Spells

To cast a spell, the shugenja must make a Spellcasting Roll of the Elemental Ring aligned with that element, plus the shugenja's School Rank. The difficulty of this roll is equal to the Mastery Rank of the spell. The spell takes a number of turns equal to the Mastery Rank of the spell to complete. Shugenja cannot cast spells of a higher Mastery Rank than their School Rank (except in the case of Affinities and Deficiencies, see below).


 * Example:A rank 1 shugenja with Air 3 wants to cast a level 1 spell. They will roll 4 dice, needing 1 success, and the spell will take 1 turn to complete.

As well, a shugenja's school will have an Affinity and a Deficiency, acting as a +1 and a -1 on the Spellcasting roll respectively. They also adjust the shugenja's effective School Rank for the purposes of which spells they are able to cast (they do not adjust the shugenja's actual rank).


 * Example:A rank 1 shugenja with an Affinity in Earth and a Deficiency in Wood would be able to cast rank 2 Earth spells, but would not be able to cast Wood spells at all.

Sense

 * Ring/Mastery: All 1
 * Range: Personal
 * Area of Effect: 50’ radius from the caster
 * Duration: Instantaneous
 * Raises: Range (+10’)

This spell can be cast in any of the four standard elements. It allows the caster to sense the presence, quantity, and rough location of elemental spirits (not the evil spirits known as kansen) of that element within the range of the spell. This is most frequently applied when looking for spirits with which to Commune (see below), but can also be useful as a crude, basic location device. For example, a caster lost in the wilderness could cast Sense (Water) in hopes of locating a source of drinking water.

Summon

 * Ring/Mastery: All 1
 * Range: 30’
 * Area of Effect: 1 cubic foot of summoned material
 * Duration: Permanent
 * Raises: Range (+10’), quantity (+1 cubic foot), composition of material (1-4 Raises, as outlined below)

This spell can be cast in any of the four standard elements. It allows the caster to summon a modest quantity (one cubic foot) of the chosen element. The summoned matter appears (usually in a rough ball shape) in any open space within the spell’s range. This cannot place the summoned material inside another physical object or living creature. The summoned element will behave in a normal and mundane matter – earth falls to the ground, water soaks anything it lands on, air blows away, and fire winks out unless there is something present for it to burn. In general it is impossible to use this spell effectively in combat, although clever shugenja may find a few modest combat uses, such as using Summon (Fire) to ignite a foe soaked in cooking oil. More commonly, the spell’s value is in simpler functions, such as summoning Water while in a desert, or summoning Fire to light a campfire without fl int and tinder.

Raises may be used with this spell to summon a more specific type of the appropriate element, such as wood or iron with Earth, or tea with Water. The GM should choose how many Raises (generally anywhere from 1 to 4) this requires. However, these Raises cannot be used to create rare/precious materials (such as gold) or spiritually powerful substances (such as jade or crystal).

Commune

 * Ring/Mastery: All 1
 * Range: 20’
 * Area of Effect: Self
 * Duration: Concentration
 * Raises: See below

This spell can be cast in any element save Void. It allows the caster to speak with one of the local elemental kami, asking it a few questions, which it will answer honestly to the best of its ability. Typically this spell will invoke the most active and energetic spirit of the chosen element in the area of effect; if all of the local spirits are quiescent, the GM may require the caster to call 1 or 2 Raises to “wake up” a local spirit enough to answer questions.

A spirit reached with Commune will answer two questions. The caster may Raise to get more questions (one per Raise). The caster may also Raise for clarity, to get a more accurate and informative answer to the questions. (Kami are notorious for their inability to fully comprehend human behavior, and asking questions without Raises for clarity can often result in confusing, enigmatic, or incomplete answers.) Spirits do not forget anything, so theoretically a shugenja can ask a spirit about something that happened decades ago; however, they also do not experience time in the same way as mortals, so trying to ask about something from long ago will usually require Raises in order to make the caster’s wishes clear to the spirit. The nature of the information which spirits can impart varies by element:


 * Air spirits tend to be playful and easily distracted, conveying information as emotions or as riddles and jokes. Since they are more interested in feelings than in facts, and enjoy playing games with those who speak with them, communing with an Air spirit can sometimes be very frustrating.
 * Earth spirits are straightforward and matter-of-fact, often blunt, but are also often rather uninterested in the behavior of mortals, have a poor understanding of human emotion, and tend to be overly focused on obscure details such as the color of a piece of clothing or the weight of a horse.
 * Fire spirits are irritable and temperamental, and are often angry at being summoned unless they are propitiated with an offering of something to burn. On the other hand, if a shugenja can please them they tend to offer the clearest and most accurate information.
 * Water spirits communicate their knowledge through soundless visual images. This can be very helpful to a shugenja trying to investigate a past incident, but since the spirits cannot convey scent, sound, or emotion, the information they provide can often be incomplete or misleading.