Becoming a Priest

Magic in Palquenta today is very much like the art of building bridges before Newtonian physics. Bridges were in fact built, and there were certain rough and ready rules for what was possible, but much of the theory was not worth reading. It is known that battle or spirit magic draws upon the power of the spirit of the caster, while Rune magic is cast with the aid of a deity. Beyond that ignorance reigns.

A Priest is a specialist in using magic. The only way to learn the inner secrets of the Rune magic, is to become a Priest of a particular god. Even if a character learned these secrets on his own, he would still need the assistance of a god to cast the spells.

Minimum Requirements for a Rune Priest Candidate

1. Be an Initiate of the Cult for at Least a Year
2. Have a POW of 18 or Higher.
3. Know How to Read and Write His Native Language.
4. Convince the Examiners of the Cult.
   The candidate must convince the examiners (generally other Priests) of his dedication to the cult and its goals. This will almost always involve some sort of ritual test or ordeal.

Benefits of Rune Priesthood

1. Board and Succor.
   The Priest is fed and boarded at any refuge of the cult (and some allied cults as well) and the cult will usually do whatever is in its power to get him out of captivity.
   The cult will usually handle any other needs of their Rune Priests, including supplying them with warhorses and other tools of the trade within the monetary abilities of the particular cult.
2. Further Training.
   The Priest will be trained in the Knowledge skills of the cult and in Oratory. The cult will pay for this training and the Priest is expected to repay the cult out of his later contributions.
3. Easier POW Gain Roll.
   Since the Rune Priest concentrates on learning magic and contact with his god, he (if he is human -- may vary for other races) needs to roll only (25 - (his POW))X5 on D100, rather than the usual ((species maximum) - (his POW))X5. Thus a Priest with a POW of 18 only needs to roll 35 or less on D100 to gain POW, where a normal character would need to roll a 15 or less.
4. Access to Divine Magic.
   The Priest gains the power to use Divine Magic. These spells are very powerful compared to the more common battle or spirit magic spells.
5. Allying a Spirit.
   The cult will assist the Priest in obtaining an allied spirit to inhabit either an item or an animal familiar. Attempting to ally a spirit resembles attempting to bind it, but involves persuasion rather than combat. The priests of the cult can call up a spirit allied to their god. In effect, the god details one of its dependent spirits to negotiate with the Rune Priest. If this negotiation is successful, the spirit is the Rune Priest's ally as long as it exists and as long as the Rune Priest remains faithful to his god. Unlike a bound spirit, it can cast spells. An allied spirit is in Mind Link with the Rune Priest, and is also capable of anything a bound spirit is capable of. It perceives the world through the Rune Priest's senses.
   Warrior cults will typically place an allied spirit into the Rune Priest's weapon. Other cults will use a staff or an animal familiar. A Rune Priest can only have one allied Spirit at a time.

Responsibilities of Being a Priest

The Priest has responsibilities to his cult. There are three principle responsibilities, common to all cults.

1. Accountability.
   A Priest is a representative of his deity, and his cult forms the focus of his life. He has certain freedoms in most cults, but emergencies will supercede his personal plans, and he must come at his cult's call.
2. Support.
   The Priest must give all but 10% of his income to the temple. He must also donate to the temple any magic items he cannot use himself.
3. Duty.
   The Priest must do as the High Priest (or other equivalent title) of his temple commands. His normal duties are long and time-consuming. He has no time for the intense training necessary to maintain DEX based skills such as fighting. Therefore, his ability with weapons falls to his (DEX)X(5), if he was that good in the first place. This also effects all other DEX based skills. There is no time for training or practice in these skills, so they will not get better as long as the character is a Priest, except through experience.
   Also, there is no time for rigorous exercise courses and the like, so the character cannot increase his STR, CON, or DEX. Only POW and CHA may be improved, as increasing them requires no specialized training.
   A Priest cannot voluntarily reduce his basic POW below the 18 necessary to become a Priest. If it happens to him involuntarily, it is treated as an involuntary leave of absence, except that the Priest cannot regain Divine magic spells until after he once again has a POW of 18 or higher.

Leaving the Cult

A Priest may abandon his vows and leave the service of the cult at any time. He cannot come back. The god(s) of the cult will not be pleased, and all Rune magic will be lost.

Alternately, he may apply for a leave of absence. To do so he must apply to his high priest.

A leave of absence is for a stated period, never more than a game year. A Priest on leave retains the ability to use the Rune Magic he has acquired. He loses the Priest's bonus in gaining POW, but can improve characteristics and DEX-based skills.

Becoming a High Priest

There are two ways to become a High Priest.

1. Take Over a Vacant High Priesthood.
   This has problems, mainly because the second most experienced Priest takes over when a high priest dies, and the character is likely to be among the junior-most priests.
   Murdering the high priests until it's your turn is frowned upon, and thanks to divination, the murderer is likely to be caught. If the character waits until it's his turn, he may very well be at least 50 years old.
2. Qualify to Found His Own Temple of the Cult.
   To do this, a Priest must have a minimum of 15 sacrificed points of reusable Rune magic spells, at least 5 of which must be Divination, and 90% ability with three cult Knowledge skills. He must also have the permission of his High Priest, which is easy to get if he is going elsewhere to set up the new temple, and has sufficient funds to build it.
   The chief advantages of being a high priest are: he need not obey the orders of another high priest, he need no longer pay 90% of his income into someone else's temple treasury, he may attract initiates of the cult to follow him.

Rune Priest-Lords

A Priest who qualifies as a high priest with 15 or more points of reusable Rune magic spells sacrificed for has another alternative to becoming a high priest. He may take a leave from the humdrum duty of the cult and begin training his characteristics and skills toward becoming a Rune Lord of the cult. He still retains all privileges of his status as Priest.

Joining More Than One Cult

To become an initiate or Priest of more than one cult, a character must first be an initiate or Priest of one cult. He must then persuade his high priest to let him join the next cult (possibly only if it is similarly aligned). He must then convince the other cult to let him join.

If a candidate Priest manages to persuade a second cult to take him in, he is not obligated to give it 90% of his income. He is an associate Priest and will simply buy abilities outright from the new cult. The new cult will provide him with room and board, but will not ransom or rescue him. As an associate Priest, a character need not appeal to his high priest to go on leave, though he must still get permission from the cult he is a full Priest of.