Building Spiritual Content

This chapter covers how to create spiritual content for Root and Stem: designing spirits, building Places of Power, constructing exorcism rituals, and designing undead armies.

Designing Spirits

Every spirit has two axes: Soul Density (1–30) and CE Alignment (Benevolent to Malicious). These determine everything about the spirit's behavior, difficulty, and mechanical impact.

Density Classification:

CE Alignment determines exorcism difficulty:

• Benevolent: -1 tier DC
• Neutral: Standard
• Dark: +1 tier DC
• Malicious: +2 tiers DC

Design tip: start with the spirit's density, then determine its alignment based on its role in the story. A guardian spirit is likely Benevolent. A vengeful ghost is likely Dark. An ancient entity is likely Nether or Superior.

Building Places of Power

A Place of Power has two independent axes: Power Level and Danger Level. A Faint Place can be Low danger (a barrow with minor hauntings) or Standard danger (a place where spirits actively seek hosts). A Dense Place can be Very Hard or Catastrophic.

Schema conventions:

• powerLevel: Faint/Moderate/Strong/Dense/Nether — determines ambient spirit density
• dangerLevel: Low/Standard/Hard/Very Hard/Extreme/Catastrophic — determines encounter severity
• ambientDensity: text description of typical spirit population (e.g., "Minor (Density 1-4)")
• effects: array of environmental effects (healing boost, spiritual damage resistance, etc.)
• spirits: array of creature references (the typical inhabitants)
• resolution: text describing how to seal or neutralize the Place

Design tip: the most interesting Places of Power have contradictory properties. A Place that heals the living but empowers the dead. A Place where Creation energy dominates but a Malicious spirit guards the entrance. Tension drives stories.

Constructing Exorcism Rituals

Every ritual has a required skill level (1–11), a target classification (which density range it addresses), and a set of steps that define the procedure.

Schema conventions:

• requiredSkill: minimum Soul Attunement (1=trivial, 3=apprentice, 7=master, 9=grandmaster, 11=transcendent)
• targetClassification: text describing density range (e.g., "Minor to Moderate (Density 1-8)")
• steps: array of procedural steps (the ritual's physical actions)
• materials: array of required components
• duration: time to perform
• ceModifier: how spirit alignment affects difficulty
• successRate: narrative probability description
• risk: consequences of failure

Design tip: rituals should escalate in danger alongside the spirit's density. A Minor banishment has low risk. A Nether sealing ceremony has catastrophic failure consequences. The risk table should match the stakes.

Designing Undead Armies

An undead army is defined by its total Soul Density, its tactics, and its composition.

Schema conventions:

• totalSoulDensity: sum of all unit densities
• maxControl: commander's Soul Density (the control limit)
• tactics: Mindless Swarm/Basic Formation/Tactical/Advanced/Mastermind
• composition: array of {type, count, soulDensityEach}
• weakness: text describing exploitable vulnerabilities
• commander: character reference (the controlling entity)

Design tip: armies should have clear weaknesses that players can exploit. A Mindless Swarm is vulnerable to area attacks. A Tactical formation can be disrupted by targeting the commander. An Advanced formation requires a multi-pronged approach.

Integration Guidelines

When creating spiritual content, always:

1. Reference the core chapters (34–37) for mechanical consistency
2. Match density classifications to the Soul Density scale
3. Apply CE weight to all spiritual actions
4. Scale difficulty with spirit density and alignment
5. Provide resolution paths — every spiritual threat should have a way to be addressed