The mark of heresy.. Mitran Curses

[Ethan the Red]

I'd like a lively discussion on this one..

I was wondering what ya'll thought about a curse that Mitran priest could potentially cast. Since Mitran priests are traditionally not allowed access to spells it is possible that this could be a "spell like effect" from a Mitran Relic.

The idea for the curse is called the "Mark of Heresy". It is designed to humiliate and/or ostracize the victim. The most likely effects would be as follows;

- 4 to Reputation, possibly doubling to areas where Mitran worshipers are present.. OR
- Negating/messing with the effects of a Code of Honor (open to all kinds of devious implications I haven't thought of yet).. OR
-Impoverishing the victim.. I have my own rules for wealth in Conan, suffice to say the victim constantly finds the money robbed, the merchants taking advantage of them, or if noble the local lord stripping them of land and privilege (as a result of the curse).

To consider also;

- Is the mark physical or noticeable (can the victim "see" it, or is it just a string of bad luck and hostility)
- The mechanics; pp cost, duration (permanent with conditions to be met is what I'm thinkin'), all the other "rules" stuff...

Any thoughts you have on this subject would be appreciated!

Also, even though this spell is designed for a specific Mitran priest who is fanatically zealous I am thinking of creating a whole order of "inquisition" type priests in Aquilona (in my game Numidides still rules). I hope to create theological tension as well as political tension as Numidides increasingly supports corrupt and zealous church policy. This would inevitably lead to a schism between the "free thinking" priests of the old order and the new order of iron handed priests.

The reason I bring this up is because I was wondering if "The mark of heresy" could be one spell among many curses that I could create for a new corrupt order of Mitran priests.. even though Mitran priests are prohibited from magic I could see the following curses fitting in quite well... ideas might be curses like;

- mark of heresy; ruins reputation
- impoverish; self explanatory
- serpents tongue; gives victim a "serpent-like" tongue and forces them to always tell the truth
- no crown but Mitra's; victim forced to wear a painful iron headband (material component) that creates horrible pain/badness/awfulness if removed.

Again- let me know what ya'll think I want a good discussion!

 

[Clovenhoof]

Well, basically sounds like excommunication.

In the historic middle ages, excommunication had pretty much the same effects: as a consequence, you were outlawed, forfeited all your possessions, nobody would want to have dealings with you, etc.
Of course that only applied to every man jack. When the pope felt like excommunicating the emperor, that didn't really impress the latter very much.

Anyway, all that would happen without a visible sign. But societies were close-knit and not very mobile then. A public proclamation of someone's excommunication and subsequent banishment was pretty much all it took to destroy someone's existence.

Of course you can wrap all that into a magical shroud, but why bother if it historically worked without magic?

 

[kintire]

"When the magic of the Mitran priests failed against the magic of Xaltotun's acolyte, Altaro, they remembered the ancient legend of the Heart, and the high priest and an acolyte went down into the dark and terrible crypt below the temple into which no priest had descended for three thousand years. In the ancient iron-bound volumes which speak of the Heart in their cryptic symbolism, it is also told of a creature of darkness left by the ancient priest to guard it. '

Mitran priests DO use magic, and are not above summoning creatures of darkness to guaard especially important things. I reckon you can justify a curse or two.

 

[Ethan the Red]

"Anyway, all that would happen without a visible sign. But societies were close-knit and not very mobile then. A public proclamation of someone's excommunication and subsequent banishment was pretty much all it took to destroy someone's existence."

While I do agree that I can do all this without magic, there is something of the naughty GM in me that wants to do it with magic. Also, the main character is a respectable Aquilonian Knight/Adventurer and it would be harder to dishonor him through conventional means (although by NO means impossible).. using magic to discredit him however seems more cowardly on the part of the villain as well...finally, the use of magic to discredit other NPC's seems like a valid approach for a corrupt branch of the Mitran Church.. i.e. "If you won't bow before Mitra I will force you too!"

 

[Ethan the Red]

Any other thoughts on magic, mysticism, or Mitranism? I have this new angle in my game where Numidides (who still rules) Saints an ancient Mitran priest who was regarded as being a heretic (because he used magic). This would inevitably create the schism in the Mitran church which I was hoping for...

What do ya'll think?