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Magic

Magic Traditions

How the two main magical paths differ — and what tools each one brings to the table. Sources: SR2 core Magic chapter pp. 118–127, expanded in Grimoire 2nd Edition.

// THE SHORT VERSION

Both Hermetic mages and Shamans pick spells from the same Spell Directory using the same skills (Sorcery, Conjuring) and the same drain mechanic (Willpower to resist). The difference is everything around the spell: how the magician was trained, what spirits they call, what workspace and gear they need, what penalties they carry, and — for Shamans — the totem that defines their bonuses and constraints.

// AT A GLANCE

⌬

Hermetic

RATIONAL · FORMULA · LAB

The intellectual path. Magic is a discipline you study: read grimoires, write formulas, run repeatable experiments. Universities, corp wage-mages, and tower-of-the-occult types tend to be hermetic.

  • Workspace: Hermetic Circle (p. 126) — drawn for ritual sorcery and elemental summoning.
  • Library: Hermetic Library required for learning new spells (Magical Supplies, p. 263).
  • Spirits summoned: Elementals — Fire, Water, Earth, Air. Mobile; portable; short, contracted service.
  • Totem: none. No bonuses, no penalties, no geas.
  • Tone: Renaissance occultist, corp researcher, university magus.
See Smoke in the Dossiers — Hermetic Tradition, Mitsuhama-mentored.

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◐

Shamanic

INTUITIVE · TOTEM · DOMAIN

The intuitive path. Magic flows through the shaman from a totem — an animal-spirit patron — and is grounded in place. Tribal healers, urban shamans channelling Rat or Raven, and wilderness practitioners all sit here.

  • Workspace: Medicine Lodge (p. 125) — a consecrated space attuned to the shaman's totem.
  • Library equivalent: Medicine Lodge Materials + fetishes, not books.
  • Spirits summoned: Nature Spirits bound to a domain — City, Forest, Hearth, Mountain, Desert, Lake, Field, Prairie, Sea, Sky, Swamp, Storm. Out of domain → no spirit.
  • Totem: mandatory. Each totem gives spell-category bonuses and a real constraint (see below).
  • Tone: medicine worker, urban prophet, druidic guide.
See Brick in the Dossiers — Ork Shaman, Bear totem.

// SHARED vs DIFFERENT

Shared mechanics

  • The full Spell Directory — both traditions buy from the same list.
  • Sorcery skill rolled to cast.
  • Conjuring skill rolled to summon spirits.
  • Willpower rolled to resist drain.
  • Magic Rating = floor(Essence). Chrome kills both equally.
  • Force Points at chargen pay for spells and foci, regardless of tradition.

What differs

  • Spirits called: Elementals (Hermetic) vs Nature Spirits bound to a domain (Shamanic).
  • Material backup: books, libraries, formal foci (Hermetic) vs fetishes, lodge materials, totem items (Shamanic).
  • Totem effects: only shamans get spell-category dice bonuses — and the penalty side of the trade.
  • Geographic dependence: Hermetic mage's elemental works anywhere; shaman's nature spirit is helpless outside its domain.
  • Constraints / geasa: hermetic has none built in; many totems impose roleplay-and-mechanics constraints.

// TOTEMS — SHAMANIC ONLY

Pick one at chargen. Each totem grants spell-category dice bonuses (and sometimes conjuring bonuses for specific spirit types) and imposes a real constraint. Values verified against SR2 core, pp. 120–122.

Bear Forest
  • +2 dice Health spells
  • +2 dice conjuring Forest spirits

Berserker. When wounded, must make a Willpower test (TN 3) or attack the closest enemy until they fall or the spell wears off.

Cat Urban
  • +1 die Illusion spells
  • +2 dice conjuring City spirits

Vain. Cat will toy with prey rather than dispatch it; takes +1 TN penalty to be made to look foolish or undignified.

Coyote Anywhere
  • +2 dice Illusion / Manipulation spells
  • +1 die conjuring spirits

Trickster. Refuses to be bound by limits, contracts, or oaths. Compelled to deceive or upend social order on a fairly regular basis.

Dog Urban / Hearth
  • +2 dice Detection / Health spells
  • +2 dice conjuring Field & Hearth spirits

Single-minded loyalty. Once Dog locks onto an aim, changing plans requires a Willpower test (TN 4). Hard to convince once committed.

Eagle Mountains
  • +2 dice Manipulation spells
  • +2 dice conjuring Wind spirits

Proud and territorial. Defender of the land and the air; cannot tolerate pollution or destruction without responding.

Gator Swamp / Wilderness
  • +2 dice Combat / Detection spells
  • +2 dice conjuring spirits of swamp, lake, river
  • −1 die Illusion spells

Lazy & greedy. Won't break off feeding once started — Willpower test (TN 6) required to disengage from a fight that's already going well.

Lion Prairie
  • +2 dice Combat spells
  • +1 die conjuring Prairie spirits
  • −1 die Health spells

Ambush hunter. Strikes when conditions favour Lion; rarely strikes weak. Confrontation must feel earned.

Owl Wilderness
  • +2 dice Manipulation spells
  • +2 dice conjuring Night spirits
  • +2 to TN for all magic during daylight

Nocturnal. Owl is a creature of night — the daytime modifier above is a stiff price in any non-nocturnal run.

Raccoon Anywhere but desert
  • +2 dice Manipulation spells
  • −2 dice conjuring Desert spirits

Loner. Raccoon shaman doesn't share well; behaviour around groups is petulant. Cannot dignify violence — Raccoon's clever way around problems is favoured.

Rat Urban
  • +2 dice Detection / Illusion spells
  • +2 dice conjuring Spirits of Man
  • −1 die Combat spells

Dirty & furtive. Rat shamans typically scruffy, often unkempt; +1 to TN for all tests when clean/well-dressed (rejecting Rat's nature).

Raven Anywhere with open sky
  • +2 dice Manipulation spells
  • +2 dice conjuring spirits
  • −1 die Combat spells

Trickster & thief. Compelled to steal, lie, or play pranks regularly. +1 TN whenever the run takes Raven beyond open sky.

Shark Sea
  • +2 dice Combat / Detection spells
  • −1 die Health spells

Relentless hunter. Must keep moving; an idle Shark shaman gets restless and aggressive. Berserker rage similar to Bear when the kill is in sight.

Snake Anywhere except mountains
  • +2 dice Detection / Health / Illusion spells
  • +2 dice conjuring spirits of own choice

Secretive. Snake shamans are kept in close council with hidden knowledge — risk-takers when offered a secret worth holding.

Wolf Forest / Prairie / Mountain
  • +2 dice Detection / Combat spells
  • +2 dice conjuring Forest / Prairie spirits

Pack loyalty. Wolf shaman dies for the pack; will never show cowardice. Berserker rage similar to Bear under threat to friends/family.

// SPIRITS — WHO ANSWERS THE CALL

⌬ ELEMENTALS

Hermetic conjuring. Four flavours; each is a discrete summoned entity that performs a contracted number of services and is then dismissed.

  • Fire — heat, flame, energy
  • Water — fluid, currents, drowning
  • Earth — stone, soil, weight
  • Air — wind, breath, electrical effects

Mobile: serve the magician anywhere. Cost in time and material at summoning. (SR2 p. 150)

◐ NATURE SPIRITS

Shamanic conjuring. Each spirit is bound to a domain. Out of its domain it has no power; in-domain it's typically more capable than the equivalent elemental.

  • City
  • Desert
  • Field
  • Forest
  • Hearth
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Prairie
  • Sea
  • Sky
  • Storm
  • Swamp

Pick your ground. A City shaman is terrifying in the Sprawl; same shaman in the wilderness is a mage with no backup. (SR2 p. 149)

// ADEPTS — THE THIRD PATH

// NOT A TRADITION, A DIFFERENT KIND OF MAGICIAN

Adepts (sometimes Physical Adepts) channel magic through the body rather than through spellcasting. They don't pick a tradition because they don't cast spells — they invest Power Points (equal to their Magic Rating) into Adept Powers like Killing Hands, Increased Reflexes, and Pain Resistance.

Because adepts are mechanically distinct from full magicians, the full catalogue and selection rules live on their own page: → Adept Powers (07). See Talon in the Dossiers for a worked Elf Physical Adept.

// CAVEATS & FLAGS
  • Some totems' favoured environments and constraint details are paraphrased here for brevity — verify against pp. 120–122 of SR2 core for the exact wording the GM rules on at the table.
  • The book includes a handful of minor / regional totems beyond the 14 listed here, and Grimoire 2e adds more (Sea Mother, Wise Warrior, etc.). Worth a glance if a player wants something unusual.
  • Aspected magicians (sorcerer-only, conjurer-only, or focus-only) appear in Grimoire 2e and Awakenings. They're treated as a build option more than a tradition; ask if you want a writeup.