A different take on priests

[Chris Rice]

Excellent. I think Steve needs you on board as his religious advisor!

Seriously, I know some long term players don't want any sort of priestly magic in TFT but I've always felt the opposite coming from a background of D&D and Runequest. Your ideas allow for some of the depth of Divine Magic seen in Runequest which can only help to make the fantasy world richer and generate more story ideas.

I hope something along these lines is included in the TFT reboot, even if only as a set of optional rules. I'd stayed away from commenting on Priestly Magic as my own ideas have changed over time, but your rules are by far the best I've seen.

Well done.

[zot]

Originally Posted by Chris Rice

Excellent. I think Steve needs you on board as his religious advisor!

Seriously, I know some long term players don't want any sort of priestly magic in TFT but I've always felt the opposite coming from a background of D&D and Runequest. Your ideas allow for some of the depth of Divine Magic seen in Runequest which can only help to make the fantasy world richer and generate more story ideas.

I hope something along these lines is included in the TFT reboot, even if only as a set of optional rules. I'd stayed away from commenting on Priestly Magic as my own ideas have changed over time, but your rules are by far the best I've seen.

Well done.

Thanks very much,

It certainly sounds like I'm achieving the goals I set out with for the system. I was a big fan of Runequest back in the day but I haven't played it since mid 80s. Even so, I think I can see some influence in the Village Wise Ones. After they're fleshed out, I'd like to do something with a less "tribal" feel, maybe work on Mnorenism and give that a sort of new age, human potential feel...

And I'd love it if this became part of the TFT reboot!

[zot]

The next religion: I wanted a contrast to the very tribal feel of the Village Wise Ones and I think I have gone about as far as I can from them with this one (which I think might also fit well into Cidri and SJ Games in general)...

Mngineers

You are a Mngineer, which means you venerate the Mnoren, the creators of Cidri, and you seek to emulate them by learning secret knowledge and practicing secret techniques. You probably found out about Mngineering at one of the Mechanician’s Guild meetings, when a Mngineer approached you and sold you a device. Mngineering is expensive because, well obviously, there’s a direct correlation between how much money one spends on Mngineering and one’s dedication.

You are not actually a priest, because Mngineering is not a religion, it is a state of illumination. You have simply rid your body of vast numbers of spiritual parasites, the “psytites” that cloud the minds of normal people or “Draps” as they are called among the illuminated, and now you can tap into the collective unconsciousness. You are well on your way to achieving your fully self-actualized potential. On the way to full Illumination. When enough people on Cidri are fully illuminated, the Mnoren will make themselves known again. Which is important because the world will end very soon if they don’t. Which is why, obviously, you keep trying to persuade Draps to become Mngineers.

You are happy to aid other people by using your equipment to “defest” them and temporarily give them advantages or heal their ills, for a customary nominal fee. Unfortunately, Draps rapidly “fest” and gain new psytites because they do not have access to the secret teachings of Mngineering. But you are not allowed to impart this knowledge; they are not illuminated and even if they could understand it (which they could not), they would misuse it and bring the world nearer to destruction.

To aid you in your pursuits, you have a collection of artifacts that focus and amplify your mind, allow you to peer into the “world behind”, etc. In fact, you know secret techniques to construct them from surprisingly common items. You also know ceremonies to locate, operate, and destroy artifacts and even produce temporary artifacts.

Your talisman is a metal rod which you connect to your equipment during ceremonies. You can actually consecrate any metal rod but the more dedicated priests have very expensive, intricately carved rods.

Note: you must have the Mechanician talent to be a Mngineer.

[Rick_Smith]

Originally Posted by zot

The next religion: I wanted a contrast to the very tribal feel of the Village Wise Ones ...

Mngineers ...[/B]

Hi Zot,
Is this a full write up? You had talked about your clerics getting Ceremonies which were magical powers which took too long to use in combat (which I thought was a cool idea). But I notice that this religion does not get any. Was that deliberate?

Warm regards, Rick.

[zot]

Originally Posted by Rick_Smith

Hi Zot,
Is this a full write up? You had talked about your clerics getting Ceremonies which were magical powers which took too long to use in combat (which I thought was a cool idea). But I notice that this religion does not get any. Was that deliberate?

Warm regards, Rick.

I'm only just starting on it. The document is here and I have fleshed out a bunch of stuff for the Village Wise Ones. I'll be fleshing out the Mngineers shortly!

[JLV]

I sure hope Steve is watching this thread! I'm really liking where this is going!

[zot]

Does anyone feel like play testing either (or both) of the two religions I have?

I'll be trying as well but I sure would appreciate the help.

Sheesh, I'm up to 16 pages of content now (with some page breaks). I'm planning to finish fleshing out these two before starting on more (I think two is probably enough to test with and I also think they're pretty dissimilar).

Also, I welcome suggestions for improving what I have so far!