Last time we talked about how Petty Magic (Arcane) could
be used by a Magister to improve the lives of the smallfolk—peasants,
merchants, etc. This time, we're looking at Priests and Petty Magic (Divine)!
Petty Magic (Divine)
Petty Magic (Divine) falls into a weird grey area, for me.
On the one hand, I tend to have Divine magic much rarer, in my WFRP, than
Arcane magic. Divine magic is literal miracles, and rarely, if ever, is it
exact or reliable. Petty Magic, on the other hand, is more along the lines of blessings, which I can forgive as being rare, but no more so than secular
wizards (which are super rare, anyway).
Whilst everyone in the Warhammer world would have been
blessed at some point, and most of them often and repeatedly, few would
encounter true blessings in their lives (and very very few multiple times
throughout their lives). But the big thing to note is: believers think that
every blessing they receive is a true blessing. Every "spell" below
represents what occurs when the blessings seem to have tangible effects. These
would be welcomed, if misunderstood, by the people who receive them, and would
give common folks a heightened sense of faith in their Gods.
Blessing of Courage
The Priest speak inspirational words, emboldening the
audience to shake off fear and terror.
Whilst there are plenty of chances to use a prayer like this
in combat, there might not seem to be as many chances outside of it. You'd be
wrong. Consider the moments of your life which are scary or terrifying, in
which people freeze up, or don't have the courage to act quickly…
A bully is harassing the children of a nearby school, and
the kids don't have the courage to stand up for themselves. A fire is raging in
a local tavern, and everyone is frozen with indecision about whether to rush in
and save the folks inside or not. Someone needs to go down into the dark well
and fish out the bucket that got cut loose.
These moments may seem inglorious, but then many instances
of folk prayer are. They're not asking the priest to embolden them before
battle, but to aid them in simple tasks which are made not-so-simple because of
the circumstances. A priest whose words seem to miraculously lift the hearts of
the people would soon find themselves beloved of the smallfolk.
Blessing of Speed
The Priest touches the beneficiary, who moves faster and
with more agility.
Delivering a message just in time. Running for cover out of
a terrible storm. Or just having the chance to get everything you need to get
done in the few hours of the day you have to work (because peasants rarely have
time to be idle).
The Blessing of Speed could be used near constantly by
anyone in the Old World, and their lives would be better for it. Obviously,
such flippant use of miracles would come with the ire of the Gods, but perhaps
Taal would look kindly on a Priest who blessed the running of a hunter, or Rhya
the busy work of a nurse maid, or Sigmar to speed of the blacksmith, to ready
weapons for the coming Greenskin Waaagh!
Blessing of Fortitude
The Priest touches the beneficiary, who becomes tougher of
body and mind.
This is the catch-all "please help guide me"
prayer that the smallfolk ask of so many Priests. A blessing like this could
aid them in choosing the wisest course of action—which grains to grow, or where
to send their sheep. It could aid them in passing uncooked or spoiled food, or
accepting the death of a loved one, or… You get the idea.
This would likely be the most requested blessing, and also
the least understood. Because it's only a small boost to Toughness and Will
Power characteristics, often the results might never be observed. Did the
peasant do better because of the blessing? Or because they were more confident?
Maybe both? To the simple mind, though, correlation is easy to draw, and a
Priest who dispenses these blessings would be very popular.
Blessing of Healing
The Priest touches the beneficiary, who heals a single
Wound.
I don't think I even need to go into why this would be
useful. It's only a single Wound, so it's not a huge difference, but it is
significant if tipping the balance between Heavily Wounded and Lightly Wounded
(and that's a difference of getting better in a single day, rather than two).
Even speeding healing by one day is enough to separate a
peasant who starves (and potentially dies) and one who doesn't. Not to mention
if the healing comes during harvest season…the lack of healing could have
follow-on effects for the rest of the year, or longer, if the peasant needs to
sell themselves to a Lord in exchange for the extra food that is missing.
Blessing of Might
The Priest touches the beneficiary, who becomes stronger and
more skilled with a blade.
Whilst clearly focused on battle, here, there are situations
when being stronger would aid in the day-to-day work of a peasant. Carrying
bundles of hay, back and forth, would be much easier with this little boost.
Being able to thresh grain from wheat stalks more effectively. Being slightly
less tired from hauling enough water back from the well…
This blessing is similar to the Blessing of Fortitude, in
that when it works, it's not certain if it's thanks to the Priest or not. But
most folks would be thankful for the blessing, regardless.
Blessing of Protection
The Priest bestows the protection of their deity upon the
beneficiary.
Now, this one requires a bit of GM fiat. Whilst the prayer's
description is entirely focused on combat, that doesn't make too much sense
for most of the Gods. Why would Rhya care about a battle? Why would Ranald care
about protecting from sword swings?
Instead, I would rule this prayer gives, essentially,
narrative proof against the areas of influence of the chosen God. Either the GM
should choose a new target for the foulness, or should roll at a -10% to see if
it affects them, or the character gains a +10%, or… You get the idea.
Maybe Rhya gives a +10% bonus to gathering food, or against
food spoilage, or makes sure a mother's child isn't targeted (but perhaps the
mother is targeted instead?) Maybe Ranald makes it so a thief thinks twice
before taking your purse (rolls a Will Power at -10%, or chooses another
target). Maybe Ulric has less snow fall on your house and your fields, not
destroying your crops quite as much as your neighbours.
As you can see, Petty Magic (Divine) sometimes needs a
little more thinking through than Petty Magic (Arcane), but such
consideration is good! You'll get more of an idea how priests fit into your
game world, when you examine how their blessings would be received and even misinterpreted.
Next time we'll touch on Petty Magic (Hedge)!
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