Re: Active Feats for initiates

From: Roderick and Ellen Robertson <rjremr_at_...>
Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 10:11:10 -0700

> > Note that "Common Magic feats" and "Affinity feats"
> > are acting a little differently - once you've concentrated
> > your magic you can use Common Magic feats actively at the
> > normal ability rating, but not feats from an affinity (as an
> > initiate, that is).
>
> Thanks. And (just checking), if you go from initiate to Devotee, you lose
> those common magic feats altogether,

Yes, because of the "abandon all magic not of your god" clause. (Page 118, Requirements).

>but can now use the affinity feats
> actively, right?

Yes.

> But now I get confused about the Feats of "other" subcults: sorry, long
> quote required.

That's all right :-).

> > > Initiates of say, Destor, can learn affinities or feats from other
> > subcults
> > > of Orlanth Adventurous, with or without joining the subcult
> > (HQ p120).
> > They
> > > can learn the feats individually, instead of the whole
> > affinity. Are those feats active?
> >
> > Yes
>
> So an initiate of one subcult can learn the feats of another. In
> "stand-alone" mode. Good, that's what I thought.

Right.

> > Note that a devotee getting magic from a subcult is treated
> > as an initiate with regards to the magic
>
> So he can also learn the feats standalone?

Yes.

 > > if he wants to get
> > the feats of the affinity he'd have to Devote himself to the
> > subcult (basically, switching subcults), so a Destor devotee
> > that wants the Raiding fetas of Finovan has to switch his
> > devotion from Destor to Finovan.
>
> Er, what? That implies he has *less* access to the feats than does an
> initiate. Not the same amount. I can see why that would be the case (if
you
> specialise, you *specialise*!), but there seems to be a contradiction in
> what you're saying. What am I misunderstanding?

Sorry, I was unclear.

When learning a subcult's magic (without joining that subcult), both initiates and devotees learn Standalone feats and/or augment-only affinities (that's my "devotees are treated as an initiate" bit).

Let's take our Destor worshipper:
He decides that Finovan's Raiding affinity looks neat. He can be either an initiate or a devotee of Destor it doesn't matter, because either way all he can learn is stand alone feats (say, "Silence Herd Animal"*), or he can pick up the Raiding affinity as an initiate-like "Augment Only/Improvise Feats" one.

To be able to use Raiding affinity feats like a Finovan devotee, you have to *be* a Finovan devotee.

*Note that a narrator has the final say as to whether a hero can buy individual feats out of an affinity or has to buy the whole affinity (page 120) - If the subcult was being obnoxious, they might not teach the hero "Silence Herd Animal" outside of the Raiding affinity (I dunno why they might - Politics? The hero screwed around with the priest's daughter? Wrong clan? Religious intolerance and "Ritual Purity"? The Hero didn't give a proper "gift"? ...)

RR
It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has done what he has done.
- Richelieu