So I got a comment about my previous article on what types of magic I'd be using for the Andport campaign. It caused me to consider something about Miracles that hadn't really crossed my mind. Based on the notion that I didn't have any concrete deities for my world yet, the suggestion was to allow the PCs to champion a cause and their faith in that cause or ideal would be sufficient to grant them the Arcane Background (AB) of Miracles.
I remember when I played 3.5 how clerics where allowed to be a believer in the cause of a domain without following a dogma, and I really like that idea. I like the story possibilities that could come with that. When people can have enough faith in an abstract concept that it provides them with the same amounts of power as those who are imbued by a deity, what message does that deliver to the laymen? It definitely calls into question the sovereignty of the gods. In a fantasy setting faith in gods isn't so much a requirement, they are proved to be real. You could argue that faith in a cause would be stronger because it can't be personified.
Which leads to another thing that was brought up in that reply. He referred to these Miracle-wielding idealists as "avatars". I think there is potential there, great potential. Being a voice on the material plane for your god is one thing. Embodying an ideal is something else entirely. I really, really like the idea but I think it gets a little too heady for what I'm going for with Andport. I do reserve the right to hold onto it though. Andport is part of a larger world, one that I intend to fill out with time and necessity.
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