Ceremony - Cleric

(See also: Ceremony)

The ceremony spell represents certain functions carried out by religious organizations, and has various applications, depending on the level of the priest. A ceremony does not leave behind an aura of magic (although in some cases an aura of good or evil might be present and thus detectable).and the effects of a ceremony cannot be dispelled. Specific ceremonies vary from religion to religion, but usually encompass these functions:

1st level cleric: | coming of age, burial, marriage ------------------+----------------------------------------- 3rd level cleric: | dedication, investiture, consecrate item 5th level cleric: | ordination, special vows 7th level cleric: | consecrate ground 9th level cleric: | anathematize

Each of these varieties of the ceremony spell requires a priest of the indicated/level or a higher one, with additional restrictions as described below. All ceremony spells except anathematize have no saving throw, since the recipient is either inanimate or presumed to be willing; these simply fail if performed on someone who is unwilling to receive the benefit. Briefly, the ceremonies listed do the following things:

Coming of age is a limited form of bless spell that is performed upon a young man (and in some cultures a young woman) at some point relatively early in life, often the age of 12. A young person who under goes this ceremony receives a +1 bonus to any single saving throw, which can be taken at any time after the coming of age ceremony is completed. In some cultures, the coming of age ceremony has a symbolic significance, such that an adolescent must receive this blessing before he or she can enjoy the rights and privileges of adulthood.

Burial magically protects a corpse, and bestows it with the blessing of the religious organization. The body is shielded for one week as if by a protection from evil spell, and anyone trying to disinter the corpse within that time must make a saving throw vs. spell or stop and flee in fear for one turn.

Marriage has no tangible after-effect (it does not guarantee happiness or harmony), but it usually carries a moral or legal significance, not dissimilar to the various rites of marriage that are performed in our real world.

Dedication allows the recipient of the spell to be taken into the ranks of the performing priest's religion, making that person a sanctioned worshiper of the priest's deity. The effect of a dedication is permanent, unless the worshiper demonstrates a desire to change allegiance to a different deity. In such a case, the earlier dedication can be overridden by a new dedication performed by a priest of a higher level than the one who performed the previous dedication.

Investiture must be performed on any aspiring priest before that individual can achieve the status of a 1st level priest.

Consecrate item must be performed on any object to be placed on an altar or in some other location within a religious edifice. Holy (or unholy) water must be kept in a properly consecrated container, to prevent it from losing its potency.

Ordination must be performed on a priest before the individual can assume responsibility for a congregation or assume similar duties, and even an adventuring priest must be ordained before he or she can gain followers and establish a following or other sort of group. In all cases, the priest performing the ordination must be of higher level than the recipient; this ceremony is often conducted as part of the training a priest receives in order to advance from 2nd to 3rd level.

Special vows can be received by a would-be paladin or knight before that individual embarks upon a career in the desired profession. The effects last for as long as it takes the individual to gain enough experience points to rise to the upper limit of the current level. The special vows can then be renewed as part of the individual's training between levels, or at any time during advancement through the next higher level. A paladin who has received special vows is immune to the effects of bestow curse spells (but not cursed items) for as long as the special vows remain in effect. Additionally, this ceremony renders the subject more susceptible (-4 on saving throw) to any quest spell cast upon him or her by a priest of the same alignment as the one who performed the special vows ceremony.

Consecrate ground should be performed upon an area before any holy (unholy) structure is built on the site. A religious edifice constructed on ground that has not been consecrated will slowly but irrevocably fall into a state of disrepair, having a 1% chance per year cumulative, of actually collapsing as a result of this oversight. This ceremony must be performed before the area in question is altered in any way (for example, landscaping) and before any construction materials are brought to the site; it has no effect if it is done as an afterthought. Consecrate ground can be used on a plot of land destined for use as a graveyard, and in such a case the graveyard itself automatically turns undead each round with the same effectiveness as a 3rd level cleric. (Or, if the consecration of a would-be graveyard is performed by an evil cleric, any undead creatures occupying the area are treated as if they were being protected and controlled by an evil cleric of 3rd level.)

Anathematize is a form of excommunication by means of which the offender is literally branded on the cheek, forehead, arm, or hand with a symbol. sigil, or sign that identifies the subject (to those who understand the symbol) as someone who has committed a serious offense in the eyes of his or her deity. An unwilling subject of this spell is allowed a saving throw vs. spell, at -4, to escape its effects. If the recipient is not truly deserving of the telling brand, the ceremony fails when performed. A successful atonement causes the brand to fade, and possibly vanish. If the offending actions were caused magically or by some other external force, the brand utterly disappears. If the offending actions were willful, the brand cannot be completely removed.

The components for the various ceremony spells vary from religion to religion, but the material component always involves the use of the cleric's holy symbol in one way or another.

Standard costs for performing these ceremonies are as follows: coming of age, 5-15 sp; burial 5-50 gp; marriage, 1-20 gp; dedication, 1-10 sp (or sometimes free); investiture, 1-100 gp (or sometimes free); consecrate item, usually free; ordination, usually free but possibly as much as 200 gp, special vows, 1-100 gp (or sometimes free); consecrate ground, 100-600 gp depending on the size of the area and the level of the priest; and anathematize is always performed at no charge, since this ceremony is always deemed to be in the best interests of the priest's religion.