The Confessor

This is not the first time we have discussed these matters, maga Umbra, and I fear it shall not be the last.

A magus' soul is imperiled just as much, if not more so, by temptation and obsession as any person's. The abstract allure of knowledge and power provide new opportunities for sin to take hold and guide the magus away from the righteous path. So it is important for the magus to make peace with his maker and be absolved of sin. This is where the Confessor comes in.

Every community has a need to find resolution for things that prey heavily upon the conscience. Christian tradition has the sacrament of penance and the practice of confession at its heart. In confessing his sins to a priest and undertaking the prescribed penance, a character's soul is cleansed, and the character is free to resume his life unencumbered by sin. This is one of the key roles played by the priest in his community.

Covenants are often similar to manorial holdings in that they rely on one or more villages not only for income, but also for their day-to-day activities. The covenant is also home to servants, cooks, guards, librarians, and all manner of other covenfolk. These communities, both inside and outside of the covenant, need spiritual guidance.

The Confessor is a priest or religious leader who provides confidential counsel and moral guidance to those in his parish. In the case of a Christian priest, the receiving of confession is a responsibility of his office and a duty to his parishioner's soul. Even if the Confessor doesn't live within the covenant, he lives nearby and receives the visits of magi, just as he would others in his parish.

The Confessor is also well-placed to act on behalf of the magi in matters concerning the Church, and may find himself drafted into service from time to time.

The following notes will help with the creation of a Confessor.

The Confessor may be anyone from an inexperienced young priest, through a mature monk, to an elderly imam. But he tends to have high Intelligence, Communication, and Presence characteristics. There is an opportunity to build long relationships between a younger Confessor and the magi of the covenant, and see those relationships grow throughout the saga. The character can be used by the storyguide to confront characters with their actions, and help the players explore their consequences.

In the Christian tradition, as described in Realms of Power: The Divine Revised Edition, page 75, the supplicant confesses his sins to a priest, is absolved of those sins, and receives a penance to perform. The priest sets the penance as befits the sin. The character gains a temporary Confidence point that can be used to help him complete his penance, and until the penance is completed, there exists a holy connection between the character and his confessor. Every Christian character is expected to confess her sins at least once every year. See the Diocese chapter in the The Church supplement for more detail.

As with Christianity, confession of one's sins is integral to both Judaism and Islam. But unlike Christianity, confession is made directly to God, with no human intermediary. Those who have sinned are urged to pray and undertake penance. The two traditions also differ from Christianity and from each other, in other ways.

The first ten days of the Jewish month of Tishri are spent seeking reconciliation with those whom Jews may have wronged. This is in preparation for the tenth day of Tishri, known as Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. This day is set aside to atone for the sins of the previous year. Jews must fast on this day, taking no food or drink; refrain from working; and engage in prayer and other cleansing rituals.

Followers of Islam may serve their penance by fasting for a period, but the act of seeking forgiveness from God or protection from sin is called Istighfar. This is founded on the idea that God alone knows the deeds and thoughts of the supplicant. Istighfar is always partnered with Tauba, or repentance, and no prayer for forgiveness or protection can be heartfelt without true repentance.

The Confessor, as presented here, is a religious figure who steers the character away from a path of sin. But as neither Islam nor Judaism provide for anyone to intercede between the individual and their God, the Confessor role is instead a secular confidante or trusted advisor. The nature of the relationship may mean that a religious figure is still appropriate, but with no implied doctrine present.

The following lists of Virtues and Flaws are appropriate for various religious leaders who might be cast in the role of Confessor.

CHRISTIAN CONFESSOR: Priest; Relic, Clear Thinker; Uncertain Faith*, Vow (Celibacy), Weakness (Drinking)

ISLAMIC CONFESSOR: 'Alim**; Educated (Islamic), Clear Thinker; Uncertain Faith*, Vow (Celibacy), Temperate

JEWISH CONFESSOR: Rabbi**; Educated (Hebrew)**, Clear Thinker; Outsider (Minor)**, Uncertain Faith*, Meddler (Minor)

* See Chapter 6: New Virtues and Flaws

** See Realms of Power: The Divine Revised Edition

Aside from knowledge of Latin, the Artes Liberales, the Church, and Theology, the Confessor relies upon

The following story seeds start with the Confessor and his relationship to the magi and their covenant but provide challenges that the magi must face and resolve.

An elderly Tytalus staying at the covenant suddenly falls into Twilight. Although he recovers, he has seen that his end is near, and calls for a confessor to hear his many and numerous sins. Uncertain what penance to give so old and so powerful a man, the inexperienced Confessor seeks the advice of the magi of the covenant, careful not to divulge the nature (or quantity) of the old man's sins.

The new Confessor hears the confessions of the covenfolk, including the magi, in an antechamber off the main hall. But what's discussed soon turns to gossip. Who or what has been eavesdropping on these private moments, and what have they learned that the princeps doesn't want revealed?

The covenant is involved in a conflict that leads to a death. Soon after, the Confessor receives a visit from the maga involved, looking for absolution. The Confessor hears her confession and instructs her to undertake a pilgrimage in penance for her sin. But it soon becomes apparent that the maga is making no preparations to leave. On challenging her, the maga denies any knowledge of the confession or the resulting penance. Has something affected her mind? Was it really her who sought confession? If not, what manner of creature could breach the Aegis? And perhaps more importantly, now that the Confessor has approached the maga, will she now confess her sin and see her soul cleansed of its taint?

The Confessor, after a lifetime of hearing the sins, squabbles, and sorrows of his parish, is abducted by demons, or faeries in the role of demons, each one intent on taking a sin from the Confessor's memory and seeing it played out a thousandfold. As the beasts sweep across the land, they take the Confessor with them to feed their plague of evil. Villages and towns descend into anarchy under the influence of the demons inspired by the Confessor. As the magi follow their friend and confidante, they come face-to-face with their own sins, and must now explain their actions, once thought forgiven.

A popular and influential magus, rumored to wield holy magic, comes to the covenant looking for material to help him with a tractatus he is writing. The book is a penitentiary, or a manual of confession, designed to help penitent and confessor alike to correctly identify their sins and the appropriate penance to be undertaken. While mundane manuals of confession derive penances for an individual based on the four humors, the seven sins, and the seven virtues, the magus is attempting to add the fifteen Hermetic Arts. Are the magi happy to have this magus poking around their sins, penances, and studies? What happens if his notes fall into the wrong hands? Come to that, as the magus visited a rival covenant the previous season, how can the magi get a look at his notes themselves?

his Folk Ken for gaining an intuition of what troubles his flock, Leadership to maintain his position as a pillar of the community, and various Lores for his village, the covenant, and the local area to keep abreast of all the current events.

The following training packages help to describe a typical Christian priest: Student (parish school), Churchman; Covenfolk, Local, Leader, Public Official.

The Student training package is required to give the Confessor knowledge of Latin, key to his other Academic Abilities, but is generally not used more than once. The Covenfolk, Local, and Leader packages provide knowledge of and a connection to the Confessor's parish. The Churchman package is the core package and should be taken at least once out of every three packages taken for this character.

The following Ability scores have been generated based on the suggested training packages earlier after taking a Mischievous Childhood package to describe the Confessor's ill-spent younger years. The Abilities are appropriate for a Christian priest in the role of Confessor, but Islamic or Jewish characters will have a different focus, in addition to the extra 50 experience points they receive from their Educated Virtues.

ABILITIES AT AGE 40: Area Lore: Village 3 (personalities), Artes Liberales 3 (rhetoric), Brawl 2 (Fist), Charm 4 (first impressions), Civil and Canon Law 4 (local laws), Folk Ken 4 (magi), Guile 3 (keeping confessional secrets), Latin 4 (church ceremonies), Leadership 4 (inspiration), Living Language 5 (local dialect), Order of Hermes Lore 2 (practices), Organization Lore: Church 4 (own diocese), Organization Lore: Covenant 3 (personalities), Stealth 2 (hide), Theology 6 (biblical knowledge)

ABILITIES AT AGE 55: Area Lore: Village 4 (personalities), Artes Liberales 3 (rhetoric), Brawl 2 (Fist), Charm 5 (first impressions), Civil and Canon Law 4 (local laws), Folk Ken 5 (magi), Guile 3 (keeping confessional secrets), Latin 5 (church ceremonies), Leadership 5 (inspiration), Living Language 5 (local dialect), Order of Hermes Lore 3 (practices), Organization Lore: Church 6 (own diocese), Organization Lore: Covenant 4 (personalities), Stealth 3 (hide), Theology 6 (biblical knowledge)

If the Confessor has taken the new Uncertain Faith Flaw, he has a Personality Trait of the same name with a score of at least 1. As for other traits, he is likely to be a Good Listener, which helps further define his role in the saga. A third trait says more about the Confessor as a person, who may be Compassionate, Duty-Bound, or Strict.