Heroes begin as initiates, with Devotion, their god's affinities, and any other abilities as granted by the Magic keyword at 17. Heroes who are initiates of more than one deity have the primary Magic keyword abilities at 17, and the secondary Magic keyword abilities at 13. As a hero develops further understanding of and rapport with his or her deity, he or she must not only increase his or her affinities but Devotion as well. Becoming a devotee requires more of an expenditure than three Hero Points; it represents the hero becoming committed to the ideal of his or her god. It is also a prerequisite for entry into the priesthood.
If a hero achieves 10W2 in both his or her god's affinities and Devotion
(also possibly that god's "virtues", depending on how demanding you want
the requirements; a prospective Orlanth Adventurous devotee must then
also be Generous, Brave, Just, etc. to qualify a la "PenDragon Pass"), he
or she may *then* spent three Hero Points (six if his or her consecration
into the mysteries is not played out during the game session) and gains
all the status, privileges and responsibilities of a devotee. He or she
also gains the god's secret at 12 and may enhance it further with
additional Hero Points. The hero may now acquire feats (no longer subject
to the improvisational modifer) for one Hero Point each. Optionally the
hero may be granted one feat in each affinity for no cost.
The advantage of playing out the hero's deeper initiation is simply this:
the carry-over may give the hero a windfall of Hero Points to spend on
his or her affinities, Devotion or newly-acquired secret (depending on
the Narrator's interpretation of the devotion heroquest). Alas, the
disadvantage is that the hero may *fail* the heroquest and lose faith
(Devotion), his or her access to the god's magic (affinities) or, in
extreme circumstances, his or her life. I advocate playing it out, but
there are reasons why a player may not desire that (ill fortune with the
die rolls being the main).
Thoughts? Opinions?
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