Spirit FAQ
Contents
"Please Mr/Mrs spirit would you be my fetish?"
It should be expected that a Spirit will sometimes be reluctant to become a fetish. Spirits will want to know that whatever vessel they are to be housed within will be respected. The only way they can determine this is to test the individual who wishes to use the fetish.
Do not have more than 1 fetish on your person when making the request. Having more than 2 fetishes on yourself shows you already have too many, spirits may think you are not being honest no matter how legitimate your claim is. They will assume you are a walking prison for spirits and will not honor your promises.
Develop a reputation with the spirit. When you establish a friendship with the spirit, even if you are not ready to have the spirit put into a fetish, this will make it easier to ask the spirit to help you by becoming a fetish when you are ready. Also offering Chiminage before you ask for something, or even without asking for anything will make the spirit owe you... this is a great position to be in when you finally are ready to make a fetish.
Sometimes the spirit will have an issue with how appropriate the fetish is to a kind of spirit. Make sure the theme of the spirit fits the theme of the item. This will help when you are trying to convince a spirit that this is the right thing to do.
“How do I protect Gaia? How Do I eliminate Blight?”
To put it in the simplest of terms you best serve Gaia by serving the land. To do this you want to encourage Glades to grow, and eliminate blights. However it’s the nature of blight to be attracted to destruction so you cannot merely destroy more blight and hope that it will go away. The only true way to destroy blight is to have a glade child cleanse it.
Lead Glade children to blights so they can cleanse them. Kill Blight children: they will turn glades into blights and spread more blight.
Storytellers will send out glades & blights based off tags that are returned to ST Camp. We know how many we send out initially. I know for some this seems counter intuitive, but protecting Gaia is not always easy to understand.
"What’s up with Caerns & Caern Spirits?"
Caerns come in a variety of different types, and sizes. All Caerns are a “bank” for Gnosis to be stored and taken; Caerns are also a “thin point” in the gauntlet and why it is easier to enter the umbra from the Cairn’s heart. The Caern is also the home/house for the Caern spirit. The land and the Caern are as one: the health of the land will impact the growth of the Caern. The health and relationships of the Sept with each other will impact the Caern. How a Caern spirit is treated by those in the Sept will impact a Caern.
“What does the spirit get out of becoming a Caern spirit?”
Simply put: Power. This is a way in which an already powerful Gaffling Spirit can increase in Celestial rank. Being housed within a Caern automatically gives the spirit a “promotion” to Jaggling. As the sept donates gnosis, does chiminage for, and gives strength to the Caern spirit, it hopes to gain enough power to become the equivalent of an Incarna. Results may vary from Spirit to spirit and sept to sept.
"What hurts a Caern Spirit?"
Do not take the last gnosis point from the Caern. Some players in the past have taken this to mean “do not take the gnosis from the Caern”. This is not true, but an empty Caern is a very bad thing and will stunt the growth of the Caern. Do not alienate the Caern spirit. The Caern spirit is the highest ranked member of the Sept (higher than even the council of elders). If the spirit is ignored or disrespected, the Caern spirit will grow a bad attitude in response. If you’re growing a plant, don’t water it with Coke Zero. Think of it like a friendship; friendships take work, you call them up out of the blue to ask them how they are doing. You invite them over to watch a movie or go out to a meal, and you show interest in what concerns them, and listen to them. If you only call a friend when you need to borrow their truck and help you move, the relationship becomes strained, and they feel you are just using them. Caern spirits have feelings too, respect that.
Do not allow the Caern to be violated. This is a Garou litany tenet, but all types of Shifter know to not let this happen. The Caern can be made into a Hive... this is bad. The Caern can have its gnosis taken by other creatures than just shifters, keep it hidden or you may find other supernaturals wanting to eat your Caern's gnosis.