Nature Spirits

[Brinebeast]

I would like to see a deeper discussion on the concept of Nature Spirits. With Leshies becoming an ancestry I think the time is ripe to explore what "Nature Spirits" are and the rules around interacting with them. "Nature Spirits" seems to be a catch all term and I think a deeper exploration of the concept would be great. Also, "Nature Spirits" would be a great way to have a group of monsters that are commonly incorporeal and are not undead. A few of the places we see Nature Spirits are listed below.

Leshies as monsters
Leshy as an ancestry
Nature Spirits as botanical haunts, see Pathfinder 144: Midwives to Death (love this article)
Loa Spirits, see River into Darkness (very brief description)
Witches and Shamans might use powerful Nature Spirits as Patrons
Summoners might be able to call a Nature Spirit as their Eidolon, but this is unclear
Druids, Rangers, Shifters, and nature themed versions of other classes may get there spells, powers, and abilities from inherent power of nature which may potentially be fueled by nature spirits.
Wendo may also potentially be powerful nature spirits but this is unclear
Monsters - several monsters may be powerful nature spirits such as Animal Lords, Manitou, Lar, Bisha Ga Tsuku, etc.
Also how do things like kami and fey relate to nature spirits. In terms of Second Edition kami seem to have more of a Divine magic tradition with a trend towards Primal tradition concerns. Fey definitely have a Primal magic tradition but are not spirits of the Material Plane.

[Mark Seifter]

My theory about them is despite the name of "spirits" they are probably beings of pure vital essence strongly tied to the natural world, rather than spiritual/soul stuff from the Outer Spheres.

[Brinebeast]

Mark Seifter wrote:

My theory about them is despite the name of "spirits" they are probably beings of pure vital essence strongly tied to the natural world, rather than spiritual/soul stuff from the Outer Spheres.

I like this and it makes a lot of sense. I would love to see a deeper exploration of the concept!

[Quandary]

Mark Seifter wrote:

My theory about them is despite the name of "spirits" they are probably beings of pure vital essence strongly tied to the natural world, rather than spiritual/soul stuff from the Outer Spheres.

Hmm... Would Positive/Negative Elementals fall under this heading as well, as opposed to Material Essence Fire/Air/Earth/Water/etc Elementals? Obviously Pos/Neg Elementals are pretty distinct from Leshies, Kami(?), and other stuff discussed here, but so are Genies and Elementals...

[Sibelius Eos Owm]

In my conversion of Carrion Crown I've been considering making the vilkacis from Broken Moon into a nature spirit rather than an undead. Biggest thing that's giving me an issue is wondering what kind of damage type it's spirit claws should do if not negative... even if most likely it won't be using that attack compared to its other more plot-relevant abilities.

[Perpdepog]

Sibelius Eos Owm wrote:

In my conversion of Carrion Crown I've been considering making the vilkacis from Broken Moon into a nature spirit rather than an undead. Biggest thing that's giving me an issue is wondering what kind of damage type it's spirit claws should do if not negative... even if most likely it won't be using that attack compared to its other more plot-relevant abilities.

Assuming you are talking about a 2E conversion, perhaps simply slashing, since they are claws, or maybe mental, as it is incorporeal and could be seen to be attacking the mind more than the body. Evil damage might also be a winner.

I'd love to see nature spirits fleshed out more as well. The division between the physical and spiritual ecosystems of the planes has always been interesting to me, and it's something that tends to be handwaved or left to the sidelines for most settings.
Also, if spirits are formed from a mass of vital essence, that opens up some interesting possibilities for beings of other essences, like dream spirits made from mental essence.

[Brinebeast]

Mark Seifter wrote:

My theory about them is despite the name of "spirits" they are probably beings of pure vital essence strongly tied to the natural world, rather than spiritual/soul stuff from the Outer Spheres.

Magical Traditions (From Paizo Blog Post: All About Spells)

material essence (the fundamental building blocks of all physical things)
mental essence (the building block of rational thoughts, logic, and memories)
spiritual essence (the otherworldly building block of the immortal self)
vital essence (the universal life force that gives us instincts and intuition)

This all got me thinking more about spirits and how their is potential to have a lot more than just undead "spirits" and "nature spirits."

Spiritual Essence - Considering spiritual essence is likely corrupted with negative energy to create undead this opens the possibility of having spirits that are not corrupted with negative energy. I think this is kind of already the case with non evil ghosts and the Spiritualist's Phantom from 1st Edition.

Vital Essence - As Mark mentions in the quote above "nature spirits" are likely beings composed of pure Vital Essence and are the animating force for Leshies. Leshies being generally weaker "nature spirits" that inhabit bodies crafted and prepared for them this opens up a lot of possibilities for what more powerful nature spirits might look like.

Mental Essence - Although I don't think it's been stated anywhere I could see creatures formed from dreams, nightmares, and similar mental phenomenon being composed of pure Mental Essence. This also goes a long way in explaining why the Dreamlands are so connected with the thoughts and minds of mortals. Our dreams allow psychic spirits to take shape and form.

Material Essence - I wasn't really sure what to do with Material Essence but then I remembered the Arcanaton from 1st Edition. This is a pretty obscure monster from "Guardians of Dragonfall" and the idea was that it is an "elemental of magic." I think this could be expanded upon to be Material spirits given form, something similar to a living spell.

Just some thoughts I had and figured I would share.