Domestic Spirit Magic

[Darius West]

RQG is all about heroic bronze age combat, but there is another side to the setting.  One of the things that sets RQ apart is its attention to how magic interacts with everyday life and perceptions of ordinary people.  Now for those who are familiar with it, the RQ magazine Questlines #1 dealt with the Tovtari clan of Sartar, and described a number of local spirit types, such as tiny sylphs that keep the smoke balled up on the ceiling, or toads in the well who keep the water fresh.  There was also discussion of how spirit magic could have non-combat uses around the house. 

Repair is obvious.  Healing is always useful for similar reasons.  Disruption can be good against the pesky fly you can't swat.  A single point of bladesharp can save you having to sharpen a blunt axe for a few minutes.  Detect Life is a good way to find where the cat is when it won't come when called etc.

IRL in most cultures there is some sort of surviving animistic beliefs regarding domestic spirits that help with chores, and many of these seem to be somewhat regional.  Spirits abound in the house.  For example, the hearth is a little fire spirit that needs feeding a la Howls Moving Castle.  A platter of milk left by the back door may feed some spirits (or potentially placate a desperate person bent on stealing food).  Or there is a magic spirit in a flask that momma keeps, and when she puts milk in it, it can be used to turn into cheese, when normally the milk would just spoil. 

According to this idea, the home is an intensely spiritual place, and its maintenance requires a low level of "domestic shamanism" to keep it running smoothly.  I used the term domestic spirit magic however, as there is no suggestion that every farm house has a shaman living in it.

Logically then, we could also reasonably expect there to be a large number of specialist Spirit Magic spells that have nothing to do with combat, and a good number of low level spirits that frequent one's home, either permanently, or casually.

So let's talk about Spirit Magic spells that have a specifically domestic or crafting use.  These spells should help speed up time consuming tasks, or help with difficult household or crafting tasks, or generally serve to make life more pleasant and live-able.

And added to this, lets talk about some low level spirits that might inhabit the homes of Glorantha.

[soltakss]

1 hour ago, Darius West said:

So let's talk about Spirit Magic spells that have a specifically domestic or crafting use.  These spells should help speed up time consuming tasks, or help with difficult household or crafting tasks, or generally serve to make life more pleasant and live-able.

The Book of Doom, available on the Jonstown Compendium, has a number of spells for this kind of thing, in particular a section on Crafting.

It also has some ultra-generic spells that increase named skills, or skill categories, by a set amount.

1 hour ago, Darius West said:

And added to this, lets talk about some low level spirits that might inhabit the homes of Glorantha.

Holiday Dorastor: Spider Woods details the Domovoi, a household spirit. 

Holiday Dorastor: Seven Hills should detail the Bannik, a spirit of the baths.

 

[Rob Darvall]

In the way-back-when I wrote a bunch of stories around this theme. 

The inspiration (read: source from which I stole shamelessly) was Katherine Briggs Dictionary of British Folk Tales.

One of my favorites is "Trout Tickling". A spell for catching trout by hand. It is obtained by the Amadii from Old Trout Head in exchange for making him laugh, usually with a FAILED dance roll. Children are taught how to do this through being told a fireside story (the one I wrote).

[tnli]

Rune Augments are a thing. 

We use those for the "chanting spells for mundane things" - feelall the time. 

[WindSerpent]

I've always sorta figured that there would a certain amount of minor charm use built into using skills, using rune augments, maybe even invoking Passions. Implied rather than explicit. I feel there's not a hard line between mundane ability and magical skill in the setting. So as a corollary I sort of figure there's other spells out there, and the spirit/battle/folk magic list is just the ones that might actually come up for an adventurer as mechanically separate from making a check.

[French Desperate WindChild]

15 hours ago, WindSerpent said:

I've always sorta figured that there would a certain amount of minor charm use built into using skills, using rune augments, maybe even invoking Passions. Implied rather than explicit. I feel there's not a hard line between mundane ability and magical skill in the setting. So as a corollary I sort of figure there's other spells out there, and the spirit/battle/folk magic list is just the ones that might actually come up for an adventurer as mechanically separate from making a check.

same for me, we may have more spells about specific activities, but not for daily tasks. we may need a described spell when we want to paint a masterpiece, but even if in "glorantha reality " you use some spirit spell to fresh a wall paint, it seems to me that the paint skill is enough

[Darius West]

Dry 

1 Point, Touch, Instant.

This spell removes water from the object touched.  The water proceeds to evaporate rapidly from the object leaving it dry but supple over a period of 5 minutes, during which time the item will visibly steam.  It can be cast on a living thing, and if they are touched on the flesh, they will lose 1 general hit point after 5 minutes, and become dehydrated.  This damage can be healed by drinking and rest, but not healing spells.

Metier

1 Point, Ranged, Temporal, Instant.

When cast on a being with an INT characteristic, their chance with a single craft skill chosen at the time of casting increases by half again.  While under the effect of this spell the affected being is unable to perform any other tasks.  They are completely aware of their workspace, but unaware of their broader surroundings. They may dodge if attacked at close quarters but can offer no defense against a ranged attack, as it doesn't register with them.

Reach

1 Point, Ranged, Instant.

When cast, this spell allows a single action to be performed at range as if the caster could touch the item.  It allows for a single action, such as the shutting of a door, the opening of a bottle, the lifting of a pot lid, the slipping of a simple knot, etc.  If the desired result requires more than one movement, then multiple castings of Reach are required.  The spell interacts with only a strength of 6, and the caster must gesture the action they are seeking to perform in order to make it happen.

Speedcook

1 Point, Ranged, Instant.

This spell reduces the cooking time for a single portion of food by 5 minutes per casting.  The caster must make a cooking roll with a doubled chance of fumble to test the edibility of the food.  If the roll is fumbled, it is assumed the food has been burned.

[Darius West]

This is a write-up for a couple of domestic spirits of sorts for my Prax campaigns:

Salini

Salini are tiny people, seldom more than 1/3 of an inch high, made out agglomerations of man rune and of pink salt found around salt licks.  Left to their own devices, Salini will build little salt villages for themselves, and will live their little lives.  They are remnants of broken lives from the Gods’ War who now take this form.  Salini are much loved by Praxian children who will keep them as pets and play with them.  This is not often a kind fate, and most Salini maltreated in this way crumble and are put into the clan's salt pile eventually.  Shamans will sometimes procure Salini for help with sterilizing and stitching wounds.  Some Salini are quite expert at healing creatures, and on occasion are masters or above in their various skills.

Characteristics           Average

Str      1d6-5                    0

Con    1d3                       2

Siz      1d6-5                    0

Dex    3d6                    10-11

Int      1d4+6                 8-9

Pow    1d6+1                  4-5

Cha     2d4                      4-5

Hit Points: 1

Damage Bonus: -1d4

Move: 1/2

Magic Points: 4-5

Skills: Boating 35%, Charades 50%, Climb 50%, Craft (Salt) 75%, Customs (Green Age) 40%, Dodge (Dex x5%), First Aid 50%, Green Age Lore 35%, Hide 65%, Jump 35%, Move Quietly 90%, Treat Disease 50%, Treat Poison 25%.

Magic: Healing 1, Repair 1.

Special Ability:  Solid Form.  If the Salini is destroyed, it gives up its body and returns to the salt and forms a new body over the course of seven days.

 

Dust Puppies

Dust puppies (aka Talosini) are tiny proto-elementals of the earth that are found only in Prax.  They are four legged, and any resemblance to dogs is entirely a matter of opinion.  They are born only in the period when the Bull Wind blows dust in from the Wastes.  This is a very bad season in Prax, but the bull wind fertilizes the Earth bringing Dust Puppies.  Dust Puppies are visible spirits, in the form of little rolling balls of bull dust.  They are gregarious and playful, and able to change their shape in simple ways.  At the end of Sacred Time Dust Puppies always merge into the earth and begin to become gnomes.  Dust Puppies are in training to serve people as elementals, and this is coded into their being, hence their seeking out of a person to follow and obey.  Dust Puppies are genuinely affectionate and empathic, much like a smart pet dog, and while they can’t change the fact they are made of dust, they can mold themselves into many different shapes.  Dust puppies also enjoy music, and will merrily keep time by tapping tiny pebbles together.  Many of these skills will be lost or change when they become proper parts of the Earth Pantheon.  It is not a foregone conclusion that Dust Puppies will always become gnomes, but many Praxian individuals who played with Dust Puppies as a child find themselves gratified that their old playmate is now a true gnome at their command.

 

Characteristics           Average

Siz      1d4-1                   1-2

Pow    2d6                       7

Int      2d6                       7

Cha     2d6                       7

Move: 5

Magic Points: 2-12

Skills: Empathy 60%, Frolic 90%,  Follow Favorite Person 80%, Mimic Shape 50%, Obedience 75%, Play (tapping rocks) 70%, Shape-change 50%,  Spirit Combat 40%.

Runes: Earth Rune 100%, Fertility Rune 50%.

Magic: Vigor, Distraction, Detect Friends, Detect Enemies.  These spells are more innate powers of the Talosini in its immature form and are lost when they become full gnomes.

Edited November 22, 2021 by Darius West

[Ian Absentia]

The spirit magic spell Summon definitely has useful applications for entreating helpful, or at least benign spirits to watch over things and prevent mishap.

I recall several years ago working on a project behind a small Thai restaurant, and late in the morning, just before opening for lunch, someone came out the back door from the kitchen with a plate of food, set it down on a stone, lit a cigarette and set it on the edge of the plate, then went back inside.  I assumed he'd come back out to finish his lunch, but only the crows came along to eat it.  Over the next couple of days I realised it was an offering of the daily first order before opening for business.  I also realised that crows can be weirdly fascinated with cigarettes.

!i!

Edited November 22, 2021 by Ian Absentia