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Designing my own game system; suggestions for powers granted by deity of law?

System Ufera

First Post
Hello, everyone! As some of you may already know, I'm designing my own RPG system. Right now, I'm trying to design the mechanics for Divine magic, and while I have some vague ideas for how it will work, I also need a means of testing what I come up with. Therefore, I need to come up with content for a specific deity to do the testing with. One of my players wants to play a worshiper of Shamutesh, my game's deity of Clarity, Justice, Law, and Truth; therefore, I shall start with him.

Here's the "flavor" I have so far for Shamutesh:

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Shamutesh



Benefactor Type: Parodeshi Deity



Said to see all that the sun's light touches, Shamutesh is a patron god of judges, lawmen, and all those who seek to uphold the law, protect the truth, and punish evildoers. Shamutesh's temples function as courthouses where the accused are tried, his shrines are where heroes-to-be pray for inspiration or blessings before seeking to bring about justice, and his monasteries are home to dedicated justiciars who train and study day and night so that they may be able to better apprehend those who commit acts of evil.


Those who follow Shamutesh can find many rewards in their service, going far beyond the monetary payments they receive from, say, a merchant whose caravans have been attacked by bandits or a falsely accused person trying to prove his or her innocence. Those whose service in Shamutesh's name goes beyond that of his usual followers are often treated with authority even by those who do not follow Shamutesh, and may find themselves with extra privileges among enforcers of the law. The ability to pray for miracles, of course, is also included.


Symbol(s): The Sun (followers of a more martial leaning tend to wield flails to represent the sun)


Domains: Clarity, Justice, Protection, Truth


Things considered Sacred: Upholding the law, telling and advocating for the truth, being ever vigilant in trying to find the truth, hunting and apprehending evildoers


Things considered Pariah: Breaking the law, telling lies (especially to defame an innocent person or to protect a criminal), being deceived by evildoers, harming an innocent person


Duties of Followers: Far from employers of an angry mob mentality, the followers of Shamutesh do not jump to conclusions about the evildoers they pursue. In all but the most urgent of situations, Shamutesh instructs his followers to seek out confirmation of a person's guilt before attempting to apprehend the guilty person. While in most situations the person's guilt or innocence is easily confirmed, if an innocent person is ever harmed by any follower of Shamutesh, the follower is banished from the ranks of the followers of Shamutesh until the injustice has been redeemed, usually by the banished follower giving service or other compensation to the harmed innocent equivalent to the harm done. Multiple instances of harming innocents can result in additional punishment, though harming an innocent intentionally usually results in permanent banishment and, in extreme cases, being hunted down by those more worthy of service to Shamutesh.



For this and other reasons, followers of Shamutesh must all be capable of reliably determining whether or not they are being lied to in any way. Those who wish to enter into a pact with Shamutesh must prove their ability to investigate a variety of cases, including cases of identifying a criminal among a group of people, cases where two or more people accuse each other of wrongdoing, and other such cases.
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Unfortunately, I'm having a little trouble coming up with different powers granted by Shamutesh. So far, I have two powers that deal with senses (one to create light with which to see, the other to sense things in a chosen area for a period of time) and one to help detect whether or not a person is prone to lying. More powers might have something to do with Fire, given Shamutesh's symbol being the Sun; still, I'd like any suggestions people here may have.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Mark of Justice: Burns a searing brand into the guilty's forehead

Vision of Clear Flame: Ability to scry by staring into a fire

Searing Touch: Causes searing flames to engulf the judge's hand

Trial By Fire: Victim engulfed by flames if they speak falsehoods

Fire Leap: Teleport via fire (loosely based on the ancient practice of jumping over a bonfire to prove one's innocence)

Smoking Eyes: Create a "mask" of black vapors (intimidating effect and can conceal the identity of a judge)

Firebrand: Create a torch that is powered by telling the truth

Flame Tongue: Creates a line of fire that can be used as a sort of whip (a "tongue lashing"?)
 

Divinations would play well.
-Zone of Truth
-Detect Invisibility
-Detect Alignment
-Clairvoyance
-Clairaudience
-Find the Path
-Divination (find person, place, thing)
-Augury (weal/woe about future path)

Acute senses work too:
-Eyes of the Eagle
-Ears of the Rabbit
-Transparency (turn materal clear to see through)
-Darkvision

Also:
-Geas, works to assign behavior like a code of conduct or pact.
-Write, for inscribing the law

I would say all kinds of Protection spells work too. Starting with Protection vs. particular Alignment. The deity would wish to protect those upholding the law.
Bless works in this case too.
As do some non-damaging combat spells.
 

Those are some good suggestions... Now I just have to make them into content. Thanks! By the way, if anyone else wants to offer their own suggestions, go ahead.
 


Crystallization {Petrification].

Umm... I'm not entirely sure how that would relate to the deity's flavor... I suppose, if you're looking at it from a pre-4e DnD standpoint, which would lump together law with orderliness and perfection, a crystalline structure would fit. But even if that weren't too much of a stretch, my system isn't like DnD, and if and when I do get around to designing a system for defining alignment, I will definitely handle the flavor of lawfulness in a different manner than it was handled in DnD (as in, I won't be lumping together all these unrelated concepts into the same category).
 

Okay, so the player changed his mind, and now wants to follow a nature spirit, Grandfather Autumn, whose theme is basically Thanksgiving; you know, communal celebration, the harvest, food, family, being rewarded for hard work, and such. Given that, I'm REALLY going to have trouble figuring out the sort of powers he'll grant; so far, all I have is food-related stuff, improved diplomacy when sitting at a table, and a "reap what you sow" ability that deals damage and/or heals the target depending on how much damage and/or healing the target does.

First things first, though: for this new deity, should I start a new thread, or should we keep going on this thread?
 

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