Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

More rules for divine spellcasters in my games...

The gods of Tel-Avi are extremely powerful, but not omnipotent, or at least not omnipresent. Whether by limitations on their power, area of influence, or attention, there are places in the world where a given god’s power fails to extend. In such an area it becomes more difficult for a priest to channel his god’s power, resulting in a chance for his spells to simply fail. This power vacuum is what leads many faiths to have monotheistic, or at least monolatrous, tendencies. If the priests of a foreign god are unable to perform the miracles expected of them, then theirs must clearly be a false god.


When operating in an area foreign to their god, a divine spellcaster must make a caster level check in order to cast any spell. The DC for this check is equal to 15 + 2x the level of the spell being cast, but the caster can apply his spellcasting ability modifier (Wisdom for Clerics, Charisma for Oracles, etc.) as a bonus on this check. Similarly, any saving throws required by a supernatural power granted by his divine class, suffer a -2 penalty to the save DC.

This penalty applies to the major deities as follows:

• Dgn: Dgn’s fish-cultists suffer this reduction in power any time they are out of sight of a body of water.
• YGO: The Yigden suffer this reduction of power when on the perpetually overcast Northern Continent, and when underground, as the sun holds no power in these places.
• Shed: Shed is in a constant cycle of death and rebirth. While not bound to a particularly locality, Shed’s priests are diminished for the last six years of Shed’s eighteen year cycle, as Shed’s power wanes leading up to his death. Because of the limited intercession of Shed’s midwives, spells and abilities that deal cold damage or which cause hunger or fatigue never suffer this diminishment.
• Razh Jah: Jahans are diminished anywhere outside of Pulau-Razh, as Razh-Jah’s rule is still limited to that island.

Cosmogonists, with their equal acceptance of all deities, and the followers of the Nowhere Man, who barely believe in their god’s existence, are not subject to this penalty.


The diverse smaller cults are generally limited to specific locales. Players creating their own cult should specify a single continent on which their spells function without penalty. In all other locales, their spells are diminished as above.