Branding
The "Faithful" are devout worshipers of deities ranging in various tenants and beliefs, reaching a higher epitome of power and purpose to which there are few comparisons. They wield the living power of the divine; Vitality, as well as the favor of the deities they worship throughout life. Of all of the mystical methods, the Faithful are the most favorably looked upon - so long as their practices do not stray from the moral compass of a collective settlement.Those who become the Faithful undergo a branding by the gods by taking an oath. Once they have been filled with the essence of their god, a symbol of their worship will appear somewhere on their body. It is often accompanied by a painful burning sensation as their skin will melt into the shape. This symbol is unique to their worship, and may go unnoticed to the naked eye.
As the Faithful becomes more in tune with their god, and in return receiving more power, this mark will grow and change with their progression. The Faithful are tasked with upholding the unbreaking tenants of their god, often facing punishment amidst rebellion.
Level of Faith
- Aspiring (Level 0)
- (Can learn no scriptures) (Vitality pool of 0)
- No scriptures
- Initiate (Level 1)
- (Can memorize two criptures) (Vitality pool of 2)
- Can learn Initiate Scriptures, and Universal Rituals.
Earns their own custom Brand, a passive ability growing in power with their Rank.
- Acolyte (Level 2)
- (Can learn up to four scriptures) (Vitality pool of 4)
- Can learn Level 1-2 scriptures.
- Magus (Level 3)
- May garner two Custom Scriptures.
- (Can learn up to six scriptures) (Vitality pool of 6)
- Can learn Level 1-3 scriptures, and an Exclusive Ritual.
- Can choose whether to master one school of magic, or learn a second.
- Sage (Level 4)
- May garner two Custom Scriptures.
(Can learn up to eight scriptures) (Vitality pool of 8) - Can learn Level 1-4 scriptures.
- May garner two Custom Scriptures.
- Conjurer (Level 5)
- May garner two Custom Scriptures.
Can learn up to ten scriptures (Vitality pool of 10) - Can learn Level 1-5 scriptures, and the Ascension Ritual.
- May garner two Custom Scriptures.
Cost
Faithful cast through harnessing their vitality, only so much is able to be expended in a day before causing irreversible harm. For simplicity, the Faithful have a set amount of vitality that they can spend at each level, doubling each time they rank up. The cost of the scripture they cast is twice its level. The Faithful cannot stop reciting a scripture without forfeiting the required vitality for the scripture.
- Example: Initiate Faithful Vitality Pool: 2
- Example: Hero Faithful Vitality Pool: 6
Some scriptures or brands make use of a second resource called “Divine Counters”. These Counters represent the favor of a deity, and are used as a means to either bolster a scripture or trigger a scripture’s additional effects. Divine Counters can only manifest during combat and vanish at the end of combat, unless specified otherwise. A Faithful can only have up to 10 Counters at a time.
Catalysts
Most Faithful funnel their power through an encased gemstone. This can be seen in staves, idols, certain weapons, and various hand-held trinkets. All mundane catalysts bear the similarity of being at least the size of an open palm. These catalysts can be anywhere on a cleric's body, so long as they are able to access it at a moments notice, and are required to be held in order to be used. Each gemstone has unique properties that the Faithful can manipulate for their catalyst.
Catalysts are crafted by Ornamentalists within the crafting system at first. After a Faithful obtains such an item, they are able to submit a Systems Ticket on the Sonders discord to have their catalyst item approved. Each catalyst is unique, and offers a tradeoff of magical capability. These tradeoffs can become more potent with the given rarity of the crafted Catalyst item, and its components.
For example: A Hematite Catalyst can be used to increase healing, since Hematite has properties involved with healing. However, an equal drawback must be chosen. Such as; "While holding the Catalyst, the Faithful heals an extra Minor Wound with their healing scriptures. However, scripture damage is weakened by a Minor Wound's worth of damage."
Learning
When one becomes branded through various means, their spirit becomes intertwined with that of their Deity. Many of the Faithful seek to perfect their craft through worship, preaching, and serving divine tenants. However, the shifting influences upon the realm and the divine can cause strange occurrences with one's abilities. The Divine are subject to change, as deities come and go from the knowledge and worship of mortals.
Custom Scriptures
The Faithful is allowed to create two custom scriptures at each level from Hero onward, equaling a total of six custom scriptures and one custom brand. The player is allowed to submit these applications along with their rank ups. These scriptures must be fully documented on the character’s affliction profile.
Ascension
Each God has an associated “Chosen” that is designed to head their church. Once the Faithful reaches the rank of Champion, they gain access to challenging this Chosen to replace them. Through becoming an Ascended, the Faithful’s brand reaches its highest potential as a specialized transformation ability to their design.
Such an event is no small matter, beckoning the audience of the very divine themselves to spectate such a dramatic shift to their dogma. If the reigning Ascended is overthrown, divine phenomena will occur throughout the world to signal such a dramatic change.
Each Faithful will only be able to do this once every 2 OOC months, with a 1 week challenging period for the current Ascended.
All players are required to keep track of their level, spells, and progress within their affliction profile, as well as any other status’ affecting their character. It’s suggested to keep a link to your affliction profile when joining an event for quick reference or for DM information. Characters that have not yet reached maturity cannot enter systems.