Altars

## The Gods and Their Altars

### Using Alters to Gain Favor

Altars generate with the cyclical generation of the floor, but their god designation is typically consistent with the primary god of the run's seed. Altars are specific to one of three gods and can be determined by their color and animal attribution:

* Sophie (Green Owl Altars)
* Density (Yellow Fox Altar)
* Grievous (Red Bull Altar)

Altars are used to make sacrifices to the corresponding god. The more sacrifices you make, the more you will be in the favor of that god. Altars can accept one or multiple sacrifices; it is random how many offerings they will take, so it is best to do high level sacrifices first if you are trying to gain more favor. It is also random if you get an item as a reward or some sort of buff.

* Bug/Glitch: Some times an altar gets bugged after you already made a sacrifice and will accept unlimited sacrifices and never give any rewards, if you want to play it safe and make multiple sacrifices to an altar, better save and reload after each sacrifice to avoid this bug. (Editors note: Not sure if this is still true as you can't save and reload)
* Tip: Usually, there is a secret level in each seed that corresponds to one of the gods. If you want to access the secret level, you must have significant favor with that god. Therefore, you would want to wait until you know which secret level to look for *before* making any sacrifices. You wouldn't want to make sacrifices to the first Grievous altar and then two floors down learn that there is a secret library of Sophie that you won't be able to access. Hints as to which secret level was generated is revealed in books.

## Influence of Favor

Having one god in your favor has various benefits. Some floors that are "sacred" ground to a god will be easier if you are in their favor. For example, Grievous's sacred ground will spawn flesh golems and blood imps if you are not in his favor. Red floor rooms with blood and torture devices are Grievous's room and being in favor of Sophie often turn any sprites in the room into enemies. Lady Sophie sacred grounds will spawn wardens or dryads or phantom blades if you are not in her favor. Green floor rooms (usually with a well or pool) is a Sophie room and being in favor of Grievous turns sprites in the room into phantom blades.

You also have better chances of getting rewards at their altars if the god is already in your favor. Healing water will have extra healing properties if you are in favor of Sophie, and if you dive in her healing pool, it will act as a life potion. If not in her favor, water turns red (into dark water) and phantom blades are summoned to attack you.

Grievous and Sophie hate each other. You lose favor with Sophie if you offer sacrifices to Grievous and she is unlikely to reward you or help. Grievous is less bitter, not caring how much you have sacrificed to other gods, maybe even enjoys that you are betraying other gods. Grievous is also more likely to give physical rewards rather than buffs even if you have sacrificed to Sophie before.

Having favor with a specific god influences who shows up to help you when you pray for help.

## Praying for Help

### How and When to Pray

You can "Pray" from the inventory/pause menu if you get stuck in the game. You can get stuck if you get trapped behind a locked door or on the wrong side of a fallen bridge. Praying to the gods gets you out of these situations, but if you have a scroll of teleportation or a scroll of descend in your inventory, praying in these situations will not work, even if the scroll is unidentified.

* Tip: If you pray in a trapped situation and nothing happens, this means that one of your *unidentified* scrolls in your inventory is either a scroll of descend or teleportation, or the gods see a way out that you don't, such as a hole in the floor to leap down to the next level.

Typically, the god you have more favor with will teleport you or unlock a door to help you progress in the game. They can also open locked/barred doors or completely destroy a turret that they consider "blocking" your path.

### Cost of Praying for Help

* Lady Sophie never ask for any payments.
* Density takes 12 gold each time he helps you.
* Grievous will not ask for anything the first the few times he helps you, but the more you request his help, the more payment you have to give. He wants to see a fight as entertainment, wants to see blood being shed. Thus he summon monsters so you battle them. The more you ask for help the more monsters he summons and the stronger they get. After many prayers to him he will eventually summon 30+ flesh elementals, which are very strong enemies with high HP and high life regeneration.

### Other Reasons to Pray

* If you are low on health with no healing items, praying to Lady Sophie can result in you being healed if you are in her favor (or at least, not in Grievous's favor)
* In fountain rooms you can pray to lady Sophie to get rewards. More info on: Sir Slush, blessed by Lady Sophie
* Grievous may give the Enraged buff (+3 strength and +2 speed) if you pray near enemies.
* Sophie may destroy turrets if you pray near a turret.
* Praying near turrets will grant you invincibility buff if in favor of Density.

## A Deal from the Gods

Occasionally, a level will have a special chest with a good item in it. You can take the item in the chest, but you get cursed by a god until you satisfy their demand. They warn you of this potentially Faustian bargain before you take it.

You might gain favor with Sophie for clearing Orcs or Kobolds from a level that have overrun her fountain shrine.

## Sprites and the Gods

There are rare sprites that have special effects based on Sophie or Grievous. Red sprites may summon a wraith (if you gather it with another red sprite in a room) and to other stuff (for now is unknown) the white sprite which is VERY bright will scare shadow imps.