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Diwa (Karanduun Supplement)

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Diwa

Diwa is both the building block and the string upon which all of reality is spun. It permeates all things, and exists in varying states of matter. In a manner of speaking, that chair you see in front of you is Diwa, in a given form. Break it down to its most essential components and you shall see Diwa.

However Diwa can be used more than that. It exists in four states:

  • Agos, Diwa echoing Water. This is the normal state of Diwa, the Diwa that makes up all things.
  • Tagos, Diwa echoing Air. This is the Diwa that binds things together. It can be manipulated at this level, and if one were to have some means of seeing the invisible machinations of the gods, they will see tiny strands that link everything to everything, as well as the Diwata that embody everything. Diwa in this state can be known as “Fate”, and indeed, the Agents of Heaven call this Tadhana. Tagos permeates all things, can fill something, and can even nudge the direction of reality. The Espiritu, or the Spirit World, is made almost entirely of Tagos, and manipulation of Tagos can lead to travel into Espiritu.
  • Bala, Diwa echoing Fire. This is the Diwa that burns within every living being, and every thing is a living being because everything has a diwata. The Human Eight-Point Soul is made up of this Burning Diwa, and so are the powerful essences of the Karanduun. Burning Diwa can be used to affect other states -- most commonly by having a lot of Burning Diwa, you have more say in how reality works. Thus why Burning Diwa in all beings is known as “Bala”, or “Power”. It is their measure of capability, and it is well known that the Karanduun possess “Unlocked” Bala, which allows their Bala to transcend event that of Gods.
    • Karanduun Bala or Unlocked Bala, Diwa echoing Divine Flame. This is a special kind of Bala that has been released into the world after the Thousand Tears and Lightnings Apocalypse. Now almost anyone, even those non-human, have the capacity of becoming Karanduun. Karanduun Bala burns and it propels those that accrue it to greater heights, burning with power and divinity and grace and radiance. These are the Bala that our Heroes are made of.
  • Tigas, Diwa echoing Earth. This is similar to Flowing, except it is raw Diwa turned into matter. It usually manifests as a colorless glowing lump that is infinitely malleable, similar to clay. Some might say that the diwata, when they materialize, are in this Calcified state, and when they dematerialize, returning to the spirit, they are in the Permeating state.

All beings have Bala. Particularly powerful beings -- such as Gods or Mortals or Spirits -- can actually raise their Bala, making them stronger and granting them power. Karanduun have access to a powerful Heroic Bala that spurs them to greater heights, allowing them greater success in a dead world.

Gaining and raising Bala can be two ways: either by killing living beings with Bala, or by cultivating it through sheer meditation. “Divinity through bloodshed” is a common saying echoed in Yavuman Faith and Dayawan Scripts. Cultivation through meditation is longer and takes a more pacifistic route, meditating in various natural spots in the world that have lots of Tagos Diwa that they can absorb and turn into Bala. Eating the heart of something or stealing their heads is a great way to earn large amounts of Bala.

Bala

Bala is the Spiritual Force of a particular being. All things have Bala, even stones and/or trees. The Karanduun, however, have the ability to manipulate their Bala, to use it to exceed their mortal limits. This is the main thing that separates the Karanduun Hero from a Mortal one.

Bala Points

Each Karanduun's soul fulminates with Bala. Each character begins with a pool of Bala equal to 2 + one-fourth your level, rounded down. At level 1, one gets 2 Bala Points. At Level 4, one gets 3 Bala Points, and so on.

Burning

Using your Bala is referred to as Burning by the Karanduun Parawali. By spending one point of Bala, you can accomplish one of the following effects:

  • Katulinan (Alacrity): You blur with speed, your hands and arms glowing with a burning furnace-glow with a color of your choosing. You may make another Standard, Minor, or Move Action.
  • Lagpasan (Exceed): Your spirit fulminates from your body as you exert effort. Roll 1d8 and add the result to an attack roll, saving throw, ability check, or skill check.
  • Parusa (Punish): Your hand blurs with the speed of your scorn. Whenever you roll damage, you can spend an action point to deal 1[W] extra damage if the attack was a weapon attack, or 1d8 extra damage if it wasn’t. Only one target of the attack takes this extra damage.
  • Subukan Muli (Try Again): You see an opportunity, but you press the offensive too soon. Your spirit empowers you, letting you see a second opportunity. Don't waste it. When you miss with an encounter attack power, you can spend an action point to regain the use of that power.
  • Hinga (Breathe): You inhale, and your spirit flows through you, pushing you to limits that lets you ignore your fatigue. You can spend an action point to spend a healing surge to regain hit points.
  • Kalasag (Shield): As you are hit by an enemy's death-filled blow, your body glows briefly with a bright flash, as your Bala rushes to shield you from a fatal blow. You can spend an action point when an enemy scores a critical hit against you. The enemy then treats the critical hit as a normal hit.

Burning Bala can only be done once per round.

Gaba and Grasya

But the flow of Diwa is not something that only permeates us, but it affects us. The metaphysical force of retribution exists, flowing along the currents of Gaba and Grasya.

Gaba is retribution for evil acts. It comes in the form of curses. One might suddenly experience the world to be conspiring against them. A coconut falls on top of their newly wedded wife, or the game they were hunting turns out to be a maligno. Extremely high concentrations of Gaba, usually gained by malicious people, may even deliver punishment directly. Their body develops bruises, they receive nightmares they can never remember, they might feel sick all the time.

Gaba is impending, and one cannot truly escape it. Once you have it, you will receive the retribution you deserve. The fact is, though, that gaba is purely random. Sometimes, the person with gaba might not receive it during their lifetime, and maybe their descendants and scions might. Other times, the person might feel the effects of the gaba immediately.

Saying "Purya Gaba" when walking by a shadowed place is usually a sign to ward off evil. It does not, however, ward off gaba.

One accrues gaba by:

  • Killing your fellowmen who are supposed to be in peace with you (those not in raids, women and children, and those that are your friends)
  • Disrespecting elders
  • Abusing animals
  • Desecrating holy places or objects
  • Cursing God, or the Apo (it is well known to most Zuhayran Scholars that cursing God (Yavum) came after the colonization of the islands)
  • Destroying the mounds of a duwende

Every time one commits those acts of retribution, they gain 1 point of Gaba. It is then up to the DM to see when they will roll whether the person in question suffers Gaba or not. The DM makes a Gaba Check against 10 + (1/2 your level) with a modifier equal to the points of Gaba accrued (remember that a saving throw is successful on a roll resulting in 11+). If it succeeds, the DM may choose or roll from the Gaba table below.

More importantly, if the character's Gaba reaches a number equal to their Wisdom Score, they suffer two from the table below and they have the chance of becoming a maligno or Aswang.

Roll a 1d6

  1. Lashing. You suffer 10 + (1/2 level) points of damage.
  2. Enervation.You lose a Healing Surge and you are weakened.
  3. Incompetency. Your highest Ability and your lowest Ability scores are switched until your next Extended Rest.
  4. Bad Luck. For every roll you make, roll twice and take the lower result. This effect lasts until your next Extended Rest.
  5. Unfortunate Visage. The next character you meet immediately takes a hostile reaction to you.
  6. Fool's Gold. Any Gold that you gain is rendered fool's gold and obsolete.
Grasya

If Gaba is divine retribution, Grasya is heavenly grace. This is the good-will of Tadhana working with you as you do good things in their sight. Grasya, when accrued, adds to the Bala Point pool of the Karanduun, allowing them more resources to achieve greater things. It should be known that this concept has existed even before the Yavuman Priests came and preached the teachings of Yavum.

Accrue 1 point of Grasya whenever you:

  • Save an innocent person or people
  • Defeat a maligno, halimaw, or yawa
  • Prayer and sacrifice to the gods in their chosen shrine or holy place
  • Say "Tabi Po" when near a duwende monund and not stepping on it
  • Making sure that the land is safe from harm
  • Whenever you sacrifice something for the good of all (your arm, your family, etc.)
  • Whenever you sacrifice something for the good of yourself (saving your brother instead of an entire family on the streets)

Spirits

Diwata

The Diwata are the Spirits of Nature. They are the ones that embody everything -- there is a Diwata of a stone, of waterfalls, of trees, of lightning, of justice, of storms, of the sky. In addition, they have their own society, which is now the Invisible Society hidden in Spirit. The Hierarchy is as follows:

At the bottom of the rung are the Minor Diwata. These Diwata are usually non-sentient, existing only as an embodiment, and do not have “human” thought. Unlike other Diwata, a specific thing or concept might have multiple Lesser Diwata attached to them. They usually materialize as floating sprites, in various sizes ranging from anthropomorphic to platonic (cubes, spheres, flat circles).

Next are the Earthly Diwata. These are Diwata that are already sentient, and are capable of “human” thought. They exist in a state of being separate of their embodiment, and can have emotions, although they still reflect what they embody, and are ultimately that which they embody. They also usually have very alien conceptions of emotions, as they are not privy to normal human emotional limits. A river Diwata might fall in love with a mortal man, but their emotions might be rushing like the river, and she will leave him in the next instant as a river pushes against a large rock that bars its way. She may express regret, but she will never return to that man. Such is the nature of earthly diwata.

The highest on the rung are Heavenly Diwata, or the Apung Diwata. These are the most powerful of the Diwata, and are “Gods” in the modern sense of the word -- powerful beings that possess greater power than humans. Currently it is said that the most powerful Apo is the Mad Sky, Maykaptan, although should the Actor of Power return there would be a Clash of Strengths. Heavenly Diwata can embody more than just one concept or natural object. They can embody fire as much as they can embody war. They can embody disease as much as they can embody the rainbow. However they are more “human” in their way of thinking, and can get desperate when required, especially in the decadent metropolis of Maka. Most Heavenly Diwata live in Maka, the Skyworld, but that is not a mandatory thing. Bu-an and Sui-dapa both live in the Mountain of Madja-as, for example, and Mal-yari, the Crescent Moon, is nowhere to be found.

It is not impossible to rise in the hierarchy. What one needs are Prayers, which is a currency in the Society of the Diwata. Prayers directly power diwata, granting them more power, bolstering their Bala and giving them a place in the hierarchy of power. Thus why diwata are need humans, and mortals as a whole, to worship them. A more powerful form of Prayer is Sacrifice.

Generally, the act of Praying is something that can bolster any Bala, provided that it is sufficient. Mortal Bala needs exponentially more prayers than a diwata does for the purposes of rising in power.

Diwata hold the Karanduun, both those that are Born and those that have Awakened Bala, in both respect and contempt. Respect because they are the ones that fought against the tyranny of the Mad Sky, as well as generally helping the diwata gain prayers during the Sinaunang Kedatuan. Some of them hold the Karanduun in contempt because they were born with the capacity to become better than them.

Katalonan are humans (and Karanduun) that bargain and speak and exchange pleasantries with all types of Diwata. Usually, a Katalonan would allow a diwata to possess them, in a process known as Taruna which means “Help” in the ancient Diwatan speech. This ritual which would last for hours would be used to possess the body of the medium, and the two would combine. The Katalonan would have access to the powers of a Diwata. Minor Diwata are the easiest to perform Tolona with. Heavenly Diwata usually takes days to perform the ritual with, made up of long prayers, a sung epic, intricate dances, and numerous sacrifices.

There are some Katalonan that focus on channeling a single type of Spirit. Those that are more adept in channeling Anito are known as Anitowan, and those that are more adept in channeling the Diwata are known as Diwateros.

Anito

The Anito are either -- Ancestral Spirits or Guardian spirits. The Anito are the spirits of humans, although what kind of humans depends on what category they fall within.

Ancestral Anito are the spirits of a specific person’s long-dead Ancestor, A great warrior may be an Ancestral Anito, or a wise sage. Similarly to the Diwata, ancestral anito are prayed to by their families as ancestor worship is prevalent in the islands, even in the midst of colonization. The more prayers the ancestor gets, the more power he earns in the afterlife, which is either trudging around Sulad or living it up in Maka. Most ancestral anito, when prayed to, are most happy to give advice and even concrete help, such as a family heirloom, or a piece of potent magic. They can also possess a being, and can also be the target of a Katalonan. Sometimes, though, they would do it voluntarily.

Guardian Anito are Anito that usually don’t have human thought (although some of them do) and are bound by their being to protect a person. Most people begin life with one or two Guardian anito that protect them from various dangers as well as various diseases. Most people earn more Guardian Anito as time pass, and this renders them more impervious to diseases and helps them wither strikes, but not death itself. Karanduun have powerful Guardian Anito usually. Sometimes Guardian Anito can be an Ancestral Anito as well.



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