The Long Arctic Day / Night, How long to nature spirits last? Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Standard Switch to: Linear+

[RedmondLarry]

My Sun Shaman (native Eskimo) has been vacationing in the antarctic each year from May through October.

This way he enjoys not only the long arctic day (one-third of a year), but also the long antarctic day (another one-third of a year).

Not only do his spirits last for a third of a year (till sunset), but he gets his +2 to conjuring, combat, detection, and health about 85% of the year.

[Kagetenshi]

Yep. It's discussed in Target: Wastelands, and is a very sweet deal.

But Antarctica is a busy place! How do you find time to vacation?

~J

[RedmondLarry]

awww. I didn't realize this idea was published. How disappointing.

Is he the first to exchange residences with a Leopard Shaman?

[kryton]

What else is there to do beside watch Canadian Television.....Eh!!!

I wonder if he'd have to make a sanity check after being awake for 4 months? I can't imagine what that would be like. In way it sounds cool yet another I could see myself going insane. Kind of like that episode of Northern Exposure where the doctor goes on a adrenaline high for three days and crashes.

Besides you know what they say in Alaska about girlfriends. You don't loose your girlfriend you loose your turn...I wish I was making that up but there's a 10 to 1 male to female ratio.

[Kagetenshi]

[Sandoval Smith]

[toturi]

[Ranneko]

The question I have is, when does the spirit disappear during sunrise/sunset? The start, end, halfway through? Because sunrise and sunset last somewhere around 2 weeks each IIRC, once you get to the poles.

[Talia Invierno]

At the first and last ray respectively of sunlight, I'd guess ...?

[Kagetenshi]

[rozark69]

In the usual term of summoning a spirit in normal climes things are fine.But is it me or would a spirit not be a little pissed off about being kept on in service for so long becuase of a loop-hole. Spirits arent inanimate objects I imagine once its banashed or what ever it will remember Eskimo in melting house, who is to say how spirits act when they not under a mortal or immortals power? I was just curious.

[Kanada Ten]

Well, shaman are supposed to treate nature spirits as allies, not tools. Therefore, unless the shaman truly has need, they should not keep it that long and treat it well if they do.

[rozark69]

Ah ok very cool, thanks for that. Do spirits have alignements? I mean is it possible to summon an angry spirit?

[Kanada Ten]

Absolutely. Toxic spirits can be summoned by normal shaman and arrive uncontrolled and ANGRY! Nature spirits, IMO, should take on impressions from the world around them in both appearance and attitude. A Hearth spirit from a broken home might appear as a humanoid, rank pile of dingy rags; not toxic, but always sounding near the verge of tears. While one from a happy home, even in the poorest quarters, might be a bright eyed lawn gnome, bristling with good cheer.

[Paul]

I'd make them stay for the duration of the day and night, and then have them get further unbalanced the longer they're there.

[Kagetenshi]

[Kanada Ten]

[Fortune]

Besides, the Spirit still departs once his alloted amount of services are used up, regardless of whether the sun has risen or not. Realistically, how many services do you expect you Shaman to get on his Conjuring test that would let a Spirit hang out for upwards of 4 months?

[Dog]

Don't disregard the fact that in the arctic, a six-month day is normal. It's the regular course of nature, so why would a spirit take issue with it? They probably don't even regard time the same way we do. The heart of the summoner would seem to me to be way more relevant.

[Tarantula]

Whatever spirit you're summoning is going to be from the artic itself, in which part of the spirit and the land is having a months long day. Or a months long night. The spirit wouldn't have issue with it because its part of who the spirit is.

[hahnsoo]

At the same time, I can imagine the spirit taking a slower pace in life, being in a place where nothing really changes and the seasons are slower to transition. Maybe the spirits would think they have all the time in the world, and would probably wonder why the shaman wants to get things done in such a hurry. :) It would be a fun thing to use in bothering an intrepid shaman occasionally.

[Talia Invierno]

Heh. hahnsoo, I like :) especially in the natural context reminded by Tarantula and Dog.

[RangerJoe]

Regarding the "sunrise" and "sunset" times in the polar regions, there are several answers.

In most high/low latitude communities, there is a "sunrise" ritual of some kind. Coming out of winter, the first day the sun breaks over the horizon (which is easy to calculate) is usually a festival of some kind. Then each day after that, the sun rises a little bit higher and is out a little bit longer, until eventually it no longer sets. During that interim period, spirits would behave "normally" from a mid-latitude shaman's point of view. There is a distinct sunrise and a distinct sunset. During the times when the sun neither rises nor sets (it's just in one modality all the time), spirits last a long time.

Bear in mind, though, that this true sunrise/sunset is partially a function of local topography. In certain low regions in the Antarctic, the sun "sets" behind the valley walls even at the height of summer (the sun never gets very high above the horizon, and it circles about during the day). During these times, the sun has "set" although it is still light enough to work and read. As a capricious GM, I would argue that this effect consitutes a sunrise/sunset.

Now, for several days approaching the first sunrise in a polewards community, there is a period of glow (sort of like dawn light) which is not actually a sunrise. Likewise, there is a period of extended "sunset" after the sun has dropped below the horizon. During these twilight/dawn conditions, the determination of day and night is a bit more tenuous. I'd let it be up the the shaman's tradition or culture. For example, customarily, the Jewish calendar treats the start of night/evening (which is the begining of each new day) as the time when three stars are visible in the darkening sky. You should set bounds with your players on what constitudes day/night under odd polar circumstances (for example, the hearth spirits of McMurdo station might be on a 24 hour diurnal cycle like most of the base. Living in blacked-out buildings with electric lights and a strict work schedule might convince the hearth spirits that a day is 24 hours, period, and that as long as they don't leave their domain and go outside, they are only bound to 24 hours of service).

Just a note on hermetics, too: the poleward regions make binding elementals quite amusing. That servitude for a year and a day suddenly can become almost a year and a half, provided you pick the right day.

[Lindt]

I like Pauls angle. If you pull up a spirit and have it on call for 3 weeks, its gonna be really pissed by then. Have it start to f*ck with you after the first week. Its got better things to do be doing, what ever those are.

[KarmaInferno]

"Hey Bob, don't forget, there's a mixer in the Plane of Beer later this week."

"Oh, yeah, I should be able to make it, I have a shaman summoning me but this shouldn't take too long."

::summoning taks place:: ::spirit looks around to see the arctic sunrise::

"Fuuuuuuck..."

:D


-karma