Spells

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.