Priests, clerics and Deity

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I'm not convinced that the lack of 'active' gods limits roleplaying opportunities. Sure, there are many potent plots and classic conflicts drawn from theology and mythology, but most can be implemented w/o the need for direct divine intervention. In TFT (on Cidri at least), religious characters must walk by faith which IMO is potentially a more interesting state (certainly more dynamic) for adventures.

Exactly. I like what religion brings to the game world, but I tend to have religion be about faith. Characters might think that their god might intervene on their behalf and even believe that events show that it did, even if it didn't. However, instead of having gods be true deities, I prefer them to be some kind of manipulative extra-planar being with ulterior motives. They might have extraordinary power, but they aren't gods with a capital G.

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by Jpot

Yes this build -out is to put the veneer of Cleric into the game. I thought it made some sense if you're looking at a B/X experience like HOW proposes to create with TFT rules.

GURPS Divine Favor is an interesting supplement that could be translated back to TFT.

HOW's approach doesn't sufficiently answer the 'why' or 'how' questions for me, but it's not bad for a campaign where undead are prevalent. And I'm sure GURPS has lots of solutions for this kind of thing, though I question how well they can really fit within TFT's level of abstraction and design assumptions.

Originally Posted by Jpot

In that, it's (Paragon or Clerical) a Power, based on a Divine Favor Advantage with modifiers applied for situation, location (sanctity or non-sanctity) and most esp behavior. It also comes with a slew of Disadvantages. For those concerned, most of the Prayers (Powers) are reserved for malign supernatural beings. Interesting read. It also has rules for reversing it from good to evil, though because bad clerics don't have the moral restrictions they don't top out as powerful as a good one, for game balance.

The idea of 'powers' here is interesting because I invented my own version of that concept for TFT... abilities beyond talents and spells. Ironically, the first set of Powers I created for my game were ones designed to fill a role similar to this thread's topic though I dodged the Good vs Evil issue by using a different, but (IMO) more versatile (but still binary) metaphysical paradigm.

From my house-rules...

There are many forces of power in the universe. Two of the most influential are positive and negative energy; the opposing powers of life and anti-life. Sometimes referred to as numena, positive energy is seen by men of faith as divine or by others as simply the 'force' generated by all living things. The character who gains Powers from this portfolio has discovered that they have a link to this energy source and whether they believe their connection has been granted by a higher being or that they found it thru personal enlightenment or unlocking their chakras, the abilities they gain will be used in defense of life and to oppose creatures like the undead who draw upon its antithesis.

Unlike spells, channeling these Powers does not require the character to draw upon their own ST since they are really just a conduit for the true source of the energy. Instead, the Powers will typically have a limited number of uses per day.

[David Bofinger]

If you want observers to be unsure whether the god intervened or not then make their abilities subtle and general. e.g. an officer decides his platoon will assault an enemy position, and asks the unit's priest to bless them. He attempts to do so: if he succeeds everyone in the unit will get, say, +1 damage on their first attack. If he fails they won't. Only statistical analysis will prove whether he succeeded, or indeed whether he is a charlatan, and maybe statistics annoys deities so it won't be permitted.