Zaq
2014-08-17, 02:20 PM
In "Sayings of the High One" (part of the Poetic Edda), Odin lists a number of spells that he knows. (My translation is by Carolyne Larrington.) I think it would be interesting to see how many of them we can translate into D&D abilities, and how many we can shove onto one character (at as low a level as possible).
I know those spells which a ruler's wife doesn't know,
nor any man's son;
'help' one is called,
and that will help you
against accusations and sorrows
and every sort of anxiety.
I know a second one which the sons of men need,
those who want to live as physicians.
I know a third one which is very useful to me,
which fetters my enemy;
the edges of my foes I can blunt,
neither weapon nor club will bite for them.
I know a fourth one if men put
chains upon my limbs;
I can chant so that I can walk away,
fetters spring from my feet,
and bonds from my hands.
I know a fifth if I see, shot in malice,
a dart flying amid the army:
it cannot fly so fast that I cannot stop it
if I see it with my eyes.
I know a sixth one if a man wounds me
with the roots of the sap-filled wood:
and that man who conjured to harm me,
the evil consumes him, not me.
I know a seventh one if I see towering flames
in the hall about my companions:
it can't burn so widely that I can't counteract it,
I know the spells to chant.
I know an eighth one, which is most useful
for everyone to know;
where hatred flares up between the sons of warriors,
then I can quickly bring settlement.
I know a ninth one if I am in needs,
if I must protect my ship at sea;
the wind I can lull upon the wave
and quieten all the sea to sleep.
I know a tenth one if I see witches
playing up in the air;
I can bring it about that they can't make their way back
to their own shapes,
to their own spirits.
I know an eleventh if I have to lead
loyal friends into battle;
under the shields I chant, and they journey inviolate,
safely to the battle,
safely from the battle,
safely they come everywhere.
I know a twelfth one if I see, up in a tree,
a dangling corpse in a noose:
I can so carve and colour the runes
that the man walks
and talks with me.
I know a thirteenth if I shall pour water
over a young warrior:
he will not fall though he goes into battle,
before swords he will not sink.
I know a fourteenth if I have to reckon up
the gods before men,
Æsir and elves, I know the difference between them,
few who are not wise know that.
I know a fifteenth, which the dwarf Thiodrerir
chanted before Delling's doors:
powerfully he sang for the Æsir and before the elves,
wisdom to Sage.
I know a sixteenth if I want to have all
a clever woman's heart and love-play:
I can turn the thoughts of the white-armed woman
and change her mind entirely.
I know a seventeenth, so that scarcely any
young girl will want to shun me.
Of these spells, Loddfafnir,
you will long be in want;
though they'd be good for you, if you got them,
useful if you learned them,
handy, if you had them.
I know an eighteenth, which I shall never teach
to any girl or any man's wife—
it's always better when just one person knows,
that follows at the end of the spells—
except that one woman whom my arms embrace,
or who may be my sister.
So. Lots of stuff to work with here, no? Let's get started.
The first spell is really vague. I don't know how to even begin approaching it. I'm totally open to ideas, though we may sadly have to write that one off. Calm Emotions, sorta-kinda, but I don't love that.
The second spell is some kind of healing magic. Remove Disease, the Cure line, that sort of thing.
The third spell . . . there's surely something that "blunt" "the edges of [your] foes," right? I mean hell, there's an utterance to do that (Reversed Strike of Might), so I'm sure there's a spell to do it. (You know, a 'Namer could even fulfill the first three of these . . . the first spell could be Recitation of Meditative State, the second Word of Nurturing, the third Reversed Strike of Might. But that's probably not the best path to go down.)
The fourth spell is obviously Freedom of Movement. (Or Reversed Inertia Surge . . . okay, I really need to stop this.)
I'm not sure about the fifth spell. There are plenty of spells to mess with arrows being fired (Wind Wall and Protection from Arrows, if nothing else), but this spell seems like it's an immediate action. Are there any immediate spells that will stop an arrow, or are we going to have to have Wind Wall be good enough?
The sixth one is going to be tricky. There's an ability or two out there to share damage as it's received, but is there anything to negate it on your end and send all of it back to your attacker?
The seventh spell is, basically, Quench. Simple enough. I think that's the first spell we've used that's not on the Cleric list, so maybe an Archivist is our guy to be our mini-Odin.
The eighth spell seems like the kind of thing that's out there somewhere, but I can't point to anything. Charm Person seems clumsy as our answer.
The ninth spell seems to be Control Winds/Control Weather. There may be something even more specific in Stormwrack, but I don't have it open right this second.
The tenth spell is driving me nuts, because that seems like the kind of spell that D&D has (probably in some FR book—they love that kind of thing). I know that there are spells that FORCE shapechangers back into their normal shapes, but I don't know of any that PREVENT it. The fact that the witches aren't in "their own spirits" may mean that they're disembodied or using something like Magic Jar, perhaps . . . but I'm interested in hearing suggestions about this one.
The eleventh spell is very vague. It's some kind of protective spell that affects multiple allies, that much we can tell. Chained Magic Vestment seems a bit boring for this, but it might work. I bet there's a better answer, though.
The twelfth spell is a simple rez, so Raise Dead or something similar. Impressive for Odin, but easy for a D&D Cleric. Make of that what you will.
The thirteenth spell is another protective spell that works on an ally. I don't think we're going to get an exact match for "pouring water" as part of it, but maybe Stoneskin or something like that?
I can't tell what the fourteenth means, nor am I really sure what the fifteenth means. They seem to be divinations of some kind, or else spells that increase Knowledge checks. Maybe. I'm not really sure. (Hidden Truth?)
The sixteenth, while creepy, is a pretty basic enchantment. Charm Person would work, or even Dominate if you really want to be thorough (and, as I said, creepy) about it.
The seventeenth seems to be the inverse of Charm Person. Rather than making a single target like you, you make yourself attractive to everyone. I'd lay good odds that there's a Bard spell out there somewhere that makes you more generally personable. Dipping into psionics, Attraction is kind of appropriate, but it has the same weakness as Charm Person (that it targets one person rather than making you actually attractive).
The eighteenth has no information as to what the spell itself actually does, so we can't do anything with it.
So that's what works off the top of my head, but I know we can do better. How do we represent as many of Odin's spells as possible, ideally on one character? An Archivist is the current contender for the best choice, though that's hardly a surprise. What else can we find?
I know those spells which a ruler's wife doesn't know,
nor any man's son;
'help' one is called,
and that will help you
against accusations and sorrows
and every sort of anxiety.
I know a second one which the sons of men need,
those who want to live as physicians.
I know a third one which is very useful to me,
which fetters my enemy;
the edges of my foes I can blunt,
neither weapon nor club will bite for them.
I know a fourth one if men put
chains upon my limbs;
I can chant so that I can walk away,
fetters spring from my feet,
and bonds from my hands.
I know a fifth if I see, shot in malice,
a dart flying amid the army:
it cannot fly so fast that I cannot stop it
if I see it with my eyes.
I know a sixth one if a man wounds me
with the roots of the sap-filled wood:
and that man who conjured to harm me,
the evil consumes him, not me.
I know a seventh one if I see towering flames
in the hall about my companions:
it can't burn so widely that I can't counteract it,
I know the spells to chant.
I know an eighth one, which is most useful
for everyone to know;
where hatred flares up between the sons of warriors,
then I can quickly bring settlement.
I know a ninth one if I am in needs,
if I must protect my ship at sea;
the wind I can lull upon the wave
and quieten all the sea to sleep.
I know a tenth one if I see witches
playing up in the air;
I can bring it about that they can't make their way back
to their own shapes,
to their own spirits.
I know an eleventh if I have to lead
loyal friends into battle;
under the shields I chant, and they journey inviolate,
safely to the battle,
safely from the battle,
safely they come everywhere.
I know a twelfth one if I see, up in a tree,
a dangling corpse in a noose:
I can so carve and colour the runes
that the man walks
and talks with me.
I know a thirteenth if I shall pour water
over a young warrior:
he will not fall though he goes into battle,
before swords he will not sink.
I know a fourteenth if I have to reckon up
the gods before men,
Æsir and elves, I know the difference between them,
few who are not wise know that.
I know a fifteenth, which the dwarf Thiodrerir
chanted before Delling's doors:
powerfully he sang for the Æsir and before the elves,
wisdom to Sage.
I know a sixteenth if I want to have all
a clever woman's heart and love-play:
I can turn the thoughts of the white-armed woman
and change her mind entirely.
I know a seventeenth, so that scarcely any
young girl will want to shun me.
Of these spells, Loddfafnir,
you will long be in want;
though they'd be good for you, if you got them,
useful if you learned them,
handy, if you had them.
I know an eighteenth, which I shall never teach
to any girl or any man's wife—
it's always better when just one person knows,
that follows at the end of the spells—
except that one woman whom my arms embrace,
or who may be my sister.
So. Lots of stuff to work with here, no? Let's get started.
The first spell is really vague. I don't know how to even begin approaching it. I'm totally open to ideas, though we may sadly have to write that one off. Calm Emotions, sorta-kinda, but I don't love that.
The second spell is some kind of healing magic. Remove Disease, the Cure line, that sort of thing.
The third spell . . . there's surely something that "blunt" "the edges of [your] foes," right? I mean hell, there's an utterance to do that (Reversed Strike of Might), so I'm sure there's a spell to do it. (You know, a 'Namer could even fulfill the first three of these . . . the first spell could be Recitation of Meditative State, the second Word of Nurturing, the third Reversed Strike of Might. But that's probably not the best path to go down.)
The fourth spell is obviously Freedom of Movement. (Or Reversed Inertia Surge . . . okay, I really need to stop this.)
I'm not sure about the fifth spell. There are plenty of spells to mess with arrows being fired (Wind Wall and Protection from Arrows, if nothing else), but this spell seems like it's an immediate action. Are there any immediate spells that will stop an arrow, or are we going to have to have Wind Wall be good enough?
The sixth one is going to be tricky. There's an ability or two out there to share damage as it's received, but is there anything to negate it on your end and send all of it back to your attacker?
The seventh spell is, basically, Quench. Simple enough. I think that's the first spell we've used that's not on the Cleric list, so maybe an Archivist is our guy to be our mini-Odin.
The eighth spell seems like the kind of thing that's out there somewhere, but I can't point to anything. Charm Person seems clumsy as our answer.
The ninth spell seems to be Control Winds/Control Weather. There may be something even more specific in Stormwrack, but I don't have it open right this second.
The tenth spell is driving me nuts, because that seems like the kind of spell that D&D has (probably in some FR book—they love that kind of thing). I know that there are spells that FORCE shapechangers back into their normal shapes, but I don't know of any that PREVENT it. The fact that the witches aren't in "their own spirits" may mean that they're disembodied or using something like Magic Jar, perhaps . . . but I'm interested in hearing suggestions about this one.
The eleventh spell is very vague. It's some kind of protective spell that affects multiple allies, that much we can tell. Chained Magic Vestment seems a bit boring for this, but it might work. I bet there's a better answer, though.
The twelfth spell is a simple rez, so Raise Dead or something similar. Impressive for Odin, but easy for a D&D Cleric. Make of that what you will.
The thirteenth spell is another protective spell that works on an ally. I don't think we're going to get an exact match for "pouring water" as part of it, but maybe Stoneskin or something like that?
I can't tell what the fourteenth means, nor am I really sure what the fifteenth means. They seem to be divinations of some kind, or else spells that increase Knowledge checks. Maybe. I'm not really sure. (Hidden Truth?)
The sixteenth, while creepy, is a pretty basic enchantment. Charm Person would work, or even Dominate if you really want to be thorough (and, as I said, creepy) about it.
The seventeenth seems to be the inverse of Charm Person. Rather than making a single target like you, you make yourself attractive to everyone. I'd lay good odds that there's a Bard spell out there somewhere that makes you more generally personable. Dipping into psionics, Attraction is kind of appropriate, but it has the same weakness as Charm Person (that it targets one person rather than making you actually attractive).
The eighteenth has no information as to what the spell itself actually does, so we can't do anything with it.
So that's what works off the top of my head, but I know we can do better. How do we represent as many of Odin's spells as possible, ideally on one character? An Archivist is the current contender for the best choice, though that's hardly a surprise. What else can we find?