Devoutness

In a world that confirms the reality of Divh an individual’s Devoutness to them suddenly becomes an important thing to know. One thing many game systems overlook is the internal logic of their own reality, and so in the course of the reimagining that has been at the core of this game system must be a realization that it is a non-secular game setting. It is very, very hard to be an atheist in a world where one can actively view a Divhi on a festival day, or where your mere disbelief actually visibly brings you misfortune and peril. As a result, devoutness is of equal import to social class in such a world, as is being familiar with what Divhi the character is devoted to, and in many cases what particular faith of that Divhi the character adheres to. Skills, like Religion are not the province of priests (though one would expect them to know more about it) but is rather an integral and common aspect of being part of a society.

Players are free to fluctuate their character’s faith whenever they wish, thought they are expected to reflect this in the way in which they are playing their character. Often the most knowledgeable are not the most devout, and we’re all familiar with tropes of those individuals who hound their local holy man for advice he feels is needless. However by and large one might expect a priest who has devoted his entire life to a Divhi to hover around a devoutness of 7. Meanwhile one might expect an average medieval peasant to have a 3 or a 4, and a scholar, nobleman or other individual more invested in his own importance to be of the 2 to 3 range. Of course this varies wildly from setting to setting, with most Haedrasian citizens for instance, having a 6 or 7, and their priests often an 8, 9 or even 10.

0 - Unbeliever In a world where there are clear signs of the divine all around it is hard to not believe as a philosophy, so unbelievers are are usually individuals who feel abandoned or maligned by their divhi, and have abandoned their faith, as opposed to practising atheists.

1 - Unobservant The character is a member of a major faith, but either because there is no local priest or because he is too engaged with his own affairs he only really turns to religion when something goes wrong. And with this attitude it probably will.

2 - Lax Observer A Lax Observer does the bare minimum recommended by his holy man, praying on festival days, attending major religious gatherings, making offerings around major events, but religion has little place in his personal life, just in his social exterior. He does not pretend to venerate a divhi, just only does what he sees everyone else doing.

3 - Dutiful Believer A Dutiful Believer is probably the most common kind of individual, he does everything his faith calls for, probably prays or makes offerings daily, and follows the guidance of his local holy man, believing the teachings of his divhi and his faith, and trying to adhere as closely as he can to what he should be, but there is an unintentional divide between these beliefs and the real world he can't quite reconcile, and often doesn't even recognize. He believes in his divhi, and trusts in his holy man, but can't quite mesh their high-minded philosophy with his real life.

4 - True Believer A True Believer is very similar to a Dutiful Believer, except that he has come to understand that his faith must permeate all of his life and dealings, and in addition to observing all the rituals he is supposed to, he also keeps the teachings of his divhi and the words of his priest in the back of his mind in every situation.

5 - Deeply Pious A Deeply Pious individual is one who questions everything around him and everything in his life in terms of his faith, and comes to understand the world around him, and all of the things in his life in terms of their relationship to his faith. He actively seeks to achieve a better understanding of what his divhi wants from him on a daily basis.

6 - Devout Devout individuals see the hand of their divhi in all things, and seek to better understand their divhi, and grow closer to him every day, in the hope of ascending to a place where their divhi will be a distinct and active presence in their lives.

7 - Complete Faithful The Complete Faithful has an honest and unshakable belief that his divhi guides him in his life, as he does all of the faithful, and that if he lives according to his faith's teachings and conducts himself and his family in all of the appropriate rites and rituals then he will be protected and cared for, as will all of the other faithful.

8 - Ascended Faithful The Ascended Faithful takes faith a step further, usually he has had some kind of vision or religious experience that confirms for him that not only will his divhi guide him in his faith, but that he has a direct, personal relationship with his divhi, and that his faith is founded upon the constant presence of that divhi in spirit in his life. With a more earthly divh like an elemental this might even be confirmed by a constant physical presence.

9 - Fanatic A Fanatic not only believes that his divhi is personally involved in his life, but generally believes that he is a direct agent of spreading that divhi's faith. While many less faithful individuals do seek to spread the faith, the fanatic does so with zeal and forthrightness which often turns into aggression. He also believes so fervently that his life is in the hands of his divh that he will often act without fear or even sense in order to prove this to others. His faith and trust in his faith is absolute and unshakable, and all things are either divine favour, or a divine lesson.

10 - Frothing Maniac Every belief system has it's extremes. Not only is every second of the Frothing Maniac's life utterly consumed by his faith, but he will aggressively and insistently berate or even assault those who he deems to be far inferior in their own faith - which is most people.