|
|
Agents of Faith
An exclusive, 8-paged, Agents of Faith preview can be downloaded at the end of this page. The following text and illustrations are just a sample.
The Faithful
The faithful characters and creatures of any
setting can be classified as Worshippers, Initiates,
Chosen, Anointed, and High Priests. The
cleric, druid, and paladin classes have traditionally
assumed the religious leadership roles of the
church, but sometimes characters of other
classes and backgrounds can grow in their faith
beyond the devotion of some of the clerics, druids,
and paladins of the same patrons. An individual
character’s devotion to a god falls somewhere
on a relatively wide spectrum. For instance,
there are some worshippers that live
strictly by the tenets and laws of their faith, and
then there are some worshippers of the same deity
that do not take their religious beliefs too seriously
except, perhaps, in times of desperation.
The more devout and proven the worshiper is, the
greater their chance at attaining the rewards of
influence and power that a deity offers their followers.
Worshippers
Worshippers make up the massive base of a
church’s structure. Most of the residents in a
given world or plane will possess some degree of
faith, usually to the patriarch or matriarch deity
of a pantheon, while a smaller percentage will
spread themselves out over the other divine beings,
sects and cults. A worshiper’s faith transcends
the castes and classes of the society. A
lowly beggar and the king of a realm can both be
worshippers of the same god and to the same
degree. Worshippers are everywhere, and anyone
can worship in their hearts any deity they wish.
Requirements
Declaring oneself to be a worshiper carries no
prerequisites, requirements, or responsibilities.
It is the freewill of the character to choose their
faith, just as it is the choice for a worshipper to
stop worshipping one deity in order to worship a
different god if they want to. Some worlds may
have stricter requirements of worship, with punishments
levied upon those that change their
faith too freely. Others may require some level of
worship to ensure an afterlife, but that choice
can be made at the moment of death.
Benefits
Worshippers typically gain no direct benefits
from their deity. As such, the deities
often take little interest in the fickle
characters whose faiths can shift like
the wind. In settings with stricter
standards of devotion, clerics and
druids may only cast beneficial spells and lend
aid to those of the same faith, but this is entirely
up to the Game Master.
Initiates
Initiates are the worshippers that have shown
unwavering dedication to their chosen god and
the church. The initiates of a church wield powers
granted directly from the deity in the form of
divine feats. While the clerics, druids, and paladins
of a particular faith tend to become the best
candidates for initiation, they by no means dominate
the ranks of the initiated based solely on
their character class. A rogue who is a very devout
worshiper of a god of thieves may prove to
be better suited for initiation than a cleric of the
same deity who is not as outgoing in furthering
the church’s goals. Initiates are often called
upon to serve their church or to enact their deity’s
will on this plane, so only those that show
action and initiative in their worship will be considered
for initiation.
Requirements
To become an initiate the worshiper must
undergo some sort of initiation. Initiation can
take many different forms and is always at the
GM’s discretion, as it will largely depend on the
campaign setting and the dogma and practices of
the specific church to which the character wishes
to initiate. It is not unusual for the worshiper to
have to undertake a minor quest or achieve a
specific goal before they are deemed worthy for
initiation. Other tasks appropriate to the church,
such as a period of fasting or cleansing, a donation
to the church, the shaving of one’s head,
etc., may also be required.
As a suggestion, the Investment ritual, a divine
ritual using the rules in LI1501 - Spellbound:
A Codex of Ritual Magic, as presented in Chapter
5, is an easy and effective means of implementing
the initiation process into any fantasy setting.
Other options include a secret moonlit ceremony,
a great public naming in front of a throng of worshippers,
or even a private initiation on a desolate
hillside.
Regardless of the process involved, initiation
is usually the purview of high priests (see High
Priests below).
Benefits
Upon becoming an initiate, the character immediately
receives the lowest level divine feat as a
bonus feat. The initiate then has access to that
deity’s lists of divine feats, which they can take at
later levels. If, for any reason, the character becomes
divested, or comparably stripped of their
bond with their patron deity and their rank from
the church, the character immediately loses the
ability to use all of their divine feats, plus whatever
additional ramifications the GM decides are
appropriate. For more information on divine
feats, see Chapter 4: Divine Feats.
Chosen
Some initiates may prove themselves to be
outstanding by accomplishing important tasks
put forth by their church. Initiates that have
risen above their peers through their deeds and
accomplishments can be endowed with the status
of Chosen. A church’s Chosen will be entrusted
with greater tasks and responsibilities than the
other initiates, and will be looked to as a leader in
times of crisis. On average, perhaps 1 of every
100 initiates of a church will become one of the
Chosen. Of course, a specific church will have
higher or lower standards about who becomes
Chosen. The more popular churches will tend to
be more selective, while small or secretive
churches will often promote their initiates for
simply surviving for a certain length of time or
accomplishing a fairly pedestrian task.
Requirements
Initiation is always a prerequisite to becoming
a Chosen. Like initiation, the process of becoming
a Chosen can be handled in endless conceivable
ways depending on the campaign setting,
but is always at the GM’s discretion. The Chosen
ritual is presented in Chapter 5 for ease, but
other options can include performing a specific
task at the will of the high priest, a vision quest,
or even a divine visitation from an outsider can
result in one becoming Chosen.
Benefits
In reward for their heightened status, the
Chosen gain one bonus feat that they can use to
gain any divine feat available to their deity.
Anointed
A select few of the Chosen will ever rise to the
rank of Anointed. Anointed are the most devout,
fervent, and spiritually charged individuals that
stand out above all others in the church, except
for the high priests themselves. To be the
Anointed of a god is to be the one by which all
worshippers, initiates, and Chosen are measured.
Depending on the structure and makeup of a
specific church, Anointed can even be regarded
more highly and reverently than any cleric or
priest, even one that’s been ascended (see below).
It is entirely conceivable that an Anointed in a
church who is a fighter or a sorcerer by class is
looked upon with greater reverence and awe than
the local clerics or paladins of the same faith.
When appropriate, an Ascended or Anointed of a
church will select one Chosen in their church to
become anointed. Even in the most desperate
and selective churches, Anointed characters are
rare. They often embody and represent the will of
their deity, or at least their High Priest, and
such power is not wielded lightly. An
Anointed or High Priest that chooses an unworthy
candidate for anointing will often
face retribution from their deity.
In many churches, the Anointed are
considered the front-line soldiers of the
church. In exchange for their title they
are expected to venture into enemy territory,
combat the enemies of the church wherever
they may be found, and undertake the
most dangerous of missions.
Requirements
Being a Chosen is always the prerequisite to
becoming an Anointed. The process of becoming
an Anointed should be rigorous, challenging, and
perhaps downright dangerous. Whatever the nature
of the challenges and procedures put forth
on the character, there can be no doubt that the
initiate, if successful, is destined to wield the ultimate
power of their god in the mortal realm. Just
the same as initiation, the process of becoming
an Anointed can be handled in many ways and
will depend largely on the alignment and ethos of
each particular church, but is always at the GM’s
discretion. The Anointing Ritual is presented in
Chapter 5 for ease, but a highly religious ceremony,
a deific visitation or the blessing of an avatar
can also create an Anointed.
Benefits
An Anointed receives a bonus feat they can
use to get any divine feat available to their deity.
In addition, the powerful bond that an Anointed
has with their deity grants them the ability to
break through the divine barriers that Temples of
other faiths put forth (see “Holy Ground” below).
Not even a High Priest receives this powerful
benefit, for it is reserved solely for those that are
Anointed.
If stripped of the Anointed station, so go the
character’s benefits. Depending on the circumstances
of losing the title, the character may suffer
other punishments, as the GM deems appropriate.
Ascended/High Priest
An initiate of a church can rise up the hierarchy
all the way to the ultimate leadership position
of the church as the Ascended, often commonly
called High Priest (or Priestess). A High
Priest’s bond with the deity is arguably the
strongest possible divine connection that can exist
between a character and a god (though many
Anointed disagree). The High Priest’s words are
often interpreted by the masses as the word of
the deity itself. Of course, different High Priests
may interpret their god’s words in different
ways, which often makes for controversies
and disagreements between other churches
and within the church itself. While clerics
and druids are traditionally the prime
candidates for ascension, any character
class can conceivably become the
High Priest of a church.
Requirements
Initiation is always the prerequisite to becoming
a High Priest. The candidate for
Ascension need not be a Chosen or
Anointed (though the respect and prestige
that goes along with these lofty
ranks sometimes lead to Ascension).
Ascended are seen as the leaders of
their church, so the process of becoming
Ascended should involve gaining the trust
of the devoted, as well as earning some sort of
divine insight into their patron deity’s motives
and goals. A current Ascended must choose a
candidate to become Ascended, and will be the
one to perform the Ascension in a sort of sponsorship.
Attempting to ascend one that is unworthy
of the position will often result in divine
retribution for both the candidate and the sponsor.
The Ascension ritual is presented in Chapter
5, but the method of actually achieving this
lofty title are as many and varied as the GM can
possibly imagine. Everything from spontaneous
inspiration to planar travel can be involved, and
should definitely be something the character
(and player) should never forget.
Benefits
The High Priest gains the prerequisite necessary
for the Divine Feats that are reserved
solely for High Priests. These special Divine
Feats allow the High Priest to bestow great powers
upon their gathered flocks of initiates. In
addition, the responsibility of leadership comes in
the form that only an Ascended may perform the
rituals or ceremonies of Initiation, Chosen,
Anointing, Ascension and Divestment. We highly
recommend that this step never be removed from
the promotion of another character, as being able
to side-step the High Priest often removes the
GM’s easiest method of reigning in a character
that is no longer acting in their deity’s best interests.
|
|
