Is there a "Megaphone" spell?

Question

The closest thing I can find is "Voice of the Wind" but I'm looking for a spell that will carry the speaker's voice beyond its normal speaking distance or, in this case, outside of a building. I'd be surprised to see this sort of thing didn't exist since it would be exactly the sort of spell generals and courtiers would make use of. Anyone know of such a spell?

Answer 1

I believe that you are allowed to research new spells. Either you can research what you are looking for, or you may ask the GM to rule that the spell you desire already exists.

For example:

Voice of Thunder

Ring/Mastery: 1
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: One target person (may be caster)
Duration: 1 hour (Recipient dismisses at will)
Raises: Range of voice (increase by 100' for every raise), Duration (increase by 1 hour for every raise)

The kami of Air are fond of speeches, and they love repeating pleasing words. The recipient of this spell finds his or her voice carried for 100' in all directions. All within range of the speaker can hear them as if they were but an arm's length away. The recipient of the spell must choose to project their voice, and cannot do so unawares. They can also choose to dismiss the spell entirely at any time.

The last bit is to ensure the spell is not used offensively. Your GM may vary.

Answer 2

The close thing I can see is on pg188 of Book of Air:

Voice of the Wind

• Ring/Mastery: Air 1

• Range: Touch

• Area of Effect: One target person (may be the caster)

• Duration: 10 minutes

• Raises: Range (change to 20’ for 2 Raises), Duration(+2 minutes per Raise)

Description: The kami of Air are fond of sounds, which are carried through their Element, and can lend their power to strengthen the beauty, passion, and conviction of the human voice. The recipient of this spell finds his or her voice gains timbre, depth, and resonance, becoming in every way more impressive. For the duration of the spell, the target benefits from the Voice Advantage (if he already has Voice, the benefits stack) and also gains a +1k0 bonus to any Social Skill Rolls that involve speech.

In theory, the character can make raises to their rolls to be heard from farther away and thus the buff from this spell could allow them a greater chance although the raises are limited.

Perhaps it can even be combined with the Air 2 spell Benten's Touch on pg168 of the core book.

Why Generals wouldn't want projection: Generals don't use words when they can help it because eve if the voice carries, a single syllable changed or lost can completely destroy an order. They instead prefer to use flags and tessen (war fans) as signals for their officers for the squads. Plus, language is easier to predict and decipher than visual cues. Why shout "Charge" when you can quietly wave your cavalry forward, signal your archers to fire their first volley, and all with a few simple and quite notions that your officers can easily see? When they want to speak to the enemy general, they send a messenger over and the two leaders can meet for a neutral accord. The only time they do try to be loud is at the beginning of the battle to announce their identity and their deeds to give their opponents second thoughts about the battle and even still this is targeting the top of the pyramid, and not the base. The Ikoma Bard school (core book pg118-119) is seemingly the only exception to this with its rank 3 ability which even if the voice carries, would make the TN absurdly staggering.

Why Courtiers wouldn't want projection: Rokugani social strata demands that characters be soft spoken and reserved when able to be observed by the masses because it shows discipline and respect for their surroundings. Persuading a crowd is rarely needed because a good courtier only needs to speak to an individual or small grouping of lords who will then have supremacy over their kinsmen as opposed to any sort of democracy. If they want a message delivered on a mass scale, it goes through a network of heralds to do so. For these instances Legacy of Kami no Kaze (core book pg167) is your best bet. Make a few raises to target as many heralds as you need to (especially the aforementioned Ikoma Bards for their Precise Memory advantage as a rank 1 feature) and they will relay whatever needs to be said to their designated audiences.