Ha, ha, ha
Peter, I can't believe that a veteran of the RQ-rule list like you got
caught with that dirty trick :-)
Well, what could you do about it? Here are my few suggestions:
1/ The (holy) Roolz specifically precise (p108 of the deluxe edition,
paragraph: Divine Intervention) that "a god cannot do other than what is
normal to him or her. The air god cannot make the earth quake..." Now how
do we identify what a god can and cannot do (in game terms). Well, this is
left to the GM's evaluation. Mine is that a god is tied to his runes, and
that they define his realm of powers. For example, to have a "Party
teleport" kind of divine intervention, I would require the god to have
access to the movement rune (or the air rune if you like...) or at least be
able to provide his followers with a teleportation kind of spell. Now in
your case, you could say: "healer, since teleportation is outside of the
realm of your god, he cannot grant you your wish. However, in response to
your plead for help, all the initiates of [insert god's name] are healed
back to max HP, FP and MP. Please remove one point from your current
POW..." Since they probably were already at max HPs and everything, you
should hear an unanimous whinning. You just reminded your player that he
was about to abuse the rules and destroy role-playing, and that lesson
alone is well worth 1 POW.
2/ They have previously done it, and you want to stick with that for sake
of consistency within your campaign: The healer god can provide teleportation.
The (two times holy) Roolz precise page 108 again "Gods are unlikely to
help non-worshipers..." In my campaign, a successful DI for a general
teleport out of trouble will always work for the supplicant and any
initiate of the same deity. For anyone else, from simple lay members to
members of other religions, I will ask for a plead roll: basically the
supplicant includes his friends in his prayer to the god. The plead roll is
usually POWx10 for a lawfull lay member, POWx5 for an allied cult, POWx3
for a friendly cult and POWx1 for a neutral cult. I have ruled previously
that an initiate of an ennemy cult or a sorcerer would never be included in
a DI, and I sometime makes the divinity take offense of such a suggestion.
In my experience, the DI ends up most of the time leaving one or two
players in the middle of troubles, they get killed (or capture and
sadistically tortured :-) and half of the survivors (plus the player of the
dead character) end up really pissed at the healer, having not only to go
back get the girl, but also recover the bodies of their friends... Cause of
course since the spirit that posses the girl is not a follower of the
healer's deity, and even most likely an ennemy, the girl was not included
in the teleport (ha, ha ha, maniacal laughter).
>secondary issue: the girl was possessed at the time. Would the presence of
>an alien spirit in the girl inhibit the ability of a member of a related
>cult to transport her away? And would the hostile spirit be transported
>too? If not, it seems dubious that both transportation and effective
>exorcism would be produced by the same Divine Intervention.
Yes, I very much agree with you that the teleport will not at the same time
provide an exorcism: You could have the party come back with only the soul
of the little girl, maybe in the body of a nice little blessed animal like
a butterfly...
After all, since the evil spirit was in control of the body at that time,
it was HIS body. Now the party has to go back get their dead members, track
down the body of the girl, capture it, exorcise the evil spirit and somehow
allows the spirit of the girl to reoccupy her own body. And all of that of
course during the lifespan of the butterfly. Do you know how long a
butterfly live??
> All other members of the party were taken by surprise by the DI.
>After discussion...
There is no discussion in a DI: it occurs instantaneously. In my campaign
if somebody says "I attempt a DI to get us all out of here" I just say
"throw your dice, roll for plead: Boom, X, W and Z you are gone..." The
arguing occurs later between PC, and this is role-playing...
>wonder if individuals in the group could decide separately whether or not
>they'd be part of the DI, particularly since they had no warning or
>knowledge that it was going to happen. Players argued that Chalana Arroy
>would have instantly known what their characters would have wanted if they
>were aware of the possibility of the DI, but this seems questionable to me
>- -- particularly since none of the other PCs worshiped Chalana Arroy
>(though several were Lightbringers).
No CH had no way of knowing what your players wanted or not. First CH is
not able to read their minds: page 108 of the holy Roolz under divination:
" A god does not know what a priest or initiate (of his own cult) is
thinking and cannot deduce motivation". Much less for somebody of another
cult, even if friendly...
Second, CH is aware of the current situation of the party only through the
prayer of her priest/initiate. Since he/she is pleading for an emergency
retreat, CH can legitimaly suspect that the situation is rather desperate,
and cannot envision that somebody could wish to die because he does not
want to lose his horse...
So in doubt, she takes everybody out. However, being quite a peaceful
deity, she could decide to transport only the PC's body and non-offensive
possessions: leaving all magic weapons and crystals/matrix of harmful
spells behind (another guaranteed large whinning)
And finally, here is my favorite conclusion: "You (the PCs) have teleported the entire group back to the village. (The spirit possessing the little girl realize immediately the situation and its opportunities and hides in the recess of her mind) Everybody rejoice for the return of the lost child. A few days later, people start dying in the village: Horribly mutilated bodies turn out at night: Evil is at work once again, and who is going to suspect such an innocent little girl. Of course her behavior is a little strange sometimes, but after such a frightening experience, who would not? And is'nt she lovely when she cuddle against her mommy, and the way she smiles at you. Yes truly she realises what you have done for her, and she is DYING TO PAY YOU BACK..."
Frederic
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