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Okay, I'll admit it now. While I have a good general knowledge
of what each individual church is about, I don't write up
specifics unless there is a player character cleric in that
church. Until then, I just wing it.
Those church details which are written up are available here. As
more are generated, they will be linked in for player
reference. Also, this page will hold the FAQs about clerics in
Narth 2000, which will follow the list of churches.
Click on the desired god in the list below
for details about that church.
FAQ for clerics in Narth 2000
How do clerics gain spells?
Firstly, clerics are not bound by the prerequisite system that
mages must follow, except in one regard: required levels of
Magery are treated as levels of Power Investiture. If a spell
requires Magery 3, it cannot be acquired by a cleric with
Power Investiture 2.
However, to balance out this freedom, any time he wants to
learn a new spell from the list his god offers, the cleric
must petition the god for it. This is usually done through a
vigil: the cleric must spend at least 24 hours in
meditation and prayer -- without recourse to the Vigil spell, if
he knows it. When he manages to complete the vigil, a
roll is then made against IQ + Power Investiture (modified by
various things, mostly how well the character has been roleplayed
and how well he has served the purposes of his god). If the roll
succeeds, the god grants the spell to the cleric.
Alternately, a cleric may petition his god in a moment of need
for the knowledge of a spell needed right then. If the
need is great enough, the god may grant the spell right then and
there.
Note that in both cases, the cleric must have at least one character
point free to pay for the spell gained.
Do clerics spend Fatigue to power their spells? Can they use powerstones?
Clerics spend fatigue as do mages. The rules for reduction of
fatigue cost for high levels of skill do apply to clerics.
Local mana level does not affect their casting at all,
but places sacred to their god act as High or Very High Mana
areas for them, with the resulting reduction in Fatigue cost.
But, with the exception of the clerics of Fermus, they cannot
use powerstones. However, it is possible to petition the god
on the spur of the moment to grant power to cast a spell that
the cleric is too weak to otherwise cast; this is done with an
IQ + Power Investiture roll, which is actually a Quick Contest
with something I won't describe, just to keep it mysterious...
Yes. The more powerful a god is, the more he can provide each
of his clerics. Using the Primal Order classification
system, a godling can't provide anything to his priests, while
the clerics of a supreme deity can almost be servitor
creatures in their own right.
The following is a brief breakdown of the usual way
things work. There are always exceptions!
A "gift" is an advantage rolled into the cleric's Power
Investiture; these are usually listed as "Special Abilities"
in the detail listings that you can link to earlier on this
page. An example is a Fermus cleric's ability to detect magic
in use.
Why be a cleric of a weaker god, then?
Because it would make for an interesting character, or because
it gives you something special no one else can do. Because
something the god stands for strikes a chord within you.
Because it would be fun.
This isn't AD&D. The name of the game is not
power-mongering. You don't need the most powerful character
in order to enjoy yourself, and if you think you do, this is
probably the wrong game for you.
Yes and no.
There is a certain minimum set of advantages and skills that a
cleric must have to be a cleric; you can find those on the Characters page. Note that these
minimums do not give the cleric access to divine power;
it only gives him a place in a church and the means to
function there. The ability to cast god-given spells is the
Power Investiture advantage. Not all clerics in any given
church can cast spells!
In any case, beyond this, there are no "standards". Each god
has different requirements and demands to which his clerics
are subject. Check the details on
churches for the specifics on any particular god.
In terms of game mechanics, there is (mostly) no difference.
Within the context of the game, though, clerical magic has a very
different "flavor". Firstly, mages can't detect it with their
various magical senses and the standard detection spells -- it
simply doesn't register. (There are mages' spells which
are able to detect divine energy -- aka "Primal" -- but they are
the closely held secrets of certain Orders.) Other clerics
can detect divine energies on a successful roll against IQ
+ Power Investiture.
Secondly, any divinely-powered magic (including mage spells
which have been "laced" with Primal energy, but not those
simply cast with it) has a signature that identifies
the god who provided the power. This signature can be read
with an additional roll against IQ + Power Investiture, after
the divine energy has been detected. (You can't read a
signature off energy you don't know is there!) Signatures do
not announce the name of the god that left them; this must be
learned, either by experience or through the help of someone
who already knows. Signatures can be counterfeited, but
it takes a greater or supreme god to do so, and is no small
task. Note also that a Primal signature isn't permanent; it
slowly fades away, lasting about an hour per ranking of the
god (from 1 hour for a godling to 6 hours for a supreme
god).
The final benefit of clerical magic over "regular" magic is
that if the matter is of sufficient importance to the cleric's
god, he or she may "lace" their servant's magic with Primal
energy; for those who do not have a copy of The Primal
Order, this give the spell the ability to ignore
defenses and resistances, and automatically hit its subject.
Lacing of a cleric's spell is rare -- it happens when
the god chooses to do it, and asking for it (except in the
most dire of circumstances) is unspeakable arrogance on the
part of the cleric. |
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This web page is Copyright © 1996- 1999, by Robert M. Schroeck. Narth, Narth 2000 and all the gods of Narth are trademarks of Robert M. Schroeck. The Primal Order is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. |
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