Spell fetishes were the spellcasting implements used by the arcane and some divine spellcasters of the Malatran Plateau in Kara-Tur. In lieu of spellbooks and material components that did not exist on the Plateau, wizards used various effigies, totems, and trinkets to store the knowledge of the magic in.[2][3][4] This unique phenomenon that made Malatran magic different from anywhere else on Toril was due to an ancient and mysterious Pact of the Ancients and the fact that all magic was drawn from and fueled by elemental and spirits.[5]
Description[]
Spell fetishes were as varied as the spells they contained, from pretty rocks to intricate carvings and poppets. Instead of pouring over their spellbooks, Malatran arcane casters nightly meditated over the selected fetishes to memorize their magical incantations and formulae. Divine magics were sometimes channeled through similar fetishes that could act like a divine focus – a holy symbol crafted out of rocks, bones, skins, feathers and other jungle materials,[4] or be more artistically complex carvings, consumed with use.[6] Such divine fetishes could have a single use or a set number of casting and with each use, the fetish slowly decayed from the inside, eventually becoming fragile and crumbling to dust.[7]
The Kukalatu tribe had a more unique approach to fetishes, of fi in the Kukalatu language. They exclusively used bones, teeth, and hair of the deceased tribe members, usually respected individuals or elders. The older the ancestral fetishes were, the more powerful they became.[8][9]
Some fetishes required an olfactory component of meditation. Such charms as the stinking cloud spell fetish, made of a broken shell of a rotten egg, or the sleep spell fetish made with died nemuri within a gourd, required the spellcaster to inhale the smells of the fetishes during their meditation.[10] Others required the caster to meditates on mental images and imagining of certain scenarios. For example, the enlarge spell fetish depicted a carving of a fat Nubari and while meditating, the casted needed to focus on the man's size and imagine how he came to be so large.[11]
Some arcane spellcasters of the Living Jungle were able to tap into dark necromantic magics, despite generally spells of the school not functioning on the Malatran Plateau.[5] Headshrinkers, Malatran necromancers, learned to side-step the use of spirit magic of the fetishes by creating phantorrens, a type pf enchanted container that contained spirits drained from living humanoids. This device was limited to the spells of the schools of necromancy and alteration.[12]
List of Fetishes[]
| Name | Spell | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Affect normal fires spell fetish[13] | Control flames | ? |
| Alter self spell fetish[14] | Alter self | Two multicolored feathers. |
| Audible glamer spell fetish[13] | Ghost sound | ? |
| Blink spell fetish[15] | Blink | ? |
| Blur spell fetish[16] | Blur | ? |
| Branch to branch spell fetish[6] | Branch to branch | A small piece of petrified vine. |
| Cat's grace fetish[17] | Cat's grace | Tufts of reddish fur attached to both sides of a smooth stick. |
| Ceramic keen edge spell fetish[18] | Keen edge | A small ancient ceramic knife. |
| Change self spell fetish[19] | Change self | A dried hind leg of a chameleon. |
| Charm monster spell fetish[11] | Charm monster | A smooth garuda bone decorated with the Wise Ones's symbols. |
| Charm person spell fetish[20] | Charm person | Hide of aikyoo lizard. |
| Clairvoyance spell fetish[21] | Clairaudience/clairvoyance | An eagle's skull. |
| Cone of cold spell fetish[22] | Cone of cold | A small cone made of brass. |
| Continual flame spell fetish[17][18] | Continual flame | A piece of hardened wood with perfect grain and orange hue. An ancient ceramic figurine of a torch. |
| Dancing lights spell fetish[23] | Dancing lights | Three miniature torches with fire made of bright feathers. |
| Dig spell fetish[15] | Dig | ? |
| Dispel magic spell fetish[11][22][7] | Dispel magic | A bag of mundane powder of any kind. A gemstone once owned by a spelljamming evil mage named Grimace. A pearl. |
| Displacement spell fetish[24] | Displacement | ? |
| Demi-shadow monsters spell fetish[25] | Greater shadow conjuration | A piece of a smoky crystal that reflected light in eerie shifting shapes. |
| Enlarge spell fetish[13][11] | Enlarge | A figurine of a fat man. |
| Evard's black tentacle spell fetish[26] | Evard's black tentacles | A small bit of tentacle. |
| Feather fall spell fetish[8] | Feather fall | A pouch with a finger bone of a wizard. |
| Feeblemind spell fetish[27] | Feeblemind | ? |
| Feign death spell fetish[28] | Feign death | ? |
| Find familiar fetish[29] | Find familiar | ? |
| Flame arrow spell fetish[30][25] | Flame arrows | An arrowhead decorated with red parrot feathers. An arrowhead of carved obsidian. |
| Fly spell fetish[14] | Fly | A small bag with a small bird's bones. |
| Fog cloud spell fetish[23][31] | Fog cloud | A rare purple rock with a foggy pattern. A piece of quartz. |
| Freedom of movement divine spell fetish[32] | Freedom of movement | A black pebble polished by running river waters. |
| Friends spell fetish[33] | Friends | A statuette of two Nubari holding hands. |
| Gaze reflection spell fetish[11] | Gaze reflection | A flat rocked polished to be reflective. |
| Grease spell fetish[34] | Grease | ? |
| Gust of wind spell fetish[24] | Gust of wind | ? |
| Haste spell fetish[6] | Haste | ? |
| Healing circle spell fetish[24] | Mass cure wounds | ? |
| Hold person spell fetish[35] | Hold person | A metal needle. |
| Hypnotic pattern spell fetish[11] | Hypnotic pattern | A rock of swirling colors. |
| Infravision fetish[33] | Darkvision | A tone carved with wavy lines. |
| Invisibility spell fetish[6] | Invisibility | ? |
| Irritation spell fetish[25] | Irritation | A leaf of poison sumac shrub. |
| Jump spell fetish[21] | Jump | A piece of amber with a cricket suspended within. |
| Levitate spell fetish[13][8] | Levitate | A pouch with a finger bone of a wizard. |
| Light spell fetish[20] | Light | A piece of obsidian. |
| Lion necklace[36] | Taunt | A necklace of a lion's head carving. |
| Magic circle against evil spell fetish[24] | Magic circle against evil | ? |
| Magic missile spell fetish[20] | Magic missile | A small jade arrow carving. |
| Major image spell fetish[27] | Major image | ? |
| Message spell fetish[19][37][11] | Message | A bright tail-feather of a parrot. A small rock engraved with an image of a blowing wind. |
| Minor creation spell fetish[27] | Minor creation | ? |
| Mirror image spell fetish[34] | Mirror image | ? |
| Misdirection spell fetish[23] | Misdirection | A poppet woven of lizard skin and feathers with its limbs akimbo. |
| Polymorph other spell fetish[6][35][22] | Polymorph other | A piece of ancient ceramics engraved with magic symbols. A mall bag with a lizard's scale, bat's fur, leopard hair, tiger katanga claw, a fishscale, and a frog's leg. |
| Protection from normal missiles spell fetish[34] | Protection from normal missiles | ? |
| Pyrotechnics spell fetish[29] | Pyrotechnics | ? |
| Ray of enfeeblement spell fetish[30][11] | Ray of enfeeblement | A poppet shaped to look like a geriatric warrior or being a weak limp pose. |
| Scare spell fetish[38] | Scare | ? |
| Scrying spell fetish[24] | Scrying | ? |
| See invisibility spell fetish[27][21] | Detect invisibility | A piece of white, soft, and powdery tone. |
| Seeming spell fetish[39] | Seeming | A hollow ancient ceramic egg with a pangolin katanga figurine inside. |
| Shadow conjuration arcane spell fetish[32] | Shadow conjuration | A piece of a smoky crystal that reflected light in eerie shifting shapes. |
| Shaman spell fetish[6] | Heal | A small statuette of a Nubari woman with tiny gems for the eyes. |
| Shatter spell fetish[29] | Shatter | ? |
| Shield spell fetish[37][19] | Shield | Small ivory carving of a shield. |
| Sleep spell fetish[20] | Sleep | Dried nemuri plant inside a small gourd. |
| Slow spell fetish[15] | Slow | ? |
| Sound burst spell fetish[40] | Sound burst | A piece of cracked crystal. |
| Spectral forces spell fetish[16] | Major image | ? |
| Spectral hand fetish[33] | Spectral hand | A shrunken Nubari hand on a stick. |
| Spider climb spell fetish[23] | Spider climb | A small ball of spiderweb. |
| Spook spell fetish[33] | Spook | A piece of wood with a carved image of a scary mask. |
| Status spell fetish[24] | Status | ? |
| Stinking cloud spell fetish[20] | Stinking cloud | A shell of a rotten turtle egg. |
| Strength spell fetish[39][30][19][17] | Bull's strength | A bone of a large garuda wrapped in panther fur. A scale from a gnasher garuda. A piece of garuda horn etched with an image of battling garuda and dyed with berry juice. A small carving of a saru. |
| Suggestion spell fetish[41] | Suggestion | A small lyre that could not be played. |
| Summon monster spell fetish[31] | Summon monster IV | A small jade wolf statuette. |
| Taunt spell fetish[34] | Taunt | ? |
| Tongues spell fetish[42][26] | Tongues | Three bones tied with a leather thong. A dried up lizardman tongue. |
| True strike spell fetish[40] | True strike | An arrowhead engraved with runes. |
| Wall of fog spell fetish[37] | Wall of fog | ? |
| Water breathing spell fetish[16][31] | Water breathing | Crawfish shell |
| Web spell fetish[16][30][26] | Web | A polished piece of obsidian etched with a spiderweb pattern. A bit of spider's web. |
| Wind wall spell fetish[24] | Wind wall | ? |
| Whispering wind spell fetish[37] | Whispering wind | ? |
Notable Users[]
- Abu the Lackey, a katanga snake oil salesman and a trinket seller.[41]
- Bengoukee, a prolific shaman of the Tribe of Big Chief Bagoomba.[13]
- Ffft, a tiger katanga a confident adventurer who collected numerous fetishes as souvenirs of past encounters.[43]
- Kima, a young saru who hoped to learn magic by practicing with several spell fetishes gifted to her by a jungle wizard.[20]
- Kural, a selfish and greedy korobokuru shaman who hated the Council of Elders.[28]
- Rowr, a dim-witted tiger katanga, an aspiring adventurer.[40]
- Starr, a lacerial shaman.[35]
- Taronee, an infamous shaman of the Koshiva people.[19]
- Tolo, the chief of the Tokotatiana korobokuru tribe.[31]
- Trueblood, a lacerial crafter of spell fetishes.[44]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
Appearances[]
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
From the Gods of Fire Mountain • To Fight for a Tiger's Honor • The Search for Blue Heron • The Revenge of the Exile • The Lost Tribe of Fire Mountain • Allies or Enemies • Along the River of Laughing Idols • The Lonely Chief • Swarm • Warriors of Katimaya • Come the Lion • Come the Tiger • The Courage of a Coward • The Curse of Fire Mountain • Curse of the Lizard King • Dark Shadow Over Kuamu • Death from Above • Eat, Drink, and Be Merry • Iron Will • Lair of the Headshrinker • Sharp Teeth, Mostly Tasty • Ship from the Sky • An Army of One Thousand • On the Lookout! • Monkey City • Terror from Below • To Catch a Feathered Shu • Trembling Village • Web of Destruction • Herd • It Came from the Sky • Mantu's Sacrifice • Necromancer's Stone • Recipe for Disaster
Referenced only
Day of the Saru I • Death from the Mists • Legacy of the Headshrinker • Dark Suns • Out for a Stroll
Day of the Saru I • Death from the Mists • Legacy of the Headshrinker • Dark Suns • Out for a Stroll
References[]
- ↑ Steve Null (July 1997). Sharp Teeth, Mostly Tasty (PDF). Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/From the Gods of Fire Mountain
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/To Fight for a Tiger's Honor
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Uncredited (December 1994). “Heroes of Malatra”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #102 (TSR, Inc.), p. 13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Stephen H. Jay, Thomas Prusa (November 2001). The Jungle Book of Malatra (PDF). Living Jungle (RPGA), pp. 46–47.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/The Lonely Chief/Certificates
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Daniel S. Donnelly (November 1998). To Catch a Feathered Shu. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 8.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Steve Null (July 1997). Sharp Teeth, Mostly Tasty (PDF). Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 19.
- ↑ Steve Null (July 1997). Sharp Teeth, Mostly Tasty (PDF). Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 14.
- ↑ Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Dark Shadow Over Kuamu/Certificates
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Certificates included in Leonard S. Dessert (July 1997). Death from Above. Living Jungle (RPGA).
- ↑ Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Lair of the Headshrinker
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 John Ireland (September 1996). The Curse of Fire Mountain. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 17.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Shu Fly, Don't Bother Me/Certificates
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Allies or Enemies
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/The Search for Blue Heron
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Morrie Mullins, Christy Nichols (February 2001). Herd. Living Jungle (RPGA), pp. 13–14.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Recipe for Disaster/Certificates
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Along the River of Laughing Idols
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Dark Shadow Over Kuamu
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Linda Baldwin (October 1998). On the Lookout!. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 9.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Tom Prusa (September 1997). Ship from the Sky. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 14.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/The Lost Tribe of Fire Mountain
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Swarm/Certificates
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Gregory A. Dreher (January 2000). Web of Destruction. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 12.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Tom Prusa (April 1998). Trembling Village. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 16.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Tom Prusa, Stephen H. Jay (September 2001). Come the Lion. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 20.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Warriors of Katimaya
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Mantu's Sacrifice
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/The Lost Tribe of Fire Mountain
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Eat, Drink, and Be Merry/Certificates
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Gregory A. Dreher (August 2001). An Army of One Thousand. (RPGA), p. 16.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Terror from Below/Certificates
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Lair of the Headshrinker
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Certificates included in Bob Lauderdale & Tom Prusa (August 2002). Iron Will. Living Jungle (RPGA).
- ↑ Tom Prusa (December 1999). The Courage of a Coward. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 15.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/To Fight for a Tiger's Honor
- ↑ Template:Cite organized play/LJ/To Fight for a Tiger's Honor
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Necromancer's Stone
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Gregory A. Dreher (August 2001). An Army of One Thousand. (RPGA), pp. 4–5.
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Tom Prusa (December 1999). The Courage of a Coward. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 5.
- ↑ Template:Cite organized play/LJ/The Lost Tribe of Fire Mountain
- ↑ Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Curse of the Lizard King
- ↑ Template:Cite organized play/LJ/Death from the Mists