The Eight Religions

Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (Oct 4 2000)

#### 3.3.12.1: The Eight Religions

Each of the Olympia religions reflects in many ways the character of its god. For example, each religion considers one type of terrain holy, and only builds temples in that terrain. The table below summarizes some of the characteristics of the eight religions. The meaning of each column is described below.

      God     Strength   Weakness   Plant       Animal Color   Terrain
      ---     --------   --------   -----       ------ -----   -------
      Eres    Shipcraft  Mining     Seagrass    Otter  Blue    Near ocean
      Anteus  Mining     Shipcraft  Firewort    Mole   Brown   Mountain

      Dol     Alchemy    Forestry   Beastnip    Bull   Red     Plains
      Timeid  Forestry   Alchemy    Green Rose  Eagle  Green   Woods

      Ham     Persuasion Construct  Elf Poppy   Monkey Gold    City
      Kireus  Construct  Persuasion Ironwood    Hare   Granite Swamp

      Halon   Combat     Stealth    King's Fern Wardog Silver  City
      Domingo Stealth    Combat     Moon Palm   Rat    Shadows Hidden

Strength | Each religion is strong in a particular Olympia skill category. When a priest joins a religion, he automatically learns this strength skill if he does not already know it (see Becoming a Priest). (Learning the strength skill is free of the normal gold and NP costs.) Nobles dedicated to the god who are not priests learn skills in this category one day faster than normal. Priests may only join the guild of their strength skill (e.g., a Priest of Ham may only learn guild skills from Persuasion, and a noble who joins the Forestry guild can only become a priest of Timeid.)
Weakness | Each religion also has a corresponding skill category in which it is weak. When a priest joins a religion, he automatically forgets this skill if he knows it, and he cannot learn it as long as he remains a priest (see Becoming a Priest). Nobles dedicated to the god who are not priests learn skills in this category two days slower than normal.
Plant | Each god has placed on Olympia one plant of special holy significance. Many of the miracles given to priests require these plants.
Animal | Each god has also placed on Olympia one holy animal. Currently there is no significance to these animals in game terms.
Color | The gods normally appear to mortals in particular guises, often wearing clothes of a particular design or color. Worshippers often emulate their gods by wearing clothes or tokens of the same color.
Terrain | Each god considers a particular type of terrain holy, and only permits his temples to be built in that holy terrain (see Temples). Eres, the God of the Sea, requires his temples to be built in a province adjoining the ocean (or on an island). Domingo, the Hidden One, requires that his temples be built in hidden locations.