> I took this to mean that, in rules terms, an initiate was using a
> specific affinity to gain help from the god. In other words, the
> rules haven't changed.
I think that the rules allow both... My interpretation follows.
Consider a character developed in play.
As a worshipper of pantheon, they can ask for divine aid in a situation. The narrator will roll to determine if anyone was listening and cares enough to do anything and if all of these criteria are met, will determine the form the aid takes. If I remember correctly, the resistance is quite high, something like 5W or 10W.
The worshipper becomes an initiate but has not yet purchased an affinity. The initiate can now ask their specific deity for aid, using the "Initiate of" ability. The narrator checks does the initiate succeed and, if they do, the narrator should determines the form the aid takes, which will normally be in line with one of the deities affinities or possibly in a physical form that the deity is associated with (eg. Yinkinin sends a cat that knocks the keys to the cell off the hook on the wall). I can't remember but I think the resistance is 14 (sorry, I don't have the books with me).
Later, the initiate purchases an affinity. The initiate can now ask for a specific feat in the affinity and rolls for the affinity less the improvisation penalty against the resistance. The resistance is either 14 or the target's resistance, whichever is higher.
Later still, the initiate has become a devotee. If devotee asks for a feat that he has purchased then he rolls his affinity rating versus the resistance, whatever it is. If the devotee asks for a feat that he has not yet purchased then he is hit with the improvisation penalty.
A devotee can purchase both the feats that are listed in the keyword and any that their narrator agrees fit into the affinity and match the style of the deity (this _is_ written into the rules though I can't give a page number).
This still leaves the interesting issue of the improvisation penalty. If a character is attempting a feat that the narrator agrees fits into the affinity and style of the deity then the penalty should be -3.
If the narrator thinks that the player is stretching the limits of the affinity/deity then the narrator has a simple choice - increase the penalty or increase the resistance. Personally, I think that increasing the penalty is a better way of signalling the narrator's intentions but, numerically, it makes little difference (but note I do not suggest it makes no difference).
Which one is chosen really depends on the narrators inclinations and their interaction with the player - if it is very co-operative then they will both be working towards having a fun story and the numbers are only randomisers to add interest (though Benedict Adamson can tell you how argumentative I can get over exactly this point during play).
regards,
Charles
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