Topic: The Mysteries of the Gods

[markc]

GrumpyOldFart,
 I am most familiar with the list in the RMSS Channeling Comp and I never let the bonuses be conditional on faith, but that is a very interesting twist. If the list was like that I think I would have the bonus be +1% per caster level (like Armsmaster weapon base list) and have a specific number of targets that could be active at one time. I could also see the number of active targets vary by specific assigned duties in the casters faith. IE large church more active targets or longer duration or active even if the target was not so attuned with the deity, etc.


Old Man,
 Yes I agree that it is a great way to define a caster in terms of his or her organizational faith if they have an organization. I also thought about having the caster pick from a group of "ceremonies" per 5 ranks so they could be varied from caster to caster.


MDC

[Bruce]

IMHO you have to have somewhat stable society to have these "cults" be active. When you are just trying to stay alive you do not have time for that stuff.
 So you would look to more established societies trying to adopt/initiate new members of emerging societies or brother societies asking for help from stable societies.

I disagree, IMHO I believe that in times like these is when the idea of multiple religious sects pop up and thrive. I have studied Western civilization and religion plays a huge part in their history. A large percentage of wars were fought over religious differences. Also in Cyradon's case, there would be some amongst the refugees that did know the secrets or "mysteries" of their perspective faith. It would also give ground for some to come up with new (maybe false) mysteries of their own so they could gain in power and/or have more people under their control, hence corruption in the church. Imagine a society that has a strong religious backbone that goes through many wars and changes (famines, plagues, etc..) were the hierarchy constantly changes, to me that is a recipe for corruption. Mow imagine that corruption is never really discovered and it grows in the faith so much that it becomes part of that faiths doctrine. Man there is so much material in that for adventure seeds. In Cyradon I feel that there would also be a lot of room for religious conflict with each separate faith and sect vying to gain control of the most people if not also trying to become the "state" religion. There are loads of adventure seeds here. And plenty of examples from our own world history to use.
Bruce

[Old Man]

A thought occurs, Cyradon-wise, that the religious nature of the forces that drove the refugees from Tarahir might give rise to schism in the Cyradon religious faithful. Perhaps some had preferred appeasement, others supported the conflict, etc. (Could touch on that when current situation on Anias is addressed in later supplements.)

[Turbs]

I for one would like to see a simple "faith' stat included

as a basic character you begin with a faith stat of zero againts all religions.. (unless you are a cleric).  as you do things that favour a gods' interest your faith stat goes up, as you oppose a god you faith stat goes down


You can then take this stat/modifier to affect the outcome of channeling spells.

i.e. a cleric casts a +10 bonus spell on you, since you have a high faith stat with that religion your bonus is now +15.

and vice versa, 2 months ago you foil johnny McEbol_Gods' plan of doom, and killed his evil priests in the process. you now have a negative faith stat for that religion, you meet with one of these clerics who attmpts to bless you (unkowing of your previous actions)

that +10 noe becomes a -5..wow you just got cursed!

[Thom @ ICE]

That type of change is unlikely as it would impact the rules of the game, however it can be mirrored with a Bane-like Talent awarded to priests.


Holy Bane = The character gets a bonus of +20 when casting spells or making melee attacks against individuals or groups that have actively opposed their faith. This bonus is used only when knowingly targeting the foes as enemies of the church.  If damage is dealt, this allows the attack to ignore damage caps.

[Old Man]

I for one would like to see a simple "faith' stat included

as a basic character you begin with a faith stat of zero againts all religions.. (unless you are a cleric).  as you do things that favour a gods' interest your faith stat goes up, as you oppose a god you faith stat goes down


You can then take this stat/modifier to affect the outcome of channeling spells.

i.e. a cleric casts a +10 bonus spell on you, since you have a high faith stat with that religion your bonus is now +15.

and vice versa, 2 months ago you foil johnny McEbol_Gods' plan of doom, and killed his evil priests in the process. you now have a negative faith stat for that religion, you meet with one of these clerics who attmpts to bless you (unkowing of your previous actions)

that +10 noe becomes a -5..wow you just got cursed!

I was toying with a similar idea (also similar to Harn's Piety) where you gained and lost Faith points through your deeds and words. Those points could be spent in prayer and ritual to seek a boon from your god(s).

[Bruce]

One quick thought - if I recall correctly (and some of this may be actual rules and some my own moulding over the years) Harn (Harnworld) had a neat Piety mechanic where the various daily and special actions of the faithful lead to gains and loss of a Piety point total. Then in times of special need (or perhaps even in rituals or spell casting) those Piety points could be used to request special support from their god. A roll is made and sometimes the God helps outright, sometimes he/she helps but with conditions (do this, sacrifice that, etc.) and sometimes they enact retribution on the petitioner for the affront of pestering them.

ICE has something similar in the Channeling Companion from RMFRP called Divine Status. I am lucky enough to have a hard copy of the book. The Divine Status rules start on page 15 and cover things like grace points (the more you have the higher your divine status), corruption points (acquired by your sins and distance from your faiths doctrine), temptation, and redemption. The book (like all the spell companions) is a good read and can inspire some great ideas for HARP.

Bruce