Lechter Doily's Nest

Pilgrims' Prayers, Tier I

Here is the first step in my reskin/expansion of the cleric class in Shadowdark RPG, renamed "The Pilgrim." All six of the tier I spells from the base game are represented here, along with six new ones largely adapted from AD&D or Dungeon Crawl Classics. The names have been changed to add flavor specific to my setting, though I hope that other referees can take some inspiration to ground cleric prayers within their own fiction.


The Pilgrims' Prayers

Here are given many of the prayers commonly invoked by the Pilgrims who walk the Perilous Path—in service to the gods, or their own spiritual journey. The entries listed are not titles per se, but the words of the prayers as they are to be spoken.

Note that when a prayer is written with the phrase "[my god]", the Pilgrim is intended to substitute the name of the god under whom they took the Travellers' Oath.

Tier I

  1. Abundant shall flow the milk of the Earth
    A prayer for generating a small quantity of food

  2. Blessed be this day
    A set of rites for officiating certain ceremonies

  3. Devotion, be my lamp
    A simple prayer for shining light in dark places

  4. Faith, be my shield
    A prayer for martial protection

  5. For I shall see the wicked by their breath
    A prayer for revealing evil powers

  6. Let no evil pierce us
    A prayer for warding against evil powers

  7. Let no wind break us
    A prayer for surviving harsh weather

  8. Pure shall be the path of the righteous
    A prayer for rebuking undead creatures

  9. Tremble before [my god]
    A prayer for dooming one's foes

  10. Warm this aging flesh
    A gentle healing prayer

  11. [My god], grant us strength
    A prayer for empowering warriors

  12. [My god], make me your temple
    A prayer to remove one's self from mortal conflict

ABUNDANT SHALL FLOW THE MILK OF THE EARTH

Grasp any non-magical stone, of such proportion that it may be held in a single hand. The stone begins to lactate, producing the milk of Ilia. Any living creature may drink from the stone, to glean as much sustenance as 1 day's rations would otherwise offer. The stone feeds ld4 people before running dry, and once used is forever considered magical, and thereby unuseable for this prayer a second time.

BLESSED BE THIS DAY

Pilgrims are invested with the authority to officiate certain ceremonies, though most folk would prefer to find a proper priest. This prayer may only be invoked as a ritual. Choose one:

DEVOTION, BE MY LAMP

One object you touch glows with a bright, heatless light; illuminating 30' in each direction for up to one hour of real time.

FAITH, BE MY SHIELD

A protective force wrought of your holy conviction surrounds you. You gain a +1 bonus to your armor class for 5 rounds.

FOR I SHALL SEE THE WICKED BY THEIR BREATH

You are able to sense emanations of evil for so long as you maintain concentration. The prayer's area of perception extends 30'.

LET NO EVIL PIERCE US

You touch one willing creature, guarding them against the forces of Pandemonium for so long as you maintain concentration. Through this prayer, evil beings have disadvantage on attacks and hostile spellcasting checks made against the warded character. Furthermore, evil beings cannot possess, compel, or beguile them. When this prayer is invoked on an already possessed creature, the possessing entity, should it be evil, must make a Charisma save against the prayer's spellcasting check, being exorcised on a failure.

LET NO WINDS BREAK US

You touch one willing creature, guarding them against the elements, for so long as you are able to maintain concentration. Through this prayer, the warded creature is immune to the effects of extreme weather with natural cause, and has advantage on saving checks made against the effects of super-natural heat or cold.

PURE SHALL BE THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Energy of life issues forth from your holy symbol, distressing all undead creatures within sight. Undead creatures of 9 HD or less must make a Charisma saving check against your spellcasting check. On a failure they flee from you for 5 rounds, and cannot willingly enter or end their turn within 30' of you. Any creature who fails by 10 or more is isntantly destroyed!

TREMBLE BEFORE [MY GOD]

You may touch one creature, briefly dooming their actions. The next two times they roll a d20, roll a d4 and subtract the result from their roll. (Note that the d4 is subtracted from the roll, not just the result. Hence, a roll of 20 on the d20 can never count as a critical success as it will be read as 16–9, and the margin of critical failure on the d20 extends to 2–5.)

WARM THIS AGING FLESH

Your holy symbol burns with the flame of the kiln of life, healing one creature you touch with it. Roll a number of d6s equal to 1+ half your level rounded down: The prayer's recipient regains HP equal to the result.

[MY GOD], GRANT US YOUR STRENGTH

You touch one weapon to bless it, giving it +1 to attack and damage for 5 rounds.

[MY GOD], MAKE ME YOUR TEMPLE

Your holy mission becomes a shroud against mortal conflict. For up to 15 minutes real time, all creatures must make a Charisma check against your Wisdom score before targeting you with any hostile action. The effects of this prayer terminate if you take any hostile action against another creature.


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