True Faith + Relic

I'm uncertain about the effects of Relics, particularly in combination with True Faith as per RoP:D.

  1. If a character has a Greater Relic (Faith score 3), does he gain:
    a) all the benefits of having a "natural" True Faith of 3 (including Devotion and Hope as per RoP:D pp.81-82), or
    b) only magic resistance and Faith Points that can be spent as Confidence or when praying for Miracles and such?

I'd be tempted to go for b), since in the Arm5 corebook (where it says that you can treat the Relic's score as if it were your own Faith) the only powers of Faith are those of b) anyway. RoP:D expands the powers of True Faith, but also (re)defines the powers of Relics to encompass (only?) b).

  1. If a character has both True Faith and a Greater Relic, can he "cumulate" the effects? E.g. is he treated as having a Faith Score of 4 (if the answer to point 1 above is a) -- or can he at least spend 4 Faith Points on a single roll (3 from the Relic, 1 from his Faith)?

Even though I've seen many troupes rule the opposite, I'd be strongly tempted to say one may not cumulate the effects. The only passage I've found about this is the one in the Arm5 corebook: "... Relics can protect the faithful who have no True Faith of their own. The Relic's score acts just like True Faith for those who bear it, using its rating as a number of Faith Points... A character with True Faith of his own may also gain the benefit of a single Relic". Note that nothing says that one is allowed to add up the scores of "personal" and "relic" Faith. One can still benefit from a Relic e.g. if it's Faith Score is higher, or simply by using its Faith Points once he has exhausted his "personal" reserve. Are you aware of any rulings one way or another?

I'd go for B too. Having the relic doesn't give you True Faith. Note, the relic might also have inherent powers, which the person carrying it may activate.

The most natural way to read that quote seems to be that you add the benefit of the relic to that of True Faith.

If it meant that you had to choose between the benefit of the relic and True Faith, or that you only got part of the benefit of the relic, I think it would have said so.

Hmm, I don't know. To me it seems more natural to read it the other way. Mostly because the whole passage is about Relics used by people who do not have True Faith of their own, so the close "A character with True Faith of his own may also get the benefit of a single relic" seems (to me) to say "And well, obviously if you have True Faith of your own you are no worse off than someone without". If the intent was to allow the scores to add, I would have been easier to write it explicitly.

Since I was one of the people who wrote the relics rules...

  1. The intention was (b).

  2. I would suggest that the relic does not increase the character's inherent personal Faith score with regard to giving the associated benefits (as in answer (a)), but it does allow a character to spend (in the example given) 4 Faith Points at once, and Magic Resistance would also stack. That's why even kings with True Faith also keep relics around...

Of course, my collaborators may not agree with me... :slight_smile:

I suggest we just take your word as gospel on this then.

Yes, this seems a sensible reading.

Well, I certainly agree with you, if it matters. :slight_smile: