Rules of the Road: Deities

How do mortals interact with the Higher Powers?

This has been a question that players and DM's have asked for decades. One of the most popular views is the deity/follower interaction in the Forgotten Realms™ and Greyhawk™ settings which I refer to as Support Your Favorite Huggable Deity (SYFHD).

In these setting, there is direct communication and interaction between deities and their followers, which helps portray an intimate and personal relation between them. Which in turn brought about things like God Calls or God Rolls, the percentile chance that one's deity will come to the aid of the a follower. It also resulted in crap like the deity showing up in avatar form, Deus ex Machina anyone?

I am not a huge fan of the SYFHD idea. When I was younger it seemed like a cool idea, but as I have grown older I become less inclined to like it. I have never really written out my own thoughts on the whole Mortal/Deity interaction.

So here I go, please note this is just how I generally run deities in my own games and not how I think anyone else should. Every person is going to have their own take on this.

FYI, I run my game using the 3 Point Alignment System (L/N/C), but I occasionally use the 5 Point Alignment System (LG/CG/N/CE/LE). I am not a fan of the 9 or 12 point systems.

Rules of the Road: Deities

Gods, Immortals, Deities, Deva, etc. can be grouped into three broad categories: Major, Minor and Petty. Each category interacts with the mortal realm and the mortals that dwell their differently.

I also divide my deities into three classifications:

• Chaos -> Infernal -> Cthonic

• Law - > Celestial -> Empyrean

• Nonaligned  -> Autonomous ->  Elemental

Major Deities

At the highest level are the major deities, beings of profuse power who rule over vast domains in the celestial, infernal or elemental spheres. In the mortal realm they are the deities that often have the most worshipers, shrines, clerics, etc.

Major deities never physical appear (manifest) in the mortal realm with one notable exception.  If a major deity appears in the mortal realm, then kiss your ass goodbye because it is the Apocalypse and the world is coming to an end.

They also never directly speak to mortals. The voice and words of the major deities is too powerful and would strike any mortal who heard it dead. They communicate to their followers via signs, portents, divination, dreams and auguries. They are almost never to the point and can be incredible cryptic.

In the direst of circumstances they may send a celestial messenger, such as an angel or demon, to convey a message. If an angel shows up with a message, you can be assured that the shit has well and truly hit the fan.

Minor Deities

Below the major deities, there exist a number of minor gods and goddess. They are often aligned with a major deity and reside in that deity’s celestial domain, but not always. Like major deities, minor ones almost never physical appear (manifest) in the mortal realm for much of the same reason as the majors one.

They have fewer worshipers, shrines and clerics and sometimes they are worshiped in conjunction with a major deity. They will very rarely speak directly to mortals. A mortal must make a Saving Throw vs. Death if a minor god ever speaks directly to them. If they fail, they die from the experience. They usually communicate to their followers via signs, portents, divination, dreams and auguries.

Petty Gods

The term Petty God covers a wide variety of entities. They can be major or minor gods that have fallen from grace. They could be long forgotten gods who worshipers have all died off. They could be demi-gods, gods tied to a specific location, a specific ideal, a specific trade. This can also cover extra-planar creatures like Djinn, Dao, Ifrit and Jann. 

The one thing they all share in common is they physically exist in the mortal realm. They walk among mortals, can communicate directly with them, and directly interfere with them.  Probable the most important thing about them is that they can die. They are not invulnerable to mortals and can be slain by them.

The Immortal Instruments - Demons & Angels

In order to aid them in their endeavors, deities created a wide variety of servants to aid them. Infernal deities created the Demonic Hordes, Celestial deities created the Angelic Hosts and the Elemental deities created the Jinn throngs. Demons and Angels have corporeal bodies in their home spheres, but they are incorporeal in the mortal realms, demons appear as withering inky black clouds of smoke and angels appears as sparkling white clouds of diamond dust. 

When in the mortal realm they will often take a mortal vessel, via possession, in order to communicate and interact with the physical mortal realm. They are next to impossible to kill, but can be barred, banished, exorcised and trapped. The Jinn are different and are treated as Petty Gods when they are in the mortal realm.

The Mortals Instruments – The Ecclesiastics

Priests, Priestess and Clerics are the voice of the deity in the mortal realm. They interpret the will of the deity and turn it into dogma. Through prayer, rituals and offerings these ecclesiastics demonstrate their faith to the deity. In return for this faith and piety, the deity allows them to become conduits for its divine power.

It is important to understand why I stress the word interpret above. In most fantasy RPG settings that I have seen, the clerical & priestly orders follow a set of rules laid out by their deity. My problem with this is if the god is worshiped in several different civilizations should they all not call him by the same name and practice the same rites and rituals that the deity laid out? Instead of coming up with some complicated answer involving portfolio, spheres of influence, etc. etc, I took a different approach.

The deity really does not give a shit what name you call it, how you pray, that you can only eat salted chicken at the highest point of the summer solstice. These are all mortal inventions designed to help mortals feel connected to their deity. The dogma and doctrine of a particular faith or order is designed to put the mortal in the correct mental or psychological state of mind that will allow them to connect to their deity. If a mortal rejects the practices of their faith, they lose that connection. While the deity may not care, mortals very much do.

Paladins are a special case of cray-cray and I will write about them at a later date.

…..And now with even more Whizz, Whizz, Bang, Bang!

A Fist Full of Magic Items: 

Magick Talismans, Foci and Fetishes

The FFM spell casting system opens up the potential for new types of magick items and spells. I have my own ideas for different kinds of magic items and spells. One of these ideas for items is that magic can be classified into two distinct classes, expendable and durable. The items then could be sorted according to five distinct ranks.

To date I have avoided putting any setting or campaign information into the rules I have written in order to keep them generic enough that anyone can use them. With magic items, I can no longer avoid it. Others are more than welcome to change or alter these items to meet their needs.

• Petty – The least of all the magicks, the most common remnant since The Fall. Many of the items can still be recreated today by many casters, from hedge wizards to great seers.
• Minor – The next most common type of magicks, they are coveted by many casters. Only serious practitioners with the resources to spare can recreate these types of items.
• Major – These types of magicks are highly coveted and are difficult to find. During the Great War, a great many of these items were used and lost. Only the wealthiest and most powerful casters can recreate these kinds of magic.
• Grand – The great magicks of the Elder Races fashioned and formed some of the most powerful spells. Parties of treasure hunters have risked life and limb to retrieve these items. The mysteries and the skill to craft such things have been lost and no one has the ability to recreate them.
• Exalted – The rarest of all magicks, each one of these items is unique. Some of these items fell from the hands of angels and devils during the Great War. Wars have been fought and kin have slain kin to possess such items.

Petty Magick

Potion of Purified Aethyric – This thin watery purplish mixture smells faintly of jasmine. When imbued by a caster it rejuvenates him. Regain 1d4 Power Dice up to the casters maximum.

Tapti Globe – This small sphere is made from thick glass and filled with salt water. Floating in the water is a small snail called the Tapti. If the globe is shaken vigorously and the snail shell is cracked it dies secreting a chemical that makes the water glow with a blue luminous light. The light illuminates an area of 20’ in radius and lasts for four hours.

Strike-Fire Stick – This slender wooden stick has a red tip on one end. If the red end is struck against a hard surface a small flame will appear and will last for 2 rounds. The stick can be used a dozen times before it stops working.

Blue Poppy Powder – This elven made drug if taken grants the user heightened senses. The user can see the auras of magic, of hidden things and people. It is very addictive and

Minor Magick

Talismanic Scroll of Counter-Spelling – A caster with this scroll can use it to dispel a spell that is being cast or that is in effect. It will work on a Roll of 4+ on a d6.

Potion of Condensed Aethyric – This thick purplish mixture smells strongly of jasmine. When imbued by a caster it rejuvenates him. Regain 2d4 Power Dice up to the casters maximum. The caster’s eyes will turn purple for a week after drinking.

Wand of the Nine Lores – Each wand is attuned to one of the 9 Lores of Magic. Each wand grants the caster two additional PD to use with a spell from that lore. The PD recharge at sunrise each day. (Substitute Lore for Level if not using Lores)

Major Magick

Potion of Distilled Aethyric – This syrupy purplish mixture smells strongly of jasmine with a hint of vanilla. When imbued by a caster it rejuvenates him. Regain 3d4 Power Dice up to the casters maximum. The caster’s eyes, hair and teeth will turn purple for a week after drinking.

Ivory Wand of Ling Foo – A slender wand of yellowish ivory engraved with mystic runes. It stores 3 Power Dice that can be used once a day. If the caster possesses the Jade Wand of Ling Fang the wand also generates 2 Dispel Dice that can use once a day.

Jade Wand of Ling Fang – A slender wand of milky jade engraved with mystic runes. It stores 3 Dispel Dice that can be used once a day. If the caster possesses the Ivory Wand of Ling Foo the wand also generates 2 Power Dice that can use once a day.

Grand Magick

Staff of the Dwarven Rune Lords – This staff is made from a amalgamation of different metals. Carved in to the staff are ancient runes of dwarven magick. The staff has four runes of counter-spelling which can dispel a spell on 4+ on a d6 up to four times a day. If the wielder has not used any of the four runes of counter-spelling he can expend all of them to cast the Greater Rune of Disruption. This drains every Power Dice from every caster and magic item within 100 yards of the staff.

Emerald Ring of Tor El – This ring is carved entirely from a single emerald. It grants the wielder 12 Power Dice to the user to cast one of the following spells

• ·         Emerald Bolt (4+) – A blazing shard of emerald shoots forth (up to 50’) striking an opponent for 1d6 damage.
• ·         Emerald Fire Wheel (8+) -  A spinning wheel of emerald fire five feet across shoots forth (up to 60’) causing 2d6 damage to all in the path.
• ·         Emerald Shard Storm (16+) – A giant emerald appears in the sky. It explodes in a fiery explosion everything in 30’ radius takes 6d6 damage.

Exalted Magick

Sacred Ordnance of the Supreme Mega-Death – One of the most feared weapons from the Great War.  Used by the warriors of the heavens to reduced cities and armies to pillars of salt. There are rumors that some may still exist. If it is exploded everything within 5 miles is turned into salt.

The Epistle of the God Who Laughed - Written by a long departed prophet of a dead god of mirth, this small book contains the greatest joke ever written, also known as the Killing Joke. Whoever reads this book will die laughing, literally. There is no save for this.

Eye of Nougat, Toe Tag of Frog, and Wing of Dingbat

A Fist Full of Magic: Spell Components

One of the old bugbears of the Standard D&D Magic systems is whether to require physical materials for spells. It takes a certain kind of player and a special kind of GM to pull it off and make it work. One of the biggest issues I have always had with spell components is the ad-hoc manner in which it was applied to spells. There seems to be little rhyme or reason as to how it was applied to a spell if it was applied at all.

What is the point behind them anyway? Add Flavor? Way to suck money off mages? Assign a cost to a spell?

Reaching into the dusty cupboard of my brain, I remember in the RPG Shadowrun, they had a magic system that used material components in a novel way. They had expandable and permanent fetishes that aided in spell casting. They were not required, but if used they could really aid a caster.

Another idea comes from Advanced Hero Quest, a very cool board game/RPG. Spells are grouped into similar themed groups. All of the spells in a particular group required a select group of items and/or materials to cast. There were not many to track and there were prices from all of the items. They could be found as treasure also.

In my previous post I described an alternative spell casting system called A Fist Full of Magic (FFM). In the section about casting I made an optional rule if a spell component was used, the casting number was reduced by 1.  This is completely option; players and GM don’t have to use it. It is there to aid players who want need to the best chance they can to get that spell off.  It can also be another way for players to spend their hard earned loot or make some money if they harvest components while adventuring

But what is the required spell component? Good Question. 

Spell Components

This section is about the optional rule for using spell components. When sued they can help reduce the Target Number of a Spell making it easier to cast.

Spell level	Requirement	Reduce Target # by Up To
1-3	1 Spell Component	1
4-6	2 Spell Components	1 to 3
7-9	3 Spell Components	2 to 5

FFM SPELL COMPONENTS

A spell component is going to be composed of materials classified as Animal, Mineral, Vegetable or a Mixture. Roll 1d4 for Each Component:

1.      Animal

2.      Plant

3.      Mineral

4.      Concoction (Roll 2 More times, ignore result of 4)

D6	Animal	Plant	Mineral
1	Horn of ****	Seed of ****	Dust of  ****
2	Hoof of ****	Sap of ****	Crushed ****
3	Fur/Feather of ****	Leaf  of ****	Piece of ****
4	Claw/Talon of ****	Fruit of ****	Liquid of ****
5	Fat/Slime of ****	Root of ****	Forged ****
6	Blood of ****	Bark of ****	**** Item

Each material will have a rarity of Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare or Unique. Roll 1d4 for each component to determine Rarity (Cost)

·         -1 to roll of Spells Level 1-3

·         +1 to Roll of Level 7-9

Roll	Rarity	Cost	Modifier
1	Common	(1d6 x5 GP)	.5
2	Uncommon	(1d6 x 10 GP)	1
3	Rare	(1d6 x 100 GP)	1.5
4	Very Rare	(1d6 x 1,000 GP)	2
5	Unique	(Quest Only)	3

After determining the rarity of each component add up the modifiers, this is the total deduction from the Target Number of the Spell making it easier to cast.

 

Animal Component Example 1

Common	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare
Horn of Elk	Horn of Gargoyle	Horn of Wyvern	Horn of Unicorn
Hoof of Stag	Hoof of Hippogriff	Hoof of Nightmare	Hoof of Ki-Rin
Fur of Bear	Feather of Harpy	Fur of Hell Hound	Feather of Phoenix
Claw of Weasel	Fang of Giant Snake	Talon of Roc	Claw of Sphinx
Shell of Tortoise	Slime of Carrion Crawler	Fat of Devilswine	Piece of Gelatinous Cube
Blood of Dove	Blood of Lion	Blood of Basilisk	Blood of a Dragon

Plant Component Example 1

Common	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare
Oak Acorn	Pomegranate Seeds	Yellow Mold Spores	Seed of Shimmerweed
Pine Sap	Honeysuckle Honey	Sap of Assassin Vine	Kingsfoil
Basil Leaf	Lotus Petal	Blood Orchid Petals	Black Lotus Petals
Mulberries	Saffron	Heart of Shambling Mound	Fruit of Death’s Head Tree
Arrow Root	Root of Birch	Root of Moly	Simbelmynë
Sycamore Bark	Cinnamon	Bark of Hangman Tree	Bark of Mallorn

Mineral Component Examples 1

Common	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare
Iron Filings	Garnet Dust	Diamond Dust	Mithril Shavings
Crushed	Crushed Pearl	Crushed Sapphires	Powdered Stygium
Glass Marble	Carved Jade	Piece of Meteor	Calcified Gorgon
Coal Oil	Quicksilver	Muride (Bromine)	Hot Magma
Glass Len	Copper Bowl	Platinum Wire	Iron Golem Head
Brass Bell	Silver Tuning Fork	Gold Astrolabe	Orichalcum Censer