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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DrunkonDuty" data-source="post: 9168294" data-attributes="member: 54364">If we want to get grammatical about it - divine powers need to come from gods.But there's no law saying paladins, clerics, or druids have to have a divine origin for their abilities. My default fantasy setting just has the Laws of Magic. Anyone can learn them and use them to cast spells. Those person may also priestesses/priests. Or not. No requirement one way or the other.As for people developing powers from within - why not? There's tonnes of fantasy media in which characters cultivate themselves and develop super powers. Call it cultivation. Call it being on the path of the Buddha. Call it ultimate self-belief. It's all good.As to the original question - which IIRC is something like "why make pacts with other-worldly powers?" Well, it really depends on the campaign setting. In a kitchen sink setting like default DND, yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense for a person to do a deal with Cthulhu when they can just pray to Sarenrae. But maybe you need to know Saranrae's true mantra's to activate spells in Her name, and Sarenrae's church is a closed shop. Maybe Wizard's College is too expensive. Maybe you're not cool enough for Bard School. Maybe you just really like deep fried calamari. Any of these and other "real" world issues could force you to take the sell-your-soul path.I'm reminded of something from the old Palladium Fantasy. To play a Diabolist, one of the best spell casting classes with access to power and summoning circles, you needed something like INT 15. INT 15 and you could summon and (hopefully) control demons. To play a witch, that is someone who has sold their soul to a demon, you needed INT 6. Just smart enough to know what you were doing. Then you cast spells like a wizard of the same level. Now in these days of point-buy stats one would only have an INT 6 if you wanted it.  So it would be a player decision. And maybe that's the answer - a variety of options allows for more players to find something they want to play. I mean, DND is intended to have wide appeal. And sometimes you want to play someone who cries "Blood and souls for Arioch!" when they get into a fight.</blockquote>

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