Odin, the Allfather (sometimes called Wodin or Wotan), sat at the head of the feast table in Valhalla, where he ate nothing, feeding instead the wolves at his feet. Upon his shoulders are perched two ravens, Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Memory), whose words he pondered. He was constantly seeking more wisdom, something he encourages in his followers as well. He won wisdom at the cost of an eye, and the knowledge of the Runes by being crucified for nine nights upon a wind-rocked tree. Yet he was not jealous of this knowledge, passing much of it along to mortals (via his priests). His priests are willing to sacrifice themselves for wisdom as necessary, but will never do so foolishly. They are also schooled in a new form of magic, Rune-magic, having learned the power of Runes from the Allfather. The Castings below, which are but a small sample of what can be achieved by Rune magic. Note that while the knowledge can be spread around, the Allfather is certain to make certain that his gifts are not abused, particularly since the knowledge was bought at a cost to him, and to put it to an evil end will result in vengeance upon the offender. A word on Runic magic: Basically, the sampling below are certain, common runes. There are uncommon inscriptions as well, and much of the magic of Odin's followers will be accomplished by the scribing of Runes. The Runes could impart many traits to whatever they were inscribed upon, and could even be used for some divinations. Grade I: DOOMKNOWLEDGE RITUAL Time: Instantaneous Other Heka Costs: Area: Touch R&D: None Distance: 1 creature Other: None E/F/M: By means of this hour-long ritual, the priest is able to determine if the day of his doom is at hand. The ritual will not impart any idea of when it may happen, but it will inform the priest that the doom of the persona touched is at hand. This does not always mean that the persona's death is at hand, just his doom, or fate. This ritual will always cost the priest performing it, causing him pain for the duration of the ritual. If it is not borne stoically, the knowledge so gained will be inaccurate. HALERUNE CHARM Time: 1 BT per 10 STEEP Other Heka Costs: Area: Touch R&D: None Distance: 1 creature Other: None E/F/M: By means of this casting, the priest inscribes a temporary rune of strength and hardiness on a creature. This rune increases each Physical Muscular attribute by 2 for the duration, and adds a +5 to the BAC. However, like all runes so inscribed, if it is erased or damaged before the Heka infused in it is spent, it will end prematurely. Grade II: SWIFTSTEED RUNE CHARM Time: 1 hour Other Heka Costs: Area: 1 horse R&D: None Distance: Touch Other: 20:1 additional hour E/F/M: This rune, when carefully inscribed on the tack/barding of a horse will increase the speed of the horse by 50%. The duration of the rune can be extended another hour for each additional 20 Heka invested, to a limit of 1 hour per 10 STEEP possessed. Once infused with this magic, neither the horse nor the tack can ever be affected by it again. SWIFTSTRIKE RUNE CANTRIP Time: 1 BT per 10 STEEP Other Heka Costs: Area: 1 object R&D: None Distance: Touch Other: None E/F/M: By means of this cantrip, the priest inscribes a weapon with the rune of speed, allowing one additional attack per CT by the weapon so inscribed. If the weapon takes damage in a parry, then there is a 1% chance per point of damage that the rune is destroyed in the process (cumulative). So, if the weapon takes 3 points, that CT there is a 3% chance of destruction. If it makes it, but takes another 5 points next CT, there is now an 8% chance of the rune's destruction. Any given weapon cannot be affected by this rune more than once. Grade III: ODIN'S FAVOR CHARM Time: 1 AT per 10 STEEP Other Heka Costs: Area: 1 creature R&D: None Distance: Touch Other: None E/F/M: By means of this charm, signified by a hangman's noose hung around the neck of the creature so affected, the priest of Odin bestows Odin's favor upon the subject. The affected creature will have an effective +10% in all combat-related STEEP, an automatic increase of 6 in all armor protection factors, and an automatic dodging of 10% (or 10% more than normal). However, this charm does have a price: there must be an appropriate sacrifice to Odin. Legend tells of many priests enchanting whole armies, and warriors and priests hanging themselves before battle to sacrifice themselves for their allies, and, in smaller bands (of a dozen or score or so), the sacrifice of a ram. Grade V: GREATKNOWLEDGE RITUAL Time: 1 hour Other Heka Costs: Area: Self R&D: None Distance: 0 Other: None E/F/M: By means of this hour-long ritual, which involves the priest of Odin literally hanging himself, the priest can gain enlightenment regarding omens and portents. An extension of Doomknowledge, it allows the priest to gain the exact meaning of the portents. Note that the Norns guard this knowledge jealously, so this is not a risk undertaken lightly! No priest may ever attempt this ritual more than once, and a failed attempt will result in the death (by hanging) of the priest involved. This was a bit slow coming, because I hadn't touched anything of this sort in a while. There actually was a request to see some Norse stuff last January, by Matt Pearson, but in the middle of everything else I missed it altogether until I was recently perusing the logs! Anyways, I *do* take requests (and I'm normally more timely on them). I also readily accept criticism, comments, compliments, complaints, suggestions and additional castings or deities or whatever. After all, I am compiling the net.pantheary, a project that is very slow because only one other person has contributed anything towards it. If you make use of this, *please* let me know! I love to hear when my stuff comes in handy, and since none of this has actually been tested, I don't know how well it works in practice. Mike Phillips [m s phil] at [birds.wm.edu]