OSR: Prophet

by kingkostas

You were chosen by God to do something vital, something that carried out his will. Work with your Referee to decide on who you were and what you are called to do, or roll on the tables below:

Who were you before?

1d6

1- A laborer.

2- A farmer.

3- The child of a Priest.

4- A (distant) member of the royal family.

5- A foreigner from a distant land.

6- You were a herdsman, tending your flocks.

What did you see?

1d6

1- A heavenly messenger. An Angel descended to inform you of your destiny.

2- A sign from the Heavens. Perhaps the stars spelled out your name, or the roses bloomed in midwinter, or a cow gave birth to a human infant which spoke your name, then turned to dust.

3- A dream. You received a dream from your God which informed you of who you were to be.

4- A priest of the Temple, who anointed you. The Priests came to you and sent you out to do the will of their God.

5- Another Prophet, who passed his mantle to me. He was your teacher and mentor and now that he has passed on his authority, you take his position.

6- A divine Avatar. Your God personally came and spoke to you. Surely no higher honor could be awarded to you.

What alignment is your God?

1d6

1- Lawful. Your God believes that the order of civilization, from laws, rules and customs should be obeyed and preserved. It has no moral opinions otherwise- anything is permitted by it, so long as it does not violate the letter of the law.

2- Lawful Good. Your God believes that the order of civilization, from laws, rules and customs should be obeyed and preserved. However, that law must be tempered with mercy and applied justly. If it is not, the system must be reformed to make it better.

3- Lawful Evil. Your God believes that the order of civilization, from laws, rules and customs should be obeyed and preserved. However, it is also a greedy and wicked thing and will do anything it can to obtain what it desires, except violate the law. Anything within the letter of the law is fine, anything that would violate it is absolutely unforgivable.

4- Chaotic. Your God believes that the structures that humanity has set up are chains that hold back individuals, morality and change. These structures are illegitimate and should be weakened or overthrown when possible. Your God wants you to pursue freedom, to be who you want to be. Beyond that, it doesn't care.

5- Chaotic Good. While your God believes that freedom is the highest ideal and anything that inhibits it is bad, your God also believes that certain actions are too far. Freedom is good, except when it violates the Moral Law. That is the one barrier you should not break.

6- Chaotic Evil. Freedom is the highest ideal, nay, the only ideal. Do what you want, when you want. So what if it hurts someone? Who cares? Your God doesn't.

What are you called to do?

1d8

1- Free your God's people from their oppressors.

2- To topple the King, he has lost the favor of your God.

3- To destroy the evil that plagues your nation.

4- To root out the heresies and error that infects the religion of the 1d3 [1= People; 2= Aristocracy; 3= Priesthood.]

5- To call people to repent and turn away from actions God does not approve of, lest they face judgement.

6- To tell of the doom coming. The time for mercy and repentance has come and gone. The only thing that remains is the wrath of God.

7- To anoint a new ruler and help him come to power.

8- To fulfil an ancient prophecy.

by Ubergank

Prophet

Starting HP: 1/3 Con

Fighting Spirit: +2 per Prophet Level

Atk Modifier: +1 per Prophet Level (max +6)

Starting Equipment: holy symbol, sword or club, belt of cord, tattered clothing, wild look in your eyes, a Secret Name of God

1: Secret Name of God, Dreams and Omens, Domain Skill

2: Augury, Guardian Angel, Faith Points

3: Whisper, Shabach

4: Prophesy

5: Commandment

6: Curse

7: Revoke Name

8: The Narrow Way

9: Divine Manifestation

1:

Secret Name of God: You are given one of the Secret Names of GOD. As an action, you may speak the Name and attempt to change reality in accordance with the Name's nature. The Referee should assign a DC equal to what you are attempting. If the change is small or it closely aligns with the Name, then the DC should be low. If it is difficult or not aligned with the nature of the Name, then it should be harder or impossible. If something does not align with the nature of the Name or your God does not want you to do something, it is impossible.

For example, you have the Name: "CUT". If you attempt to use it to cut a rope, the DC to do that is 5. If you attempt to use it to cut the waters of a river, to create a gap and allow easy passage across, that is much harder, so the DC is 13. If you attempt to cut out someone's heart, in a metaphorical way, so they don't feel a certain way, that is extremely hard so the DC is 20.

Dreams and Omens: Your God will tell you where to go and what to say in signs and visions. He may also grant you visions of the future and hints about where you should go and what you should do in dreams.

2:

Augury: 1/Day, the Prophet may ask his God a question relating to the future, current events or anything else the Prophet wishes. The Prophet should then roll 1d20+X, where X is their Prophet Level. The Referee should select a DC equal to the difficulty of answering the question. If the Prophet rolls over the DC, he receives a clear answer. If he rolls the DC or more than half, he receives an unclear answer. If he rolls less than half, he receives either no answer or an extremely muddled and unclear answer.

For example, the Prophet asks, "Where is the Warlord Garek Bonecruncher?"

- Clear Answer: Besieging the City of Stallion's Point

- Unclear Answer: A huge man in armor is wrestling with a giant stone horse

- Extremely Unclear Answer: Axes and spears fly through the air above grey and white clouds, stained red. Blood falls from the sky and waters black trees which produce skull-shaped apples. A herd of tiny horses is chased by a housecat, but they hide in a mousehole and it cannot reach them.

Guardian Angel: You are given an Angel, an immaterial spirit which has attached itself to you.  By praying to your Guardian Angel, you can get it to utilize it's powers on your behalf.  

Additionally, anyone affiliated with your religion can pray to your Guardian Angel and if the Angel wishes, it can grant their prayers.  It may also choose to grant the prayers of people not affiliated with your religion, but this depends on circumstances and the Angel.

All Guardian Angels start with the power: Cure Wounds

Faith Points: All members of your party gain +X Faith Points, if they are a member of a religion.  X here equals their COG or CHA modifier, whichever is higher.  As a Prophet, you gain

X+Prophet Level.  For example, as a Level 2 Prophet with a CHA or COG of 13(+1), you start with 3 Faith Points.

Faith Points are used to pray to your Guardian Angel.  Each time someone prays to your Guardian Angel, they expend 1 Faith Point and can access one of the Angel's spells, unless the Angel does not wish to allow that creature access to it's power.

Whenever a creature prays to your Guardian Angel and receives power, that creature loses 1 Faith Point.  When a creature runs out of Faith Points, it cannot pray to your Guardian Angel.  To recover Faith Points, you must attend a religious service or participate in one of that Faith's sacraments. 

3:

Whisper: Whisper: You can use your Secret Name of God in a small, silent way. You can only use it to make a tiny change, but you can do so without revealing that you are using it or any external sign you are. Additionally, if the change is sufficiently small, the Referee may forego a roll and allow the Prophet to succeed automatically.

Shabach: You can greatly amplify the power of the Secret Name and scream it, allowing you to make a much greater change than usual. You also give yourself advantage on the roll. However, each time you use the Name like this, you must save. On a failed save, you hurt your voice and cannot use the Secret Name or speak for the rest of the day.

4:

Prophesy: 1/Day, when you see an event occurring, you can declare how the event will proceed. The Referee should select a DC equal to the likelihood of the described event occurring. Then you should roll 1d20. If you roll above or equal to the DC, you succeed and the event happens as you describe. If you roll half the DC or above, it happens, but with some sort of complication as determined by the Referee. If you roll below half the DC, your prophecy fails to come true.

For example, you see an enemy and a friendly army clashing. The Prophet declares, "Our allies will be victorious." The Referee decides this is somewhat likely, so he sets the DC at 13.

Results:

13+: The friendly army is victorious.

7-12: The friendly army is victorious, but the King is cut down in the fighting.

1-6: The enemy army wins.

by Asahisuperdry

5:

Commandment: The Prophet may declare a Commandment. All who can hear the Prophet (including himself), even if they do not understand him or his language, must abide by this Commandment. The Commandment must align with the nature of the Secret Name of GOD, otherwise the Referee may refuse to allow it to be used. Those who fail to abide by the Commandment immediately suffer a Divine Punishment based on the nature of the Secret Name. Commandments last until they are repealed by the Prophet, which causes it to be undone, though any effects produced by it will remain. While a Commandment is in place, a Prophet may not use that Name until the Commandment is repealed.

For example, a Prophet with the Name "FILL" lays down the Commandment, "Only those who are filled with the love of my God may approach me." If this Commandment is accepted by the Referee, then anyone who does not love the Prophet's God who approaches him will suffer a Divine Punishment. In this case, the Divine Punishment is having their mind flooded with knowledge of a foreign God, causing those affected to save. On a failed save, they are mentally overcome and must either flee or drop into a catatonic state.

6:

Curse: 1/Day, you can speak to a creature or group of related creatures and declare their Doom. They must be able to understand your language and be able to hear you for this ability to affect them. When you do so, describe what will happen to them. This becomes their Fate. Unless your Curse is broken, it will occur. It will not occur immediately, but it will happen soon, though depending on the number of people cursed, it may take longer. Your Curse will also have two conditions that, if either is met, will break the Curse. These conditions are always difficult or unpleasant and related to the Curse in some way. You cannot curse anyone else until your previous curse is fulfilled or broken.

7:

Revoke Name: You may remove the influence of the Secret Name of God you possess on the world. This works as per "Secret Name of God", but allows you to invert the effects of the Name.

8:

The Narrow Way: 1/Day, you can look into the future and declare an event that will NOT happen. Otherwise, this works as per "Prophesy".

For example, you see an assassin approaching the King. The Prophet declares, "The King will survive." The Referee decides that since the King is old and the assassin strong and armed, this is unlikely, so the DC is 16.

Results:

16+: The King survives, almost unscathed.

8-15: The King survives the initial attempt, but is grievously injured and may still die, if not treated properly.

1-7: The King is killed.

9:

Divine Manifestation: 1/Day, you can cause the Secret Name of GOD you carry to manifest fully. When this happens, you can ask for anything that aligns with the Name to occur. The Referee should then set a DC for this. Then roll. Consult the table below for the possible results. As the Referee, remember that whatever results occur, they should be dramatic and change the whole situation, though not always for the better. Treat this ability like a limited form of "Wish".

Example: A Prophet with the Name "SEND" is in a besieged city manifests the Name and asks it to "Send Help". The DC for this is low, as the Prophet's allies are already coming. So the Referee says that such an event is likely and sets the DC at 10.

Results:

11+: The Prophet's allies arrive swiftly, but this dramatically changes the landscape as the world's landscape shifts to allow them to arrive faster. Mountains plow through cities and vital passes are suddenly cut off, while the treacherous swamp drains and becomes a plain instead.

10: The allied army is suddenly brought here, appearing out of nowhere. However, having been plucked from where they were and swiftly brought here drives many of them to madness, along with weakening their discipline.

9-5: Help arrives, in the form of enemy reinforcements. Luckily, every monarch and important person in the region has suddenly decided, for some reason they cannot remember, that they NEED to help the Prophet. Not that most of them will be able to get here in time to do anything but bury the bodies, but it's a nice gesture.

1-4: Help arrives, in the form of enemy reinforcements. Also, the person (or a representative from the group of persons) that the Prophet hates is suddenly nearby, in the City with them.

by DouglasRamsey

Additional Notes:

Additional Names-

A Prophet can find other Secret Names of God, either by taking them from another Prophet or Deity, or by finding where they are hidden in the world. A Prophet can carry a number of Secret Names equal to 1/3 their Prophet level (min 1). Note that a Prophet's deity would be more than okay with holding onto a Prophet's other Names and switching them out at the Prophet's request, unless their God needs one of the Names for something.

Guardian Angels-

They start with the power Cure Wounds (see below). They can unlock other powers, relating to the Deity they and the Prophet serve. To strengthen a Guardian Angel, one must go on quests, take a pilgrimage to a holy place, defeat enemies of God and do other Cleric/Paladin stuff. As it gets stronger, your Guardian Angel will gain new abilities relating to the God you serve. For example, the Guardian Angel sent by a Harvest God might give you the ability to kill evil plants or bless fields to produce an abundant harvest, while a Guardian Angel sent by a War Goddess will give you blessings that make you and your allies resist damage or imbue you with supernatural prowess.

Cure Wounds: Restores 1d8 HP. Leftover healing spills into FS, if this healing restores a creature to full hp.

On Paladins-

Paladins and Clerics share too much real estate, so Paladins are now not a separate class. A Paladin is just anyone, usually a Knight or a man-at-arms, who takes an oath to serve the Church. Usually this means a Fighter/Knight, but it can technically be anyone. Other Faiths may also have similar dedicated martial orders, though they probably wouldn't be called Paladins.

by Rob-Joseph