Todd Gardiner asks about diseases. Animists do generally see them as something akin to possession, but where the spirit does not necessarily possess the entire body.
Here's a summary of some stuff I wrote. I believe it. Others might not.
Generally, there are three types of animist rituals to deal with hostile spirits: propitation, placation, and banishment.
In a propitiation ritual, the participants appease the enemy spirit in advance of any manifestation, thus gaining a bonus to any contests against the enemy spirits for a set period of time. The period of time depends on the ritual itself: annual rituals usually provide a bonus that lasts a year; seasonal ritual bonuses last for a season; and other rituals generally provide a one-use bonus for each participant. For example, if the heroes’ clan successfully propitiated Vagada the Predator during the annual calving, ritual they would obtain a bonus that would apply to protect them for a year from predator spirits, both in magical contests and in ordinary abilities. Failure at propitiation attracts the attention of the very enemy spirits that would be propitiated on a success.
In a placation ritual, the participants appease the enemy spirit once it has manifested, thus eliminating or avoiding the manifestation. For example, once the heroes’ clan is dogged by a calf-stealing predator, the clan may placate the enemy spirit to make the predator go away. The manifestation may re-occur in the normal course of events. For example, if a rival clan sends Vagada’s predators to worry at the heroes’ herds, the prior placation has no effect. Typically, placation rituals include many elements that assist the participants in overcoming the resistance of the enemy spirit. Community support is often key to success.
In a banishment ritual, the participants fight off the enemy spirit once it has manifested, thus eliminating the manifestation or bringing it under the participants’ control. For example, if the heroes’ clan is again dogged by the calf-stealing predator, the clan may attempt to banish the enemy spirit to make the predator go away. As before, the manifestation may re-occur in the normal course of events, with the prior banishment having no effect. Typically, banishment rituals include elaborate preparations and magical elements that assist the participants in overcoming the resistance of the enemy spirit. Community support is almost always key to success..
Different traditions offer different combinations of these for different enemies that they know. It is not a generalized, all-purpose magic tool. To propitiate, placate, or banish Vagada the Predator, your heores need to know the Her Watch rituals. For Dark Eater, the Bitter and Beater rituals. For Oakfed Wildfire, Praxian needs to know the Back Fires ritual. Not all of propitiation, placation, and banishment are available for every enemy spirit. While the Herd Watch rituals can be used for all three, the Bitter and Beater ritual can only be used for placation (which is bitter) and banishment (which is beater). The Bak Fire ritual only works for placation.
These rituals require ritual ceremony and implements. These may be common or rare. Often, better implements or more thorough preparation can give bonuses. The ceremonies almost always require symbolic actions in the material world; often the results manifest through these synbolic actions. For example, the Back Fires ritual literally requires setting back fires and moving your herds on to the burnt out area. The ritual makes this more successful, more frequently, with fewer losses, etc.
These rituals do not always have to be a big production. For small spirits, animists often perform the ritual as a matter of habit, barely conscious that they are doing it. You drop something edible with a word of thanks in prairie dog holes to keep Bad Gopher from opening a hole under your mount's foot. Yes, you can put your leftovers there.
All of this works with disease spirits. (Of course, other magic also works. In particular, a lot of magic works to restore the victim from the effects of the disease, which works just as well on damage caused by diseases that are not spirits.)
Praxians have the Three Days Pain ritual. It can be used to propitiate or placate the spirits of Mallia.
For propotiation, anyone may lead the ceremony, which includes the Smaller Scapegoat Dance (which is sometimes performed in other contexts as an insulting way to blame someone for something). They must always be held at night and cannot be held on any Eiritha holy day. They must often be held in secret. Worshippers that accept temporary possession by minor disease spirits (a cold or s skin infection) provide bonuses. These illnesses will not become debilitating or disfiguring, but last for three days. Success provides an augment during the following year against any diseases. The degree of success determines the duration of the protection.
For placation, a shaman or spirit talker must lead the ceremony, which includes the Bigger Scapegoat Dance. The ceremony takes all of the diseases of the entire group and places them in one person. Since most clans only use this in times of desperation, the ritual almost always leads to death. The scapegoat will either die or recover in three days. The disease spirits will also infect anyone who tried to help the scapegoat survive. If anyone gives the body proper funeral rites, the disease spirits re-infect the group, so the body must be left where it died. Using a more important scapegoat gives bonuses. Success relieves the group of a disease or other manifestation of Mallia.
Chris Lemens
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