Spirit Island All Spirits
Spirit Island is a personal favorite game of mine. One of the reasons for that is the fact that the game has a high replayability factor. You can customize the game quite a lot and the game will play out differently than the last time you played.
This is great because you'll get more use out of the game. One of the reasons that it is such a highly replayable game is because of the spirits in the game. In the game, you control a spirit and have to keep the invaders from invading your lands. Each spirit has its own board and its own play style. Some spirits start off very slow but get very strong in the later games. While some are stronger from the start, they kind off stay at that power level throughout the game. And some are more support spirits, meaning they are more valuable in a game with multiple spirits. And then there is usually also a spirit present for any kind of unique mechanic
So if you ever don't feel like a certain play style or it just doesn't work for you, then you can switch and try another play style. And that is something that I very much like in this game. The spirits are one of the reasons that the game does so well.
In this article, I'll go over a list of all the spirits in Spirit Island. There are currently 37 spirits available throughout the base game and its expansions. We also have an article on the website about all the expansions of Spirit Island. In case you also want to check that out. For now, let's get started with the list of spirits for Spirit Island:
Base Game Spirits
Lightning's Swift Strike has a complexity of LOW, as it is one of the starting spirits in the base game. This spirit is all about speed. Its ability allowing to make slow powers fast. The lore about this spirit is as follows:
"The child of a passing storm-spirit, Lightning's Swift Strike danced off the shores of the island many ages ago, and liked it enough to stay. It spends much of its time resting and quiet, waking up to dance through the sky when the winds blow strong.
It only concerns itself occasionally with the Dahan, usually appearing out of nowhere to send them off on some obscure errand. The Dahan cooperate - partly out of wary respect for Lightning's power, but as much for the sake of the Thunderspeaker - Lightning's child - who is a patron and ally of their people."
River Surges in Sunlight is a spirit depicted as a river and has a LOW complexity. Its ability allows it to create holy sites in wetlands without there having to be a second presence. This spirit is very good at pushing invaders away to prevent them from building & ravaging. The lore about this spirit is as follows:
"On most of Spirit Island, the rivers run high during the rainy season, as one would expect. There is one exception: the lingering remains of an ancient curse keep a high ridge shrouded in ice, and when the sun beats down, it feeds a single river with abundant meltwater.
River Surges in Sunlight is a spirit of rushing water, inundation, and bounty out of season.
It gets along well with the Dahan who farm along its banks; they reap the benefit of good harvests, and tend to the health of the river in its drier times. Both gain."
Vital Strength of the Earth is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit has a lot of slow cards and starts the game off very slow and mostly reacts after the issues arrive. It does have a very good energy output, so the longer the games go, the stronger this spirit will become. Its ability allows you to defend 3 wherever you have a holy site. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
"A spirit of great and unhurried power. The life that earth yields up to roots, the ground supporting the life that lives upon it. The patience of seasons and of stone.
It is not usually a direct benefactor of the Dahan - rather than giving blessings it prefers to work in concert with them, lending power to joint undertakings.
Currently it is trying to rouse itself to fight against the Invaders, but this swift and direct action runs somewhat counter to its nature."
Shadows Flicker Like Flame is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit is very focused on generating fear and killing any lone invaders however, it doesn't have big damage output like some other spirits. It is able to target a lot of spaces around the map as its ability allows it to target land with Dahan for the cost of 1 energy. The lore around this spirit is as follows:
"The Dahan say, "If the long shadows of sunset stretching beside you being to shift and flicker like tongues of hungry fire, do not run. That will only feed your fear, and whet the shadows' appetite."
This spirit invokes an instinctive fear in humans, perhaps because it doesn't think at all like humans do - it's more alien-minded than most. Until a few generations ago, the Dahan careful propitiated it only at a distance, steering as clear as they could. But during the Years of The Relentless Sun, it shaded large swaths of the Island, averting catastrophe; since then, many Dahan have been willing to carefully - and cautiously - heed its words, feeling they have a debt they out to try to replay."
Thunderspeaker is a MODERATE complexity spirit. It is a spirit mostly focused on the Dahan as most of its cards interact or require a Dahan on the land that they want to target. Your ability is also Dahan-focused. Whenever you move a Dahan, you may move a presence along with it. However, whenever a Dahan dies, you'll also destroy one of your presence in a radius of 1. So taking care of your Dahan is very important. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
"Child of the lightning, once known as Bright Thunder Roars in the days when it tore across the land as an avalanche of sound and chaos. It lost that form when the Stalker of Hidden Secrets imprisoned it in a canyon, binding it to echo perpetually back and forth until its thunder died out or the stones of the island wore away.
The Dahan freed it from that imprisonment. Weakened but grateful, Bright Thunder Roars bound itself to aid the Dahan until a generation had passed for every year of its imprisonment, and in so binding changed its nature, becoming both less and more than it had been. It often takes human form, now, and with centuries' practice wears it with ease.
Chiefs call on the Thunderspeaker only in times of great need; it has not been much seen since the destruction of the Servant Cults."
A Spread of Rampant Green is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit is very good at putting down its presence across the map as it has an automatic growth action where you are allowed to add a presence to the map, either from your board or from your destroyed presence. As this spirit is able to sacrifice its presence on a holy sight to prevent invaders from ravaging there. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
"One of the older spirits on the island, though it's even more wild and exuberant these days than when it was young. Contrary to some stories, it does think things through - it's just far more concerned with the process of life than with things like 'consequences".
It's not unfriendly to the Dahan, but its idea of a good time is to smother their buildings in all manner of inconvenient greenery, and its notion of "help" transforms careful cultivated areas into overgrown thickets. Entire villages have been known to move to fresh planting-sites years early if a spirit-speaker suspects that Rampant Green is going to stay in the area for too long."
Ocean's Hungry Grasp is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is basically the ocean on the map. This spirit has the special rule that it lives in the ocean and is only able to spread out to the coastal areas. So inland areas are very difficult to reach for this spirit. It is very good at dealing with damage as it is able to push invaders into the ocean. Whenever this happens, they will drown and get moved to the board of the spirit. The player can then exchange these invaders for energy. The lore around this spirit is as follows:
"The hunger of the ocean runs deep and powerful, sometimes patient, sometimes tempestuous and angry. It slowly wears away at rocky shores, or devours half an island during a hurricane. It lures humans out onto the water with its sire call, then consumes ship and crew alike unless the proper offerings are made.
The ocean's voraciousness keeps the Dahan from frequent sea travel, though they still manage a trading expedition every decade or so. These trading-trips take the cooperation of several families, and always involve at least two spirit-speakers. That way, even if one perishes abroad, the expedition will still be able to get home."
Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares
Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is very focused on generating fear. It is so focused, that it isn't able to do any damage to the invaders (apart from Dahan fighting back). Whenever you would deal damage to invaders, you will instead generate fear and be able to push them around. This spirit's main focus is winning through the fear victory as it isn't able to defeat any invaders. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
"When the moon is bright, and the leaves overhead are thin enough to let stray beams fall to earth, the Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares may sometimes be spied, an apparition of pale light and deep shadow. Seen this way, it will neither stop nor acknowledge attempts to communicate with it, whether by Dahan or Spirit. It might not even be there at all: perhaps it's a reflection of a self somewhere else entirely; the realm of the The Pathmaker, or some strange road that borders it.
But beings which dream hear from the Bringer frequently, even if they rarely remember it. Certain patterns may even call its attention, if drawn with sand and scatters with breath before sleep. Since the Invaders came, it has tended towards more terrifying forms, even well before the current conflict arose."
Branch & Claw Spirits
The Branch & Claw expansion comes with 2 new spirits that you can play with:
Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit focuses on the beast tokens and the jungle. It has great starting cards, although it doesn't really scale a lot and might need some more power in the end game. Its ability allows you to move your presence whenever a beast token is moved from land with your presence in it. You are also able to remove a presence in exchange for a beast token. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
"A predator-spirit of the jungles, a stalker and hunter of animal and human alike. Wherever it lives, savage beasts emerge to hunt, and the jungle grows dark and ominous.
Sharp Fangs doesn't bother talking to the Dahan. Sometimes it will hunt them, or run them off, but for the most part it ignores them. The Dahan's legends tell of a time when Sharp Fangs hunted them more actively, until a pair of warriors - twins, sister and brother - drove it off with traps and guile, then turned the tables and hunted it down. Since then, it has seen the Dahan as not-entirely-prey, which, for it, is something akin to respect."
Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit uses the wilds token for expanding its presence and for making sure that invaders don't invade its spaces. It however doesn't synergize with the Dahan very much. After you would create a holy site on a location, it'll also push out all the Dahan that are present. Most of its starting cards are slow, so it'll take a bit for this spirit to get started. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
"Spread throughout Spirit Island are pockets of deep wilderness, untouched by human hands. A few have a spirit of sanctity about them. The leaves there whisper words of forbiddance, of warnings, of wrath for those who trespass. The Dahan know how to listen, and stay well away.
A few spirit-seekers claim that these wild-spirits (powerful as they are) are merely custodians and wardens for other more powerful, spirits of ancient trees and deep roots who wake neither frequently nor easily. Nobody much cares to test the truth of the matter."
Promo Pack Spirits
Heart of the Wildfire is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit starts with a lot of potential damage and that only gets higher throughout the game. There is a drawback though. This spirit very easily adds new blight tokens to the island. So you need to find good ways to get rid of those blight tokens. Luckily, you'll be able to use its innate power to remove the blight tokens. Blight tokens generated from spirit effects also don't destroy your presence, which does make your presence more resilient. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
A spirit of natural destruction... and renewal after destruction, though those whose lands have been scoured by flame don't usually much appreciate the latter. Thrives near human habitations, glorying in their fires and sparks, but has existed on the island since long before the Dahan arrived, a child of the Volcano and the Green.
The Wildfire is a long-standing friend of the Dahan: the early slash-and-burn agriculture which turned most Spirits against them gave it the best decades it had had in centuries. It later supported the Dahan during the Second Reckoning, backing their threats of reprisal. It doesn't interact with the Dahan often these years, but spares their villages as best it can, and fights the Invaders in large part for them.
Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island
Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is very slow to get started but becomes extremely powerful in the late game. It starts with very slow energy income and a maximum of 5 presence. It is able to increase its maximum presence by playing its cards and other spirits are able to help. When it eventually gets to the late game, it'll be able to deal damage to the whole island. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Long ago in an earlier age, there was only water where islands now lie. One day - for there were day and night by then, though humans did not yet exist - a great serpent grew tired of swimming and decided to rest. It drew the earth up around itself, and so the island was born. Other stories say different things - in particular, Volcano Looming High has its own account - but stories do not need to agree for them to be true. Regardless, many spirits can sense the immense serpent deep below. It is mostly asleep, and its influence on the land above is limited, but the Invaders' Blight already begins to sting it towards greater wakefulness.
Downpour Drenches the World is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is quite mobile and defensive as it is able to isolate lands. It has a lot of synergy with wetlands and even lets you treat lands with presence as wetlands, along with their printed land type. It is also able to repeat powers and decrease the amount of damage on land including from the Dahan. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
The deluge. As the Dahan say, "When the very air turns to water and the sound of rainfall drowns out all but the loudest of thunder, at that moment when it could not conceivably pour any more - and then suddenly, impossibly, it is raining twice as much - that is the downpour."
A Spirit of the high skies bridging to the earth below with a cascading torrent of water, rain blowing on the wind and soaking the ground. Flies back and forth across the boundary between water which brings life and growth, and water which overwhelms everything save the plants and soil entwined in each other's protection.
Finder of Paths Unseen is a VERY HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is able to make a portal to make two lands adjacent to each other. It does not have a good way to damage invaders though, its main way is to move invaders & other tokens around the board and create invader-free zones. Its presence track is also different from other spirits, whereas your tracks intertwine with each other and you are able to backtrack on the other track. The lore about this spirit is as follows:
Finder of Paths Unseen is well known to the Dahan: it traverses the island with ease, and most spirit-speakers have met it at least once or twice. It communicates more straightforwardly than most Spirits, layering thought-sendings over its high-pitched trills. And it - or its assistants - sometimes help soulforms of dead Dahan move swiftly on, eluding those Spirits that seek to devour them.
It is almost commonplace... but also deeply enigmatic, even to those clans who call it Pathfinder. Does it locate paths, or make them? Is the other-space it moves through a realm, or a state of being? While it is occasionally willing to answer, its thoughts do not always translate well to words.
Jagged Earth Spirits
Stone's Unyielding Defiance is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit is a very defensive spirit. It is able to stop blight from cascading if it has more presence than the amount of blight there. It can also take blight from the box instead of the blight card, granting you more time before you get an unhealthy island. It is also able to counter-attack after the invaders ravage based on the damage done. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Some things refuse to break.
Underneath the soil and sand of the island lies rock, layer upon layer built up over the ages. Some stones weather quickly once exposed to the elements, while others are sterner and harder. Stone's Unyielding Defiance is a Spirit of that stone which resists being shattered, moved, or shaped to the will of another.
It is capable of tremendous feats of resilience and obstinacy, particularly when confronted head-on in a belligerent fashion. It's not unfriendly to other Spirits or the Dahan, but it works with them on its own terms.
Shifting Memory of Ages is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit is quite special as it doesn't have any good damage or defense cards, it mostly relies on the minor and/or major cards that it gets. While you normally have to forget a power when picking a major power, with this spirit you'll only have to discard a card. You are also able to prepare elements. You can then spend them whenever you want to trigger any special effects on your power cards. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
An immensely old Spirit that has ascended to great power countless times over the ages - and then destroyed that power each time, severing huge pieces of itself to become small once again. It does this in part for the thrill of learning anew, but also for the delight of perceiving the living world on the short timescales that larger Spirits grow beyond.
The Invaders' arrival has pushed it to grow much more quickly that it usually would, re-learning lessons and powers from its deep past in order to fight more effectively. After the fight is won, there will be time to forget, to diminish, and to renew itself once more.
Grinning Trickster Stirs Up Trouble
Grinning Trickster Stirs Up Trouble is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit can be quite random. The special rules of this spirit allow you to add an additional strife token whenever you add one and tell you to destroy one of your presence whenever you remove a blight. One of your innate powers requires you to discard minor power cards until you find one that targets a land, you then have to trigger it at the MAX range and combine any OR sentences. So this spirit can be quite random; sometimes it might be better not to do anything. The lore around this spirit is as follows:
There are many trickster Spirits, but this one is the most infamous due to its part in instigating the Second Great Reckoning between the Dahan and the Spirits. It wears any form it pleases - perhaps a tree, perhaps a canoe, perhaps a prominent clan-chief - but can always be distinguished by its multitude of eyes, though they may be subtle or concealed.
Despite its knack for stirring up trouble, it's neither unfriendly nor motivated by malice - it just has a driving curiosity to see what will happen when it messes around with things. Of course, this may involve putting Spirits, people, and animals alike into suddenly precarious situations, so the Dahan appreciate its shenanigans best at a healthy distance.
Lure of the Deep Wilderness is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit is very much focused on the badlands, beasts, disease, and wilds tokens. Being able to deal damage equal to the number of tokens on the land. It is also good at turning towns and cities into explorers, making them easier for you and your fellow spirits to destroy. The special rules for this spirit are that it is only able to place/move its presence inland, so coastal areas can be difficult for this spirit. It also prevents two explorers from ravaging its lands. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
Most early Dahan settlements clustered along the coasts. From time to time, a handful of residents would get a distant look in their eyes and stride off into the heart of the island, no pleading or reason dissuading them from seeking some distant call only they could hear.
Many of these involuntary wanderers survived and settles together in time. This may have hastened the First Reckoning, as they relied much more on agriculture than did their fishing bretheren along the coast.
A few wanderers spoke of finding the Spirit which called them ever-further inward, in voices of wonder mingled with fear. But most never even saw it, only felt its distant beckoning.
Many Minds Move as One is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit heavily focuses on beast tokens and the spirit's improved ability to gather and push them. One of the special rules is that it can gather and push beast tokens from two locations away instead of only adjacent locations. Every holy site also counts as a beast token for powers and effects. This spirit doesn't have a lot of damage, but it is able to defend quite well if it is able to build a lot of beast tokens in a single location. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
A Spirit of flocks, swarms, schools, and packs, where the whole moves together in concert to accomplish what the individuals in it could not do alone. Unlike Weaves a Web of Souls, its nature leans towards smaller and simpler creatures, and it regards other sorts of animals - including humans - as bizarrely alien in their individuality; while it will communicate with the Dahan, it has shown no ability (or inclination) to integrate them into itself.
While it is willing to sacrifice individuals to protect the whole, it is not a Spirit of sacrifice per se - that is a tactic it employs, not the essence of its nature.
Volcano Looming High is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit wants to get as much presence on the board as possible. It is only able to place them in the mountain areas so movement doesn't really play a role here. It will use its presence by creating an eruption and dealing damage to locations around the mountain. Picking the right timing is critical here as you can go for the most powerful eruption, but it might be too late or you might suffer too much from the destroyed presence. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
A spirit of fire and earth stretching upwards to the sky, casting a long and dangerous shadow across the land. The deeper Spirits of vulcanism are too powerful and slow, too removed to respond to the Invaders - but not so this one.
It doesn't dislike humans per se, but neither does it have much use for them, so the Dahan tend to keep away from it as much as possible and will not quarry stone in its shadow. Of course, larger eruptions can impact a good chunk of the island, so they sometimes end up dealing with its temper whether they want to or not.
Shroud of Silent Mist is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit deals damage by surrounding a location with its presence. It is also able to generate a lot of fear throughout the game. Damage on Dahan and invaders isn't healed at the end of the turn if your presence is also in the land. You'll then gain fear equal to the number of damaged invaders (up to 5 max per land). So a fear victory could be a real possibility however, those invaders will still be able to deal damage so keeping them around for too long might bring issues. It does have some energy issues, but when it acquires a new power card, it'll get 1 energy if a fire element is present. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
A spirit of dissolution and the cold silence of death, creeping quietly down from the hills and across the open waters. Its trail is adorned with dew-covered leaves and the bones of small animals.
Some legends say Shroud of Silent Mist came from the final breath of a Dahan spirit-speaker who spoke too freely of secrets entrusted to him, for which his soulform was afflicted with a death-bringing curse. Others claim it was born from the legends and tales rather than from any actual person, for the story of Kadura shows that human and Spirit do not so readily transform into each other.
Vengeance as a Burning Plague is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is a slow starter but can get really going with a lot of plague tokens on the board. Its innate power does damage equal to the number of plague tokens on the land. Combined with the special ruling that blight counts as a badland token, it'll be able to deal with the most heavily fortified lands. You are also able to not trigger plague tokens to make sure that you can build them up on the lands. You'll also gain one plague token whenever your presence is destroyed. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
A Spirit of vengeance, anger, and retribution. In its incarnation as a Burning Plague, it slumbers in a simmering volcanic pool, awakening at unpredictable intervals.... or when roused through supplication by one wronged. Most Dahan consider this foolhardy, for it vents its wrath on entire communities, and its pestilence may spread anywhere. Clans with a close relationship to Hearth-Vigil have less to fear, but still deem it wise - and humane - not to push their luck.
It is unclear whether its recent waking is due directly to the ravaging of the Invaders or to some Spirit's pleas.
Starlight Seeks Its Form is a VERY HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit doesn't have a predefined strategy. It is basically a "build your own spirit". There are 6 presence tracks and completing the whole track will grant you a choice between two new growth options. Picking one will make the other one unavailable, so make sure you think about your choice. This spirit also has 5 innate powers to go with any aspect that you would like to go with. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
Every once and again, where starlight falls to ground there arises a new Spirit. Its essence is initially that of the stars and nighttime sky, but from the moment it touches the island it begins to change, adapting and reimagining itself for its new home. Only a few of the island's Spirits came to be in this fashion, but many of them have been memorable.
This one arrived after the Invaders started to spread, striking the earth where they had cleared land for farming. Fragile and new, it was saved from dissolution by Stone's Unyielding Defiance, and in gratitude fights the Invaders even as it seeks to define itself.
Fractured Days Split the Sky is a VERY HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit introduces a new currency to pay with: Time. It is able to generate time through its growth options. It uses presence tokens as a reminder of how much time it currently has, but it'll have to return presence to the presence track whenever it spends time, so it doesn't expand very quickly on the island. At the start of the game, you'll also create a deck based on minor and major power cards. One of your growth actions allows you to gain a power card from there. You'll also be able to add unchosen cards whenever you do a normal gain power card action. Other than that, it has some abilities that are also beneficial for your other spirits. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
The sun and moon are short-term timekeepers of Spirit Island, measuring days and months with their rise and set, wax and wane. When they meet in a solar eclipse, time collides with time, sending jagged pieces of Was, Will-Be, and Might-Have-Been tearing through the weave of seasons and years. Gleaming vision-shards of future or past events may shimmer across the sky, but often those futures or pasts do not match what others know.
Fractured Days Split the Sky exists mostly in the high reaches of the heavens, but touches the island now and then, time and possibility flowing around it like a wind-blown mantle.
Horizons of Spirit Island Spirits
Horizons of Spirit Island is a standalone game however, the spirits here can still be played in combination with the other sets. So if you are a collector, you might want to see if these spirits are worth it for you. All of the spirits in this set are LOW complexity spirits.
Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot
Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit is great at doing damage. Its special rule is that it'll increase any total damage by 1. Its power cards do lack in range. Each of its initial power cards requires it to be in the same space as the land that you want to attack, so moving around the board with your innate power is important. The lore around this spirit is as follows:
Long ago, the being which would become Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfood was a small, territorial Spirit of the sand-by-water. It waited patiently for small prey to approach, then frightened them towards its waiting maw; when fresh prey was scarce it would scavenge.
Most such Spirits stay tiny, but this one happened to take a bite out of Ember-Eyed Behemoth. It slowly grew larger and more mobile, slithering below the land's surface in a way impossible for normal animals.
It has learned to avoid conflict with the Dahan, who grew wise to its ways long ago, and has even formed a peace of sorts with them. The Invaders do not have that benefit.
Eyes Watch From the Trees is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit is very good at defending lands from ravages and generates a nice amount of fear in the process. Along with defending, it is able to gather 1 Dahan for every effect that adds defense to a land. So the main way for this spirit to deal damage is through the Dahan. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Even after centuries, the Dahan find many things about Eyes Watch From the Trees somewhat enigmatic. Is it a Spirit of the trees themselves, or a Spirit which inhabits trees as its home? Is it one Spirit, or many, or a sort of collective-Spirit?
Despite these uncertainties, most Dahan trust the Spirit: it warns of danger, helps those lost or injured in the forest, and only works mischief on aggressors and the arrogant. Back in the days of the First Reckoning, its faint whispers were a source of dread, but to current generations they're a familiar and expected part of the island.
Fathomless Mud of the Swamp is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit is able to make the build action less impactful as build actions on land with a holy site will only place explorers instead of towns & cities. The lore around this spirit is as follows:
The Island has many swampy deltas along its coasts. Some are fairly navigatable, while others are mazes of murky water, tangled trees, and land that isn't nearly so solid as it appears. Fathomless Mud of the Swamp is one of these latter sorts, with a penchant for spreading - it likes getting everywhere, slowly turning solid ground into muck and mire.
Some Dahan villages have struck fruitful bargains with it: easy passage and useful plants in exchange for tasks more easily done by human hands. Most, however, will move on to new living-grounds years early should they notice the sodden signs of it moving into their area.
Rising Heat of Stone and Sand is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit has an effect that all invaders have a -1 health debuff on lands with a holy site. This does not automatically kill explorers due to a minimum of 1 health. But this combined with the innate power is able to clean up a lot of towns & cities on the board. It is also able to spread very easily to other sand of mountain lands. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
Dahan herders are very familiar with Rising Heat of Stone and Sand: the signs of its presence are passed down from generation to generation, so it can be acknowledged and thanked for safe passage across its scorching domain. Even after centuries, the Spirit remains a bit unclear on why living things get so unhappy about fatal desiccation, but the Dahan make such pleasant patterns across its sands that it's happy to forbear.
It is mostly found in sandy and rocky lands with sparse vegetation, but may also reside in volcanic areas, or even stretches of gravel or sand amidst wetter climates, radiating an intense and unusual heat all around.
Sun-Bright Whirlwind is a LOW complexity spirit. This spirit is very good at containing explorers. Its special ruling is that you are able to push an explorer or Dahan when placing your presence in that land. Together with your innate power, which lets you push more explorers from targeted lands, you'll be able to control a lot of explorer movement. You also have power cards that are very good at dealing with these explorers however, you might have some issues with towns and cities. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
Sun-Bright Whirlwind is a Spirit of sun-warmed and gusting air. It spins leaves and dust into miniature cyclones, playfully snatches at small unsecured objects, and sometimes - when joyful, or upset, or full of the vigor of nature - howls across the island, bending trees and abrading the landscape with pebbles, twigs, shells, and the occasional bird nest.
Some Dahan take its appearance as a good sign for travel, and others have tried asking it to help bring messages to those far away - with mixed success, as it tends to lightly prank the recipients by mixing the messages' words all about.
Nature Incarnate Spirits
While this expansion isn't out yet, we do have some information about the spirits from the Kickstarter that is currently going on. I'll make sure to keep this page updated with any new spirits when they are revealed.
Ember-Eyed Behemoth is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit is slow to move but is able to stomp away the invaders whenever it does. The special ruling is that it is able to move its Incarna token to you a holy site or by pushing it. If you don't use your innate power on that turn, you'll be able to repeat that effect. The Incarna token is used for targeting by your innate power and most likely also by some power cards. Your innate power lets you deal damage and can be repeated if your Incarna token is empowered. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
Amidst the boggier jungles, one might find a tree-covered hill - somewhat rocky - rising upwards from the dank and the damp. One might climb it to scout the lay of the land, or camp there for respite from the water-snakes and warm muck below.
But do not settle there, nor quarry that stone, for the hill is a Spirit, immense and incarnate. It might be a living scale of the great Serpent; or a dream given waking form; or a Spirit wrapped around a great curse, enfolding it and containing it from spilling outwards. If you bother it, fire will kindle in its eyes, and it will rise and smash its way across the landscape.
Hearth-Vigil is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit is very Dahan-focused and grants each Dahan in your land +4 health. Blight tokens also don't destroy your presence if Dahan are present, so keeping them around is very important. Its innate power lets the Dahan attack first before the invaders ravage so that they will be able to clean up before any ravage damage is done. Another benefit is that you'll add an additional 2 Dahan to the board when you begin the game. It does however move very slowly. While it is able to move when Dahan are moved, it is only able to do that when the final Dahan is moved from the land. It also struggles with removing blight. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Hearth-Vigil is a Spirit of neither fire nor cooking - it is a watcher and guardian, a protector who keeps vigil over common-hearths. In the dry season, it smothers rogue blazes; in the wet season, it fortifies the health of older Dahan suffering from wheezelung; in all season, it intensifies the hearth's powers of wellness and community-strength. It's friendly to speak to, though most grown Dahan don't usually distract it without cause.
Historically, its aid was first sought during the bloody conflicts of the Servant Cults, due to the threat of mass poisonings. As those agreements affected its nature, it became able to offer more than simple vigilance.
Breath of Darkness Down your Spine
Breath of Darkness Down your Spine is a HIGH complexity spirit. It is very much focused on generating fear and taking down explorers. It has a special mechanic that allows you to abduct explorers and towns and take them to a card called "The endless dark". This location is on the island, but not adjacent to anything and nothing really triggers there. There are also growth actions that require you to put explorers back onto the island but usually, you'll want to keep them. This is because you have an innate power that generates fear based on the number of invaders in the endless dark. This spirit also has an Incarna and that will let the spirit, when empowered, abduct an explorer or town each fast phase. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
In the open spaces of Spirit Island, the night sky, when clear, blazes with light from the moon and stars - but not all of this light reaches the earth. From time to time an ever-shifting shadow writhes across the land, bringing a darkness deeper than found under any jungle canopy. It seeks out those who are isolated and alone, and swallows compatriots and communities alike into its flightless void. Some return, others do not.
Many Dahan suspect this may be another form of Shadows Flicker Like Flame - its whispery voice crackles like fire, amonth other signs - but keep cautiously clear fire, among other signs - but keep cautiously clear of it, as it has made no requests of them.
Relentless Gaze of the Sun
Relentless Gaze of the Sun is a HIGH complexity spirit. It is able to deal a lot of damage in a single land but suffers from having to control multiple lands on the island. Its special rule allows it to repeat powers infinitely if you have enough power for it on lands where you have at least 3 presence. This spirit will also damage Dahan, but this can be prevented later on in the game. Due to the importance of having three presence on a land, its growth actions allow you to move 3 of your presence. It can also prevent blight by destroying its own presence and has ways of getting the destroyed presence back on the board. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Relentless Gaze of the Sun is an imperious Spirit, brimming with wrathful power that scorches the land barren beneath its focused regard. For long centuries, it viewed all others as beneath it, unworthy of consideration.
Yet since being thwarted during the Years of the Relentless Sun, it wonders if its pride deceives it - perhaps it should work with some Spirits and humans, rather than indulging in indiscriminate destruction?
It is still considering this idea. Regardless, the Invaders offend it by making the land fragile, forcing it into the intolerable choice between dimming its majesty and unintentionally scorching the land.
Towering Roots of the Jungle
Towering Roots of the Jungle is a MODERATE complexity spirit. This spirit features the Incarna mechanic and gets empowered whenever there are 3 or more vitality tokens in the space of the Incarna token. This spirit is very strong at the location of its Incarna but struggles with moving that token around the island. On the location of its Incarna, it'll have the following effects:
- +1 range of your powers starting at this location.
- Invaders, Dahan, and beasts cannot be damaged or destroyed.
- Skips all build actions.
It is also able to pull some invaders and remove some invaders with its innate powers. It can also replace one presence with their Incarna if they need to move around the island a bit faster. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Towering Roots of the Jungle is a massive, sprawling tree, mighty and ancient. It predates the Dahan, but its history has entwined with theirs ever since they arrived: as part of the terms of the First Reckoning, it served as one place where Dahan might settle freely. It protected the land from any accidental damage done by the Dahan, and the Dahan from Spirits that wished them ill.
It has never before felt the need to reach out through its offshoots and descendants around the island, but the threat of the Invaders and their heedless destruction has motivated it to grow and change in this new way.
Dances Up Earthquakes
Dances Up Earthquakes is a VERY HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit is all about storing cards now and unleashing them all for one very strong turn. Instead of playing a card, you can make it an impending card. This allows you to add energy to it by specific actions (growth actions, cards, etc), and then whenever that energy matches the cost of the impending card, you'll be able to use its effect. This allows you to play high-cost cards easier than other spirits. It also has a grown action to gain a major power without forgetting any of your powers. And it contains a spirit-specific token. It is able to place this and then benefit from it by using its innate power to deal damage across multiple lands. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
A traveling Spirit of movement and movement's deep power, circling a bright leap of flame, dancing atop dark mysteries of night and earth. It roams the island as its visions and will to motion bid, dancing with and among whomever it finds: the waves on the shore, the animals of the jungle, the Spirits, the trees, the Dahan, and - especially - the earth itself.
The Dahan learned long ago that if the land-dancer was aware of them, village-wrecking earthquakes became much rarer. Through this, they found that many Spirits appreciate - and gain power from - various patterns of dance and rhythm, in addition to those of line, shape, and word.
Wandering Voice Keens Delirium
Wandering Voice Keens Delirium is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit has a very mobile Incarna. Whenever your Incarna is moved or added to a new location, it'll automatically add a strife token to that location. This way, it'll be able to prevent invaders from dealing damag to the land and creating blight. It is also able to move invaders whenever it adds a strife token. This is a spirit that is very good at controlling the board. It also has a bit of damage and fear generation with its innate power and it'll need to use that to close out the games. The lore of this spirit is as follows:
Ages ago, Calls All Living Things to Die was a great and respected Spirit, until it decided to test the limits of its power - accounts disagree as to why - and devastated a portion of the island with a vast swath of death. Matters would have gone even worse but for three Spirits who cleverly sundered the great Spirit's voice and bound it to wander, never returning to its owner.
Wandering Voice Keens Delirium only occasionally brings death with its song, now, more usually causing derangement, obsession and folly in those it touches. The Dahan have learned a variety of tricks to avoid the worst of its influence, but are occasionally affected nonetheless.
Wounded Waters Bleeding
Wounded Waters Bleeding is a HIGH complexity spirit. This spirit starts out wounded and you lose a power or presence every turn. This spirit also comes with 4 healing cards that you'll have to play in the game in order to stay alive. These healing cards give you new powers to work with depending on how your spirit changes. You can change your spirit into a water primary spirit or an animal primary spirit due to the elements that you play. The lore behind this spirit is as follows:
In years past, Peace-Waters was a woodland pond, fed by a small river: a Spirit of contented coexistence and the gift of water. Humans and animals would drink in peace, then move on.
The Invaders, too, found Peace-Waters, drunk, and moved on. Upriver, they built slaughterhouses and tanneries, pouring chamel-blood through the pool day after day, year after year.
The Spirit which used to be Peace-Waters has barely survived. It is no longer a spirit of peace - but it has not yet found coherence in a new nature, and until it does, it is at risk of unraveling altogether.
And those are all the spirits that are currently on Spirit Island. I hope you find the ones that you enjoy playing and I hope you have a lot of time in Spirit Island. Thank you for reading!
