Death of senior Rune Priest of a temple and the wyter

[Scornado]

If the senior Rune Priest of a temple dies unexpectedly, what happens to the temple wyter?  Does it hang around for 7 days (during which the priest could be resurrected) and the new senior priest consequently has some time to "adopt" it?  (What happens if it is adopted and then the priest is resurrected?)

[Rodney Dangerduck]

In the case of an Allied Spirit, it hangs around for 7 days.  So I think it would be the same for a Wyter.

Note that Bound Spirits, in general, become unbound and go away.

[David Scott]

13 minutes ago, Scornado said:

If the senior Rune Priest of a temple dies unexpectedly, what happens to the temple wyter? 

Nothing. It stays where it is, in its object, creature, whatever. (In my game the village wyter is in a tree, it remained there until a new priest was found). A wyter only leaves if its sacred object is destroyed (RQG 287).

13 minutes ago, Scornado said:

Does it hang around for 7 days (during which the priest could be resurrected) and the new senior priest consequently has some time to "adopt" it?

Someone else pays the point of POW to become its priest. It is made easier as it has no current priest. 

13 minutes ago, Scornado said:

(What happens if it is adopted and then the priest is resurrected?)

It can be transfered back. But it costs POW and Such transfer is fraught with peril and is never lightly made (RQG 286)

[David Scott]

Just now, Rodney Dangerduck said:

In the case of an Allied Spirit, it hangs around for 7 days.  So I think it would be the same for a Wyter.

Note that Bound Spirits, in general, become unbound and go away.

A wyter only leaves if its sacred object is destroyed (RQG 287).

[Scornado]

thanks.  pretty much what I had concluded. 

So for a temple wyter, does it have to be a Rune Priest (not just someone fulfilling the priest role - as Ferene in Fire in the Darkness)?

Edited December 21, 2023 by Scornado

[Shiningbrow]

16 hours ago, David Scott said:

Someone else pays the point of POW to become its priest. It is made easier as it has no current priest. 

You probably think the answer is obvious, but...

So, when the priest is resurrected, they then need to pay the POW cost again??

Or... should one assume that the connection gradually fades away, rather than instantaneously upon death? (given how it works with allied spirits...).

And, I presume there's no great harm to not having such a connection during the week or so (other than the Wyter losing access to some spells, and the community not having a direct, physical connection with the wyter)....

[David Scott]

13 hours ago, Scornado said:

thanks.  pretty much what I had concluded. 

So for a temple wyter, does it have to be a Rune Priest (not just someone fulfilling the priest role - as Ferene in Fire in the Darkness)?

A wyter's priest is generally a community leader, so anyone who is fulfilling that role: A wyter is bound to a single person, typically the leader of the wyter’s community, e.g., the king of a tribe, the chief of clan, the high priest of a temple, etc. (RQG 286)

 

[David Scott]

2 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

You probably think the answer is obvious, but...

No. I always go and look at the rules. 

2 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

So, when the priest is resurrected, they then need to pay the POW cost again??

if no one else is now the priest, no. If someone else is the priest yes.

2 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

Or... should one assume that the connection gradually fades away, rather than instantaneously upon death? (given how it works with allied spirits...).

Allied spirits leave when their ally dies. A GM might rule that it fades away, likewise with a wyter. Dead is dead, resurrection is a big thing with consequences.

2 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

And, I presume there's no great harm to not having such a connection during the week or so (other than the Wyter losing access to some spells, and the community not having a direct, physical connection with the wyter)....

Everyone who worships it still has their Loyalty, so wyters will still do their own things, they are just not directed to by their priest. It will also depend on the Wyter's spirit abilities.

[Nick Brooke]

Hey, @Scornado, are you trying to generalise based on the incident described in “A Fire in the Darkness”? It seems to me that would be a bad idea, for what I’d have thought were fairly obvious reasons.

[Scornado]

9 hours ago, Nick Brooke said:

Hey, @Scornado, are you trying to generalise based on the incident described in “A Fire in the Darkness”? It seems to me that would be a bad idea, for what I’d have thought were fairly obvious reasons.

Quite the opposite - I am trying to determine in FiD what it is reasonable for a PC to do within the confines of existing rules or conventions.  In a way it does not matter for MGF but I'd prefer to know what rules I am bending before bending them.

[Darius West]

On 12/21/2023 at 2:54 AM, Scornado said:

If the senior Rune Priest of a temple dies unexpectedly, what happens to the temple wyter?  Does it hang around for 7 days (during which the priest could be resurrected) and the new senior priest consequently has some time to "adopt" it?  (What happens if it is adopted and then the priest is resurrected?)

A wyter is a spirit of a group.  It doesn't specifically "belong" to the High Priest, it is just that the High Priest is presently the person (or one of many persons) with access to it.  When the High Priest dies, the wyter waits around for another group member to contact it.  The wyter is only likely to dissipate when the group dissipates.  Wyters are pretty much in all respects the same as egregores

That's my 2 cents on the matter.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Darius West