Cult of the Soul Eater The origins of the Soul Eater are unclear. However, some scholars believe this deadly god is the ghost of Krajabor, god of destruction and dissolution, who was slain during the Gods War. The Soul Eater is the god of spiritual death, considered by most Gloranthans to be ultimate destruction. His worship appeals to those who hate their enemies so much, they are willing to destroy even their immortal soul to be able to do likewise to their enemies. He is not a popular god, but has always had a few adherents. His runes are Spirit, Death, and Chaos. The cult of the Soul Eater is an extremely small "spirit cult". There are no priests or lords of this religion, only shamans. The cult only offers cult special runemagic, cult special spirit magic, and any personal magic the shamans of this cult may be able to teach. No divine intervention is ever done by this god. However, due to it's deep ties with Chaos, and the concentrated energy it gains from sacrifice, the Soul Eater can provide runespells whose destructive power rivals and sometimes exceeds that of many greater gods. In addition, the way spells are paid for is different than that of other gods. Initiates and Shamans of this cult have characteristic called Hollow POW. An initiate's Hollow POW starts at 1. To purchase the ability to cast a Runespell, they do not sacrifice POW, they gain Hollow POW. Every holy day (Wild Day/Death Week/Darkness Season), initiates and shamans gain an additional point of Hollow POW. When an initiate or shaman's Hollow POW equals his POW (plus fetch POW), his spirit is consumed, and his soul ceases to exist. There is no way to reduce Hollow POW, or prevent the gain of Hollow POW. Instead of praying to regain runespells, cultists use the POW of spirits they have eaten. This is called a cultist's "Sacrifice Pool", or "SP" for short. Some spells, notably the Initiation Ceremony, and Eat Soul adds POW to this pool. All other spells require POW from this pool on each spell casting. A cultist may cast his Runespells as often and as quickly as he desires, as long as he has Sacrificed Pool POW to pay for it (subject, of course, to the "one spell per round" limit). If the pool is exhausted, the cultist may use his own POW instead. If a Soul Eater runespell is traded, or stolen by another chaos cultist (Vivamort, Thanatar), the being who gains the spell gets Hollow POW equal to the price of the spell acquired. Thereafter, that cultist gains 1 Hollow POW each Soul Eater holy day, and his soul will be eaten when it reaches his POW. Laymember There is no Laymember status in the Soul Eater cult. Initiate Enrollent: Willingness to join Tithe: Whatever the shaman requires; usually 10% or less Spells: Spirit Magic: Detect Hate Runespells: Engage Spirit, Drain Spirit, Dead Spirit, Destroy Magic, Final Strike, Eat Soul Skills: None Retribution: Loss of runespells Spirit Magic - Detect Hate Instant/Focused/2 Points This spirit spell gives the direction and distance of any individual who is currently consumed with hate. It also makes them glow to the eyes of the caster. The spell is stopped by 3 or more meters of stone or metal. Initiate Accessable/"Resusable" Runemagic - Engage Spirit Cost -- Gain 1 Hollow POW Range - 180 meters Duration - 15 Minutes Nonstackable -1 SP POW per cast This spell may be cast at any disembodied spirit within range. If the spirit's mana is overcome, it must fight the caster in spirit combat. It cannot escape. This spell may be used on a dying individual as well. If the spirit is defeated, it may be immediately consumed via Eat Soul. Drain Spirit Cost -- Gain 1 Hollow POW Range - Personal Duration - Instant Stackable -1 SP POW per cast Each point of this stackable spell lowers the target's MP by one. There is no resistence roll, however the effect may be blocked by Countermagic and Shield. Dead Spirit Cost -- Gain 2 Hollow POW Range - Personal Duration - 15 Minutes Nonstackable -2 SP POW per cast The caster's spirit becomes dead. The caster cannot use any magic, but is likewise unaffected by any magic requiring a POW vs POW roll. The caster can't engage or be engaged in spirit combat, is invisible to spirits, and does not glow to any detect spells except Detect Undead. The caster may walk unnoticed through Warding spells, and even temple defenses. While the spell may be dropped, it cannot be Dispelled. Destroy Magic Cost -- Gain 2 Hollow POW Range - 180 meters Duration - Permanent Stackable (to 4) -1 SP POW per point Each casting of this spell destroys a magical property of a target. If the spell (with any extra Mana) penetrates countermagic, the caster engages in a MP vs MP contest (an object's Mana is the combined POW of all its magic). If it is overcome, the target looses one property at random. The caster must pay for each point of destroyed magic with 1 SP POW. If the caster does not have enough SP to pay for it, any remaining cost comes from his personal POW. This spell may be stacked, in which case more than one magical property is lost at the same time. Final Strike Cost -- Gain 3 Hollow POW Range - 180 meters Duration - Instant Nonstackable -1 SP POW per point This spell only works at the instant when a Soul Eater cultist dies. With it, the cultist may use the remainder of his Sacrifice Pool to cast as many Soul Eater spells as he has POW for (including those he didn't sacrifice for). He may also use his personal POW down to his Hollow POW. Eat Soul Cost -- Gain 3 Hollow POW Range - Touch Duration - Permenent Nonstackable -3 SP + Spirit POW This spell may only be used against a spirit defeated in spirit combat. It consumes the spirit, destroying its soul, and adding its POW to the cultist's Sacrifice Pool. Each time this spell is cast, it costs 3 SP points, so no benefit is gained from eating a spirit of 3 POW or less. Allied Shaman Enrollent: Be a shaman, willingness to join Tithe: None Runespells: Initiation Ceremony Retribution: Loss of runespells Initiation Ceremony Cost -- Gain 1 Hollow POW Range - Touch Duration - Permenant Nonstackable +1 SP POW per cultist This spell initiates one or more beings into the cult. The cultist pledges his soul to the Soul Eater, in exchange for the power to destroy a hated enemy. The new cultist is expected to ask for more Hollow Pow to pay for the spells he requires. For each initiate consecrated, the Shaman adds 1 POW to his Sacrifice Pool. Spirit of Retribution The Soul Eater does not care if any betray it. The cultist simply looses the ability to cast cult special runespells. However, whether or not the ex-cultist worships the Soul Eater, the cultist still gains one point of Hollow POW each holy day of the Soul Eater, and will be consumed when this reaches the cultist's POW. Neither illumination nor death changes this in any way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ By: Steve Maurer (steve@tfs.com)