Copyright © 2001 by Robert J. Hall

Priests of this sect worship the moon, and draw all their magical energy from their god. The major aspects of Lunar Magic include monthly cycles, silver, insanity, and the night. The power of a Moon Priest waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon, peaking during the week centered on a full moon and all but vanishing during the week of a new moon.

The Holy Symbol of the church is a polished silver pendant in the shape of a bull horn, with thirteen knotches - one for each lunar month in a year. The original horn came from a great white bull which was said to be a fertility symbol. Most of the Moon Priest spells require this pendant as a focus.

Because the powers of the Moon Priests wane during the week of a new moon, they often have some proficiency in the more mundane combat arts. The standard weapon of a Moon Priest is a crescent staff - a staff with a crescent-shaped blade attached to the end. (The Crescent Staff functions in a similar manner to a Military Fork.)

There have long been rumors of a close association between Lycanthropy and Lunar Worship, although most priest will disavow any knowledge of such. The existence of Lycanthropic members is a closely guarded secret within the church, and such infected priests are carefully hidden and guarded from outsiders.

On worlds where there are more than one moon, the Moon Priests worship the most prominent of the heavenly bodies. Different cults can worship the lesser moons, and a strong rivalry usually exists between these groups.

Common Limitations: Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Characters Must have at least 20 points from college (-1/2), Requires Magic Skill Roll (-1/2), OAF Moon Crescent (-1), Side Effects (-1/2), Religious Restrictions (-1/2).
Total: -3-1/2

Basic Spells

Moon Beam

Upon casting this spell, a ray of sparkling light flashes toward the head of the target, stunning the victim with a mental attack. If the priest fails his Magic Skill roll, he is temporarily stunned by mental feedback.

Moon Shield

A circular, glowing shield is created before the priest. This barrier will deflect attacks that are made against the casters energy defense. If the spell is miscast, the priest will be momentarily weakened.

Detect

Moon priests can use this spell to detect the presence or use of magic nearby. Once cast, any magic will give off a silvery glow. If the caster fails his roll he will be temporarily blinded by a flash of silvery light.

Know Moon

This spell allows the caster to know the direction and current phase of the moon. This in turn will allow him to know the approximate period of the month within a day or two. If he can determine the time of the day, then he will also be able to orientate himself. Finally, he can determine the current state of the tides and thus the effectiveness of his magic.

Owl Sense

This spell allows the caster to see and hear as efficiently as an owl. If the Priest fails his Magic Skill roll, he is blinded by a flash of silvery light.

College Spells

Awe Struck

When this spell is cast, silvery beams erupt from the palm of the priest to strike the target. The beams reduce the Ego of the victim and transfer the resulting points to the Presence rating of the priest, making the target particularly vulnerable to Presence attacks by the caster. If the priest fails his Magic Skill roll, his Ego is drained and he becomes confused and indecisive.

Eclipse

This impressive incantation causes the sun to be totally eclipsed by a circular body, causing a large area to grow as dark as late evening for as long as the spell is maintained. All vision PER rolls receive a -1 modifier within the darkened area, during the daytime.

Enhance Fertility

This spell can be used to make any one animal more fertile. The odds of becoming pregnant are doubled, as are the odds of having twins or larger batches of offspring. If a creature is currently infertile due to age or medical problems, this spell will restore the normal level of fertility. Additional use of this spell on the same creature has no further effect beyond those already listed.

Harvest Moon

This spell causes the moon to appear many times larger than normal, increasing the level of illumination within the 128" radius target area to the equivalent of dusk. This spell is most useful at night in full moonlight. During the daylight hours, the effect is primarily used to impress worshippers and visitors. If the magic skill roll is failed, the vision of the priest is filled by the sight of the lunar disk.

Lunacy

This spell causes the target to go berserk (as per the standard Character Disadvantage), attacking the nearest target(s). The spell will only function during the week of a full moon. If the spell caster fails his magic skill roll, he suffers STUN damage from mental feedback.

Lunar Rings

Several faintly glowing rings of reflected lunar light are projected from the staff of the priest, enveloping the subject in a column of wispy circular bands. These mysterious rings will confuse and stupefy the victim, leaving him in a daze while this spell is being maintained. If the magic skill roll is failed, the rings will instead confuse the priest for a short time.

Man in the Moon

While the moon is in the heavens, the priest can look down upon the earth from the perspective of the heavenly body. If the moon is high in the sky, this spell allows the priest to see the lands for a considerable distance around his location. Should the magic be improperly cast, however, the priest is temporarily blinded by a view of the brilliant lunar disk.

Moon Dance

The target of this spell is able to leap and jump about in spectacular fashion, as if he weighed much less than normal. However, this lightened state makes the target more vulnerable to Knockback.

Night Scare

This spell allows the priest to draw together beams of moonlight to form a ghostly apparition that can strike with an icy touch. The image has the appearance of a pale-white, transmogrified human form floating just above the ground, anywhere within a 8" radius of the target hex. When the hands of the image strike a target in the hex, they inflict cold damage from Energy Blast. The image attacks with the same abilities as the caster, and is, of course, immune to combat damage. However, the Priest can cause the image to appear to suffer damage in order to make the images more believable.

Owl Form

This spell allows the Moon Priest to change his form to that of a Great Horned Owl, a patron animal of the Moon Goddess. (See the HERO Bestiary for details. The priest must have a total of at least 108 character points before he can use this spell.) Once the sun rises, the Priest is automatically restored to his normal form, even if flying, underground, or hidden from the sunlight.

Pass Month

This difficult spell opens a silvery-gray portal that allows the Priest to move a single (voluntary) target, with a mass of up to 400kg, forward in time a month without aging. Creation of this portal is especially exhausting for the priest, and the time travel can only be performed once each month. The Pass Month spell is normally used only under dire circumstances, but a few eclectic Moon Priests have used this means to travel far into the future.

Sense Changeling

Creatures that are intrinsically capable of assuming multiple forms will appear to glow with a pale light. Beings suffering from Lycanthropy, as well as naturally evolved changelings, can be detected by means of this spell.

Silver Burst

This spell is the most potent offensive weapon available to a Moon Priest. Upon completing the prayer, a burst of up to five blazing white nodes of pure Lunar essence shoot forth from a point above the head of the caster toward the target(s). The priest must pay the END cost for each bolt fired. If the priest fails his Magic Skill roll, he suddenly becomes weakened.

Sway Emotions

This spell causes the subject to completely reverse their current emotional state. Hatred becomes adulation, sadness becomes joy, boredom becomes fascination, and so on. The reaction depends on the type and intensity of the emotion. The Priest must be able to converse with the subject in order to effect the emotion reversal. If the caster fails his Magic Skill roll, the Priest suffers a severe emotional backlash.

Turn Tides

This spell allows the Moon Priest to change the state of the tide within a 1 kilometer radius. The height of the tide must be selected from an actual level during the next 24 hours, and the change requires several minutes to complete. (The tidal current is slow enough not to create a tidal bore, unless that occurs normally.) If the regular tide matches the imposed level, the spell is immediately cancelled.

Unique Spells

Astral Travel

This difficult and powerful spell allows the Priest to depart his physical body and journey along the Astral Plane to distant locations. Astral Travel by Moon Priests is not possible during the week of a new moon, however.

Blue Moon

This very powerful spell allows the Priest to reenact the last phase. The trigger for the spell must be decided when it is cast, and should be written down. The Priest does not escape any of the harmful effects from the first time through this phase, he merely has the opportunity to avoid his mistakes. This spell will only function on the day of a full moon.

Endless Void

If the target of this spell fails his EGO roll, he suddenly finds himself floating in darkness above a lifeless grey landscape. From the outside, the target become englobed by a mottled grey sphere which then rises 4" above the ground. When the spell is terminated, the target floats gently back to the ground. If the Priest fails his Magic Skill roll, he is englobed instead of the target.