How to: Favored Soul/Oracle Abilities

How to: Favored Soul/Oracle Abilities

The favored soul/oracle to the cleric is what the sorcerer is to the wizard. In D&D/PF, this is a spontaneous divine spellcaster. In GURPS, I made them slightly different mechanically. Where the cleric represents powers gained through study and religion as an organization, the favored soul is an unwilling recepient of the divine power, chosen by the deity.

Favored Soul/Oracle Spellcasting: This is how I do it.

- Replace Sorcerous Empowerment with Divine Empowerment.

- When improvising abilities with Divine Empowerment, favored souls take 2 seconds per character point, but are not required to use a holy symbol. In addition, their activation roll is only modified by sanctity.

- Casting rolls are only modified by sanctity.

- Divine spells should cost at least 1 FP, require prayer, and optionally require gestures, but not a holy symbol (as such, Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%, Divine, -10% and Requires Magic Words, -10% are required limitations). Spells may have any casting time.

- Advantages granted by divine Buff spells should have the Divine, +0% modifier, because they do not require the subject to act according to the deity’s code of conduct, but still depend on sanctity.

- Divine spells, but not Divine Empowerment, is subject to Repeated Attempts (GURPS Powers, p. 159).

- When rolling a critical failure on a casting roll, use the “Clerical” Table (GURPS Thaumatology, p. 257), unless channeled powers of an archfiend – in that case use the Diabolic/Horrific Table (GURPS Thaumatology, p. 258).

Energy Resistance [5]

Choose an energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic). You gain DR 5 against the chosen energy type.

Statistics: DR 5 (Limited, Energy Type, -40%; Magical, -10%; Tough Skin, -40%) [5].

Wings [24]

By attuning yourself to your patron deity, you grow a pair of feathered or leathery wings. This grants you Flight (p. B56) without that ability to hover.

Statistics: Flight (Cannot Hover, -15%; Winged, -25%) [24].

Axiomatic Body [19]

If the character is not following a chaotic deity, he gains DR 5 that is ignored by chaotic attacks (for example, Anarchic Weapon).

Statistics: DR 5 (Chi, -10%; Not vs. Chaotic Weapons, -15%) [19].

Anarchic Body [19]

If the character is not following a lawful deity, he gains DR 5 that is ignored by chaotic attacks (for example, Axiomatic Weapon).

Statistics: DR 5 (Chi, -10%; Not vs. Axiomatic Weapons, -15%) [19].

What about the oracle?: Just take an appropriate disadvantage to represent the curse. Everything else is covered by the spellcasting.