Stuffed Crocodile

A blog (mostly) about tabletop roleplaying games

Bless you!

women dancing around fire

Small houserule I came up with while redoing the my xp awards for my campaign:

Attending a church service/religious ceremony of a friendly faith and tithing appropriately to their stature (at least 50gp) gives 50 xp.

It also has a chance of bestowing a blessing. The character tithing needs to roll Save vs. Spell to gain the effects of a Bless spell until the next combat or rest period (whatever happens first).

A critical failure on this roll (1 in 20) instead gains them the effect of a Quest. The PC in question now is taken with the unbearable need to do something specific (ideally something related to the saint/deity worshipped in the temple).

Mind you, you might think this is just a boon for player characters, but the effect of this can also affect opponents, be they clerics, cultists, or members of various tribes. There is a chance any particular group is under the influence of a Bless spell, as long as there is a cleric or shaman attending their spiritual needs.

This also means the local tribes might send out representatives on Quests themselves. An orcish tribe might get the quest to locate a legendary weapon of their tribe now in the hands of the local baron.

13 responses to “Bless you!

  1. Wolf Munroe ☎'s avatarWolf Munroe ☎ February 1, 2026 at 2:52 pm

    @gmkeros.wordpress.com

    I like the idea of it. I'm not playing a system with Save vs. Spell, so I'm not sure how I'd handle that roll (presumably a Will save in Pathfinder1e), but I might consider using it in my campaign. Half the party have been members of the same faith, and they even attended a temple service recently.

    I might limit bless duration somehow, as 50 gp is the same cost as a potion of bless and it only lasts 1 minute, so 50xp plus bless is very good.

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    • not a martian, honest's avatarnot a martian, honest February 1, 2026 at 3:15 pm

      @munroe @gmkeros.wordpress.com yeah, but if you attend a service I don't think you immediately go into battle, except during a siege or so. I wanted the chance for them to get a noticeable bonus during the next fight. (And a smaller chance to create a plot hook)

      The actual mechanic is not that important, I just didn't want them to automatically get it. I guess a will save would in fact be appropriate.

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      • Wolf Munroe ☎'s avatarWolf Munroe ☎ February 1, 2026 at 4:50 pm

        @kyonshi @gmkeros.wordpress.com

        Yeah, I like the 5% chance quest hook aspect. I'm just trying to make sure the blessing is weighed against a 50gp bless potion.

        What I might consider rather than constant bless is something like a mark-of-blessing, that lasts until the next rest and can be activated "in your hour of need" as a free action.

        It all really comes down to the DC of the save whether it's better than a bless potion since the blessing isn't assured.

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