Arcane Background: DR Miracles

Arcane Background (Miracles)

Requirements: Novice

Arcane Skill: Faith (Spirit)

Starting Power Points: Special

Starting Powers: Special

Certain characters can call upon the power of their deity (or deities) for aid. In the Weird West, these pious souls are called the blessed. Blessed are nuns, priests, or even average but (relatively) pure-hearted folks blessed by a divine entity. Though rare in the Weird West, there are also blessed imams, Buddhist monks, and others of faith running around with higher powers covering their holy backsides. When these folks behave themselves, they can sometimes invoke miracles to help them fight the evils of the Weird West.

The Blessed

The blessed are those chosen by the divine beings of “goodness” as their champions. Yes, there are divine beings of goodness in Deadlands, they just have to work through humanity rather than clash with evil themselves. We don’t make the cosmic rules, amigo, we just tell you about ’em.

Faith

Most folks on the frontier pay lip service to God (or Allah, or the Spirits, or whoever drives the wagon in their particular hallelujah hayride), but they don’t really stop sinning unless they’re about to meet him face to face. A few chosen souls are nobler. They live the ideals of their faith and are beacons of hope for others. These are collectively called the “blessed.” Not all blessed are preachers or nuns. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways, and sometimes the most ornery cusses seem to inherit the divine wind, so to speak, while the local padre can’t even light a candle without a match. Sometimes blessings are bestowed because the soul beneath the surface is pure, other times because a particular person just happens to fi t the Almighty’s divine—though often obscure plan. To do this, the Powers That Be give their chosen access to minor miracles. The blessed don’t learn a list of specific powers by rote in the way that hucksters and other types do. There is no list of available hexes or blueprints to gizmos that give blessed heroes guaranteed results, and they can’t learn how to perform miracles from other holy rollers. When it comes to moving in mysterious ways, it’s just between the blessed and his lord.

Playing a Blessed

To join the ranks of the blessed, your character must take the Arcane Background (Miracles) Edge and put a few points into the blessed’s arcane skill, Faith. Miracles work a little differently in Deadlands from what is described in Savage Worlds, so pay attention. First of all, you don’t have any Power Points; you don’t need any (you’ll see why soon, padre). So, you can’t take any Edges that relate to the use or restoration of Power Points. Secondly, calling down a miracle is a different process.

Using Miracles

So you wanna call down the thunder, padre? Well, first you have to decide what you want to achieve. Blessed characters in Deadlands don’t choose starting powers like those with other Arcane Backgrounds. Likewise, you can’t choose the New Powers Edge. Instead, you can attempt to petition your lord for any power available to the Blessed (see pages 87-105). If your prayers are answered, your power takes effect. That’s right, your reverence, you don’t have to worry about Power Points, you just have to pray real hard! Name the power you’re trying to create and tell the Marshal what Rank it is. Your blessed hero says a short prayer and you make a Faith roll. Modify the roll by –2 per Rank (–2 for Novice powers, –4 for Seasoned, and so on). The Marshal can apply an additional negative modifier if he feels what you are praying for runs contrary to the tenets of your belief. So be careful what you pray for!

A blessed hero cannot maintain a power beyond its base duration, but if they get a raise on the Faith roll, the power’s duration is doubled (this has no effect on Instant, Concentration, and Permanent powers).

Blessed with the Holy Warrior Edge activate it as a Novice Rank power. Also, the Edge works against characters with AB (Black Magic).

Crisis of Faith

If the Faith die comes up 1 (regardless of the result of the Wild Die), your hero suffers a crisis of faith. His prayers are ignored and his Faith die type is reduced by 1 until the next time he successfully performs a miracle. If his Faith die would ever be reduced below d4 in this way, the blessed has lost his faith. He can no longer perform miracles and must find some way to ease his doubts. Much like atonement for a mortal sin, this usually

takes the form of a spiritual quest to restore the blessed to his devout ways, performing a truly selfless act, converting a tribe of heathens, showing courage in defending the faith, and suchlike. The Marshal does not have to tell you what is required. It is up to the wayward soul to rediscover his faith, at which time he can once again perform miracles.

Sin

Furthermore, the blessed must also make their lives an example to others, and abstain from sinful ways. The information on what constitutes a sin to Christians—the most common religion on the frontier—is a good guide for what rules apply to other denominations.

Sinnin’

Severity Example

Minor: Taking the Lord’s name in vain, getting drunk, lying, refusing aid to those in need, envying another’s

possessions.

Major: Theft, turning away from those in dire need, failing to take communion (for a Catholic).

Mortal: Adultery, killing other than in self defense, blasphemy (denial of faith)

Blessed Spell List: Aim, Armor, Barrier, Beast Friend, Blind, Boost/Lower Trait, Confusion, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, Elemental Manipulation, Entangle, Environmental Protection, Exorcism, Gambler, Greater Healing, Healing, Inspiration, Light, protection, Pummel, Quickness, Sanctify, Smite, Speak Language, Stun, Succor, Warrior's Gift, Windstorm.

Voodoo List: Aim, Armor, Barrier, Beast Friend, Blind, Boost/Lower Trait, Confusion, Contact Spirit World, Curse, Darksight, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, Elemental Manipulation, Entangle, Environmental Protection, Exorcism, Fear, Gambler, Greater Healing, Healing, Inspiration, Light, Mind Rider, Protection, Pummel, Puppet, Quickness, Sanctify, Smite, Speak Language, Stun, Succor, Vision Quest, Warrior's Gift, Windstorm, Zombie.

Find all of the spell descriptions on the Arcane Powers page.

New Edges

The blessed are the soldiers of God—by whatever name they know him (or them)—on the front lines in the battle against evil. As such, their faith must be unshakable. Here are a few blessed-specific Edges to help them fight the good fight.

Adept

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Martial Artist, Faith d8+, Fighting d8+

Adepts are holy warriors who have trained themselves to be living weapons. Some do so to be ultimate warriors; others do it in the service of a cause or deity. As a free action, an adept can spend 1 Power Point to gain AP 2 with all of his unarmed attacks until his next action. In addition, upon taking this Edge and at each new Rank, they may choose to change the trappings of one of the following powers to work only on themselves but be activated as a free action: boost/lower trait, deflection, healing, smite, or speed. The Adept must have the power to begin with, and this does not allow him to activate more than one power in a round.

Champion

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d8+, Strength d6+, Vigor d8+, Faith d6+, Fighting d8+

Champions are holy (or unholy) men and women chosen to fight for a particular deity or religion. Most are pious souls ready and willing to lay down their lives for a greater cause, but some may have been born into the role and follow their path with some reluctance. Champions fight the forces of darkness (or good). They add +2 damage when attacking supernaturally evil (or good) creatures, and have +2 Toughness when suffering damage from supernaturally evil (or good) sources, including arcane powers and the weapons, claws, teeth, etc., of such creatures.

Clergy

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d8+, Faith d10+

The character is a faithful servant of one of the Abrahamic faiths. As a result they are able to repulse the undead with the strength of their faith. Repulsing Undead costs 1 Power Point and has a range of the character’s Spirit. Targeted creatures within that range must make a Spirit roll. Failure means the creature is Shaken; a 1 means it is destroyed. Wild Cards suffer an automatic Wound instead. Furthermore, the Clergy is trained to drive demonic spirits from human bodies. Anytime he makes an opposed Spirit or Faith test versus demons or supernaturally evil forces, he adds +4 to his roll.

Conviction

Prerequisites: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d6+, Faith d6+

Some holy rollers seem to have the ear of the Almighty, and this lucky cuss seems to be just one such individual. He’s more successful than most when petitioning the Lord with prayer, and his humble calls for divine assistance are answered regularly. This hero gains a +2 modifier to all Faith rolls made to call down miracles.

Exorcist

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background(Miracles), Spirit d8+, Faith d10+

The character is a member of the clergy trained to drive demonic spirits from human bodies. Anytime he makes an opposed Spirit or Faith test versus demons or supernaturally evil forces, he adds +4 to his roll.

Flock

Prerequisites: Seasoned, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d8+, Faith d8+

The greatest prophets and preachers are attended by followers. These men and women have found salvation in one sort or another in the blessed and devoted their lives to his cause. Flock gives your padre 5 followers who serve at his side in whatever capacity you choose. They have the stats of Townsfolk (see page 235), though they can gain skills just like any other Allies. They come with nothing but the clothes on their back and a few dollars, but can be armed and outfi tted however the blessed sees fit. Members of the Flock who perish are slowly replaced over time (usually by giving a “revival”). The Edge may not be taken more than once until the blessed is Legendary. At that point he may take it as many times as he’d like (as well as the Followers Edge, if he so chooses).

Holy/Unholy Warrior

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d8+, Faith d6+

Acolytes, clerics, paladins, holy slayers, and other avatars of the gods are frequently tasked with battling the forces of evil in the mortal world. This Edge gives them a slight advantage against such foes. As an action, a priest or other holy person may call upon his chosen deity to repulse supernaturally evil creatures, such as the undead, demons, and the like. It also works on evil characters with the Arcane Background (Miracles) Edge. Repulsing evil costs 1 Power Point and has a range of the character's Spirit. Targeted creatures within that range must make a Spirit roll. Failure means the creature is Shaken; a 1 means it is destroyed. Wild Cards suffer an automatic Wound instead. A character may also be an Unholy Warrior working for the forces of evil. In this case, he repulses good creatures, such as angels, paladins, or good characters with Arcane Background (Miracles).

Holy/Unholy Weapon

Requirements: Seasoned, Spirit d8+, Fighting, Shooting, or Throwing d8+

Clergy that have been trained to combat supernatural forces often find their favorite weapons imbued with the power of their god. One weapon of the Pc's choice receives a +2 divine bonus to damage, and also to the appropriate skill to use such a weapon. This stacks with the trademark and improved trademark weapon feats.

Weapon of the Gods

Requirements: Heroic, Holy/Unholy Weapon

As the Holy/Unholy Weapon edge, but the +2 bonus is replaced, and now it is +4

Monster Hunter

Requirements: Seasoned, Spirit d6+

The character is completely immune to Fear checks from one broad type of creature, such as ghosts, werewolves, vampires, or constructs.

If applied to spellcasters, it includes the fear spell as well. The Game Master is the final arbiter of whether or not the Edge applies to a particular horror. The Edge may be taken multiple times, each applying to a different creature type.

Patron Spirit

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d8+

A Patron Spirit might be a guardian angel, a patron saint, a helpful loa, or some other entity that fits the blessed’s beliefs. By spending a Fate chip, the blessed with a Patron Spirit may call upon it at any time to aid her in maintaining miracles. A white chip extends the duration by the base amount (i.e., a power normally active for 3 rounds lasts 3 more rounds). A red chip extends the duration by twice the base amount, and a blue chip extends the duration by three times the base amount. A Legend chip extends the duration of a power by five times the base amount. A character may never have more than one patron spirit at a time; if a hero has both Knack (Spirit Touched) and Patron Spirit, both Edges

apply to the same spirit.

Relentless

Requirements: Novice, Spirit d8+

Your slayer is truly driven to defeat evil. He must seek it out wherever he suspects it lies, and brooks no interference from those he thinks bar his way. In exchange for this dogged determination and unflinching dedication to the chase, Relentless characters may take a single action at –2 to any Trait roll while Shaken.

Slayer

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Resistance, Spirit d8,

Once normal men and women, slayers are those select few chosen by the forces of Heaven to act as foot soldiers in the war. The choice is usually (though not always) made early in the Slayer’s life, often in the final stages of puberty. It is extremely rare that a person will become a Slayer after more than one encounter with a hellspawn or supernatural creature, though this has been known to happen on occasion. The energies that drive supernatural creatures tend to trigger latent Slayers when the two cross paths, and no supernatural creature can become a Slayer. The life of a Slayer is often short and violent. Many Slayers try to maintain a double life. Working a job or going to school by day and fighting the forces of Hell by night. Some few Slayers are able to maintain this balance for a while, but Hellspawn care

little for the sanctity of a Slayer’s “downtime”. Eventually, the Slayer’s enemies will endanger any chance of a normal existence. Knowing this, some Slayers forgo the pleasantries of mundane existence, devoting every moment to the war. Slayers can come from all lifestyles. In many ways, they are simply average joes who

have been called to duty by Yahweh. Slayers gain the ability to detect supernatural creatures and auras. This power may be used at will. The Slayer simply takes a turn to attune himself to his surroundings and makes a Notice roll. If successful, the Slayer may detect supernatural occurrences in his presence including the number of supernatural auras (creatures, items, or Powers) in the area and the location of the most potent supernatural aura present. This awareness can penetrate barriers

stretching in 100 yards in every direction.

Talisman Craftsman

Requirements: Novice, Smarts d8+, Spirit d8+, Arcane Background (Magic or Miracles), Knowledge (Occult) d8+, arcane skill d8+

This is a magical version of the Gadgeteer Edge. Once per game session, a character with the Talisman Edge can create a magic device and imbue it with arcane energy. The device uses any power available to a magician or miracle worker in that setting (though this is still subject to Rank restrictions). It has half the creator’s Power Points. Once these are used up, they do not recharge. The ritual to imbue the object takes d20 minutes. Activating the device requires a Smarts (magic) or

Spirit (miracles) roll.

Voodoo

Prerequisites: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), Spirit d8+, Faith d6+

Voodoo works the same as other miracles, it just comes from a different place; powerful spirits named loa. Player character houngans (males) and mambos (females) get their power from rada, the “good guys” in the voodoo religion. (Evil voodooists get their mojo from petro.) Voodoo priests must prepare their abilities ahead of time in elaborate rituals (this is where all that dancing around the fire and sacrificing chickens comes in). Each night the voodooist must contact the loa and enlist their aid for the day to come. With a Faith of d4, the ritual must last at least 4 hours. For each die type above d4, the time required is reduced by 30 minutes. If the ritual is not completed, the voodooist cannot call on any miracles the next day. During the ritual, the individual’s powers are focused into charms— rocks, feathers, chicken bones, and squishy stuff— carried in medicine bags, on a necklace, and so on. When he wants to call on the power of a loa, the houngan takes an action to use a charm. He hurls a bone as an attack, rubs a cat’s tooth for armor, and so on. If a voodooist is separated from his charms, he cannot work any miracles. Then he can make his Faith roll, look for raises, and so on. The charm is used up afterwards. The upside to the inconvenience of nightly rituals is that Voodoo practitioners gain access to powers that other blessed characters do not. Most of these powers deal with curses, control, and contacting loas, the bread and butter of Voodoo. The additional powers are curse, fear, mind rider, puppet, vision quest, and zombie.

Acts and Rituals

Holy Water

Holy water is reasonably clean water that has been blessed by an ordained or otherwise recognized priest of some sort. Undead and demons despise this blessed essence of life itself and suffer severe reactions to contact with it. Non-Wild Card demons or undead contacted by holy water must make a Spirit roll or be Shaken. Wild Cards are automatically Fatigued instead, though it cannot render them Incapacitated. Holy water is usually delivered in one of three ways:

Splashed: The liquid is splashed from a container of some sort, such as a flask or canteen. This creates a cone-size spray. The attacker makes an Agility roll at +2 (due to the scattered nature of the spray). Victims make an Agility roll as well, and if they exceed the attacker's total manage to dodge the spray and are unaffected.

Grenade: These are typically manufactured from water balloons, glass globes, or other containers likely to shatter on impact (they are not actual explosives). Most shatter in the size of a Small Burst Template and hold one pint of holy water.

Water Gun: In modern times, clever monster hunters use children's toys to deliver holy water to their targets. (Similar devices might be rigged in less industrialized eras.) Most water guns have a Range of 1/2/4 and hold two pints of water. Better water guns with high-pressure systems can be found, and if pumped for an entire action, increase Range to 3/6/9.

Making Holy Water

Holy water is normal water blessed by an ordained member of an organized religion that endorses generally good (non-destructive) tenets. The “priest” must have the Arcane Background (Miracles) power. Blessing a pint of water requires a Faith roll and uses 1 Power Point. The water remains blessed until used or actively despoiled. In a fantasy game, most “good” deities should allow their priests to bless water. There may be some exceptions, of course. The god of fire, while probably a benevolent deity, is very unlikely to have water used in religious ceremonies honoring him.

Exorcism

Demons, spirits and ghosts each have a tenuous grasp on physical reality. Their ephemeral natures require will and purpose to maintain their presence in physical reality. As such, each can be ejected from corporeal reality via an exorcism.

Preparing the Ritual

To properly execute an exorcism, the exorcist must have access to various tools including anointing oil, holy or magical texts, and incense or herbs. While the specific tools will vary according to the exorcist’s religious trappings, some forms of tools are required for the ritual. The Gamemaster is the final arbiter on what a character must gather in order to perform an exorcism. Intimate knowledge of the demon, ghost or spirit to be exorcised is also helpful, though not necessary. Researching the history and motivations of the entity in question can provide an edge to the exorcist, as familiarity with the subject makes the exorcism easier. Once preparations have been made, the being needs to be somehow restrained or concerned for the ritual to be performed. Possession hosts are functionally human, and can be tied to a bed or locked in a room, provided that the possessing entity’s powers do not permit a method of escape. Salt also works as a good method of restraint for ghosts, as a ghost possessing a victim still cannot cross an unbroken line of salt (neither can the possession victim. No dragging the possessed across a line of table salt to rid them of their spiritual passenger). If a circle of salt can be laid around a disembodied ghost, the ghost is considered to be effectively restrained. Restraining a demon or spirit is much more difficult, but can be done through magic, or in the case of a demon, considerable brute force. Once these conditions are met, the ritual can be performed.

Performing the Ceremony

Exorcism is a lengthy and harrowing process, pitting exorcist and entity into a battle of wills. The exorcist begins chanting, reading from esoteric texts and chastising the entity. The entity, in response, grows agitated, attacking the exorcist if possible. Exorcisms take some time to perform. Each minute that the exorcist continues the ceremony, he makes a Knowledge (Theology) check, a Knowledge (Arcana) check, or a Knowledge (Occult) check (character’s choice, depending on the method and tools used for the exorcism) vs. the target’s Spirit. Spirits resist with their base d4 die, but can initiate this die as described in the Spirit description above, making a weak, hungry spirit very easy to dismiss, but a potent, well-fed spirit functionally impossible to exorcise. The exorcism check may not be made untrained. If the exorcist is has the Clergy, Conduit, Shaman or Witch Professional Edge, he receives a +2 bonus to this check. If the exorcist succeeds this check, the entity must make a Smarts check vs. the exorcist’s Spirit (again Spirits may use their base d4 + Advances.) If the entity makes this check it maintains its presence. If the entity is possessing a host, the host body suffers 2d6 points of damage. It is quite possible to accidentally kill a host during an exorcism. If the entity fails this check, the entity is ejected from the corporeal world. Demons return to Hell, ghosts, to Purgatory and spirits fall to slumber, returning to the nearest object representative of their nature. Multiple exorcists can work together, taking advantage of the Cooperative Rolls rule. If the target is a ghost and the exorcist has identified and acquired any of the ghost’s Binding Ties, the exorcist receives a +2 bonus to his exorcism checks. Each minute of exorcism, all exorcists involved in the ritual must make a Vigor roll at a TN equal to the number of minutes that the exorcism has gone on. Failure grants the exorcist 2d6 points of nonlethal damage. If the entity is able to act aggressively, all combat is resolved normally. For this reason, exorcisms are rarely attempted lightly, and every effort to bind or restrain the target is made prior to attempting an exorcism. Characters who do not wish to take the risky route of attempting an exorcism can use the Banish (Entity) Power if it is available to them. If not, exorcism is their only hope.