Revision as of 20:24, 29 June 2005

Zenith Caste Prayer Charms

In the 1st Age, Zenith Solars were the intercessors between gods and men. As such, they had a wide variety of Charms that dealt with prayer, ritual and blessings. The Zenith Caste acted as intercessors between the gods and mankind, making sure that each kept to their proper place, while benefiting from mutual contact. Below is a selection of the prayer charms that were commonly used by Zenith caste Solars.

Catalog of Prayers Form</b>

<b>Cost: 1 mote of Essence per 2 dice
Duration: Scene
Type: Supplemental
Min. Performance: 2
Min. Essence: 2
Prerequesites: None

This Charm was one of the first that newly Exalted Solar priests learned back in the 1st Age. As the Solar aligns his Essence to Heaven, he or she becomes preternaturally skilled ritualist. The motions and intonations of a worship ritual become profound in their subtlety, and become very pleasing to the gods. The Solar, for each mote of essence spent, adds 2 dice to his or her die pool for all Performance based rolls, up to a maximum of his or her Attribute+Performance die pool, in regards to any rolls associated with Prayers and worship rites.

In the 1st Age, Sidereals would often work to have Zenith caste Solars assist them in enacting various rites to the Pattern Spiders and other gods. Rites designed to send worship to the gods or to rebuke them were very potent, if led by a Zenith Caste Solar.

Note that motes expended for this Charm count as comitted for the duration of the scene they are used in.

Heavenly Worship Rite</b>

<b>Cost: 5
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Min. Ability: Performance 3, Lore 2
Min. Essence: 2
Prequesites: Catalog of Prayers Form

The most basic of the Solar worship rites, the Solar calls upon a select god to bestow their blessings upon the worshippers, while sending celebratory Essence to the deity in question.

This rite is designed to grant a blessing from one of the smaller gods – any deity in Heaven or Creation of Essence 3, 4 or 5. The maximum number of worshippers that can be blessed is equal to the combined Essence of the Zenith priest plus the god in question, times 20. The worship must take place either in a place that is recognizably holy to the deity or has been sanctified before hand, by a charm such as Focus of Worship Rite. Several Zeniths may combine their use of this Charm so as to increase the number of worshippers affected. While more than the maximum number of worshippers can join in the rite, the maximum represents the total number affected by the Charm.

For every 3 successes generated on the Solar’s Charisma+Performance roll, Each worshipper gains 1 temporary point of Willpower. Further, the worshippers gain a 1 die bonus for the duration of one week to any one task that the deity is associated with, such as fishing, farming, or even tasks as esoteric as romance or logical inquiry. For every 3 successes, the Deity recieves 1 Willpower and 3 motes of Essence, up to it’s maximum Essence pool. Deities who are at maximum Essence receive 1 cubic inch of Ambrosia for every 3 successes generated by the rite, up to a maximum of 1 cubic inch per 20 worshippers.

The mutual benefit is the result of god and mortal sharing and comingling their Essence through the benevolent power of the Unconquered Sun. So far, no other type of Exalt has been able to reproduce this type of beneficial worship, except for the Yozis, who usually call for rather steep sacrifices in exchange for their favor.

Favorable Sacrifice Method</b>

<b>Cost: 5
Duration: 1 Scene
Type: Simple
Min. Ability: Performance 4, Lore 3
Min. Essence: 3
Prerequesites: Heavenly Worship Rite

This is a short rite designed to invoke the favor of a particular small god (Essence 3, 4 or 5), calling upon his or her cosmic archetype, in exchange for the worship and attention of a group of Exalted. As more powerful Prayer Charms are learned by the Zenith, this one is usually discarded in favor of blessings from more powerful gods. However, this Charm serves Circles of newly Exalted Solars well.

The small god can grant a bonus to one narrowly defined task in its purview. For example, a sailing god can grant a bonus on all uses of the Sail Ability. Gods can grant a maximum bonus equal to their Essence –2 when associated with worship. While the god will need to expend Essence through the rite in order to grant the blessing, the Essence gained is greater than that expended, so that there is a net profit to the god.

A god of Essence 3 can grant either a 1 die general sailing bonus, or a 2 dice bonus in whatever small geographical area it controls. For example, the Sea God of the Wavecrest Island of Tajuha can either grant a general bonus of 1 die to all Sailing rolls for 1 week, or can grant a 2 die bonus to Sailing and all rolls related to the act of sailing (such as Awareness rolls from the Crows nest, etc.) while the Exalts are sailing in the waters off the Island it is responsible for. The ST should be the final adjudicator of bonuses.

A god of Essence 4 can grant a 2 die bonus to an Ability for a week. The deity can grant a 3 die bonus in it’s general area of purview – Swords, the Blessed Isle, Temples, Salt. The deity can grant a 4 die bonus in a narrowly defined area of interest that is within it’s area of purview – it’s sacred hill, blessing swords against a specific tribe that the god personally hates, conducting an alchemical operation on a specific night of the year.

A god of Essence 5 can do likewise, but at bonuses of a 3 die general bonuses, 4 dice in the general area of purview, and 5 dice in a narrow, specific area. The deity can also add a 1 die bonus in a wide area – the Kingdom of Halta, the month of Resplendent Air, forging any weapon, researching a spell of a particular Circle or kind of Thaumaturgy.

During the worship ceremony, which takes 4 hours, the Exalts must each expend 2 Willpower points in grateful, heartfelt worship, in which they ask for the deity’s blessing. The effects last for 1 week for Essence 3 deities, 1 month for Essence 4 deities, and 1 season for Essence 5 deities. Essence 3 gods are grateful for this kind of worship and eagerly grant their blessings, only requiring a Resources 2 sacrifice. Essence 4 gods usually require a sacrifice equal to dots in to a Resources rating of 3. Essence 5 deities require a Resources 4 sacrifice. This presumes that what is sacrificed to the god is of a pleasing nature to the deity - bulls for Ahlat, dances in praise and adoration for the goddess of performance, or a massive gambling festival for the god of Gamblers.

More Charms to come, as this concept develops.

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It's nitpicky of me, but PLEASE use the standard format for the Charm blocks. It's painful to try and parse out the raw blocks you've got presently.

I like the idea of Prayer Charms, but... DS

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Done. Charms are now in standard Wiki format. Still learning Wiki, thank you for your patience. Coridan

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You might wanna use the box for "this change is a minor edit", when making small changes or what is going to be one of multiple changes, so you don't just go monster on the recent changes list. ~ nipicky Haku who thinks the prayer charms are neat.