Xanadu - A BRP Chinese Fantasy

This essay is based on my reading of the myths and legends of the nomadic peoples of central asia, Siberia and Mongolia. Below is a useful set of links to serve as a staring point for your own researches.

Shamanic Roles in Mongol Society

These are social functions performed by shaman in Tenger/Buryat/Mongol communities. The main function of the shaman is to restore balance to the community but specialisation in a particular field is also possible. Shamans are called to perform these specialisations rather than choosing one for him or herself.

Bone-setters (barishi)

I guess someone needs to know how to do it. They also work with skin diseases, boils and other pains. Some say that they can see broken bones as accurately as an x-ray.

Midwives (bariyachi)

These women make sure that babies are born healthy and whole. All visitors during the birth must be purified by fire before they are allowed near. Although they prey to the mountain spirit in the form of a fox, foxes are taboo and are considered were-animals.

Herb Healers (aradai-emshe)

As the name says, these are healers who use herbs in their remedies. They have a great knowledge of plants and their uses. While generally women, there is nothing in the social tradition that bars a man from becoming a herb-healer.

Shaman's Assistant

Much like a knight's squire, the shaman's assistant prepares the ingredients of a ritual, warming the shaman's drums by the fire so that they sound true, and performs numerous other tasks that relieve the shaman of day-to-day worries.

Shaman-smith

A specialised type of shaman who works with metal and makes equipment empowered with the energy of the universe. In particular, such items include: mirrors, jingle cones, staves and headdresses.

Bard (uligershin)

While not a spiritual vocation per se this role developed from the more religious responsibilities of the shaman. The bard is charged with keeping the cultural traditions alive by remembering and retelling the stories of history and legend.

Cosmology

There are three worlds in the Mongol mindset which are also common to all shamanic cosmologies.

The upper world is above the clouds and is the home of the air spirits, the tenger. The tenger are ruled by Han Hormasta who defeated his rival for the throne, Atai Ulaan. Han Hormasta tore Atai Ulaan into pieces and threw him to earth where the pieces transformed into all the monsters and evil spirits.

The middle world is where we all live. It is a world of signs and symbols. Birds are messengers of the tenger. Lakes and rivers are doorways to the underworld. The spirits of the waters are ruled by Uha Lobson.

Beneath the waters, the lower world is a dry, desolate and cold place ruled by Erleg Khan who judges the souls of the dead to determine whether they will return to the middle world for reincarnation or be destroyed. Those to be destroyed are held in the prison at Ela Guren. The entrance to the lower world is guarded by Mongoldai Nagts (Uncle Mongol).

The three worlds are connected in three ways. A giant willow has its roots in the lower world, it's branches in the middle world and its leaves in the cloud world. The world mountain stands between all worlds as does the world river, named Dolbor.

The middle world is the one we are interested in. It is filled with the spirits of the air and the waters as well as evil spirits and monsters. Animals are often the agents of the spirits of the upper and lower worlds. Birds, for instance, are usually the messengers of the tenger.

One set of differences which is striking from a western point of view is that the moon is considered male and the sun female. The moon is the hunters' friend and shows the hunter his prey. The sun is constant and warming like the women who tend the hearths at home.

Shamans are outsiders, their social function is to bring the community together by healing social rifts and saving the people from the misery of human existence. This gives them a special status in society and may never be refused hospitality when the demand it. There are several stories of shaman inviting themselves to stay with a family and needing to be tricked to leave of their own free will. If the family force the shaman out, they risk an indelible curse.

Gods, Spirits and Monsters

Han Hormasta

Leader of the 55 Tenger (spirits) of the Western Sky. He fought for control of the realm of the sky with Atai Ulaan, leader of the 44 Tenger of the East and won. He tore Atai Ulaan's body into pieces and threw them down to earth where they became all the disease and evil spirits in the world. He is also known as Tengri, the Sky Lord.

His instruments are thunder and lightning. Thunder is his voice as he chastises the spirits of the world for the evil they do to humanity. Lightning is the arrows he uses to strike them down. It is said that a house struck by lightning should not be extinguished if burning because the inhabitants deserve the fate sent to them by Han Hormasta.

Erleg Khan

He is the ruler of the underworld who judges whether a soul is fit to be reborn or deserves final annihilation. He is also the current leader of the Tenger of the Eastern Sky since the death of Atai Ulaan. Bukhe Beligte bargained with him for the return of the soul of Heregdei, the wife of the hero' closest friend.

Another tradition holds that Yer, the earth spirit, and Tengri, the Sky spirit, give humans their material form and soul, respectively. After death, the soul returns to the sky while the body returns to the earth.

Mongoldai Nagts

This deity's name means "Uncle Mongol." He guards the entrance to the underworld to ensure that the living are kept out until it is their time to die and that the dead are kept inside. There are, however, many stories of shaman and ghosts who can find a way around him. The entrance to the underworld is found after journeying along Folbor, the world-encircling river.

Mother Umai

She lives in a tower surrounded by many-coloured clouds and guarded by giants with golden armour and huge iron clubs. She is the earth goddess who breathes life into all things when they are born. The Mongols say that it is she "who causes the leaves to unfurl and the roots to spread."

Uha Lobson

Uha Lobson is chief of the water spirits. He and Han Hormasta were made blood brothers in their youth. His daughter, Alma Mergen, a formidable hunter and archer, married Bukhe Beligte, the great culture hero.

Atai Ulaan

Leader of the 44 Tenger (spirits) of the Eastern Sky. He and Han Hormasta, leader of the 55 Tenger of the Western Sky, fought and Atai Ulaan lost. His body was torn to bits and scattered to earth where it became all the evil spirits and diseases that afflict humanity.

One knows the place where evil spirits live because it is dark, dry and plants in the location wither and die. Such monsters may include were-beasts and golems made of iron, gold or silver.

Bukhe Beligte (Abai Geser)

Bukhe Beligte is the middle son of Han Hormasta who came to earth, born as a human, in order to rid the world of the evil spirits and disease introduced by his father some time earlier. He is a culture hero who establishes the Mongol way of life among the people of the world.

The stars figure highly in Mongol folklore. Polaris, the Pole Star, is called the Iron Stake that the world revolves upon. The two small stars near it can call the White Horses and are said to be tied to the Iron Stake. The Pole Star is also referred to as the Smoke Hole of the Sky and is the gateway from this world to the next. The stars of the constellation we know as Ursa Major, the Great Bear, the Mongols know as the Seven Elders. They are offered mare's milk and animal offerings in return for their wisdom. Venus was to them the Shepherd's Star and flocks were moved to and from market according to the rising and setting of its bright light.

To western eyes, one glaring oddity of the Mongol cosmogony is that the moon is male - he comes and goes as he hunts - and the sun is female - she is always there tending the heart to keep people warm.

The wind is pictured in the Mongol imagination as an unruly horse which bucks and fights its way across the steppes. Thoughtless and careless people and horse are still today said to be "born of a wind."

Ancestors are a major factor in Mongol spirituality. It is they who are prayed to more often than any of the gods and spirits listed above. For instance, Genghis Khan is seen as the protector of all Mongol peoples and is often invoked for personal protection. Mongol ancestors living in specially created shrines in each home called "ongan." The Mongol regard the "Blue Wolf" of the plains and the "Red Deer" as their ultimate ancestors although exactly how and why escapes me. These animals are regarded as totems and cannot be hunted. Other animals may be used by shaman in that same way that Victorian Spiritualists looked to their spirit guides, as a source of wisdom and advice on how to deal with problems experienced by the community.

BRP Rituals and Spells

There is a simple distinction between spells and rituals. Rituals take several hours to performs and drain the caster permanently of their Bower attribute. Spells are kept in memory and take only one combat round to cast. They only cost the caster Magic Points.

Animal Command

Cost: MP
Range: sight

Match the number of MP spent on this spell against the animal's POW on the resistance table. If successful, the animal is bound to perform one action. The action must be immediate and specific such as "attack that man," "carry me home," or "stop biting me." It cannot have a condition or extended time period associated with it such as "attack the first person to emerge from that tent" or "if that man crosses the bridge, attack him." At the end of a number of combat rounds equal to the caster's POW, the spell ends and the animal flees the caster.

Eyes of Fire

Cost: 4
Range: sight

One flammable object within sight is ignited and burns with preternatural ferocity and heat. The flames generated by this spell are blue or green in colour. Flammable objects nearby may be ignited on subsequent combat rounds until the fire is extinguished. The flames cause 1D6+2 damage.

Eyes of Seeing

Cost: 1
Range: sight

The caster controls and shares the vision of one fox, wolf, eagle, sparrow or rat chosen from within eyesight. Roll Luck for a suitable animal to be present. If no animal is within sight, the spell cannot work. Once cast, the target animal may be lost from sight and the spell may always be extended.

Eyes of Truth

Cost: 2
Range: sight

Allows the caster to make a POW vs POW test on the resistance table against a magically disguised entity to see its true form. Alternatively, the caster make make an Insight skill test at +50% to determine whether a person is lying or otherwise trying to deceive. Disguise is also laid bare by this skill test.

Find/Lose Memory

Cost: 2
Range: touch

The caster can cause one specific memory to be removed or discovered in the target person. Memories cannot be altered or implanted but only lost or found. The memory relates to one specific incident, event or thing. It cannot be used to remember time spent on other planes of existence.

Heal the Cursed

Cost: 3
Range: touch

With this spell the caster can help heal the sick, cure the mad and remove curses. It allows the afflicted person to roll on the resistance table opposing his or her CON (for physical illnesses) or POW (for mental illnesses) against his or her INT. If successful, curses, madness and similar afflictions are healed or the victim regains 3D6 HP or attribute points up to the victim's original values.

Mirror See

Cost: 3
Range: touch

Using a specially blessed mirror, the caster can see places far away and the consequences of future actions of an item or person touched. The informations gained this way should be ambiguous at best as no one may know with certainty the future. Places viewed this way appear as they are at the time the spell is cast. This spell cannot be used to see the future of a location. If the item or person is not within sight, the caster must have some sort of close connection with the item or person for the spell to work.

Shapeshift

Cost: 4
Range: self

The caster transforms into the form of a natural animal or person known to the caster. He or she has all the attacks, skills and special abilities of that animal for the duration of the spell. Once cast, the shaman is trapped in that form until the spell wears off. It cannot be broken before this time limit expires.

Shatter Enemy

Cost: 5
Range: touch

The target of this spell must make a successful POW vs POW test on the resistance table against the caster's POW or shatter into 99 fragments. Examples from Mongol folklore include a giant rat shattering into 99 tiny field mice and a mosquito the size of a horse shattering into a swarm on normal sized mosquitoes.

Shatter Weapon

Cost: 1-4
Range: sight

Each MP spent causes 6HP damage to an opponent's weapon. If the weapon is reduces to 0HP or below, it crumbles instantly to dust.

Soul Rescue

Cost: POW
Range: self

Multiply the amount of POW permanently sacrificed by the caster and roll using this value on the resistance table versus the POW of the dead person to retrieve their soul from the underworld. For each day after the day the person died add one to the dead person's POW for the purposes of the resistance test. If the dead person's body has been destroyed, say by cremation, the soul cannot be recovered. If killed by wounds, the recovered soul's body is adjusted to 1HP. The caster may check his or her POW for the purposes of experience.

Soul Save

Cost: POW
Range: touch

For one point of sacrificed POW, the caster can transfer his or her soul into an inanimate object for safe-keeping. If the caster is killed in battle or by other injuries, the soul leaps from the object back to the caster's body and the caster's HP are adjusted to equal one. The object is destroyed when this happens. If the object containing the caster's soul is destroyed while the soul is encased in it, the caster's POW and MP are permanently reduced to one until the caster's soul is rescued from the underworld. In this state, the caster cannot cast spells.

Soul Transfer

Cost: POW
Range: touch

Multiply the of POW permanently sacrificed by the caster by 10 and roll using this value on the resistance table against the POW of the person the caster wishes to transfer his or her soul into. If successful, the caster takes on the attributes of the new body but retains his or her INT and POW attribute scores. All the new body's skills are replaces with the caster's own. Additionally, the caster may roll an skill roll against every one of the new body's skills which are greater than their bases chances. If successful, the caster learns that skill at 50% or its current level, whichever value is lower. The caster may tick his or her POW for the purposes of experience.

Speedy Mount

Cost: 1-4
Range: touch

Each MP adds two to a mount's MOVe score.

Spirit Ward

Cost: 1+(1-4)
Range: touch

The caster draws a circles of less than 15 yards diameter which will be protected from spiritual influences. For every MP spent more than an initial magic point, the caster reduces all skills, attacks and special abilities of a spirit or supernatural entity by 20%.

Summon Spirits/Ancestors

This collection of rituals works in exactly the same way as the Summon Demon spells in the Elric!/Stormbringer rules. Spirits such as the tenger are classified as major demon under the Elric!/Stormbringer rules and ancestors are represented as minor demons by those rules. Elementals do not exist. The rules don't need repeating here.

Surefooted Mount

Cost: 1-4
Range: touch

Each MP adds 20% to a riding or pack animal's climb and move quietly skill rolls.

Steppe Light

Cost: 1
Range: touch

Causes a cool blue light about the size of a fist to appear on the item touched or in the air in front of the caster. The ball illuminated the equivalent of a handheld torch.

Water Travel

Cost: 1
Range: self

The caster can travel either on top of a body of water or can breath underwater as easily as on land. He or she cannot do both at once but casting the spell twice will allow this. The caster's movement rate on or through water is not altered.

Wind Travel

Cost: 1
Range: self

The caster may fly through the air at his or her normal movement rate. When the spell is cast, a cloud forms around the caster's feet which seemingly transports him or her for the duration of the spell.

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