I would like to see the religion system revamped such that:
1) We could more accurately census people based off their true beliefs and
2) PIety more accurately reflected a character's true faith.
How would I suggest this be done?
A new purchase religion command in which you set your religion, then you set your level of piety within that religion. Piety levels would cost XP and would be both downgradeable and upgradeable at any time to represent realistic fluctuations in faith.
I would see purchase religion as having the following options:
Davism (as current)
Cult of Transcendent Ecstasy (as current)
Cyclists (As current)
Path of Fire (As current)
Followers of the Spirits of the Light (as current)
Davite Heresy (new option for people who maintain some trappings of Davism but would be considered a heretic by the Church - such as those who believe in the Lord but do not think mages should be burnt)
None (new option for people who are genuinely playing atheist or agnostic PCs)
Purchase piety could have six levels:
0 (Apathetic): You may give the slightest lip service to your faith, but you are completely uninterested in following its tenets. (Base level.)
1 (Nominal): You would call yourself a follower of your faith, but it has very little impact on your life and actions.
2 (Ordinary): You think of yourself as a member of your faith and try to live by its tenets, when they aren't too difficult or inconvenient.
3 (Faithful): You take your faith seriously and actively work on adhering to its rules.
4 (Virtuous): You are noticeably more serious about your faith than most. You live by its virtues even when difficult and attempt to spread it.
5 (Devout): Your faith is the cornerstone of your live. You structure your every decision around its tenets.
6: (Righteous): You would sooner die than betray your faith, which is as certain and unwavering as a saint's.
I'm thinking a few different potential cost schemes:
Level 0: 0 OR 0 OR 0
Level 1: 200 1000 100
Level 2: 400 2000 200
Level 3: 800 3000 400
Level 4: 1600 4000 800
Level 5: 3200 5000 1600
Level 6: 6400 6000 3200
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TOTAL: 12600 OR 21000 OR 6300
So as you can see I'm not imagining a lot of XP here.
What are the benefits here?
1) Realistic tracking of actual numbers of believers, with the options for Davite Heresy and Atheism added.
2) Realistic tracking of piety levels.
3) Maxing piety will take more of an investment, so it's less likely to be done simply because it can be done. The cost shouldn't be prohibitive to those who want to RP extremely devout PCs, but it should still be enough to make people pause and think.
4) A more intuitive and simple system than the current pray convert method of resetting and choosing religions, using the familiar syntax of purchase.
