Invocation of Prayers || Faiths || Disciplines
Memorizing Prayers || Scrolls & Rites || Beyond the Prayers || Cleric || List of Prayers
Wyvern Rising includes the existence of fantasy deities and religious sects. These were created specifically for game purposes and are not intentionally patterned after any real faith or religion. Nearly all races place high value on spiritual beliefs, though the nature of those beliefs varies from race to race. In very early history, references are made to deities unique to certain races, but that has all changed. Centuries ago, the religious leaders of all societies gathered in a great conference to discuss and debate their theologies. What they found was astonishing. The spiritual culture of all of the varied peoples made reference to virtually identical divine beings. There were, of course, some opposing views over the hierarchy of the deities and forms of worship, but for the most part their ideas coincided. Since that time all races have recognized the same four deities: Diakonoff, Kishar, Oberim, and Qos. They are active and dynamic, and they bestow incredible powers on the priests and clerics who worship them. The prayers invoked by their followers reflect the natures of the deities themselves.
Faiths
Invocation of Prayers
There are three basic factors for invoking prayers: Faith, Discipline, and Piety. Faith determines the deity who is petitioned for the power of the prayer; Discipline determines the general effect of the prayer; and Piety determines the relative power or magnitude. When purchasing Faith, you must specify which deity it is for. Players who choose Cleric as their character's Primary Skill Path receive their first point of Faith free. This first Faith point will identify the characters primary deity. There is no restriction on buying Faith in multiple deities, but it does cost more Build points. Additional Faith levels in the primary deity cost one Build each while additional levels in any other deity cost four Build each. Obviously, clerics who are devoted to a single deity will be able to achieve more advanced prayers more quickly than those whose loyalties are divided. The disadvantage to this is that the variety of prayers available will be more limited, as will be explained later.
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Diakonoff
Diakonoff has command over justice, light, wisdom, and purity. He is strong and demanding, but notwithout mercy. He commands truth and purity in his followers. Most major civilizations place Diakonoff in dominance over the other deities, with Kishar as his closest companion and Qos his nemesis. While the scriptures often place Diakonoff and Qos in opposition to or disagreement with one another, they are never directly referred to as enemies. In fact the prophets seem to make a point of saying otherwise. Diakonoff is invoked to preside over nearly all large public gatherings, including tournaments, coronations, trials, and executions. Virtually every city of the Old Continent has a Diakonic church or cathedral, and most small towns at least have a chapel. The vast majority of people attend services honoring Diakonoff at least once a week. His followers include people of every class and disposition. Monasteries devoted to him dot the countryside. Most are dedicated to research and reflection. The monks and friars who dwell there spend their long and quiet lives poring over ancient scripts and scrolls, gleaning bits of information in the search for enlightenment. However, there are also more militant sects who exhibit the forceful nature of Diakonoff's will.
Kishar
Kishar is benevolent and compassionate. She holds dominion over the earth, nature, life, and mercy. She grants her servants the ability to heal wounds with a touch, and to call spirits back to their mortal bodies thereby granting new life. She also allows her priests and clerics some limited control over the forces of nature. Most of her followers are reluctant to become involved in combat, but they should not be mistaken for pacifists or cowards. The natural forces at their command can be powerful when they choose to use them. Kishar's clergy rarely carry metal weapons or tools. They prefer wood, rock, and bone. They almost never wear armor of any sort except for the occasional leather jerkin. Most Kisharan sacraments are held at outdoor chapels. Kishar is often called "Lady Earth" by her devotees. She is sometimes witnessed by those who spend a great deal of time outdoors. Farmers claim sightings of her walking through the grain fields at harvest time. Her glowing form with long, golden hair is considered to be an omen and blessing upon the land. Still others claim to have seen her and heard her soft voice in the deep greenwood, where she is said to wear a long green cloak adorned with wild nuts and blossoms. Farmers look to her for abundant crops and commoners give offerings of food and flowers in hopes for good health, especially when a woman is with child. Hunters and rangers can be heard to thank Kishar for plentiful game.
Oberim
Oberim is an enigmatic deity with an unusual dualistic nature. He maintains the balance between logic and emotion, between wisdom and passion. He is thought to control the flow of knowledge and enlightenment as well as the tide of strong emotion. He is perceived to be completely neutral, neither good nor evil, nor light nor dark. There are precious few scriptures that refer to him, and in those that do he is rarely the central figure. Usually he is an observer or bystander to the actions of the other deities. On occasion he speaks to the others and imparts wisdom or sometimes brief but violent emotional outbursts. One of the most well known Oberic scriptures notes him mourning for 70 years, though the reason is not mentioned. Like the deity himself, Oberim's followers are often not fully understood by the general population. Their ceremonies and sacraments are strange and secretive. The inner circle of Oberic clergy are mysterious figures whose identities are know to very few. This secrecy and mysticism causes concern amongst many people who are convinced that they are agents of evil. This, however, is in contradiction to the actions of the priests and clerics who represent Oberim to the masses. Many people seek Oberim's guidance when faced with great decisions. Others ask for his help in magnifying or suppressing strong emotions such as jealousy, hate, and love. There are many chapels dedicated to Oberim but most are small, tended by only two or three clerics.
Qos
Qos's realm of dominion includes war, vengeance, and retribution. While not inherently evil, Qos's followers are often violent and vindictive. They are prone to short tempers and quick action. The worship of Qos has not been outlawed, but severe restrictions have been placed on the number of persons allowed to attend a ceremony or sacrament. This was instituted in order to prevent the outbreak of violence and bloodshed that often accompanies such gatherings. It seems when Qos's followers are whipped in to frenzy, they are as likely to attack one another as they are their adversaries. The King of Landisfarne maintains a small chapel dedicated to Qos, and supports a few attending priests and clerics that are called upon in time of war. With the recent long period of relative peace, the need for such a chapel has been questioned. The King, however, has not yet seen fit to dismantle it. Scholars claim the scriptures tell that Qos and Kishar were once lovers, and some theorize that it was their union that created the world. They say that it is because of his influence that people and nature are prone to fits of violence. The eruption of volcanoes, shaking of earthquakes, and destructive storms are all representations of Qos. It is said that Kishar tried to rid the earth of all these forces, but Qos refused to allow it, and that it was this dispute that caused them to separate. It was Diakonoff's intervention and mediation in this dispute, and more so his subsequent partnership with Kishar that caused the animosity between himself and Qos. Common people sometimes seek Qos's aid when confrontations become violent. Additionally, soldiers and mercenaries petition him for strength and ferocity in battle.
Back to TopPrayers are also categorized by their Discipline, or effect. Since invoking a prayer requires the channeling and manipulation of divine energies, clerics must be skilled at this practice. The energies must be harnessed and focused in a very specific way in order to achieve the desired results. This requires immense concentration in addition to years of practice and dedication. Some clerics concentrate on only one or two divine Disciplines, becoming particularly adept at their usage. Others explore the entire range of divine influence and train a bit in all Disciplines. Disciplines can be purchased multiple times, similar to Faiths. In contrast to Faith, however, players are not required to select a primary Discipline. Any Discipline may be purchased for the same Build cost. The divine Disciplines include Augury, Kinesis, Summoning, and Transmutation. Their descriptions follow:
Disciplines
Involves divination of knowledge and information. It is used to gather knowledge as well as to impart it. It can also include manipulation of thoughts and memory. Controls movement and motion. Prayers of this type will cause or impede movement or alter the form of motion. Governs creation and manifestation of physical objects by siphoning and manipulating energies from the spiritual plane. Summoned items are temporary. It is believed that the deities retain the full magnitude of this power for themselves and will not allow mortals to create truly permanent objects. Creates changes in composition of matter and energy. This process of alteration can greatly change an object's properties, albeit on a temporary basis.
All prayers are assigned a Total Faith Rating (TFR) based on the prayer's effect and deity alignment. The TFR is a minimum value that the cleric must meet in a given Faith and Discipline combination in order to memorize and invoke the prayer. TFR is expressed as Faith/Discipline: #. The numeric value in the TFR is the sum of the Faith and Discipline levels. A Kisharan prayer that falls under the Discipline of Transmutation and requires at least six points of skill would be written as Kishar/Transmutation: 6. 'Lay Hands' is a prayer of Diakonoff that falls under the Transmutation Discipline. The TFR value for Lay Hands is 5 as indicated on the prayer list. Therefore, Lay Hands is said to have a TFR value of Diakonoff/Transmutation: 5. Ezram, a young cleric, is interested in learning the secrets of this useful prayer. He has thus far spent 4 Build in his primary Faith of Diakonoff, giving him a level of Diakonoff 4. He has also spent 2Build in the Summoning Discipline for a level of Summoning 1, and 4 Build in the Transmutation Discipline for a level of Transmutation 2. In order to determine if he is capable of harnessing Lay Hands, he adds his value of 4 in Diakonoff to his value of 2 in Transmutation to arrive at a Diakonoff/Transmutation level of 6. When compared to the TFR of Lay Hands, it is obvious that Ezram is certainly able to master this prayer.
As noted earlier, both Faith and Discipline may be purchased multiple times in order to increase a character's TFR capabilities. Purchasing higher values in a single Faith or Discipline will allow a cleric to invoke more demanding prayers. But purchasing a broader variety of Faiths and/or Disciplines will result in the ability to invoke prayers with more various effects.
There is one more factor that plays an important role in prayer invocation, and that is Piety. Piety levels, or 'prayer slots', represent a clerics ability to meditate upon and memorize the workings of individual prayers. Each Piety slot allows a cleric to memorize (and later invoke) one prayer. Piety levels are given a numeric value, and each prayer will have a corresponding level. Prayers of Piety 1 require a Piety 1 prayer slot for memorization; prayers of Piety 2 require a Piety 2 slot, and so on. Multiple Piety slots may be purchased for each level, allowing for an increasing number of prayers available for invocation. However, a character must always have at least one more Piety slot in the rank below that which he/she is currently purchasing. For example, you must have at least two rank 1 Piety slots before you can purchase your first rank 2. Before you can get a rank 3 slot you must have two or more rank 2. This, in turn, means you must purchase a third rank 1 to support the second rank 2. The resulting structure is a prayer pyramid.
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A cleric may purchase as many lower ranks as he/she wishes without building up to higher levels. This would create a pyramid with a wide base and the ability to invoke numerous basic prayers.
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This allows you the choice of building higher for more potent prayers or expanding the number of lesser prayers for greater volume. Just keep in mind that you must have more rank 1's than rank 2's; more rank 2's than rank 3's; more rank 3's than rank 4's; and more rank 4's than rank 5's. Each Piety slot allows you to memorize one prayer. Upon invoking that prayer, the slot is expended for the duration of the period. The same prayer may be memorized several times; it fills another Piety slot for each time. This allows a cleric to invoke the same prayer multiple times per period. It is important that the prayer pyramid be constructed carefully and also that consideration is given when filling the Piety slots for the coming period. Ezram has gradually built a respectable prayer pyramid with six rank 1 slots, 5 rank 2 slots, and two rank 3 slots. When allocating prayers to his Piety slots for the coming period, he considers what he expects to encounter and/or accomplish. Since rumors are circulating about the threat of a significant thrull attack, he decides to prepare for the worst. He memorizes a variety of rank 1 prayers, but fills all five rank 2 slots with Lay Hands, the healing prayer that he recently learned. For his rank 3 slots, he chooses Protect Weapon and Repulse Unholy (just in case things get ugly tonight).
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Memorizing Prayers
Each priest and cleric must maintain a prayer book that contains proper inscriptions for all of the prayers that he/she knows. Prayer inscriptions take the form of special words, or invocations, written in the religious script. In order to memorize - or receive tags for - any particular prayer, that prayer must be written in the cleric's prayer book. The staff member distributing the prayer tags will verify that the prayer is recorded properly before issuing the tags, so be sure to handle your book with care.
Prayers may be obtained from various sources. They may be copied from another cleric's book, or they may be transcribed from prayer scrolls or scripture books. Be sure you trust the source of new prayers. If a prayer is written improperly it may not work at all or, even worse, it may cause unexpected effects. Other prayers may be 'false' prayers, specifically created to misdirect the invoker. Whenever possible, check new prayers against a second source to verify that they are correct and complete.
Prayers are, in essence, special powers or minor miracles that a deity bestows upon his or her faithful servants. The dedicated cleric must spend time each day in meditation and contemplation in order to become attuned to the divine influence of the deity. During this time the cleric humbly asks for the ability to perform certain miracles. New prayers are selected, or memorized, at the beginning of each period. Prayers are selected only once per period and may not be changed after they have been memorized. Prayers for the first period (red) are obtained during check in at logistics. Prayers for the second period (blue) may be obtained at the abbey or at logistics near the start of the second period - 3:00 Saturday afternoon. A staff member will be at the abbey around this time. You must bring your prayer book with you in order to receive your prayer tags. A tag of the appropriate color will be issued with the name of the prayer written on it. Each prayer slot, or tag, may be invoked only once per period, but the same prayer may be selected to fill several slots for multiple uses. Unused prayers do not carry over to the following period. When the period changes, any prayers you have not used are lost. You may, however, select the same prayer to fill a slot for the next period. If you are unable to select new prayers at the turn of the period, you may visit the logistics cabin later in the day. Just remember that you may not invoke any prayers until you have received tags for them; if you wait too long, you may be caught in a bad situation with no abilities at your disposal. On Friday evening Jeff, who plays the cleric named Ezram, arrives for the event weekend and visits Logistics to register and check in. Since he is a cleric he will need to choose prayers to fill his prayer pyramid. He has Six Piety 1 slots, five Piety 2 slots, and two Piety 3 slots. He has planned ahead and already knows what prayers he wants. The staff person on duty asks for his prayer book to verify Ezram has properly transcribed the prayers he is asking for. Oops! Jeff has left Ezram's prayer book in his car. No book - no prayer tags, so Jeff has to retrieve his book before he can finish up. When Jeff returns with Ezram's book, the staff person reviews three things: 1-The prayers Ezram wants are in the book and written correctly. 2-Ezram has enough of the appropriate level Piety slots for the prayers he requested. 3-He checks Ezram's character card to be sure he meets the TFR requirement for each prayer. On Saturday, Jeff wants to make sure he gets his new prayers on time so he heads for St. Beshial's Abbey around 2:30. When he gets there, he selects new prayers for the next period. He goes through the same process as the previous evening: book check, Piety check, TFR check - and he's on his way with refreshed prayers that he may begin to use at 3:00.
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Scrolls and Rites
Prayers may also be scribed to scrolls and later invoked directly from this holy document. Scrolls are written in the ancient language of the prophets, and only those persons with the skill Read Prayer can interpret this script. Prayer inscriptions can be read and invoked from scrolls by anyone who can read the language, providing he/she has at least one point in both the Faith and Discipline of the prayer. A prayer scroll is invoked in the same way as all other prayers, with the exception that the scroll must be in the casters hand when calling the invocation. When it is invoked, the scroll is consumed by the energy released from it. It must be destroyed immediately after it is used. Obviously, then, prayer scrolls may be used only once.
Creation of a prayer scroll is a meticulous, often tedious, process. Prayer scrolls are carefully inscribed on sacred, consecrated parchment. Only clerics with the skill Scribe Prayer can accomplish this task. To create a prayer scroll, you must first have consecrated parchment on which to scribe it. Any high quality parchment may be used, provided it has been properly prepared through the Rank 1 Rite: Consecrate. Next you must have the prayer you wish to scribe already written in your prayer book. In order to transcribe the prayer to the sacred parchment, you must also possess double the TFR required to invoke the prayer. A prayer that has a TFR of Qos/Summoning: 8 requires a cleric to have Qos/Summoning: 16 to scribe. Because prayer scrolls must be written very precisely, great care and concentration must be given to their creation. A cleric may spend upwards of a month scribing a single scroll. To represent this, all scrolls are created between events. Prayer scrolls require one week per level of the prayer to create. Thus, a Piety 1 prayer takes one week to scribe; a Piety 2 prayer takes two weeks, etc. You must note on your weekend recap what prayers you wish to scribe between events and submit one page of consecrated parchment for each. In most circumstances the actual number of calendar weeks that elapse between monthly events is also the game time allowed for scroll creation. If weekend events do not take place on consecutive months, players will be advised how many game weeks transpire. Brother Girard is a cleric of Diakonoff and has the Scribe Prayer skill. He wishes to create a scroll for the Harden Armour prayer. Harden Armour is a rank 2 Transmutation prayer with a TFR of 5. He needs to have a TFR of 10 or more to create this scroll. Girard has 4 points in the Transmutation Discipline and 7 points of Faith in Diakonoff, thus making his Diakonoff/Transmutation TFR 11. That's enough to scribe the prayer, and he's already written it in his prayer book. At the end of the event, Girard shows his prayer book to a game director and hands over a sheet of consecrated parchment. He indicates on his post-event recap that he will spend the next two weeks in the scriptorium carefully copying the prayer to the sacred parchment. At the next event he will be given the phys-rep for his scroll.
Dedicated clerics may eventually learn to perform elaborate and complex procedures called Rites. Rites are ceremonies conducted to create a channel to a deity to draw larger amounts of power than simple prayers will allow. Through these holy rituals a cleric may perform works of greater magnitude than prayers. Rites can include such effects as consecration of objects and persons; the invocation of permanent blessings; and resurrection of the dead. Most Rites need to be performed in a certain location, usually a monastery or chapel with a consecrated altar. Typically, they also require special ceremonial items like holy water, a sacred dagger, or any of a variety of other objects. The complete process and materials necessary to conduct a Rite are described in the sacred texts. The procedures must be followed exactly or the cleric risks failure and retribution from a displeased deity. Like prayers, Rites have a rank level and a TFR value. The rank and TFR of Rites are expressed in the same manner as those of prayers. In addition, Rites also have a minimum Faith requirement. This requires that the cleric performing the ritual have at least a certain level of Faith points in the deity associated with the Rite. For example, a certain rank 2 Rite may have a TFR of Kishar/Summoning: 9 and a minimum Faith of 7. This means that the cleric must have at least seven points of Faith in Kishar, plus enough points of Summoning (at least one) to make up the difference, in order to complete the ceremony.
If a cleric falls short of the TFR or minimum Faith requirement he/she may enlist the assistance from his/her priestly peers. Any person with the skill Assist Rite and at least one Faith point in the appropriate deity can lend his/her help. Assistants can expend unused Piety slots to boost the presiding cleric's Faith level. Slots are burned at the rate of +1 Faith per level of the slot. Therefore, a Piety 3 prayer slot would grant +3 Faith. An assisting cleric may only expend Piety up to his/her Faith level, and once involved in the Rite he/she must continue to participate until the ceremony is completed. Any number of clerics may assist a Rite, and some very powerful procedures are likely to require several participants. Brother Girard is preparing to perform a sacred Rite. The ceremony is a powerful rank 3 Rite that Girard has just found in an ancient book of scripture. It has a TFR of Diakonoff/Augury: 16 and a minimum Faith of 10. Girard's Faith in Diakonoff is 7 and his Discipline in Augury is 5, so he will need to find some help. He knows Jezzina is trained to Assist Rites, so he asks for her participation. Her Faith in Diakonoff is 3, and she agrees to purge one Piety 2 and one Piety 1 slots. This is the maximum she can contribute. Brother Girard's Faith is boosted by +3, making it a 10. He has now met the minimum Faith requirement, but is still one short on the TFR. Looks like he needs just a bit more help…
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Not all clerics are suited to the staples of prayer, meditation, and preaching. Some experience a calling to a more active and physical lifestyle. Some sects dedicate themselves to martial training with the intention of becoming holy warriors. In fact, these militant orders are often tapped to bolster the ranks of a sovereign's army. They are renown for their skill and discipline, even when facing terrorizing odds. Other clerics choose to specialize in fighting the supernatural enemies of their patron deity, or follow a personal quest to eliminate the Unholy minions of the living dead. There are many paths to follow in the quest to honor one's deity.
Most of the alternative cleric skills are based on PREsence, the individual's mental discipline. No other path is weighted so heavily on these sorts of skills. The concentration and self-discipline required to perform these skills can be enormous, but the results are worth it. Definitions for each skill can be found under the Skill Descriptions listing, but they include a significant range of effects. Some allow a cleric to cause additional or Divine damage with a weapon, while others summon spiritual defenses. Some allow extraordinary healing and injury prevention through the exertion of sheer willpower.
No matter what path a cleric chooses to follow, or what deity he/she worships, the penultimate goal of any true disciple is to attain Unconditional Devotion. Only those with extreme dedication and conviction can even dream of realizing such a goal. The effects of this ability will vary to suit the personal nature of the individual cleric and enhance his/her unity with the deity. Unconditional Devotion is assumed to occur with the deity for whom you have the highest Faith level. In most cases this will be the primary deity, but not necessarily always. This ability may be purchased only once, so be sure you are faithful to the deity you wish to serve for the rest of your life. Attainment of Unconditional Devotion could even make the cleric a potential candidate for sainthood.
The opportunities on the Cleric skill path cover a wide range of character styles. Virtually any sort of priest, monk, cleric, healer, or templar can be recreated through these skills. Players are encouraged to be creative in the use and application of prayers and skills. If you have an idea for a new prayer, or an alternate version of an existing one, send your idea to the game directors. If it is good, it may eventually appear in the game. Remember, Wyvern Rising is a dynamic, expanding game system with virtually endless role-playing opportunities.
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