Miracles #1
TN: 5 + Fear Level of Area
Speed: 10 minutes per 25 yard radius
Duration: 'Till Dawn or Dusk, whichever is first
Range: 25 yard radius per Faith level
Description
Protecting your camp whilst asleep is vital when travelling in the wild. Doubley so in the Weird West, what with a war going on and The-Lord-knows-what lurking in the darkness ready to gobble up sleeping travellers!
This Miracle, however, provides a party with a Blessed member the warning they need if somebody - or something - tries to enter their camp. The Blessed character spends a while walking around the perimeter of the camp intoning verses from the Bible, and perhaps sprinkling a little holy water on the ground before going to sleep. If any creature tries to cross the Holy Ward then the Blessed character will be warned of it's presence. A White Fate Chip minimum is required to successfully invoke this Mircale and the Ward has the following qualities depending on the colour of the chip as follows;
The Blessed may end the Ward any time he wishes, otherwise the Holy Ward vanishes with the Sunrise (or Sunset if invoked during the day!)
NB - Certain places in the Weird West are resistant to such Wards, to represent this an area's Fear Level must be added to the TN to invoke the Miracle. Especially evil ground - such as the immediate area around a Satanic Cult's Alter of Doom, or the site of unGodly attrocities - may require a raise to invoke this Miracle as the very ground itself rejects the holy power of God!
TN: Opposed
Speed: 1
Duration: Concentration
Range: 20 yards
Description
Ever wondered how certain Preachers can force a fellow to listen to his rambling sermons for hours on end, making him oblivious to all around him? Perhaps it's with the use of this Miracle...
The Blessed character must initiate eye contact with any target(s) he wishes to affect with this Miracle, and the target must be able to hear and understand the Preacher's words in order for this Miracle to work. The Preacher reads from his holy book (whether it be the Bible, the Quoran, the Sunday Times or whatever!) in loud and preachy tones and then makes an opposed Faith test against the target's Smarts, the preacher adding 1 to his roll for every level he has in the Tale Tellin' aptitude.
If the Preacher is successful then the target becomes transfixed by the Preachers words and will stare at him, dumbstruck and unable to act unless he is distracted by any outside noise or actions (allowing him to make Cognition tests as appropiate). The more raises the Preacher nets on the opposed Faith/Smarts roll the more transfixed the target will become;
The Preacher may affect as many people with this Miracle as he has levels in his Faith, making one Faith roll (which he may load as normal) and having each target try to beat that roll separately - so some may be affected while others are not, and all must generaly be in eye contact with the Preacher to begin with. Basically this Miracle is used as a "diversion" - while the Posse get up to no good, breaks the mayors daughter out of the dungeon or simply have to escape past a lone guard - and lasts until the preacher ceases his sermon or the target is distracted somehow. Once the effects are over the target may act as normal. Of course if the noise of the Preacher's sermon may attract unwanted attention from others...
NB - If any harm comes to a Mesmerised target from an outside source then the Preacher commits a sin as if he had caused harm to that target himself - murder being a mortal sin of course
TN: 7
Speed: 5 Second Prayer - 1 Whole Round
Duration: Depends on Fate Chip
Range: Self
Description
Numerous are the occasions where Preachers have been obliged to "Walk unto valleys of death" to carry out the Lord's works (ie saving children, recovering holy relics, "smiting" evil etc) but their efforts will be for nought if the Blessed are put down by a 6 cent bullet. The Patrons of the Blessed are sometimes willing to give their chosen a little helping hand in shrugging off wounds and damage if the Blessed show a little sacrifice on their part, ie spend a Fate Chip.
In effect this Miracle protects the Blessed from physical damage and they may add their Faith level to their size when resolving wounds in combat, plus an extra 1 for every raise, for the duration of the Miracle's effects - decided by the colour of the Fate Chip spent as follows;
Example - Father MacDonald invokes this Miracle and spends a Blue Fate Chip. He has a Faith level of 4d10 and he rolls 14 on his Faith test, netting himself a raise. He now has an effective "Size" of 6+4+1=11 (own size + Faith level + amount of raises = 11) when resolving any physical damage, normal or magical, in combat. If Black Bart takes a pot shot at Father MacDonald in the hour that the Miracle lasts and hits him in the noggin' causing 37 damage then Father MacDonald only takes 3 wounds (37 divided by 11) instead of 6 (37 divided by 6) which would have killed him. Of course he still may reduce these wounds further with the aid of Fate Chips
TN: 5
Speed: 2
Duration: 2 Rounds per Faith Level
Range: Touch
Description
The Abominations of the Weird West need to be taught a lesson of the "Holy Retribution" variety, or so the Blessed say. This Miracle allows a Blessed to fight an Abomination on more equal (and traditional) terms. When the Miracle is invoked a single hand held weapon posessed by the Blessed character, such as a knife, staff, or - more properly - a sword, becomes engulfed in flames which will do more harm against those mutated creatures created by the Reckoning - Mojave Rattlers, Maze Dragons, Devil Bats, Desert Things, Harrowed, Jackalopes et al. The flames will do no extra damage to "normal" creatures or non-physical creatures, such as Night Haunts and Wraiths, nor will it do extra harm to creatures around since before the Reckoning - certain breeds of Vampires and Werewolves for example - only those twisted abominations which were put on Earth by the Reckoners themselves.
The Miracle costs a Fate Chip to invoke and gives the enchanted weapon extra damage in combat against Abominations as follows;
This extra damage goes on top of any damage caused by the weapon itself and the Preachers Strength, it ignores all armour and gives the extra Defence Bonus as the creatures are repulsed by the holy power of the weapon!
For example Preacher Smith wields a cavalry sabre and invokes Azrael's Blessing with a Red Fate Chip - he scores 16 on his Faith roll (2 raises) so his sword now does: Preacher's STR + 2d8 (for the sabre) + 3d6 (for the Miracle) damage, ignores all armour and gives a Defence bonus of: Precher's Fightin:Sword level + 2 (for the sabre) + 2 (for the Miracle). Phew.....
Don't forget that in extreme circumstances a weapon can be blessed in such a way to create a small amount of light, about 2 yards of good light per Succes & Raise, but obviously this is a bit costly in terms of fate chips...
TN: 5
Speed: 1
Duration: 1 minute per Faith level
Range: Self
Description
Some religions partake in walking across burning coals to prove their faith to their Patron, believing the power of their God(s) would protect them from harm. Others say that Hell is filled with fire and brimstone and that if the Lord protects his servants from the effects of fire it is a direct challenge to Satan himself.
Whatever the theory, this Miracle offers some protection for the Blessed character against the effects of fire and flame.
If the powers that be had their way this Miracle would work every time for the Blessed individual, but the evil forces that have power over fire and brimstone have a certain influence over the outcome of this Miracle. To represent this the Marshal makes the Preacher's Faith roll in secret and doesn't tell the player whether it has worked or not until they actually enter the burning building to save the mayors wife, or he is actually holding up his cross against the wrath of the Fire Demon!
In game terms every success and raise netted on the Faith roll halves the damage caused by fire (both natural and magical) on the blessed's person.
E.G Sister Gabriella needs to escape from a burning church but she needs to run through a room filled with flames to do this. She invokes her Miracle (the Marshal rolling for her) and sprints across the room hoping that the Lord has heard her prayers...She would ordinarily take 5d12 damage to each part of her body for this, being totally consumed by fire, but depending on what she scored on her Faith roll the following happens;
The effects of the Miracle last for 1 minute per Faith level and all damage taken by fire or heat sources in that time is reduced as above.
If the Blessed does not have a Holy symbol about their person when invoking this Miracle (ie a Crucifix or Bible) then the TN to invoke becomes 7!
TN: 5 or 9 (see below)
Speed: 2
Duration: 10 mins per success & raise
Range: Self/Touch
Description
Losing one's head in the Weird West is all to easy, what with all these vile abominations, unholy cults, and wickedness in every corner of the world - you can understand why some people just lose it completely! The Blessed, however, are expected to be a beacon of hope for the populace, a shoulder to cry on or solid rock of faith to shelter behind. A Preacher's mind must remain calm at all times and often this calmness is infectious.
When this Miracle is invoked the Preacher, or target that he touches will have their mind calmed utterly - adding the Preacher's Faith level to all Spirit or Guts rolls, including Spirit related rolls for resisting magical mind attacks, opposed Spirit rolls, Hexes (but whether a Preacher would use this for the benefit of a Huckster is another story) and Guts checks. The only exception is Dominion checks for the Harrowed, the Manitou always struggles for control when the target least expects it - the Miracle does however convey a bonus if the Manitou tries to temporarily take control (when it spends a fate chip), a Harrowed recipient of this favour may cause the Manitou to add the Preacher's Faith level to the TN it needs to wrest control of the Harrowed for it's dastardly deeds!
This Miracle may only affect the Preacher herself or any other target of the same Faith (they must have at least one point in Faith for this to work on them). If a target has no Faith then the TN to invoke jumps to 9. If a target is of conflicting Faith (I.E an Indian Brave) then the Miracle has no effect upon them.
Another use of this Miracle is that people afflicted with fear or madness may have the effects momentarily calmed if the Preacher gently holds the targets head between her hands and invokes the Miracle. The exact effect depends upon how crazy/scared the individual was to begin with!
NB - If the Preacher at any point fails to invoke this Miracle (ie fails her Faith test) then she may not access the Miracle again for 1 whole day, as her Diety has deemed her a failure...
TN: 5
Speed: 1
Duration: As long as the Blessed is able to keep singing (Concentration usually)
Range: Earshot
You get the idea, this Miracle keeps people going when, by all rights, be in an unconscious state having a bit of a rest. The Miracle lasts for as long as the Preacher sings the Hymn, if he stops then the Miracle also stops and all effects are cancelled. The Miracle may also affect the Preacher himself but the base TN is 9 rather than 5. The Preacher must also "Concentrate" for this Miracle to work, so he can't run around singing whilst lumping Harrowed over the head with a hickory stick unless he passes a Smarts (9) check before performing any complex actions
TN: 5
Speed: 1 minute prayer
Duration: 1 hour/permanent
Range: Touch
Description
Many a time holy men have saved the lives of starving people with gifts of food and water, as Jesus did with his bread and fish trick. The Preacher invokes the Miracle, cups his hands together and they become filled with cool water suitable for drinking. He may attempt this Miracle as often as desired, going bust, however, means the Miracle will be off limits to him for the next 24 hours. Alternatively the Preacher may close his hands over a morsel of food, such as a berry, nuts , breadcrumbs, or other small edible tid-bit and invokes the Miracle. When his hands are opened they will be full of berries, nuts or a whole crust of bread, whatever he was originally holding. This Miracle will not work on inedible foods (such as poisoned berries) or animals (meat), and any food created in this way must be eaten within the hour, else it rots.
TN: 5
Speed: 1
Duration: Until next damaged, or 10 minutes
Range: 5 yards per Faith Level
Description
This Miracle is invoked upon a friend or ally and lasts until the target is next damaged, when this happens the damage roll is made on the Blessed character instead as all the wounds are magically transposed from the target to the preacher. The only drawback is that wounds caused in this way cannot be negated by fate chips...the preacher has to take full damage. However, for every raise that the Preacher gains on his Faith roll when invoking the Miracle he may ignore one wound caused to his person from every damage roll, although this will cost both the Preacher and the recipient of the Miracle d6 points of wind per wound negated in this way (it's up to the Preacher whether he ignores any wounds or not)
Existing wounds prior to the Miracle being invoked cannot be transfered onto the preacher. If the target is not attacked or hurt then the miracle wears off within 10 minutes.
TN: 7
Speed: 1
Duration: Faith Level minutes
Range: Self/Feet
Description
Certain Holy men in history have been granted the power to walk on water, usually because they liked to show off. With this Miracle the Blessed individual may repeat these antics herself. The character closes their eyes, invokes the Miracle and plants both feet on a calm body of water - needing total conviction that the Miracle will work for it actually to work. The Blessed is then able to walk on the surface of any body of water (includung dangerous swamps) so long as the water isn't too unsettled. If the Faith roll is failed then she will not know 'till she has actually planted both feet on the surface of the water, i.e. fallen in!.
NB - The Miracle only affects the Blessed's feet, crawling around or falling over will prematurely end the Miracle, as will stepping on dry land
TN: Variable
Speed: 3
Duration: Until circle is crossed
Range: 1 yard radius per level of Faith
Description
Many holy men the world over know this useful protection Miracle. The Blessed draws a circle (or line) on the ground, be it using a stick in the sand or a chalk mark on stone, then he invokes the Miracle (make a faith roll in secret for the player and note the result). No creature which is normally affected by the Protection Miracle may enter the circle (or cross the line) unless they pass a Spirit check with TN equal to the original Faith roll invoke Miracle, the creature of evil must actually get a raise to enter the circle. Simply a success means they may strike at any individuals inside the circle (if they are within reach) but may not actually enter. A failure indicates they cannot cross and take 1d4 wind damage - they also may not harm any people inside the circle, and so may not fire any weapons etc, but they may attempt to enter again as often as they wish. Going bust on the Spirit roll means the creature takes 4d6 actual damage and cannot attempt to cross again. The Miracle is cancelled out if anyone/thing crosses over the line from either inside or outside (i.e a creature gets into the circle or the blessed leaves the circle)
Smart Preachers can also use this Miracle to trap a supernatural creature Inside a circle rather than keep creatures out of a circle!.