Spellcasting
Modern shugenja have their prayers inscribed on holoslates that can display the desired prayer with a few finger swipes. In game terms this means that shugenja can ready a holoslate and select a spell as a Free Action. Additionally, shugenja using holoslates can change the spell they are looking at as a Free Action, so long as they are holding nothing in their other hand.
If holding something in their other hand, it requires a Simple Action to change the spell shown on the slate.
Spell scrolls used by Traditionalist shugenja require two hands to use. Withdrawing a scroll is a Free Action, while putting it back is a Simple Action.
Spells, spellcasting, kiho and tattoos
Spells, spellcasting, kiho and tattoos
GM-Squid
Watcher in the Dark • All the Tentacles • Buck Stops Here • Experienced 3
The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, the Fortunes still watch and judge us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the alleys of yesteryear. But it was never the alleys that were evil.
- Soshi Haruhi
Watcher in the Dark • All the Tentacles • Buck Stops Here • Experienced 3
The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, the Fortunes still watch and judge us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the alleys of yesteryear. But it was never the alleys that were evil.
- Soshi Haruhi
Re: Spells, spellcasting, kiho and tattoos
Banned spells
The following spells are banned for the game.
Altering the Course
Cloud the Mind
Earth Becomes Sky
This spell has fallen out of favor and has largely been replaced by Rain of Steel
Blessed Wind
This spell has fallen out of favor and has largely been replaced by Dance of Light
Summoning the Gale
This spell has fallen out of favor and has largely been replaced by Shadows of Shin'ai
Altered spells
The following spells have been altered for the game.
Striking the Storm
Ring/Mastery: Air 3 (Defense)
Range: Personal
Area of Effect: Self
Duration: 5 rounds
Raises: Duration (+1 round)
The most powerful winds can turn aside blows. You may summon a buffet of winds that surrounds you in an unrelenting cocoon of swirling air. Your Armor TN is increased by +20 against melee attacks. The force of the winds surrounding you prevents you from hearing others if they speak to you, however.
Mental Quickness
Ring/Mastery: Fire 2
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target item
Duration: 1 Hour
Raises: None
Fire kami can be imbued into physical objects, allowing them to remain present for longer periods of time. Shugenja have devised many ways to use this technique to aid themselves and others. This spell, one of the most basic of this kind, imbues a material item with the cleverness and wit of fire. Anyone who carries that item has their Intelligence Trait increased by one for the duration of the spell. It should be noted that any wards and techniques that detect spell use also detect the item enchanted by Mental Quickness.
Silent Waters
Add this line: "The stored spell consumes one of your spell slots of the appropriate element until it is cast (at which point the character may rest to recover the expended spell slot as normal)."
The spell will still function as normal, but no longer will a character be able to buff an entire army's worth of characters. In addition, for the sake of bookkeeping, Silent Waters spells from one game will not carry forward into other games.
Water Kami's Blessing
Ring/Mastery: Water 3
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target individual (may be the caster)
Duration: 5 rounds
Raises: Special (your Water Ring is considered one rank higher per two Raises)
By calling upon the clarity of water, you can receive tremendous insight into the world around you. The target of
this spell receives a bonus to all his Perception based rolls, whether Trait Rolls or Skill Rolls, consisting of additional rolled dice equal to your Water Ring. Notably this does not grant bonus to Damage Rolls.
Commune
Ring/Mastery: All/1
Range: 20’
Area of Effect: Self
Duration: Concentration
Raises: See below
This spell can be cast in any element save Void. It allows the caster to speak with one of the local elemental kami, asking it a few questions, which it will answer honestly to the best of its ability. Typically this spell will invoke the most active and energetic spirit of the chosen element in the area of effect; if all of the local spirits are quiescent, the GM may require the caster to call 1 or 2 Raises to “wake up” a local spirit enough to answer questions.
A spirit reached with Commune will answer two questions. The caster may Raise to get more questions (one per Raise). The caster may also Raise for clarity, to get a more accurate and informative answer to the questions. (Kami are notorious for their inability to fully comprehend human behavior, and asking questions without Raises for clarity can often result in confusing, enigmatic, or incomplete answers.) Spirits do not forget anything, so theoretically a shugenja can ask a spirit about something that happened decades ago; however, they also do not experience time in the same way as mortals, so trying to ask about something from long ago will usually require Raises in order to make the caster’s wishes clear to the spirit. The nature of the information which spirits can impart varies by element.
Additionally, this prayer can be used to commune with spirits inhabiting the mundane spirit-machinery the Empire relies on. While communing with a sword might reveal a little, communing with the spirits of a communicator or a computer could reveal more. Bound to their circuits, the spirits of the machines are notoriously difficult to rouse and thus any shugenja wishing to commune with them has to call one Raise to gain their attention.
Communing with the ghosts in machines
It is possible to commune with spirits bound to machines. For example, one might ask for details about who has used a given piece of equipment or what the device has been used to do. However, most devices have been programmed to make a log entry for each such inquiry the system processes, making it likely that someone will notice people have been questioning the spirits there.
New Spells
Dance of Light
Ring/Mastery: Air 1 (Defense, Illusion)
Range: Personal
Area of Effect 10' radius around the caster
Duration: Concentration
Raises: Special (you may target another with this spell with 3 Raises)
You summon a swirling aura of spirits that obfuscate your form. While you maintain your concentration, this spell increases your armor TN against ranged attacks by a value equal to 5x your shugenja school rank, to a maximum of 15.
Chikushudo’s Leash
Ring/Mastery: Air 3
Range: 10’
Area of Effect: One target creature
Duration: Special
Raises: Range (+10’)
Used by both Imperial explorers looking to ensure their safety on alien worlds as well as some callous breeders, this prayer allows the shugenja to speak to an animal and ensure that it follows their commands. (within its ability to do so, naturally – no horse will ever be able to fire a weapon, no matter how many times you explain the process to them). This spell works only on natural animals, and will not work with Shadowlands creatures or creatures from other realms. This spell lasts as long as you maintain your full and undivided attention (as a Complex Action) on the animal and continue speaking to it.
Shadows of Shin’ai
Ring/Mastery: Air 3 (Defense, Illusion)
Range: 50'
Area of Effect: Target individual (may be the caster)
Duration: Concentration
Raises: Range (+5')
The kami of air can be commanded to dance around a designated target, causing area of false darkness to settle around them. This spell affects an area thirty feet around the target in all directions. Everyone within the affected area gains a +15 bonus to their Armor TN against ranged attacks. However, everyone within the area also suffers a penalty of -3k3 to all ranged attack rolls.
Cacophony of Air
Ring / Mastery: 2
Range: 30'
Area of Effect: One Shugenja
Duration: 3 Rounds
Raises: Duration (+1 Round per two Raises)
This spell rouses trickster spirits, who gather to swirl around the target, distracting them with mindless twittering yowls. In game terms, the TN of any spells the target tries to cast is increased by the Air x 3 of the shugenja casting this spell.
Watcher in the Dark
Ring/Mastery: Air 2 (Wards)
Range: 10’
Area of Effect: 60’ radius
Duration: 8 hours
Raises: Range (+30’), Duration (+1 hour)
This simple incantation binds a kami of air to the area, forcing it to guard the caster for the duration of the spell. If something or someone steps within the area of the spell with hostile intent, the bound spirit will cry out in alarm for a duration of three Rounds. Most commonly the spirit will take the form of a small fox, badger or a wolf, tirelessly circling the area it has been bound to. Usually this spell is used by the shugenja sleeping in the wilds to ensure that no local predator can sneak on them.
Notably the spell will be triggered by anyone seeking to harm anyone within the range of the spell, whether they are a human or a predatory animal or spirit. However, the spell won’t be triggered by anyone without hostile intentions (such as peasants gathering wood, birds, squirrels looking for nuts or an overtly curious ninja keeping an eye on the caster) - additionally, the bound spirit cannot grasp the intent of living dead and will not react to undead regardless of their intentions.
Sap the Inner Fires
Ring/Mastery: Fire 2 (Craft)
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target device
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Special
While the prayer known as Extinguish calms down the Fire kami, the spirits within radiant materials and spirit machines are immune to this effect due to the power infused into them by the manufacturing rituals. However, this does not mean that spirit-machinery cannot be influenced by a skilled shugenja. By using this prayer the shugenja may, by touching the machine, short-circuit the spirits responsible for its function. As the spell is favoured by spies and saboteurs, few shugenja would ever admit to possessing it. In game terms, the affected device is broken and rendered useless, though it can be repaired, if suitable tools are available, by rolling Engineering(Spirit Machinery) / Intelligence against TN of 15 + 5 for every raise called when this spell was cast.
Stoke the Inner Fires
Ring/Mastery: Fire 2 (Craft)
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target device
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Target (+1 target per two Raises)
This prayer restores power to any depleted spirit machine that relies on Fire kami to function, invigorating the spirits within. For example, any depleted battery of a ranged radiant weapon can be instantly recharged with the use of this spell. Additionally, Stoke the Inner Fires also automatically undoes the damage done by the Sap the Inner Fires spell.
Rain of Steel
Ring/Mastery: Earth 2
Range: 100’
Area of Effect: One target creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Damage (+1k0), Targets (+1 target), Special (Allow slivers to ignore reduction 2 Raises)
This spell summons a rain of metallic slivers, hurling them through the air to unerringly strike one (or more) target creatures. The target struck by these slivers suffers damage with a DR equal to the caster’s Earth rank. If the caster strikes multiple targets, the DR is reduced by 1k1 for each additional target, to a minimum of 1k1 damage per target. These slivers are made of normal, mundane steel and thus cannot normally bypass Reduction but a powerful caster can thin down the slivers down to molecular level, allowing them to strike through armor, ignoring target’s Reduction.
Opening the Way
Ring/Mastery: Water 3 (Travel)
Range: 1.000.000 miles
Area of Effect: One target Spaceship
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Range
A complex ritual created by Unicorn and Phoenix shugenja in the late 28th century that allows a spacecraft to traverse vast distances in a relatively short time. Drawing power from Elemental Water, this ritual immerses the vessel into weave of probabilities, allowing the ship to exist, at least in theory, at multiple places at the same time. This weave-space is commonly known as the Path Not Taken as it assumed to represent all that could have been. Skilled navigator can guide the vessel through the probability weaves, allowing the vessel to emerge into reality at the desired location. While there are no absolute relations between real-space and weave-space distances, the longer the journey is in real-space, the more time the ship has to spend in the Path Not Taken. Additionally, only the most skilled navigators can keep their ships in the weave for prolonged times, meaning that most journeys are made in a series of shorter jumps. The accuracy of the exit also varies greatly, and most navigators are taught to bring their ships into the real world near the rim of the destination system rather than trying to emerge near the actual destination.
This spell can only ever be cast with the support of the Navcom of the vessel as no shugenja could ever hope to harness the powers required on their own. For each Raise called during casting, the distance traveled grows a hundredfold. Unless the shugenja intimately knows the location they are travelling to, they cannot exit the Path at exactly the desired location. The use and effects of this spell should be discussed with the GM. Additionally, this spell cannot be learned without GM’s permission unless the Navigator Priest path is taken.
Fury of Winter
Ring/Mastery: Water 2
Range: Personal
Area of Effect: A cone 60’ long and 20’ wide at its end
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Area (+5’ to the width of the cone), Damage (+1k0), Range (+5’ to the length of the cone), Special (+5 to Fire TN against Initiative penalty)
The caster unleashes a cone of freezing mist from her fingertips, slowing their enemies down as shards of ice cut into their flesh. All targets within the area of effect suffer 2k2 Wounds and must make a Contested Roll using their Fire against the caster’s Water. Every target that fails has their Initiative reduced by 10 until the caster’s next turn.
One With the Waves
Ring/Mastery: Water 2 (Travel)
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target human
Duration: 1 hour
Raises: Targets (One additional target per two Raises), Duration (one additional hour per Raise)
This spell grants its target the ability to breath underwater and to ignore the penalties for underwater fighting for the duration of the spell. Character can also speak underwater and be understood by others close by. Needless to say, the spell running out while the character is wading through the ocean floor has disastrous consequences.
Rainbow Shield
Ring/Mastery: Water 3 (Defence, Wards)
Range: Personal
Area of Effect: Self
Duration: 10 rounds or 1 hit
Raises: Duration (1 Round per Raise, Special)
Originally known as Ashim’s Rainbow Shield by the Iuchi who brought the spell from the burning sands, the prayer summons a flickering multicolored barrier of light that surrounds the caster, extending outwards by one foot. Next time the caster would take damage, the damage roll suffer a penalty of -XkX where X is the caster’s Water. Once the Rainbow Shield has been hit, it dissipates without further effects.
For each two Raises called when casting the spell, the Rainbow Shield can withstand one further hit. Note that the caster cannot decide which hits get their damage reduced. The Rainbow Shield will affect every hit the caster suffers until it dissipates.
Machinemeld
Ring/Mastery: Void 3
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target object
Duration: 10 rounds / 1 Minute
Raises: Duration (1 minute per two Raises)
This spell creates a link between a the caster and a spirit-machine device that they are in physical contact with, giving each an understanding of the other. As long as the two remain in contact, the caster is endowed with knowledge of how to operate the device, increasing his ranks in the Skill needed to use the device by one (effectually giving them Rank 1 in the needed skill if they have none). Additionally, the caster gains a Free Raise on all relevant Skill Rolls made with the device for the duration of the spell.
Note that this spell only functions on spirit-machinery (vehicles, computers, communicators, firearms) but not with merely mechanical objects (swords, simple tools). This spell does not work on nemuranai as the sentient items will not allow the shugenja to join their mind with them. The effects of this spell upon alien devices are poorly documented, with most shugenja refusing to expose their minds to such a foreign influence.
The following spells are banned for the game.
Altering the Course
Cloud the Mind
Earth Becomes Sky
This spell has fallen out of favor and has largely been replaced by Rain of Steel
Blessed Wind
This spell has fallen out of favor and has largely been replaced by Dance of Light
Summoning the Gale
This spell has fallen out of favor and has largely been replaced by Shadows of Shin'ai
Altered spells
The following spells have been altered for the game.
Striking the Storm
Ring/Mastery: Air 3 (Defense)
Range: Personal
Area of Effect: Self
Duration: 5 rounds
Raises: Duration (+1 round)
The most powerful winds can turn aside blows. You may summon a buffet of winds that surrounds you in an unrelenting cocoon of swirling air. Your Armor TN is increased by +20 against melee attacks. The force of the winds surrounding you prevents you from hearing others if they speak to you, however.
Mental Quickness
Ring/Mastery: Fire 2
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target item
Duration: 1 Hour
Raises: None
Fire kami can be imbued into physical objects, allowing them to remain present for longer periods of time. Shugenja have devised many ways to use this technique to aid themselves and others. This spell, one of the most basic of this kind, imbues a material item with the cleverness and wit of fire. Anyone who carries that item has their Intelligence Trait increased by one for the duration of the spell. It should be noted that any wards and techniques that detect spell use also detect the item enchanted by Mental Quickness.
Silent Waters
Add this line: "The stored spell consumes one of your spell slots of the appropriate element until it is cast (at which point the character may rest to recover the expended spell slot as normal)."
The spell will still function as normal, but no longer will a character be able to buff an entire army's worth of characters. In addition, for the sake of bookkeeping, Silent Waters spells from one game will not carry forward into other games.
Water Kami's Blessing
Ring/Mastery: Water 3
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target individual (may be the caster)
Duration: 5 rounds
Raises: Special (your Water Ring is considered one rank higher per two Raises)
By calling upon the clarity of water, you can receive tremendous insight into the world around you. The target of
this spell receives a bonus to all his Perception based rolls, whether Trait Rolls or Skill Rolls, consisting of additional rolled dice equal to your Water Ring. Notably this does not grant bonus to Damage Rolls.
Commune
Ring/Mastery: All/1
Range: 20’
Area of Effect: Self
Duration: Concentration
Raises: See below
This spell can be cast in any element save Void. It allows the caster to speak with one of the local elemental kami, asking it a few questions, which it will answer honestly to the best of its ability. Typically this spell will invoke the most active and energetic spirit of the chosen element in the area of effect; if all of the local spirits are quiescent, the GM may require the caster to call 1 or 2 Raises to “wake up” a local spirit enough to answer questions.
A spirit reached with Commune will answer two questions. The caster may Raise to get more questions (one per Raise). The caster may also Raise for clarity, to get a more accurate and informative answer to the questions. (Kami are notorious for their inability to fully comprehend human behavior, and asking questions without Raises for clarity can often result in confusing, enigmatic, or incomplete answers.) Spirits do not forget anything, so theoretically a shugenja can ask a spirit about something that happened decades ago; however, they also do not experience time in the same way as mortals, so trying to ask about something from long ago will usually require Raises in order to make the caster’s wishes clear to the spirit. The nature of the information which spirits can impart varies by element.
Additionally, this prayer can be used to commune with spirits inhabiting the mundane spirit-machinery the Empire relies on. While communing with a sword might reveal a little, communing with the spirits of a communicator or a computer could reveal more. Bound to their circuits, the spirits of the machines are notoriously difficult to rouse and thus any shugenja wishing to commune with them has to call one Raise to gain their attention.
Communing with the ghosts in machines
It is possible to commune with spirits bound to machines. For example, one might ask for details about who has used a given piece of equipment or what the device has been used to do. However, most devices have been programmed to make a log entry for each such inquiry the system processes, making it likely that someone will notice people have been questioning the spirits there.
New Spells
Dance of Light
Ring/Mastery: Air 1 (Defense, Illusion)
Range: Personal
Area of Effect 10' radius around the caster
Duration: Concentration
Raises: Special (you may target another with this spell with 3 Raises)
You summon a swirling aura of spirits that obfuscate your form. While you maintain your concentration, this spell increases your armor TN against ranged attacks by a value equal to 5x your shugenja school rank, to a maximum of 15.
Chikushudo’s Leash
Ring/Mastery: Air 3
Range: 10’
Area of Effect: One target creature
Duration: Special
Raises: Range (+10’)
Used by both Imperial explorers looking to ensure their safety on alien worlds as well as some callous breeders, this prayer allows the shugenja to speak to an animal and ensure that it follows their commands. (within its ability to do so, naturally – no horse will ever be able to fire a weapon, no matter how many times you explain the process to them). This spell works only on natural animals, and will not work with Shadowlands creatures or creatures from other realms. This spell lasts as long as you maintain your full and undivided attention (as a Complex Action) on the animal and continue speaking to it.
Shadows of Shin’ai
Ring/Mastery: Air 3 (Defense, Illusion)
Range: 50'
Area of Effect: Target individual (may be the caster)
Duration: Concentration
Raises: Range (+5')
The kami of air can be commanded to dance around a designated target, causing area of false darkness to settle around them. This spell affects an area thirty feet around the target in all directions. Everyone within the affected area gains a +15 bonus to their Armor TN against ranged attacks. However, everyone within the area also suffers a penalty of -3k3 to all ranged attack rolls.
Cacophony of Air
Ring / Mastery: 2
Range: 30'
Area of Effect: One Shugenja
Duration: 3 Rounds
Raises: Duration (+1 Round per two Raises)
This spell rouses trickster spirits, who gather to swirl around the target, distracting them with mindless twittering yowls. In game terms, the TN of any spells the target tries to cast is increased by the Air x 3 of the shugenja casting this spell.
Watcher in the Dark
Ring/Mastery: Air 2 (Wards)
Range: 10’
Area of Effect: 60’ radius
Duration: 8 hours
Raises: Range (+30’), Duration (+1 hour)
This simple incantation binds a kami of air to the area, forcing it to guard the caster for the duration of the spell. If something or someone steps within the area of the spell with hostile intent, the bound spirit will cry out in alarm for a duration of three Rounds. Most commonly the spirit will take the form of a small fox, badger or a wolf, tirelessly circling the area it has been bound to. Usually this spell is used by the shugenja sleeping in the wilds to ensure that no local predator can sneak on them.
Notably the spell will be triggered by anyone seeking to harm anyone within the range of the spell, whether they are a human or a predatory animal or spirit. However, the spell won’t be triggered by anyone without hostile intentions (such as peasants gathering wood, birds, squirrels looking for nuts or an overtly curious ninja keeping an eye on the caster) - additionally, the bound spirit cannot grasp the intent of living dead and will not react to undead regardless of their intentions.
Sap the Inner Fires
Ring/Mastery: Fire 2 (Craft)
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target device
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Special
While the prayer known as Extinguish calms down the Fire kami, the spirits within radiant materials and spirit machines are immune to this effect due to the power infused into them by the manufacturing rituals. However, this does not mean that spirit-machinery cannot be influenced by a skilled shugenja. By using this prayer the shugenja may, by touching the machine, short-circuit the spirits responsible for its function. As the spell is favoured by spies and saboteurs, few shugenja would ever admit to possessing it. In game terms, the affected device is broken and rendered useless, though it can be repaired, if suitable tools are available, by rolling Engineering(Spirit Machinery) / Intelligence against TN of 15 + 5 for every raise called when this spell was cast.
Stoke the Inner Fires
Ring/Mastery: Fire 2 (Craft)
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target device
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Target (+1 target per two Raises)
This prayer restores power to any depleted spirit machine that relies on Fire kami to function, invigorating the spirits within. For example, any depleted battery of a ranged radiant weapon can be instantly recharged with the use of this spell. Additionally, Stoke the Inner Fires also automatically undoes the damage done by the Sap the Inner Fires spell.
Rain of Steel
Ring/Mastery: Earth 2
Range: 100’
Area of Effect: One target creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Damage (+1k0), Targets (+1 target), Special (Allow slivers to ignore reduction 2 Raises)
This spell summons a rain of metallic slivers, hurling them through the air to unerringly strike one (or more) target creatures. The target struck by these slivers suffers damage with a DR equal to the caster’s Earth rank. If the caster strikes multiple targets, the DR is reduced by 1k1 for each additional target, to a minimum of 1k1 damage per target. These slivers are made of normal, mundane steel and thus cannot normally bypass Reduction but a powerful caster can thin down the slivers down to molecular level, allowing them to strike through armor, ignoring target’s Reduction.
Opening the Way
Ring/Mastery: Water 3 (Travel)
Range: 1.000.000 miles
Area of Effect: One target Spaceship
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Range
A complex ritual created by Unicorn and Phoenix shugenja in the late 28th century that allows a spacecraft to traverse vast distances in a relatively short time. Drawing power from Elemental Water, this ritual immerses the vessel into weave of probabilities, allowing the ship to exist, at least in theory, at multiple places at the same time. This weave-space is commonly known as the Path Not Taken as it assumed to represent all that could have been. Skilled navigator can guide the vessel through the probability weaves, allowing the vessel to emerge into reality at the desired location. While there are no absolute relations between real-space and weave-space distances, the longer the journey is in real-space, the more time the ship has to spend in the Path Not Taken. Additionally, only the most skilled navigators can keep their ships in the weave for prolonged times, meaning that most journeys are made in a series of shorter jumps. The accuracy of the exit also varies greatly, and most navigators are taught to bring their ships into the real world near the rim of the destination system rather than trying to emerge near the actual destination.
This spell can only ever be cast with the support of the Navcom of the vessel as no shugenja could ever hope to harness the powers required on their own. For each Raise called during casting, the distance traveled grows a hundredfold. Unless the shugenja intimately knows the location they are travelling to, they cannot exit the Path at exactly the desired location. The use and effects of this spell should be discussed with the GM. Additionally, this spell cannot be learned without GM’s permission unless the Navigator Priest path is taken.
Fury of Winter
Ring/Mastery: Water 2
Range: Personal
Area of Effect: A cone 60’ long and 20’ wide at its end
Duration: Instantaneous
Raises: Area (+5’ to the width of the cone), Damage (+1k0), Range (+5’ to the length of the cone), Special (+5 to Fire TN against Initiative penalty)
The caster unleashes a cone of freezing mist from her fingertips, slowing their enemies down as shards of ice cut into their flesh. All targets within the area of effect suffer 2k2 Wounds and must make a Contested Roll using their Fire against the caster’s Water. Every target that fails has their Initiative reduced by 10 until the caster’s next turn.
One With the Waves
Ring/Mastery: Water 2 (Travel)
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target human
Duration: 1 hour
Raises: Targets (One additional target per two Raises), Duration (one additional hour per Raise)
This spell grants its target the ability to breath underwater and to ignore the penalties for underwater fighting for the duration of the spell. Character can also speak underwater and be understood by others close by. Needless to say, the spell running out while the character is wading through the ocean floor has disastrous consequences.
Rainbow Shield
Ring/Mastery: Water 3 (Defence, Wards)
Range: Personal
Area of Effect: Self
Duration: 10 rounds or 1 hit
Raises: Duration (1 Round per Raise, Special)
Originally known as Ashim’s Rainbow Shield by the Iuchi who brought the spell from the burning sands, the prayer summons a flickering multicolored barrier of light that surrounds the caster, extending outwards by one foot. Next time the caster would take damage, the damage roll suffer a penalty of -XkX where X is the caster’s Water. Once the Rainbow Shield has been hit, it dissipates without further effects.
For each two Raises called when casting the spell, the Rainbow Shield can withstand one further hit. Note that the caster cannot decide which hits get their damage reduced. The Rainbow Shield will affect every hit the caster suffers until it dissipates.
Machinemeld
Ring/Mastery: Void 3
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target object
Duration: 10 rounds / 1 Minute
Raises: Duration (1 minute per two Raises)
This spell creates a link between a the caster and a spirit-machine device that they are in physical contact with, giving each an understanding of the other. As long as the two remain in contact, the caster is endowed with knowledge of how to operate the device, increasing his ranks in the Skill needed to use the device by one (effectually giving them Rank 1 in the needed skill if they have none). Additionally, the caster gains a Free Raise on all relevant Skill Rolls made with the device for the duration of the spell.
Note that this spell only functions on spirit-machinery (vehicles, computers, communicators, firearms) but not with merely mechanical objects (swords, simple tools). This spell does not work on nemuranai as the sentient items will not allow the shugenja to join their mind with them. The effects of this spell upon alien devices are poorly documented, with most shugenja refusing to expose their minds to such a foreign influence.
GM-Squid
Watcher in the Dark • All the Tentacles • Buck Stops Here • Experienced 3
The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, the Fortunes still watch and judge us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the alleys of yesteryear. But it was never the alleys that were evil.
- Soshi Haruhi
Watcher in the Dark • All the Tentacles • Buck Stops Here • Experienced 3
The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, the Fortunes still watch and judge us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the alleys of yesteryear. But it was never the alleys that were evil.
- Soshi Haruhi
Re: Spells, spellcasting, kiho and tattoos
Altered Tattoos
Ki-Rin: There are few omens of good fortune more significant than that of the sacred ki-rin. Upon activating this tattoo, you may immediately re-roll any one roll per round, keeping the higher of the two results. Ki-Rin tattoo may be used a number of times per day equal to 2 + your school rank. Activating the tattoo is a free action, but it still counts towards your limit of only having one tattoo active at any given time.
Bamboo: The bamboo plant is ubiquitous throughout the Empire, and is well known not only for the speed with which it grows, but also its durability. Your Armor TN is increased by an amount equal to twice your School Rank+2. This tattoo is active at all times, and does not prevent the use of other tattoos
Crab: The tiny crab is resilient beyond all measure for its size. You gain a Reduction rating equal to your Earth Ring. This tattoo is active at all times, and does not prevent the use of other tattoos
New Tattoos
Circuit Tattoo
The intricately drawn schematics represents the deeper understanding of machinery. When you activate this tattoo, you gain a number of bonus dice equal to your School Rank plus your Fire Ring. These dice may be spent on any Use Computers or Engineering Roll. Each die contributes a bonus of +1k0. If these bonus dice are not used within an hour, they are lost. You may not add more bonus dice to a single roll than your Void Ring. This tattoo is considered active the entire hour, and if another tattoo is activated, any unspent dice from this tattoo are lost.
Tiger Tattoo
The tiger is a fierce and savage warrior. Upon activating this tattoo, your hands take the shape of tiger's claws, granting you a bonus dice equal to your School Rank in unkept dice to the total of all unarmed damage rolls. Additionally, your damage rolls dice explode on a result of 9 or better, though each die can explode on a 9 only once per roll. However, while this tattoo is active, you cannot hold anything in your hands nor manipulate any items such as guns, door handles or communicators.
Cat Tattoo
The cat is an omen of wealth, comfort and good fortune in Rokugan. The cat's warm personality and sociability is shared by those Tattooed Monks who shared its image. While this tattoo is active, you roll additional dice on any Sincerity Skill Roll equal to your School Rank.
Banned Kiho
The following kiho are banned for the game.
Banish All Shadows
Spin the Kharmic Wheel
Restricted Kiho
Following kiho are rarely taught and character needs a good justification to learn them.
Flee the Darkness
Rest, My Brother
Ki-Rin: There are few omens of good fortune more significant than that of the sacred ki-rin. Upon activating this tattoo, you may immediately re-roll any one roll per round, keeping the higher of the two results. Ki-Rin tattoo may be used a number of times per day equal to 2 + your school rank. Activating the tattoo is a free action, but it still counts towards your limit of only having one tattoo active at any given time.
Bamboo: The bamboo plant is ubiquitous throughout the Empire, and is well known not only for the speed with which it grows, but also its durability. Your Armor TN is increased by an amount equal to twice your School Rank+2. This tattoo is active at all times, and does not prevent the use of other tattoos
Crab: The tiny crab is resilient beyond all measure for its size. You gain a Reduction rating equal to your Earth Ring. This tattoo is active at all times, and does not prevent the use of other tattoos
New Tattoos
Circuit Tattoo
The intricately drawn schematics represents the deeper understanding of machinery. When you activate this tattoo, you gain a number of bonus dice equal to your School Rank plus your Fire Ring. These dice may be spent on any Use Computers or Engineering Roll. Each die contributes a bonus of +1k0. If these bonus dice are not used within an hour, they are lost. You may not add more bonus dice to a single roll than your Void Ring. This tattoo is considered active the entire hour, and if another tattoo is activated, any unspent dice from this tattoo are lost.
Tiger Tattoo
The tiger is a fierce and savage warrior. Upon activating this tattoo, your hands take the shape of tiger's claws, granting you a bonus dice equal to your School Rank in unkept dice to the total of all unarmed damage rolls. Additionally, your damage rolls dice explode on a result of 9 or better, though each die can explode on a 9 only once per roll. However, while this tattoo is active, you cannot hold anything in your hands nor manipulate any items such as guns, door handles or communicators.
Cat Tattoo
The cat is an omen of wealth, comfort and good fortune in Rokugan. The cat's warm personality and sociability is shared by those Tattooed Monks who shared its image. While this tattoo is active, you roll additional dice on any Sincerity Skill Roll equal to your School Rank.
Banned Kiho
The following kiho are banned for the game.
Banish All Shadows
Spin the Kharmic Wheel
Restricted Kiho
Following kiho are rarely taught and character needs a good justification to learn them.
Flee the Darkness
Rest, My Brother
GM-Squid
Watcher in the Dark • All the Tentacles • Buck Stops Here • Experienced 3
The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, the Fortunes still watch and judge us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the alleys of yesteryear. But it was never the alleys that were evil.
- Soshi Haruhi
Watcher in the Dark • All the Tentacles • Buck Stops Here • Experienced 3
The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, the Fortunes still watch and judge us. Evil lurks in the datalinks as it lurked in the alleys of yesteryear. But it was never the alleys that were evil.
- Soshi Haruhi