IC justification of divine scrolls

[humble minion]

I do like Quartz's idea of recording which scrolls are dedicated to which gods and treating PC clerics who try to cast spells off them accordingly, but I'm a little leery of messing with the rules to that extent (especially since the campaign I'm currently running is meant to be a swashbuckling, relatively low-mental-stress affair). And it opens a whole can of worms regarding wands and other spell trigger items that I don't really want to have to deal with. I'm more trying to explain how the rules as written (and the assumptions made in published adventures, since i'm running Savage Tide) reflect the workings of game-world reality rather than changing the rules to suit me better.

(Yes, this attitude is probably cowardly. But I spent all last campaign papering over the cracks in a desperately bad system to the point where I wasn't having fun any more, so I'm more than a bit gun-shy on the house rules front right now.)

Anyway, my current solution/excuse...

Scrolls (and other magic items) require XP to make. When a cleric spends this XP, he is weakened - and in fact if the scroll/item is taken from him, a piece of his vital force goes with it. So when Brother Shinypants 'casts a spell' from a scroll scribed by Vlurgath the Unhygenic, I'm planning to rule that he's not actually reading the prayer written on the scroll, he's actually brandishing it and praying 'Pelor, look with favour on me as I sacrifice unto to you this fragment of the soul of thine enemy' or something similar. And deific tradition is that Pelor's favour will come in the (poetic) form of the exact same boon that Vlurgath was seeking when he scribed the scroll. Win-win for Pelor - he gets to obliterate a trace of his enemy, and use the XP boost he gets from the sacrifice to do his servant a favour, and his servant will no doubt use that favour to further the purposes of the Pelorian church.

Of course, when Brother Shinypants at 3rd level tries to cast a caster-level 20 Miracle from a spell inscribed by Zarganthicus the Most Maleficently Effluvient, odds-on that enough of Zarganthicus's malice (and XP) will remain behind in the scroll to defy being sacrificed by such a pathetic acolyte, and interfere sufficiently in the process to cause a miscast...

Voila! Rules As Written meets creative sophistry, and it makes a surprising amount of sense (or so I think, at least - can anyone pick any major holes?)

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Okay, here's another example of how to perceive scrolls.

Think of them as the power cord to your computer. Unless the spell being cast is specifically good, lawful, evil, or chaotic the scroll is just a conductor. It knows how to plug into something, get some mojo, and operate what you want to operate.

Think of the dieties as wall outlets. Depending upon which outlet you plug into determines the effect of the spell.

So, rather than the scroll saying "The Vile Slime Lord of the greasy pit of the Abyss brings forth His/Her demons to smite the world" ... the scroll says, "I ask the protector of my life to summon His/Her minions to my aid!"

In that way, non-aligned spells are truly universal. A cleric casting from the above summon monster spell could use it regardless of the diety worshipped. The caster provides the direction to the scroll as to which power source to use.

To return to my analogy, the power cord on the computer doesn't decide which outlet to plug itself into. You do. It can be the same with scrolls.

ASIDE: I note beforehand that my analogy is flawed. All analogies are flawed if taken to far. It can be easily stated that the outlet doesn't matter because all outlets lead back to the same powerline/transformer/powerplant. I concede that point ahead of time.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

[Obviously, all of the following only applies to my games]

I have clerical power coming from outside sources (e.g. divine, infernal, etc), but it breaks down like this:

1st-2nd level cleric spells come from the cleric's knowledge and faith. They're kind of acting like "mini deities" in this respect. This also helps explain how heretical or "false god" sects can arise without direct support from a god/etc. The cleric is still tapping into or acting as a catalyst for metaphysical forces, though, so his spells (and scrolls) are still "aligned" accordingly.

3rd-5th level cleric spells are granted by supernatural servants and minions of the cleric's god. Direct action by the god isn't necessary to grant such spells, but they're beyond the range of the cleric's personal power. Demigods can grant up to 5th level spells.

6th+ level cleric spells are granted by a god.