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.