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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Korgoth" data-source="post: 5403408" data-attributes="member: 49613">I'm glad that it's working for you! I do think it's important to give the spirits access to magics to which the PCs do not have access. In OD&D (or "Ruins & Ronin"), where casts can only go as high as 6th level spells anyway, these could be the higher level spells from the supplements and/or just especially potent magics custom-designed by the Ref; also, the top-tier spells (5th level Cleric/Sohei spells or 6th level Magic-User/Shugenja spells) could require the active consent or assistance of a spirit to even cast.In 3E, I think it would work as you said, assuming you're capping advancement to a suitably low level such as in E6 (which seems to me to be the way to play 3E, but that's another matter).In 4E, the answer seems to be Rituals; these would be for spirits only (just as coffee is for closers only).I don't tend to think much about the more open-ended Old School systems like BECMI/1E/2E, but I suppose in those rules you could likewise require top-tier spells to have the consent or assistance of a spirit.Another possible way to go would be to use the notion of "spell components" and have them all based on spirits. That would take some work, but having all magic need stuff like "the tears of a kappa" or "an echo of the laughter of Lord Karo of the Frozen Groves" would be pretty darn cool.Even another, less flavorful but less labor-intensive, approach would be to require spell scrolls as spell components. To cast a spell, you not only have to "know" it (whatever that entails in your system), you also have to have the scroll! Which is maybe even used up when you use the spell (I guess that's another take on prayer scrolls)... maybe the scroll has to be burned, or maybe it burns up on its own, or maybe it simply loses its magic but still looks just like it did before (if you prefer your magic subtle to keep those non-believers guessing). And what do you need to make spell scrolls? You guessed it: spirits have to be involved somehow.</blockquote>

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