As promised in other threads (see My Homebrew Magic system, etc.) here is my first stab at some spells for The One Ring - I have just focused on Beasts & Birds as I felt it to be appropriate, and I have tried to incorporate the ideas of Halbarad (see his Dwimmer Road) & others, but as it is very late I am not up to providing explanations as yet. These spells are basically conversions from Decipher's system (the magic of which I found to be excellent).

Hope you like them!

Spells of the Beasts & Birds specialty

Animal Messenger

With this spell the caster can use a beast or bird as a messenger, imparting to it words/and or information & sending the animal to deliver this to someone else - the creature must be present to be touched by the caster (either as a pet, companion or has been summoned previously). The recipient of the message will be able to understand even if normally not able to understand the animal.
Casting time: 2 combat rds. Attribute: Wits. Skill Group: Custom. Range: Touch. Duration: Awe skill ranks x 2 hrs. Fatigue TN: 10. Cost: 1 spell pick. Requisite: Beast Speech or Beast Summoning. Method: Spell, Cultural Virtue. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Beast Speech
The caster gains the power to speak with birds & animals, if any are close enough to hear then such creatures will automatically understand the caster and respond as if intelligent, whereas any other beings listening only hear normal animal sounds. If this is used as a standard spell the caster can grant this to another character by touch (if other character willing).
Casting time: 1 Attribute: Wits. Skill Group: Custom. Range: Self or Touch. Duration: 1 minute/Awe skill rank x 2. Cost: 1 . Requisite: Dwimmer Crafter or Virtue. Method: Spells, Virtue. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Beast Summoning
This spell allows the caster to call to himself beasts & birds, the type the caster wishes to summon (either specific or a broad range) must be nominated prior to casting (as this will modify the Fatigue TN). Once creatures arrive they will wait near him as long as the spell continues, and will not attack or harm the caster unless they are threatened or hurt, but this spell does not confer the ability to command any beast -instead, the caster must make a Persuade TN 10 test to get a creature to perform any task.
Casting time: 2 Attribute: Body. Skill Group: Personality. Range: 400 yards x Awe skill. Duration: (Awe x 2)minutes. Fatigue TN: base of 12, but varies depending on what is being summoned and where the caster is (eg TN 10 to summon Eagles in mountains, etc.). Cost: 1 Method: Spell, Song (A successful Song roll lowers the Fatigue TN by 2). Requisite: Dwimmer Crafter or Virtue. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Change Hue
A caster can alter the colour of his skin, hair, eyes & clothes so as to blend in with his surroundings, giving a bonus of +3 to Stealth tests.
Casting time: 2 Attribute: Wits Skill Group: Movement Range: Self Duration: 20 mins/Awe rank. Fatigue TN: 12. Cost: 1 Requisite: Dwimmer Crafter or Virtue. Method: Spell, Virtue. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.
Hide's Virtue
Caster is able to grant the protection of natural armour (hide) upon a single target, granting that target an extra 1d Protection for Protection tests.
Casting time: 1 Attribute: Body Skill Group: Survival Range: Touch Duration: 2mins/Awe rank OR ends if target takes a wound (successful piercing blow). Fatigue TN: 10 Cost: 1 Requisite: At least one other Beast spell or virtue. Method: Spell, Virtue, Song. Culture: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Keen Senses
This spell sharpens the five senses of the target, giving the target a temporary bonus of +2 to Awareness, Search, Hunt & Explore. This spell can only be cast on beings, not beasts.
Casting time: 1 Attribute: Body Skill Group: Perception Range: Touch Duration: 20mins/Awe rank Fatigue TN: 10 Cost: 1 Method: Spell, Virtue Requisite: Dwimmer Crafter or Virtue. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Mastery of Shapes
The caster can change shape into any normal bird or beast (not any fell beast or sentient being, nor any unique or specific creature). The caster retains his/her Wits & Heart attributes, but Body as per creature, & retains knowledge of all skills. He/she can return to normal form at any time but cannot move from one shape to another, must always first return to normal form. When in changed form most items, clothes carried disappear but return when back in normal form (exceptions would be powerful or significant items such as Rings of Power etc.). If taken as a cultural virtue this gives the power to change into one animal form only (eg bears for Beornings).
For 2 extra spell picks the caster can change the shape of another willing target by touching them. For 1 extra spell pick the caster can assume the form of a sentient being - orc, Free Peoples etc., and if so what he wears remains on his new form, however, the spell does not allow caster to imitate/mimic behaviour etc - this spell is a visual illusion only.
Casting time: 1 minute. Attribute: Wits Skill Group: Movement Range: Self or Touch. Duration: 2hrs/Awe rank. Fatigue TN: 14. Cost: 2 Requisite: Change Hue. Method: Spell, Virtue. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Naming
A caster can give a name to any domesticated beast (horses, dogs etc.), and for the rest of its life the animal will answer to that name, and also becomes more amenable to obeying commands, provided it is treated kindly. The animal is devoted to the caster, so any Persuade tests are at +4.
Casting time: 1 minute. Attribute: Heart Skill Group: Personality Range: Touch. Duration: Permanent. Fatigue TN: 10. Cost: 1. Requisite: Beast Speech. Method: Spell, Virtue. Cultures: Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen, Hobbits of the Shire, Bardings (any culture that uses domesticated animals a lot).

Power of the Land
This powerful spell allows the caster to call upon the land itself to rise up against his enemies, and applies to any area the caster is currently in (ie the plants, animals, terrain and weather all act to hinder caster's foes, such as Elrond's use of the Bruinen river against the Ringwraiths etc.).
Casting time: 3. Attribute: Heart. Skill Group: Personality. Range: 1 mile radius. Duration: Concentration, up to a maximum of 2 minutes/Awe rank. Fatigue TN: base is 16 and must be rolled each minute spell lasts, variable depending on how similar environment caster is in to home environment. Cost: 3. Requisite: Master Dwimmer Crafter & at least 6 spells from Air, Water or Beast specialties. Method: Spell, Song.

Shell's Virtue
Similar to Hide's Virtue (but better) , this spell draws upon the caster's knowledge of beasts that have shells etc. to grant protection to a single target of 1d+1 protection for protection tests.
Casting time: 1 Attribute: Body. Skill Group: Survival. Range: Touch. Duration: 2rds/Awe rank. Fatigue TN: 10. Cost: 1. Requisite: Any one other Beasts spell or virtue. Method: Spell, Virtue, Song. Cultures: Beornings, Elves of Mirkwood, Woodmen.

Stout Body
The caster can fortify either himself or one of his comrades in regards to Fatigue, as it grants a +3 bonus to all Fatigue tests (except those for casting spells) for the spell's duration.
Casting time: 1 Attribute: Body. Skill Group: Survival. Range: Self or Touch. Duration: 2 minutes/Awe rank. Fatigue TN: 10. Cost: 1. Method: Spell.

Robin S.

Follow up message: Firstly, apologies to Kalatharion & Halbarad for attributing "The Dwimmer Road" to the wrong person. The Dwimmer Road can be found on the thread 'My Homebrew Magic System'. Kalatharion's idea assumes that to be a Dwimmer-crafter there are no restrictions other than being human and such a person must renounce the 'Gift of Life'. In my version any race can in theory be a Dwimmer-crafter except for hobbits, as I use Gandalf's quote in The Fellowship of the Ring as evidence that many cultures do use spells.

A Dwimmer-Crafter is someone who uses spells to create magic effects - would also be referred to as conjuror, magician or wizard, to differ from someone who has said 'magical' effect as a cultural virtue or inherent ability.

Explanation of Terms:

Casting time: this is the time required to cast spell or invoke virtue, given usually in combat rounds.

Attribute: governing attribute for the spell

Skill Group: governing skill group for spell when making casting roll, still to be determined, but I think that caster has to make a skill roll to cast the spell using rank learned for the spell with the governing skill group, and then would add the governing attribute if spending Hope (but I still have to work this out)

Range: how far does the spell's effect extend. Those that affect self or touch can usually also be cultural virtues.

Duration: How long spell's effect lasts for

Fatigue TN: This is both the difficulty for the subsequent Fatigue test after casting such a spell (not necessary if a virtue) and also the difficulty for the skill roll to successfully cast the spell. Any spell has it's Fatigue TN increased by 2 for each prior spell cast without a rest.

Cost: How many spell picks required when spending Advancement/Experience points.

Requisite: What character needs in order to be able to learn said spell or gain as a virtue.

Method: The different ways such a spell can be cast. Spell is the standard method and used by Dwimmer-Crafters. Song means a Song of Power, used with the Song skill (favoured by elves). Runes means Runes of Power etched onto a surface somehow (favoured by dwarves), usually used with the Craft skill. Virtue means this spell can be taken as a Cultural Virtue (ie an inherent ability).

Cultures: which cultures can learn this as a cultural virtue.

Hope this explanation helps make my previous post more understandable!

Robin S.

Very interesting Robin. Even if some 'purists' were loathe to include human magic users in their game, this gives some great ideas for the sort of powers that Radagast might wield.