Commune
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The Prayer of Communion is one of the most sacred abilities a cleric possesses. Upon casting this spell, a cleric attempts to establish a spiritual link between himself and his patron. If the link is successful, the cleric can then attempt to attract the deity's attention by a ritual or offering. The gods are capricious, though, and certainly do not consider themselves to be at the beck and call of mortals. When a deity is contacted, proper respect is strongly encouraged, as many proud clerics have met their demise in failing to show said respect.
The Prayer of Communion is a very personal spell and should not be cast at another player or creature. Though, a caster may direct the spell at a holy symbol to display his devotion.
A cleric can also attempt to contact his patron, or even a god that is not his patron, through the use of the COMMUNE verb. However, a cleric is more likely to successfully establish links with his patron, slightly less likely to link with another deity of the same pantheon as his patron, and significantly less likely to link with a god of a different pantheon. A cleric will also be more likely to link to a god in a shrine dedicated to that deity. Even though a cleric attempts to contact a particular god, he is not guaranteed that his desired listener will be the god that responds. Many gods find delight in toying with the followers of other deities.
Training in Spiritual Lore, Religion will increase a cleric's chance to establish a link by 2% per seed 6 summation of lore ranks.
Usage
COMMUNE {deity name|deity number}.
COMMUNE LIST will provide a list of all gods to which one can commune.
PREP/CAST and INCANT may still be used, but they will default to targeting the god to which the cleric is CONVERTed.
Messaging
First person:
- Your soul reaches out, and you channel your energies into opening up a link between yourself and <Patron>.
- You fall into a deep trancelike state while muttering a quiet prayer in the hope that <Patron> will hear. After a few silent moments, you calmly open your eyes.
Third person:
- Cleric falls into a deep trancelike state while muttering softly, the exact words you cannot discern. After a few silent moments, cleric calmly opens her eyes.
Once the caster believes he has caught the attention of the divine, he can ask some questions of the gods. An example:
- A cleric asks, "My Lord V'tull, what foes should I slay in Your name?"
- A deep, powerful voice echoes throughout the area, "Slay the trolls that dwell deep in the bog, for they have grown lazy and cease to beat the drums of war. Spill their blood fervently in my name, and you shall earn my favor."
Another example:
- A cleric asks, "Oleani, Great Mother, these young lovers before me are laden with worry. Their parents do not want them to wed, but they are deeply in love. Please give them a sign that their union would be favorable to You!"
- A light breeze drifts through the area carrying with it the aromatic scent of roses.
- A dark, gravelly voice whispers into your ear, "You seek to summon the Lord of the Seas and then ignore him? You shall be taught a lesson, mortal."
Communion Mechanics
In mechanical terms, casting Prayer of Communion amounts to a message informing logged-in GameMasters that a Commune is in progress.
Commune is not a spell full of a great deal of certainty, as the whims of the Gods (or GMs) are not easy to guess. Factors that effect the success of the Commune vary depending on the best-judgement of the GMs that may respond - and if none are available, any Commune attempt is guaranteed to fail! GM Jharra produced a treatise on the spell, which can be found here.
- Target
- The spell can be cast with or without a target, and the target of the spell is apparently included in the message sent to online staff. Thus, to provide the GMs with sufficient information to determine whether or not (and in what way) to respond, use of an appropriate target can help. A statue of Ivas, for example, would send a clear message of who's audience was requested. A rose, while clearer, involves a degree of ambiguity. A smooth stone, however, would be rather confusing - unless one is in the Stone Valley at the time!
- Duration
- The Commune can last as long or as short as is appropriate for the situation at hand. In general, however, the gods are very busy, so lengthy interactions are fairly rare.
- Peril!
- Care should be exercised when choosing whether to Commune! Many the idle cleric has flippantly sought out the Gods for little purpose, only to find a very displeased deity ready to pronounce judgement - on the cleric and the entire town! Lest you invoke the wrath of the gods, make sure that Commune attempts are well-conceived.
- Cooldown
- After casting Prayer of Communion, the cleric's reserves are depleted for a time and they will be unable to attempt the ritual again until a day has passed.
Resources
- Saved posts
- Commune guide by GM Jharra
- Fehala's Imaera commune (log)
- Cleric Base Spells: Prayer of Communion, on Play.net
- Prayer of Communion Guide, on Play.net