Etherus Clerical Magic

Tekradon

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Etherus Clerical Magic

« on: 24 April 2002, 14:35:00 »

Hmmm... I suppose this is a request as much as anything. There doesn't sem to be a great deal of info on clerical magic, and I'm trying to create a cleric of Etherus. There were some problems, though;

1. There was no sect of Etherus worshippers who praise his destructive lust, and

2. No-one could decide on how Etherus's clerical magic works.

So I'm going to post several ideas here from my character creation post, and from various regions of my brain.

If I posted this in the wrong place, my apologies; maybe there's a clerical magic section I missed.

"Deep red are the sun-sets in mystical places. Black are the nights on summer-day sands. We'll find the speck of truth in each riddle. Hold the first grain of love in our hands." -Jethro Tull


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Xarl

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Re: Etherus Clerical Magic

« Reply #1 on: 24 April 2002, 20:04:00 »

No, no, please, drop the humility. Koldar can help you, but we still need some theory on Clerical magic. Fire away, dear sociopathic pointy-eared one!

Xarl Bluestride, Archmage of the White Tower, Master of the Magic Forum, Teacher of RP Sorcery and generally cool guy. All requests are to be written on the back of a ten-dollar bill (or equivelant thereof) placed on a dead ferret, and tossed in the sewer system.
Xarl Bluestride
Owner of the longest pure text sig in Santharia
And it's still growing....
For the non-ferreted... - Master of All Things Magical
The Santharian Dream - Where fantasy dreams come true... particularly mine!


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Edwark

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Re: Etherus Clerical Magic

« Reply #2 on: 24 April 2002, 22:53:00 »

OK OK! No more humility! Here goes theory:

1. Clerical magic comes from belief.
2. Since most religions teach belief through strict doctrine, it would follow that most clerics would know only certain ways of drawing upon the power of their diety. This would be very dependent on the way that the cleric is tought to worship and their belief in the nature of the diety (different sects with different beliefs evoke different powers, and, because of these beliefs, it is very difficult for a member of one sect to learn the powers of another sect).
3. In some cases (I'm thinking of my char Edwark as an example), a cleric's belief falls outside the norm, and he has no-one to teach him how to worship or evoke the power of the diety in the way that they wish. In this case, the clerical magic is more free-form, largely skipping over the ritual and coming more directly from belief into being in raw form. The player would have to describe his character's interpretation of the diety he assigns himself to. Since this process is experimental, there is the risk of less control over the power, sometimes causing damage to the cleric, his friends, or by-standers. As a substitute for ritual, the freelance cleric may develop his own methods, such as certain evocative words, somatical elements or items. These are not necessary, but help give the cleric a sense of control over their power. Since clerical power feeds from belief, if the cleric believes the rituals give him more control, they usually will, to a degree. It is not uncommon for clerics of established orders to adapt their own personal superstitions or rituals (so long as they don't deviate too greatly from the norm).

The magic systems (spells & type of spells) should be based on the different sects of each god.

I'm guessing in Edwark's case, since his belief runs as deep as his psychosis (and is in fact one with it), that his clerical power would be strong. I like Vir's idea of my character having the power of moral corruption or twisting perceptions, since it fits with the mental problems and Etherus's chaotic, destructive nature.

Some ideas on the division of divine power:

Queprur: Power over aging, decay, and the evoking of spirits to do one's bidding (necromancy).

Urtengor: Ability to move and manipulate earth and stone; also, can refine metals and jewels with their power.

Arvins: Friendship and power over animals and plants; able to aid growth of plants (such as to make a bramble wall or a net of vines).

Ugh, I'm tired. I'll do more on this later.

"And the youngest of the family is moving with authority! Building castles by the sea, he dares the tardy tide to wash them all aside!" - Jethro Tull

Edited by: Edwark at: 4/24/02 6:07:09 am


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Tekradon

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Re: Etherus Clerical Magic

« Reply #3 on: 28 April 2002, 22:30:00 »

Ummm... ok. I read more about clerical magic. It seems like I was misguided about my idea of Edwark controlling the emotions of others (actually this was not my idea, but Viresse's, see Edwark's character creation post), for a few reasons:

1. Edwark believes in something no-oe else believes in, being a heretic and insane. So he wouldn't be able to manipulate the emotions of others (causing rage and jealousy, two of Etherus's favorite things), unless they trust him or believe him, and I don't think Edwark will be making any persuasive speeches to his enemies before battle.

Hmm... well I guess it was only one main reason. But anyway I'm going to try to develop some clerical spells. Question though: do they require ingredients, or just chanting and conviction?

"Deep red are the sun-sets in mystical places. Black are the nights on summer-day sands. We'll find the speck of truth in each riddle. Hold the first grain of love in our hands." -Jethro Tull


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Greybark

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Re: Etherus Clerical Magic

« Reply #4 on: 30 April 2002, 07:25:00 »

your point #1 is not exactly accurate. No one knows for sure where the power comes from. It is assumed to come from the diety in question. Whether or not this is true, or whether or not the diety in question even actually exists or not, can never be made absolutely certain one way or another.

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Viresse

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Re: Etherus Clerical Magic

« Reply #5 on: 30 April 2002, 16:24:00 »

for the Sake of Argument, Greybark... Those that Worship and Have the Power assume it comes from the God (or Goddess).

Much like the same with real religions. We say we can FEEL ghosts or God and stuff, but other than Faith, we cannot prove where it comes from, or even What it is.

So... if he believes the power of manipulation comes from Etherus, then (technically) it comes from Etherus. Even if we can prove it doesn't, belief usually overrides common sense. And considering Edwark is insane, good luck convincing the fellow of ANYTHING.

As for belief of your foes... people who are strong and confident in themselves are capable of convincing others of the Same. As life shows us, if you ACT like you know something (even if you're lying out the wazoo), people who know less will believe you due to your confidence. I guess what I'm getting at is... if Edwark believes he can do it, chances are his enemy just might believe he can do it as well.

Those are my thoughts... sorry if I've intruded.

Viresse Sheelala

*pokey de Viresse* - character descriptions moderator
The Santharian Dream - Home sweet Home...


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