SR5:Mentor Spirits List
| 5th Edition Lists |
|---|
| Gear // Magic // Hacking // Skills // Qualities // Packs // Creatures |
| Spellcasting | Preparations | Adepts | Spirits | Traditions | Initiation | Dark Magic |
| Spell List | Ritual List | Spirit List | Adept Powers List | Mentor Spirits List | Metamagics List | Traditions List |
|---|
| NAME | SIMILAR ARCHETYPES | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Alligator | SR5:HS | |
| Bear | Strength, Protection | Core |
| Berserker | Warrior, Warmonger | SR5:SG |
| Boar | SR5:HS | |
| Cat | Mystery, Stealth | Core |
| Chaos | Trickster, Troublemaker | SR5:SG |
| Dog | Friendship, Loyalty | Core |
| Dolphin | SR5:HS | |
| Dragonslayer | Heroism, Adventure | Core |
| Eagle | Nature, Warding | Core |
| Fire-bringer | Invention, Generosity | Core |
| Giraffe | SR5:HS | |
| Horse | SR5:HS | |
| Mountain | Endurance, Stubbornness | Core |
| Oracle | Teacher, Mystic | SR5:SG |
| Peacemaker | Mediator, Pacifist | SR5:SG |
| Raccoon | SR5:HS | |
| Rat | Survival, Scavenging | Core |
| Raven | Deception, Mischief | Core |
| Sea | Chaos, Greed | Core |
| Seducer | Seductress, Temptation | Core |
| Shark | Hunger, Violence | Core |
| Snake | Knowledge, Curiosity | Core |
| Spider | SR5:HS | |
| Thunderbird | Anger, War | Core |
| Whale | SR5:HS | |
| Wise Warrior | Duty, Wisdom | Core |
| Wolf | Hunting, Fellowship | Core |
| Doom(TOXIC) | Destroyer, Reaper | SR5:SG |
| Disease(TOXIC) | Pestilent Rat, Contagion | SR5:SG |
| Mutation(TOXIC) | Mutant Beast, Dark Darwinist | SR5:SG |
| Pollution(TOXIC) | SR5:SG |
THE DARKER SIDE OF MENTOR SPIRITS
Some say that mentor spirits are merely forces of nature. Some say that they are entities in their own right, guiding their chosen Awakened like loving parents. Some say that there is no single Bear or Eagle spirit, but that there are many such spirits who are called the same name by ignorant mortals. Everyone agrees that mentor spirits have no direct control over the physical world.
Or do they? Many report that mentor spirits are more than active in our world. Nearly everyone affiliated with a mentor spirit has heard their voice, or seen them. They sometimes appear like shamanic masks on the faces of magicians and adepts who perform great feats of magic. And they do seem to have an agenda.
It is said that those of the Awakened who dabble with tainted magics—reagents made with human bones, rituals performed in polluted areas, spells laced with negative emotions—may attract twisted mentor spirits or awaken the darker twin of their own mentor spirit. They say these mentor spirits lead the Awakened down a dark path with enticements of power.
Or maybe it’s all just a ghost story. Only your gamemaster knows for certain, and she’d never make life tough for your character ... would she?
MENTOR SPIRIT ARCHETYPES
Each of the mentor spirits listed here represents an archetype. These archetypes are idealized as totem animals, deities, and forces of nature by different cultures and traditions. The archetypes listed below serve merely as examples of different archetypes and are not meant to apply to all cultures—a totem animal considered a healer in one culture may be considered a deceiver in another. Additional archetypes will be presented in future sourcebooks, and you can always work with your gamemaster to develop a mentor spirit archetype that best fits your character’s outlook.
Each archetype offers three advantages: one general bonus, one bonus that applies only to magicians, and one that applies only to adepts. Mystic adepts must chose either the adept or magician advantage at the time they accept the mentor spirit and can’t change it.
EXAMPLES
Sometimes magicians seek out mentor spirits, but more often mentor spirits call to their people. Here are a couple of examples.
Kato, an adept with an emphasis in the martial arts, has been relentlessly training to break through the plateau of skill on which she has been stuck. She seeks out Thunderbird to help her increase her abilities. One day as she trains, a brightly colored butterfly flits in front of her and she hears—or feels—the words, “The fastest flight is with the wind.” She understands and uses her surroundings in her training, heeding the advice from her mentor spirit and becoming more skilled in her arts.
Falsey is an agoraphobic magician who has been increasingly homebound, spending more and more time playing an AR fantasy role-playing game. He starts seeing increasing numbers of “special quests” that no one else has heard of, all involving leaving his apartment and going to a nearby beach. He avoids these quests, but at one point he finds himself talking to a graphic game character, water spirit. The next thing he knows, the spirit is in his apartment and physically pushing him toward the door of his home. Falsey’s mentor spirit, the Sea, has decided to stop messing around and bring him to the beach for a good long talk.
Each also has a disadvantage and some alternate names or concepts for the mentor spirit, if you don’t feel the given name really fits your tradition. Advantages and disadvantages apply at all times.
