> In relation to this, in the "Sword Man Practice" (Masters of Luck
> and Death, page 7), the spirits listed have ratings that are
> generally higher than the average ranges given in HQ. (For instance,
> the first group of spirits have four different abilities at a single
> mastery, while Jardan the Warrior's first group (HeroQuest, page
> 145) has one. Is this because of the identity of the entity
> worshipped in the Practice? Is there some guideline on relating the
> power of different spirits to their granted charms (like, say, a
> Majestic Spirit in the 10W5 range having five abilities at a
> mastery)?
No, there are no guidelines.
For someone creating spirits for a new practice, I'd suggest that the typical ranges in HQ be looked at. Most are in the High Teens to Low single-mastery level. It's probably best to keep the bulk of ability ratings in this area.
A spirit with a low ability rating (Less than, say, 13) isn't worth really spending the HP to bind unless it's an ability that you can't get otherwise - it's better just to buy the ability (Frex, binding a "Track 13" spirit is probably less useful in the long run than learning "Track 13", but "Fly 13" might be worth binding, since you can't usually learn to fly). But there are always dribs and drabs of spirits hanging around - it's just a case of "do you want to mention them or not?"
You might have some more-powerful spirits as a "goody" for the practice. You don't need to blow them all out of proportion - look at the Spirit Attitude section (132) and the Gain a New Charm or Fetish HP Cost table on 141. Your practice might offer a 10w3 spirit for binding (Only resistance 14!), but will your players will have the 15 HP to cement it?
Also, remember that practice spirits have several abilities, not just one, and if in a fetish the hero can call on any of them (but only one per release). So a single fetish from the Jardan the Warrior practice might contain a spirit with the following abilities: Curved Arrow Flight 15, Shoot Great Distance 20, and Flaming Arrow 8W. The hero can use any or all* these as augments to his bow, or release the spirit and use *one* of them (assuming the fetish is the bow or quiver, the ability can be used for the duration of the contest. If it was an arrow, then once you fire the arrow, it's gone...).
*Because a spirit is using multiple abilities, it can apply multiple auto augments at a time. An Affinity is a single ability, so can't be used to augment multiple times. One reason Spirits are better than Affinities! Of course, a fetish can't be "Improved" with HP, and it costs an arm and a leg to buy a good one (The HP cost is assessed against the *best* ability of the spirit, btw).
RR
C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du pr�sent a
fait ce qu'il a fait.
- Richelieu
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