Spirit Pacts
Texto
Spirits and mortals can voluntarily enter into pacts, which provide benefits to both sides. The Kitsune family maintains many such pacts across the Emerald Empire, and when a pact is broken, their Naturalists and Mediators are often the ones to intercede with the spirits to restore it.
After a character completes the Create a Pact social objective, the GM and players determine the specifics of three pact components: the terms, the boons, and the domain. Mortals must abide by the terms set forth in the pact; so long as they do, they receive the pact’s boons while they are within the spirit’s domain.
In accordance with the following guidelines, the GM determines the pact’s terms (on the spirit’s behalf) and then the players choose the pact’s boons. The domain in which the pact applies is determined by the power and influence of the spirit. The GM is the final arbiter of what constitutes an appropriate boon.
Set the Terms
The terms are the part of the pact that the mortals involved must heed in order to continue to receive the spirit’s blessing. If the mortals violate the terms, either by failing to uphold them or by going against a taboo, the spirit may withdraw its blessing. In extreme cases, a spirit might even attempt punitive action against offending mortals who live in or near its domain, though this is unusual in Rokugan. Some example terms might include:
Mutual Defense: A spirit might have enemies of its own from which it needs protection, and it could thus ask mortals to maintain defenses for it. Abiding by these terms does not usually mean taking up arms in its defense; instead, doing so often takes the form of maintaining barriers against invasive spiritual presences. These barriers might need to be periodically replaced, and failure to do so could allow the spirit’s enemies to attack its domain.
Periodic Offerings: A spirit might ask mortals to make periodic offerings to it based on the boon it provides. These are often symbolic, such as a cup of sake brewed from the rice the spirit helps to flourish or the first painting an artist makes every year inspired by the terrain of the spirit’s domain.
Taboos: A spirit might restrict the harvesting of resources in the region near its domain. This might mean making sure that a large stand of trees is always allowed to flourish near where the spirit makes its home, or that a certain type of animal for which it has an affinity is allowed to live without being hunted or disturbed by mortals.
Various Tasks: Some spirits have difficulty performing tasks for themselves in the Mortal Realm, and others would simply prefer to have mortals attend to such matters. Tasks of this nature might include maintaining a shrine or set of shrines across the domain, undertaking deeds that relate to the spirit’s interests in the Mortal Realm, or even trying to live up to some ideal the spirit considers important.
Pick the Boons
Spirits often provide certain boons to mortals who inhabit their domain, with the expectation of veneration or respect for taboos in exchange. Boons might include benefits like good harvests, protection from sickness, or regular rains. When one or more PCs and a spirit make a spirit pact, choose one narrative boon and one mechanical boon, both of which take effect within the spirit’s domain when the pact is finalized. GMs should feel free to create new narrative and mechanical boon options to reflect the unique abilities of spirits. These boons will be what PCs may select from when forming their spiritual pact.
Example Narrative Boons
The following are a few examples of narrative boons that could apply within a spirit’s domain:
Boon of Fortunate Finding: When an item is lost within the domain, it tends to turn up later at the exact moment someone needs it.
Boon of Gentle Rains: The weather in the domain is consistent, delivering enough moisture, sun, and shade for plants and animals to flourish there.
Boon of Good Health: Diseases are suppressed within the domain, and both their symptoms and spread (if applicable) are substantially reduced.
Boon of Inspiration: People find the natural terrain, flora, and fauna within the domain to be especially good for inspiring works of art.
Boon of Plenty: Harvests within the domain always generate a small surplus.
Boon of Quiet Stars: External conflicts tend to be naturally directed away from the domain by sudden storms, flooding rivers, or other phenomena.
Boon of Safe Harbor: Hostile Otherworldly and Tainted beings are unable to find the domain if actively searching for it, and they can enter only if invited by another being.
Example Mechanical Boons
The following are a few examples of mechanical boons that could apply within a spirit’s domain:
Boon of Clarity: At the start of each scene, each character gains the Centered condition (see page 133).
Boon of Courage: At the start of each scene, each character gains the Emboldened condition (see page 133).
Boon of Energetic Recovery: At the end of each scene, after a character removes fatigue and strife, they remove additional fatigue and strife equal to the spirit’s Fire Ring.
Boon of Permanence: When a character makes a check to resist an effect of an Otherworldly being, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Water Ring.
Boon of Purity: When a character makes a check to resist the effect of a Tainted being, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Earth Ring. The area around the spirit’s main habitation or shrine also becomes Hallowed (Spirit’s Main Element) terrain.
Boon of Restoration: When a character makes a check to heal an injury, remove a condition, or remove fatigue, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Void Ring.
Boon of Skillful Hands: When a character makes a check to Restore, Adapt, Invent, Refine, or Attune to an item, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Air Ring.
Define the Domain
A spirit’s domain is generally the region it inhabits. The GM determines a spirit’s domain based on its narrative influence and power. For most spirits, this means a spirit pact affects the nearby area. A few sample domains could include:
A large wood around the spirit’s center of power.
A village where the primary shrine to the spirit is maintained.
The course of a river the spirit inhabits.
A cavern complex and mountain peak the spirit inhabits.
The site around an item of importance to the spirit (potentially its mortal form’s resting place, if it was once mortal).
Texto do livro
Children of the Five Winds · CHAPTER 3: THE GIFTS OF THE WORLD › Otherworldly Encounters › Spirit Pacts · p. 125 p. 131 p. 132
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Spirits and mortals can voluntarily enter into pacts, which provide benefits to both sides. The Kitsune family maintains many such pacts across the Emerald Empire, and when a pact is broken, their Naturalists and Mediators are often the ones to intercede with the spirits to restore it.
After a character completes the Create a Pact social objective, the GM and players determine the specifics of three pact components: the terms, the boons, and the domain. Mortals must abide by the terms set forth in the pact; so long as they do, they receive the pact’s boons while they are within the spirit’s domain.
In accordance with the following guidelines, the GM determines the pact’s terms (on the spirit’s behalf) and then the players choose the pact’s boons. The domain in which the pact applies is determined by the power and influence of the spirit. The GM is the final arbiter of what constitutes an appropriate boon.
Set the Terms
The terms are the part of the pact that the mortals involved must heed in order to continue to receive the spirit’s blessing. If the mortals violate the terms, either by failing to uphold them or by going against a taboo, the spirit may withdraw its blessing. In extreme cases, a spirit might even attempt punitive action against offending mortals who live in or near its domain, though this is unusual in Rokugan. Some example terms might include:
Mutual Defense: A spirit might have enemies of its own from which it needs protection, and it could thus ask mortals to maintain defenses for it. Abiding by these terms does not usually mean taking up arms in its defense; instead, doing so often takes the form of maintaining barriers against invasive spiritual presences. These barriers might need to be periodically replaced, and failure to do so could allow the spirit’s enemies to attack its domain.
Periodic Offerings: A spirit might ask mortals to make periodic offerings to it based on the boon it provides. These are often symbolic, such as a cup of sake brewed from the rice the spirit helps to flourish or the first painting an artist makes every year inspired by the terrain of the spirit’s domain.
Taboos: A spirit might restrict the harvesting of resources in the region near its domain. This might mean making sure that a large stand of trees is always allowed to flourish near where the spirit makes its home, or that a certain type of animal for which it has an affinity is allowed to live without being hunted or disturbed by mortals.
Various Tasks: Some spirits have difficulty performing tasks for themselves in the Mortal Realm, and others would simply prefer to have mortals attend to such matters. Tasks of this nature might include maintaining a shrine or set of shrines across the domain, undertaking deeds that relate to the spirit’s interests in the Mortal Realm, or even trying to live up to some ideal the spirit considers important.
Pick the Boons
Spirits often provide certain boons to mortals who inhabit their domain, with the expectation of veneration or respect for taboos in exchange. Boons might include benefits like good harvests, protection from sickness, or regular rains. When one or more PCs and a spirit make a spirit pact, choose one narrative boon and one mechanical boon, both of which take effect within the spirit’s domain when the pact is finalized. GMs should feel free to create new narrative and mechanical boon options to reflect the unique abilities of spirits. These boons will be what PCs may select from when forming their spiritual pact.
Example Narrative Boons
The following are a few examples of narrative boons that could apply within a spirit’s domain:
Boon of Fortunate Finding: When an item is lost within the domain, it tends to turn up later at the exact moment someone needs it.
Boon of Gentle Rains: The weather in the domain is consistent, delivering enough moisture, sun, and shade for plants and animals to flourish there.
Boon of Good Health: Diseases are suppressed within the domain, and both their symptoms and spread (if applicable) are substantially reduced.
Boon of Inspiration: People find the natural terrain, flora, and fauna within the domain to be especially good for inspiring works of art.
Boon of Plenty: Harvests within the domain always generate a small surplus.
Boon of Quiet Stars: External conflicts tend to be naturally directed away from the domain by sudden storms, flooding rivers, or other phenomena.
Boon of Safe Harbor: Hostile Otherworldly and Tainted beings are unable to find the domain if actively searching for it, and they can enter only if invited by another being.
Example Mechanical Boons
The following are a few examples of mechanical boons that could apply within a spirit’s domain:
Boon of Clarity: At the start of each scene, each character gains the Centered condition (see page 133).
Boon of Courage: At the start of each scene, each character gains the Emboldened condition (see page 133).
Boon of Energetic Recovery: At the end of each scene, after a character removes fatigue and strife, they remove additional fatigue and strife equal to the spirit’s Fire Ring.
Boon of Permanence: When a character makes a check to resist an effect of an Otherworldly being, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Water Ring.
Boon of Purity: When a character makes a check to resist the effect of a Tainted being, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Earth Ring. The area around the spirit’s main habitation or shrine also becomes Hallowed (Spirit’s Main Element) terrain.
Boon of Restoration: When a character makes a check to heal an injury, remove a condition, or remove fatigue, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Void Ring.
Boon of Skillful Hands: When a character makes a check to Restore, Adapt, Invent, Refine, or Attune to an item, they can reroll a number of dice up to the spirit’s Air Ring.
Define the Domain
A spirit’s domain is generally the region it inhabits. The GM determines a spirit’s domain based on its narrative influence and power. For most spirits, this means a spirit pact affects the nearby area. A few sample domains could include:
A large wood around the spirit’s center of power.
A village where the primary shrine to the spirit is maintained.
The course of a river the spirit inhabits.
A cavern complex and mountain peak the spirit inhabits.
The site around an item of importance to the spirit (potentially its mortal form’s resting place, if it was once mortal).