Saturday, February 29, 2020

Devil Worship and the Powers of Pactsworn

Devils
Devils, or Woehltriv are powerful beings that can bestow power upon mortals in exchange for their worship. They live in the Tithing Realms, a place outside space and time that they take residence in and hold their collections of souls in. Devils are similar to the gods in that they often embody big concepts. The difference is that what they embody does not change over time and devils are not manifestations of belief but rather individuals or a collective of souls that changed themselves into new, hellish forms. It varies in how they descend to their thrones in the Realms. It could have been done by large rituals, key moments of focus, curses gone awry, or any other number of means. More importantly to the mortals of Tys is that they exist and can offer them power, influence, wealth, health, immortality, and any object of avarice to the mortal kins by easy means. It just costs their souls and following the demands of their patrons. 
Devils generally seek to expand their influence on the mortal plane in order to own certain domains. These "domains" include love, magic, war, gold, tech, hate, and any general concept that influences the world even if it doesn't seem like a thing one can "own". Unlike mortals, they cannot influence the gods through their beliefs. However, they can cause indirect parasitic effects by affecting their gods worshippers. Hence, one will never see a full nation that lines up for temples of Gor and sacrificing children as conventionally as one would see a Liestrite pass out the communion of the lillies. However, a temple full of high clerics that pay homage to Baelioph under the guise of tending to the flock of a legitimate deity may exist. Devils generally seek subtle means to place the world upon an axis that turns on their word without the kins of the world knowing. Or at least give the power to their worshippers so the masses don't know or don't care.

Favor (Writer's Note: Advantage Patron added at a discount using a limitation as a possible secondary thing to buy with the initiation and/or to be discounted for the pact debt.)
Every worshipper that goes through a ritual of initiation into the service of their patron gains the Blessed advantage in GURPS Characters. The ritual of initiation is generally a three-hour process where an acolyte of a current blessed of a devil binds their soul to the devil's service. Blesseds gain Favor by inducting newly blessed. Favor is a sort of currency that advances one through tiers granting them power. This gives them the Very Blessed [30] and Heroic Feats [10] forms of Blessed on B41 for a cumulative 40 CR. The character can use their character points to purchase them together at full price with no strings attached where it is assumed that the character is already a devout worshipper that will carry out their master's wishes without prodding. Alternatively can purchase them BUT also gain the Pact modifier on B113 and must take the Disciplines of Faith disadvantages of at least -15 points worth but for a total of -30 Character Points making the buy-in only 10 CR. An easy combo choosing the Mysticism [-10] discipline where essentially the worshipper has to "check-in" with their patron regularly to have them check their progress along with choosing the Ritualism [-5] discipline to where the character has to prove themselves through action, word, and thought to their patrons. Now unlike the stuffy, sometimes ascetic, and overbearing deities often Ritualism is not something that is a constant thought but rather something the worshipper has to do depending on the devil. The large discount the pact causes is due to the fact that not following the pact can have the one who agreed to pact be hurt by the patron for 50% of their HP once per day due to the devil's limited reach into the material world but still having a grip on his pactee's soul. For minor transgressions. Outright refusal to uphold the pact can cause the patron to take the soul of the one who bought into the contract in 5d6 days meaning permanent and irreversible death for the signer. Along with penalties upon the blessed who initiated them. Favor Tiers Earning favor caused one to gain points in their favor pool
  • 0-30 Minimally
  • 31-70 Moderately
  • 71-99 Highly
  • 100 Maximally

All devils have a basic set of favor tier rewards on top of giving Very Blessed and Heroic Feats advantages to their blessed along with specific devil-based rewards.
Minimally Power Investiture 1
Moderately Power Investiture 2
Highly Power Investiture 3
Maximally Power Investiture 4
How to Gain Favor
  • Perform Ritual 1-5 Favor depending on the severity and what the devil prefers. This can happen only once weekly and may be the pact condition needed to not be punished
    • Example: Baba Neyaga
      • Sacrificing one infant 1
      • Sacrificing one newborn 2
      • Sacrificing the seventh newborn of a seventh son 3
      • Sacrificing the newborns of a village 4
      • Sacrificing village of newborns with the blades of their fathers in the night of the twin eclipses also known as the witching hours 5
    • (Note in this example, while quantity seems better, generally, it will have diminishing returns. The quality of an act and circumstances give more favor
  • Perform Acts 1-5 Favor
    • Example: Baelioph
      • Convince someone to perform an action deleterious to them against their better judgment 1
      • Convince someone to perform an action that is deleterious to their family 2
      • Convince someone to perform an action that is deleterious to their tribe/village 3
      • Convince someone to perform an action that is deleterious to their city 4
      • Convince someone to perform an action that is deleterious to their nation 5
    • (Note again that while this looks purely quantitative, certain qualities of the actions can have more favor doled out by GMs based upon certain elements like targets, victims, cultural/religious/societal significance, and the like. If the one person kills a kinsman and that haunts them for an extended period of time, that would be rewarded with 2 points rather than just killing a random person and feeling guilty which would still be 1 point. An act deleterious to their nation means the effect was isolated in their nation. If say, someone caused a war between two nations, that would be worth 1.5x5 (7 dropping fraction). Multiple nations of 3 or more, 2x5 (10). The Gm may use these types of multipliers to reward players for their creativity, but keep to 3x as the very max for the largest embodiments of their patron's work on their chosen domains.
  • Slay Rival Pactsworn/Blessed of other Devils 10 Favor
  • Slay Rival Pactsworn/Blessed of the Deities 5 Favor
How to Lose Favor
  • Be reluctant to perform a request -3
  • Be overly noticeable in action -5 (for example committing arson on a temple of Sothe and painting "Baelioph Rules Your Tongues!" on their broken iconography)
  • Overuse ritual in short period of time (within a week) -5
  • Outright refuse the patron -10 (and the 50% HP reduction if Moderately to Maximally favored and permanent death if Minimally favored)
  • Kill fellow blessed of the same patron the character has -20 (and the 50% HP reduction if Moderately to Maximally favored and permanent death if Minimally favored)
How to Burn Favor for Advantages
Sometimes, devils may allow use of power that doesn't benefit them but may lead to payoff in the future. Their blessed can use this to perform certain acts or save themselves in certain situations
  • Escaping Death -20 Favor. Any situation that would result in certain death for the blessed can see the blessed miraculously escape. The GM or the player can come up with a series of events, no matter how unlikely or possibly supernatural they are. A horde of passing monsters intentionally or unintentionally park themselves between the dying and his opponents. An ally shows up at just the right time to take the blessed away. So on.
  • Devilish Luck -5 Favor. The blessed can act as if they have the Lucky B66 Advantage for one day. Standard Luck costs -5, but one can spend favor at -12 favor or -25 favor to get Extraordinary Lucky and Ridiculous Luck respectively.
  • Hellish Feats -5 Favor. The blessed can use the Heroic Feat blessing B40 one more time per each burning of favorr
Known Devils and Rewards (Writer Note: Power Investiture and/or True Faith as one of the possible bonuses to flesh out)
Pactsworn and Blessed (those that are invested in without a pact) gain the spells under each favor as investiture spells (being able to add the advantage bonus, no prerequisites, having to spend Character Point(s) on them, etc) per tier.
  • Baelioph - The Lying Devil. Gives his followers the ability of silver tongues and the ability to easily accrue influence through their charm. His followers make others unwitting thralls through exposed contact, slowly bending their minds to Baelioph's chosen.
    • Mechanically
      • Minimal Favor
      • Gains the Voice, Telecommunication Advantages for Free
      • Gains the Smooth Operator 1 Advantage for Free
      • Gains the Charisma 1 Advantage for Free
      • Charm (M139), Foolishness (M134), Fascinate (M135), Weaken Will (M136), Dream Sending (M45), Dream Projection (M46), Avoid (M140), Nightmare (M140)
      • Moderate Favor
      • Gains the Smooth Operator 2 Advantage for Free
      • Gains the Charisma 3 Advantage for Free
      • Gains the Xeno-Adaptability Advantage for Free
      • Command (B251), Daze (M134), Loyalty (M136), Emotion Control (M137), Oath (M138),  Lesser Geas (M141), Compel Lie (M137), False Memory (M139), Suggestion (M140), 
      • High Favor
      • Gains the Smooth Operator 3 Advantage for Free
      • Gains the Charisma 5 Advantage for Free
      • Mindlessness (M137), Permanent Forgetfulness (M138), Ecstasy (M139), Mass Suggestion (M141)
      • Maximum Favor
      • Gains the Smooth Operator 4 Advantage for Free
      • Gains the Charisma 9 Advantage for Free
      • Enslave (M141), Great Hallucination (M141), Great Geas (M141)
      • Gain the Voice advantage for free, and Mind Control over one subject when succeeding social checks over ten different subject of similar intelligence (in a max difference range of 1) who have to pass an IQ or Willpower check. So ten Alarian peasants will gain a Baelioph worshipper one mind-controlled slave but not an Alarian knight but five Alarian knights charmed will give one Alarian knight mind-controlled to the user. In tiers of five, the number under control rises with multiplying twice the previous tier's amount until it reaches the max amount of subjects influenced and thus will catch up over time.
      • Ex: Tier 1 (10): 1; Tier 2 (20): 2; Tier 3 (30): 4; Tier 4 (40): 8; Tier 5 (50):16; Tier 6 (60): 32; Tier 7 (70) 64; Tier 8 (80): 80 and so on.
  • Baba Nagaya - The Witch Queen. She of the crones that sacrifice the blood of innocents in the night of the world. Baba Neyaga is the devil of witches, but not their sire nor their patron. While the hagswood witches of Skalovia are animists that find spirits in the world and use the secrets they know to materialize their powers, the Neyaga crones boil in their cauldrons vast malefic brews and bring pestilence and stillbirth to the world. They have often been confused. Neyaga Fallow can be found in witch communities and they are found by the blue and green streaks across paled skin. A vast majority are accepted into the Hagswood covens (or their Uhlion Republic designations, communes), but those that choose to turn their backs on the hags along with her worshippers can use their sire's powers to cast magicks without fatigue and raise undead figures of history along with monsters.
    • Mechanically
      • Minimal Favor
      • Itch (M35), Flame Jet (M73), Blur (M113), Identify Spell (M102), Astral Vision (M105), Hawk Vision (M111), Clean (M116), Mystic Mark (M119)
      • Moderate Favor
      • Pain (M36), Frailty (M37), Fire Cloud (M75), Strike Barren (M41), Analyze Magic (M102), Invisible Wizard Eye (M104), Blackout (M112), Darkness (M112), Ruin (M118), Pentagram (M124), Curse (M129), Bind Spirit (M158), Steal Youth (M158), Explosive Lightning (M196)
      • Gains the Speak with Animals and the Speak with Plants Advantages
      • High Favor
      • Fumble (M38), Strike Blind (M38), Choke (M40), Wither Limb (M40), Control Limb (M40), Burning Death (M76), Body of Shadow (M114), Explode (M118), Catch Spell (M123), Spellguard (M127), Summon Demon (M155) (Summon Marrow Fiend), Entrap Spell (M157), Steal Beauty (M159)
      • Maximum Favor
      • Disintegrate (M120), Total Paralysis (M40), Corpulence (M43), Decapitation (M42),
      • No energy costs for magic and hour-long rituals can be done to make allies with use of certain sacrifices. The moon must be out for the free casting to occur, unless it is the Witching Night where the moons Tol and Cyr eclipse together against the sun. The sacrifices are good for a week's time ingame and then must be ritually done again (no random murders) to keep the allies.
  • Nickie "Marlowe" Price - The Crossroads King. Nicky's origins are a little fuzzy. There are numerous stories that claim them to be one of the greatest gamblers of the old Elvish Dominion. Some attribute to them to be the inspiration behind the story of Saint Jack of Spades, an Alarian legend about a cunning trickster who performed magnificent feats using only the gift of the gab. They (because they often can manifest as male or female) seem to come from every nation, region, and culture on earth depending on who witnesses them. This name is written down from a Thralish adventurer's encounter with them. Every one of his witnesses has seen these unified characteristics: A stagger to put Orcinian bravosi to shame, a persuasive way about them that it could corrode the slickest talkers' silver tongues, and a winning smile that melts the hearts of poets. Nickie's modus operandi is to strike deals with mortals in order to grow their hoard of souls. They can have other agendas and are known as a wildcard among the Tithe Realms. While multiple devils want overall control of a domain or gods, Price likes things to be up in the air and running on dice rolls. He enjoys keeping other devils down and preventing them from reaching their goals or even raising weaker ones up. In the mortal plane, he enjoys chaos and stability in equal measure because either state gives new opportunities for bargains to be struck.
    • Nickie is known as the crossroads king because their servants often literally meet those willing to strike a deal at crossroads. Some of his followers do not take this literally, and their master is often found in backroom card games, in the tents of generals, or in the courts of kings. Nickie Price can give youth, knowledge, wealth, fame, or power in exchange for the other party's soul. Unlike Baba Neyaga, he doesn't accept souls second-hand. He finds they aren't worth as much if they didn't volunteer for their damnation. As said before, Price can also accept favors. This may be out of a genuine want or just to butter up the other person to give up their soul later.
      • Mechanically
        • Minimal Favor
        • Gains the Luck
        • Gains the Extended Lifespan 1 Advantage for Free
        • Moderate Favor
        • Gains the Extraordinarily Lucky Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Danger Sense Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Extended Lifespan 3 Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Rapid Healing Advantage for Free
        • High Favor
        • Gains the Ridiculously Lucky Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Extended Lifespan 5 Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Serendipity Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Intuition Advantage for Free
        • Maximum Favor
        • Gains the Super Lucky Advantage for Free
        • Gains the Unaging Advantage for Free
        • Resurrection (M94)

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