Bad Juju Setting and Concept

[Orion]

"You're only human." Everyone deals with this platitude. Some refuse to accept it. In an unfeeling world, even one's best effort doesn't go very far. The most talented and powerful humans can only sway society so far. And in a pre-modern age, without rapid transit and telecommunications, without video recorders, the reach of one man's influence is sadly limited. Some hunger to surpass the limits of human potential. There is a way: The "other world" where spirits reside.

The spirits come in two basic levels: the Kami, who are the thousand little gods who run the world. The Fair Ones, ancient divinities shaped and constrained by the terms of ancient spells and rituals.

There are NO Charles Atlas Superpowers in this game. Nobody is "naturally" hardcore or superhuman. Therefore, *every* PC is going to turn to magic. The types of magic practiced in the setting include:

Spells: Spells are learnable magical abilities which can be performed by humans by themselves. Sounds awesome, right? Not so much. Most spells only effect magical energies and constructs themselves. They can prepare items for enchantment, detect and analyze magic, communicate with spirits, and so on. They cannot lift a pencil.

Miracles: The reason that spells can't effect the physical world is that the physical world is controlled by the spirits. Get the spirits on your side, and the limits of magic expand. After using spells to contact a spirit, you can convince it to work miracles on your behalf. Of course, there's usually a price.

Charms: Charms are the practical basis of a magician's toolkit. A charm is a physical item which contains the promise of a future miracle. One enchants the item, and wheedles a spirit into empowering it -- it can then be redeemed for a miracle at a later date, even by someone other than the maker and outside the spirit's domain.

Pacts: A Charm is a one-shot expression of magic. Sometimes, you need a more dependable effect, or, aren't trained in the spells needed to activate charms. Instead you can make a Pact, granting you a minor, permanent blessing as long as you follow the (often stringent) rules.

Sorcery: FIXME

[Orion]

Design Notes:

This is a likely a game with skills and dicepools, not levels and bonuses. The limits of nonmagical ability in this game are pretty harsh. PCs can be very good by human standards, but no one PC can fight a dozen soldiers without using magic. There are also magical opponents who cannot be defeated by mundane means.

Magic is the answer, but magic is not something anybody gets free for writing "wizard" on the sheet. The central tension of the game is is figuring out a manageable set of prices to pay of the power you need to accomplish your goals.

EDIT: Thread Closed