Spirit Combat

[gamesmeister]

Having spent a fair amount of game time now based in Prax, I've come to the conclusion that the Spirit Combat rules as they exist in the Companion work very well as a generic set of rules i.e. under normal circumstances, the only thing a character can do against a spirit is a) cast defensive magic, b) try and hit it with a sword in the hope of doing some damage, or c) run, and hope it can't follow (aka a Ghost).

The problems arise when you introduce spirit specialists into the mix i.e. shamans, as found in Prax and a few other places. These are taught from an early age how to combat spirits, and should have a 4th option available i.e. the knowledge of how to control and potentially bind spirits through bargaining and other techniques. Binding a spirit is generally covered by the Create Charm/Fetish spells, but controlling a spirit in the first place without resorting to combat should be a skill that can only be learned by Shamans or those who worship the spirits. That way most PCs still have to fight spirits the hard way, but those skilled in their ways have an alternative.

My suggestion is a new advanced skill as follows:

Control Spirit(POW)
Can only be learned by a Practictioner of a spirit cult or above.

Used by a shaman to bargain, threaten or trick a spirit into submission. When in spirit combat, make an opposed roll vs the spirits Persistence. If successful, the spirit is subdued and can be dismissed or bound as required. Just like Possession attempts, magic points can be spent by both the shaman and the spirit to improve their chance of success.

I'd like to see something like this added to CoG2 if it ever gets a revised edition, as it fits with the shamanic approach and gives shamans something to spend IRs on other than learning how to swing an axe.

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

Very interesting Post, and I will implement that skill in my campaign.

Good Job :!:

 

[elgrin]

I have been irritated by just the problem this solves, since one of my players decided they wanted a shaman character. All of my potential solutions were just clumsy, but this is elegant and will be used.
My take on it will be that it is one of those very secretive abilities passed on from a shaman to his pupils. Only the shaman player will know it even exists, and it will be up to the player to try to handle concealing how on earth he seems to get out from under spirits with less fuss than the others.
Many thanks to you gamesmeister.

elgrin

 

[gamesmeister]

Welcome!

To other characters, this will likely appear as just a lot of chanting, dancing, and shaking of rattley things, and they'll put it down to more of the shaman's weird mumbo-jumbo! As you say, they'll have no idea what's really going on, but will be amazed when the spirits break off their attack, and instead hover and drift around the shaman.

I'm not sure yet whether a shaman using this skill can permanently dismiss a bound spirit (such as a ghost or a wraith), or whether he can only pacify them temporarily. Probably the latter on reflection, as this skill only allows him to subdue the spirit, not overcome any binding magic.

 

[Twigman]

I have re-written a lot of the rules. What I came up with for spirit combat actually goes back to the 1st-3rd RQ concept of a battle of wills, not magic items. The rules can be found here

 

[Rasta]

I have re-written a lot of the rules. What I came up with for spirit combat actually goes back to the 1st-3rd RQ concept of a battle of wills, not magic items. The rules can be found here

Cool. 8) Thanks twigman!

 

[gamesmeister]

I have re-written a lot of the rules. What I came up with for spirit combat actually goes back to the 1st-3rd RQ concept of a battle of wills, not magic items. The rules can be found here

I can't seem to access that page - I'll try again later.

However, I'm trying to stick to the core MRQ rules as much as possible, rather than rewriting them - I know it's very tempting sometimes :wink: , but I want my players to be able to read a rulebook with a reasonable degree of confidence. Hence why I'm suggesting tweaks rather than wholesale changes. Obviously YMMV

The skill I've suggested is still a battle of wills - the spirit will likely try and possess the shaman in a willpower contest (aka Persistence), while the shaman can try and dominate the spirit using his knowledge of and presence in the spirit world. For everyone else, a magic weapon is still needed, but then they have no knowledge of how to overcome a spirit anyway. All they can do is defend against it using their own willpower (which again they'll do using Persistence) or take a swing at it with a sword in the hope of driving it off.

Anyway, I look forward to reading your ideas when I can access them

 

[Twigman]

I started with minor tweaks then went on to wholesale rewrite.

I really liked a lot of things about RQ3, which is why I was so excited by MRQ at first. But eventually the number of things that changed or didn't work the way I would like (or didn't work at all) became too much. Eventually I kinda gave up on the MRQ rewrite and went back to RQ3, but I brought a lot of good things back with me!

It comes down to what you like. If you like MRQ as writ, great! If you want to run it with a few house rules, why not? If you just use some of it to enhance another game, that's just as good. Isn't it? After all, in all of those cases you are still buying the books and you are supporting the game.

 

[Twigman]

Oh, the rules are on a wiki so there is more than just the spirit rules there, but don't expect it to look very pretty. I'm not a web designer.