| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Arteris |
Posted - 02 Apr 2004 : 21:20:39
I was casually reading several days ago when I was suddenly hit with a question I could not answer. After checking several books I was without an answer. Clerics need a god to pray too, to recieve spells and so forth. But gods who have clerical levels... Who do they pray too? Do they pray to the gods who are above mortal comprehension? (Gods with divinity levels higher than 20)?? Or do they simply pray to themselves?? Any clarification would be helpful. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 10 Apr 2004 : 06:18:55
The power-from-prayer is the usual standby in fantasy. And this ought to be doubly true in the post-Time of Troubles Realms, since Ao said the gods need to pay more attention to their worshipers . . . since all their power now derives from how many worshipers they have and how fervently they follow the god in question.
As I recall, the gods (except for Mystra II and Cyric, who were new to this and had tons of potential worshipers anyway) were more than a bit POed about that new rule. Of course, it did mean that the Realm of the Dead got a little emptier at the end of the Avatar trilogy, as the gods stopped by to pick up the souls they had . . . er, misplaced.
"I don't exist because people believe in me. I just exist."
-- God, on the TV show Joan of Arcadia. |
| DrizztDoUrden |
Posted - 10 Apr 2004 : 03:13:38
Ah it seems my assumption was correct. Thank you for confirming it. It seems I'm a bit smarter than I think |
| Arivia |
Posted - 10 Apr 2004 : 02:12:50
quote:
Originally posted by DrizztDoUrden
This may seem like weird reply to your question but perhaps the deities cleric spells come from thier worshippers. You know like whenever they r worshipped or something it grants them a measure of power. It may sound wierd but i think it knida makes sense
Last I checked, this was it, especially after the Time of Troubles. Look at both Faiths and Pantheons and Deities and Demigods for more on this, and also some Planescape tomes... |
| DrizztDoUrden |
Posted - 10 Apr 2004 : 01:54:58
This may seem like weird reply to your question but perhaps the deities cleric spells come from thier worshippers. You know like whenever they r worshipped or something it grants them a measure of power. It may sound wierd but i think it knida makes sense |
| The Sage |
Posted - 03 Apr 2004 : 03:55:45
quote:
Originally posted by Arteris
I was casually reading several days ago when I was suddenly hit with a question I could not answer. After checking several books I was without an answer. Clerics need a god to pray too, to recieve spells and so forth. But gods who have clerical levels... Who do they pray too? Do they pray to the gods who are above mortal comprehension? (Gods with divinity levels higher than 20)?? Or do they simply pray to themselves?? Any clarification would be helpful.
Regardless of the official reasoning behind the answer to your question, there have been a multitude of theories from several different campaign settings that have sought to address this issue.
If you believe one of the more prevalent notions in the Planescape setting, the deities draw the power that they grant to their clerics from a fountain of residual energy said to be left over from the creation of the multiverse itself. The curious thing that is written about this particular theory (and my reason for choosing it above some of the more juicier theories), is that the energy is said to be a limited resource (although such a thing should not be possible  )...Every time a deity draws energy from the fountain to give a cleric the ability to activate his/her spell, it draws energy away from the cosmological threads that bind the Planes together...It is believed that this will one day lead to a complete planar collapse (not unlike [in some regards] the current [and very revolutionary] thinking behind the 'Heat-Death' theories of our own real-life universe).
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| Tyros |
Posted - 03 Apr 2004 : 00:49:18
quote:
Originally posted by DDH_101
Tyros, Ao doesn't care if a god is true to his/her portfolio. He cares if a god disrupts the Balance he has so carefully created.
Oh! Of course! So then, a god acting contrary to his/her portfolio is not disrupting the balance. Gotcha.
So, care to take a stab at where gods with priest spells get their spells from?
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| DDH_101 |
Posted - 03 Apr 2004 : 00:26:14
Tyros, Ao doesn't care if a god is true to his/her portfolio. He cares if a god disrupts the Balance he has so carefully created.
BTW, Ao doesn't exactly "grant" power. He just gives the permission on who becomes a god. A god has to earn and fight for his own power. The only time I remember that Ao gave another god some power was Torm when he sacrificed himself to kill Bane. |
| Tyros |
Posted - 02 Apr 2004 : 21:42:46
Hail!
quote:
Originally posted by Arteris
I was casually reading several days ago when I was suddenly hit with a question I could not answer. After checking several books I was without an answer. Clerics need a god to pray too, to recieve spells and so forth. But gods who have clerical levels... Who do they pray too? Do they pray to the gods who are above mortal comprehension? (Gods with divinity levels higher than 20)?? Or do they simply pray to themselves?? Any clarification would be helpful.
It would seem that Ao exercises a measure of control over the deities. So, I would guess that they have some kind of special relationship with him/her/it.
Perhaps this relationship has more to to do with simply stewarding and/or advancing their portfolio, and less to do with worshipping or praying to Ao in the same fashion as mortals worship and pray to the deities? If they are true to their own portfolio, then they get the power. If they stray, they begin to lose the power? And Ao governs that?
Frith!
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| Shadowlord |
Posted - 02 Apr 2004 : 21:33:31
I believe I know that answer. A deity's clerical spells are derived from their own power. They literally pluck the spells from themselves. That should answer your question.  |
