Nemesis Spirits

A nemesis is the villain of one culture's folk tales, a wicked king, traitorous counselor, or beast that the culture's heroes once overthrew. Each is unique, gorgeous or grotesque, and each craves its old rival's humiliation and its people's ruin, its followers forever warring with the hero spirit's devotees. Yet if it ever erased that hero's cult and memory, it would fade as well, for it lives on only as the hero's foe.

It fights with its legendary weapons, or natural ones if a beast. Four times a day, whenever it wishes, any nemesis can cast pass without trace, cause fear, or a charm spell affecting a person, monster, or plants.

It takes shamans of chaotic or evil alignment who will fight its rival's followers; a single sacrifice (with a Shamanic Ritual check) seals the pact. The shaman may never aid, cooperate with, or sacrifice to the matching hero spirit and must undermine its followers whenever possible.

It needs no sacrifice to survive but grants nothing without a monthly offering, at minimum a chicken per worshiper, preferably something grander such as relatives of the rival's worshipers. It sponsors all spiritualist spells and tribal shaman spells of 3rd level or lower, and gives favored servants a nonmagical +1 to hit and a curse they can lay on one foe every second round.