This section takes on the powers of priests from a new perspective, distancing them from wizards by removing all spell use and give them different kind of powers and abilities. I like the unique feel priests are given by these rules as they are no longer one offshot of spellcasters and their divine powers are not limited as with spells. Later I will add more detail about these rules, especially what can be accomplished and how to award Faith points but this must do for now.
Faith Points | Fate Table 1
Using Faith Points | Fate Table 2
Advancing in Levels | A Special Case | Note
All priests have so called Faith Points (FP) which are a measure of their power and how much the deity favours them. Faith Points can be both gained and lost during an adventure and the priest must be careful not to use them too much and thus anger his god. Gaining FPs can be accomplished in several ways. Each time the priest gains a level, he automatically gains one FP. A blessing granted can result in a FP increase of one. Each time he does something that favours his god, he might gain a FP. This chance is about 50% modified by up to +/- 50% depending on how he has lived up to his beliefs and how big that task was. In extreme cases, this can result in two FPs being granted but that should be very rare.
No priest can have more FPs than 10, except in special cases (see below). If a priest is at 10 FPs and somehow gains another point, then the score does not increase to 11 but rather the priest is allowed to roll on the so called Fate table 1 (FT1). Initiates can have a maximum of 3 FPs. If for any reason the priest gained 2 FPs (which would have put his score to 12 if not for the maximum of 10), then he rolls only once on the table but gains a +10 bonus.
Roll a d100 and consult the following table to see what happens, if anything.
01-50 = Nothing happens
51-80 = Character gains d10x10 EPs
81-95 = Character gains one fate point
96-00 = Character is permanently blessed (as in the Cleric
advance table)
101 + = Character gains all three of the benefits above.
Any rolls of 51+ result also in the clerics Faith points to drop to the same value as his level, else they remain at the same level.
Initiates cannot use FPs but priests can use them to do extraordinary things. The priest names what he desires to happen and then the GM must decide what happens and how many FPs it will cost the priest. If the priest is asking for something too powerful, then the deity is displeased and nothing happens (alternatively, the GM could rule that something bad happens). Note that the priest still loses FPs even if nothing or something bad happens. If some effect takes place, it does not have to be exactly as the priest intended. It could be more or less powerful, something totally different or even nothing at all. Then the GM must decide how many FPs the effect causes the priest to lose. This can be either 1 (minor), 2 (mediocre), 3 (powerful) or 4 (extremely powerful, rare that a priest is allowed to ask for such an effect). The level of the priest also determines how many FPs he can spend and thus how powerful an effect he can ask for. Therfore, what can happen is only limited by your imagination, the rules of the deity (priests of Shallya won't be allowed to kill another creature for example) and upper end power of the desired effect(s). Also, the priest can never use more FPs than he has. If he drops to zero, he must roll on Fate table 2 (FT2). Trying to use a power that would result the FPs to drop below 0, is automatically a failure and the FP score drops to zero, forcing a roll on FT2. There is a -10 penalty to the roll for each point below zero.
Roll a d100 and consult the following table to see what happens, if anything.
01-50 = Nothing happens
51-80 = Character loses d10x10 EPs
81-95 = Character loses one fate point
96-00 = Wrath of the gods
101 + = Character suffers from all of the above.
The FPs remain at 0, no matter the result of the roll.
When a priest wants to advance a level, he spends the required Experience points and prays for guidance in a temple. During that prayer, the deity will present him with a certain quest he must complete before he can proceed. The difficulty of this quest is determined by the level the character wants to achieve, easy when going for level 1 and extremely difficult when going for level 4. Additionally, the difficulty of the quest can also be modified by how well the priest has lived up to his beliefs. If he cannot complete the quest, he must accumulate the Experience points required (even if he had enough) and try again. After successfully completing the quest, the priest must then seek out a priest of the same faith and of higher level to perform a ritual (which takes one day and one night to perform) where he can absorb additional power and attain a higher status of holiness (i.e. gain a level). During that ritual the priest wanting to advance must spend 2 FPs per level he wishes to attain. Therfore it is necessary to have quite alot of FPs to gain a level and those that spend few or none FPs to complete their quest will be at an advantage. After successfully completing the ritual, the priest is now considered to have gained a level.
One blessing a priest can be granted is having his FP maximum raised by the same amount as his level. Thus a level 4 priest could, if so blessed, have 14 FPs. This is very rarely a permanent blessing (as per FT1) but usually a temporary one. The blessing is in effect for a month. If the month expires and the priest has more than 10 FPs, he instantly rolls on FT1 and gains the normal bonus of +10 per FP above 11.
One thing you must heed is to clearly distinguish between Fate points and Faith points. Their abbreviation is the same, FP, but they are two totally different counters and must never be confused. Only priests can aquire, have and use Faith points while any PC can have Fate points.
Back to the Chaos Library