The Power of Faith

While Science and Reason are beginning to escape the grasp of a tightly controlled church in the Renaissance, the faith of the people so paramount in the medieval times is still a very real effect. Pious, and perhaps opportunistic rulers can take advantage of this power in a number of ways.

Holy Cities

Whether it be the towering spires and artistic treasures of the Vatican or the subtle and dry mosques of Mecca, Religious Cities have always held a place of significance for the faithful. Holy Cities have a variety of benefits to the controlling nation.

1)	Holy Cities inherently receive a bonus to Resistance Value and Income.
2)	If a Holy City is ever Conquered by a Nation of another Religious Type, any Nation of a Religion that views the city as Holy may call for a Holy War to reclaim the conquered city. Normally, only a Primacy or three Open Nations working in Concert may call a Holy War. The stated goal of the Holy War must either be to restore control of the city to its previous owner, or to create a new 'Crusader State' based around the Holy City.
3)	If the Holy City is ever openly destroyed, a Holy War is automatically called by the former owner's religion with the stated goal of destroying the party responsible.
4)	Leaders may undertake a pilgrimage to a Holy City of their Religion. Doing so has a chance of raising the leader's statistics.

There are three types of Holy Cities in the game: Permanent, Relic based, and Sect based:

Permanent	These Cities are always Holy to their respective Religions. Even if destroyed, as long as one city level is ever rebuilt over the ruins, it will regain its Holy status. Permanent Holy Cities start out at Level Five, and do not require megalithic support. Levels may be added to these Cities as normal to augment this number.
Relic Based	These Cities are Holy to a respective type of Religion (Christians, Muslims, Buddhists) and cross normal Sect lines. The city with the most enshrined Relics in each Religion Type carries this title. Note: to take this title from another city one must surpass the current level of the existing Holy City.
Sect Based	These Holy Cities are generally the most fluid, and are usually only Holy to one Sect of the Religion (Protestants, Roman Catholics, Gaelic Christians). The City in each sect containing the Highest level of Holy Megalith claims this title. Note: to take this title from another city one must surpass the current level of the existing Holy City.

Current Holy City List

City

Type

Level

Holy To

Jerusalem

Permanent

Five

Mecca

Permanent

Five

Rome

Permanent

Five

Buda

Sect Based

Two

Erfurt

Sect Based

One

Moscow

Sect Based

One

Shiraz

Sect Based

Two

Jenne

Sect Based

One

Bihotzharri

Sect Based

One

Relics

Religious items can also carry a certain amount of power with them. Seen as a direct connection to the Divine, these items grant bonuses to the leaders that carry them. Some relics will grant direct bonuses to statistics, others bonuses to specific actions, and others still might reduce the chance of dynastic failure. These bonuses only apply when a leader is actively carrying the relic with him.

Relics may also be enshrined, permanently put on display in a location. Not only does this grant the leader a permanent bonus to one of his statistics, but it also creates a level one Holy Megalith in the location. This may end up making the location a Holy City. If the Relic Megalith is ever destroyed completely, the Relic is destroyed along with it.

Rumors of various Relics will surface throughout the game, generally as the result of Random Events. Once a rumor surfaces, national leaders may begin hunting for the Relic by using the Research Relic [RRL] action. This will point the leader to a possible location of the Relic. Once the location is narrowed down to a specific region, a successful Investigate Location [IL] action will retrieve it. Should the IL action fail, then the location doesn't pan out, the relic is a fake, or some other disaster befalls the investigation. The leader must start from scratch and look elsewhere. The RRL action may also be used to discover the effects of unknown Relics.

Current Relic List

Relics listed in Italics have not yet been discovered, and the RRL action may be used to divine their location.

Name

Effect

Usable By

Notes

Fragment of the True Cross

+1 Combat

After the defeat of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the True Cross fell into the hands of Islam and was split into five pieces. Carrying one of the pieces into battle confers a bonus for the army. Many speculations abound on what will happen should all five pieces be reassembled into one.

Saint John's Palanquin

+2 to Primacy Site Foundation

After the Kingdom of Hungary discovered the Head of John the Baptist, the fledgling Baptist Church reunited the head with the Saint's Body within this ornate palanquin. Bearing it allows a Primacy leader greater ease in attempting Site Foundation checks.

The Pendragon Crown

+1 Admin

The Legendary Crown of King Arthur Pendragon. Discovered by a Burgundian bricklayer on the Island of Orkney, this Relic grants the bearer an increased effectiveness in Administration.

The Seal of Rasulullah

Lowers chance of DF

The Seal of the Prophet Muhammad. When in the possession of a leader (Usually an Heir) ascending to the position of Ruler, the Seal is a potent sign of Allah's favor of the new Ruler. Such a leader will have an easier time in the transition of power.

 

Religious Action Chart

Action	Primacy	Nation
Excommunication	Yes	No
Interdict Nation	Yes	No
Exact Tithe	Yes	No
Revoke Tithe	Yes	Yes
Establish Church	Yes	No
Found Abbey	Yes	No
Canonize Monastery	Yes	No
Consecrate Cathedral	Yes	No
Bless Holy Capital	Yes	Yes
Loot Site	Yes	Yes
Seize Site	Yes	No
Sway Flock	Yes	No
Preach	Yes	No
Take Indulgences	Yes	No
Bishopric Support	Yes	No
Call Synod	Yes	Yes*
Create Hierarchy	No	Yes
Create Religious Primacy	No	Yes
Undertake Pilgrimage	Yes	Yes
Research Relic	Yes	Yes
Enshrine Relic	Yes	Yes

Excommunication
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Charisma
Code: EXC
Cost: 1 AP ( Pope Only )

This power causes the Excommunicated player to be considered of a Hostile religion by their populace (assuming that the populace is not already Hostile). This results in, among other things, revolts, insurrection, and the defection of Armies and Leaders. It is a power best used sparingly, and only in extreme circumstances. The misuse, or overuse, of this power will dull its effects. Any individual Leader may also be excommunicated at the will of the Primate. The Excommunication may also be lifted or annulled by the will of the Primate.

Interdict Nation
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Charisma
Code: IN
Cost: 5 APs ( Pope Only )

A more widespread form of Excommunication, Interdict may be laid upon any region or group of regions of the same religion as the Primate. Its effects are to cause all other nations of the same religion to cease trade with the Interdicted region(s) and for any Armies of those regions to be treated as of a Hostile religion. The use of Interdict should be even less frequent than Excommunication, for it tends to cause entire nations to be lost to the control and influence of the Primate. If a nation of the same religion continues to trade with an Interdicted area, then there is cause for the Primate to take action against that nation. All leaders and inhabitants of an Interdicted region(s) are considered to be Excommunicated. The Interdict may be lifted or annulled at the will of the Primate.

Exact Tithe
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Diplomacy
Code: EXT
Cost: 5 APs

One of the powers of Primacies is the ability to levy a tithe upon the nations of its Religion to further finance the operations of the Church. The tithe can be as high as (Influence)% of the nation's revenue. Exacting a Tithe is not always successful and depends on the leader's Charisma, the Church's Influence, the Target Nation's Religious Strength and of course, the percentage of tithe desired. At whatever level of tithe the Holy Primate has successfully exacted on any or all nations at any particular turn, that amount is then deducted from the target nation or nation's National Revenue the following turn. Tithe to a Primate at less than 4% has no effect on your national treasury. The national tax rate is reduced 1% for every percentage point over 4% tithe to the Primate. Note, however, that the abuse of this power is a good way of turning the nobility, and, through them, the local clergy of the nation, against the Primate. The Tithe is set and then automatically collected on a per turn basis. Once a Tithe has been set and successfully exacted, it will continue for following turns until the tithe is revoked by the Primacy or the Nation. The GP from Tithing appears in the Primacy's Saved Gold each turn.

Revoke Tithe
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Diplomacy
Code: RVT
Cost: 5 APs

A given nation may be upset with who is Tithing their populace, or by how much their populace is being tithed. Using this action the Nation attempts to remove or revoke completely the tithe placed upon them. Primacies also use this action when wishing to lower or remove a Tithe themselves.

Loot Religious Site
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Combat
Code: LR
Cost:

This action undertakes to destroy and steal the wealth of a given religious structure. Note that leaders ordered to Loot sites of their own Religion must undertake a check versus the Religious Strength of the Nation, otherwise they refuse to perform the sacrilege. Also, looting sites of your own Religion gives a Primacy a valid reason for Excommunication.

Seize Site
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Combat
Code: SS
Cost: 5 APs

On a successful roll, a targeted site will be seized and transferred to the acting Primacy or Cardinals control. There is a possibility that the site will degrade one or more levels in the process. This action may only be undertaken against similar types of sites - Primacies against Primacies, Cardinals against Cardinals, etc.

Sway Flock
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Charisma
Code: SWF
Cost: 5 APs

On a successful roll, a targeted religious site will degrade one level. National Influence acts as a positive modifier for you, while his National Influence and current Site Level act as a negative. NOTE: Within the Religious community, this is a legitimate way to try and gain temporal power. It is not generally considered an act of aggression.

Bishopric Support
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Diplomacy
Code: BIS
Cost: 5 APs

For primacies, this action remains the same though now is actually undertaken as an action.

Call Synod
Type: Leader Action (King Only)
Stat: Admin
Code: CAS
Cost: 5 APs

The Primacy Leader himself attempts to call a Synod to end a Religious Schism through peaceful means. If successful, the following turn, all Open Nations of the Religion must vote for which faction they wish to endorse as the 'Official' Primacy or must Abstain. Players which do not submit votes (Or nations which are currently unplayed) leave the decision to the people, who will vote for whichever Primacy has a higher Influence within the nation. If there is a tie, the people will Abstain. If either side receives two-thirds of the votes, they are the victor. The loser must then Reconcile with the winner, or break away from the faith, and become a heretical version of the Religion.

If the Open Nations of a Religion wish to force a Synod upon warring Primacies, they may do so, but three Rulers must successfully make the roll. More than three can attempt this in the same turn, and as long as at least three are successful, the Synod will go ahead. The Synod will take place in whichever city the King with the most successful roll is located.

Create Hierarchy
Type: Leader Action ( King Only )
Stat: Charisma
Code: CRH
Cost: 5 APs

This action is used by the leader of an Organized religion to try and create a new Hierarchal form of that Religion. First, there must exist a Holy City to the base religion. If one does not exist, the Nation must undertake an National Project to found one (Though this new city will only be Holy to the New Religion). If the action is successful, a new religion is formed from the old and a second Charisma check is made. Success indicates the Base Religion remains Tolerant of the New, while failure instills a hatred between the two.

Create Religious Primacy
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Admin
Code: CRP
Cost: 5 APs

This action is used to Create a new Primacy for a Hierarchal Religion. The Cost is 100 GP and 25 NFP in resources. The Action must be undertaken by the Leader chosen to head the new Primacy. The Nation in question must decide what kind of Primacy will be founded.

1) Integral - The Primacy is intertwined with the powers of State itself. The nation becomes a Primacy Position with Land Holdings equal to the former nation. This can be a powerful combination while it lasts, but severely decreased stability results. Eventually the powers of church and state will dramatically separate.

2) Controlled - The Primacy becomes a separate position under the control of the founding Nation. While controlling the Primacy, the nation loses one of its Lieutenant leader slots.

3) Separate - The Primacy becomes a completely independent position.

Successful use of this power when a Primacy for the religion already exists automatically starts a Schism.

Undertake Pilgrimage
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Special
Code: UNP
Cost: 5 APs

This action may be undertaken by a National Leader in a Holy City of the leader's religion. Once performed, a check is made against one of the leader's statistics to see if it increases. A die is rolled to see what statistic is checked:

1-2	Combat
3-4	Diplomacy
5-6	Charisma

Once the statistic to check has been determined, two D6 are rolled against the current value of the statistic. If the roll is over the current value, the statistic increases by one. For example, a leader with a Combat rating of Eight would need a Nine or better on the roll to see an increase in the rating. Players may spend gold to influence this roll, gaining a +1 to the roll for each 250 gold in donations and alms given to the churches and people of the city. Note that a nation may never receive more bonuses to this roll then the LOWER of either the Megalithic Value of the Holy City, or the National Religious Strength.

Royal Family members may also undertake pilgrimage. In this case, they must be transported by a National Leader, who spends the 5 AP for each family member under his care. If a family member aged 10-14 undertakes a pilgrimage, two statistics have a chance of increasing. The D6 roll from above instead determines which stat is NOT checked for increase.

Once a Leader has successfully received a stat increase, they may no longer gain benefits from a pilgrimage. (Though may still perform the action for non-leader Royal Family members). Leaders which have gained a stat increase will be marked with a small cross before their religious notation on the stats sheet.

Research Relic
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Diplomacy
Code: RRL
Cost: 5 APs

This action may be undertaken in an attempt to discover the location of a Relic currently unfound within the game. For every three levels of success on the roll, one more step toward the specific location is discovered according to the following chart:

Success	Result
1-3	Continent
4-6	Geozone
7-9	Nation
10-12	Region

Thus, only upon achieving a roll 12 above the Skill Check will a specific location be discovered. Leaders may continue to research a given Relic from turn to turn, adding the success roll together. Ex: A Leader gaining a +5 success on one turn learns that the Relic he is searching for is somewhere within Eastern Europe. On the next turn, he gains a +7, pinpointing the specific region. He may then perform an IL action to gain the Relic.

Relics which have their powers listed as Unknown may also be researched to divine what the effect actually is by those who possess it. Once successful, the effect will be listed in the Relic Chart. Relics in the posession of a Nation will be listed in the Custom Units section. The only fields which matter are: Name (Name of the Relic) and Build At (Current Location of the Relic).

Enshrine Relic
Type: Leader Action
Stat: Charisma
Code: ERL
Cost: 5 APs

This action is used to permanently enshrine a Relic as a Megalithic Project. If successful, the Leader performing the action receives a +1 to one statistic of the Player's choice. Additionally, this has a chance of creating a Relic Based Holy City in the location.