Character Creation: Faith

Rule Book

The second type of magic is faith essence. Faith is the power bestowed on a person blessed or anointed by a deity that resides in the ethereal planes. These beings of power influence the world through their followers and so there is a trade of power for worship. Through worship a deity receives power to use in whatever way they see fit. It’s very rare that a God or Goddess will ever walk the lands of Escarra. Instead they use their followers, servants and avatars. Gods come in three main categories which are light, dark and neutral. Please see the chapter ’Religion’ for further details on the Gods and their specifics.

There are two differences between magic and faith the first is that faith has a set spell list to choose from which is determined by the deity that is worshipped. Spells cannot be created and additional spells are more difficult to come by. Spells that do not fit the deity’s domain cannot be accessed at all.

The second is that faith is measured in faith points that are also represented by coloured beads. These are pink for light and black for dark. These beads are accessed by taking the faith skill, where you get one bead per rank of faith taken. If you follow a light god you will be given light beads and for a dark god dark beads. If you choose to follow a neutral god you will have to choose either a light bead of a dark bead for each level of the faith skill you take. Once you have chosen you cannot change.

Each time the faith skill is taken you can choose 2 spells from the set list. If you worship a neutral god you have access to both the light and dark spell lists but will still only be able to choose 2 spells total for each level of faith you take. You can also gain more spells without taking the faith skill. To do this you need to spend 10XP and find someone to teach you the new spell. Any spells you learn must be from the faith list you have access to (an exclusive dark faith user cannot learn spells from the light list).

As a character levels up within their following, they can access more beads of power. More beads can be attained by doing great acts in the name of your deity. If they see you following their teachings they may bestow gifts and extra power. However if you fail to adhere to your faith the deity may become upset and punish you for your transgressions.

A faith user **MUST** have a prayer book, not unlike those used for magic by mages. This book should have all the user's spells and casting rituals. To cast a spell a character must draw the appropriate amount of beads for their spell and use vocals to cast their spell at a rate of 5 seconds per spell rank/beads required. Once done the spell is successfully cast at the target.

**Light**

Light faith is bestowed upon those who live a practice under the Church of Light. These followers often follow the path of good and righteousness. Those who strive to follow the path of virtue and selflessness will find themselves empowered by their faith to protect, support and bless those they find in need or deserving. Deities of light gain their power through worship prayers and gifts.

**Neutral**

Neutral faith has two sides and one must be chosen at the beginning of the character’s path. They may choose between light and dark but can gain access to both light and dark power. Either way the deity may be fickle in how their follower deals with situations. Neutral Gods are a part of the natural order which strives to keep balance and is mostly in support of the law of the land and the world. Followers of neutral deities work within the threshold of the laws and teachings stated by the order they follow.

**Dark**

The Coven of Darkness is a controversial subject at the best of times, although not always evil. The followers of the coven and its deities are often selfish and extort their powers from the weak and undeserving. The coven although working within the shadows and feeding off of misery and grief still have codes of conduct for their followers and many of their services come in useful to the populous. The deities of darkness gain their power through acts of impurity and sacrifice. Dark gifts come in the form of curses and hexes to harm or slow an opponent or victim.

**Faith Spells**

There are 2 set lists of faith spells that a player may choose from depending on whether they chose light or dark faith. For each level of light faith you can choose any 2 spells from the light faith list and for each dark levels you chose 2 spells from the dark faith list. Players that follow a neutral god can gain access to both lists.

The spells are split into different ranks. The rank represents how many faith beads of that type you need to cast the spell and how long it takes to cast the spell. For each bead/rank it takes 5secs to cast the spell. For example heal is a rank 2 spell on the light list so I would need 2 light beads to cast it and would take 10secs. You can pick spells from higher ranks than you have beads but you may not be able to cast them till you have the required number of beads.

Spells with a \* can become more powerful if you double the faith beads needed to cast and double the time it takes to cast the spell, making it a higher ranking spell. Details of how doing this will affect the spells are included in the description for the spell.

Light Faith Spell List

Dark Faith Spell List