Though not everyone agrees I have never considered the spirit magic list within any version of Runequest to be exhaustive, they are just list of Spirit Magics which are most applicable to game play.
Magic is not extraordinary in Glorantha and is something most people practice as a day to day principle. The concept that magic is a rare thing for adventures and powerful characters only is something which in my opinion is alien to the world of Glorantha and belongs in other (lesser) fantasy universes.
I have always thought there have been numbers of minor charms, spells and incantations used by mundane folks to make their lives easier and more prosperous. Below I give a table of those i am making available in my games. All of the spells below works off standard spirit magic rules.
They don’t create or permanently alter reality, but they do recall, communicate , enhance, restore or temporary change the state of items, in the same way most spirit magic does.
Most of these will not have significant game usage for combat and adventurers, but I think that noting there existence and defining them adds colour to the game world, and allows refs to drop some nice npc’s effects in from time to time.
Due to the temporal nature of spirit magic these may need to be used multiple times in day for some key tasks and thus day to day life can be spiritually as well as physically exhausting.
Sometimes in long processes such as crafting the magic rituals are enacted at the key moment or most difficult and delicate work so they can have effect over the whole process though the spell is not active for that long.
Also many of these spells have very specific uses and as such non adventures can use up a lot of their free charisma with more mundane spells form this list rather than the standard battle magic listed in the main rulebook.
However some may have PC usage and PCs should be able to access these id they desire and have the right cult connections. However i’ve tried to make the more useful spells very specialised.
I have blatantly pilfered the list of feats from HQ Storm Tribe book. This has lead me to reference minor cults not yet references in RQG but I am happy to go with them for the time being.
| Name(s) | Cost | Effects | Frequency | Most Common Sources |
| All Mothers Song | 1 | Makes a nursing baby settle and sleep | Common | Ernalda, Chalana Arroy |
| Awaken, Rigsdals Voice | 1 | Wakes all sleeping friends within 15 meters | Unusual | Rigsdal, Elmal |
| Bare Pain, Bears Pain, Bulls Hide | 2 | Caster is able to act and ignore pain modifiers | Unusual | Gustban, Odayla, Urox |
| Berens Saddle | Var | +5% per point for ride skill | Unusual | Elmal, Redalda |
| Bless Cow, Uraldas Touch, Eriatha’s Hands | 1 | Bless a cow so she produces increase milk cast just before milking | Common | Uralda, Eiriatha, Banatar |
| Blessed Greeting | Var | +5% to initial social rolls on meeting a new person | Common | Issaries, Chalana Arroy, |
| Call Animal, Call Mount | 1 | Calls an animal known and friendly to the caster( Mount, alynx & dog) over a relatively short distance | Common | Heler, Dog Brother, Redelda |
| Call Mist | 1 | Call a mist out of a climate and weather suited to it | Rare | Heler |
| Call Wyter | 1 | Opens Communication with the Clan Wyter | Rare | Orlanth, Elmal, Daka Fal, Lhankor Myh |
| Calm Animal | 1 | Calms a disturbed but usually docile domestic animal such as a bull, oxen, horse or dog | Common | Uralda, Eiriatha, Dog Brother, Redalda, Elmal |
| Calm Stranger | Var | +5% on all roles to calm strangers down and avoid combat | Unusual | Chalana Arroy, Issaries |
| Clamber | Var | +5% per point for climb skill | Common | Heler, Foundchild, Lanbril |
| Comfort Song | 1 | Removes pain from the ill injured and dying | Common | Chalana Arroy, Ernalda |
| Count Money | 1 | Allows the fair and accurate counting of money | Unusual | Issaries |
| Cover Tracks | 1 | Covers all visible tracks from a normal human, does not affect scent | Unusual | Founchild, Odayla, Lanbril |
| Crones Wisdom, Elders Sight, Chieftains Wit | Var | +5% empathy boost for empathy or insight based rolls | Rare | Asrelia, Ernelda, Orlanth |
| Decipher text(Language) | Var | +5% per point boost on read rolls | Unusual | Lhankor Myh |
| Detect Fish | 1 | Detect the presence and location of fish in the water | Common | River & Sea Gods |
| Donodars Voice, The Players Fingers | Var | Boost to entertainment roles +5% per point | Unusual | Donadar |
| Find Child, Vingas Call | 1 | Will locate and summon children related to the caster withing with a 50m radius | Common | Vinga , Ernalda, |
| Find Shallows | 1 | Finds shallows and channels in unknown waters adding +15% per point so sail skill when navigating shallows | Unusual | River Gods, Sea Gods |
| Follow Trail | Var | +5% per point when tracking | Common | Foundchild, Odayla, Yinkin |
| Haze | 1 | Induces a euphoric high on the caster or willing recipient -20% on all skills rolls, but character is immensely happy | Unusual | Eurmal, Lanbril, |
| Heal Plant | 1 | Heals Damage to plants from parasites, disease and drought. | Unusual | Ernalda, Aldrya |
| Helers Shield | 1 | Waterproofs a character from the discomfort(but not risk) of rain or snow | Unusual | Heler, River Gods |
| Hide Scent | Var | Ads 5% per point to hiding from animals that detect by scent | Unusual | Foundchild, Odayla, Yinkin |
| Humakts Word, Sages Oath, Virgins Truth, Lights Righteousness | Var | Make a truthful oath more convincing +5% modifiers for each point to relevant social tests | Unusual | Humahkt, Lhankor Myh, Vinga, Yelmalio |
| Knock Down | 2 | Overcome power to knock a foe off their feet | Unusual | Maran Gor |
| Know Lineage | 1 | Allows a shaman or sage to know to ancestry of any individual from his or her people group | Rare | Lhankor Myh, Daka Fal |
| Lovers Delight | Var | Intensifies the pleasures of sex, +5% per point of seduction and other rolls involving sex. | Common | Uleria, Yinkin |
| Magastas Pole | 1 | Gives the caster an innate sense of where they are in relation to magastas pool | Unusual | River & Sea Gods |
| Makers Song (trade) | Var | +5% for the craft role for relevant craft per point of spell | Common | Issaries, Gustbran, Banatar, Asyrelia |
| Matron’s Sigh | Var | Improves first aid rolls around midwifery & birth | Common | Ernelda, Chalana Arroy |
| Ogres Stare, Bullmans Breath | Var | +5% on all intimidate rolls per point of spell | Unusual | Eurmal, Urox |
| Open Doorway | 1 | Opens None Magical Doors of Normal Size | Common | Issaries |
| Otters Tail, Mermans Tail, | Var | Improves swimming rolls by +5% per level | Common | River Gods, Sea Gods |
| Plowsharp, Furrow, Turn Ground, Banatars Blade, | 1 | Allows a plow to move smoothly and deeply through the ground, giving deeper planting on the affected land and a better harvest at the end of the year. | Common | Ernalda, Banatar, Grain Goddesses |
| Predict Weather | 1 | Predict the broad weather pattern the area the caster is standing in the next 24 hours | Unusual | Heler, Orlanth |
| Quantify Goods | 1 | Allows a correct understand of quantities if goods | Unusual | Issaries |
| Quick Knot | 1 | Ties a normal knot in any suitable non living material | Unusual | River Gods, Sea Gods |
| Recall Knowledge | 1 | Brings hard to recall information back into mind | Rare | Lhankor Myh |
| Repel Parasites, Dostars Crop, | 1 | Drives insects and other parasites away from crops, needs casting regularly to keep crops free. | Common | Ernalda, Banatar, Grain Goddesses |
| Repel Vermin | 1 | Drives rats and other small vermin away from food stores. Needs casting regularly to keep them away | Common | Ernalda, Banatar, Grain Goddesses |
| Scribes Quill | Var | +5% for transcribing and copying texts | Unusual | Lhankor Myh |
| Sense Thief, Garzeens Sense | 1 | detects someone with the intent to steal valuables or other possessions | Unusual | Issaries |
| Sober Up | 1 | Sobers self or target up instantly | Common | Banatar, Rigsdal |
| Speakers Glow | 1 | Cast a subtle light around a speaker or leader that draws eyes to him | Rare | Yelmalio. Elmal, Yelm |
| Vim | 1 | Renews energy and extends time for Physical action by 4 hours per day | Unusual | Chalana Arroy, Ernelda, Uleria |
I love it! I’m also of the opinion that the list of spirit spells is by no means exhaustive. However, when you tell a player she can make new spells up, they end up looking at the existing list. So perhaps having a list is a curse. And even more so with a looonger list!
On the other hand, what’s the difference between a cult spirit spell and a rune spell? Aren’t both coming from a god with particular myths that initiates try hard to emulate? So why is there such a limit. Temples should only teach rune magic, in my opinion, and it should include all of the spells you list in this post. Accordingly, only shamans or spirits should teach spirit magic.
Absolutely love them. Stealing them all for my game. THANKS!
Very, very cool!
A good show don’t tell about how everyday and normal magic is in Glorantha. Love it!