Bestiary

Possibly the strangest of all Naga, the Spirit Naga is a creature trapped in an incorporeal form. This Naga exists almost entirely in the Spirit World, linked to the real world only by a single strand, a Naga statue. Where other Naga covet gems and places, the Spirit Naga gathers followers and worshippers instead.

In the physical world the Spirit Naga exists only as a statue. These statues range widely in size and material, from huge stone idols to small bronze images. Regardless of their exact form such statues are highly resistant to damage, having 10 armour that protects fully against magic as well as physical attacks. Any damage done to the statue that passes this armour is transferred to the Naga, unless it chooses to let the statue break.

The Spirit Naga can act on the real world through its statue. It can speak to anyone who encounters it, either out loud, or in subtle whispers that creep into a person's dreams. In either case, the Naga may attempt to establish a link with a person by beating it in a Presence vs. Spirit roll. If the Naga wins it may spend a point of Spirit to create a magical link with the person. From then on it may speak to them no mater how far they move from the statue. Similarly it can appear to them as an immaterial serpent creature, crowned with nine antlers and swirled about with clouds, which is invisible to those who are not linked to it. Physical combat statistics above apply only if the Naga is fought in the Spirit World.

Once a Naga has established a link it will seek to convert the person into a follower. It does this through persuasion, bribery, and trickery (Subterfuge 3 / Deception 7). The Naga can lend some of its power to a follower, granting them bonuses to Presence, Spirit and Defence by spending Spirit (on a one for one basis). The Naga can also gift its followers with any of the following spell-like abilities, by spending Spirit equal to energy level, as follows :

• Nearsense 1
• Swarm Posession 1
• Aura of Glacial Calm 1
• Sun Warding 1
• Red Path 2
• Serpent Call 2

Each gift bestows one casting of a spell. The Naga may grant more than one spell, or more than one casting, on the same person, but it pays the Spirit cost each time.

Each time a person accepts a spell, or stat increase, from the Naga (i.e. each time the Naga spends Spirit) they become more under the Naga's control. Once a person has accepted at least one Gift the Naga may attempt to Dominate them by winning a Presence vs. Spirit contest. The subject has a Spirit penalty equal to the number of Gifts they have accepted. If the Naga wins, the subject must follow their orders for a number of minutes equal to the total Gifts they have taken. In addition the Naga may drain Spirit from them to heal itself. The Naga can only do this if the subject is controlled and has accepted 3 or more gifts, and it can only take up to gifts in Spirit at a time. Once a follower has reached this point the Naga can easily dominate or drain them at will. The number of gifts is reduced by 1 for each additional success scored on a roll to resist a domination.

Slaying a Spirit Naga is extremely hard. If a Naga's statue is destroyed the Naga must find a new one (any existing Naga statue will do) to bind. This process takes a cycle, requires 5 Spirit, and reduces the Naga's Spirit by 1 permanently. If the Naga does not have at least 6 Spirit when its statue is destroyed it cannot get a new one, and is effectively destroyed. It can also be confronted in the Spirit World and combated there, but it cannot be slain so long as the statue endures.