Gothi
by Matt Thrower
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may be copied or distributed freely for personal non-profit use, provided
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Assumptions
This system will work however you want to treat the Norse `realm'. I
suggest that you either assume it's a special subset of the magic realm,
or that it's a new realm in its own right. If you assume the former to
be true, then Gothi ought to be able to use raw vis just like Hermetic
magi do, although how the vis or various Arts would translate into the
ideas here is up to you.
Gothi
`Order of Odin' is an epithet which has been made up entirely by magi of
the Order of Hermes. The Viking wizards call themselves Gothi
(Goe-th-ee). Gothi are priests of the Viking religion, and their magical
powers come straight from the Norse gods themselves. All Viking wizards are
Gothi, but not all Gothi have the ability to cast spells. They can all open
a vey, however. The precise proportion of Gifted / non-Gifted Gothi is up to
you, I would suggest about 20% / 80%.
Life of a Gothi
In stark contrast to the Order of Hermes, Gothi do not train apprentices.
Since their Gift comes straight from the gods, they need to do very little
training to use the magic powers, only instruction in the correct
rituals to use (which they can get from books). They grow in power
through practice, and through achieving the Viking ideal, not through
study. As such, Gothi tend to have many more skills that Hermetic magi.
Since the Viking ideal is basically struggle and war, Gothi tend to be
very capable warriors as well as spellcasters. Gifted Gothi spend a lot
of time away from mainstream society, casting runes and communing with
the gods. However, they may be called on at any time by Viking peasants
to officiate at religious ceremonies.
Magical Skills
Treat these as Knowledges under the rules, rather as you would Certamen
and Parma Magica:
- Vey Opening
Gothi can only use magic when standing inside a vey. A
vey is a mystical connection to Valhalla, through which the gods can
send their power. You can treat a vey as an aura (either magical or
`Norse'), with a rating equal to the vey skill of the Gothi that opened
it. Veys are a maximum of 10 yards square, and a minimum of half that
size. Opening a vey is a ritual, during which the gothi walks round the
area to be `opened' chanting the names of the Norse deities in turn.
Anyone within the vey as it is opened can enter or leave it at will, but
the Gothi who created the vey can deny anyone access. They may still
enter the area, but all dice rolls made within the vey by such a person
are at a penalty equal to the rating of the vey, no matter what power
they are aligned to. Non-Gifted Gothi can open a vey with a rating of
0, which can still be used for religious purposes, or by a Gifted Gothi
for spellcasting. A vey is fixed in place, and ceases to exist if the
Gothi who created it moves outside its boundaries. It also ceases at
dawn/dusk (whichever is sooner). A vey takes 10 minutes, +1 minute/level
to open.
- Runecasting
Runes are mystical letters which represent magic. It
should be noted that magic runes are different from the runic futhark
writing of old Norse. Anyone who can read futhark will spot magic runes
instantly, but the inexperienced often get the two confused. Also, any
Gifted individual can identify mystical runes amongst normal futhark. Runes
have 2 uses. First, they can hold magic power in an enchanted item, so this
skill is added as a bonus when Gothis try to make magic items. Second,
runestones can be used to predict the future. For this, runestones are
cast upon the ground, frequently following a blood sacrifice (which may
give a bonus to the roll). The SG then rolls (stress) against a basic
difficulty of 16. Success indicates that the Gothi receives a cryptic
vision on the topic of which she sought counsel. Failure means no
vision. Botching means a misleading or dangerous vision is sent instead.
Gothi Magic
Gothi have scores in only 3 Arts. These function exactly as Hermetic
Arts do, but you will note that they cannot be increased through study.
So, improving these Arts is a long, slow process. This is intended, as
with only 3 Arts to practice, if a Gothi could study like a Hermetic
mage, she would reach a staggering level of power in a very short time.
Also note that Gothi cannot extend their lives like Hermetic magi can.
The Arts are as follows:
- Aesir
Connection to the gods. This functions like the Technique in
Hermetic spells, and is added onto the score of the magic type (`Form'
equivalent) when attempting to cast spells.
- Galdr
Blessing magic. Galdr magic can affect elemental materials in any
way the caster desires. It can also have beneficial effects on living
things and on the human soul. For example, it can make someone ferocious
in battle, heal wounds, summon ghosts and even restore the dead
(although see limits, below). This is the most common type of magic
practised by Gothis.
- Seidr
Cursing magic. Seidr magic can only cause harm and distress to
living things. For example, it can cause death, sickness, madness and
misfortune to fall upon men, their livestock, or their animals. In order
to practice Seidr magic, the practitioner must frequently indulge in
grim practices. I leave this up to the imagination, but examples might
include cannibalism, buggery, murder and other foul things. Gothi who
use Seidr magic are thus usually shunned, except when they must
officiate in religious rituals involving Seidr gods.
To cast a spell, the Gothi makes a roll just like a Hermetic mage,
adding her Aesir score, plus `Form', plus Stamina, plus the level of the
vey, plus a stress (always stress) die to overcome the level of the
effect. Failure results in loss of a fatigue level, and no effect. A
botch means the Gothi has incurred the wrath of the gods, to a degree
determined by the botch roll. Effects of this would range from a short
term loss (day/week) of magic power, to the wrath of Thor
(thunderstorms) following the Gothi until she's struck down by
lightning. Use your imagination!
It is worth noting that it is exceptionally rare for a Gothi to be
skilled in both Geldr and Seidr magic, one or the other is more usual.
Limits
Gothi magic has none of the limits of Hermetic magic, since it is drawn
from the power of the Norse gods, whom, the Gothi believe, created the
Viking peoples. However, there is one very important stricture... Gothi
magic cannot affect any place (and anything or anyone in that place) where
the Viking gods are not worshipped. A Gothi could thus invoke a
thunderstorm anywhere in Scandinavia or Iceland, but not in France. This
means that Gothi cannot attack the Order of Hermes unless the Order of Hermes
trespasses on Viking lands. This is one reason why the Order of Hermes is
always pushing back the Gothi, rather than the other way around. It also
means that as Christianity comes to the Viking lands, the power of the Gothi
is dwindling. Although Gothi spells could restore the dead to life, or
extend lifespan, in practice, this is rarely, if ever done. The reason
is simple... a dead Viking or Gothi goes to the eternal paradise of
Valhalla. To bring someone back from there, or to delay entry, would be
an unimaginably terrible fate for that individual.
Spell Effects
The Gothi generate spell effects in accordance to invoking the powers of
certain Viking gods. For example, to raise a thunderstorm, invoke Thor,
to bolster a warriors courage, invoke Tyr, to infect someone with
plague, invoke Hel. More on the deities below. Once a vey has been used
to invoke a certain deity, it cannot be used to invoke a different one.
Most spells involve drawn-out rituals to the god involved. Treat casting
times just like Hermetic ritual magic, but no raw vis is needed.
However, it should be noted that when assessing level effects, Gothi
magic is far more potent than Hermetic magic. Creating a thunderstorm to
totally devestate an acre of land might only be a level 35/40 effect.
Causing someone's heart to stop would probably be about level 25.
Remember that Gothi have no real equivalent to formulaic or
spontaneous spells. The nearest they come to this is runic items, so
they can pour all their magical energies into their ritual magic. Also
remember that Gothi advance in magic power much slower than Hermetic magi.
After casting a ritual spell, the Gothi must rest for a number of hours
equal to the spell level, minus stamina.
Deities
Here is a short list of some Norse deities. With each of them is a
description of what type of magic they grant a Gothi (Galdr or Seidr)
together with some of the effects a Gothi might achieve when invoking
that deity. Note that to some extent, all the Norse gods were warrior
gods, so things like weapon/armour blessings can be carried out in a vey
dedicated to any Norse deity. This list of deities is by no means
exhaustive. There are many more Norse gods whose names have been
preserved, but whose function remains largely unknown. If you want to do
some more research for yourself, go ahead.
- ODIN (Galdr and Seidr)
Odin is the all father, creator of life, and can be invoked in the name
of both healing and destruction of flesh. He is also a god of wisdom,
and can be invoked for Intellego like effects, and also PeMe type
spells. Odin is the chief war god, and weapon/warrior blessings (or
curses) carried out in his name will be more effective than normal. Odin
is master of both kinds of magic, and as such, he is the only god who
may be invoked for either type of effect.
- THOR (Galdr)
Thor is the god of thunder, and can reasonably be invoked to reproduce
Auram like effects on a grand scale. He is also the protector, not from
injury in battle, as that sends vikings to blessed Valhalla, but of the
Viking way of life. Thus he could be invoked to protect crops, a sailing
ship, or even to protect pagan Vikings from Christian missionaries.
- FREYA (Galdr)
The goddess of fertility rounds off the central trinity of Viking gods
(the others being Odin and Thor), these three being venerated above all
others. Freya's blessing can bring fertility to people, crops and
animals alike.
- BALDER (Galdr)
Balder is the shining one, the Norse god of innocence and piety.
Non-spellcasting veys are often created in his name. The magical effects
he gives resemble InMe spells, determining the innocence and piety of a
subject, or like ReMe, MuMe spells, to change the behaviour of criminals
or other wrongdoers.
- NJORD (Galdr)
Njord is a sea god, and can be invoked for spectacular Aquam effects,
especially on saltwater. He is also a fire god, and can be invoked for
Ignem effects.
- FREY (Galdr)
Frey is the god of prosperity, joy and peace. In the former, Frey can be
invoked to bring wealth to a family or an individual, in the latter, he
can be invoked to bring happiness to pepole in the form of CrMe, MuMe
type effects.
- TYR (Galdr)
Tyr is a warrior god, and can be invoked to bless weapons and armour to
great effect. He is also the god of courage, and his blessing can bring
anything from removal of fear to berserk bloodlust onto a warrior.
- HEIMDAL (Galdr)
Heimdal is the guard of bifrost, the bridge to Valhalla. His spells are
used to create magical wards and guards, and to scry upon others.
- BRAGI (Galdr)
As the god of poetry and eloquence, Bragi can be invoked to bring
inspiration to artists.
- FORSETI (Galdr)
Forseti is the god of justice and reconciliation. His powers are often
called on during trials. They can function like InMe effects to
determine the truth of what is being spoken. They can also see into the
past, at higher levels of power.
- LOKI (Seidr)
Loki is the god of mischief and misfortune. He can be called upon to
bring down curses and bad luck on the targets of such spells. As the god
of chaos, his curses can also be used to disrupt even the best-laid
plans.
- HEL (Seidr)
Hel is the goddess of sickness and death. Most of her spells duplicate
PeCo effects, and her curses can also inflict diseases upon the
unfortunate recipients of such spells.
Please note that, just like Hermetic ritual spells, Gothi spells are not
instant, but far-reaching effects. For example, Thor could not be
invoked to create a lightning bolt from the Gothi's hand to a target 20
yards away, but could call down a thunderstorm on a party of travelling
magi 100 miles away (provided they were in pagan Viking lands). Within
the one limit, spells ranges are almost infinite, the further away the
target, the harder the spell level. By all means, make up some formulaic
type spells for gothi to use... but remember that a Gothi can attempt
pretty much anything if she wants to, and is willing to take the risks.
Runic Items
The carving of runes onto items creates minor magical effects rather
like spontaneous Hermetic magic. This includes the powering down of the
effects from ritual level to spont/formulaic level. For example, a sword
might have the following runes carved on it:
- Odin: keeps edge keen at all times
- Thor: allows the sword to generate small lightning bolts
- Tyr: allows the wielder to berserk for a short time.
The making of runic items can be considered to be similar to the creation of
enchanted items by Hermetic magi, except for the following modifications:
- Only one season of work is needed.
- The item is non-permanent. Instead we have a new special duration
relating to vows or Viking duties.
The rune offers its powers as per Hermetic enchantments (using the table
for frequency use adjustments), but runic items will only keep them as
long as the legitimate holder doesn't fail in his duty. Having time
limits for such duties could possibly offer a bonus on the
Gothi's `lab total'.
- Runic effects are especially susceptible to auras other than `Norse'
(or magical), which lessen not only their Penetration totals, but perhaps also
negate their power altogether if their `power total' falls below the strength
of the contrary aura.
This means that when a Gothi creates a runic item he
must decide not only the level requirement for the effect to work, but also,
as an option, if he wants to raise this level in order to provide more
protection when he takes the item to Christian lands, for example.
Use form and effect bonuses, and
generate a vis and time cost in the same manner. However, vis can only
be generated by Gothi in the form of human blood sacrifices. The amount of
vis provided varies
with the level of sacrifice. For example, the blood of a Viking king,
nailed to an ash tree and pierced with a spear, as Odin was, might
generate a rook's worth. A thrall might generate 1 pawn. Human sacrifice is
a very serious business indeed amongst the vikings, so the making of runic
items is not something to be undertaken lightly. Thus items are not made
without very good reason.
Most Gothi keep at least on runic item with them, to help
defend themselves if caught outside a vey. It is usually in the form of
a staff or sword. Occasionally, a powerful warlord might be given such
an item, if they aspired to the true Viking ideal. The continued
functioning of such items is, however, at the whim of the gods.
Finally, remember that Gothi are supposed to live as paragons of the pagan
Viking ideals of warrior-like self-reliance, and that failure to do so can
lead to loss of power. The magical power of a Gothi, granted by the gods,
should never be taken for granted.