![[Fantasy HERO Pantheons]](../images/hero/fhp.jpg){kind=small}
In the less technologically advanced civilizations found in Fantasy HERO settings, civilizations will often worship a pantheon of gods. These gods come to represent important everyday aspects of life in the fantasy setting, and otherwise seemingly inexplicable events are blamed on their actions. An intricate mythology is usually built up to explain the relations between the gods and the mortal races.
An individual god in such a pantheon has an essentially infinite amount of power compared to a mere mortal. However, the power of this god is also spread across an infinite domain, and so he is not able to be equally powerful everywhere. The interest of the god will be concentrated around specific areas of importance, and thus his power will be weaker and essentially finite in most domains. The god is able to redistribute his power according to changing events, however, and so can met out far greater power when needed.
The limited nature of a god in areas that are not of specific interest can be handled by means of the powers system in HERO. Supernatural servants can be created by the god to serve his interest in such areas, and these servants will be the primary means of support to any followers of the god. Where the deity needs to be more directly involved, the powers of the god will be infinitely greater the player characters, and so are best handled by means of a game effect.
The power of a deity will usually be focused on areas where they have a significant number of followers, particularly around holy sites and temples. As a god grows in power due to the support of his followers, his ability to focus his attention and powers in more locations grows in a like manner. The greatest such deities have a significant portfolio of religious powers, a large number of followers, and powers that can effect entire worlds. Such major deities often dominate the pantheon and have powerful alliances with other gods that only serve to increase their abilities.
Minor deities are lesser members of the pantheon and have more restricted powers and fewer prospects for gathering followers and abilities. These deities have specialized spheres of interest that attracts certain types of followers, and their significant abilities are often restricted to certain geographic regions.
Below the minor gods are the demi-gods. These offspring of the gods have only a small set of followers and limited powers. The spheres of interest of these demi-gods are very limited, and their followers are often only from a single race or archetype. The magic of these demi-gods often takes the form of an elemental control power.
Finally, the weakest, yet most prevalent, type of god is a patron deity who is linked to a specific place or condition. These gods may not even be members of the pantheon, and their following is severely restricted with little or no prospect for growth. Only if the followers develop the urge to engage in a successful war of conquest can a patron god grow in power to rival the other deities in the pantheon.
Most gods in the pantheon will need places of worship where their followers can gather and pay homage. The advantage of such places to the god is to serve as a symbol of his power and prestige; to educate the followers in his principals and lore; and to draw in more recruits. The priests of the temple perform the rituals that are needed to maintain the unity of the followers, and serve as minor agents of the deity when intervention in the worldly affairs of the mortals is required.
Depending on the god worshipped, temples can provide special services to priests, followers, and visitors. Some churches noted for their benevolent nature can provide healing for the sick and wounded. They may also contain some holy relic or site that provides a particular type of magical blessing or effect. Finally, the temple setting may provide a particularly powerful type of magical effect for a specific purpose, usually seen by mortals as a miracle.
Smaller holy sites can be found in many towns and villages, or even at the side of a road. These shrines are places where travellers can stop to pray to the deity, or provide a sacrifice. Such actions may result in a blessing to the visitor, depending on the nature of his character; the type of request and sacrifice; and the current interests of the god and his servants.
Finally, there are likely to be holy places of particular interest to a god, either because of its magical properties, or because the site was the location of a special deed by the god. These sites may be cemeteries or crypts, sacred pools or enchanted locations. Often these holy places are located in remote sites that require a pilgrimage to reach. They will have special powers and properties that may be of interest to the pilgrim, and may even be a home to an Avatar - a particularly powerful and wise servant of the god. Such an Avatar will be super heroic in power, and will receive the special favor of the god, whatever his actions.
When a deity intervenes directly in the activities of the player characters, the result should be treated as a game effect with the full action cost needed to accomplish the goal. The heroes will be effectively powerless to oppose such a direct action, so the limitations of any such power are irrelevant. For less direct interventions, however, the results can be treated as the actions of a supernatural servant. Such a servant will have all the advantages and limitations of a normal creature, although the point total of the servant will be high compared to the characters.
Direct intervention by a deity should be a rare event, if only for the reason that a god has many interests and the activities of a few heroes are unlikely to be among them. In addition, a direct, blatant intervention by a deity is likely to attract the interest of other gods, including his enemies. Such combined interventions are not desirable because they may result in an outcome that was not sought by the first god. They can also lead to extended conflicts that can greatly disrupt the world of the mortals, and possibly even lead to the diminishment in powers or ultimate fatality of a god.
There are several common means by which the gods choose to interact with a party of heroes. They may require the party to perform a quest to accomplish a particular goal. Such a quest is often accompanied by a special favor, ranging from a blessing for a minor mission to a unique spell or powerful magic item for an epic adventure.
The god may also send a portent to one of the players, usually a priest or chosen character. Such a warning will be a vision of some danger in the near or distant future. The vision can be cryptic, requiring the heroes to perform some actions before the meaning becomes clear.
Finally, if the heroes have performed some action that is highly offensive to a god, they may be cursed. Such a curse may be instigated by the desecration of a shrine or holy site. The curse may also be activated when a priestly character fails to follow the strictures of his god. The severity of this curse may depend on the type of the transgression.
A curse could take the form of bad luck for some period of time. It may also prevent the character from being able to cast spells until he has completed some form of penance to the appropriate god. Worse yet, a curse may take the form of some permanent disability that will serve as a reminder of the character's misbehavior.
Many of the magic colleges available for wizard characters can be converted for use by a priest. Such conversions should be applied to colleges that are not already in use within the game world.
Prior to converting the college to a priestly school, a set of common special effects and limitations should be selected that fit within the scope of the religion. Spells that do not fit within the priest concept should be eliminated during the conversion. These typically include all unique and named spells. Magic with high Active Cost should also be carefully reviewed prior to inclusion.
Once the common limitations for the church are selected, the limitations in each of the spells will need to be substituted. Where the total limitations can not be balanced out by judicious use of substitutions, the cost of the spell may need to be recalculated.
The final step in such a conversion is to add in new and unique spells that are appropriate for the deity. These should match the nature and philosophy of the deity, so it is important that the details of the god be worked out in advance. The spells may also be drawn from the mythology of the god, so the full pantheon will also need to be developed at some point.
Divine spirits are the servants of a deity who respond to the prayers of priests and followers. The spirit is formed from a portion of the god's power, and serves as his representative under most circumstances. The divine spirit attends to most matters of minor interest to its god, but a permanent link allows it to summon the deity in cases where greater attention is required. A divine spirit is normally linked to a geographic region, but they are free to accompany those chosen for a quest.
The priest is able to summon a divine spirit by means of a prayer. In Fantasy HERO, this prayer takes the form of a power that can summon a divine spirit from the area. However, the ability to summon a divine spirit does not necessarily mean that the spirit will perform any task requested of it. Instead, the prayer is used to plead for the intervention of the divine spirit. Thus the interaction between the priest and the spirit is of prime importance, and will determine that type and amount of aid that will be received.
If divine spirits are employed by priests in a campaign, they should be included in lieu of the various schools of religious spells. Instead, these spells are available for use only by the divine spirit, and the priest is only capable of a single act of divine magic - the use of the prayer spell.
The odds of successfully summoning a divine spirit who will willingly intervene on behalf of the priest will vary depending on the location, circumstances, and past behavior of the summoner. The odds are improved whenever the priest is praying in a holy or sacred place, such as a shrine. Lengthening the time of prayer, and including personal or material sacrifice will also improve the odds. If the priest has performed some important service, such as building a temple, then the odds are greatly increased.
On the other hand, if the priest has been performing in an inappropriate manner for church doctrine, the divine spirit is more likely to shy away. Such behavior may include alliances with enemies of the god; failing to follow key strictures; deliberately missing an important day of celebration; and so on. Finally, the god may be merely disinterested in the current activities of the priest, and so decline to intervene.
Prayer
By means of this ritual, the priest is able to summon a divine spirit of his god. When the divine spirit is summoned, it is up to the priest to plead for its intervention. If the circumstances are sufficiently dire, the divine spirit may request the direct intervention of its deity. Should the prayer fail, then the priest must wait a more suitable time and place to repeat the attempt. Repeated failures without a suitable penitence may bring the wrath of the god on the summoner.
Power: Summon Divine Spirit of God Worshipped
Modifiers: 12- Activation Roll (-3/4), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), 1/2 DCV Concentrate (-1/4), OAF Holy Symbol (-1), Religious Restrictions (-1/4), Activation Roll modified by circumstances, such as length of the prayer and type of sacrifice (+0).
Shown below is a baseline template for a divine spirit. In addition to the abilities listed below, the divine spirit will probably have additional benefits that are appropriate to the deity it serves.
Divine Spirit Baseline
Val Char Cost Val Char Cost
10 STR 0 2 PD 0 20 DEX 30 2 ED 0 12 CON 4 4 SPD 10 20 BODY 20 4 REC 0 15 INT 5 40 END 8 15 EGO 10 32 STUN 1 30 PRE 20 20 COM 5 Cost Abilities END
100 VPP Spell (College of Deity) 15 Magic Skill 18- 26 Danger Sense 14-, Any Attack 50 Blessing: 4d6 Luck, Useable by Others, Range, Trigger (+1/2) 5 12 5d6 Telepathy, Only to communicate with summoner (-1) 5 Mind Link with Deity 20 Extra-Dimensional Movement (Home Plane) 100 Invisibility to Sight, Sound, and Smell Groups, No Fringe, 0 END Persistent 35 15" Flight (x4 Non-Combat) 1/5" 30 Full Life Support 4 FAM w/ Common Melee and Missile Weapons 5 Oratory 16- 5 Persuasion 16- 5 Conversation 16- 9,9 KS: Religious Dogma, Religious Procedures 18- 75+ Disadvantages
20 Follows teachings of religion 15 Protects followers of deity 10 Dislikes enemies of its god 15 Psych Lim: Must conceal existence from non-believers (Common, Strong) 25 Psych Lim: Must obey deity (Very Common, Total) 84 Creature Bonus
An avatar is the physical embodiment of a god. The deity will invest an enormous amount of his personal energy to craft such a being, so the avatar will be at least super-heroic in capability. Due to the close link between the avatar and its deity, direct intervention on behalf of the avatar is more likely than with, say, a servitor. In addition, the avatar will be able to summon a divine spirit at will to do his bidding.