Anathema: The Ascended

Anathema

Anathema are powerful beings whose powers are dedicated to domains. These domains are concepts, values, virtues, vices, practices, or things that the anathema are invested in exploring, perfecting, or mastering. Anathema range widely in their nature. Some anathema are created through collective belief about gods and then become an avatar of that domain and how it serves or radiates from that god. This collective belief can come about and make mythical figures come to life, but anathema can also be made of saints, those blessed by a patron and were thought to be especially virtuous and holy. Unholy and blasphemous anathema can also come about this way. Some anathema seem to have existed since the beginning of time and seemingly came from nothing like many of the Woehltan, or demons. Others seem to have been self-made and can be very recent like many of the Woehltriv, or devils. Even those two groups of demons and devils do not have strict geneses in only those methods respectively. Beyond the holy and foul, there are anathema for other domains such as forests, gambling, love, honor, murder, and others.

Gods versus Anathema

The largest differences between gods and anathema are that gods tend to be more powerful, are not intending to occupy domains (even if they tend to occupy them like Sothe and death), and often are more distant than anathema. Godly miracles are also more easily given by superiors to novicitate clerics and paladins in a religious hierarchy and at times miracles have been given to those with enough belief in that god. Anathema give their power from the source and often the anathema acts as a direct patron to a mortal and personally judge them. Anathema can allow those trusted by them to pass on powers but that allows them to act as a mortal arm of the anathema. Prythe may not be looking closely when he gives a provost, a lower paladin of his temple, the power to make someone tell the truth, but the Crone Queen would be looking closely at the crone that would welcome a new witch into her ranks.

Anathema can be dedicated to certain gods and their virtues. Saints that worshipped them in life can stand for facets of their belief in their ascendancy. However, anathema can also cover the same domain as a god but not be aligned with that god. Dhaegoth and Alar share the concept of honor but so does the Oni King, a Wakamotojin-born anathema that holds no allegiance to either of those gods. Anathema are also like gods in that they can be replaced in their domains.

Anathema upon Tys?

Anathema give up their material forms when they ascend to their stations. In order to act on earth, mortal agents and supplicants are used to carry out their work. They can return to the earth in person as avatars, but these forms are temporary. 

Eternity is not Promised

Anathema do not sit on permanent stable thrones. They can be overthrown even if it does not seem likely. How to do so is another matter. One cannot take a sword into their realms and slay them and sit on their throne. To pry away an anathema's power, the source of their power needs to removed. To kill the Oni King, perhaps the samurai of Wakamoto that brought him to his power have to be destroyed entirely, peacefully or painfully. The keepers of the knowledge of a saint of the pentaphany may need to be slain and all worshippers killed to remove that anathema's power. This is... difficult. 

Known Anathema

The Woehltriv or devils - The Crone Queen (Magic), the Crossroads King (Luck), and the King of Lies (Persuasion)

The Woehltan or demons - The Plague Sower (Plague)

The Oni Lord (Honor)

Saint Bromae (Battle)

Kunan (Self Control)

Khoss (Sacrifice)

Anathema and Fallow

Anathema are the source of fallow in Tys. However, there are more unaligned, devilish, and demonic fallow in the world because those tend to be the anathema that materialize for their followers or use their followers as vessels. Those fallow that worship their anathema that are not devilish often have a much easier time with their afterlives, being assured places at the anathema's side or their god of worship rather than being at the mercy of a cruel being in its hell. Fallow of devils do not only have their sire to worship, however, and they may choose other anathema.

Anathema in GURPS

Anathema and gods can be doubled as patrons for a single character in GURPS. They often give more specialized lists of spells versus ones by gods that are covered under Power Investiture. However, the character receives essentially two different versions of power investitures. They also require more direct favors, working under the same favor system that anathema have. Clerics and paladins can mix and match anathema and patron god from different religions or sects. A cleric of Liestra can also have Kunan as an anathema. However, certain anathema and gods do not mesh and some will be reluctant to aid power to one that worships a god they disagree with to outright refusing due to differences or natural enmity. 

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 an anathema binds their soul to the anathema'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 anathema. 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 anathema'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

Minimally Power Investiture 1
Moderately Power Investiture 2

Highly Power Investiture 3
Maximally Power Investiture 4

Anathema spell lists and advantages per anathema to come.