Divine Magic

Intro

For those who want real power, and won't be satisfied in mere lightning bolts but want entire thunderstorms, what could be better than access to the power of the Gods themselves?

Divine magic is not limited by rules, is not dependant on limited human abilities, and will not fail you just because some upstart casts a counterspell. It is the only way to gain full and unlimited access to the Realm of Magic, where the gods themselves tried to seal magic from the mortal world. Of course, it does require unwavering fanatical devotion to a Church, and a genuine worship of the god involved, but it seems a small price to pay for arguably the greatest source of power known.

The Rules

You must be a genuine believer. Obvious? Perhaps, but it's too damn vital to not mention. Gods are notoriously fickle beings, and if they don't think your pulling your weight in the idolatry stakes, you just won't get your spells. There is no way around this rule, you can't bluff an omniscient being.

You must be an active member of the relevant Church. An extension of the first rule, this is basically the same as the required Guild memebership of various other schools and professions.

You must role-play being religious. Just to ram the point home, if you as a player don't regularly offer a prayer, or throw a quick rite, or generally act as a religious fanatic, then your character's god will get stroppy. The specifics will vary with the particular god but a prayer at the start of the day, or at the start of an adventure, or before a battle, are all good things to include in your reportoire. Credit will be given for creative praying.

By the way, if you meet a priest whose god is not on good terms with yours, it is appropriate for you to treat them as your god would treat theirs.
e.g. Lomara is neutral to all, but Kalar actively dislikes her. A Kalar priest is thus likely to hamper all efforts of any Lomara priest he may meet, but it would not be apprpriate for the Lomara priest to respond in kind.

You must purchase spell points. As with Elemental Magic, the daily usage of a particular spell is determined by spell points. The spell level tells you how many spell points it burns in the casting, and you can cast it as often as you have enough spell points to do so. Spell points are recharged at the beginning of a new day if your god is happy with you.

Spell points cost 1ep each.

Access to spells is determined by position in the Church hierachy; and postion in the hierachy is determined by your devotion and services to your god (see The Churches for more details).
Unlike the Mage's Guild, a priest can fall from his standing without dying - he may simply lose favour with his god (or his superiors). A certain amount of political machinating does occur, but again you can't fool an omniscient being.

Verbals : As a guideline, a spell should have one line of verbals per spell point used in casting. They should include plenty of grovelling and obsequiesce praising, as that's what gods like. As long as your supplications are crawly enough, and at least reasonably apt for the spell, it will be fine.

Spheres of influence

Each Major God has a sphere of influence, unique and specific. While there is no overlap as such, the various sympathies and antipathies that exist between the Gods is reflected in the varying degrees of harmony between their roles.

If a new god (a Minor God) is created, - eg, as an Aspect of one or more Major Gods, or as a powerful creature taking on the guise of a god - they will also have a unique and specific sphere of influence, but it will be of narrower focus, or of lesser importance.

The sphere of influence of the worshipped god determines the sphere of influence of the follower's spells. A follower of a god of destruction can expect spells of combat, maybe defence, but not plant growth (unless they can think of a particuarly destructive plant).

If a follower starts throwing around magic that is not within their god's sphere of influence, or worse still is contrary to it, they will lose favour. Unless the player can justify their character's actions (for example by pointing out just how destructive that friendship spell actually was) they stand a very real chance of suffering loss of spell points or even loss of spellcasting levels.

It cannot be stressed too often that Priest characters require the most role-playing.

There now follows a rundown of the Major Gods, and a brief description of their sphere of influence.

(those marked with an *asterisk are not allowed for players)

Hagol

Hagol the Allfather represents honour and honesty. He demands his followers are respectful of others, and worthy of respect themselves. He frowns on agression, but encourages assertiveness and the defending of ideals.

Elna

Elna the Earth mother governs life and growth. Her work is creative, and always obeys the natural laws (which she wrote). She dislikes aggression, but accepts that violence in the name of defence is necessary. She will not tolerate destruction of nature, or any sort of corruption.

Knort

Knort the Mariner governs the oceans. Under his protection are explorers and travellers, and those whose livelihood depends on the water. His attitude towards aggression matches that of Elna, his wife, if a little more liberal. He espouses freedom, and will not tolerate the imprisonment of another.

Lomara

Lomara the Wanderer set in place the order of the world, then turned her back on the squabbles. She will not tolerate any agression or deceit, encouraging honest communication and peaceful learning. Her priests are usually the wandering monk type.

Kalar

Kalar the Trickster wants to bring down the established order. He encourages disorder and deception, but frowns on organised violence. His followers are often rogues or thieves, but can include neurotics and rebels.

Yorcas

The only God who encourages violent aggression. Yorcas demands courage and honour from his followers, and is liberal with his punishments of cowards and backstabbers. He rewards victories, not kills, and will punish anyone who kills an enemy that has genuinely surrendered. Note that undead and other unnaturals are exempt from this rule.

*Kylax

The Beast Kylax is destructively mindless, and only worshipped by insane cultists. It embodies random, ruinous, chaotic destruction, without consideration for consequence. It forbids nothing, but gives out power to those that feed it.

*Necros

The closest to true evil, Necros wishes only to bring about the total cessation of the universe, and to bring everything into the void. Followers believe that Necros will build a new universe for them if they serve him. Note that, as the God of Death, all the more devoted followers are dead, or undead.