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Religion
Religion plays an important role in the world of Boden because the gods are real and they interact with the normal world. They are not the all powerful creators of the universe as some religions talk about. They're more like the greek, roman, egyptian, and norse gods. So, in the world of Boden religion and the practice of it isn't about learning from some stuffy book and never knowing if it's real or not. It's pretty much about picking the gods you like (if any). If you're really devoted to a single god... you might even get special favor from them in the form of magical power. These people become the Clerics (Type B personality) and Paladins (Type A personality) of their gods. Each god also has celestial followers called either angels or demons depending on their moral tilt, but which are the same fundamentally. In truth, it's the angels and demons (sometimes just called Celestials) that visit the Prime Material Plane most often. The gods have an agreement to avoid interfering as much as possible because when gods fight amongst themselves over disagreements in the Prime Material Plane, it's mostly the people who suffer, and even the Evil gods seem to care about their followers not dying. To Be A Disciple...
Being a devout follower of a god, to the point where they are willing to grant you special power, means following whatever code of behavior they require of you. If you disappoint your god, there's a chance your powers won't work until you atone. For example, if you are a follower of a god of greed, you'll probably lose your power from them if you give away money to the poor... at least if you don't have some kind of scheme where doing that somehow puts you in a position to obtain a whole lot more money. Each god's listing includes their domains, the code of behavior, and the list of spells they grant you access to. Normally, you are limited in the number of spells you can learn, and limited by the level of spell you can learn, both based on your level of magery. The granting of access is separate from those limitations. So, even without the highest level of magery, you might have access to a spell of Legendary level. You still have to pay points to learn the spell, BUT treat the learning of the spell as though you have a teacher (your god). You are also considered to have a +4 magical talent with your god's spells... which is huge for skill. Finally... if your need is truly great... you can ask your god for help, and they might send a celestial to help you. If you call for help when you should be able to handle things on your own... you'll probably annoy your god, and risk losing your power. And if the god keeps listening to your requests and they are trivial... the god might stop listening to you entirely. This is a very careful balance to keep. Don't ask for help unless you genuinely need it. And keep in mind that the gods by agreement with each other can't really interfere with big things (like winning a war for you). Your request should be pretty specific to you and a small group of people. Remember that the GM controls the god... so consider how the GM will react to the request... which might be different than what you think is reasonable. Of course it could be because the GM has a hard time being in the mindset of a character that would normally think differently, BUT it might also be because the GM knows something you don't know about the god and the situation. In any case, the GM's choice is the result in the game. Use the request for aid carefully. To be a disciple of a god, you spend 15 character points, record the behavior you need to exhibit, record the spells your character is learning (including spending points on those to have skill, and record the talent to make sure you remember to add 4 to those spells. Keep in mind that you will have access to the Minor and Moderate spells from the beginning. Major and Legendary spells must be earned during game play. If you do something during a game session that your god would be impressed by and approve of heartily, the god may offer to teach you a more powerful spell. If you screw up and the god is mad at you, you lose the ability to use the spells the god provided you access to, and you cannot summon help from that god. To return to favor with that god, you need to atone. This means praying to your god and finding out from them what they want from you. Often it will be some service in their name or simply some period of time where you strictly follow their code. And if your character genuinely repents for the damning choice they made... the powers will be given back. All of it must be done during game play, and the GM makes the decision. The Gods
Here is a list of the gods in alphabetical order. Clicking on the name will take you to a detail page with more information.
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