusions within a range equal to its POW in metres. This glamour is a mental illusion that works in a similar way to the sorcery spell Phantom (Sense) (page 171). The spirit can affect one sense per level of its Intensity, with a Magnitude of twice that. Healing The spirit is able to cure the effects of disease, if its Intensity is sufficient to counter the condition (see Disease Ability, page 143). It also permits recovery of Minor, Serious and Major Wounds (although they are unable to replace lost limbs), by sacrificing 1 Magic Point per Hit Point healed. Mana Permits the spirit to donate its Magic Points to the summoner or holder of its fetish, for use in casting magic or aiding in Spirit Combat. Manifestation Spirit may move between the mundane and Spirit World at will. It takes one Action to shift from one to the other. Whilst in the Spirit World the spirit is immune from all attacks (magical or physical) from corporal opponents. Miasma Enables the spirit to induce feelings of despair, dread and horror within a radius of its POW in metres. The Magnitude of the effect is equal to twice the spirit’s Intensity. Anyone unable to block the magic must succeed in an opposed test of Willpower skills, or else flee the area in abject terror. Passion (Specific Emotion or Disorder) The spirit can invoke an overwhelmingly strong passion or state of mind in those it possesses. Although in a few cases they can be used beneficently, most are used in a hostile manner. The following passions and mental disorders provide mechanical effects of how they should be used in play. As with the Disease Ability (page 143), each has an associated number in parentheses, showing the minimum Intensity of spirit required to inflict that state of mind, assuming it manages to possess the target. Amnesia (1): An amnesia spirit makes the victim chronically forgetful. Although it has no effect on skills, it does prevent them from remembering anything that happens during the period of their possession. This doesn’t stop the host from behaving normally (assuming they do not act on knowledge revealed since the amnesia started), only that they have no recollection of it, even after the spirit is expelled. Confusion (2): Causes confusion during times of stress, or at the malicious whim of the possessing spirit. During a confusion attack, any skill attempt made by the host is resisted by spirit’s Willpower in an opposed test. If the victim loses, they do the incorrect thing,possibly striking the wrong target in combat, casting a different spell to what was intended, answering a question which wasn’t asked, and so on. Deceit (1): Induces the possessed victim to lie, cheat and steal, no matter the consequences. They simply cannot help themselves, although they can attempt to disguise their subterfuge through use of the Deceit and Conceal skills. Fear (2): The possessed host suffers foreboding and timidity, as if they were under the effect of the Demoralise spell (page 125). The subject of the fear must be related to the cult or tradition, thus a sea based spirit could inflict a fear of drowning, and so on. Greed (1): Also known as Gluttony Spirits, possession causes the host to become enamoured of a specific item, substance or stimulus. Whenever the victim comes into contact with the object of their greed, they will attempt to horde, secrete, covert, consume or immerse themselves to their detriment for the next 1d3 hours. Examples might be alcohol, gold, or even sexual liaison. Grief (3): Instils a sense of loss so great that the host becomes passively suicidal. They do not actively seek dangerous situations, but will only half-heartedly protect themselves if one occurs. Whenever asked to parry, evade or make an opposed test, to resist hostile magic for instance, the victim must reverse the number rolled on the dice if it would generate a worse result. Hate (2): These spirits exaggerate the possessed host’s natural inclinations towards a particular individual, race, cult or culture, making them irritable and surly. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, usually when unobserved, the victim will succumb to overwhelming hatred; leading them to quarrel with, brutalise, torture, or rarely to even murder the object of their hate. Love (1): The newly possessed host falls in love with the first compatible partner he or she sees. Once a love object is found, the host is utterly infatuated, gaining a Love (Individual) Passion equal to the Willpower value of the spirit. This is thereafter used as an opposing motivation whenever the host is called to leave their beloved, or work against his or her interests. Madness (2): Akin to having a demon whispering into your ear, madness spirits force the host – at times of stress – into acts of irrational or gibbering behaviour. Depending on the spirit’s inclination, this is done by changing the perceptions of the victim, sadistically torturing them, or instilling a degree of increasing paranoia. Madness attacks last 1d3x10 minutes, occurring whenever a skill check is made by the host, and the spirit overcomes that roll in an opposed test using its Willpower. Violence (3): Removes all ethical and moral restraints towards using combat to solve problems. Any hint of dissent or outright threat will trigger a violent outburst. Worse still, the host glories in violence so much that they will joyously brutalise all living things within reach, be they friend, foe or even innocents. Violent outbursts can be resisted if the host can overcome the spirit in an opposed test of Willpower, but once triggered, the violence only stops when the host is incapacitated by exhaustion or a lack of responding victims. Note that violence does not necessarily equate to death – most hosts utilising their natural weapons over drawing a weapon, unless directly threatened by one first. Perceptive Spirit has the ability to see possessing spirits, bound spirits inside creatures and fetishes, shapeshifted beings, and penetrate illusions in its immediate vicinity. The spirit has a base Perceive Unseen skill of 50%+POW+INT which can be countered by the target of its scrutiny with an opposed test against Conceal, Disguise, Stealth, or a pertinent magical skill. Persistent The spirit gains immunity to magical dismissal of any form. This does not mean it is immune to magical damage or Spirit Combat, only that spells such as Banish or Exorcism do not affect it. Puppeteer The possessing spirit can control the physical body of others. It can be used benevolently to take control of a totem animal or protect a spirit magician’s body whilst he is discorporate. Hostile spirits on the other hand, use this ability to steal the body of a foe to achieve the spirit’s strongest desires. Sagacity Possesses a skill at a value equal to the spirit’s 100% + (INTx2). There is no limit to the type of skill imparted, provided it is relevant to the spirit concerned. So a spirit devoted to war might know weapon skills, whereas one linked to a particular family may provide genealogical knowledge instead. Shapechange (Specific Species) Grants the ability to shape change the spirit magician into his cult’s totem animal, as described under Shape-shifting spirits (page 152). Spellcasting Allows the spirit to either cast magic on behalf of its summoner with a skill of 50%+POW+CHA, or share knowledge of the spells it knows with the holder of its fetish. Subjugate Allows the spirit the ability to bind one or more other spirits of lesser Intensity, holding them as vassals without the necessity of a fetish. For spirits of the same tradition, this is usually a willing servitude – a mountain spirit holding several lesser earth elemental spirits, for instance. If the spirits are not associated, the subjugation is more one of forced enslavement. Each lesser spirit held in subjugation reduces the holding spirit’s Magic Points by a value equal to its Intensity as an enduring cost. Subjugation ends if the holding spirit is ever reduced to zero Magic Points. Telekinesis This ability grants the spirit the ability to move objects in the physical world despite its nominally intangible form. It gains a STR equal to its Intensity, and can shift items up to its POW in metres distant. Warding Gains the ability to ward off hostile magic from something the spirit guards, automatically blocking spells with a Magnitude less than or equal to twice the spirit’s Intensity. Although magic is blocked, it is not dismissed by contact with the spirit. For instance, weapon enhancement spells do not vanish when the magician is hit, nor is the enchanted weapon prevented from striking them; only that any magical boosting to damage does not occur. Wither The spirit is able to physically damage corporeal beings, using its Spectral Combat skill or some other Combat Style it possessed before death. The blows inflicts damage equal to its usual Spirit Damage that ignores all non-magical parries and physical armour; requiring opponents to Evade or flee its attacks.

Example Spirits

The following spirits are presented with base Characteristic ranges and skills. However since the POW of the spirit depends on the Intensity chosen for it (see Defining Spirits page 132), no average Attributes are provided as they fluctuate according to the POW of the spirit. Nothing prevents a Games Master from adding or removing abilities from the following spirits to create unique entities more suited to their campaign settings.

Ancestor Spirits Eternal, plus one or more of Discorporate, Sagacity, Spellcasting, and Subjugate Ancestor spirits are the souls of family members who, after death, reside either in the Spirit World, in the underworld or whatever afterlife is provided by the local pantheon; all depending on the setting. An animist who quests in the Spirit World can always find a way to reach these places, although he will normally only ever encounter ancestors with whom he has a relationship, finding both venerated predecessors and despised enemies. Such spirits can befound continuing their existence in houses, halls, tribes or communities resembling those they occupied before death; or despondently wandering in the gloom of limbo. Animists may ask questions or request aid from their honoured ancestors; or conversely attempt to bind and imprison an enemy ancestor, preventing it from being called upon by their foes. Ancestor spirits are a natural source of knowledge and information. In their mortal life they achieved greatness through skills, talents, and deeds that have secured their continued veneration in the afterlife. The spirits of those who died without noteworthy deeds tend to fade and dissipate, once their immediate descendants passon. Thus most ancestor spirits are noted heroes, remembered many generations after their death, and continually honoured in ceremonies personal and grand, small and large. A specific ancestor spirit is summoned to the material world by an animist of direct descent. If there is no blood-lineage, a shaman must travel to the home of the ancestor in its afterlife. Once summoned or located, the spirit can be asked questions concerning the family line, or events which happened during its lifetime. Such requests only require a successful Influence roll, the offering of 1 Magic Point – representing a donation of blood or life-force– and cost nothing further. Animists can also request an ancestor’s aid in performing a specific and important service. This comes at a greater cost, involving an immediate sacrifice of at least 1 Magic Point per Intensity of the ancestor, and continued votive gifts to that particular spirit (if necessary this can be abstracted to either spending an Experience Rolleach year or one Magic Point each month, if Games Masters prefer). Continued veneration in this way keeps the memory of the ancestor alive, promoting his continued existence. In return the ancestor grants its help to overcome the problem facing the petitioner. Ancestor spirits are very versatile, and may either agree to perform a single service as a spirit there and then, or offer to incarnate in the body of the descendent if this is a more appropriate act.

Certain ancestors might be prepared to temporarily inhabit an heirloom or item (such as a tribal treasure) of great personal significance in order to be manifested later. The item can be anything held in esteem by the community, and the ancestor will bind itself to the item as if it were a fetish, and wait within until the appropriate time for it to emerge. Such confinement is extremely unpleasant for the ancestor spirit, and so the expectation is that it last for a very short time – days rather than weeks or months. Any longer, and the ancestor may turn hostile and immediately return to the Spirit Plane upon release, after extracting suitable penance from the summoner. Physically incarnating requires the descendent to voluntarily permit the ancestor spirit to possess his body. This bargain places the animist at a dangerous disadvantage since he cannot prevent his body from being abused by the ancestor spirit. Unsympathetic ancestors often succumb to long forgotten passions, or attempt extreme acts to further their renown – being in little danger of personal harm if their host dies. Whilst possessed, the animist may gain access to new abilities, spells, and spirits pertaining to the ancestor. Warrior ancestors have combat skills, shaman ancestors have spirit skills, hunter ancestors have stealth and tracking skills, medicine ancestors have healing skills, and so on. Residing in another body or object means that an ancestor spirit cannot be called upon by other members of that cult or tradition; for this reason an ancestor spirit usually only remains until it has achieved the summoning objective. Regardless of how the ancestor is incarnated or lodged, it counts against the animist’s number of spirits that can be controlled. Repeated summonings or being summoned for minor or trivial tasks may irritate the spirit, forcing the animist to defeat his ancestor in mock Spirit Combat. If the animist loses, then the ancestor considers the request below its dignity and refuses to help. If the animist wins instead, the ancestor is roused into providing aid, but the ancestor may be considered as either neutral or hostile.

Ancestor Spirit

Characteristics
INT: As per mortal of the species
POW: As per its Intensity
CHA: As per mortal of the species
Culture and Lore skills of their people and region = 100%+(INTx2), Spectral Combat = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

In addition, the ancestor may take a number of selections, equal to 1d3+Intensity, from the following list of Spirit Abilities:

• Discorporate: allows the ancestor to summon the soul of a nearby mortal descendent into the Spirit World.
• Sagacity: spirit knows a skill relevant to the profession of the ancestor at 100%+(INTx2).
• Spellcasting: holds knowledge of 1d3 Folk Magic spells (which it can cast assuming the ancestor has the Folk Magic skill).
• Subjugate: ancestor has a spirit ally of one less Intensity than itself, which appears within 1d3 Combat Rounds of being summoned (assuming the ancestor has the Trance and Binding skills).

Bane Spirits Cannibalistic, Deadly Fragments of pure Chaos or some other source of evil, bane spirits strive to absorb the essence of other spirits. Due to their relationship with entropy, once the Magic Points of the targeted spirit have been reduced to zero, the bane spirit consumes it utterly and irrevocably, so that it is forever destroyed, even those with the Recurring trait. Bane spirits are abhorred to the point that they are often bound and imprisoned in remote or accursed locations, preventing them from causing irreparable harm. Only the insane, or those driven to suicidal revenge, tend to use them. If imbued into a fetish, bane spirits can be used as a weapon nominally sent against other spirits to engage in Spirit Combat. Bane spirits can destroy other bane spirits. The majority of bane spirits are oblivious to the physical world, and lack the ability to manifest into the material realm to attack mortals. Instead they fester upon the Spirit World causing untold damage to other spirits which mistakenly stray into their vicinity.

Bane Spirit

Characteristics
INS: 1d6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 1d6
Spectral Combat = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Curse Spirits Curse, Covert, Manifestation Overtly malicious, curse spirits are sent by animists to possess mortals bringing them misfortune. They can be found in places that have suffered terrible natural disasters. Curse spirits impose detrimental effects such as reduce Action Points, slow Healing Rate, and so on. The conditions they inflict directly affect the possessed victim, and can only be stopped by exorcising the spirit, assuming the victim is even aware that he is possessed in the first place.

Curse Spirit

Characteristics
INS: 2d6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 2d6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Stealth = 50%+INS+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Death Spirits Deadly, Manifestation These spirits are viewed in different ways by different cultures. Some see dying as a natural part of the cycle of existence, and therefore nothing to be feared. Others are horrified by death spirits, seeing them as the tools of depraved animists to spread terror. The spirit’s appearance reflects the attitude of the cult or tradition; peaceful bringers of death taking the form of serene angels to guide the victim to the afterlife, whereas murderous slayers might appear as such things like burning skulls, giant poisonous animals or hooded, scythe wielding vultures. Death spirits are sometimes bound to protect places and objects, or more often summoned to attack specific targets, attacking the transgressor in Spirit Combat either way. If the spirit wins the battle it Sunders the soul of the victim, ripping it free of its corporeal body, and sending it to whatever fate lies in store. This is invariably fatal for mortal creatures but preserves their essence and identity as a spirit.

Death Spirit

Characteristics
INS: 3d6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 3d6
Spectral Combat = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Elemental Spirits Animate, Demesne Elemental spirits are direct incarnations of the elements (earth, air, fire, water and darkness) or manifestations of natural forces and phenomenon: mountains, volcanoes, tsunami, and so on. Animists can bind elemental spirits in the normal manner but the object or location must be chosen carefully because, even within the binding, some of the elemental spirit’s power is always manifested. A Salamander spirit must be bound into a fetish capable of withstanding heat while an Undine fetish will become damp and clammy. When summoned or released from a fetish an elemental spirit, if left uncontrolled, will gravitate to the nearest source of its element within range. By itself it is just a spirit, and has no significant effect on the mundane plane. The spirit’s power does not truly manifest until commanded to embody itself. As with any control attempt, the animist must spend 1 Magic Point. If the roll is successful, the animist has two choices: Permitting the spirit to animate a suitable volume of its native material, as per a normal elemental, or, embodying the elemental so that it manifests within his own body. The later choice grants the animist the physical and magical benefits of an elemental. Thus an animist embodying a sylph would be surrounded by a vortex of buffeting winds, but could fly and send out jets of wind to pummel opponents. If a gnome was embodied instead, the animist would take on a gravelly appearance, and be able to sink into the ground as if some sort of amorphous creature of flowing sand. Whilst embodying an elemental spirit, the Animist is physically immune to the elemental’s incidental effects himself, but cannot control their affect on his belongings or companions. So an embodied Salamander will burn away the animist’s clothes, consume his equipment, and potentially injure any nearby friends from radiated heat. Furthermore, expelling the elemental spirit is more difficult than for other spirits, as the animist must make a successful Trance roll to successfully force it back into the fetish, each attempt costing an additional Magic Point. Finally, while in his elemental form, the animist is vulnerable to additional damage from an opposing element. For all these reasons, embodying a powerful elemental spirit is a step that is never undertaken lightly. Animists embodying an elemental spirit gain the abilities of an elemental of a size based on the spirit’s Intensity as outlined below.

Elemental Intensity/Size Relationship

Spirit Intensity	Elemental Size
1	2 cubic metres
2	4 cubic metres
3	6 cubic metres
4	8 cubic metres
5	10 cubic metres
+1	+2 cubic metres, and so on

The animist’s STR, DEX and Hit Points are replaced by the spirit’s values (which are rolled as normal for an elemental of its SIZ when first encountered). This normally calls for an adjustment of derived Attributes such as Combat Actions, Damage Modifier and Initiative Bonus. Any special attack the elemental possesses is retained but uses the animist’s Unarmed skill value instead. When the elemental spirit is expelled, any damage it sustained whilst embodied is divided evenly between all the animist’s Hit Locations (rounding up as usual). For example if a human shaman 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 his normal form. If the damage is enough to cause a Serious Wound the animist must resist the injury effects by succeeding in a Hard Endurance roll, or a Formidable Endurance roll if a Major Wound. The result of the roll is applied to all the critically injured locations simultaneously. Although embodying an elemental spirit can be extremely impressive, it also opens the practitioner up to new problems. An animist embodying an elemental spirit will take double damage from attacks using the opposing element, and can be instantly dispersed by contact with an opposing elemental of the same size or bigger in cubic metres. Reducing the elemental form to 0 Hit Points instantly breaks the binding and frees the spirit, possibly also critically injuring or killing the magician in the process. Spells which can dismiss elementals will free the elemental, and destroy the binding if the Magnitude of the magic is equal or greater than twice the spirit’s Intensity. Elemental spirits do not initiate Spirit Combat except against other elemental spirits of an opposite element.

Fetches Special A fetch is a shaman’s spiritual ally, representing the opening of his consciousness in the Spirit World. Not every Shamanic tradition features fetches, and those that do vary in the nature of the fetch. In some traditions the fetch is the awakened “other half ” of the shaman. In this case the fetch and shaman are two sides of the same soul with the fetch perceiving and travelling the Spirit World whilst the shaman exists on the mundane plane. In other traditions the fetch is a totemic spirit who is drawn to the shaman to become his spiritual guide. In both cases the shaman must undertake a successful quest in order to gain his fetch. A fetch’s abilities vary widely between traditions. In cases where the fetch is the shaman’s counterpart, it represents the opening of spiritual abilities to the shaman rather than being an independent being in its own right. The fetch might provide the shaman with exotic powers, such as the ability to shapechange. If the fetch is an animal or ancestor guide then the shaman may gain the ability to communicate with the animals of the fetch’s species, control them or gain the traits of that creature; or become party to certain secrets if the fetch is an ancestor. There are two main choices when designing a fetch, an Awakened Fetch, where the shaman simply unlocks or expands a hitherto hidden part of his soul; or an Allied Fetch which is a separate spirit that forms a lifelong pact with the shaman. Unless otherwise stated, a fetch cannot roam any further from the shaman’s soul to which itis bound than his POW in metres. Fetches can grow in experience just as the shaman does. If desired, a shaman can transfer any or all of his Experience rolls to his fetch instead.

Fetch Types

Awakened Fetch	Allied Fetch
INT: As the shaman	2d6+6
POW: As the shaman	1d6+12
CHA: As the shaman	2d6+6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Lore (specific Cult or Tradition) = 100%+(INTx2), Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

• Intensity: A fetch’s intensity is calculated by cross-referencing the POW of the fetch on the Spirit Intensity Table on page 133.
• Spirit Abilities: A fetch also possesses 1d3+Intensity abilities, selected or rolled randomly from the Fetch Abilities table.

Fetch Abilities

1d20	Ability	1d20	Ability
1	Animate	11	Eternal
2	Autonomy	12	Mana
3	Cannibalistic	13	Manifestation
4	Comprehension	14	Perceptive
5	Conjugate	15	Persistent
6	Covert	16	Sagacity
7	Deadly	17	Shapechange
8	Discorporate	18	Spellcasting
9	Domination	19	Subjugate
10	Healing	20	Warding

Gaining a fetch always brings certain side-effects:

• The fetch may influence the personality of the shaman depending on its totemic nature, for example a bear spirit fetch may cause the shaman to become soporific during the winter.
• The fetch may draw upon the Magic Points of the shaman in times of dire need.
• The fetch will abandon the shaman if he betrays the teachings of his shamanic tradition.

Guardian Spirits Warding Guardian spirits protect the animist from hostile magic or indeed other spirits. They are found in places where vast magics have been unleashed, such as huge ceremonies or battlefields for example. Within the mundane plane a guardian spirit protects the holder of its fetish by interposing itself before offensive spells. The spirit can neutralize spells with a Magnitude of up to twice its own Intensity. If the spell’s Magnitude is greater, the spirit is unable to affect it. If a guardian spirit encounters an anti-spirit spell, such as Spirit Block or Banish, it may attempt to resist the spell before it is affected. A guardian spirit offers additional protection by intercepting enemy spirits and engaging them in combat before they can attack the animist. They do not initiate Spirit Combat otherwise.

Guardian Spirit

Characteristics
INS: 1d6+6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 1d6+6
Spectral Combat = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Haunts Eternal, Manifestation, plus one or more of Glamour, Miasma, Spellcasting, Telekinesis and Wither Haunts are the spirits of the dead who did not receive the proper funeral rites or who have died violently, and are incapable of leaving the material world, denying them progress to the afterlife, and leaving the soul to suffer for all eternity. Mortals may end up becoming haunts in several ways:

• Cursed by a shaman. By enchanting the soul to be permanently bound to the material world, and forbidding it access to the Spirit World the shaman creates an unliving hell for the deceased.
• Unfulfilled Desires. Dying before an important vow was completed or expiring full of hatred and rage, desiring revenge. In these cases a desperate character can tie themselves to the material world by an act of will (roll POW or less on a d100). This enables them to persist as a spirit until they can complete their last wishes.
• Driven by Passion: A soul can become a haunt by dying whilst overwhelmed by a great passion - unrequited love or despair for instance. In these cases the chance of returning as a haunt is simply Games Master fiat, according to how fitting it would be to the campaign.

Haunts are bound to the material world, an unseen presence fully aware of what is occurring around it but unable to leave the immediate area of the location or item to which they are tied. The object they are linked to can be their unburied remains, their place of death, some object associated with them in life, or something else entirely. Ghost stories of many cultures are filled with varied examples of ties that prevent haunts from passing on. Although frightening, most of these spirits can do little but appear as ghostly apparitions to hapless observers, and bewail their fate. Nonetheless, some acquire certain powers during their transition to a haunt, each ability costing the haunt dearly in Magic Points to invoke. Like most spirits a Haunt is usually invisible, it may spend 1 Magic Point to manifest itself visually for up to its POW in minutes. Most haunts must manifest in order to use any of their abilities. A manifested haunt remains intangible to physical objects, able to pass through solid objects at will. On the other hand it becomes vulnerable to magic, although destroying it with magical damage simply disperses its essence but does not prevent its eventual return. By default all haunts possess the Recurring trait. Permanently dealing with a haunt is not easy. Trance or magical senses may reveal the location of whatever ties it to the world. If this is an object, destroying it may be enough to release the spirit, but depending on its motivation the haunt may fight against such actions. If on the other hand it is a location or more abstractly, an event, undoing the binding may require determining why the spirit became tied in the first place, and trying to resolve the issue. If tied to its mortal remains, conducting the ceremonies appropriate to the haunt’s own culture, and traditions may very well break the bonds, releasing the restless spirit to the afterlife it yearns. Like bound spirits, haunts cannot regenerate Magic Points normally – but they are able to slowly drain vitality from the natural world around them, a process that creates an unsettling area shunned by animals, and where the plants are stunted and withered. A haunt can tap the Magic Points of any animal or plant that has lower POW than the Haunt’s Intensity. When creating a haunt its skills and Characteristics can be generated randomly or directly taken from the dead person in question. Restless spirits which have persisted for centuries often grow stronger over time, permitting some haunts to achieve higher levels of Intensity.

Haunt

Characteristics
INT: As per Mortal of the species
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: As per Mortal of the species
Willpower = 50%+(POWx2) Add other skills as necessary to give the haunt poignancy or purpose, Sing or Lore (Vital Campaign Secret) for example.

Spirit Abilities: A haunt gains a number of abilities equal to its Intensity, selected from the following list:

• Glamour: The spirit can create illusions which are experienced by all within a range of the spirit’s POW in metres. Each glamour costs 1 Magic Point to create, and affects one sense per level of its Intensity. The ability is often used to replay the events that caused the haunt to be created.
• Miasma: The spirit can magically induce feelings of dread and horror to anyone within range of its aura. Each wave of miasma costs the spirit 1 Magic Point.
• Spellcasting: Becoming a haunt usually severs the spirit from any form of higher magic, but some may retain the ability to cast Folk Magic. The haunt either uses those spells known whilst alive, or gains 1d3+1 spells such as Befuddle, Curse, Disruption, and so on.
• Telekinesis: The spirit has a STR equal to its Intensity which it can use to move items around. This costs 1 Magic Point, and lasts for its POW in minutes.
• Wither: The spirit is able to physically damage corporeal beings. For the cost of 1 Magic Point, the spirit can make a single attack with a skill equal to whatever Combat Style or Unarmed skill it possessed before death. The blow inflicts damage equal to its usual Spirit Damage that ignores all non-magical parries and physical armour. Magical Armour Points reduce damage as normal.

With all the other powers at their command, haunts do not initiate Spirit Combat against mortals.

Medicine Spirits Healing Medicine spirits are used to heal wounds or cure disease effects imparted by sickness spirits. They are rarely bound to a fetish save by shamans who can rejuvinate them, since as all spirits, they cannot recover Magic Points naturally in the mundane world. Medicine spirits are therefore usually summoned directly from the Spirit World to perform healing tasks. Peaceable by nature, a medicine spirit may only initiate Spirit Combat against sickness spirits, their innate foes.

Medicine Spirit

Characteristics
INS: 1d6+6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 1d6+6
Spectral Combat = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Nature Spirits One or more of Bless, Demesne, Domination and Endowment Nature spirits gather at ordinary occurring concentrations of animals and vegetation, and are entities of the world’s natural flora and fauna. Nature spirits are frequently the subject of totemic veneration where an animal, particular plant or even an area of land, becomes representative of a community – the spiritual guardian and strength of a tribe. Animists who devote themselves to a totem in this way are always on friendly terms with spirits related to their totem, but suffer neutral or hostile reactions from other predating or preyed upon animal nature spirits. Likewise those that venerate a particular region of deciduous forest for instance, will find that the plant spirits within are friendly, but the nature spirits of neighbouring coniferous woodlands are at best neutral, if not actively hostile. Nature spirits embody a myriad of different abilities depending on the region or creature of origin. In general such spirits should not possess more Spirit Abilities than its Intensity. It can of course select the same ability twice, but only when affecting a different attribute, skill, effect (and so on), and are restricted to things that represent a quality expressed by the corporeal form(s) of the species or plant-life. If two or more nature spirits with the same specific ability are used at the same time by the same animist, only the stronger spirit will take effect.

• Bless: The spirit can boost an Attribute or skill relevant to that totem. A leopard spirit might boost Action Points for example.
• Demesne: The spirit controls the plant life of a particular region. The spirit can control the growth, flowering, fruiting, and defoliation of vegetation within range. These effects are necessarily slow, but thanks to the vitality of the spirit, can be forced to occur out of season.
• Domination: The spirit controls behaviour of members of its own species. Thus a a spider spirit could exert command over every arachnid within range of its aura.
• Endowment: Use a trait possessed by the totemic species, such as a special sense or movement. For instance shark spirits could grant the creature ability of Blood Sense or Swimmer, whilst a Lotus flower spirit might grant Venomous.

Nature spirits do not initiate Spirit Combat except against enemy nature spirits. Other than its POW, which is based upon its Intensity, the other Characteristics of a nature spirit match those of its corporeal cousins. See the Creatures chapter for further details of a variety of creatures.

Nature Spirits

Animal Nature Spirit Regional Nature Spirit
INS : As the species 1d6
POW: As per Intensity As per Intensity
CHA: Equal to INS 3d6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Predator Spirits Bless, Persistent, Puppeteer These are the more aggressive variants of animal or monster spirits, prowling the Spirit World looking for suitable prey. Useful to animists of less ethical traditions, predator spirits are able to track down a particular soul, no matter the distance, and then rip the victim to shreds. Unlike other spirits, Predator spirits are capable of hunting their prey in the physical world making them perfect to attack targets well protected from spiritual interference. Two conditions need to be filled to summon a predator spirit into the mundane world. First, predator spirits require some personal effects (hair, nail clippings, clothing, and so on) to track their prey; the effects must be burned or destroyed during the ritual to summon the spirit. Second the animist offers the spirit a creature of some kind as part of the summoning ritual. The creature’s soul must be defeated in spirit combat by the predator; which then dominantly possesses the host’s physical body, creating a warped creature (whether physically or psychologically) that unerringly hunts its victim, not ceasing to sleep or eat until the prey is caught. In fact the creature will reject all food save the flesh, and blood of the victim they are hunting. Predator spirits often rely on their cunning or stealth to launch attacks, since the creature it possesses is not invulnerable to physical damage. As the victim usually has no warning of his fate the first he will know of his pursuit is the first ambush. If the predator spirit fails to make a clean kill on its initial attack, it retreats to reassess the situation; withholding its next attempt to ensure it has a tactical advantage. If the victim takes flight the spirit pursues; and, because it will never stop, this can cause grave distress to the prey. The hunt continues until the host is killed or starves to death. At this stage the predator spirit can, assuming it has any Magic Points remaining, attempt to possess a new creature. If defeated, or no new host is nearby, it returns to the Spirit World freed of its obligation. Animists must consider the host creature carefully. Large animals are obviously more dangerous in combat, but find it difficult to enter civilised places without attracting attention. Smaller creatures can pass unseen more easily, but may find it difficult to keep up if the target flees, or to kill them when caught. Nothing prevents a human (orhumanoid) from acting as the host and, if this case, they take-on the wild, animalistic characteristics of a predator. This may be enough of a signal to alert a target to a very big problem. A number of low Intensity predators can be summoned to hunt as a pack – although each spirit summoning must be treated separately.

Predator Spirit

Characteristics
STR: As per Host
CON: As per Host
SIZ: As per Host
DEX: As per Host
INS: 2d6+6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 1d6+6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Stealth = 50%+INS+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2) Spirit Abilities: In addition to Persistent, and Puppeteer, the spirit gains a number of Bless bonuses to its Attributes equal to its Intensity. Popular augmentations are to the creature's Armour Points, Damage Modifier, and Movement Rate.

Shape-Shifting Spirits Shapechange Shape-shifting spirits allow animists to change their physical form into that of another creature or being – most frequently a creature or beast associated with their totem or tradition. An animist of the Great Bear Clan could, for example, use a shape-shifting spirit to become a grizzly bear or similar ursine. Shape-shifting spirits must be embodied by the animist, a risky practice because, like elemental spirits, shape-shifters cannot be automatically recalled or dismissed. The type of animal form a shape-shifter can adopt depends on the spirit’s Intensity. The greater the Intensity the bigger the creature. The Characteristics of creatures assumed are always those of an average member of that species.

Spirit Intensity for SIZ of Creature

Intensity	Creature SIZ
1	7-12
2	13-21
3	22-33
4	34-48
5	49-66
6	67-87
7	88-111

Summoning a shape-shifting spirit or calling it from a fetish works as normal. Once embodied the animist must spend a Magic Point, and succeed in a Binding roll to force it back into its fetish or return it to the Spirit Plane. This can be potentially dangerous: if the animist has few Magic Points remaining, he may run out of power before he can return to his own shape – trapping him in his animal form. In his shifted form the animist gains the average physical Characteristics, Armour Points, Hit Points, Creature Abilities, and natural locomotion of the animal, but keeps his own skills. Physical damage sustained in the animal form is carried over between transformations (and vice-versa), although what might have been a Serious Wound when shifted as a small animal may become a mere scratch when human. Whereas a Serious Wound suffered in the form of a very large creature may translate into a Major Wound, and possibly even death when the animist returns to his original shape. In the latter case, if the severity of a wound increases after the spirit has been dismissed, the animist must make an unopposed Endurance roll at a penalty of one skill grade per injured location, or suffer the detrimental effects of the injury, based on its severity. Shape-shifting spirits are usually peaceable, and do not initiate Spirit Combat.

Shape Shifting Spirit

Characteristics
INS: As per Host
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: Equal to INS
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Sickness Spirits Covert, Disease, Manifestation Malevolent beings, sickness spirits inflict misery through infecting victims with the disease they carry. They are attracted by the departure of souls to the Spirit World, gathering close to the bodies of the recently dead; but can also be drawn by congregations of other sickness spirits. Widespread plague can result from a small, localised sickness as more, and more sickness spirits are drawn to the area. Lone sickness spirits lie in wait in the Spirit World waiting for unsuspecting mortals to approach. They then follow them until they sleep or pass into an unconscious state. At this point the sickness spirit manifests, and engages the target in spirit combat. If it gains a level of success the spirit infects the victim, and wanders off to find another host. Only rarely do they covertly possess a victim in order to come into contact with other mortals. Animists can bind sickness spirits into a fetish– and some evil shamans revel in such bindings – using them to sicken foes in direct combat. Unlike mundane diseases, those caused by spirits do not recover naturally even with application of the Healing skill. If the spirit has gone further, and maliciously possessed the victim, then not even the curative spells of Higher Magic will work – since unless the spirit is first driven out, the effects will return after the usual onset period has run its course. High Intensity sickness spirits are not, thankfully, ubiquitous, and animists very rarely have access to them. Knowledge of lethal sickness spirits is usually reserved to cults devoted to spreading disease. Even then, a tradition will know only a handful of specific diseases, each one an explicit spirit counting towards the tradition’s limit. Such dreadful cults are rare, and most likely the subject of sustained attempts to eradicate them, for the good of the world.

Sickness Spirit

Characteristics
INS: 2d6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 2d6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Stealth = 50%+INS+CHA, Willpower = 50%+(POWx2)

Undeath Spirits Animate (Dead Flesh) Undeath spirits are the souls of dead mortals who thirst to return to the mortal world, usually by reinhabiting their own long dead body. They can often be found clustering near ancient necropolises or battlefields, relatively harmless unless summoned by an animist or provoked by some act of desecration. The only ability these spirits command is the ability to possess dead corpses, not necessarily their own – raising them as undead. The potency of the spirit empowers the dead remains it occupies, granting a bonus of triple its Intensity to the undead creature’s STR, and CON. It also gains the Undead creature ability. An undeath spirit may only animate a corpse of up to their POW in SIZ. Once in control of a body they are loathe to return to the Spirit World. They are incapable of initiating Spirit Combat.

Undeath Spirit

Characteristics
INT: 2d6+6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 3d6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Athletics STR+DEX+40%, Brawn STR+SIZ+20%, Endurance (CONx2)+20%, Evade (DEX x2)+40%, Perception INT+POW+30%, Unarmed STR+DEX+40%, Willpower (POWx2)+40%, Combat Style STR+DEX+40%

Wraiths Eternal, Manifestation, Wither Wraiths are angry, malevolent spirits that, whilst anchored to a specific location, can shift between the material, and Spirit Worlds at will. Their anger stems from their partial confinement to the mundane world, and partial denial of the Spirit World; products of a vengeful desire to protect their own tombs or as the by-product of necromantic battlefield sorceries, wraiths are wrathful, malicious spirits intent on venting their grievances. A wraith is similar to a haunt but far more potent. A wraith that manifests is capable of physically harming mortal foes but remains intangible to physical attacks, and is vulnerable only to magic. A wraith has only one hit location. Reducing its Magic Points to zero temporarily drives the creature back to the Spirit World for 24 hours, after which its Magic Points fully regenerate. The only way to permanently destroy a wraith is to pursue it into the Spirit World, and destroy it there. Cunning wraiths sometimes recognise animists, and withdraw from combat early in order to preserve their Magic Points for potential Spirit Combat. It is typical for a wraith to manifest as it appeared in life, displaying its arms, and armour. They fight using their Spectral Combat skill inflicting their Spirit Damage on a successful attack. The armour a wraith manifests has an Armour Point value equal to its Intensity, but since wraiths are intangible to physical objects, these Armour Points only block magical damage. Wraith attacks are as intangible as the wraith itself, so unless parrying with a magically enhanced weapon any blow the wraith inflicts passes through the defending weapon, and armour. Magical Armour Points reduce the wraith’s Spirit Damage by the magic’s intensity. Wraith weapons inflict a chilling, insidious form of damage which makes the wounds they inflict turn black with necrosis. Such wounds never recover naturally, but require magic to heal. Should a wraith’s opponents not possess magically enhanced weapons, the spirit treats any parry as being an automatic failure, allowing the spirit the opportunity to generate Special Effects: being impaled by a wraith dagger is every bit as nasty as being impaled by a real one. Otherwise combat proceeds as normal save that cunning wraiths will sometimes attack through an ostensibly solid object to catch an opponent by surprise. A wraith never initiates Spirit Combat, and is unable to pursue enemies beyond its tomb or place of death. Thus outmatched foes always have the option of fleeing these deadly spirits.

Wraith Spirits

Characteristic
INT: 2d6+6
POW: As per Intensity
CHA: 2d6+6
Spectral Combat skill = 50%+POW+CHA, Willpower 50%+(POWx2)