Hârn Religion Team – Shaman rules terminology
by Trotsky
The descriptions for shamanic abilities on these pages employ the Harnmaster (1st ed.) rules, since these are probably the most popular rules for the Harnworld setting, and have been adopted as the standard by the HRT. However, if, like me, you use rules other than those of Harnmaster, you may be puzzled by some of the terminology. If so, this guide is provided for you. Please note that it provides translation only for those terms employed in pages at my site, not for the whole of Harnmaster!
Circles & Offices[edit | edit source]
Harnmaster grades a priest's ability into seven circles, which somewhat resemble the 'levels' of systems such as AD&D. Characters must usually be of at least the 3rd circle to be ordained as a priest. A priest's circle determines what invocations he can learn. To enter a particular circle, a priest must have a minimum ability ('ML') in the Ritual skill, and then convince his superiors of his fitness for that level of responsibility.
An 'office' is a rank within the Church's hierarchy, and as such, has relatively little relevance to most shamans. Each office has a minimum Circle required of its holders, but actually attaining the rank can be as much a matter of politics and suitable vacancies than of ability. It is quite possible to hold a low office but a high Circle; thus a shaman can reach 5th Circle without becoming a high priest (or equivalent).
Skills[edit | edit source]
Skills in Harnmaster are percentages. Thus a Ritual ML of 60 means a Ritual skill of 60%. Each skill has a Skill Base (SB) which is derived from the character's attributes. The starting level of a skill is derived from a multiple of this figure. Thus 'Ritual/2' means that the Ritual skill for that character starts at the characters's SB x2.
It isn't necessary to know the details of this to translate to another system. All you need to know is that the higher the number after the '/' the better a starting character would be in that skill. The names of most skills should be sufficiently clear to render translation into an equivalent in your system relatively simple.
Priests and shamans generally also get three points to spend on improving their skills or developing new ones. This should be taken to imply that not all shamans have identical skills and that the figures quoted are minimums; again the precise details are unimportant.
Invocations[edit | edit source]
These are a priest's 'spells', invoked by calling on his deity. Each invocation has two figures associated with it. The figure in Roman numerals indicates the minimum Circle required to learn the invocation, similar to 'spell level' in some systems. The number after the '/' represents the amount of 'Piety' (priestly magical energy points) required to use the invocation. Otherwise identical invocations may have different minimum Circles and Piety costs to priests of different religions.
When translating to other systems, the most important guide should be how spells of similar effect are handled in your system. If unsure, use the figures quoted as a guideline. In many systems, particular invocations may represent a range of spells. For example, the presence of the 'Cure' invocation should be taken to mean that the priest has access to healing magics in general, not necessarily one specific Cure Light Wounds spell (or whatever).
A brief summary of the effects of the invocations found on these pages follows. This includes only 'common' invocations; those unique to particular tribal religions are dealt with on the relevant pages. Don't be too literal in following the descriptions; they should really just indicate the types of magic in which a particular shaman specialises.
Harnmaster[edit | edit source]
Harnmaster (1st ed.)[edit | edit source]
- Awe
- Causes fear or panic in godless persons or adherents of an opposing religion.
- Battlelust
- Makes a number of people berserk, allowing them to fight better, but at less regard to their personal safety.
- Blessing
- Gives another person a 'luck' bonus, allowing them to improve a future dice roll. Can also be used to remove a Curse.
- Command
- Allows the shaman to control spirits allied with his deity or religion.
- Courage
- Makes another person particularly brave, negating low morale, etc.
- Cure
- General healing magic.
- Curse
- Gives another person a penalty on their next dice roll involving luck. Can also be used to impart a more substantial curse of variable effects.
- Darkness
- Creates a region of darkness.
- Divination
- Obtains information from a deity or its servants.
- Endurance
- Temporarily increases a person's endurance/CON/hit points etc.
- Exorcism
- Expels hostile spirits from a possessed person or object.
- Pain
- Used to temporarily incapacitate an opponent.
- Protection
- Creates a zone which mortal creatures must make willpower rolls/saving throws to enter.
- Regeneration
- Allows missing body parts to be regrown, albeit at a very slow rate.
- Stealth
- Increases a person's stealth/hiding skills.
- Summoning
- Calls forth a spirit allied to the shaman's deity or religion.
- Truthsense
- Allows the shaman to know when someone is lying.
- Weapon Charm
- Renders a weapon immune to damage. In systems that do not include the concept of weapon damage, a bonus to hit may be appropriate, or it might render the weapon capable of injuring creatures only affected by magic weapons.
- Woodscraft
- Increases the subject's awareness, tracking, survival, herblore and foraging skills.
HarnMaster (2nd ed./HMR)[edit | edit source]
- Awe
- Causes loss of morale in non-adherents.
- Blessing
- Makes the subject temporarily more favoured by the deity.
- Command
- The ability to control servants of the shaman's own deity/religion, and banish those of other deities.
- Commune
- Makes the shaman temporarily more favoured by the deity.
- Curse
- Brings bad luck on the victim.
- Divination
- The shaman may ask their deity one question.
- Endure
- Increases the subject's endurance/fitness/constitution etc.
- Liturgy
- Allows the subjects to voluntarily transfer divine favour from themselves to the shaman.
- Marriage
- Confers divine blessings on a marriage ceremony between adherents.
- Passage of the Soul
- Aids the soul of a departed person in its transition to the otherworld.
- Revelation
- Allows the shaman to see into the spirit world, but not enter or interact with it.
- Summoning
- Calls forth a specific spirit relevant to the shaman's deity or religion.
- Revell, Jamie (30 August 1998). "Shaman Rules Terminology". Lythia.com. Hârn Religion Team. Retrieved 7 July 2020.