As with physical combat, each attack and parry exchange in Spirit Combat is treated as a Differential Roll. A successful attack with at least one level of success inflicts an amount of damage equal to the attacker’s Spirit Damage roll to the defender’s Magic Points. In addition, if two or more levels of success or defeat are achieved then Spirit Combat Special Effects may be selected. | Special Effect | Offensive | Defensive | Specific Roll | Description | | ------------------ | --------- | --------- | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Bleed Essence | X | X | Critical Only | Inflict a psychic wound which leaks 1 Magic Point per cycle, until Spirit Combat ends | | Compel Bargain | X | | Special Only | Attacker makes an opposed roll of their Bargain/Fast Talk/Orate against the Defender's appropriate skill, or else Willpower if nothing applicable; If successful combat ends, and they force the defender to perform a deed | | Drive Off | X | | Mortal Special Only | Spirit must resist attack roll with Willpower or depart the combat | | Leech Strength | X | | Critical Only | Attacker absorbs the Magic Points inflicted by the attack | | Obscure | | X | Critical Only | Attacker can no longer perceive the defender, unless attacked again | | Possess | X | | Spirits Special Only | Assuming spirit is capable of possession, the defender must resist its attack roll with their Willpower or become possessed | | Psychic Stun | X | X | | Opponent loses next Turn | | Restrain | X | X | Mortals Only | Prevents the spirit from fleeing or engaging others in Spirit Combat | | Spirit Lance | X | | Special Only | Roll Spirit Damage twice, and take the best result | | Sunder Binding | X | X | Spirit Fumbles | Breaks the fetish or binding the spirit came from | | Suppress Ability | X | X | Mortals Only | Shuts down one of the spirit's abilities currently in use (note: not all abilities can be suppressed by this Special Effect) | | Turn Back | | X | Special Only | Attacker suffers its own Spirit Damage roll instead of the defender | | Psychic Withdrawal | | X | Special Only | The defender may automatically disengage from Spirit Combat, returning to their body (if mortal), fetish or the Spirit Plane (if a summoned spirit) | If the defender runs out of Action Points with which to defend themselves, then they are left wide open, and the attacker may attempt to make an unopposed attack roll. Corporal characters engaged in Spirit Combat in the physical world may forgo their attack in order to cast magic or perform a physical act instead. Fleeing Spirit Combat is not always possible. If the fight occurs in the material world, characters obviously cannot escape unless they physically depart the area the spirit occupies. On the Spirit Plane however, a discorporated animist can, instead of trying to damage their opponent, declare that they are using a Combat Action to try and escape back to their body. An Opposed test of the animist’s Trance skill against the spirit’s Spectral Combat is required. If the animist wins they break free, and the combat ends; but if the spirit wins, then the animist fails to get away. It is impossible for souls who do not have the Trance skill to consciously escape from the Spirit World as they have no knowledge or understanding of how to move within it. Only if they defeat or drive off their attacker will they be freed from its discorporation. Otherwise they must be rescued by an animist. Combat continues until the fight is concluded by use of a Special Effect, or one of the combatants is reduced to zero Magic Points, at which point they are defeated. Note that some spirits, usually deeper in the Spirit Plane, have a higher Intensity. When one of the combatants has a higher Intensity, the amount of damage parried diminishes by 25% per point of difference Intensity. Larger differences in Intensity (4 points and more) means that parrying is useless except to avoid Special Effects. #RQ #RQ/Rules