The Complete Guide to Priestly Pursuits

Priests are the only practitioners of castable magic in Athens, so in that way we are the magic-users in this game. Unlike alchemists, who create magical effects through potions, we get our magics directly from the Gods themselves, which can give us great power; consequently it also behooves us to stay on the good side of our Gods. Our spells are generally referred to as RITUALS, which are a set of instructions (both clear and obscure), which we must follow to the letter so that the Gods may look favorably at our request and grant us a castable spell. We PERFORM these RITUALS in certain areas to ensure success in our attempts to generate magic.

1) CASTING SPELLS:

a) Because we get our power and spells from our Gods, RITUALS can only be performed on consecrated ground like a temple or shrine or even in the same room as a specially consecrated statue of a God or Goddess.

b) To determine if the ground you are standing on is consecrated, MEDITATE there. If you see this message: "This place is too distracting for you to enter a meditative trance." then the ground is NOT consecrated and therefore useless for your rituals. If you see this message: "You move to a kneeling position and begin clearing your mind of all thought." then you are on consecrated ground and you can perform rituals there.

c) To see what rituals you have at your disposal just type PERFORM LIST. This will show you a breakdown by number of what spells you know in the various schools of magic. To get a specific list of the names of the spells you know, you type PERFORM LIST <school>. This will show you a list of all the spells you know in that school of magic. At first level, you are given knowledge of every first level ritual. So, starting out you will have rituals 1001, 2001, 3001, and 4001 at your disposal. Afterwards, you must learn each new ritual one at a time with each successive level.

d) To know what is entailed in the actual performance of a ritual, type RITUAL. That will give you a set of instructions, the proper sequence of events, to perform that specific ritual.

For example: Type Ritual 3001 and this is what you'll see.

~) Mystic Weave (~

Magic does not cling to a relic like goo, it must be woven into the very fabric of its existence. The ritual of Mystic Weave grants the ability to change the fabric of a holy relic in such a way that it becomes capable of storing the essence of magical energy.

The following is required of the priest wishing to perform this ritual:

Bless an unblessed object.

Meditate.

As you are aware, all rituals must begin with the formal concentration of all your thoughts towards PERFORMing the chosen ritual. Once the tasks as written above are completed, the ritual must end in PRAYer.

Perform the ritual with care and confidence, and you shall know the power of the gods.

~) (~

e) All rituals start with PERFORM <number> or PERFORM <name>. Follow the directions you learned from typing RITUAL <number> in sequence. Then once those are complete, PRAY. After that your hands will begin to glow with mystic energy. At that point, depending on the ritual, you can either CAST (which will cast the spell on yourself), CAST <relic> which casts the spell into a relic you are holding, CAST <player> which casts the spell on another player, or CAST <critter>.

For example: You are holding a torch symbol.

>perform 3001

You concentrate your efforts on performing the ritual, Mystic Weave.

>bless my sym

Calling upon the will of Apollo, you let your fingers lightly dance back and forth over the torch symbol while speaking, "May this simple symbol be blessed in the name of Apollo."

>meditate

You move to a kneeling position and begin clearing your mind of all thought.

You feel your mind opening up to the world as you release each stray thought from your mind.

The last of your thoughts are long in the past as you ride an empty universe into endless reflection.

You feel utterly open to the world, to the universe, to everything.

>pray

Your meditative trance is broken.

You utter a quiet prayer to Apollo feeling confident the ritual has been properly performed.

Your hands begin to glow with mystic energy.

>cast at my symbol

You gesture toward a torch symbol.

A whirlpool of shimmering energy forms around a torch symbol. Spinning faster and faster, the energy vortex suddenly collapses in on itself as if the symbol absorbed it like a sea sponge!

[Note: Some rituals require you to PERFORM them inside the temple/shrine of your own God. Read the RITUAL instructions and you will know if that is the case.]

2) RELICS AND THEIR USES:

a) Obviously, rituals performed in a temple have very little real world use; this is where relics (symbols, figurines, relics, or wearable relics such as pins, necklaces and bracelets) come in. There is no difference between a figurine, a symbol, a relic, or an item identified as a relic, like the wearable relic. They are all functionally the same. There are many types of symbols and figurines. All are spell receptacles -- holders of mystic energy that are capable of being carried into the field. The different types exist to help priests keep their inventories simple.

b) Suggestion: Buy a couple of different types and be sure to only put one kind of spell into each type. That way you know for a fact that each sword symbol contains Spirit Strike; each torch symbol contains Acts of Faith, etc. There is a Holy Shop, run by Baselius, two rooms North of the Temple of Apollo Musagetes in the NW Quad, that carries the basic items you will need for your beginning rituals -- symbols, candles which can be CUSTOMIZED to any available color, and holy water. To find the shop, type DIR HOLY if you're in the NW Quad, like if you're sitting at the Peiraic Gate.

c) You can only cast a spell into a relic blessed in the name of your chosen god. To see what god and what spell a relic contains, type IDENTIFY <relic>. You need to do this three times. The first tells you if the relic you are holding is a new relic or a used relic (one that had once contained a spell). If you get a message saying: "You sense a faint magical aura about the item. It feels... powerful, as if it has been influenced by the gods." then you know it had been used to contain a spell. If you get a message saying: "You sense a faint magical aura about the item. It feels... strange with almost a chaotic touch to it." then you have a fresh new relic ready to be prepared to accept any spell you know to be placed in it. The second time you IDENTIFY <relic>, you will discover what God the relic is aligned to. New relics are unaligned. The third time will tell you what ritual is locked into the relic or if it is a new relic then it will tell you it is waiting for a ritual to be placed into it.

For example: You are holding a torch symbol that does not hold a spell.

>identify my symbol

You sense a faint magical aura about the item. It feels... strange with almost a chaotic touch to it.

>identify my symbol

You sense an interesting description. This item must be aligned with no one in particular!

>identify my symbol

The slight aura around the symbol seems faded and empty. You gather that though this item could hold magic, it currently possesses no known spell within.

d) To prepare a new relic you need to perform Ritual 3001 – Mystic Weave on it, which is accomplished by PERFORM 3001, BLESS <relic>, MEDITATE, PRAY, CAST <relic>. Now, the relic is aligned with your chosen god and ready to hold a spell. Think wisely about which ritual you want to perform and store in this relic. Then perform the ritual and CAST <symbol>. The energy will be absorbed into the symbol, awaiting use at a later time.

e) To change the spell that a used relic is carrying, PERFORM Ritual 4004 and that will clear out the old spell and make it ready to accept a new spell. If a relic is aligned to a god other than your own, and you want to keep the current spell inside, then you may realign it to your god by performing Ritual 4001 in the temple of your chosen god.

f) To gauge approximately how many charges there are left in a given relic, use MEASURE <relic>. The following table outlines the messages that correlate to the number of casts remaining in the relic.

Number

Casts

Symbol Measures

To Priests

To Other Professions

Vague white aura

Hazy white aura

Flickering white aura

Shimmering white aura

Pulsating white aura

Glowing white aura

Shining white aura

Luminous white aura

Brilliant white aura

Flaring white aura

Burning white aura

Flickering white aura

Steady white aura

Bright white aura

g) Differing relics will hold varying number of charges of a ritual. The typical relic you can purchase in a Holy Shop, like a sword symbol, will hold 20 charges. Some relics purchased at special events such as the Gods Fair or the annual Auction may hold as many as 25 to 30 casts.

h) So you have a relic that's fully charged. Now what? Just take it and go and hunt or whatever. When you need to use a spell, INVOKE <relic>. Your hands will glow with mystic energy and you can CAST the spell either on yourself or at a critter.

Example: CAST Spirit Strike (Ritual 1001) at yourself, and CAST Acts of Faith (Ritual 2001) on the target.

NOTE: Some spells such as Spirit Strike, Ritual 1001, and Crushing Spirit, Ritual 1009, use special verbs. Use STRIKE HELP to learn more about their usage.

3) IMPUDENCE:

a) Impudence is the control placed upon our profession to prevent abuse of our rituals. Because we receive our powers directly from the Gods, the more we use our magic, the greater the irritation the Gods feel towards us. This is called IMPUDENCE in the game. Practically, it means we cannot simply charge up our relics one after another without consequences. We must placate the Gods by making OFFERings whenever the Gods get close to punishing us for our too high Impudence. At low levels, you will generate Impudence quite quickly. As you age, your generation of Impudence will be reduced with the lower level rituals so you will be able to cast more of those rituals into your relics. However, the higher the level of the ritual, the higher the Impudence you will generate. It will get to the point where you will only be able to cast two charges of a ritual into your relic before you must appease the Gods.

b) Check your Impudence level by typing IMPUDENCE. Read the message carefully to gauge how close you are to being punished. You'll know when you are really close. The Gods are not subtle. Priests of the lower levels are punished rather mildly; a giant invisible hand grabs you and squeezes dispelling your ritual. The mid-level priests are punished with being slapped on the head and stunned for 30 seconds or so. The high-level priests are punished more severely still. So be careful and check frequently if you are using a lot of rituals, both in performing in a temple or invoking in the field.

c) A word of caution, if you're in the field you may NOT make OFFERings to appease the Gods. The Gods will only accept OFFERings on holy ground. Consequently, your only recourse is to allow time to lower your Impudence, which is a much slower process than offerings.

d) If you are in a temple or other holy ground, you may make an OFFERing to lower your Impudence. Mechanics-wise, the Gods will accept anything as an offering, but you might consider Role-Playing a bit and make an offering pleasing to your God. For example: OFFER LAUREL LEAVES to Apollo, or offer owl feathers to Athena.

e) To find out more information about the God you have chosen for your character type HELP GODS.

4) LEVELING:

a) There are actually four schools of magic in Athens: three major schools and one minor.

Major schools:

i) Spiritual: deals in magic of the spirits residing in all living things;

ii) Mental: which deals with the magic of the mind.

iii) Alteration: deals with manipulation of matter and energy.

Minor school:

iv) Commonality: currently contains only four rituals, two of which you may get free if you complete a quest for each.

b) Priests may learn one new ritual each time they level. This is not automatic, but requires a trainer. Ritual training costs no dinars and no training points, and you have a choice of learning one spell in the Spiritual, Mental or Alteration schools of magic.

i) Locate High Priest Selias in the Training Palaestra in the NW Quad. Use DIR TRAIN to locate the Palaestra. Once in the Palaestra, go north, then west to locate the Magic Area.

ii) ASK SELIAS ABOUT TRAINING.

iii) Then TRAIN WITH SELIAS IN <school>.

5) THE SCHOOLS Of MAGIC:

a) Spiritual: The spells of this school deal mostly with summoning of spirits or various critters. For example: Spirit Strike, Ritual 1001, summons Godly energies to STRIKE down your opponent. Ophidian Summoning, Ritual 1004, calls forth snakes to aid you in your battles.

b) Mental: The spells of this school deal with the magic of the Mind. For example: Acts of Faith, Ritual 2001, is CAST at the target to calm it, while Thought Meditation, Ritual 2002, acts like telepathy.

c) Alteration: The spells of this school deal with change and augmentation of existing items or people. For example: Withering Form, Ritual 3003, ages the target making them feeble. Southern Forge, Ritual 3015, imparts magic on a weapon to randomly emit a burst of flame causing additional damage to the target.

d) Commonality: The catchall school. Not really worth training in any of these rituals since you can get some of them free by completing a quest. For example: Restorative Vanity, Ritual 4002, cures the Death Curse of baldness.

6) TRAINING:

a) Before training, you should give some thought to the type of priest you wish to role-play. In the past, priests would typically train in the magics of their school and also a weapon choice. However, with recent changes to combat and projected changes to the skills system, it is best to have a general idea of how you would like to develop your priest character. Do you want a priest who is skilled in both weapons and magics? Or, would you prefer a priest who relies wholly on their magic skills? Will your priest rely on magic but also have performance abilities like those of the storytellers? There is a wide variety to choose from and it’s best to form a plan early in your character’s life. Remember, always ASK <TRAINER> ABOUT TRAINING, before you commit to training in that skill.

b) If you are planning to rely entirely upon your magic skills, then it is best to train in your school of magic at least once, twice is preferable. Some opt for triple training in their school, but the training point cost is prohibitive. Training in the Relics skill is recommended but not required. It has never been proven as useful, but you never know what the future may hold, so many of us priests train in that skill.

c) If you foresee your character relying on a combination of weapons and magic, then you should train in a weapon of your choice, along with your school of magic. Because we hunt poorly without our magic to aid us and since we get much of our experience through hunting, it seems logical to get as much help as possible. Also our strength starts out low and progresses at a lower point per level than other professions, so keep that in mind when you chose a weapon to hunt with. If you have any training points left, use them to learn a skill that will augment your role-play enjoyment. Many of these skills will cost a lot of training points compared to the magic skills, but if you have a definite vision of your persona, then the cost maybe worth it if it helps you flesh out your character -- try Dodge to increase your ability to avoid being hit, or Stealth if you like hiding, or Health to increase your hit points, or Foraging if you like to forage for materials to be used in rituals or to give to alchemists to be mixed into potions, or Catching if you like the thought of using judo moves on a critter sometime in the future. The list is enormous.

Never be afraid to ask an older priest for advice, we’ve all been where you are and can offer invaluable advice. Above all, have FUN! That's the name of the game. <grin>