Warring States World Magic System

Why Make a New System?

Magic in typical D&D (and other systems) is a system based on intelligence,
opposed to a clerical "prayer" system which is based on wisdom. I reject this
system for several reasons. Firstly, it is based on the arbitrary and unnecessary
stats "Intelligence" and "Wisdom." Along with "Charisma", I consider these stats
to be superfluous and detrimental to role-playing. Secondly, they do not have any
concrete underlying mechanics. "Mana" is completely arbitrary, and there is no
concept of where or how these powers are obtained. Finally, I dislike the systems
and the connotations they bring. I do not like to see super-powerful wizards and
priests that cannot be touched and can destroy all who oppose them, especially
when they gain that power in such an arbitrary was as "levels" and "experience."
For these reasons, I have formulated a new system. I do not promise it to be
great, or any better than extant systems, but I will endeavor to solve the
aforementioned problems, as well as creating a fun and easy to use system.

The Fundamentals of Magic

Magic in the new system will be based around contractual agreements and
give-take bargaining. The currency traded in such agreements will be "souls" and
"power". When I say soul, I mean something like the "essence of life," i.e., that
which is essential for life. Without the soul, creatures would simply be piles of
molecules. Power is the force known as magic, miracles, etc. Souls, offered to
otherworldly beings ("gods", "demons", "angels", etc.), would initiate an exchange
of souls for power. Power would be manifested as magic, similar to what is seen in
D&D, but generally on a lesser scale. A "priest", for example, would prepare a
sacrifice for their god in such a way that the soul is usable for him (through
rituals known only to priests, which is how they keep their power). The god would
then, when called upon, initiate "miracles" in the world of the priest. A
"magician" may behave in a similar way, by forging an alliance with an
otherworldly being. As he supplies souls to the being, he would be rewarded with
access to the powers that being possesses. However, neither of these examples
display something important, which is: why do otherworldly being want souls?

The Fundamentals of the Soul

Before motives can be examined and explained, the soul must be. This will
mostly be done in a matter-of-fact way, as there is no real basis (other than
religion) for such an object. The soul is the only object that can travel between
the two planes. Souls in the mortal plane (the world as we know it) stay there
until the body they inhabit is rendered useless (through death or magical means).
Then, the soul would generally travel to the second (spirit) plane (as suggested
by the phrasing, there are some exceptions, which will be explained later). In the
spirit plane, spirits have a life similar to beings on earth. Once their spirit-
life is done, they will "re-incarnate" in the mortal plane. This process continues
over and over in an endless cycle.
In the mortal plane, souls will only incarnate as sentient beings. However,
some non-sentient beings can gain souls (but they cannot be
incarnated/created/born with souls). They can gain souls through another
exception, which are the souls that do not travel to the spirit plane. As
mentioned before, souls sometimes do not travel to the spirit plane after the
destruction or expiration of their physical shell. The reason for this can be
ritual "curses", which tie the soul to the mortal plane, an extremely strong will
to stay in the mortal plane at the time of death, and occasionally a freak
accident. These souls can, through "possession", take control of beings on the
mortal plane that they come into contact with. Possession usually requires a
strong will to possess and a weak resistance, ritual "cursing", or a sufficient
amount of "belief" by non-spirit beings (corporeal sentient beings on the mortal
plane). Of these, the last is what allows non-sentient beings to gain souls (and
thus become sentient). "Belief" is what would occur doing religious worship, or
superstition. In technical terms, worship or superstition would transfer an
insignificant amount of "life energy" (what keeps the soul and body connected), to
the focus of worship. This energy would be visible to wandering spirits
(disembodied souls occupying the mortal plane), and they could attach to it, and
become the soul of the non-sentient being. However, because these unions of soul
and being do not occur at birth as with sentient beings, the connection is more
akin to that of mage and "familiar spirit" than to that of sentient being and soul
(meaning the newly sentient being will also gain some of the powers unique to the
spirit plane or those who contact it).

The Motivations of Otherworldly Beings (Yes, they are rather weak at the moment)
The beings that inhabit other worlds would have to have great motivation in
order to take the time to lend their power to beings on another plane. The
motivations of humans in the real world are generally based on gain, either
personal or for loved ones. In the world of spirits, demons, and gods, what is the
motive for gain? What is the motive for wanting souls that would arrive in that
plane either way? Obviously they must have something to gain. However, what type
of gain is it, and why?
Most gain comes in the form of power. Social position, material wealth, and
military might are all things that can be gained, and can be used to exert your
influence onto others(i.e. forms of power). In the modern world, many people
strive to gain better social position and more material wealth, both to better
their lives, and the lives of their children. In the past, gaining military might
was also a way to better your own life, and to secure a decent life for any
descendants. However, there are other forms of gain. These forms are stability and
pleasure. Stability is sought mainly by those who are comfortable with their
amount of power and are afraid of losing it (through death, theft, or some other
means). Pleasure is desired by almost everyone, because it increases confidence
and allows people to vent their frustrations. Pleasure is much more short term,
but it is still a very powerful motivator for action in all sentient beings.
However, would these same gains motivate beings on another plane of
existence? If so, what would be the reasoning behind it? The key motivations I see
are power and stability. As explained above, worship transfers very small amounts
of "life energy" to the focus of worship. Using this, a soul in the spirit plane
can manifest himself in the mortal plane, where his power is unique and will lead
to the transfer of souls to him. Souls are important because just as we desire a
long stay in the mortal plane (i.e. a long life), souls desire a long stay in the
spirit plane. By using rituals of sacrifice and worship, "gods" and "demons" are
able to send other souls ahead of themselves in the queue for reincarnation. Thus,
they could stay in the spirit realm as long as they had a source of spirits.
Denizens of the spirit plane also value souls for reasons of power. A
sacrificed or sanctified (through rituals such as baptism etc.) soul, once
incarnated in the spirit world, will be in a similar position as a serf. The more
souls one commands, the more power one can utilize (the spirit realm functions
similarly to ours, there are forms of industry and agriculture, as well as
material wealth). Thus, a popular "god", would be a lord of immense wealth and
power in the spirit world.

Technical Details
With the basic relationships explained, the technical details which affect
game-play can be revealed.
A player who is not playing a magic-using class will not see many
differences from other systems. God rolls are taken as they normally would be,
although the power of each god may vary greatly, and they are generally less
powerful than would be expected. However, because magic in this system depends
only upon forming a contract with a spirit power, a non-magical character can gain
magic if they successfully contact and barter with a spirit. Without knowing the
secret rituals of mages and priests, making this contact is extremely difficult,
but still possible. However, because religious characters are generally put
through rituals which prepare them for a "god's" use, it is much harder and often
counter-productive for them to attempt to contract any spirit but their god.
For a magic user, the world and their place in it will be changed
dramatically. For priests, power is generally based on the performance (amount of
souls supplied to deity) of the group as a whole, not on the individual clergyman
(although individual performance does affect magical power). More believers also
make a deity more powerful, as it makes manifesting itself in the mortal plane
easier (in a manner similar to what allows spirits to attach to non-sentient
beings). In game terms, this means that the player will have to look up the size
of their religion and determine a modifier used for magic based on that. The
player will also have to keep track of their conversions and sacrifices. Players
that would receive special attention from their deity (prophets, religious leaders
of great importance) should also receive bonuses at the DM's discretion. The
charts that determine the power of each priest deal with the number of followers
in his religion, and the number of converts or sacrifices he has made. The number
of people in the religion affects the number of die the player can roll, although
larger religions also negatively affect the player's damage (a god would have less
time and power to devote to a single follower). The number of conversions and
sacrifices a player has made affects the die that the player rolls. Once a player
begins to become an influential religious leader or a great warrior-priest, he is
rewarded with greater attention from his god (in the form of extra dice to roll).
A mage would use a similar method, but because a mage is generally the only
follower of their spirit, the calculations are slightly different. A mage's power
is calculated solely based upon the amount of offerings to their partner-spirit.
Right now, an experienced magic user may be wondering where spells come into
it.