[Phil Masters]

Summonation Spells

Divine Rider

This sort of magic is almost entirely the province of voodoo witches; other spell-casters are too wary of gods and other powerful spirits. However, it’s possible that especially sleazy demonologists might pull off something similar using seriously misinformed volunteers or undead servitors.

This spell summons a spirit – a (very) small god, when it’s cast by a voodoo specialist – and gives it temporary control of a human or other mobile body, its “mount” (which cannot be the caster’s own body). The mount retains a certain amount of control, but tends to be heavily influenced by the spirit and its personality, and gains a fair amount of power, which can take the form of anything from physical strength and vitality, through amazing charisma, to the ability to spit fire. The tricky part is finding a spirit which will respond to the summoning – full-power gods sneer at the idea. Voodoo witches resolve this problem by deliberately cultivating a small group of small gods – often beings that they’ve virtually created themselves and raised up to useful levels of power by their own faith or with the aid of a small cult. Any other sort of caster might have a lot more trouble with this process; only voodoo witches usually have enough idea about religion. As noted above, demonologists might pull off a similar trick after identifying a suitable demon, but demonic possession is generally considered a bad thing.

Voodoo witches usually install their small gods in human cultists, where they remain for relatively short periods. However, it’s perfectly possible to work this sort of magic with other creatures, and even with zombies and perhaps other low-grade undead. Few small gods are happy with that arrangement, though, unless the zombie is physically intact and has an unusually powerful mind; trying to take charge of a body run by a decayed mind with a slave mentality is both difficult and boring.

If a caster does know of a suitable spirit, treat the process of summoning and binding it into a mount as a spell with skill modifier -4, taking 5 minutes to cast. The GM should come up with a list of attribute modifiers, advantages, disadvantages, removed disadvantages, and skills which the spirit gives the mount, and work out the total point value. (Players can suggest some possibilities, especially if the PC has taken time to identify and cultivate the spirit, but the GM has the final say.) The MP cost of a casting is 1 per 10 character points in that total or fraction thereof, with a minimum of 4, and the possession lasts for 1 hour; the effect can be maintained.

Once the spirit is in place, you have a composite being with traits from both the mount and the spirit. Make a reaction roll to determine its opinion of the caster and the situation. Remember that the sort of spirits who go in for this sort of thing tend to be whimsical, opinionated, self-important, and a bit sneaky. They may go along with the caster’s plans, but they are independent beings. Even if the mount is a PC, the combined being is ultimately an NPC. Also, if the spirit’s nature is powerful, it may regard the mount’s body as a temporary home, and not worry too much about it.

Example: Mama Halfdollar needs someone to help her deal with a bunch of crocodile cultists gone bad in the deep swamp. Fortunately for her, the cult have also attacked a group of worshippers of Flaming Jango, a small god of lightning, and after a lot of negotiation with their priest and eventually with the god, Mama Halfdollar arranges something involving one of Flaming Jango’s most devout followers.

She and her allies set up a Divine Rider casting at the end of an extended religious ceremony with much chanting, dancing, and consumption of raw rum, with the follower as the mount. Flaming Jango gives his mount +3 ST [30], +2 DX [40], +2 HT [20], +4 Will [20], Burning Attack (Lightning Bolt) 3d [30], Combat Reflexes [15], Indomitable [15], Mind Shield 4 [16], Temperature Tolerance 3 (Heat) [6], Absent-Mindedness [-15], Bad Temper (9) [-15], Berserk (12) [-10], Impulsiveness (9) [-15], Odious Personal Habits (Shouting) [-5], Overconfidence (12) [-5], Pyromania (6) [-10], the quirk “Giggles a Lot” [-1], Brawling at DX+1 [2], Innate Attack (Beams) at DX+3 [8], and Intimidation at Will+1 [4], and removes his Mild Shyness [5] and Scotophobia (15) [7]. This adds up to 142 points, so the cost of the casting would be 15 MP; however, as a voodoo witch who has carefully followed standard procedures, Mama Halfdollar can halve that cost to 8 MP – still a lot, but perfectly feasible with a small ritual casting with a few trusted Jango-worshippers at the end of that ceremony. Unfortunately, spells cast ritually can’t be maintained, but no matter; for the next hour, the mount becomes a supernatural warrior who turns out to be perfectly willing to roast a few crocodiles.

If the caster stops maintaining the spell, the spirit normally leaves. However, if it is having too much fun or feels that it’s doing something important, it can try to stay around; roll a quick contest between the combined being’s Will and that of the mount. (And yes, many rider spirits give a Will increase.) If it succeeds, it can stay for another ten minutes before trying again. If it ever wins such a contest by 10 or more, it can stay for a full day. If it remains for three days, the interval between future contests becomes a week. After a while, an exorcism may seem necessary.