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Message: <blockquote data-quote="tarchon" data-source="post: 1631800" data-attributes="member: 5990">Oh, I was doing it for a friend.  Not entirely sure why it stalled.  I just signed on to help out with some of it.My main objection to giving a reward at the end lies in the idea of what a pilgrimage is.  (And I'm also dubious of magical stat increases - they easily tend to get out of hand.)  We actually went over this when we were designing the supplement, and the first thing that comes to mind when you talk about pilgrimages in an RPG is "go on a journey, overcome obstacles/monsters, get reward from deity."  Sounds like a perfect fit, right?  OK, so how's that any different from every other adventure you've ever played?  It's not - it's just a divine mission/quest with the name "pilgrimage" stuck on it.  It in no way resembles actual pilgrimages (except for the journey part).If a pilgrimage requires a hero to perform it, it's not a pilgrimage.  Similarly, if a pilgrimage is a unique undertaking - Pholtus chooses this party to go slay the Beastivus and take the McGuffin - it's not a pilgrimage.  Chosen Ones, Prophets, and Demigod/Heroes don't go on pilgrimages, but rather they create future pilgrimages.Pilgrimages share two qualities.  They involve journeys and ordinary people can undertake them, if they're willing to make the sacrifice.  At its core, pilgrimage is not about "I wash God's hand, God washes mine."  It's an act of devotion.  In Islam, it's not about getting blessed - it's about obedience to the will of Allah.  Allah says "do the hadj," and if you have submitted yourself to the will of Allah, you do the hadj.  Medieval Christian pilgrims didn't go to Rome to get a Bless spell cast on them at the end so they could defeat the half-dragon owlbear lurking in St. Peter's - they did it primarily as an act of devotion and especially contrition.  Pious rulers, who basically of social necessity had to be murderous bastards, felt especially motivated to make extreme acts of devotion like that to make up for their dirty deeds.  In parallel with that however, there's another aspect of pilgrimage which is more familiar to contemporary Westerners, simple tourism.  The Canterbury Tales really bring out this peculiar dual nature of the institution, the pious devotee alongside the curious sightseer.So, you say, how do you make an adventure out of that?  Well, that's what the supplement was about.</blockquote>

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