The sorcery and spellcasting in Mangayaw was one of the things I was most itching to revise. My initial goals were:

• A bigger variety of conditions
• A chance for conditions to become permanent PC traits
• Different themes of sorcery/spells
• Keep the simplicity of Cairn/Into the Odd

With this revision, I think I checked those parameters, more or less. It is longer though. As always, tell me what you think!

Mentala

The islands are filled with the mysterious, mystical, unnatural, and divine. Tawo harness these forces using incantations and verbal formulas called Mentala. These formulas are written on Vessels that a character may be able to read from, even in the heat of combat. A Vessel can only be inscribed with 1 Mentala.

The formula of a Mentala is made up of two parts, the Base and the Focus. There are 6 types of Bases: Agaw (Seize), Tuga (Gift), Bawi (Free), Tawag (Call), Kulam (Curse), and Baliw (Change). Under each of these Bases are 5 common Foci. Characters may learn any Mentala in any order. 

The 6 Bases are grouped based on the nature and costs of chanting these Mentala. 

• Agaw and Tuga are in the Mangayaw Mentala group.
• Bawi and Tawag are in the Bailan Mentala group.
• Kulam and Baliw are in the Aswang Mentala group.

Gaining Mentala

Mentala may be learned from willing teachers; for example, a Babaylan who taught you in exchange for Treasure, an Aswang begging for his life, or a Diwata who owes you a favor.

One may also take another’s Mentala, whether taken from their belongings or their cold, dead hands. 

Copying Mentala to a new Vessel is a costly and laborious venture. The words are alive and they are not easily goaded out of their home.

Chanting Mentala

To chant Mentala, a character has to read from the Vessel. In fights or other time-sensitive situations, this counts as one action in a Round. In doing so, the intended effects of the Mentala happen and the chanter suffers the Mentala’s cost.

Given time and safety, characters can enhance a Mentala’s effects (e.g. affecting multiple targets, increasing its power, etc.) without any additional cost.

If the chanter is deprived or in danger, the Mangaawit may require a LOOB save to avoid any ill-effects. Consequences of failure are on par with the intended effect, and may result in Fatigue, injury, or even death.

Mangayaw Mentala

Mentala written to aid the chanter in the art of raiding, whether it be through discreet or violent ways. Chanting these formulas comes at the cost of emotional and mental weight in the form of Ganid and Bangis.

Ganid and Bangis, like Fatigue, take up 1 inventory slot and can fill up your inventory with multiple copies. Specific actions clear Ganid and Bangis from the chanter’s inventory.

Common Vessels: a shield, a sheathe, a blade, a sash, a headband, a limb inscribed with tattoos

AGAW. Seize from your enemies within your sight. May your thieving be helpful to you and harmful to them. 

Chanting Agaw costs Ganid. Greed and selfishness plants in your heart. Ganid is cleared from your inventory the day after you indulge in your greed, or sought to show generosity instead.

• AGAW ISIP: Seize the thoughts running through someone’s mind. Their secrets, or passing thoughts, are yours. Suffer 1 Ganid.

• AGAW GALAW: Seize someone’s momentum for a turn, forcing them in place while augmenting your own movement. You are as swift as a deer and they are rooted like a tree. Suffer 1 Ganid.

• AGAW BAGAY: Seize an object you can carry and pull it towards you. A thief’s most prized technique. Suffer 1 Ganid.

• AGAW BUNGA: Seize the magical effects affecting an object or creature temporarily. You are a taker of blessings and curses alike. Suffer 2 Ganid.

• AGAW KATAWAN: Seize someone’s body, overtaking their soul and giving you control over their actions temporarily. Suffer 2 Ganid.

TUGA. Receive the gift of violence and augmentation from those who came before you, ancestors who invented the art of war and every tool it is waged with.

Chanting Tuga costs Bangis. The glory of violence fills you with heat and ferocity. Bangis is cleared from your inventory the day after you publicly boast about your fury, or choose to unsheathe your blade only as a last resort.

• TANAW TUGA: Receive the gift of the seeking sight. What is it that you seek? The glint of gold? The way forward? Or to see others for how they really are? Suffer 1 Bangis.

• SANDATA TUGA: Receive the gift of armament. Enhance the force of your attacks, blast away enemies with your blows, or cleave through your foe’s armor. Suffer 1 Bangis.

• KAMANDAG TUGA: Receive the gift of venom. The beasts of these islands have long utilized this flesh-eating power; now you too can augment objects with it. Suffer 1 Bangis.

• KALASAG TUGA: Receive the gift of protection. For a moment, what would normally harm you will be like a gentle mother’s kiss. Suffer 2 Bangis.

• LANTAKA TUGA: Receive the gift of artillery. Wherever you point will be pierced with a discreet but unstoppable bullet or explode with the force of Si-Gantar Alam, the largest cannon forged in the islands. Suffer 2 Bangis.

Bailan Mentala

Mentala written to communicate with and harness the powers of spirits and divinity. Chanting these formulas comes at the cost of simple favors or heavy Debts owed to the spirit you decide to bother. Most spirits do not care for gold, or simply have too much of it. But they are always in need of an agent to do their bidding.

Common Vessels: wooden, stone, or gold figures of animals, spirits, or deities. 

BAWI. Free others from what ails them. Long for the day there is true and lasting harmony in these Islands. Until that day comes, these words are needed. 

When chanting Bawi Mentala, what kind of spirit intervenes for you?

1    A powerful ancestor with a lot of enemies

2    A nature spirit that is protective of its realm

3    A diminutive folk with an interest in information brokering

4    A phenomenal deity that is as volatile as it is powerful

• BAWI TAKOT: Free someone from the limits of fear. The recklessness coming from the lack of fear is a weapon in itself. Owe a small favor to your intervening spirit.

• BAWI PANGANIB: Free yourself from danger. Nearby enemies will strongly feel to leave your presence. Owe a small favor to your intervening spirit.

• BAWI SUGAT: Free someone from their wounds and pain. Roll a d6, that is how much LAK or LIK you restore. Owe a small favor to your intervening spirit.

• BAWI SAKIT: Free someone from an illness or sorcery that harms them. Ailments and curses are exceedingly common in these islands. Owe a Debt to your intervening spirit.

• BAWI KAMATAYAN: Free someone from certain death. You cannot restore everything they lost, but they will live. Owe 2 Debt to your intervening spirit.

TAWAG. Call and speak to the spirits of the natives of these islands. If you ask to harness their power, do not be surprised if they ask for something in return.

• TAWAG TAWO: Call to the spirit inside Tawo or Folk-Unlike-Us that you know of. Not many would appreciate sudden voices in their minds. Owe a small favor or a Debt to them, depending on how much you ask of them.

• TAWAG HALAMAN: Call the vibrant plants and trees. They may spring forth from even the most barren land to answer your call. Owe a small favor or a Debt to them, depending on how much you ask of them.

• TAWAG HAYOP: Call magnificent beasts. They are wild, yet they uphold the delicate balance of their homes. Tawo could stand to learn more from them. Owe a small favor or a Debt to them, depending on how much you ask of them.

• TAWAG UMALAGAD: Call the ancient Umalagad. They are your ancestors, given physical form yet again. Uphold their legend and ideals, and they will aid you. Owe a small favor or a Debt to them, depending on how much you ask of them

• TAWAG DIWATA: Call the spirits that inhabit the most significant landmarks and embody the natural phenomenons. Prove yourself to them and they shall lend you a portion of their power. Owe a small favor or a Debt to the spirit, depending on how much you ask of them.

Aswang Mentala

Mentala written by the curse-whispering, shape-shifting, and viscera-eating. Chanting these formulas expose you to the consequences of curses and unnatural change. Make a LOOB save to avoid rolling on the Consequences table. 

When a Binmanwa’s LOOB is reduced to 0 due to chanting Aswang Mentala, they are turned into an Aswang NPC hostile to the party.

Consequences

When you reroll a consequence you’ve already taken once before, suffer d6 LOOB damage instead.

1. You suffer d6 LOOB damage
2. You are weak to salt, spices, and fire (taken once)
3. You are deeply disturbed by loud noises (taken once)
4. You are prone to extreme mood swings (taken once)
5. Your presence makes others’ skins crawl (taken once)
6. You can curse and twist 1 small creature to be your familiar; they have a thirst for blood
7. Anyone who looks you in the eye becomes terrified (taken once)
8. One of your body parts take on a different, hideous form
9. You are Deprived when exposed to sunlight (taken once)
10. You cannot recuperate from Fatigue in the safety of a community (taken once)
11. You can only stomach consuming Tawo blood, viscera, or carrion, becoming Deprived after 7 days of abstinence (taken once)
12. Your whole body takes on a new, bestial form, and you gain the strength of three Tawo (taken once)

Common Vessels: a bamboo slate, a hardwood slate, a bamboo section filled with insects

KULAM. Curse your enemies with the vilest of sorceries. These are the words of witches and cowardly datu, but one cannot deny their usefulness. 

• LIGAW KULAM: Curse a foe with a blindness to directions. For d8 days, they will be like a boat trapped in a current, with no islands to guide their way. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d4 on the Consequences table.

• MAGA KULAM: Curse a foe’s body part to swell to grotesque size. The swelling turns common actions into hard labors and will worsen if left untreated. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d6 on the Consequences table.

• SALOT KULAM: Curse a foe with a swarm of pests. A cloud of insects to bite them in their sleep, or a stream of rats to decimate their farms. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d8 on the Consequences table.

• SUKO KULAM: Curse a foe to have an intense fear of you that they will not harm you for a day. Plots and schemes too far removed from them are fair game, however. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d10 on the Consequences table.

• KAMATAYAN KULAM: Curse a foe and ensure their demise. Someone cursed with death shall perish with the slightest bump or the shallowest wound. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d12 on the Consequences table.

BALIW. Change yourself and others, form and soul. Do not reject it; change is a necessary part of life.

• BALIW UGALI: Change someone’s current temperament. A community places trust in the consistency of personality; weaponize that trust. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d4 on the Consequences table.

• BALIW TANAW: Change everyone’s perception for you. They might avert their eyes from you and what you do, or you might appear dressed with gold in every extremity. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d6 on the Consequences table.

• BALIW BIYAS: Change a part of your body into another form temporarily. Tongue into long bloodsucker, teeth into fangs, arms into wings. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d8 on the Consequences table.

• BALIW ALAALA: Change someone’s memory. Memories have always been unreliable and easy to manipulate anyways. Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d10 on the Consequences table.

• BALIW ANYO: Change your entire body into another form temporarily. Why have you chosen a body so unlike your own? Succeed in a LOOB save or roll a d12 on the Consequences table.

Mastery of Mentala

Once a Binmanwa has gained all five common Foci of a Base, they can call themselves a master of that Mentala Base. They can understand its very essence and meaning. Like a goldsmith handling the precious, malleable metal, Masters can extend and reform its meaning by writing new Foci in a costly and laborious process.

The Mangaawit and player must agree that the new Focus fits the Mentala Base. Compromise on the effects, keep it short and evocative. 

Apply a suitable cost to chanting, based on the other common Mentala given. The more specific and simple the effect, the gentler the cost. The more widely-encompassing and powerful the effect, the harsher the cost.