Playing Darklands

 

About Religion

 

Many miraculous aids are possible through religion, especially by praying for intervention of a saint. Praying to saints is possible at any time in character information. However, additional benefits are possible if a characters takes advantage of a prayer opportunity during interactions.

Prayer reduces a character's "divine favor" (DF). However, this is easily regained. In Darklands, think of divine favor as a type of "credit," which is "spent" on prayer, and can then be regained through various deeds. The speed at which it is regained varies with the religious training of the character.

Virtue is also important. Unlike DF, it is not spent. Instead, a character's virtue determines which saints and relics can be used, because each saint and relic demands a different level of virtue.

 

Knowledge of Saints

A character must "know" about a saint before he or she can pray for miracles. This knowledge is a mystical understanding, and cannot be transferred from one character to another. The saints currently known by a character are available in character information (see "Character Information, Saints" {** "pp26,"}).

Characters can "learn" about new saints by seeking those who know about them. Monasteries, universities, and cathedrals are the best sources, but you may find additional opportunities. There are over 130 different saints that can be discovered, although it is unlikely that anyone will learn them all.

 

Praying to Saints

A character can pray for saintly aid either in character information, or as an interaction option. Interaction success results in normal benefits, plus the special effects that occur in the interaction. Prayer from character information only provides the normal benefits; you can never pray from character information and get interaction benefits. Prayer is {** "also"} possible during battle. Simply go to character information and pray from there, then return to the battle and observe the results.

PRAYER AT CHARACTER INFORMATION: When you select a saint in character information (see "Character Information, Saints {** ",' pp26"}), the view changes to an image of the saint; a brief description, and other information.

The "Success" value here represents the percentage chance of success. If the character lacks sufficient virtue for this saint, the chance of success is 0%. If the character has sufficient virtue, the chance of success is 1% or more. If a character's virtue is higher than the minimum, success chances improve commensurate with the advantage in virtue.

The "DF Remaining" value shows the amount of divine favor (DF) the character will have after the prayer. This is almost equal to the current value, since most prayers consume at least a certain minimum amount of DF.

More divine favor is spent: Selecting this option (with a left-click or by tapping the "m" key) increases the amount of DF spent during the prayer.

Less divine favor is spent: Selecting this option (with a left-click or by tapping the "l" key) decreases the amount of DF spent during prayer. This decreases the chance of success, but increases the amount of DF Remaining. The chance of success cannot drop below the initial value, nor can the DF Remaining be increased beyond the initial value.

Pray now for...: Selecting this option (with a left-click or by tapping the "p" key) causes the character to make the prayer. If the prayer must be directed at a single character, a sub-menu appears, listing possible recipients. If the prayer benefits the entire party, you just see "Pray now."

Don't pray right now: Selecting this option (with a left-click or by tapping the "d" key) means the character does not pray. You return to the previous view, in this case character information.

PRAYER AT INTERACTION: Some interaction options include the possibility of prayer. A sub-menu appears, showing the saints applicable in this situation. Saints known by a character appear in dark print, while those currently unknown appear in pale print. If all applicable saints are unknown, a simple list purely in pale print appears. At higher levels of difficulty (i.e., with less "help" selected, see "Universal Controls and Menu Bar, The 'Game' Pull-down Menu" {** "pp18"}), the pale print "unknown" saints may not be available.

If you select the sub-menu option, you see the same view of the saint, with the same options as before. If you select "Pray now for..." and are successful, in addition to the normal effects you will receive a special effect appropriate to the interaction. This special effect almost always affects the entire party, even if the normal effect is restricted to just one character.

VIEWING CHANGES: When the "Show changes" option is on (see "Universal Controls and Menu Bar, The 'Game' Pull-down Menu" {** "pp18"}), any attribute and skill changes caused by a saint appear in the character boxes. However, if this option is turned off, the changes simply happen. You must look at the appropriate character information to see the current state of the character.

Some saints cause many changes; eventually you may wish to temporarily turn off "Show changes" before praying to a saint, then turn them on again afterward.

 

Divine Favor

Divine Favor (DF) is a kind of holy "credit," which a character uses when asking a saint for aid. DF ranges from a minimum zero (0) to a maximum of 99. A prayer to a saint reduces a character's DF. The new, lower amount is noted when you view information about a saint.

Certain despicable actions may also cause a character to lose a certain amount of divine favor. Be wary of acting too "evil"-it may influence your ability to call saintly aid. In some cases, the maximum allowable DF may also be reduced to something less than 99.

When calling upon a saint, a character must use at least a certain minimum amount of DF. A character may also be limited in the maximum amount of DF that can be used.

REGAINING DF: Divine Favor is regained daily at a very slow rate. You may improve this by spending days in prayer (see "Travel and Interaction, Staying Here" {** "pp29"}), by going to confession, and/or going to mass. Donations to churches and cathedrals may also improve your divine favor.

The speed at which a character regains divine favor depends on his or her religious training. Characters with better training regain favor faster, those with less (or none) regain it more slowly.

SAINT DAY: If a character asks for saintly aid on the day of that saint, the DF cost is much less.

 

Relics

There are dozens of different religious relics. Many of these are useful items in their own right, such as St. Adrian's Sword, St. Bathildis' Staff, etc. In addition, relics may provide certain miraculous benefits.

SAINTLY AID BENEFITS: Possession of a relic may reduce DF cost of praying to the saint. However, most relics require the bearer to have sufficient virtue to gain this advantage. The virtue requirement is frequently high, so only the most virtuous will benefit when invoking a saint. Relics related to Christ or Mary are beneficial when invoking any saint.

AUTOMATIC ATTRIBUTE & SKILL BENEFITS: In special cases, a sufficiently virtuous character carrying a relic may see a temporary improvement in attributes and/or skills. Examine character information to see these effects. These effects are automatic for whomever carries a relic.

 

 

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