-Tomas the Rogue, Adventurer
I've been musing on the Priest Class some more this week. As an aside here, I find that long walks and runs (that I take either very late at night or early in the morning) fuel my creativity a great deal! Sometimes, when I am stumped or stuck, I go do something very physically indulgent or athletic to get my Right-Brain muscles in gear! I suppose I would be considered a "Fit-Beard" in modern OSR parlance. LOL. . . Anyways. . .
Returning to the topic of Priests. Their Prayers are granted through their Devotion to the Saints, which are channeled through the Priest's Patron Saint -- the Demi-Spirit installed within the Priest after being initiated. As they increase their Devotion to particular Saints their access to that Saint's Prayers and the power of its associated Orison increases. I posted a very, very simple example, Saint Michael the Confessor. Let me expand on this example by showing the other elements of Saints:
The Confessor appears as a large male Knight, clad head-to-toe in silvery plate-armor with a baroque great helm. He is further wrapped in white cloths standing tall with arms stretched out without weaponry or shield in his hands.
The Confessor's voice, when heard, is a soothing but booming bass-tone. He is impatient and prefers to get right to the business of healing -- the Petitioning Priest should be ready to direct the attentions of the Confessor immediately upon finishing the Prayer.
Saint Michael is Resonant with Saint Bessus the Protector and Dissonant with Saint Jude the Hope-Giver.
| Devotion Level | Devotion (in SP) | Prayer Access | Orison Granted |
| 1 | 1,000 | Prayer for Relief x1 | "Glory to the Warriors" |
| 2 | 3,000 | Prayer for Relief x2 | "Glory to the Warriors" |
| 3 | 7,000 | Prayer for Relief x3 | "Glory to the Warriors" |
| 4 | 15,000 | Prayer for Relief x4, Prayer for Respite x1 | "Glory to the Warriors" |
Prayer for Relief: Touch 2 Allies, bestows Minor Healing to them according to Invocation Level* modified by Intellect. This is a Supreme Ability (Burns 1 Action Point).
Prayer for Respite: Touch 2 Allies, bestows Minor Healing to them according to Invocation Level modified by Intellect. Also bestows Temporary Hit Points according to Invocation Level modified by Intellect. this is a Supreme Ability (Burns 1 Action Point).
Glory to the Warriors: Touch 1 Ally who is Wounded (Wounds are greater than 0). That Ally is granted Temporary Hit Points according to Invocation Level modified by Intellect. Cannot target oneself. This is an Advanced Ability (Places 1 Action Point into the Short Reserve).
*Level 1 Invocation is 1d6 + (Ability Score * 1.0).
A couple of further notes regarding Priests which will assist the reader in understanding what I have just described. Priests are either Invokers or Evokers in the channeling of their energies -- this is chosen at Level 1. Some Saints have Prayers available to only one kind (such as Saint Michael), other Saints have two versions of their granted Prayers and Orisons for Invokers and Evokers.
The Invoking Priest focuses on instilling awe in the flock and fear in the enemies of the Faith. The Evoking Priest focuses on making firm the bodies and mind of the flock, as well as inhibiting the forces of the Enemy. These two paths each have minor abilities that can be channeled apart from Prayers and Orisons. That is for a later post, but two examples: Invokers can effortlessly soothe the minds of mortals and instill anxiety in the minds of horrors (such as the Possessed), whereas Evokers can effortlessly numb the physical pain of mortal beings, but cause stinging pain all over the bodies of horrific beings.
One additional point regarding the Devotional Contribution of Priests to their Saints. As Priests choose to invest their time and money into Saints, they must consider that some Saints are Resonant or Dissonant with each other. Points put towards a Saint apply 10% of these points towards any Resonant Saints, but this same 10% is deducted from the Dissonant Saint -- though this penalty can never reduce Devotion below 0.
Example: Sister Lucretia St. Rex has put 1,000 Silver Pieces towards the rituals and materials to further devote herself to Saint Michael the Confessor. Saint Michael is Resonant with Saint Bessus, to 100 Points are added to Lucretia's Devotion to Bessus. Since Saint Michael is Dissonant with Saint Jude, 100 Points are deducted from Lucretia's Devotion to him.
One final note before signing off for the day -- I'm hoping to make it out to the Goth Club later tonight LOL -- Orisons function differently than Prayers. They are NOT forgotten when Cast and can be used many times per day -- as they simply move the Action Point so used into the Short Reserve. If you have been reading my previous posts on Magic and Abilities, any Action Points in the Short Reserve are returned, one at a time, to the available Action Point pool in any round where no Action Points are spent.
A Priest can access many different Orisons depending on his Devotion to various Saints. This Orison becomes more powerful at higher levels of Devotion (I have only included up to Level 4 here, the Orison for Saint Michael "upgrades" at Level 5). Even though Orisons are not forgotten when Cast, a Priest can only have a number of Orisons Memorized equal to his Intellect. A Priest with access to many different Orisons will need to consider which Orisons to commit to memory before heading out on adventures!
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