Maho

This subtle curse causes a samurai to manifest his clan’s most stereotypical and notorious behavior. For example, a Crab might become more crude, intolerant, and ruthlessly pragmatic, while a Phoenix might become more arrogant and obsessed with magical power. The changes are signifi cant but not overwhelming, and the victim of the spell will try to rationalize and justify his behavior. If a PC is targeted with this spell the GM should present the situation as a role-playing challenge rather than dictating how the character is played.

This spell summons dark kansen to consume and destroy the substance most inimical to them : jade. The caster may target any one jade item, weapon, or object within the spell’s range (he must be able to see it). The jade is instantly corrupted, its blessed properties annihilated by an overwhelming saturation of Taint. Only a foul black slime is left behind. This spell cannot affect an awakened nemuranai (magical relic) that contains jade.

Maho-tsukai use this spell to leave hidden messages, either to communicate with each other or to intimidate others. The message is written in blood onto any fl at surface, and may be up to ten words long (Raises can be taken to lengthen the message). When the message is completed, the blood will sink into the surface and disappear, reappearing later when a condition set by the caster is fulfi lled. Conditions for the message’s reappearance can be as simple or as complex as the caster might desire, so long as they are conditions the kansen can reasonably perceive (GM’s judgment).

This spell is favored by Bloodspeaker cell leaders, who use it to maintain psychological dominance over their followers. The spell’s name is an ironic joke within the cult’s ranks. The spell creates a false aura of calm and well-being that lasts for several hours. This makes it difficult for them to focus their attention or resist appeals from others. Anyone who is within the spell’s area of effect, or who enters it while the spell is in effect, suffers a -1k0 penalty to all Skill and Trait rolls that use Awareness or Willpower.

This spell inscribes a sinister ward onto a flat surface. The caster writes the ward in the blood he spill to cast the spell, and once inscribed the ward cannot be destroyed except by physically destroying the surface on which it is written. The ward causes its victims’ blood to become sluggish and cold. Anyone other than the caster who enters the area of effect suffers a -2k0 penalty to all physical Actions. The effect only applies while they are within the area of effect, and does not stack with other Symbols of Blood.

This spell is used by maho-tsukai to quickly bring forth undead warriors to protect themselves or slaughter their enemies. It must be cast on a corpse which is within the spell’s range ; it cannot target a living creature. The corpse will be animated by a kansen, rising up and serving the caster as best it can. Mechanically, the animated corpse is considered a zombie (as per the Book of Void, page 331). It obeys any simple commands (such as "kill them" or "wait here") from the maho-tsukai who summoned it.

This unpleasant curse impedes the victim’s ability to heal and recover from injury and sickness. The victim becomes pale and weak, exuding an unpleasant body odor, and is unable to heal Wounds normally or from applications of the Medicine skill. The victim also is unable to recover from illnesses or poisons, and suffers a -2k0 penalty to any roll made to resist the effects of a poison or disease. Magical healing can still affect the target normally.

This subtle and sinister spell causes the target to experience dreams of committing dark, sinful, and dishonorable acts. It can only be cast on a person who is either sleeping or in a situation where they could easily fall asleep (resting, meditating, etc). The caster need not know exactly where the target is located. So long as the target is within the spell’s range, the spell will succeed. Due to the impact of these disturbing and distracting dreams, the victim of this spell becomes vulnerable to future manipulation by the caster.

This unpleasant curse ruins food and drink, rendering it foul, diseased, and inedible. The effects of the spell are obvious : food becomes rotten, water turns foul and discolored, and so forth. The food and water lose all nutritional value and anyone who eats or drinks must roll Stamina at TN 20 or become severely ill, suffering a -3k0 penalty to all Skill, Trait, and Spell Casting rolls. The illness is incurable with medical treatment and will last for two weeks unless magically cured.

This subtle maho spell causes distracting kansen to cluster around the target, disrupting his connection to the true Void. The target immediately loses one Void point, and cannot regain it for the duration of the spell.