understanding spirit combat

[jezreel]

sorry for all the questions, but it really helps me set out on the right path at the start

So here's a Shaman, with a fetch , engaging with some PC's -the shaman's fetch has  intensity 2 action points 3 spirit damage D10 discorporate 81% folk magic 73% spectral combat 84%   spirit fetch ability-  persistent -conjugated- autonomous-recurring trait - shapechange -possession (usually the shaman or cult animal)

Am I correct that this shaman can roll on his binding skill to set the fetch loose- fetch can then act independently of the shaman, but remains in telepathic contact- it can use folk magic against the PC@s or on the shaman  and can also drag a mortal  target onto the spirit plane(discorporation abiltiy)  and then engage them in spirit combat ( spirit's spectral combat against character's binding or half-willpower) and does D10 damage to their magic points when it (likely) wins - this will eat up their magic points in a few turns if it beats them - when they are down to zero, it may ?possess them but not kill them as it lacks the deadly trait. If it possesses a character, can it have that character attack his/her mates? Can the fetch , if not possessing but simply draining all of a players magic points, ,then attack all the PC's in turn and do likewise ? does it need a binding roll success from the shaman for each instruction  or just to "set it on its way" as it is in telepathic connection with the Juju man?

If it has the "deadly" trait, would one such spirit not be able to kill all the player characters in short measure? as it cannot be magically dispelled because of the "persistent trait" - unless the PC's have a beefy character who is a beast on the spectral plane, are they surely doomed ?

It it has "cannibalistic" trait, it can shore up its magic points at the rate of 1MP/ intensity of spirit that it sunders...(1-3 MP points per character killed)

And this is ONLY an Intensity 2 spirit(!)

And a decent shaman has SEVERAL spirits at his beck and call..........

[Matt_E]

Yes, I think everything you have said is correct (although there's a lot; I might have missed something).  You seem to have a handle on the rules.

Yes, that fetch would be major trouble.

Let me draft a related situation:

My character is an expert gunsmith and marksman, whose loyal sidekick has owned a shop for 20+ years.  The inventory include a .50 gatling gun, two AK-47s, and a box of flash-bang grenades.  Could not she and her assistant wipe out a whole party in short order?

Of course she could.  There are a host of related questions, though, including:

* Would she?  What is her motivation?  Is she a wanton killer?  Is she willing to break the law, or whatever rules she lives by?

* Just because one can imagine this inventory, does that mean every gun shop must have it?  Maybe some shops only stock handguns.

 

As always, the question really is, what do you as GM want in your game?  You could disallow the most awful spirit abilities for fetches, or for any particular fetch.  You could make the awakening ritual very difficult and dangerous, which means that not every shaman will have a fetch.  You could limit the fetch's ability to increase in POW, and start it off weaker.  There are lots of options for turning the many possibilities into actual fetches that match your comfort zone for the game's power level.

The same concern exists for other tier 4 and 5 magicians in Mythras.  Consider a sorcerer with Wrack, or a mystic warrior with Enhance Action Points.  Either one of them also could f*ck up a whole party right quick.

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2017 by Matt_E

[jezreel]

thanks Matt - I see your point - I guess it is a matter of experience as to which abilities to give to NPC's that the players will run up against and maybe giving the players  plenty of warnings if they seem to be about to commit collective suicide

I notice that a fetch can "scout"   if it has the "autonomy" ability- does this allow a fetch to "see" the mundane /physical plane of just the spirit plane? In other words, can a scouting fetch float ahead of a party and give warning of both physical and spirit-plane encounters, - could be kinda handy....

[Matt_E]

heheh  Collective suicide...

Yes, I think you can use a fetch (or any spirit, perhaps within some limited range) to scout an area.  I think here the question is whether the fetch is in the same plane that it's trying to scout, and whether that plane is its plane of origin.

The fetch is rooted in the Spirit World (SW), and starts off there.  Scouting the SW is a normal thing for the fetch, just like scouting the Mundane World (MW) would be for a person.

Now, a fetch scouting the MW while still in the SW would be just like a shaman using Trance to observe the SW from the MW, I think.  That's "scouting across worlds".  This sort of shadowy, indirect observation would be less revealing of details but could be sufficient for general information, and has the advantage of keeping the fetch safe and undetected (probably) in the SW.

Finally, a fetch could come into the MW to scout the MW.  This is just like a shaman Spirit Walking, discorporating to travel the SW.  It takes some effort, and the fetch cannot recover MP when not in its native plane, but it can get the job done.  If it does not Manifest, it is safe from magic and general detection, I think, but I would double check those rules.

I think that's how it works, but honestly I have not explored the Animism rules much.  Let me know if I have written something wrong or foolish; I could use a lesson here.

 

[jezreel]

Yeah , so in my campaign Animism is a big part of the picture-   are the spirit plane and the materiel plane mutually imcompatible- ie you can be in either one or the other, and not both together- I think the rules suggest that a mystic in "trance" is NOT present to the mundane plane so I infer that a fetch "scouting" then spirit plane is NOT present in the Mundane plane either- unless it has , and is using , the "manifest" trait , in which case it's present in the mundane, but I guess, NOT present in the spirit plane.

The thing is, this shaman is making his way through enemy territory with some braves from his tribe- the enemy have prepared an ambush up ahead- can his "scouting" fetch detect the ambush? If so, does it have to be manifest ie present  and observable to the ambushers?

[Matt_E]

I think it could be in the Spirit Plane, viewing the enemies through cloudy glass, by seeing their auras (spirits).  It could report numbers and general location, I think, and strengths, including whether they have a shaman or cult spirits with them.  I don't think it could give details about their tactical disposition.  It might have to use the equivalent of Trance to accomplish that, but I don't remember if there's a mechanism in RAW for it.

I do think a spirit can be in the material world without being Manifest.  In your proposed scenario, I might say that if the spirit is to report tactical details of the enemy, then it needs to Manifest, which means it can be spotted and attacked.  It does get to attempt Stealth, I think, to try to avoid detection.

You may want to post your questions on the TDM forum.  There you will probably get answers better than mine. :-)

 

[jezreel]

sorry Matt but TDM forum?

[Matt_E]

Sorry:  http://designmechanism.freeforums.org/

[jezreel]

thankyou