Orderlies, an alternative

From: the_wyldrage <TheWyldRage_at_...>
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 04:27:52 -0000

When I first scanned over the HQ book, I put the Orderly somewhere between the Adept (individual magic) and the Liturgist (community magic) in their role, a jack-of-all-trade basically, since they are different paths and not a hierarchy (like an Initiate and a Devotee). However, there are two observations I quickly made: 1) Their magic is not as strong as the Adept's and 2)They don't have community magic. Here are a few changes I intend to make to an eventual Wizardry campaign in the hopes you can use it, in parts or in entirety:

1)Get rid of the Order Liturgist (will make sense late).

2)Get rid of the one use/week rule for Orderly Talismans (the Adepts don't have it, and they have more spells and an alternate way to use them: the grimoires). This alone can make them more interesting for player characters, but they would still just be weaker Adepts.

3)Gain a "Use [Order Scripture]" ability. Since the Order Scriptures are restricted both in terms of blessings and curses, and in their applications (no "Bless Congregation" here for exemple) this will not make the Liturgists obsolete. The rationale behind this is that the Orderly (especially the war-oriented, PC orderly) will normally only be called for blessings in special occasions instead of on a weekly basis.

I would also rule that, during a weekly or special service, a Liturgist could be able to call on an Orderly of his church to perform an additional service depending on the needs of his congregation. For exemple, an Aeolian Liturgist, faced with a major Horse epidemic, would call a Saint Ehilm Orderly to perform the "Bless Horses" and "Banish Horse Disease" blessings. I would also allow Orderlies to call a special service by himself (assuming a relation to the group to be blessed or simply by asking a Liturgist to call his congregation), but I would limit the frequency of his services(probably once a week).

That's it. This will allow Orderlies to be playable both in a Wizardry campaign or as an Adventurer (thus more playable by players), without taking over the Liturgist's or the Adept's role. Feel free to use it if you want it: it's here for that.