Divine Powers

[CorpCommander]

This is a crosspost from a tangent in a discussion on the Company Questions board...

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Is there going to be a book for FH covering Divine magice? Monks, priests, paladin and druid types? I'd love to see that. I thought I read somewhere something like that was in planning.

 

Take a given power construct and call it "Divine". Oh' date=' and slap "Only When Serving Dieties Purpose" or something equivalent. [/quote']

 

I don't have a problem with that, but it turns the Gods into ATMs of magic. Sure they all look different on the outside but basically they all work exactly the same.

 

I see there being a lot of potential variety between the Gods, the type of power they give, the reasons they give it, etc.

 

I see character disadvantages that would differ greatly from God to God. For example the Margarine Goddess of Nature (if you are old enough to remember the TV commercials from the 60's and 70's God Bless You!) is a very vindictive Goddess who highly punishes characters who step out of line. Meanwhile the Dryad Goddess is quite mellow and gives lots of tree related spells and really isn't into the whole punishment thing.

 

Can divine powers be dispelled by arcane magic? Thats an important question for any GM. I wouldn't let mages dispell the will of a God with a dispell of an arcane special effect. You'd need a divine special effect. I'd probably give a -1/4 lim on arcane dispell (doesn't affect divine powers) and allow a divine dispell affect just about anything. But that is me. Someone elses campaign could be very different.

 

Anyway, this is way off in the wrong discussion group. It should probably be under the Fantasy Hero section so I am going to cross post to there.

[Steve Long]

Re: Divine Powers

 

Is there going to be a book for FH covering Divine magice?

 

Not specifically, no. There are big ol' sections on the subject in the FHG and TA, though.

[KA.]

Re: Divine Powers

 

Now that we are in the correct forum.

 

Just a few comments.

 

I see the granting of spells as a more "detached" type of thing, and not related to the god's own power.

For example: (and no offense intended to my fellow Christians, I don't mean to equate religion with a game, just using the example)

 

If you have seen "The Ten Commandments".

God grants Moses the ability to turn his staff into a snake.

The Egyptian sorcerers do likewise.

God just gave Moses that ability, he was not directly involved in the matter.

They were not "thwarting his will".

Later, God rains down fire on Egypt.

Egyptian Sorcerers can't do a thing about it, because this is God's direct involvement.

 

So, in game terms, just because one of a god's' hundreds of clerics casts a spell that gets overruled, that is not a "personal" matter for the god, just petty mortals doing their thing. That doesn't mean you could "Dispel" something actually "cast" by a god.

 

As far as the Spell-ATM problem, this, like many things is totally up to the GM.

The gods that grant the spells are exactly as real as you make them. Not that they should be showing up on a daily basis, but because their followers should get "signs" of their pleasure or displeasure.

 

KA.

 

P.S. CorpCommander,

I don't know how I read your entire post on the Company Questions board and managed to miss the last line that basically said "This is on the wrong board."

[CorpCommander]

Re: Divine Powers

 

P.S. CorpCommander,

I don't know how I read your entire post on the Company Questions board and managed to miss the last line that basically said "This is on the wrong board."

 

Your Gods did not grant you the power to percieve it correctly.

 

 

 

Anyway, you reinforce my point that there are various ways of depicting divine magic - specifically powers that come from worshiping a powerful entity. Further questions become: is that entity part of the creative force of the universe or is it just some really powerful mage. In the "Iron Kingdoms" setting the clerics of Cryx get their power from a very powerful dragon who is a self proclaimed God. Is this dragon just redirecting his own immense arcane abilities or are the powers he grant actually God like? Clearly this is up to the GM.

 

One could find a lot of different ways of making divine magic different from arcane. How about forcing all divine spells that work at range to be indirect and not eminating from the caster? That little special effect makes it obvious it isn't the caster's power but the caster calling on the God's power and enhances the knowlege that the God is seperate from the caster. That is just one system. Certainly there are examples in history, description of miracles if you will, where so and so God worked through their vessel on Earth.

 

Lets look at a case of someone being granted divine powers: Joan of Arc. What powers was she given? Protection, Healing and an immense presence attack (think of the view of women at the time and realize this 5'4" girl shows up at the age of 19 and commands men and generals to follow her the very first day she showed up in camp.) Mainly she had a few powers that were somewhat constant (though the presence attack wore off by the time she got to the walls of Paris.) And a few big miracles that she had no control over that were oneshot deals. She's actually easily modeled in Hero. And she doesn't have a list of spells that cost 1/3rd real. ;-)

 

--Pete

[Zeropoint]

Re: Divine Powers

 

I remember hearing about someone using a VPP with No Conscious Control to model a god's acting for his follower. The god picks what powers the follower gets, and when. The follower simply trusts his god to give him what he needs.

 

You could also use Luck--not every instance of divine intervention needs to be flashy.

 

Zeropoint

[CorpCommander]

Re: Divine Powers

 

Zeropoint, those are both cool. I like the luck thing because for really weak Gods that would be a perfect way of doing their abilities. "After the Druid clears the vine from the Oak a Dryad appears and sprinkles pixie dust, roll 3d6 of Luck." Sure, nothing may happen but its a freaking tree Goddess.

 

The VPP is neat but requires a conflict of interest with the GM. The GM is all knowing and seeing of course and is hard pressed on their duty to offer a challenge to the players. Though I suppose the player could offer up a prayer and thus give hints to the God what they want. "Dear God, it would be really nice if that bugbear were smited with a 12d6 NND bolt from the blue. Amen."

 

:-)