Dungeon Saints Designer Notes

[Kuroshima]

Word count concerns forced me to not include some things in the article. However, given that they're available in my game, I see no reason for not releasing them here:

Existing Traits:
Beatified:
Shamans, who already posses Power Investiture, can also pick this power-up.

Faster Prayers:
Even if it's not noted, in Divine Favor, switching to a non-attack alternate ability requires a ready action. It's not out of question to allow those who have Faster Prayers do do so once per turn as a free action

New Traits:

Ordained:
As Clerics can become Beatified to gain a closer contact with their deity, Saints can join the ranks of the organized church, and gain access to standard clerical spells. They must purchase Power Investiture (Holy, Unholy, or any of the variant types presented in Dungeon Fantasy 7: Clerics) for 2/level as an alternative ability to their Power Investiture (Divine Favor).
Advantages: Add Power Investiture (Holy, Unholy, or any other variant type) [2/level] as an Alternate Ability (see description).

New Learned Prayers:
While I could not detail it in the article, saints can serve deities beyond the generic Good and Evil presented in Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers, and Dungeon Fantasy 3: The Next Level. Saints based on variant clerics (From Dungeon Fantasy 7: Clerics) ought to get a customized learned prayer list, that matches their portfolio and domains. If one of the prayers listed bellow should only work for the followers of one of these variant saints. This list only reflects what I've needed to come up with at the table, though, but should serve as an example for more learned prayers for your games.

Minor Blessings

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Divine Bearings
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 4.
Learned Prayer Cost: 2.
Your deity guides your steps, and it’s radiance acts as a beacon to show you the way. You are always able to retrace your steps, even in the deepest hell, in the spirit realms, or in places twisted by the elder things. You also gain +1 to Piloting, +2 to Aerobatics, and Free Fall, and +3 to Body Sense and Navigation.
Statistics: 3D Spatial Sense (Divine, -10%) [9]

Divine Pouch
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 4.
Learned Prayer Cost: 3.
As a ready action, you can take a single object into your deity's domain for safeguard. You can store up to your basic lift in this manner.
Statistics: Payload 10 (Divine, -10%; Extra-dimensional, +50%) [14]

Climb Like a Cat (Messengers and Rogues)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 5.
Learned Prayer Cost: 4.
You can move over any surface, even a vertical one, or a ceiling, that is strong enough to support your weight, at half your normal move, without needing do make Climbing checks.
Statistics: Clinging (Divine, -10%) [18]

Unimpeded Vision (Messengers and Rogues)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 5.
Learned Prayer Cost: 4.
You can see through up to 12 inches of normal matter. This allows you to see what's on the other side of doors and thin walls (most dungeon walls are thicker than this). You can dial this down to seeing through only 6 inches, allowing you to perceive the contents of strongboxes and chests, but you will need to be able to see in complete darkness. When you activate this prayer, and intensely look at a barrier, it becomes almost perfectly transparent.
Statistics: Penetrating Vision 2 (Divine, -10%) [19]

Burglar's Blessing (Messengers and Rogues)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 6.
Learned Prayer Cost: 5 points.
Your deity muffles the sounds you make, making you silent as a cat. You gain +1 to Stealth (+2 is perfectly motionless) against attempts to perceive you by hearing.
Statistics: Silence 5 (Divine, -10%) [23]

Major Blessings
Minimum Reaction: Good

Divine Meddling
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 7
Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points.
This is exactly like the Great Prayer cleric power up (Dungeon Fantasy 11: Power Ups, p. 22).

Divine Warning
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 7.
Learned Prayer Cost: 6 Points.
Your deity either watches over you, or has sent an extremely minor spirit to do so. You are thus never surprised, and can always attempt active defenses against attacks that you would not be aware of.
Statistics: Danger Sense (Cosmic, No Roll Required, +100%; Divine, -10%) [29]

Grasp of the Dead (Evil)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 7.
Learned Prayer Cost: 7 points.
The hands of the dead rise through the earth! The paragon must designate a target within 20 yards, the hands will rise from the ground and hold his ankles for 30 seconds, until he frees himself, or is freed by an ally. The victim is grappled, can not take Move, Change Posture or Concentrate maneuvers or change facing, and suffer -4 DX. In order to free himself, the victim can either destroy the hands currently holding him (DR5) as an attack that imposes a -4 penalty to hit, and dealing enough damage to destroy them (HP 15, each point of HP lost reduces ST by 1), or by winning a quick contest of the best of his or her ST or Escape skill, against the ST of the hands (15) as a Ready maneuver. The victim's allies can also attack the hands, but risk nitting the victim on a miss (see Striking tinto a Close Combat, p. B392).
You can only have a single Grasp of the Dead active at the same time, and must wait until the original expires before calling a new one.
A nature-based version of this prayer, and it's enhanced versions might exist, using entangling roots instead of undead hands, for beatified druids.
Statistics: Binding 15 (Cosmic, No Dice Roll Required, +100%; Divine, -10%; Environmental, the victim must be touching the ground, -20%; Nuisance Effect, victim is freed after 30 seconds, -5%; One Shot, -10%; Reduced Range, ×1/5, -20%; Takes Recharge, 30 seconds, -20%) [35].


Divine Mind
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 8.
Learned Prayer Cost: 9 points.
Your Deity grants you a small fragment of it's divine intellect, to take an additional mental maneuver per turn. You can take this mental maneuver even if grappled or otherwise restricted from taking mental maneuvers.
Statistics: Compartmentalized Mind (Divine, -10%) [45]

Walk Through Walls (Earth, Messengers and Rogues)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 8
Learned Prayer Cost: 9 Points.
Gods created the earth, and nothing made of earth will impede the movements of the truly devout. This miracle allows you walk through walls made of earth, stone or clay. While inside a wall, you are effectively blind, and deaf, and must hold your breath. This is normally not an issue, but you never know if there's a chamber on the other side of the wall. You can carry up to Light Encumbrance with you.
Statistics: Permeation (Earth) (Can Carry Objects, up to Light Encumbrance, +20%; Divine, -10%) [44]

MIRACULOUS POWERS

Minimum Reaction: Very Good

Cloak of Shadows (Messengers and Rogues, Night)
Learned Prerequisite: 11.
Learned Prayer Cost: 20.
Your deity makes those around you ignore you, making you effectively invisible. You can still be heard though!
Statistics: Invisibility (Can Carry Objects, up to Heavy Encumbrance, +100%; Divine, -10%) [76]

Divine Sight (Messengers and Rogues, Night)
Learned Prerequisite: 11.
Learned Prayer Cost: 20.
Gods are all seeing, and they have granted you a part of this boon. You can take a Concentrate maneuver, close your eyes, and ask your deity to show you what can be seen from a point up to a yard from your current location. Divine Sight ignores darkness penalties, and can be used to see what is inside a chest or on the other side of a wall or door.
Statistics: Clairsentience (Clairvoyance, -10%; Cosmic, No Roll Required, +100%; Divine, -10%; Fixed Range, -5%; Reduced Range, ×1/10, -30%) [73]

Walk Through Walls (Enhanced) (Earth, Messengers and Rogues)
Learned Prerequisite: 11.
Learned Prayer Cost: 20.
As Walk Through Walls, but you can carry up to Heavy Encumbrance with you.
Statistics: Permeation (Earth) (Can Carry Objects, up to Heavy Encumbrance, +100%; Divine, -10%) [76]

[Kuroshima]

Grasp of the Dead (Enhanced) (Evil)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 12.
Learned Prayer Cost: 22 points.
As Grasps of the Dead, but affects a 4 yard radius area for 30 seconds, grappling all those found in it, and has ST 20, and DR 6. Those already present in the area and close enough to the border can try to dodge and drop, to try to exit it. If they escape, they're limited to making a single step. If this doesn't move them out of the area, they will be trapped again next turn. Their only defense is again to dodge and drop. You can only have a single Grasp of the Dead active at the same time, and must wait until the original expires before calling a new one.
Statistics: Binding 20 (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Cosmic, No Dice Roll Required, +100%; Divine, -10%; Environmental, the victim must be touching the ground, -20%; Extended Duration, ×3, +20%; Nuisance Effect, the hands return to the earth, freeing all victims, 30 seconds after being summoned, -5%; Persistent, +40%; One Shot, -10%; Reduced Range, 5, -20%; Takes Recharge, 30 seconds, -20%) [110].

WORLD-SHAKING MIRACLES

Minimum Reaction: Excellent

Grasp of the Dead (Doubly Enhanced) (Evil)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 16.
Learned Prayer Cost: 39 points.
As Grasp of the Dead (Enhanced), but the hands rise over an 8 yard radius area, have ST 22, DR 7, will not target the paragon or his allies, and those caught are pinned and on subsequent turns, constricted. Victims can only try to escape with ST (not Escape skill), and can only try to do so every 10 seconds. On a critical failure on their ST roll, they are so firmly grasped that they must wait for the effect to disipate, or get their companions to free them. Every subsequent turn after being caught, roll, on the Paragon's turn, a quick contest of between the hands ST (22) and the best of each victim's ST or HT. If the hands win, they inflict damage equal to their margin of victory.
Statistics: Binding 22 (Area Effect, 8 yards, +150%; Constricting, +75%; Cosmic, No Dice Roll Required, +100%; Divine, -10%; Engulfing, +60%; Environmental, the victim must be touching the ground, -20%; Extended Duration, ×3, +20%; Nuisance Effect, the hands return to the earth, freeing all victims, 30 seconds after being summoned, -5%; Persistent, +40%; One Shot, -10%; Reduced Range, ×1/5, -20%; Selective Area, +20%; Takes Recharge, 30 seconds, -20%) [194].

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Word count concerns forced me to not include some things in the article. However, given that they're available in my game, I see no reason for not releasing them here:

I love designer notes! Thank you for sharing this, expanding thus the Dungeon Saints article.

[Not another shrubbery]

Thanks a lot for the Notes, K! All those different fonts kinda hurt the readability of the posts, though. NOI... just sayin'

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Thanks a lot for the Notes, K! All those different fonts kinda hurt the readability of the posts, though. NOI... just sayin'

Well, I tried to keep it as close as possible as the real formatting this would have had in a published article...

[Celti]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Unimpeded Vision (Messengers and Rogues)
Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 5.
Learned Prayer Cost: 4.
You can see through up to 12 inches of normal matter. This allows you to see what's on the other side of doors and thin walls (most dungeon walls are thicker than this). You can dial this down to seeing through only 6 inches, allowing you to perceive the contents of strongboxes and chests, but you will need to be able to see in complete darkness. When you activate this prayer, and intensely look at a barrier, it becomes almost perfectly transparent.
Statistics: Penetrating Vision 2 (Divine, -10%; Variable, +5%) [19]

Isn't Variable needless here, as per Powers?

Originally Posted by Powers, p.107

Variable is strictly for attacks,
which otherwise work at full power
at all times. Non-attack abilities
don’t need it – their range, area, level
of effect, and so on are variable
automatically.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Celti

Isn't Variable needless here, as per Powers?

Damn, you are right. I house rule that Penetrating vision always tries to penetrate as var as it can, so that's why variable is there. It does not change the cost as a learned prayer though. I'm going to edit the original post to reflect this though.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Thanks a lot for the Notes, K! All those different fonts kinda hurt the readability of the posts, though. NOI... just sayin'

I find it fairly readable. Changing the blue text to boldface might help some, though.

[demonsbane]

It is good to see here some connections to DF 7: Clerics.

I will make a PDF file with these Designer Notes for attaching it to the Pyramid 3/36 issue containing the original Dungeon Saints article.

[Kuroshima]

Well, obviously I have nothing against that, just respect the request from SJG to not copy their trade dress.

Oh, and if anyone wants to add more miracles, feel free to post them. I'm going to keep adding miracles to my internal file, as they are needed in play.