Why do Priests exist?
 

Anybody who went around Cidri with the bold claim that there is no continuation after death and that ghosts don't exist would be at the very least regarded as a madman with a dangerous delusion.

Cidri needs priests for the same reason that New York needs sanitation workers.

Either priests are doing something with their rituals to keep down the undead problem or the public will find somebody else who does and pay them instead.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

I agree with TippetsTX thoughts on the Priest talent (as written). It's simply to conduct "the business" of a religion. That said (and as written) I can't see why your average player would take that talent but maybe that was the point.

As written, the only motivation I can see for taking the Priest talent would be as the PCs "job" - a way to earn some money between adventures. Role-playing-wise, there would be other perks like good reactions from members of the same faith -- which might lead to various forms of aid from those NPCs.

Tacking on the ability to perform rituals and rites from "holy texts" (special form of using scrolls and spell-books) is a nice addition to the talent.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

Writing up Bind Ghost to cover both holy swords and heathen artifacts.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

Here's another question:
Have you ever seen a church full of nothing but Priests and Theologians? Who are their understudies? Who do they minister to?

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

Already in my book as well, as shown in the table of contents I shared a while back, but carry on. I'm getting used to it.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

Can you use a bound ghost to generate 3 mana per day?

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

Does it matter?

I've posted a lot of material about Priests, Rites, Bindings, and all the other stuff I've worked on. I've had great discussions about that material, thankfully, which I feel makes it better material. If other people want to start their own house rules about Priests, that's fine. If people want to make their own house rules about Rites, that's fine too. And Bindings, whatever. It's the clique-ishness and attitudes of these latter discussions than sometimes sadden me. The TFT community is already small enough without such things.

But like I say, carry on. People will do what they do. If I have something useful to contribute, I will, and otherwise I'll stick to the threads I personally find to be productive.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

Why?

We played decades of adventures on Cidri and I don't recall anyone ever encountering a ghost.


What undead problem? And how do priests help against whatever that problem is?


Yes, and it covers any religion, of which there are many, whose details are up to the GM, if/when anyone cares.


Well that's one thing that can be tacked on, or not. Depends on the GM, their world, the religion in question, etc. Religions can be really interesting without needing to have spells or magic-like abilities.

Mainly I think the absence of specified religious details is cool because of the space it leaves for GMs to do whatever. And, I like the absence of the D&D-spawned convention of priests as healers and/or undead-banishers with spells.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

This may shock you but I agree with all of that -- even the part in bold. That's why I'm not hanging my approach on the Priest and Theologian talents. I'm creating one or two new talents and hanging most of it on that.

Re: Why do Priests exist?
 

I agree that the key to fleshing out TFT priests is in defining what their in-game role should be. Are they healers, wandering exorcists, demon slayers, or simply mages that believe their power comes from a higher source? And does that role differ depending upon the specific religious sect that they belong to? To Skarg's point, the extremely limited detail provided in ITL gives GMs a ton of flexibility in defining the structure and impact of religion in his world, but maybe it's too much.

I think a good place to start is to create specific responsibilities to associate with the Priest talent and then come up with simple mechanics that align with those duties. For example, I figure a 'Priest' has a focus on evangelizing their faith and coverting the lost souls scattered throughout Cidri. As a result, I would expect the talent to support that in a limited way like a minor version of Charisma to influence others as they share their message.