Focused Exorcist

Prerequisite: Exorcism. You get +3 on the Exorcism skill roll under Cleansing (Dungeons, p. 9) – at the cost of -5 to rolls for everything else, notably Sense rolls to detect monsters or notice fellow delvers screaming and gesturing for help, and your first active defense if the demons get bored and jump out to attack you . . . Close to Heaven This new Talent gives +1 per level (maximum four levels) to Exorcism, Meditation, Religious Ritual, and Theology – and to Ritual Magic and Symbol Drawing, should the campaign use those skills. You also get +1 per level to reaction rolls made by any fellow “religious professional.” This power-up represents hard-won insight into the divine, not a holy blessing. Combat Medic

Prerequisites: Power Investiture 1+, plus Esoteric Medicine or First Aid. You have divine assistance at even ordinary bandaging, and don’t suffer the full -10 noted under Medic! (Dungeons, p. 11) for trying this in battle. Combat Medic 1 makes the penalty -6; Combat Medic 2 (the maximum) makes it -1. With the +1 for a first aid or healer’s kit, that’s -5 (level 1) and no penalty (level 2). This also works after combat, permitting Bandaging (Dungeons, p. 13) in one second. This power-up is much like a free healing spell that works just once per patient per battle.

Perks: Efficient (Esoteric Medicine or First Aid) [1]; Unique Technique (Speed Bandaging) [1].

Techniques: Speed Bandaging (H) Skill-8 [3] at level 1 or Skill- 3 [8] at level 2. 1 point/perk

Prerequisites: Power Investiture 4+ and Exorcism. Your holy power is so great that you can dispel many curses simply by brandishing your holy symbol. Whenever you attempt any Exorcism-based task described in Curses 101 (Dungeons, p. 9), you may dispense with the three-hour ritual. Just walk in and roll the Quick Contest at once! You’re at -1 with an ordinary holy symbol, improving to no modifier with a blessed one or +1 with a high holy symbol.

Perks: Efficient (Exorcism) [1]; Unique Technique (Speed Exorcism) [1].

Techniques: Speed Exorcism (H) Exorcism-3 [8]. Great Prayer

Prerequisite: Power Investiture 6+. You ask and often receive. Once per game session, you may pray for 10 minutes and then request an immediate coincidence that drops the solution to a problem in your lap: The ogres get bored and unlock the Gates of Insanity to go play football, letting you in . . . the skeleton next to the Chasm of Despair has a flight potion on it . . . whatever. This favor can be for you or your whole party. The limits: 1. You must pray where you need the miracle to happen. A vigil outside the Gates or next to the Chasm is fine. Spinning your prayer wheel in a safe room nearby isn’t. 2. The solution must be possible, if unlikely, given the situation. In particular, it can’t change moral alignments or motivations. Those ogres won’t 5 points/level suddenly “turn good” and actively help you. 3. The benison solves the problem and ends immediately. That skeleton won’t have a permanent ring of flight! 4. The blessing short-circuits a challenge (that’s the point!), never the adventure. If getting the ogres to leave is the whole adventure, they won’t be dumb enough to go play football – if they were, nobody would bother to task delvers with the quest! But a flight potion on the corpse of their last victim might at least get you over the Gates.

Advantages: Serendipity 1 (Cosmic, Possible rather than plau- 5 points/level sible, +50%; Holy, -10%; Immediate Preparation Required, 10 minutes, -45%; Wishing, +100%) [30]. Serendipity comes in levels, but you can take this powerup just once. New Realm Gamers using Clerics aren’t stuck choosing from among the good cleric and neutral druid in Adventurers, and the evil cleric in The Next Level. They may pick from at least 15 “realms” for their priests. At the GM’s option, if a delver serves a deity that belongs to a polytheistic pantheon, he may earn the patronage of allied gods. This opens the door to the unique abilities of new realms – a wonderful power-up that offers ongoing access to many future ones! 10 points 30 points Variable cost” is 10 points no matter how many realms this makes available. After paying this, you may buy Power Investiture for the additional realms at just 2 points/level – and you must buy at least one level. You can improve this power-up after purchasing it, but your level in any supplementary realm cannot exceed your Power Investiture level for your primary god. Buying a new realm gives access to the abilities of the corresponding sacred power, the relevant clerical (or druidic) spells, and divine servitors with the applicable elements (see Allies, pp. 12-19). Record the capabilities associated with each realm separately, though – only the corresponding Power Investiture level aids their acquisition and use. If a rule uses Power Investiture for a purpose other than spells and powers, like sensing a curse, only the highest level counts. Never add the levels for any reason! Example: A cleric of the Artificer God has Power Investiture 3 [30] when he gains the favor of the Fire God. This power-up costs him 12 points: the 10-point startup cost plus 2 points for Power Investiture 1 (Fire God). It allows the cleric to purchase Fire God spells and abilities as if he had Power Investiture 1. He could later raise his Power Investiture (Fire God), spending 2 more points for level 2, or 4 more points for level 3. He couldn’t improve it further without first buying up his primary Power Investiture, for the standard 10 points/level.

Advantages: Power Investiture [10/level] as an alternative ability, for 2 points/level; Unusual Background (Servant of multiple gods) [10]. Retribution

Prerequisite: Holiness or Power Investiture at 6+. You can ask your deity to smite a foe within 10 yards, who must be an enemy of the faith, not some random goblin. Opponents battled on holy quests or sacred ground count, as do demons, undead, etc. under most circumstances. The GM is the final judge. You must designate the victim aloud, if only by pointing a weapon and yelling, “May Zeus smite thee!” This is considered an Attack maneuver. The target is instantly blasted by a meteor, lightning bolt, searing ray, or something similar – no roll required. The subject may try to dodge, but as the attack strikes from overhead, he cannot retreat or dive for cover, and defends at -2 unless specifically watching out above (probably because he fears this attack). Looking upward erases the -2 but gives -2 to defend vs. attacks from ahead, the sides, etc. In all cases, roll 6d-1, subtract DR, and apply the difference to HP. This affects any target – even an offending inanimate one, if your god so decrees. The visuals are mostly a special effect, but should it matter, Retribution is considered crushing for blunt trauma (p. B379) yet doesn’t cause knockback. There’s no FP cost or casting time for Retribution. Once you invoke it, though, you cannot do so again until after you’ve prayed for an hour specifically to prepare it. clearly designated target, who must be an enemy of the faith -30%; Affects Insubstantial, +20%; Cosmic, No die roll required, +100%; Holy, -10%; Increased 1/2D, 10×, +15%; No Knockback, -10%; Overhead, +30%; Preparation Required, 1 hour, -50%; Reduced Range, 1/10, -30%) [40]. Alternate Forms Demonologists, druids, elementalists, evil clerics, necromancers, shamans, and unholy warriors can purchase Alternate Forms as power-ups. To price this, select a suitable animal or spirit from Allies or Summoners – fitting choices are noted in the power-up – and add 90% of its racial cost, rounded up, to the basic Alternate Forms cost of 14 points (really 15 points, but all the relevant character types have powers that give 10% off). A shapeshifter with multiple forms only pays full price for the costliest one; remaining forms are a flat 14 points apiece. A form given as a ready-to-use creature rather than as a racial template must be converted into a racial template (p. B260). Subtract 10 from each attribute to turn it into an attribute modifier; this might be positive or negative. If a secondary characteristic has been raised or lowered from its base value, subtract the base value from the listed score to get a secondary characteristic modifier, which may also have either sign. The shifter normally acquires all of the advantages and disadvantages of any form he assumes – but should these conflict with his own, it’s the GM who decides which are kept. Finally, adjust any skills the form has to account for the shapechanger’s attributes in that form. If both shifter and form have points in a skill, sum them. Beasts, minor spirits, and lesser undead commonly have problems like low IQ, Automaton, and Mute. A shifter who wants a more able form may leave off such downsides, or the GM may require this; either raises the form’s cost. For instance, if a necromancer wants to become a sentient skeleton that can cast spells, he 40 points might start with the servitor skeleton (Summoners, p. 26), but strike IQ-2 [-40], Automaton [-85], Mute [-25], and Reprogrammable [-10]. The GM may require him to get rid of Cannot Learn [-30] and Dead Broke [-25], too, if this form can use the deathly one’s latest spells and gear. This raises racial cost from 25 to 240 points, and Alternate Form cost from 37 points to 230 points – only fitting for someone who can switch freely between man and lich! Shield of Faith

Prerequisite: Holiness or Power Investiture at 3+. You have an invisible shield that helps ward off supernatural attacks. It does nothing against physical attacks from mortal beings, however sinister. Against any supernatural effect (including spells), though – and against all attacks by creatures classed as any of Construct, Demon, Elder Thing, Elemental, Faerie, Spirit, or Undead – it provides +1 to all active defenses (cumulative with DB from shields and Shield spells) and +2 DR. Like a physical shield, this works only if you could attempt an active defense; you must be sufficiently aware of the threat to concentrate your faith upon it. 30 points ral, -10%; Directional, Front, -20%; Holy, -10%) [6]; Enhanced Block 1 (Accessibility, Supernatural, -10%; Holy, -10%) [4]; Enhanced Dodge 1 (Accessibility, Supernatural, -10%; Holy, -10%) [12]; Enhanced Parry 1 (All; Accessibility, Supernatural, -10%; Holy, -10%) [8].