[Powers: Divine Favor] Playable Divine Favor levels

[phayman53]

A question for those who have actually used Powers: Divine Favor in play: What levels of the Divine Favor advantage or combination of the Divine Favor + Power Investiture advantages do you find useful but still playable/GMable?

I really like the idea of the mechanic but haven't played it very much. It seems at low levels to be so hit-and-miss as to be difficult for a player to use and possibly quite frustrating. It is unlikely that the prayer will be heard, and then if it is heard there is a decent chance that the deity will not answer or will not answer with a significant intervention. But once the levels of one or both advantages get too high, I can imagine it would be a nightmare to GM as any dangerous situation can be derailed by a good Divine Favor and reaction roll helped by a few levels of Power Investiture. I imagine there is a good range (that varies by campaign CP), where it is fun but also not impossible to GM or annoying for the other players. I'm just not sure where that is.

So, those who have used it, what levels do you find appropriate for different CP level games (such as 150-200 point realistic heroic, 250 point DF type, and 400 point Monster Hunter type power levels)?

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by phayman53

A question for those who have actually used Powers: Divine Favor in play: What levels of the Divine Favor advantage or combination of the Divine Favor + Power Investiture advantages do you find useful but still playable/GMable?

My Warrior-Saint Cadmus played very happily at Divine Favor 8.

[mehrkat]

I use divine favor in all of my games with dnd-esk priests. Though I found it necessary to create lower level powers that had chance reintroduced. With that think the pc had a very satisfying divine favor 3 at the beginning.

The biggest issue with divine favor is making effects guaranteed ballooned the cost. If you remove that it can be a very satisfying experience.

[Christopher R. Rice]

I've found that 10-12 is very playable and GMable. Lower levels work too, but around 11 is where you can really do stuff via learned prayers without having to constantly pray for help.

[Balor Patch]

Learned prayers make low levels very attractive. Sermonize will let even an ogre-elder-spawn hybrid talk his way into town. Flesh Wounds regenerates 10hp per 15 minutes while conscious, or 20hp for that ogre. Then there's Holy Touch for wrestling with demons or Powerful Conviction for wrestling with priests. All that and more for less than [35] is a steal for a holy warrior.

[seycyrus]

One of the NPCs in my game has divine favor at 9, and power investiture [1] giving him a base chance of 9 with a +1 on the reaction roll.

He doesn't have any learned prayers, and mostly uses general prayers. Most of the time it seems he fails his roles in combat, except for one notable time when the group was facing a TPK and a good petition followed by an excellent reaction roll saved their bacon.

One anecdote slightly more amusing was when the same priest prayed for the filthy ex-Troll's cave that the party was resting in to be cleansed so that he could perform first aid on several party members. Another excellent reaction roll and that cave is still *sparkling* to this day.

[seycyrus]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

My Warrior-Saint Cadmus played very happily at Divine Favor 8.

What's the write up for Righteous Fury? How does it stat out in terms of Divine Favor?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by seycyrus

What's the write up for Righteous Fury? How does it stat out in terms of Divine Favor?

Pyramid #3/36: Dungeon Fantasy, p. 11.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by seycyrus

What's the write up for Righteous Fury? How does it stat out in terms of Divine Favor?

It’s amazing. It turns Cadmus into a Cuisinart for 3d seconds.

[munin]

Originally Posted by seycyrus

What's the write up for Righteous Fury? How does it stat out in terms of Divine Favor?

It's three levels of Blessed (Heroic Feats) (pp. B40-41), allowing you to add +1d to ST/DX/HT for 3d seconds. With the Divine modifier, it comes out to [27], so it's a Major Blessing.

There's also an Enhanced version which grants +2d and a little DR.