Followers

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

#### 3.3.12.5: Followers

A follower is a non-priest noble who has dedicated himself to a priest (and thus to the priest's god). To become a follower, a noble should use the dedicate command (see dedicate). The dedication ceremony takes seven days, and requires that the noble be in the presence of the priest of the appropriate religion.

Mages cannot become followers.

Once a noble has dedicated himself to a priest, he may not change that dedication unless the priest dies and is laid to rest.

There are several advantages to becoming a follower of a priest.

First, a noble may only be blessed or resurrected by the priest he follows. A noble who does not follow any priest cannot be resurrected. The exception is priests themselves, who can be resurrected by any other priest of their religion.

Second, a follower receives bonuses when using his religion's strength skill. In particular, he will learn skills in the strength skill category one day faster than normal, and uses some skills that take at least 5 days one day faster than normal.

There are also some disadvantages.

A follower receives penalties when using his religion's weakness skill. In particular, he will learn skills in the weakness skill category two days slower than normal, and uses any weakness skill two days slower than normal.

Followers also cannot learn magic skills.