Priests and Priestesses

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Priests and Priestesses

To be truly loyal to a god requires certain sacrifices of the self, vows to live your life in a way that god deems best, to do or not do things in accordance with their wishes. It is not a small matter, because it must be maintained. There is no swearing your life to a god and then skipping out on it later, at least not without dire and permanent consequences. So choosing to become the priest or priestess of a god is not a decision to be made lightly, either ICly or OOCly.

❧ Why become a priest?

Gods can offer many things, but if you are looking for something exceptionally useful and constant, like increased stats or magic abilities, the best way to get them is to become the priest of a god who can offer what you are looking for. Also, if coming to Thusia has cut your character off from their canon powers for some reason (such as Thusia lacking a necessary environmental aspect), the only way to have those powers permanently restored is through becoming a priest or priestess to a fitting god.

❧ Why not become a priest?

For the same reasons most people don't become priests in many cultures. Dedicating yourself to an ideology, and allowing it to dictate many of your actions in life, is a big deal and probably too much for many people to swallow. Worse, in Thusia failure means more than moral and social repercussions. If you fail your god, he is right there and can smack you around for it. If you fail too far, you may find yourself outcast from his presence and never again allowed to ask anything of him. And don't think priests have the same freedom to lie to their gods as other characters do. To become a priest means to accept that your god is always with you, so yes, they will know if you break your vows.

❧ What abilities do priests receive? What is required of them?

Overall, gods will tend to offer various powers/stat bonuses, or living conveniences. However, these are generally not set in stone, so if your character would like access to their own water based magic, going to the god of water could probably net you that, rather than having to take the powers she usually offers.

As for what is required, this too changes depending on the god, but is usually more firmly defined than what advantages can be granted. Priests must live in a way a god sees fit, but different gods will expect different things.

Either way, it is important to know that unless dealing with a trickster-esque god, whom you should probably expect lying and manipulation from, priests know clearly what is being asked of them and what they are receiving in turn before agreeing to become loyal to a god.

❧ Why aren't all priests called priests...?

Gods sometimes give their priests and priestesses unique titles. Much like how, in the real world, a rabbi is not the same as a preacher, even though they fulfill roughly the same functions. You can still talk about the Priests of Soandso and people will know that you mean the Whathaveyou's.

❧ How do I become a priest?

Talk with your chosen god. This is a big enough deal that it shouldn't be handwaved more than necessary, but if the god you want to priest to is a Civilized God, you can use the Shrines for interacting with the god and seeing how things go. Otherwise, in the case of Nature and Neutral gods, you'll just have to catch the god wherever they're out and speak with them then.

❧ What happens if my character fails in their role as a priest?

Mostly depends on your god. Minor offenses will probably be forgiven and met with suitable punishment. But if minor offences are reoccurring to the point where you have clearly chosen to shun your duties, don't expect your god to keep dealing out the same, low level and acceptable punishment. They aren't stupid, and it will be obvious if you're trying to loophole your way through your vows. Intent is important.

If it is something large, the punishment will be larger, you may even be exiled from the god's presence for a while, and lose your gifts, until you can earn your way back. If the god considers your offense unforgivable, you will lose your rank and gifts, and probably never again be able to sacrifice to that god or ask them for anything.

Basically, it's a pretty big deal. This isn't a good option for characters who can't commit to something, or are likely to become fed up with the system and try to shounen their way out of it. While characters CAN leave their god and station if it becomes dire, there will be permanent repercussions in the form of no longer being able to deal with that god.

❧ Will my magic powers from becoming a priest stack with my other abilities? Is this only an option for weaker characters?

Yes and no. Your abilities will stack, however, the power cap situation is not different for priests. Say you are already a fire mage who can cast bitchin fire spells, and you make a deal with Dellen to get healing water abilities. You can't cast more spells in a day, you can just cast a larger variety. If you use up all of your mana fighting, you still won't have anything left over to heal. Becoming a priest is a way for strong characters to get more options, and weak characters to level up to where the powercap affects them, but it isn't a way to overcome the powercap.

In another example, say you play a fighting heavy character who doesn't cast magic normally. Gaining the ability to cast magic would probably help a lot in various situations, but it would still drain stamina, and thus come at a price. Or perhaps instead of magic, you character gets a regenerative ability. This would not be strong enough to keep him from falling in battle, but it might guarantee that he recovers from any wound after only a day, meaning healers will not have to expend energy on him as much and he can fight more often, thus increasing how much he can help the cause without running up against the power cap.

These are just some examples, but if you have more detailed questions, head over to the FAQ, otherwise you can head to the Available Priesthoods to get an idea of what each Civilized god offers and expects.

As a note! Nature/Neutral gods can also be priested to, but the process, expectations, and powers given to their priests are a LOT less uniform than Civilized gods, thus they are not listed on the Available Priesthoods page. When deal with a Nature/Neutral god, everything depends on how interaction with the god goes, so for the time being the only way to seek out information both ICly and OOCly about priesting to a nature/neutral god is to speak with that god.

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