A PC with a deity X goes to the church from X and...


Advice


I'm currently preparing RotR as GM, but I'm new to pathfinder, so noob question ahead:

What use can PCs have from NPCs that follow the same deity as the PC? If a PC following deity X meets an NPCs priest or church of that deity, is there anything that the PC can get from that? He already should have the knowledge about that deity since the PC is following it already, so is there a specific advantage for a PC to meet a NPC that shares the same religion?

Thanks!

The Exchange

They might have similar ideals and react positivity to requests for help?


Perhaps you can use the npc as a sort of quest master that requests task from the pc in order to extend the influence of their faith.

And always offer guidance to the character for free (remind character of the ideals of their faith).


There are no automatic benefits, if that's what you mean.

The PC can expect a more sympathetic ear from the NPC follower of the same deity.. usually.

Generally, some NPCs might offer a "Boon" that might be easier to get from someone of the same faith. See the Gamemastery Guide NPCs here on the PRD for examples of Boons.

Otherwise, you can use that to reward good role-playing. If the PC has played true to the tenets of his/her faith, for example, the NPC priest might offer a small discount on the costs of potions or religious supplies (such as holy water).

Depending on the degree to which you want to get involved, you may want to be cautious with this. If you want to make membership in the congregation a bigger element, you could look for the Faction Guide, which talks about gaining benefits from membership in organizations. In that, there are specific benefits for earning favor within the organization.


I generally have NPC's start off with "friendly" attitudes towards PCs of the same faith, unless there are extraneous circumstances that might dictate a lower starting attitude (opposing races, rumors about misdeeds, etc.). It's also possible the NPC could have heard of the PCs positive exploits and have a starting attitude of "helpful."

If helpful, they could possibly put up the PCs for free (free room and board), offer minor healing assistance, and the like. Good luck!


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"Specific advantage"? No.

Think about the real world.

If a Christian moves to a new town where there's a Christian church, what can they get from that? Advice. Friends. A social club. A place to go for worship. Maybe if they need a babysitter or a person to mow their lawn or someone to help them move furniture, the priest might help or ask some of the congregation to help - but it would be expected that the person would pay fairly for this help. If they have really hard times, the priest/church might help with some charity donations or even offer shelter if the person is so down on his luck that he needs a place to stay. That sort of thing.

That's about what a character should get in Golarion. Nothing for free (no free healing or free spellcasting services). Not a place to stay. But they should be able to get advice and friends and contacts they can use if they need services. I might go so far as to say that priests can be hired for spellcasting (healing, curing, divinations, etc.) at the going rate BUT they mostly only sell to church members, so you might get turned away if you go to a church you don't belong to ("Sorry my son, but I only have a few such spells and the day is too early, I may need to cast them for my congregation. Come back tonight when I'm getting ready for bed and I'll sell you any spells I might have left.") but you'd probably not be turned away going to your own church.

On the other hand...

If what the adventurers are doing is helping the community and especially helping the congregation of that particular priest/church, then the priest might be very willing to throw around a few free spells for his new "champions" to make sure they survive and continue helping his followers, but now we're delving into roleplaying - it often pays off to be of good alignment and to protect and serve the community where you adventure, and the nobility, upper class patrons, and clergy, will usually recognize and reward such behavior. But again, this isn't automatic for belonging to a religion, but rather a reflection of the good deeds the PCs are doing. But if they ALSO belong to a local church, that priest will go out of his way to reward their good deeds (and maybe even advertise their good deeds that were "done in the name of his god and church") - what priest could resist a chance for such free advertising.


Thank you so much! I just refresh my page and suddenly I had already five replies. :D

I understand there's no rules regarding this but you guys answered exactly to what I needed to know.

I'll also check that link for the Boons. I like that idea also.

Thanks again!


Also remember that if a cleric (or other divine spellcaster) falls from grace, they are going to need someone of the same faith to cast an atonement spell - that is going to be a lot easier if they have a pre-existing relationship with the guy.

Having said that, in all my time GMing I can count the number of times it has happened on the fingers of one hand - doesn't stop the players worrying about it though...


You could argue that the fact that the PC openly worships the deity and openly carries the holy symbol (as most clerics do) he could get a +2 circumstance bonus to diplomacy checks.

Also as someone mentioned boons. Look in he game mastery guide for ideas on boons for priests or clergy.


Another thing to think about. If you are seen as straying from the faith, members of you own faith will be me most disapproving. There can be a strong element of, "You are one of us, and you should know better" among a lot of religions and faiths. That in turn can cause them to be MORE critical of one of their own than they would be of the same behavior from a normal heathen.

So, if a rumour gets around that a Cleric of Cayden Cailean has gone sober, they can be ready to catch all sorts of flak from the faithful...

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