Witcher Watch: Tome of Chaos, Priests & Religion

Welcome back, aspiring magic wielders! Today, we’re here to talk about the next chapter in A Tome of Chaos:  Priests and Religion! In the world of The Witcher, religion is a bit of a difficult subject and priests are even more of a touchy subject. The deities of the Continent are elusive and those who are present are mysterious in their origins and their nature. Certain priests are capable of creating magical effects but they are adamant that they are doing so by invoking the power of their deities rather than manipulating the forces of Primeval Chaos.

In A Tome of Chaos, you’ll find a chapter devoted to the nature of priests and their magic. You’ll learn why priests are considered different from mages, how different religions organize themselves across the Continent, and how the nature of religion has changed over the course of history. You’ll learn about 13 of the Continent’s religions ranging from the state religion of Nilfgaard, the Great Sun, to the faith of Nehaleni, the Patron Goddess of Travelers and Diviners.

Near the end of the chapter, you can find the separated Priest Profession. With a bit more room to focus on the intricacies of magic, we’ve split the Priest and Druid into their own separate profession, each with their own profession abilities and invocations.

In the case of Priests, they’ve gained the Cultist Branch which delves into the intricacies of forming your following and learning the secrets of your church. With Mystagogue, the Priest can build a magical shrine to their deity which acts as a powerful focus for their magic and also draws followers of the religion which the Priest can influence with Initiate of the Gods. Cult Mystery grants a unique benefit based on the organization of the Priest’s church such as the Mystery of the Dark Cults which allows the Priest to counter telepathic spying with their Cult Mystery check and add their Cult Mystery value to any Deceit rolls they make. Blessings allows the Priest to perform a ritual which grants a specific set of bonuses based on the organization of their religion to a number of people equal to their Blessings Value. For instance, a Priest of an Organized Church such as the Eternal Fire could perform a ritual which empowers their followers with the authority of the church, granting a +4 bonus to Leadership checks and a +4 bonus to Reputation.

With more deities, high level Priests have access to new Arch Priest Invocations such as the Miracle of Lebioda, which allows the Priest to instantly heal Critical Injuries including regrowing lost limbs, or the Blood of the Berserker which allows a Priest of the Dark Skelliger God Svalblod to transform themselves into a towering great bear which retains any skills or statistics they had which would be higher than those of a normal bear. There’s plenty more to discuss when it comes to Priest Invocations but we’ll leave that for a deeper discussion of the new Spells, Invocations, Rituals, and Hexes in A Tome of Chaos.

Until next week, stay safe on The Path!