Spirit Channelling

While the concept of several spellcasters working together to cast more powerful spells is easy to understand, it is a concept that needs to be clearly thought out, lest it imbalance the game. I propose this as a basic spell for the action in the field concept, while more powerful spells using altars will later be introduced to allow the 'fleecing of the spiritual sheep' during temple services.

Spell Name:   Spirit Channelling

History:  early spellcasters soon learned the advantage of working together.

Maximum Casting Time:   cannot exceed 1 round or the length of the spell the caster is channelling to aid, whichever is longer.
Minimum Casting Cost (Base Duration):   40 (instant)
Overage Effect:   all overage is donated to target caster, whose spell this caster is trying to aid.
Spell Effect:   the caster aids a fellow caster by adding the overage of this spell to their spellcasting effort.

Range:   touch recipient caster or that caster's target.

Summoning Spirits

After discovering how to talk to spirits and barter for very minor services, more powerful spirit spellcasters wanted to have more control. What would it take to summon a god? A hero? A demon? Clearly, any such action would be dangerous, and perhaps foolhardy in the completely fatal sense. As we know, power begets power, and early shamans would have wanted more than polite conversations with spirits. Once they realized they could summon spirits to perform tasks, they saw a powerful resource.

But, before we can go into how a spirit is called and bound to a caster, we have to understand the different levels of spirits in the spiritworld. More so than in the material world, the souls in the spirit world are completely defined by their level of power. So, what determines that level of power?

Foremost to determining a spirit's level of power is the base Spirituality Ability of the being when they died. Most common spirits are defined by this only, and are relatively weak compared to heroes and gods. So, what defines how powerful spirits become? My intent is to have their relative strength be in ratio to the number of faithful followers they have. Moreover, the relative amount of power each follower gives is directly from their Spirituality Ability and spiritual spellcasting powers or fame. Fame is the concept of how much spiritual energy a being receives from followers and others who think and speak well of that being. The opposite is also true in regards to those that are feared or hated acquiring power.

Fame dice are a tricky mechanic that I'm working on. Let me explain how it works:

A being gets a Fame die for every willing (unpaid) follower. Fame dice are also gained through great or heroic deeds (as a reward from the Gamemaster). Fame dice can also be bolstered through bards and other political efforts (sometimes only temporarily). Fame dice are used in determining whether a being's reputation proceeds them, and in determining if the being has enough clout in certain social interactions. True heroes are always sought out, and true villains are always avoided. The level of fame determines many social prejudices and expectations.

Fame has special modifiers for distance from the site of the famed event. Local heroes will have no discernible clout far from home, but will enjoy many benefits close by. Of course, once a hero has gained fame in their new location, the fame of the old locations will come forward as society clamours for any stories of heroic deeds concerning the hero. Naturally, circumstances (the Gamemaster) will determine how much fame is in play, and how much the characters have heard of others they meet.

The upshot of Fame is that so much attention and energy directed at a being makes their spirit more powerful upon death, but Fame is fleeting. Fame has a half-life in the spirit world if it is not converted to Reverence. Reverence dice are a more solid form of power in the spiritual world. Reverence dice are granted for followers who treat the being as a god or other worshipped being. Reverence involves dedicated prayer, and more powerful followers provided more Reverence dice.

Reverence dice to a spirit are like Faith dice to a spirit spellcaster. Actions the spirits wish to make, especially in the material world, require Reverence dice power to effect.

Ultimately, to summon or bind a spirit, the caster must have a higher roll than the spirit's Reverence roll. While summoning weak spirits is not very difficult for a skilled shaman, just summoning a revered hero may be well beyond their means. Of course, there are numerous ways that a spell-caster can temporarily boost their power, and many spiritually bound objects that have been crafted that can assist.

The first, and most common boost is for spellcasters to work together, or channel their efforts. My next post will reveal how this should work and the spell form it will take.

No Need For Feats

 Today, I would like to point out that there will be no need for a special or second tier of skills called Feats, as used in Dungeons and Dragons. Looking down the list of Open Source D20 Feats, the patterns become clear.

Quite a few Feats are dedicated to a +2 bonus to a particular ability or skill. In a purely skill based system, characters would focus on increasing their skill. While there will be 'pip' bonuses in our game based on items or spells, players will not earn Feats or use DPs to buy them. So, we can remove these from the list.




Proficiencies and specializations are covered by the simple progression of skills in our system, as are any 'improved' feats or other progressions. These feats are simply used by D&D to immitate a skill-based system, so those can be removed from the list.




Brewing, crafting, creating are all actual skills in our system, and do not require feats.




Combat and archery feats can be duplicated by skillful characters in our game. Cleave is handled by dividing attack dice between targets at the beginning of the round and felling them, etc.




Blind fighting is a skill. Ambidexterity (though no longer listed) is not relevent. I have known many people who are ambidextrous to varying degrees, but their success is still based on a core Atheticism. Though they can choose either hand to write with, they still need to train each hand to form the letters. The ability to train either, does not overshadow the limit of their overall ability to form beautiful letters. In other words, their natural overall ability defines the amazing quality of their ambidexterity. A swordsman fighting with two swords is defined as much by their footwork, as by any slight ease in training the off hand. Thus, training the off hand to use a shield, or a melee weapon is a skill, which is based on the Athletic Ability of the warrior. We will go more into combat later.




So, even though skill progression in our game eliminates the need for Feats, it in no way limits the number or variety of special or secretly held skills that may become available to the characters. Indeed, many role-playing efforts will revolve around gaining access to such teachers or learning oportunities.

Harnessing Elemental Magic

Elemental magic is found in nature. It is a sub-atomic particle/force that comes in several elemental flavors called essences. Sometimes, these essences are pure, such as fire essence in a volcano. These various elemental essences can be found in various levels of energized states. Occasionally, these essences have subtly combined to produce a magical effect when encountered. Typically, these elements are dormant and need to be activated to produce an effect.
To this end, plants, animals and creatures have adapted over time, developing genetic structures that promote storing and using magical essence as a competitive advantage. Magically imbued creatures can activate this magic through genetic triggers, but the magical essence is in their being. Thus, the carcase of such creatures is highly desirable to an elemental mage, both as fuel for spells and as subject for study. Unlocking the subtle combinations allows the mage to recreate the same effects with spells.

While the competitive advantage that magic gives is substantial, the survival pressures are also substantial. In the settled lands, the races have domesticated such plants and animals to better aid their cultures. In the wild, there are many places where magical plants, animals and creatures create whole ecological subsystems. Over time, these subsystems have fostered even more complex magical advantages through genetic evolution.

As we define our intelligent races and their origins, these subsystems will also need to be developed.