Clerics made simple

[Nils_Lindeberg]

Originally Posted by Nils_Lindeberg

Original rules for Clerics are very hands off. Up to GM fiat. But the suggestion is to give some sort of luck bonus.

The Charm magic items are extremely powerful, but I like the idea of luck.

So here is my slight modification of the talents and the reasons for implementing them:

Faith will still be a big thing since it is hard to prove the existence of luck.
Everybody can benefit, but those that devote themselves benefit more.
There is a reason to go back to the church/Temple/holy grove/shrine and see your priest/mentor/guide on a regular basis and the gods are very easy to adapt from any game world or setting.

All you have to do as a GM is give some examples on how to worship a god or pantheon, give the gods different portfolios or domains, or if it is a monotheistic religion divide it into different aspects or the equivalent of saints or ideals.

Then you need some general costs for different blessings in accordance with how popular the god's portfolio is. The blessings could then be paid for by a church tax, gifts to the priests or you bringing the sacrifice needed yourself.

[All three of the talents can be taken at normal cost for a wizard.]

New:
IQ 8 Devout (Once per god) (1p)
The number of times a blessing can be used by you is increased by 1.

Mostly unchanged:
IQ 9 Priest (Once per god) (2p) Prereq. Devout (same god). No Charisma needed.
Can bless people (count as a magical item - the rule of five). Usually 5 dice vs IQ. With offerings and preparations 4 dice, high holydays or very elaborate and costly (in time and money) ceremonies 3 dice.
The blessing gives a one time +-1 adjustment within the area of that god's dominion to a follower of that god. This bonus can be used after a die roll has been rolled that directly affect the blessed person. One could use it to make an enemy miss if it was close or turn a critical hit into a normal hit if you were blessed by a war god or survival god. It could be used for a reaction roll if the blessing fit the occasion or a local seasonal weather roll if you are blessed by a farm god. Other common civilian uses would be professional jobs roll, etc. The blessing will be lost if you act contrary to your god's wishes or disrespect the god, but otherwise, it will stay until used.

Mostly unchanged:
IQ 14 Theologian Increases the number your priestly blessings can be used by 1. Taken once, not once per god.

So a Theologian without any preparations could give two uses of a +-1 bonus to a normal follower. On a 5vsIQ roll. With a proper ceremony or a quick sacrifice, the roll would be easier. If the receiver of the blessing is a devotee of the god he would get another use out of the blessing.

A character can follow more than one god, be a devotee of more than one god and have active blessings from more than one god. Blessings doesn't stack, you can't use more than one on any given die roll. You can only have one blessing per god at a time. If you have a 2 use blessing and get another triple blessing, you can change the double one for the triple, but they don't stack in any way.

A system like this would be important enough for most people to go to a Priest regularly and at the same time not be so important that people have to do it. There is no time limit on how long the blessing stays with you, and it is impossible to know for the character if it has been used or not. So most people will renew it as often as they can, just in case. And even a casual blessing from a wandering priest without any sacrifice can work, so it can't hurt to try.

Have there been anything more official from SJ on how to handle religion? Should it be a light clarification like this (that could be made optional), or are they looking for a more robust system or do they want a third "class" comparable to Hero and Wizard? Or maybe a later companion book?