Blessings are the supernatural powers wielded by Inquisitors in Dark Ages: Inquisitor.
Overview[]
The divine gifts of Heaven are as varied as they are splendid. Each inquisitor has at their disposal a number of different weapons with which to fight the Adversary, each as glorious and as useful as the next. The most basic of these, Orisons, are even occasionally found among the Flock. Members of the laity who are endowed with such gifts make ideal candidates for induction into the Inquisition.
In addition to Orisons, inquisitors have at their disposal a more advanced type of Blessing called Endowments. These powerful abilities and imbuings are never found among the lay members of the congregation, as only proper inquisitors have the sanctity and dedication required to develop and control such unearthly powers. These types of Blessings include more dynamic displays of the Lord's power. They are funneled through and fueled by the virtue of the inquisitor who has been granted their use. Alongside Endowments are the various paths and applications of the Holy Art, a form of mystical theurgy employed and developed by the seers and scholars of the Inquisition. These powerful gifts allow the blessed to stand toe-to-toe with witches, warlocks and other sorcerous evildoers.
Rounding out the Blessings, inquisitors also have access to Holy Ground - places sanctified to God, which provide soul-weary inquisitors with shelter and spiritual revitalization - and Holy Relics, objects of singular importance to the followers of Christ in their war against the depredations of the Adversary.
Acquiring Blessing[]
Inquisitor characters start with one Orison. Acquiring new Orisons may be done in play or during downtime by "cashing in" 10 points of Conviction.
Inquisitors of at least Acolyte rank also begin play with a single Endowment, chosen from the character's order specialty. If the character is a member of the Red Order, she begins with one dot on a path of her choice and a single Level One ritus, instead (the Holy Art is described later in this chapter). From there, inquisitors acquire new Blessings as they develop their sanctity and dedication to the cause. Endowments are self-contained sets of powers, granting the inquisitor the ability to call upon different aspects of the power he has been granted as he gradually develops their virtue. Thus, the most virtuous of inquisitors are able to produce a wide variety of effects from each individual Endowment. Meanwhile, the Holy Art is more traditional in structure, often allowing for quick acquisition of new powers, but with each path producing nigh identical effects from practitioner to practitioner.
Endowments are not necessarily linear. This means that it is possible for a character to purchase an Advocate-level Benediction for her character by spending 25 Conviction, regardless of whether the character already has an Acolyte-level Benediction or not. Indeed, it is even possible to purchase Endowments of a higher level than the inquisitor's current stage of development. This kind of rapid advancement, however, carries with it the risk of Curses.
Endowments[]
Once a devout mortal is pulled up from the Flock and inducted into the Inquisition proper, they gain the ability to develop their mystical connection to the divine. Although they maintain whatever holy Orisons they had known before the advancement (and indeed, may even acquire additional ones), they may possess more powerful versions of the relatively minor Blessings they had demonstrated previously. These high-powered favors of the Divine are known as Endowments.
- Psalms
- Investitures
- Legacies
- Benedictions
- Holy Art
References[]
- DAI: Dark Ages: Inquisitor Rulebook, p. 173-174, 176