The Spirit Warrior Discipline

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Spirit Warriors are martial adepts who are strongly in tune with the spirit worlds and astral space. They use their abilities to defend their communities from both physical and astral threats, while maintaining good relations with friendly spirits as helpers and allies. Spirit Warriors are generally found only among the more primative peoples of Barsaive, much like Shamans (see the Earthdawn Magic Sourcbeook).

Many spirit warrior abilities were tested during the Scourge, when their talents became important in protecting the kaers they lived in from invasion by the Horrors.

Important Attributes: Dexterity, Strength, and Willpower

Racial Restrictions: None

Karma Ritual: To perform a Karma ritual, the spirit warrior draws a triangle within a circle on a ground and meditates there, singing songs to the spirits to gain their favor. The ritual ends when a spirit gives some sign of favor to the warrior, which may be anything from a whisper on the wind to a gout of flame from the earth to a mighty clap of thunder.

Artisan Skills: Body Painting, Tattooing, Storytelling/Oral History

First Circle

  • Acrobatic Strike
  • Air Dance
  • Astral Sight
  • Avoid Blow
  • Fireblood
  • Karma Ritual
  • Melee Weapons

Second Circle Talents

  • Durability (7/6)
  • Steel Thought

Third Circle Talents

  • Silent Walk
  • Unarmed Combat

Fourth Circle

  • Plant Talk: At the cost of 1 point of Strain, the Spirit Warrior can speak with plant spirits in the same manner as the first circle Elementalist spell of the same name.
  • Elemental Tongues
  • Thread Weaving (Spirit Weaving)

Fifth Circle

  • Physical Defense: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s Physical Defense by 1.
  • Elemental Hold
  • Gliding Stride

Sixth Circle

  • Call Ancestor: By performing a special Karma Ritual and sacrificing a Recovery Test, the Spirit Warrior can call upon the spirit of one of his ancestors or ancestral heroes. If the Karma Ritual Test overcomes the spirit’s Spell Defense, the spirit will appear and answer one question to the best of its ability or it will grant the adept a single use of one of the talents that it had in life at a rank equal to the Spirit Warrior’s Karma Ritual. This ability must be used within a day and a night of the ritual or it is lost.
  • Spirit Hold
  • Spirit Talk

Seventh Circle

  • Spell Defense: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s Spell Defense by 1.
  • Enduring Art
  • Life Check

Eighth Circle

  • Karma: The Spirit Warrior may spend karma on any action using Willpower only.
  • Safe Path
  • Spirit Strike

Ninth Circle

  • Initiative: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s Initiative dice by 1 Step.
  • Social Defense: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s Social Defense by 1.
  • Lion Heart
  • Metal Ward
  • Water Dance

Tenth Circle

  • Karma: The Spirit Warrior may spend karma on any action using Dexterity only.
  • Physical Defense: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s Physical Defense by 1.
  • Animate Object
  • Orbiting Spy

Eleventh Circle

  • Karma: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s maximum Karma by 25.
  • Cobra Strike
  • Plant Shelter

Twelfth Circle

  • Recovery: The Spirit Warrior gains an additional Recovery Test.
  • Spell Defense: Increase the Spirit Warrior’s Spell Defense by 1.
  • Summon
  • Summoning Circle

Thirteenth Circle

  • Karma: The Spirit Warrior may spend Karma on Damage Tests against spirits of all kinds.
  • Spirit Walk: At the cost of 3 Strain, the Spirit Warrior can physically enter the Astral Plane. It costs an additional 3 Strain to leave the astral. This ability is similar to the Rank 15 Lightbearer talent except that the Spirit Warrior cannot bring anyone with them.
  • Bargain with Summoned Creature
  • Spirit Mount

Fourteenth Circle

  • Physical Defense: Increase the Physical Defense of the Spirit Warrior by 1.
  • Recovery Test: The Spirit Warrior gains an additional Recovery Test.
  • Matrix Strike
  • Aura Armor

Fifteenth Circle

  • Walker Between the Worlds: At the cost of 3 points of permanent damage, the Spirit Warrior becomes highly acclimated to the astral and spirit planes and is able to function there more effectively than others. This ability adds 1 step to the adept’s Astral Sight, Spirit Strike and Matrix Strike talents.
  • Ethereal Weapon
  • Moving Earth

Half-Magic

Spirit Warriors can use half-magic to identify plants and other natural materials, different types of spirits and for gathering natural ingredients for alchemy and enchanting.

Sensing Spirits

Spirit warriors are sensitive to the nature of astral space. They may make half-magic tests to determine the presence of spirits in nearby astral space. They also have some minor half-magic summoning abilities that allow them to call and bargain with lesser spirits (primarily elemental spirits).