Shaman Magic

I was somewhat doubtful whether to in include Shaman Magic among the magic traditions, or to place it among the religions, as it seems to bridge the gap between them.

Shaman magic uses the energy of the astral plane directly in a way Ayslish magicians would consider dangerous and unstable. It is practised mainly in the Aztech Empire, though it exists in many places. The Aztech Empire is a newcomer in the possibility wars, and only personal study at great risk to life and limb has allowed the collection of the following data.

Aztech magic is rare, but nearly as powerful as that of Aysle. Here, magic is tied to religion, and many shamen also practice magic. This has lead to a magic tradition seeking close contact with the astral plane. The corrupt art of Necromancy is powerful in the Aztech Empire, using living sacrifices as part of a magic ritual almost assures success.

Shaman magic also exists in the Land Below, and in backwater areas of Terra, Gaia, Core Earth and the Cyberpapacy. It is often persecuted.

Summonables

The subplanes of Aztec mythology are many and varied. In addition, spirits from Kantovian legend can be summoned. Many varied creatures governed by the enchanted and entity knowledges are thus available for summoning. I advise a prospective summoner to research the amerindian mythologies carefully, as these creatures are free-willed and can be very dangerous.

What little data is available on from the other cultures that practice shamanism indicate that they have similar vivid and strange mythologies.

Limitations

Shaman magic is not dependent upon the formalised spells of Ayslish or hermeneutic magic. Instead, magic is an act of inspiration, of great emotion. A shaman cannot practice his magic unless he is strongly engaged in what he does. He must really believe the magic is necessary and possible to succeed. The detached calm of a typical Ayslish mage would ruin his day. Shamen use props to insulate themselves from the astral energies they tap and to "hang" spells with duration, but they are not required for spellcasting.

Common Schticks

Animal, Blast (Accident, Animate Object, Bless Weapon, Crumble, Disease, Withering), Communication, Divination, Enhancement, Fertility, Heal, Influence, Spirit, Weather

Sidebar:?Spirit Descriptions

The world of animism is full of spirits, all of whom can be communicated with and who can help the sorcerer. These spirits have a personality compatible with their type, animal spirits are shy and cunning, plant spirits slow and intense et al. These spirits inhabit the creatures or places they represent.

Spirits are lesser supernatural creatures that exist on the border between the astral plane and physical reality. They often live inside physical objects or places. Normally, they cannot manifest and have very little power, though they have intricate knowledge about the area they inhabit. In worlds where the juncture modifier for supernatural creatures is positive, they sometimes manifest spontaneously.

The power of spirits depend on the spiritual significance of whatever place or power they represent. A common spirit has Magic of 8 and a Creature Powers skill of 12, along with three creature schticks appropriate to it's type, plus Immortality. More powerful spirits might know dematerialisation, and thus be capable of manifesting without being invoked by a shaman.

Animal spirits

Inhabit the animals themselves. Assume that animals communicated with have the intelligence of small children, and that they can give fair recollections of what they have seen or experienced. Rarely will they risk their lives for the shaman, however.

Elemental Spirits

These are temperamental, of an intelligence less than human, but with a cunning greater than that of animals. They see things from a very pure standpoint relating to their element.

Air spirits are quick tempered, fickle, with little patience.

Earth spirits are slow, patient, and considerably thick headed.

Fire spirits are destructive, hungry, with a wilful desire to consume everything it possibly can. Fire resents being contained in any shape for long, and will always try to free itself.

Water spirits are playful and gentle unless enraged, in which case its vindictive destructiveness is unmatched by any other element.

Metal spirits are strong willed, loyal if treated well, treacherous if treated poorly. Metal spirits are similar to tool spirits. They are not considered an elementals at all in many magic traditions.

House spirits

Inhabit the dwellings of folk, and are concerned with the well-being and health of those who share their dwellings. In places where the nature of folk is twisted or repressed they can be malign, but generally they are kind and generous but suspicious of outsiders.

Plant spirits

Slow Ñ not dumb, just slow. They take their time when speakingÉ even plants who have very short life spans are slow communicators. Plant spirits are patient, often pleasure seeking, sometimes wise. Plants can't do much to help shamen, but they know all about their surrounding and the things that live there. They generally take no notice of kindred who merely pass them by, but learn to know those who live nearby very intimately.

Road Spirits

Roads and paths are used by kindred to travel, and when a particular path has been used many times, it will acquire it's own guardian spirit. Note that road spirits are not limited to just roads. Paths, railroad tracks, ports, aeroplane routes and much-travelled straits are all roads. City streets are roads to some and homes to others, and both types of spirits can be found there. Road spirits are almost always superficially friendly. The seek and deliver news, and try to accommodate all travellers. They know a wealth of information about who travelled where and can give hours on end of road gossip. Unfortunately, they have little conception of what is important and what is not. Think of this as radio chatter: endlessly happy, endlessly mindless, interrupted by traffic jam notices.

Spirits of the dead

Can only be summoned if the sorcerer has some kind of link to the spirit. This can be either a part of the dead persons body, a beloved object or a descendant or beloved of the dead person who is present. They tend to be very self-centred. They care only about the things closest to themselves, family, personal belongings and about their reputation. Summoning a spirit of the dead so that it manifests creates a ghost, always an unwise thing to do. As the dead gradually lose interest in life or are reincarnated, it grows increasingly difficult to summon them over time. A person that died contentedly might be impossible to summon after but a few hours, while those who have urges tying them to this earth linger on for hundreds, even thousands of years.

Tool spirits

Inhabit the tools created by folk. This includes small tools like screwdrivers and weapons, but also huge tools such as caterpillars and planes. A tool in which people dwell, such as a ship, is inhabited by a house spirit, but the machinery on board is still the domain of tool spirits. Their personality is usually very single minded, they only have one purpose, the purpose their tool was created for. They are very loyal to the people they work with on a daily basis.