Shikigami

Notice

The following rules are from an out of date rule-set

A Monster from the Book of Engoku.

Description

Shikigami are a sort of familiar, but instead of being an animal bonded to a sorcerer, it is a construction. A caster simply creates the creature out of paper (origami), and breaths life into it. Unlike Animal Familiars, a caster can have more than one Shikigami (two per level, max 12). The Shikigami must be a Standard Beast (Q/M ratio no greater than 1:1), and gets all the normal abilities of the animal (birds can fly, etc). The caster constantly maintains a psychic link with the Shikigami, and can sense what it senses. If a Shikigami dies, the caster is affected as if by the Stun spell.
Shikigami are favorites of the Onmyoji.

Garb

Anything to suggest the sort of animal you want to portray. Your summoner must carry about an origami of you.

Statistics

Summoned by: Any Magic-Caster. Shikigami cost at least one spellpoint to summon, but additional points may be spent to increase their lives and abilities. Purchasing a Shikigami functions exactly like purchasing a weapon in all regards, except you cannot use Warskill to summon one. Abilities and lives purchased are cumulative. No more than three spellpoints may be spent on any single Shikigami. Type: Animated Beast
Q/M Ratio: 0.5/1
Armor: None
Weapons: Two short (Natural)
Immunities: None
Natural Lives: See below

Abilities & Traits

• Innate Magical Ability: Messenger (unlimited) Must be activated by summoner.
• Innate Magical Ability: Pass Without Trace (1/life)
• If two or more spellpoints are spent on a Shikigami, it may bear an enchantment placed by its summoner.
• If a total of three spellpoints are spent on a Shikigami, its summoner (regardless of class) can Lend one spell at a time to the Shikigami. The summoner pays for the spell, not the Lend. This ability may be reused without limit. A Lent spellball may be reused normally by the Shikigami, but is no longer useable by the summoner.
• Serial Immortality: The creature can return to life as long as the summoner possesses the origami of it.
• Vulnerability: The origami carried by the summoner is susceptible to flame effects. If struck or targeted by any flame effect (hit by Flameblade, targeted by pyrotechnics, enters a flame based fixed enchantment, etc), it is destroyed. This nullifies the ability Serial Immortality, and destroys the Shikigami.
• Vulnerability: Shikigami always come alive at their summoner, but may not come alive if the summoner is dead or shattered.

Levels: None