God Bundles

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Created On 1 June 1998
Last Updated On 1 June 1998
Copyright (c) Simon E. Phipp 1998

DESCRIPTION

God Bundles are typical Shamanic Medicine Bundles. They contain many different components, maybe with runes or symbols as decoration, typically decorated with feathers, bones, cloth, and so on. All God Bundles contain at least one item sacred to the spirit to be contacted, perhaps a piece of flint to contact Orlanth or a raven feather to contact Raven.

CULTS

ASSOCIATED:: Shamanic cults, the cult of the spirit to be contacted
ENEMY:: Enemies of the spirit to be contacted
HOSTILE:: Members of the cult of the spirit to be contacted who do not like outsiders gaining access to their spirit

KNOWLEDGE

Common, Shamanic.

HISTORY

When the Horned Man told his children how to contact the Spirits, some came to him and asked why they could not contact the deities who walked the world. The Horned Man thought a while and went to each deity in turn asking if they would allow worship by his followers. Most of the deities were greedy and wanted more worship with only a few refusing. Dayzatar was one who refused, as was Ourania Queen of Heaven. Those deities who refused may not be contacted with a God Bundle. The Horned Man then made the first God Bundles and taught the secret of their use and manufacture to his children.

PROCEDURE

God Bundles are made by shamans who know the ritual to make them. This ritual may be a Spirit Magic spell or a HeroQuest spell, depending on he individual GM's preferences. The Shaman makes a God Bundle using the techniques that his culture uses to create Medicine Bundles in general. So, elven shamans will use plants and stones in the manufacture whereas praxian shamans may use bones, feathers and cloth, troll shamans may use bones, hair, cloth and polished stones and so on. However, all God Bundles have to contain some kind of link to the Spirit to be contacted. So, a Sun Hawk God Bundle may contain one of Sun Hawk's feathers, a stone with Sun Hawk's Runes written on it, a picture of Sun Hawk or a Sun Kiss flower.

The cost of creating a God Bundle depends on the ritual used but is typically 1-3 POW.

POWERS

God Bundles may be used by anyone having the knowledge to use one. All Shamans are taught how to use God Bundles as part of their training. Some GMs may want to play that God Bundles may only be used by shamans of the same or related culture to that of the creator, so only Praxian shamans may use God Bundles created by a Praxian shaman. I personally think this is an unnecessary complication.

A God Bundle allows a shaman to contact a spirit in order to worship the spirit and to gain benefits from that direct worship. The Shaman must still discorporate and find the spirit to be worshipped, then must persuade the spirit to allow the worship as per normal shaman rules, but the God Bundle allows this to occur.

Most shamans cannot contact spirits for individual worship without a God Bundle of some kind.

As shamans generally only know how to create God Bundles for the spirits they normally contact, finding a God Bundle of a new spirit is important as they can now attempt to contact the new spirit.

Shamans typically have many God Bundles, one for each of the Spirits they worship. They are often jealous of these God Bundles as if they lose a particular bundle they will not be able to contact the Spirit and may no longer regain the use of the Spirit's Divine Magic nor may they sacrifice for more Divine Magic until the Bundle is restored or a new one created.

VALUE

Typically, a God Bundle is worth a great deal to a shaman, especially if it is one he does not possess or for a spirit which he wishes to contact. God Bundles are typically sold for 4 points of Spirit Magic, or maybe up to 8 points for rare or important spirits. Shamans rarely pay cash for these things, but if you wish then convert the cost of the spells into cash.