Magic - Animism

 Animism is one of the more fascinating magic systems in Mythras. Many people hear about it and think it is some sort of "pet class" where the spirit manifests and fights for the animist. It could do that, if one constructed the spirits for it or used Predator or Undead spirits, but it is really a whole lot more than that. 

How Power is Shown

Animists can gain power from their spirits through

• Augmentation - power is bestowed on the animism directly. A spirit could grant night sight, hit points, or ward the caster from hostile magics, among other powers.
• Embodiment - the power is manifested from within the animism, as he and the spirit merge. Shape-shifting spirits are the most obvious example of this, but some kind of Disease spirit might give the animist to infect others directly with his body.
• Abdication - this is where the animist gives up is body and allows the spirit to take over it. My favorite example of this is Ancestor spirits, which gives them a chance to walk around and communicate with their families after being summoned at a séance, but virtually any spirit might like this level of access to the physical world.

Each of these can greatly define the animist and how they interact with the spirits. Consider a forest spirit, a type of nature spirit, which grants Bless (Tracking). The spirit demonstrates it's power as a ghostly wolf head that rests over the head of the animist, Augmenting the animists tracking skill. Compare this to the same forest spirit who grants the power to the animist via Abdication - the animist drops to all fours, sniffs the ground with his nose, perhaps even howls as he chases his prey. The same spirit that grants it through Embodiment may completely alter the animist's facial features!

How to Walk with Power

In addition, animists have the unique ability to interact with the spirit world via the Trance skill. This makes it different from the other forms of magic in that there is an active magical ability tied to the second skill - theism's devotion, sorcery's shaping, and mysticism's meditation offer no such benefits. Perhaps appropriately, the skill of the animist describes what they are able to do with this ability.

Trance is a remarkably flexible ability. A lowly Follower of a spirit cult will be able to determine something is wrong with an area if the spirits he views in meditation are sickly, mutated, or missing. He may be able to tell a valley is the site of a great battle, witnessing ancestor spirits in their panoplies reenact their deaths. Spirit worshippers will be able to query flower spirits as to who passed through an area and earth spirits where precious metals all. Once an animist learns to separate their soul from their body, they are an invaluable scout, able to cover an incredible amount of space in little time, and are able to force spirits to manifest so they may be dealt with by physical means. Once the animist reaches the pinnacle of his art, pulling souls with him on spirit journeys or ripping the souls out of enemies becomes possible.

It is no wonder that access to the spirit world is the primary indicator of power within a cult.

How Power is Contained

Animists also have the rare ability to create objects that could arguably be called "magic items". Fetishes give the animists a great deal of flexibility, having to only find a spirit once and tie it to a fetish. They no longer have to seek it out in the spirit world, no longer have to spend the time to even access the spirit world. A simple touch, a binding roll, the sacrifice of a magic point, and the spirit springs forth to perform the task at hand.

Not every animist cult makes fetishes, but it is undoubtedly something a player will consider for their character. A common question is "How many fetishes is my character allowed to have?" While each campaign should weigh this, I think starting with none is suitable for a starting Spirit Worshipper or even Shaman. They are relatively inexpensive to create, only requiring a single experience point per intensity, and should be within the power of the animist to make themselves after character creation.

Location and creature bindings are also options, and often overlooked. A spirit (or more!) bound to a location makes a wonderful Sanctum Sanctorum for the animist. Friendly spirits will defend it quite vigorously. Spirits bound to creatures make excellent familiars. Perhaps the raven shaman invests the largest of his flock with the spirit of Raven, a nature spirit, and it provides him with advice and wisdom. Another may construct a homunculus and bind the spirit of an ancestor or loved one to it, allowing it to completely business left unfinished in life - though this latter cannot regenerate magic points.