In essence, this spell summons forth a divine champion to fight by the cleric's side (control functions similiar to either a ranger's companion or bard's singing sword) for a limited amount of time. A cleric can command the agro status of the Devine Champion, ie be passive, only attack if cleric states to attack, react to an attack if provoked, or attack anything applicable on sight.

The spell itself requires spell 218 Spirit Servant to be in existance already before spell 340 is cast. The spirit servant itself forms the conduit between the cleric and his patron enabling the Devine Champion to manifest itself on the material plane. Essentially the spirit servant is consumed and transformed into the Devine Champion through appropriate messaging. It is not possible to have both spirit servant and a Devine Champion at the same time, the Devine Champion replaces the spirit servant.

The Devine Champion should have semi intelligent AI at least comparable to a critter's to be able to stance dance if in danger, react to status's impacting it (ie prone etc) and to automatically try to follow the cleric unless impeded by a spell or incapacitating status etc.

The devine champion will have a description, equipment (not lootable or obtainable by players) and class (essentially some kind of warrior/paladin amalgamism or other class dependant on deity, but with less functionality than those created by players) and have passive and combat emotes as befitting the deity the cleric is CONVERTed to.

The champion will be heavily CONVERT deity themed but should not limited to one generic type per deity but 2 or 3. There is potential for a cleric to have a CUSTOM Devine Champion made for them (think bards customized air armour) by very rare skilled clerical merchants...

The power of the devine champion is a replication of the relative power of the cleric, I think the base summoned champion should be equivalent 5 levels lower than the cleric but through blessing lore skill, this loss of level can be negated until it is potentially 5 levels above the cleric (at 20 blessing lore ranks per level, max 5 levels above cleric achieved at 200 ranks).

The duration of the champion should be fairly short, 10 minutes if summoned from mundane area, 20 minutes from a major sanctuary or 40 minutes if summoned from an area where the cleric's deity is prevalent (SENSE verb), any of these summonings can be increased through spirit summoning lore by 5 minutes for every 20 ranks (so max of 1 hour 30 minutes with 200 spirit summoning lore ranks when cast in a room aligned with your deity).

This spell has a maximum number of 1 use per week, but this can be reduced through religion lore to maybe once or twice per day.

Casting spirit slayer whilst a devine champion is present will also have the potential to bolster the devine champion's AS for duration of the Spirit Slayer spell.

The devine champion cannot abide with the presence of the devine champion of it's nemesis deity, ie if a Lorminstra devine champion is present and a devine champion of Luukos enters the room they will immediately try to banish each other until one is victorious. A matrix table needs to be defined to plot each deity's nemesis, Liabo/Lornon I suggest is too black and white and would cause too many automatic conflicts...

A Devine Champion will never attack another Devine champion of the same pantheon and may well dismiss itself from the material plane if commanded by the cleric to attempt to do so.

If a devine champion should meet its demise (it is never killed merely defeated and banished from the material plane for a period of time, there should be an effect similiar to paladin spell 1613 Devine Vengeance. However, the reprecussions of the Devine Champion's demise does not end there.

There should also be some serious reprecussions to the cleric if the champion is defeated in battle instead of spell expiring or being dismissed, a period when the cleric is weakened spiritually due to the unnatural severence of the bond between cleric and champion, maybe a deaths sting effect to the wisdom stat regained overtime or replaced via a potion similar to deaths sting (alchemy opportunity here).

Of course with this spell being flagged silently to the on duty GM's... There is always the chance a GM may slip into the shoes of a devine champion to cause some mischief or partake in some quest...

What do ya'll think?

clerics also have a "friend" with 218, another one might clutter things up a bit.

I could see this working more like a cloak of shadows type effect, but instead of it being a demonic presence that releases a spell effect, an actual spiritual critter comes out and is able to unstun the cleric, pull them upright, GUARD them to prevent further injury, etc.

duration after activation would need to be fairly short, I would think, and limited to the room it activated in (ie: the spirit disappears if the cleric moves)

-James-
player of Fremie

Mirayam says, "You are not a rogue, sir."

Mirayam exclaims, "You are noble!"

>for example a follower of Eonak for example, the divine champion could well resemble a dwarven warrior encased in golden platemail and its skill would resemble a warrior/paladin

I find it amusing that a Cleric casts a spell to summon a pseudo - Paladin champion.

>A follower of Fashlonae champion might be a wizard type of champion... Onar might manifest a rogish type that hides and ambushes... etc, these champions will ned to be designed.


So.. basically you want clerics to be able to summon up the abilities of every other profession?

In all honesty, from the original post I thought it more suited to a Paladin. Now, I think it's just over the top.


-farmer

*

That's just what we want, criss-crossing furrows all over the town streets from someone wandering through with their animated plow super buddy.

-Strath

>So.. basically you want clerics to be able to summon up the abilities of every other profession?

No not at all, indirectly just the combat abilities of the champion that is affiliated to their deity but even then the cleric won't have direct control over how that champion aplies its abilities. The cleric's only control over the champion other than the fact it will follow them around and the cleric being able to set its passive/aggressive stance for the spell duration and that it will battle along side the cleric.

The champions are essentially combat focused, they fight in the name of the patron they share with the cleric, but they wouldnt perform mundane tasks such as locksmithing for the cleric for example - when I referred to the rogish example champion of Onar I meant in a combat sense, that particular champion build might be similiar to a dual weapon wielder that dodges and parries well or hides and ambushes of its own accord as opposed to the Eonak dwarf champion with a prosphetic veil iron arm used as a shield and a morning star as opposed to the V'tull champion wileding a claidhmore and berseking accross the field etc etc. These are only combat champions and with the cooldown spell period cannot be called upon often even by the most skewed unbalanced capped cleric in terms of lore skills.

The champion itself would use its own method of attacks that have been coded into it, pretty much like a critter may have several different attack types, a swing of a weapon, a bite, a spell, etc, each champion would have a few to call from, but ultimately it makes its own attack method decisions not the cleric. All these would have to be designed and there would be some variation amongst the deities depending on that particular deitie's 'champion' avater.

>What would be slick is if each of the two professions, Cleric and Paladin, were given a similar spell. When cast, the cleric summons a Paladin-type avatar to their aid, and the Paladin in turn summons a Cleric-type avatar to their aid.

Sure, open up a variant for the paladin. Following on, why not have a more powerful summoning if a paladin and cleric of the same deity are grouped and perform the summoning ritual together at an attuned room to their deity? The cleric and paladin have to remain grouped for the omnipotent champion to remain with them, as part of the group otherwise it link to the material plane would weaken and it returns to the spiritual plane. This version might be able to swing and cast. Make the paladin suffer a deaths sting to its strength if its champion is defeated.

>duration after activation would need to be fairly short, I would think, and limited to the room it activated in (ie: the spirit disappears if the cleric moves)

sure it needs to be short, it's powerful, but also it's a 40th rank spell. But I think attributing bonuses for the cleric making the effort to pilgrimage to their deity's local shrine for the summoning should be incorporated so being restricted to the room casted within doesn't work for its purpose. Sure adjust the length of spell duration, consider 5 minutes for a mundane summoning in no special room, 10 for within a major sanctuary and 20 for the deity specific attuned room + lore bonus duration, make it 30 seconds per 10 levels of spirit summoning lore for a max of an extra 10 minutes at cap if 200 ranks in spirit summoning lore. So absolute maximum of a 30 minute -5 levels champion every week for that skewed cleric build. In most cases a capped cleric might be able to summon a like level champion for 23ish minutes a couple of times a week, not so overpowered in the grandscheme of things but impressive when seen.

This is just a seed of an idea and of course needs to be fleshed out and balanced, that's where everyones input come in :)

>>What would be slick is if each of the two professions, Cleric and Paladin, were given a similar spell. When cast, the cleric summons a Paladin-type avatar to their aid, and the Paladin in turn summons a Cleric-type avatar to their aid.<<

This is pretty much what I had in mind, when I read this.

The only difference being that instead of giving the paladins a similar spell, we just dissolve the class entirely, and only make them appear through casting 340 =X

---

"The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" - William Shakespeare

I kind of like the group-effort thing

I'm just not sure it is fair to make a 40th rank spell semi-worthless with just a cleric casting it solo.

-James-
player of Fremie

Mirayam says, "You are not a rogue, sir."

Mirayam exclaims, "You are noble!"

I understand the woes you express farmer.

-James-
player of Fremie

Mirayam says, "You are not a rogue, sir."

Mirayam exclaims, "You are noble!"

>My cleric would NEVER use a spell that summoned a paladin.. EVER!
PULSEGIVER

Why feel so strongly?



>Why not have it summon an angelic/daemonic presence, based on convert status?

I'm of the personal opinion that there's no real angels/demons equivalent for GS, no concrete Good and Evil like in IRL religions. At least not for every Arkati, and not for what I think you're refering to.

Additionally, even using the Lornon pantheon as your prototypical 'evil' side, what would an Ivas follower summon? Demon? Angel? From the Ivas follower's point of view, I can't see a demon being appropriate, yet if you use the 'angelic/daemonic' model, they'd have to, no?



-farmer

*

That's just what we want, criss-crossing furrows all over the town streets from someone wandering through with their animated plow super buddy.

-Strath

And for each of the powers of Elanthia, with the possible exception of Koar, any summoned entity would appear:

1) Beatific to any follower of that power;
2) Awe-inspiring to any follower of a power adjacent or closely allied with the summoner's power;
3) Unnerving / intimidating to any follower of a power not adjacent / neutral to the summoner's power;
4) Frightening to any follower of a power removed from or moderately opposed to the summoner's power; and,
5) Fell / wrathful to any follower of a power fully opposed to the summoner's power.

An 'angel' to one who follows Fash'lo'nae would be a 'demon' to Fash'lo'nae's opposition. Especially susceptible to these 'feelings' would be those of the spiritual sphere -- of course.

Hmm. . . I wonder -- have we gotten around to depicting the pantheons of power within the realms using a diagram similar to the spheres of magic? I'll bet some interesting facets would appear -- and it would make mapping the above fairly easy.

Why is Koar an exception? This exercise is left to the interested reader.

Doug

Isn't there already a spell 340 in the works? Symbol of the Proselyte?

>>She believes them to be failed warriors/cleric, or ones that could not pick a true path, and decided to take both.<<

Putz! Paladins are far more related to warriors than to clerics; warriors who have decided on dedication to a particular Arkati, who then in return for their service grants them certain abilities. Seems like a simple enough concept, and logical enough.


"So, what does that green line on the graph represent?"

"Oh, that's the projection of a hypothetical offspring from a union between Sauron and Cruella de Ville; we use that as a baseline for determining character alignment."