Divine Tests
With the coming of the dawn, new light can be shed on life's challenges. The priestess...
1-6: Suffers a -1d4 penalty to rolls when not engaging in her emphasis resolutely for the next 1d6 turns. Why do otherwise?
- For example, if her emphasis is the Dawn Itself, then the priestess may suffer for 4 turns a -2 to all rolls when not seeing or being like the dawn.
7-11: Loses access to some of her spells and/or turn ability (50% chance for each one) until she undertakes various courageous, honorable, and/or self-sacrificial actions that are related to her emphasis in order to recover them individually.
- With an emphasis of Doing Your Duty, the priestess might have to attend to her family's holdings or assist struggling tribe members so she can use three of her spells again.
12-17: Be changed in an unfortunate way based on the priestess’s emphasis for 1d12 days. Three ability scores will be reduced by 1d3, one will be improved by 1d3, and the test will be obvious to others.
- Emphasize Beauty could make her stunning, with a Charisma increase of 3, but reduce her Intelligence by 3 and her Wisdom by 1 for 4 days. Her friends and strangers would react to her quite differently now.
18+ Experiences a major test, risking great damage or an absence in a way that’s related to her emphasis. If the priestess doesn't begin it within 1d3 days, it will happen on its own. Roll 1d3.
[1] Journey to a land that reflects the priestess’s emphasis for 1d3 days per divine test result over 17. She will take 1d8-1 damage per day gone, but also likely return with some treasure (per Referee, if the priestess survives).
[2] Face a monster with an HD equal to the divine test result. It will be related to the priestess's emphasis, and her allies can assist her in battle.
[3] Undergo an ordeal in a manner similar to results #12-17 above, but lasting 1d3 days per divine test over 17, with a base 10% chance of perishing each day, along with an even greater boon, such as learning a new ability or increasing an ability score by 1d2 if successfully completed.
- Be Eternally Reborn with a test of 21 might involve the priestess:
[1] Traveling to a place of one of her prior incarnations for 9 days, taking 9d8-9 damage, and even returning with a useful item that she had used in that previous life.
[2] Standing before a 21 HD enraged, giant bull that regenerates.
[3] For 6 days, losing and regaining qualities and abilities that she has with a 10% chance of being slain as a result for each. She might gain the ability to sense the presence of those abilities in others at will if she survives the process.
As with all results, if the priestess has more than one emphasis, which one applies can be determined at random.
Emphases of Hewsos
With various themes, her followers often conjoin at least two, being interpreted both literally and figuratively. Roll d6, then roll again, selecting 1 per listing.
1. Be Eternally Reborn, Rejuvenation, Dreams
2. Emphasize Beauty, Love, Celestial Colors
3. Dance Throughout the World, Fertility, Sweet Joy
4. Doing Your Duty, Sacrosanct Innocence / Daughter of the Sky God, Independence
5. Bringing Light, Enlightenment, Focus
6. Dawn Itself, Banishing Darkness, Intuition
Folk Variations
The guidelines, magical side-effects, divine tests, and spells of similar sister-goddesses can be shown to mirror Hewsos too.
- Athena: Greek, emphasizing doing your duty and banishing darkness
- Artemis: also Greek, requiring sacrosanct innocence, focus, and independence
- Aurora: Roman, dutiful as the dawn herself
- Brigid: Gaelic, bringing light and enlightenment
- Eos: Greek as well, the dawn dancing her fertility throughout the world
- Eostre: Anglo-Saxon, quite sweet, fertile, and reborn with Spring
- Idunn: Norse, keeper of rejuvenating apples that require protection
- Lada: Slavic, reflecting joy, love, and fertility
- Zorya: also Slavic, bringing light via the dawn
For example, a priestess of Hewsos could use some of the magical side-effects and spells of Athena, and vice versa.
Cleric-Acrobats
Dancing and tumbling, they lightly move out of the way, reflecting the way of both Hewsos and her many sisters.
- Treat them as clerics, except that they know and can cast only 1 spell of their divinity per day at each level that a cleric of equal level could cast. For example, a 3rd level cleric-acrobat of Hewsos could cast one 1st and one 2nd level spell from her list each day.
- In addition, they lose the ability to turn, use mysteries, wear armor, or even carry much for that matter.
- They also may only fight with quarterstaffs, daggers, darts, short swords, hand axes, clubs, and/or unarmed attacks, as permitted by their divinity.
- In return, they gain the following benefits, being able to perform:
- General Dodging: Add their cleric-acrobat level to their AC bonus when they are aware of and can avoid an attack each round, still acting otherwise normally.
- Full Avoidance: Do nothing else during their turn but attempt to get out of the way if possible, saving vs. paralysis/ making a Reflex save DC 15, which becomes 1 harder for every level or HD their attacker has. If successful, they are unharmed or unaffected.
- Tumble & Strike: Make the same save as Fully Avoid to do a flip and attack a foe, ignoring their target's Dexterity bonus (if any) and gaining a +1d3 bonus to hit if successful.
- Leaping: Add 1d2 x 10% to the distance and 1d2 to the checks per their cleric-acrobat level for any jumps that they can perform each round.
- Treading Carefully: Add their cleric-acrobat level to their saves and other rolls to avoid falling down (e.g. whether a flat area, precipice, a tightrope, etc.) or from stepping on traps each round.
- Softer Landings: Subtract 1d3 per their cleric-acrobat level from any falling damage they might take each round.
For example, along with her spell abilities, a 3rd level cleric-acrobat could add 3 to her AC bonus vs. attacks she can move away from, 3d2 x 10% to the distance or +3d3 to the checks for her leaps, 3 to avoid falling over, and reduce her falling damage by 2d3. She could also save with a -3 penalty to do nothing else but completely avoid an attack by a 3 HD foe, or to roll and strike their weak spot to gain a +1d3 bonus to hit.
Single-classed acrobats, who often follow Hewsos and similar goddesses too, do not have cleric abilities, but gain double the listed benefits above. They otherwise fight and save as thieves.
Heroes
Blessed, focused, chosen ones, they carry heavenly burdens that can be lifted by the Goddess of the Dawn.
- Treat them as fighters, using their bonus to hit, HD, and saves, but they gain no weapon specialization or other special fighter abilities. They may also only use medium armor at most so that they can show off their heroism better.
- In return, one of their ability scores is automatically 16 + 1d4, which is what their focus or blessing is.
- In addition, they can use that ability score in lieu of others when needed, up to their level times per encounter. For example, a 1st level hero whose focus was Strength could apply his strength modifier to help avoid an attack by improving his AC once per encounter, using his might to brush aside the hit. On the other hand, a 4th level hero who is blessed with Intelligence could use his intelligence modifier to hit or damage cleverly, or to get a better reaction adjustment with his sharp wit, a total of 4 times per encounter.
- Last, they are always targeted with greatest preference by monsters and foes whenever possible- even moreso than PIE barbarian swordsmen and the like (link), with some rival divinities specifically seeking them out for defeat- for they are heroes!
Next week: spells of Hewsos and a Hewsos encounter
RPG srd Old School 1st ed AD&D Dawn Goddess Proto-Indo-European Cleric Domains Priest Spheres PDF Yamnaya
