I've been re-reading Sharon Shinn's Troubled Waters, in her Elemental Blessings series. It occurs to me that the blessing system in this setting would work very well with an rpg, perhaps replacing alignment/personality, because of the strong random component.
For those who haven't read the book, the society/religion believes in five elements. Each element has eight blessings associated with it. There are also three extraordinary blessings.
The day a child is born, the father goes out and finds three strangers and takes them to the temple. The temple contains a basket with all the blessings stamped on thin metal discs. Each stranger draws a blessing for the child. Those three blessings are believed to govern or influence the child's life, or represent traits that the child will have. A child can have multiples of the same blessing, indicating a very strong (perhaps unbalanced) influence. People often wear their blessings on a bracelet or necklace.
Blessings can also be drawn as an augury for events in the near future.
For an RPG: I would mimic drawing a blessing by rolling a d6 to determine the element. If a 6 is rolled, roll again. If 3 sixes are rolled in a row, that means an extraordinary blessing has been drawn. Then roll a d8 for a normal blessing, or a d6 if an extraordinary blessing.
Normal Blessings:
Extraordinary Blessings:
For those who haven't read the book, the society/religion believes in five elements. Each element has eight blessings associated with it. There are also three extraordinary blessings.
The day a child is born, the father goes out and finds three strangers and takes them to the temple. The temple contains a basket with all the blessings stamped on thin metal discs. Each stranger draws a blessing for the child. Those three blessings are believed to govern or influence the child's life, or represent traits that the child will have. A child can have multiples of the same blessing, indicating a very strong (perhaps unbalanced) influence. People often wear their blessings on a bracelet or necklace.
Blessings can also be drawn as an augury for events in the near future.
For an RPG: I would mimic drawing a blessing by rolling a d6 to determine the element. If a 6 is rolled, roll again. If 3 sixes are rolled in a row, that means an extraordinary blessing has been drawn. Then roll a d8 for a normal blessing, or a d6 if an extraordinary blessing.
Normal Blessings:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| d8 | Elay (Air/Soul) | Hunti (Wood/Bone) | Sweela (Fire/Mind) | Coru (Water/Blood) | Torz (Earth/Flesh) |
| 1 | joy | courage | innovation | change | serenity |
| 2 | hope | strength | love | travel | honesty |
| 3 | beauty | steadfastness | imagination | flexibility | health |
| 4 | beauty | loyalty | clarity | swiftness | fertility |
| 5 | vision | certainty | intelligence | resilience | contentment |
| 6 | grace | resolve | charm | luck | patience |
| 7 | honor | determination | talent | persistence | endurance |
| 8 | spirituality | power | creativity | surprise | wealth |
Extraordinary Blessings:
| d6 | |
| 1-2 | synthesis |
| 3-4 | triumph |
| 5-6 | time |
