Locate Power Animal
Spell, Low Magic, level 1
Summons a guardian animal spirit that serves the shaman for life, matching his level and hit points; three times a day it can fight for him, identify a spirit presence, or turn him into its shape, and while it dwells in him he cannot be possessed.
From the book
The shaman summons a guardian spirit, his power animal, to serve him. A d8 decides which beast answers: raven, hawk, eagle, fox, coyote, wolf or bear on a 1 to 7, while an 8 lets the Game Judge pick any animal native to the shaman's homeland.
The power animal always shares its master's level and hit points and grows along with him as he gains experience. It stays with him in spirit at every moment, and up to three times a day he may call on it to fight at his side for 10 minutes, to name the nature of a single spirit presence, or to turn him into its own shape for 10 minutes per caster level. While it dwells within his body, no possession of any kind can take hold of him.
The arrangement suits the spirit too: in return for its help it gets to enjoy a physical existence once more, so it is always glad when the shaman it protects calls on it, and it comes the moment it is summoned.
At a glance
- Power animal (d8)
- 1 Raven, 2 Hawk, 3 Eagle, 4 Fox, 5 Coyote, 6 Wolf, 7 Bear, 8 Game Judge's choice (any animal native to the shaman's homeland)
- Power animal stats
- Same hit points and level as the caster; rises as the caster advances
- Uses
- Up to 3 times a day: the animal fights for the caster for 10 minutes, identifies one spirit presence, or lends the caster its shape for 10 minutes per caster level
- Special
- Caster is immune to possession of any sort while the power animal resides in his or her body
- Save
- None
- Spell type
- Variable, only as stated
A scene
For four days the young Kutchin shaman Tetsoh has eaten nothing and sat alone on the ridge above the caribou crossing, drumming and waiting. On the fifth morning a raven drops out of the fog, lands on his drum, and looks at him sideways. Then it is gone, and he feels it settle inside his chest like a second heartbeat, amused, patient, and very old. Years later, when a hungry spirit in the burial grounds tries to climb into his body, it finds the raven already there, and flees.