History Main / Geas

* Geasa were used in 3rd edition ''Shadowrun'' to recover points of magic that had been lost by shaman/magicians/adepts. Your character had to accept some sort of condition to recover a point of magic. Usually anything the GM wanted/was willing to allow but classic ones were some sort of talisman that you had to keep on your person, having to fast on a regular basis, spend time in meditation, or only use magic in certain circumstances. Breaking the geas reduced your magic back to it's normal level.

** Several heroes, including Cuchulainn and high king Conaire Mór, found themselves in situations where they were forced to choose between either breaking their geas or violating the customs of SacredHospitality. They [[HonorBeforeReason chose the former]], leading to their inevitable death. Normally in the form of a particularly heroic LastStand.

* A very interesting case in Bleach is Giriko and his Time Tells No Lies ability. Essentially, it's a contract he envokes on himself or on others, with the spirit of his watch. It can take multiple forms; increased strength, the power to kill by line of sight, and so on. The catch is that no party involved can violate this contract, or they'll be incinerated--the part that makes it a Geas. Wonder what ever happened to [[spoiler:Giriko's eye?]] Sadly, Giriko doesn't see much action.

[[AC:Web Original]]

Also spelled alternately as geis (plural: geasi), a geas is a form of magical compulsion or curse that originates in Celtic mythology. Those under a geas are required to fulfill certain conditions or are otherwise changed. One of the most famous is that of Cuchulainn, who was under numerous geasi such as that he must never eat the meat of a dog or refuse food offered by a woman. When an old hag offered him dog meat, he was forced to break one geas or the other, which eventually led to his death.

-> Rob: 'Tis a heavy thing, tae be under a geas.
-> Daft Wullie: Well, they're big birds.

* Dunstan in ''A Distant Soil'' is a FairFolk, and he says he is under a Geas that he can't tell a mortal soul who he really is while he's on mortal soil. However, it applies more when he's on soil - when he's on a cruise ship or a spaceship, he can actually mention this.

** Bartimaeus explain that obeying the orders is necessary since there was one djinni that refused to kill another djinni it was in loved. The refusal of order tore his essence to the point of him exploding and destroying the prince commanding him and the prince's entire palace. Since then magicians tend to be more careful about which djinni they summon.

* Lancer in ''[[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Fate/stay night]]'', whose true identity is [[CelticMythology Cuchulainn himself]], has a geas that if a man from Ulster uses Caladbolg against him, he must lose the fight, [[spoiler:but it never happens]]. The sequel, ''[[VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia Fate/hollow ataraxia]]'' has Shirou play a trick on him involving his original two geas, though they are never stated outright: Three female friends of his from school offer Lancer a hot dog, an offer he can't refuse and (were it actually dog meat) something that could potentially kill him. This is actually related to how he originally died.

Compare MagicallyBindingContract, which can have similar effects but is more of a deal rather than a spell or curse. ''CodeGeass'' is named for the trope, not the other way around.

* There is a spell called geas in ''DungeonsAndDragons'' that forces the character to fulfill the terms.

* In ''CodeGeass'', whose title is itself a corruption of the spelling of this term, Lelouch essentially has the ability to place a person he makes eye contact with under a geas. They have to do whatever he tells them to, though it only works once per person.
** In this particular 'verse, a Geass is rather like a pseudo-magical [[PsychicPowers psychic power]] that takes the form most suited for its owner. So far, we've seen Lelouch's compulsion, mind reading, memory replacement, one that causes people to fall in love with you, one that stops people's perception of time, and one that allows you to control other people like puppets.

* The Unbreakable Vow from ''HarryPotter''.
** That's more of a MagicallyBindingContract than a Geas, since wizards who make an Unbreakable Vow are free to break it if they choose. The consequences are pretty dire though.

* In ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'', Belkar is put under a spell which prevents him from harming any living thing within the walls of a settlement or from straying more than a mile from Roy on pain of suffering from a sickening curse. [[spoiler: Later, Belkar stabs the Oracle when he tries to [[HalfTruth wriggle out]] of a MathematiciansAnswer he gave regarding who he'd kill out of a long list of people (as he hadn't ''actually'' killed anyone else on the list, killing the Oracle fulfilled the prophecy); however, his satisfaction is short-lived, as the Oracle had prepared for this by ''establishing a settlement around his tower.'']]

Also spelled alternately as geis, a geas is a form of magical compulsion or curse that originates in Celtic mythology. Those under a geas are required to fulfill certain conditions or are otherwise changed. One of the most famous is that of Cuchulainn, who was under numerous geas such as that he must never eat the meat of a dog or refuse food offered by a woman. When an old hag offered him dog meat, he was forced to break one geas or the other, which eventually led to his death.