Miracle Skills

Only one skill is required to invoke miracles—faith. Unlike magic or psionic skills, it can be used unskilled. It can also be taken by those without the Miracles Perk, allowing such characters to assist someone who does. Faith may occasionally be useful in resisting certain evil influences as well.

Choosing Miracles

Different religions have different traditions and thus have different kinds of miracles. Benevolent deities grant blessings or healing, while angry or vengeful gods are more likely to channel hostile powers to their followers. Every character begins with the ward enemy miracle and two others that fit his mythos when he takes the Miracles Perk. Which miracles fit a particular religion is up to the player and the Game Master. Miracles selected shouldn’t exceed the Spirit Axiom of the character’s cosm—the power comes from the gods of his realm, not the invoker himself.

Invoking Miracles

Miracles are invoked with the faith skill as an action (unless the miracle says otherwise). A character may never invoke more than one miracle per turn, and must be able to speak and move her hands. If the test is successful, check the miracle’s Standard, Good, and Outstanding Success results. If the faith test fails, the invoker suffers 2 Shock, and also becomes Very Stymied on a Mishap. Ritual and respect are important for miracles, and gods may not be rushed. Only one miracle may be invoked at a time—although Multi-Targeting is allowed unless the description forbids it, and multiple miracles may be active at once.

Concentration
Should a character suffer a successful interaction or damaging attack while maintaining a miracle with a Duration of Concentration, or invoking a power that isn’t yet completed, he must pass a willpower or Spirit test. If failed, the miracle or invocation ends instantly, as do all other miracles maintained with Concentration. Maintaining holy energy is fatiguing. The chosen suffers a -2 to all faith or Concentration totals for each miracle he continues to maintain via Concentration. Spells, psi powers, and similar abilities count for concentration and maintaining as well!

Stacking
If a character is affected by more than one enhancement or reduction that changes a skill or attribute—technology, miracles, etc.—the effects don’t stack. The target gets the strongest of the effects, however. Characters may benefit from effects that enhance different attributes, however.

Religions

When a character takes adds in the faith skill, they apply only to one specific religion, chosen when the skill is purchased. The specific religion is up to the player, and helps determine what miracles he can cast and what values it upholds (important for Favor & Penance, below). Some religions are focused primarily on self-empowerment, healing, and helping one’s fellow man and woman. Others may be concerned more with calling fire and brimstone down on those who oppose their cause. A sampling of religions common to the Possibility Wars includes:

• Aysle—The Exemplars: The clerics of Aysle pray to a pantheon of legendary beings believed to be paragons of Light and Darkness. Those of the Light focus on truth, honor, and valor. Exemplars of Darkness value personal gain and power above all else.
• Core Earth—Various: The people of Earth continue to practice Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Voodoo, and countless others. In the wake of the Possibility Wars, the miracles of these many and various religions seem far more direct.
• Cyberpapacy—The Cyber Church: Jean Malraux preaches an extreme doctrine of twisted quasi-Christianity reminiscent of medieval Catholicism, riddled with exceptions and inconsistencies for the Cyberpope to exploit.
• Living Land—Keta Kalles: Although other deities exist in this pantheon, worship is almost exclusively reserved for Lanala, the savage and powerful goddess of cyclical life and sensation.
• The Nile Empire—Amaatism: On the surface this religion appears similar to the beliefs of ancient Egypt, sharing gods, concepts, and mythology. Differences beyond the names and broad cosmetic details betray that Amaat’s ideals are of Terran origin, a divergent cult originally organized by Pharaoh Mobius’s ancient father.
• Orrorsh—Sacellum: This hard-edged religion is like a tenacious weed growing in a barren wasteland. It resembles an extreme form of Protestant Christian worship with a greater emphasis on a fear of the Devil and the punishment of sin.

Favor & Penance
For some reason, some individuals are “chosen“ by their religion to embody its values and ideals. Faith gives them amazing abilities, but straying from the path causes their power to wane. Minor violations of a religion cause a loss of favor. What constitutes a transgression is up to the player, the Game Master, and the nature of the sect’s tenets. When this occurs, the hero suffers a -2 to his faith tests for the remainder of the act. Major violations cut the avatar off from his deities altogether. He cannot invoke miracles until he performs significant penance. Major sins for most good religions are acts like murder, desecration of something holy, or taking advantage of others. Regaining favor after a major sin requires a significant act of penance and sincere regret. Putting oneself at great personal and specific risk for others is usually good enough to atone—at least enough for forgiveness and the restoration of power (which can always be taken away again).