Divine magic: a simple system for calling for favours and miracles
Homebrew Toys #6
Today I bring more of my homebrew!
I wrote this little piece a while ago to deal with the “disappointment” I had with clerics in the classical fantasy ttrpg that we all know and love(?).
The idea that deities were always ready to answer the call of their followers, regardless of what rites they were called by, despite the pride of the deity, always seemed out of character to me.
So I set myself to write a small system in which the answer when calling to a deity wasn’t certain. Where the rites, and what the followers use as offerings in them, have an impact on the disposition of the deities they are praying to. A system where if you call upon the deity of peace with a hammer in your hand, there is a fair chance they will be offended.
In this “divine magic system” I use conditions, so maybe you should have a look at this post if some things are unclear to you in what follows.
Minor deities, Mysteries, Rites, and Miracles
Mortal beings that have given their lives to follow a minor deity or a spirit, or those that have performed a sacrifice or a special deed to call upon the deity’s attention, will bond their destinies to these divine entities.
When a mortal forges a bond with a deity, they are bestowed with one mystery and the knowledge of the necessary rites of calling, needed to pray to the deity for their guidance and/or their interference through a miracle.
The mystery is one minor expression of the power of the deity channelled through the mortal vessel of the follower. The mystery is always at the disposal of the follower without the need of a rite. If you are playing in a system with item-slots the mystery occupies one slot.
The rite of calling is a rite of 10 min used by followers to connect with the deity to which they have devoted their faith. It can be performed as an instantaneous and desperate prayer, however this kind of urgent call is more commonly dismissed by the deity. If you are playing in a system that uses items-slots, the ritual objects to perform the rite of calling use one item slot.
The miracle is a strong manifestation of the domain to which the deity is an avatar of, that translates into a non-permanent magical power wilded by the follower.
Rite of calling
As deities are elusive, the strength of their connection to the follower, and the intensity of their will upon the world, fluctuates strongly, without pattern nor logic.
However, there are some offerings that can make a rite of calling more effective. These offerings are particular for each deity and are related to their domain.
You can add new offerings to your rite of calling, adding to the already written in the deity description, by appealing to the knowledge of your character and their relation with the deity. GM and players decide together if adding these offerings makes sense.
The “negative” counterpart of offerings is offences, conditions around the rite of calling that make the connection between the follower and the deity more tenuous. These are also written in the description of the deity. For any deity, doing the rite of calling as an instantaneous desperate prayer is considered an offence.
To determine the outcome of a rite of calling, and if results in a miracle, the player, or GM, rolls 2d10, adding the offerings and offences at work and the amount of HP the player is willing to expend:
2d10 + offerings + offences + HP ExpendedThen consult the next table.
If the player makes the roll, it represents their faith and their dedication towards the deity.
If the GM makes the roll, it represents the mood of the deity towards the character’s approach.
The inspiring cryptic vision is a sign of the attention of the deity, whose content is impenetrable by the follower. They are a representation of the mysteries embodied by the minor deity. They may give inspiration and courage to the follower. After having one of these visions, the follower gets the condition reverie (-2).
The guiding strange vision is a symbolic representation that guides the worshipper to an answer. This guide can be directed to resolve a particular burden the follower had explicitly asked the guide for, or to guide the follower in any matter they haven’t directly asked for. After having one of these visions, the follower can heal one condition in them or any other creature.
Minor deities
Some examples of minor deities, their mystery, their offerings, their offences, and possibles miracles are:
Uruikan: deity of death birds, black feathers, numerous wings, red beak, long multicolour tail.
Mystery: Recall everything a dead bird experienced on its last day of life.
Offerings: large collection of bird bones +1, shattered bird cages +1, cavern under tree roots +1.
Offences: city without trees nor green -1, bright day -1, desperate prayer -2, weak bond -X1.
Miracles:
Rise ten death birds, they follow and protect you, 10 minutes.
Small featherer bright bird emerges from your mouth, it illuminates like ten torches, 1 hour.
Black oil feathers covers body, they heal all injures.
Slow fall from great heights, 1 min.
Sairin, deity of pollination, insect, translucent, crown of flowers.
Mystery: Heal any plant and evoke any flowery scent.
Offerings: spring +1, strong winds +1, planting seeds +1,
Offences: winter -1, snow -1, desperate prayer -2, weak bond -X.
Miracle:
Cloud of pollen is summoned, they are guides toward any location, 1 hour.
Swarm of stinging insects, they follow and protect, 10 minutes.
Plants grow from the interior of one animal, killing it if it is small, severely wounding it if it is large.
Bairiba, deity of hunt, chimera, humanoid shape, antlers, spear, missing one eye.
Mystery: Invisible for the prey when hunting.
Offerings: spear with fresh blood +1, bath on blood of prey +1, idol made from the carcass of a creature killed on a hunt +1.
Offences: agricultural city -1, noisy place -1, desperate prayer -2, weak bond -x.
Miracles:
Increases sense of smell, any being can be tracked even if well hidden, 1 hour.
Features get menacing, allowing you to tame a great beast, 10 min.
Legs elongate and increase in power, speed is quadrupled or becomes as great as that of the fastest prey.
Ardara, deity of crafts and change, towering mud humanoid, four arms, ever-changing face.
Mystery: Recall the creation process and the creator of a small craft.
Offerings: clay +1, sculpted figurines +1, paths for travelling far away +1.
Offences: stagnant water -1, places of law -1, desperate prayer -2, weak bond -X.
Miracles:
Call the soil to cover the body, it shapes itself allowing to take the approximate aspect of any being, 1 hr.
Reproduce an object of secret desire of any being on clay.
Bridge rises out of the ground to help overcome an obstacle.
Vupaerla, deity of remembrance, thready, many heads, constant hum, large hands.
Mystery: Recall the happiest moment of a being that is lost in thought.
Offerings: cemeteries +1, ruins +1, travelling to return +1.
Offences: extremely new towns -1, segregation -1, desperate prayer -2, weak bond -X.
Miracles:
In a cemetery, you can hear the death speaking about their lives.
Restore any lost memory by touching the forehead of a creature.
With your hands in a ruin, you see the history of the place as fragmented memories rushing to your mind.
Do you have any ideas for more minor deities?
Leave them in the comments and I would add them to the post, leaving your name as a credit beside it.
This “-X” refers to the value the follower has in the Weak Bond condition. If the follower gets the Weak Bond condition more than once, you add their values (as it is done with every condition).