Spells

A prayer used by shugenja to aid bushi when an arrow absolutely must hit its target. The shugenja entreats the Air kami to play a game by guiding the arrow, and if the arrow is fired within the duration of the spell, it will unerringly strike its target. (It must still be fired by someone with a minimal understanding of archery - at least one Rank of Kyujutsu.) However, because it is the kami who ultimately ensure the arrow will hit, the shot cannot benefit from the effects of Raises or Techniques.

You summon a swirling aura of winds to protect you from ranged attacks. The buffeting winds deflect arrows and other projectiles. While you maintain your concentration, this spell adds +15 to your Armor TN versus all non-magical ranged attacks.

You can upon the kami to wrap an object in their embrace, hiding it from the sight of mortal beings. You may target any one non-living object smaller than you. This object becomes invisible to the naked eye. Attempts to perceive it magically will automatically succeed if the Mastery Level of the spell is higher than that of this spell. Spells of equal Mastery Level require a Contested Air Roll to detect the hidden object. The object is still physically present and can be touched, smelled, or sense with any normal sense other than vision.

This spell, most often found in the scroll-satchels of magistrates and their assistants, seems to be a simpler version of the same prayer used for Freedom of the Air. It causes the Air kami to blow furiously through the area of effect, and while initially this seems to produce nothing but chaos, within a few moments the winds gather several unattended items and deposit them in a neat stack (though not an organized one) at whatever location within the area the caster might desire, including in someone's hands if that is preferable. The caster must name the items to be collected when the spell is cast, and only those items will be collected - a convenient way to gather scattered papers, find a note buried under a pile, or otherwise retrieve something important with a minimum of effort. It can also be used, more cleverly, to retrieve a concealed or hidden item, a use which magistrates find quite valuable. However, it cannot be used to snatch items from someone else's grasp or person - the Air spirits consider that to spoil the fun.

You are able to call upon the spirits of the wind to take form as a bird and carry a message for you. The bird that is created by this spell appears perfectly normal in all regards, but if it takes any damage it dissipates into wind immediately, ending the spell. Upon creating the bird, you may speak to it, giving it a spoken message of up to one minute in length. The bird will then fly away to deliver the message to the person (or persons) specified when the spell is cast. The bird will fly to their location, deliver the message via a whisper (it can be overheard by others, but not easily), and then disappear. If the bird is unable to reach the individual, but they are within range (if they are within a a building with no windows, for instance) it will remain outside for up to one week before disappearing. If the person specified by the spell is not within range, the bird will fly away in a random direction and disappear when it is out of your line of sight.

You are able to use the spirits of the wind to speak to an animal and ensure that it understands what you are saying. This spell works only on natural animals, and will not work with Shadowlands creatures or creatures from other realms. It does not guarantee that the animal will regard you positively or that it will fulfill requests made of it, but the creature will understand anything you tell it (within its ability to do so naturally - political relationships have no meaning to a horse, no matter how many times you explain them). This spell lasts as long as you maintain your full and undivided attention on the animal and continue speaking with it.

You call upon the wind to purge the mind of your target, granting him clarity. This spell may negate temporary mental or social penalties suffered as result of a mechanical effect, including Techniques, Wound Ranks, or other spells. The TN of the Spell Casting Roll made to cast this spell is increased by the amount equal to the Technique Rank, Wound Rank, or spell Mastery Level used to create the penalty in the first place. Disadvantages permanently possessed by an individual may not be countered using this spell.

You summon a powerful gust of air emanating from your position that crashes into all in its path, knocking them to the ground. All targets within the area of effect suffer 1k1 Wounds and must make a Contested Roll using their Earth against your Air. Every target that fails suffers Knockdown.

You call upon the kami to reveal that which has been hidden. All concealed objects within the area of effect appear as slightly luminous outlines to you. Any non-magical concealment is revealed, including secret compartments, trap doors, concealed weapons, etc. Only you can see the presence of these objects.

You can create a flawless illusion of one object. The item appears real in every way up until the spell expires, at which point it disappears. If you are attempting to create a specific, familiar object, such as another samurai's katana, you must declare one Raise, and that individual may make a Contested Roll using his Perception against the total of your Spell Casting Roll to detect the forgery. Images created by this spell are completely stationary, and if placed in a situation where they must move (such as floating in water), disappear instantly. An image of a katana could be created sitting on a rack, for example, but not in a samurai's obi because it would not be able to move with the samurai. Objects created with this spell have no true physical substance and cannot bear weight or inflict damage.

The kami of Air are fond of sounds, which are carried through their Element, and can lend their power to strengthen the beauty, passion, and conviction of the human voice. The recipient of this spell finds his or her voice gains timbre, depth, and resonance, becoming in every way more impressive. For the duration of the spell, the target benefits from the Voice Advantage (if he already has Voice, the benefits stack) and also gains a +1k0 bonus to any Social Skill Rolls that involve speech.

You can entreat the capricious spirits of the wind to create a perfect duplicate of you a short distance away. The illusion exactly reflects your appearance at the time the spell is cast, including your clothing and any equipment. The illusion may appear anywhere within the spell's range, and will perform whatever actions you perform while it is in effect. (If you sit down, for instance, your duplicate will sit down as well, even if there is nothing to sit on). Once you leave the normal range of the spell, the duplicate disappears. If you make two Raises on the Spell Casting Roll, you may leave the area of effect and the illusion will remain in whatever position it was in when you left for as long as you continue concentrating on maintaining the spell.

You summon a swirling weapon of pure air, only visible as a foggy outline. The weapon's default form is a yari, but one Raise can change its form to any other spear of your choosing. The weapon has a DR 1k1. If you do not possess the Spears Skill, you may instead use your School Rank in its place. If you do possess the Spears Skill, using this weapon grants you one Free Raise that can be used on the Feint or Increased Damage Maneuvers. This weapons disappears if it is lost from your hand. Instead of summoning the yari for yourself, you may cause it to appear in the hands of an ally within 20 feet. He is treated as the caster for the purposes of the spell, but he does not gain the Free Raise bonus.

By calling upon the air kami to whisper suggestions to others, you may cause them to perceive the target of this spell more positively than they otherwise might. The target of this spell gains a bonus of +1k1, plus your Air Ring, to the total of all Social Skill rolls made for the duration of the spell.

While the Crane would go without an organized shugenja family or order until the Asahina would be founded centuries after the clan’s founding, a few of Doji’s followers had a talent for speaking with the kami. They focused on the arts of peace and meditation, and this spell was one of their first attempts to bring the harmony of the Elements to a samurai. While this spell is active, all rolls based on Void and Awareness gain a +1k0 bonus when made within the area of effect, and all hostile actions suffer a -1k0 penalty. Hostile actions based on Awareness (such as threatening someone with Intimidation) suffer a -2k0 penalty instead of the previous, self-negating, effects. The caster of this spell may use the Meditation Skill without breaking the concentration required to maintain it.

The winds can lift and buoy, carrying even the heaviest burden into the skies for short periods. The target of this spell gains a limited form of flight, allowing him to move through the air unimpeded. The target of the spell may make Free Move Actions, but not Simple Move Actions, and never move more than 10' per round. Heavy winds can interfere with this movement or prevent it altogether. At the end of the spell's duration, the target drifts harmlessly to the ground, no matter how high he might be.

Understanding the ways of the Air reveals the indistinct line that exists between language and cipher. A shugenja can cause a piece of writing to be placed under an elemental cipher, enticing the kami to play a small game with those who read the text. The block of text becomes completely unintelligible unless read by the original author or the intended recipient, whose name is whispered as the spell is cast. Normally, an Elemental Cipher is not breakable by traditional decrypting and the kami will only reveal the true text to the intended recipient. However, other shugenja can decipher the kami's game and read the text by making a Spellcraft / Intelligence roll with a TN equal to the total of the original spell-casting roll.

This spell was originally devised by the Shiba Illusionists, and is one of their few significant contributions to the ways of magic in Rokugan. In keeping with the traditions of the Shiba Illusionists, this spell is intended primarily for entertainment, but it can sometimes have more practical applications (such as helping a courier describe his experiences to his lore).

The spell invokes the Air kami to "illustate" a story being recounted by another individual (designated by the caster). The spirits will supply a visual and auditory illusion to accompany the story, drawing the sounds and images from the mind of the storyteller. The resulting blend of story, sound, and imagery can be quite compelling, and Kakita storytellers have been known to seek out masters of this spell to assist their art.

A cleansing ritual used by shugenja when preparing a house or other building for an important even such as a wedding or a festival. The spell entreats the Air kami to raise a soft but carefully controlled wind which sweeps all the dirt, insects, and other filth out of the building. The spell also has a spiritually purifying effect, making evil or malignant spirits reluctant to remain within the dwelling - any kansen, ghosts, or other hostile disembodied spirits within the building will leave for a number of hours equal to the caster's Air. (Evil spirits which are exceptionally strong or which have an extremely strong attachment to the building cannot be banished by this basic spell, however - it is the GM's discretion whether a spirit is strong enough to resist Freedom of the Air.)

The spell was originally devised by the Seppun shugenja, but due to its great usefulness it later spread across the Empire. The Seppun Shugenja School technique may be applied to this spell.

An early attempt to use the magic of Air to gain advantage against the unwary, the Soshi family devised this spell to delay those who had stumbled upon their Clan’s machinations, or to cover their tracks. Once this spell is cast, the next thing the victim sees that seems unusual or out of the ordinary instead appears completely normal to them. This does not change the victim’s reaction, it simply clouds their perceptions such that they believe they are seeing something they expect to see, or at least something not unusual at all. A guard under the influence of this spell, for example, might walk through his regular patrol and see an undisturbed room rather than the ransacked mess a thief had left behind.

This spell only affects vision, so the victim is allowed an Investigation roll against a TN of the caster’s Air x 5 if there are subtle clues betraying the illusion (such as stepping on a bit of spilled sake). Any major clues (such as screaming coming from the changed scene or tripping over an object covered by the illusion) ends the effect immediately.

Air kami are mischievous and capricious, and enjoy anything they perceive as a joke. You may call upon them to create a subtle illusion, altering your facial features just enough that you appear to be a different person. This spell does not allow you to impersonate specific individuals, or even people radically different from you. You appear as a person of the same age, build, race, and gender. The differences are subtle, enough so that you could be mistaken for your own brother or cousin.

With greater fluency with the kami comes the ability to craft increasingly convincing images from the stuff of the wind itself. You may create illusions of any object, individual, or image that you can imagine. These images are stationary, and they must fit within the spell's area of effect, but they can be as simple or complex as desired. These illusions are visual only, with no auditory component, no odors, etc.

Security in communication is of paramount importance in many situations, and shugenja often find themselves in situations where a conversation is intended to be completely private, or when they cannot allow themselves to be interrupted by extraneous sounds. By placating the spirits of the Air, a shugenja can convince them to create a barrier against sounds, a bubble of silence through which sound will not pass. The spherical sound-barrier is normally centered around the caster, although with greater effort it can also be centered on a physical object up to fifty feet way. Once this spell is cast, the kami will not allow any sound to enter or leave this bubble, creating absolute privacy for anyone inside of the space. Once created, the bubble of silence will not move, even if the caster for the target object relocates.

Characters on one side of a Quiescence of Air spell's barrier gain two Free Raises on Stealth Rolls made against characters on the other side.

Ninube shugenja may cast Quiescence of Air as a Nothing Spell.

A specialized variation of Nature's Touch, this spell is a prayer to the Fortunes that is carried by air kami to the ears of a random bird within the spell's range. (If no bird is available, the spell as no effect.) The bird flies down and lands on the caster's hand, and the caster may instruct it to perform a simple task (such as carrying a message or distracting an enemy) for the duration of the spell. With a successful Animal Handling / Awareness roll at TN 20, the caster may persuade the bird to perform a more complex task, such as searching the area for potential enemies and reporting back. This sort of task is subject to the GM's judgement, since if the task is too complex the bird will not be able to comprehend it.

In either case, the bird will not take suicidal actions (such as flying into a fire) and will immediately break off and flee if it is injured.

The kami can carry whispers across an Empire, if properly entreated to do so. This spell requires you to perform a preparation ritual in order to cast it effectively. The ritual requires ten minutes of uninterrupted meditation in the area designated as the spell's area of effect. Any time within the 48 hours immediately following this ritual, you may cast this spell, and overhear anything being said in the prepared area. If your concentration is disrupted, the effect ends and may not be renewed without an additional preparation ritual. Only one area may be prepared via this ritual at one time.

The kami of the wind can carry whispers for great distances, and can even create them if properly entreated. You can petition the kami to create a false sound, either a voice or a natural sound such as an animal's growl or running water, for example. The sound can be no louder than a normal speaking voice, and cannot impersonate a specific person's voice. If used to create the sound of a voice, the spell is limited to twenty words.

The air kami see very little difference between speech and thought, and can perceive both with relative ease. By comparing the two, the kami can determine if what has been spoken is true or a lie. Unfortunately, they have notoriously short attention spans, and thus can only assess extremely recent conversations. By invoking this spell, you may determine if the last thing said by the target was true or false. The kami have no concept of personal opinion, however, and if the target truly believes what he said was true, the kami will believe it as well.

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This spell causes the Air kami to subtly insinuate themselves into the target's body, urging him toward weariness and sleep. A target who is physically and mentally inactive (such as a guard standing post at night, or a samurai meditating in his dojo) will automatically fall asleep when targeted by this spell. (The target will awaken normally if he is touched or hears a loud noise, but otherwise sleeps until the spell's duration expires.) If the target is physically or mentally active, the spell will not put him to sleep, but he will suffer the effects of being Fatigued for the duration of the spell. (If the target is already Fatigued, his Fatigue penalties increases as though he had gone another day without rest.)

This spell, crafted to facilitate initial relations between groups, is easily twisted to nefarious purposes. It calls the kami to create a subtle aura of suggestion around the caster, one that does not disguise the caster but rather causes others to perceive him as slightly more benevolent than perhaps he truly is. For the duration of the spell, your Honor Rank is considered 3 ranks higher for the purposes of any Lore: Bushido rolls made to determine your Honor Rank.

A unique prayer that is as much a meditation as anything else, this spell is only taught in shugenja Schools which have an Air as an Affinity. It causes the Air kami within the soul of the caster to become more properly aligned, giving the caster a far greater grasp on the hearts and souls of other men, along with a certain quickness of reaction. While the blessing lasts, the shugenja may add his Air Ring to the total of all Awareness-based rolls, as well as to his Armor TN. Typically, those who know this spell perform the Blessing each morning during their daily meditations. The effects of this spell cannot be stacked.

Air can be merged with the essence of a mortal, and doing so can impart tremendous abilities, albeit at great risk to the caster. You mix with the wind itself and become insubstantial. You may not interact with any physical objects while insubstantial, although you do remain on the ground, you may pass through solid objects at a rate of one foot per round. You Water Ring is considered halved (rounded down) while you remain insubstantial, and you may not cast any other spells until you return to solidity.

Originally developed by Asahina shugenja, this spell found its way into the hands of the Soshi and a few other orders after several minor incidents in court. It is sometimes considered to be a dishonorable spell, but in fact its uses need not be for subterfuge. Rather, much like the Crane courtiers' technique of Cadence, the spell allows discretion in communication in situations where this would not normally be possible. It relies on the playfulness of the Air kami and the subtleties of language.

The spell causes the kami to obscure a conversation between two or more persons. The Air spirits create a second layer of speech, one heard by everyone except those actually participating in the conversation (who may include the caster). Though the speakers are aware of this false layer of speech, they will clearly hear the actual conversation taking place. The illusion cannot normally be penetrated except by reading lips (since they will not match the false conversation), although a shugenja can pierce the deception by winning a Contested School Rank / Air roll against the caster.

A skilled shugenja can petition the kami to create incredibly elaborate illusions to obscure one's identity and appearance. You may use this spell to adopt the appearance of any humanoid creature of approximately the same size, up to one foot taller or shorter than you. You could use this spell to assume the guise of a kenku, for example, because they roughly the same size as humans. A goblin or an ogre would be impossible, however, because they are too short and too large, respectively.

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The kami can share the vision of others. You may view the world through the eyes of another living creature within your line of sight. You only see, you do not experience any of the target’s other senses, and you have no control over what the target looks at. For the duration of this spell, any Perception-based rolls you make for your own body suffer a -2k2 penalty, due to the distraction created by the spell.

This spell calls on the Fortune of Wind to infuse the target's soul with the cooling serenity of an icy northern breeze, rendering him or her resistant to the pressures of emotion and stress. The target seems impervious to any sort of emotional manipulation or psychological pressure; in reality, he does feel normal emotions, but the presence of the Air kami mute their impact, so the target can perceive his own emotions as something distant and abstract.

The target of this spell gains a bonus of +2k2 to resist the effects of any Social Skill Roll or Fear effects. However, the same icy serenity which makes him resistant to others' manipulation also makes it difficult for him to perceive the emotions of others; he suffers a -2k0 penalty to any Awareness-based Social rolls.

The most powerful winds can turn aside not only arrows, but steel as well. You may summon a buffet of winds that surrounds you in an unrelenting cocoon of swirling air. Your Armor TN is increased by +20 against both melee and ranged attacks. The force of the winds surrounding you prevents you from hearing others if they speak to you, however.

The kami can be petitioned to coalesce in an area as they do on the coast, creating a thick, obscuring fog. Within the area affected by your spell, the visibility is decreased to a meager five feet. Fabrics and other absorbent materials within the spell's area of effect will become damp or even wet if they remain within it long enough. Small sources of open flame, such as candles, might be extinguished as well, at the GM's discretion. The moistness of fog is extremely damaging to rice paper.

Swirling winds can be commanded to circle a designated target, preventing ranged attacks being made in either direction. This spell affects an area thirty feet around the target in all directions. Everyone within the affected area gains a +15 bonus to their Armor TN against ranged attacks. However, everyone within the area also suffers a penalty of -3k3 to all ranged attack rolls.

You call upon the kami to create an area of distraction surrounding you, drawing all attention away from you and your actions. The kami whisper in the ears of those within 20' of you (or of the target if you cast the spell on someone else), causing them to be conveniently distracted from your presence. You are not invisible, but those within 20' of you will not see you as long as you do not make any loud noises or otherwise draw attention to yourself. Those outside that distance are not distracted, however, and will see you perfectly well regardless of your action or inaction.

This illusion was originally devised by the Soshi family, but similar prayers have since been developed among other clans who spend time in the halls and gardens of Rokugan's courtly palaces. The spell entices the Air kami to subtly enhance the target's physical attractiveness, emphasizing his or her fest features and smoothing away any imperfections. The Air kami find this a delightful game and will often be quite creative in the tiny tricks they play to improve the target's appeal.

Mechanically, the spell negates the effects of the Disturbing Countenance and Benten's Curse Disadvantages for its duration. If the target does not possess one or both of those Disadvantages, he or she instead gains the benefits of the corresponding Advantages (Dangerous Beauty and Benten's Blessing). If the target already possesses both of those Advantages, the spell does not award any additional benefit (the Air kami find it boring to try to improve someone who is already so attractive).

the kami can see into the hearts of mortals, and can use that information at a shugenja's request. You manifest the kami as an illusion of the thing your target fears most in the world. It may be an individual (the man who killed his father), or an item (A cursed blade that brought ruin to his family), or even a vista of some sort (an image of an enemy slaying his family). This effectively generates Fear 4 that the target must overcome. Only the target can see the specifics of the illusion; others see only a hazy outline that appears to be a small fog cloud.

Essentially an extremely powerful, specific form of the basic spell Summon, Call the Spirit allows a shugenja to summon any particular spirit, regardless of its realm, to have a discussion. You may use this spell to summon any spirit from any of the spirit realms, although realm denizens that are not spirits (such as Fortunes) are immune. If you know something specific about the spirit, either having seen it before or having intimate knowledge of its actions (for example, "the spirit that killed my father"), you may summon that spirit in particular. The nature of the spell prevents the spirit from attacking you unless you attack first, but it will not necessarily be friendly. The spirit disappears as soon as the spell's duration expires. This spell can potentially summon extremely dangerous creatures, such as oni, and should be used with caution.

The prayer commonly known as Castle of Water protects the caster by creating a physical barrier of water kami to obstruct attackers. The Castle of Air, by contrast, protects the caster by creating a cunning illusion that confuses and bewilders attackers. The Air kami create a circular barrier of false sounds and images, making it incredibly difficult for attackers to actually perceive the correct location of anyone within the bounds of the Castle of Air. An attacker may believe he is striking at the caster when he is actually swinging at empty space.

The circular barrier of illusions is centered on the caster. Once cast, it remains in place regardless of whether or where the caster moves. The illusions can only be fully perceived by those who were outside of the Castle of Air when it was cast; those within the Castle when it appears can easily perceive the shadowy, insubstantial nature of the illusions. If foes from outside the Castle attempt to attack those within it, the illusions will try to misdirect or fool them. Mechanically, such attackers must make a Contested Roll of their Perception against the Caster's Air each time they try to attack someone within the Castle. A success means they manage to briefly see through the illusion and may attack normally for that Round (only). A failure means the illusion tricks them and they suffer a -5k0 penalty to their attack rolls that Round. The illusions cannot affect enemy spells, since the Air kami cannot fool other kami.

The greatest masters of the wind can create illusions of such beauty and clarity that those affected by them might truly believe they were somewhere else. You can completely alter the appearance of the terrain within the area of effect of this spell. You can make a miserable swamp loo, sound, and smell like a beautiful garden, or vice versa. Although these illusions can be extraordinarily intricate and completely convincing to all other senses, they still have no substance and cannot be touched.

This ritual was originally devised by the Kitsu sodan-senzo, but due to its widespread applicability it quickly spread to other shugenja families and schools. The Kitsu wished all Rokugani to properly venerate the ancestors, and thus had no difficulty sharing their discovery with the Isawa and the other clans as well. For those who do not have Kitsu blood, this spell is one of the very few ways in which shugenja can actually communicate with the ancestors while in Ningen-Do.

The spell is actually an hour-long ritual prayer which can only be performed in the company of a recently deceased individual's relative within twenty four hours of the funeral (which both the shugenja and the relative must have participated in properly). Other shugenja may assist in the ritual if they also know the spell; they do not need to make Spellcasting rolls, but are still considered to use up a spell slot. Once the prayer is properly completed (a successful Spellcasting Roll by the lead shugenja), the caster and the relative may both converse for a few minutes with the spirit of the recently departed. (If extra shugenja assist in the ritual, each assisting shugenja adds +1 minutes to the duration of the spell.)

Typically, this ritual is only used in situations where the living relatives want to make quite sure they are properly remembering and honoring their newly-departed ancestor. The exact results of communing with the departed relative are at the discretion of the GM, but could include learning important information, receiving advice and guidance, or taking up a task which the dead samurai left incomplete.

The ultimate gift of the wind spirits is to become like the wind itself; unseen. The wind kami surround you and render you completely invisible. No non-magical vision can detect your presence. You can still be touched, heard, and smelled, but unless you attack someone else, you remain invisible for the duration of the spell. The kami consider attacking someone to be ruining the joke, and immediately end of the spell's effect if you do so.

This spell calls on the power of Isora, the Fortune of the Seashore, to unleash a blast of storm-wracked air and lightning that smites an area within range. The sudden roaring onslaught of wind, rain, and lightning inflicts 3k2 damage on everyone within the area of effect, and they must roll their Earth at TN 30 or be Fatigued by Isora's howl. The spell also damages weak or vulnerable physical objects - paper walls will be blown out, scrolls soaked with water, etc.

Those who are fortunate enough to be blessed by the Blood of Osano-Wo are immune to the effects of this spell.

Although the ultimate secrets of the human mind are hidden ever to the winds, air kami can pluck the most immediate thoughts from the minds of others and whisper them to those who carry their favor. For the duration of this spell, you essentially hear the surface thoughts of the spell's target. You only learn things they are actively thinking about. For example, if you ask the name of the target's daughter, that name would appear in their mind instantly even if they had no intention of speaking it aloud. A Contested Roll using your Perception against the target's Awareness will also allow you to assess their true emotional state, regardless of how they appear physically.

When a priest invokes this incantation, the Air kami gather together and form a mystical lens through which the shugenja may see the world as the spirits themselves perceive it. The lens lasts only a few moments and the caster can normally only use it to observe one person or creature. That brief moment of observation, however, allows the caster to learn the target's 2 lowest Rings and the values of their constituent Traits, in effect showing part of the person's Elemental composition. Additional Rings may be learned with Raises. (If the character's Rings are all equally balanced, the spell reveals them randomly.) However, the spell cannot and will not reveal the target's Void, for that level of understanding and perception is only possible through mastery of Ishiken-do.

Although it requires great favor, the air kami are willing to coalesce into a solid form for a short period of time if they are fond enough of the priest asking them. You may create a small object out of the air itself, something that can be held in one or both hands and that does not weigh more than twenty pounds at most. This creation is an illusion, but it can be used functionally, including damage if it is a weapon. The object disappears completely at the end of the spell's duration.

This spell is a subtle illusion used to conceal a shugenja's trail from pursuers. The spell convinces mischievous Air kami to hide the tracks of the shugenja (and his mount, if any), along with any other evidence of his passage (such as broken branches). In their place it create a false trail of similar evidence leading in a completely different direction for the same distance. The illusionary trail will follow a reasonable route (e.g. it will not go straight up cliffs or directly into a lake, for example) and will normally be flawless to others' perception; however, someone tracking by scent will be able to sense the original trail, and skilled trackers can potentially see through the illusion by rolling Hunting / Perception against the caster's Spellcraft / Air.

Powerful shugenja can persuade the kami to conceal the trails of their companions (and mounts) as well as themselves, as well as lengthening the amount of trail which is concealed and replaced.

Priests of the kami are capable of inscribing powerful wards that invoke the power of the elements against all who attempt to pass them. A Symbol of Air must be inscribed on a solid object, most often a door, window, gate, or other passageway. Anyone attempting to pass through this passageway or otherwise pass by the area protected by the Symbol is affected by the protective ward. Such persons must succeed at a Contested Roll using their Earth against the caster's Air. Those who fail are affected by a powerful drowsiness, and must succeed at a Willpower Roll against the total of the Spell Casting Roll used the create the ward or fall into a deep sleep for one hour. Those affected by the spell cannot be woken by normal means, but will awaken instantly if subjected to any attack or form of harm, as the kami will not be party to such humorless tricks. You may only have one Symbol of Air in existence at any time, and Symbol spells of different elements may never affect the same area. This spell may be dispelled by another casting of Symbol of Air from any shugenja, or y destroying the surface where the Symbol was etched.

Named after the Fortune of Scribes, this powerful invocation was originally created by the Unicorn and derived from their secret Meishodo magic. So far as anyone knows, the spell has never been taught to anyone outside of the Unicorn Clan. The spell persuades the Air kami to carry the true meaning of words to the caster's ear, allowing him to perceive the tongue of foreigners. for the duration of the spell, all audible human speech within the area of effect is made intelligible to the caster, regardless of what language is used. The spell does not grant any enhanced hearing (so whispers still cannot be heard), nor does it bestow any capacity to speak in return.

Men's memories are shaky, distant things, lodged deep within their minds, and nearly all mortals possess some past sin, some shame they would rather have forgotten. This spell, a favorite of the Scorpion, causes Air kami to evoke the memories and visions of past crimes. The constant painful memories distract and distress the victim of the spell, making it difficult for him to accomplish anything. For the duration of the spell, he must call one Raise for no effect on any Skill rolls or Spellcasting rolls which he makes. if he has 3 or more points in Mental or Social Disadvantages, he must call 2 Raises instead.

It may be noted that there are a handful of stalwart souls in Rokugan who truly do not have any sins haunting their past. Such rare persons are immune to the effects of this spell; it is left to the GM's discretion whether a particular target is truly noble enough to shrug off the Whispers of the Forgotten.

Some priests of a more ascetic nature have also been known to cast this spell on themselves in order to remind themselves of their past failings and the need for humility in the face of their human frailties.

This prayer invites the kami of the Air into the mind of the shugenja himself, enhancing the shugenja's mind and thoughts, causing him to be able to make better use of his skills and knowledge. For the duration of the spell, the caster gains 1 Rank in all Skills hie normally possesses, and may benefit from any Mastery Abilities that this would award. This can only grant ranks in Skills the shugenja already possesses - the Air kami cannot evoke knowledge the caster does not possess. When the duration of the spell expires all benefits are lost and any memories of the knowledge or insight which the shugenja gained during the spell's duration are at best fuzzy; no precise or detailed account can ever be given, and severe headaches are known to plague those who try too hard.

The benefits for this spell only apply to Skills which the caster actually knows - it cannot increase the Rank of Skills which the caster has temporarily acquired through magic, nor can it combine with Advantages such as Crafty.

This extremely invasive spell is considered blasphemous by most honorable shugenja, and many respectable shugenja orders would find its use reason for excommunication if not outright execution. This spell calls upon the air kami to befuddle and dismay a target, invading their mind and influencing their ability to recall exactly what happened to them over a certain length of time. When this spell is successfully cast against a target, you must succeed at a Contested Roll using your Air versus the target's Earth. If successful, the target's memories are disrupted, and they forget what has happened to them over the course of the past week (five days). This information is completely lost to the target. What's more, the spell renders them extremely susceptible to suggestion, and you can tell them what happened to them over the course of the missing time. This allows unscrupulous shugenja to exploit others and essentially give them false memories, although certain individuals are highly resistant to tis manner of manipulation. It is possible to determine that an individual was the target of the spell through use of the Commune spell, but it requires that the kami be specifically asked if they can detect any such manipulation.

Among the innermost circles of the Kitsu family are the ancestral shugenja who carry the bloodlines of the first kitsu spirits. These secretive shugenja have discovered rituals which can persuade the Air kami to carry a message to Yomi itself, calling for the aid of an ancestral shiryo. Only Kitsu Shugenja may learn this spell, which is a secret of the sodan-senzo order.

When the spell is cast, the shugenja beseeches the ancestral spirits of Yomi to send aid. If the Spell Casting Roll succeeds, a shiryo - a spirit from Yomi - will arrive on the scene in five Rounds. Once it arrives, the spirit reclaims its mortal form, but its spiritual nature is easily sensed from the celestial glow which surrounds it. It will offer whatever aid it can to the caster, whether that be advice, knowledge, or combat, but it will not do anything dishonorable. Mechanically, a typical shiryo will have the creature trait of Spirit, and will possess a Rank of 3 in all of its Rings and Traits and a Rank of 4 in any useful Skills.

Once the spell's duration expires, the shiryo immediately returns to Yomi. It also leaves for Yomi if its physical body is destroyed (e.g. it is reduced to zero wounds).

Although this spell normally calls a "generic" shiryo, the GM may opt to allow the shugenja to summon a specific named ancestral spirit with additional Raises. The GM may also choose to have a more powerful or famous shiryo answer the spell if the specific circumstances seem to warrant it. More powerful Shiryo will possess a School as appropriate for their ancestral clan, typically with a School Rank between 3 and 5.

Just as the kami craft illusions, they can cast them aside. Within the area affected by this spell, any illusions created by spells of Mastery Level 4 or lower are automatically dispelled. Spells of Mastery Level 5 or 6 require a Contested Air Roll between you and the shugenja who created those spells; if you are successful, those illusions are dispelled as well. Ongoing magical effects that are not illusions may also be dispelled by this spell, but require a Contested Ring Roll between you and their creator, using your Air versus his appropriate Ring.

No destination is beyond the reach of the wind. With a simple prayer to the kami, you can send your words across the span of the Empire, whispering into the ear of anyone you need to send a message. The person must be someone you know, and the spell will establish a link between you two of you only as long as you concentrate. You may communicate with one another, although you only hear each other's voices as whispers. Both participants are instantly aware when the connection is forged, and either can end it at any point.

This is a dangerous and powerful spell which had appeared among ronin shugenja from time to time for almost a thousand years of Rokugani history. The spell is often regarded as wicked by clan shugenja, so those ronin who learn it guard its secrets carefully and only pass it on to their most trusted students. Typically no more than one or two shugenja in a generation will learn it. In the time of the Clan Wars, the spell's most famous user was the ronin Heichi Chokei, who claimed to be a descendent of the long-lost Boar Clan. When he was asked about the purpose of the spell, Chokei replied with a smile: "It is for whoever is brave enough to use it." In later years it also gained fame as a favored spell of Naka Kuro, the so-called Grandmaster of the Elements, and his student and successor Naka Tokei.

Facing Your Devils appears to call on the Air kami to test the kharmic and elemental balance of a soul by deliberately misaligning the target's Elements. The spell switches the highest and lowers Traits of the target for the duration. This may result in changes to the target's Ring Ranks, with potentially severe consequences (e.g. a dropping Earth Ring reducing available Wounds, for example). The caster may choose the affected Traits in case of a tie.

Those who use Facing Your Devils see it as a means to teach others the importance of balance in all things, but much more nefarious and cruel uses are certainly possible and have been employed more than once, lending the spell to a sinister reputation. The Air spirits seem to find the spell amusing, since they do not always recognize the harm it can cause.

The Moon can reveal what is hidden, but also conceal those who receive its blessings. You may summon the greater blessing of the Moon and envelop a large group of people within it, completely obscuring them from sight. Every individual you choose within the area of effect of this spell is rendered invisible to all normal senses for the duration of the spell. Those within the area that you choose to exclude are not affected. Anyone affected by the spell who performs any action that physically interacts with another individual is immediately excluded from the spell effect.

The wind can be deadly to those unprepared for its fury. You summon a powerful wind that tears through anything in its path. At your behest, the kami create a corridor of air filled with a cutting wind that inflicts a DR equal to your Air Ring +2k0 to everything in its path. (For example, a shugenja with Air 4 would inflict 6k4 damage with this spell). Paper and light cloth are destroyed instantly, although heavier cloth may only be damaged. Anyone damaged by these winds must succeed at an Earth Ring Roll (TN 20) or be Knocked Down.

Known only to true masters of magic, this spell is a secret of the Phoenix and has never been intentionally shared with any other shugenja school, not even the Imperial one. It is considered a sacred trust among the most high-ranking of Phoenix priests, and not even all of the Elemental Masters have been considered worthy of its power... for to abuse this prayer is to call down the very wrath of Heaven.

This prayer calls for the direct attention of a Fortune named by the shugenja. It may only be performed within a temple or shrine specifically devoted to that Fortune, and may never be cast more than once a month lest it anger the entirety of Tengoku. If the spell is successfully cast, a mote of the Fortune's essence will manifest within the shrine's sacred icon and the shugenja will be permitted to briefly commune with the divine being. The Fortune is neither compelled to answer questions asked nor to fulfill boons requested, and the utmost reverence must be maintained lest its immediate and terrible wrath be unleashed. However, if true reverence is offered and the cause is worthy, the Fortune may offer help available nowhere else.

The wind itself will take form to defend you. The ultimate actualization of the Summon spell, this spell summons a massive kami of pure air to serve you. It takes the form of a vaguely humanoid shape, roughly ten feet in height, with an indistinct outline visible only because of small debris caught up in its body. The kami may move up to 10' x your Air per Round, and generates powerful winds in a twenty foot radius around it that hinder movement, preventing anyone from making Simple Move Actions within its area of effect. The manifest kami is treated as if it has all Physical Traits equal to your Air Ring, and attacks with a Jiujutsu Skill rank equal to half your Air Ring (for example, a spirit summoned by a shugenja with Air 6 would inflict 6k6 damage with its attacks). For purposes of taking damage, the spirit is considered to have Wounds as though it were a human with Earth equal to your Air Ring, but suffers no Wound Penalties. It is Invulnerable. If it is successfully reduced to zero Wounds, it is dispelled.

The greatest illusory gift of the wind is legion. Within the area of effect of this spell, you can create a number of illusory figures up to your Air Ring x 10. these figures may be as detailed or as vague as you prefer (such as "Crane bushi" versus "Heavy infantry of the fourth Daidoji legion"), although you must be familiar with the appearance in order for this spell to take effect (You could not, for example, replicate a family mon that you have never seen). The figures are fully mobile and will take whatever actions you desire as long as they do not leave the spell's area of effect. They can be seen, heard, even smelled, but as with most illusions, they cannot physically interact with the objects or individuals in any way.

This secret spell is an important element in the Kolat’s methods for creating sleeper agents, but even when used by itself it is a potent weapon in the conspiracy’s arsenal. The Kolat typically use this spell when it is vitally necessary to conceal their operations without actually killing someone - typically because the person in question is too important to be easily disposed of.

Casting this spell requires the caster to hold the target by the head and focus on him for 8 hours uninterrupted; typically, the target will be bound to prevent interruptions. If contact with the target is broken for more than 3 minutes the spell will fail. At the end of 8 hours the shugenja makes a Contested Insight/Air roll against the target. If the shugenja wins the roll, the target’s thoughts and memories are rewritten and rearranged in whatever way the caster prefers. Mental Advantages and Disadvantages cannot be changed, but the target may be made to think he is someone else, to forget something that happened, to remember events or persons differently, and so forth. (This does not grant any Skill ranks, Techniques, or other actual capabilities. The target may believe he is the Elemental Master of Fire but this will not make him capable of casting spells.)

Air acolytes of some potency realize it is possible to read the minds of others, but a few shugenja have looked at this as only the beginning of what can be done with Air. Through extremely advanced and powerful invocations of the Air kami, it is possible for a shugenja to not only read the surface thoughts of another but to transit his own thoughts into the mind of that person. This is considered a highly questionable act, and the Phoenix Clan considers this spell to border on blasphemy. However, the immense advantages that can be gained from such total manipulation of another means the spell continues to circulate covertly through the Empire.

In order for this prayer to succeed, the caster must know the name of the target and must be able to see him or her clearly. Without the visual connection, the thoughts of the target will be too garbled to be decipherable, resulting only in a painful headache to both caster and target. If the name which the caster knows is false (e.g. the target is using an alias) the Spellcasting Roll suffers a +10 TN penalty as the false name confuses the spirits. Furthermore, in order to successfully impose his thoughts on the target's mind, the caster must succeed in an Contested Air Roll against the target; failure means contact is broken and both sides suffer a severe headache as above. However, if the Air roll is successful, the target will be unaware of the mental contact and for the duration of the spell will believe the thoughts springing into his mind are entirely his own. The caster must maintain partial concentration for the duration of the spell - if this is disrupted, the spell ends immediately.

A peculiar side effect of this spell is that for an hour after it ends, the caster and target will find it difficult to lie convincingly to each other, inflicting a +10 TN penalty to any Sincerity (Deceit) rolls they make against each other.

The wrath of the air kami, and the Fortune of the Wind, is truly dreadful to behold. In casting this spell, you unleash the full force of a hurricane upon your enemies. When the spell takes effect, you are standing in the eye of the storm, a zone radiating twenty feet in every direction from you, and in which no ill effects of the spell are suffered. Outside the eye, however, the brutal effects of the storm tear at everything in its path. Objects weighing less than five hundred pounds are lifted by the wind and tossed into the storm. Individuals in this area must hold on to something immobile or be cast into the winds to their certain death. Everyone within the affected region who does not have sturdy shelter suffers 1k1 Wounds each minute from the winds and minor debris. there is a one in ten chance each minute that an exposed individual will instead suffer 5k5 Wounds due to being struck by a wind-borne object. This spell lasts for a maximum of one hour, although it can last far shorter times if you are disrupted while maintaining the spell.

This spell may not be cast in a given area more than once per month, as it completely exhausts the favors of the air kami to perform it.