Clerics are hard. I wanted the Miracle Maker to have some variety and flexibility, and I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. Clerics shouldn’t just feel like Wizards, otherwise, what’s the point?

But I think Skerples Paladin of the Word/Sorceror framework is the perfect solution. A limited suite of abilities with very flexible forms of casting. I also had some inspiration from his necromancer.

Anyway, without further ado, the Miracle Maker!

Miracle Maker

Some thought Anomalies were the only foes who use magic on the battlefield. Some thought wrong. Nothing burns hotter than a sinner in the sight of a servant of god.

A: Performing a Miracle, Keeping the Faith
B: Threads that Bind, +1 Miracle, +1 MD
C: The Story of Forever, +1 Miracle, +1 MD
D: Wicked and Divine, +1 Miracle, +1 MD

Gear: A well-made (if seldom used) melee weapon, a holy symbol, humble clothing, a stick of incense (1d6), a lighter (1d4), and a flask of holy water.

A: Performing Miracles

You’re empowered with a miracle of your choice and one magic die, granted to you by your god as a reward for devout service and steadfast loyalty. For each template after this one, you earn a new miracle of your choice, as well as another magic die. Doubles and triples do not cause mishaps and dooms, but some miracles are affected by them.

Anoint (R: touch, T: creature or object, D: instant)

God’s holy power flows through your body as its vessel, and the target is mended of {sum} damage. Anointed water and oil become holy water and holy oil, respectively. Any diseases that the target has are diminished by a single stage, given a successful luck test made by the target.

+1 MD: Affects all creatures touching you.
+1 MD: Affects all objects touching you.
+1 MD: Double mending effects.
+1 MD: Weapons and Armor are granted a magical +{dice} bonus for {low} hours.
+2 MD: Targeted creature’s luck becomes 18 for their next {dice} luck tests.
+2 MD: In lieu of mending damage, an Injury is healed for {high} days instead.

Damn (R: 20ft, T: creature or object, D: instant)

Divine judgment is invoked on the target, which takes {sum} damage from a blast of energy, released from the hands, heavens, or holy symbol. Target may test their luck for half damage.

In lieu of damage, the target may be aged by {sum} years, lowering their luck by {dice}, all effects halved by a successful luck test. Target objects that are aged become old and rotten, expending any held or protected resources. (Ammo in a gun, oil in a lantern, paint in a brush, etc.)

+1 MD: Range increases by {dice} times 10ft.
+1 MD: Affects up to +{dice} targets.
+1 MD: Damage lowers target’s maximum HD by {dice} for half {sum} days.
+1 MD: Inflicted damage heals you for the same amount.
+2 MD: Target object explodes, dealing {sum} damage in a 10ft times {dice} diameter circle. Save for half.

Tithe (R: touch, T: creature or object, D: instant)

A calm, yet firm touch is all that’s needed as you tug at a target’s being, and will it to pay its dues. Creatures must test luck or pay you with {sum} times {dice} wealth or perform {dice} simple acts for you. Each turn, the creature tests its luck again. Creatures with {dice} times 2 HD or more are unaffected.

If the tithed creature has no wealth of its own, it will give you the thing it values most. A harmed creature immediately shakes free of its service and is infuriated, otherwise, a creature doesn’t realize it’s been influenced until they sleep on it.

Tithed objects transform into a tool or weapon of your choosing for {dice} hours before crumbling into dust, ground from their original form. If the tithed object was a manifestation of your god, any resources it consumes are infinite. Created weapons deal double damage against their kind. (A weapon tithed from a snake’s corpse doubly harms snakes, a weapon tithed from a statue double harms statues, etc.)

+1 MD: The tithed creature forgets your face once it wakes up the next morning.
+1 MD: Tithed creatures may be dead, so long as they were servants of your god.
+2 MD: Tithed objects remain transformed until you replace them.
+2 MD: Tithed creatures may be a number of dead creatures with collected HD of {sum} or less. They serve you completely until dismissed, draining you of {dice} MD each morning to keep up their service.
+3 MD: Tithed creatures may be servants of your god within a {dice} mile area, working with you permanently until death, dismissal, or a triple roll.

Bastion (R: sight, T: creature, D: {dice} + {template} turns)

A barrier of warping holy energy surrounds your target, for the duration, they get +{dice} on luck tests against harmful effects. Any harmful effects are ended, and any spirits are exorcised.

In lieu of a single creature, the miracle targets a spherical area with a diameter of {dice} times 10ft, centered on you. Duration is ended if you take any damage.

+1 MD: Enemies burn for {dice}d6 damage if attacking or inside the affected area.
+1 MD: Target’s bonus on luck tests is doubled.
+1 MD: Target creature(s) cannot lie for the duration.
+1 MD: Target allies add their {template} number to the duration.

A: Keeping the Faith

You may use miracles as you wish, but if you do not abide by the tenets set forth by your god’s teachings, you will be your own undoing. Each time you break a tenet of your god, roll all magic dice in your pool. Any that roll 4-6 are expended.

If you sacrifice something valuable to your god, you get a number of magic dice added to your pool, determined by the sacrifice table of your god. These magic dice remain in your pool until expended.

The Mother

Creator of the embers that took hold, burning endlessly in the sky. Every star, a story. Every flame, a storyteller. She laced the dress of the moon out of silver and glass, she drapes the dead in their final blankets.

Feed a flame, no matter its purpose.
Mercy must be attempted.
Death cannot go unrecognized.
There is honor in all love.
Pain isn’t to be feared.

Manifestations: Source of heat or light, bluebirds, glass, fine cloth, blood, silver, the noon sun.

Sacrifice	MD
A dagger’s worth of blood or a full night’s meal	1
A flask’s worth of oil or a bedroll’s comfort	2
An item or treasure won with blood	3
A treasured memory (-1 capacity) or a year of your life (-1 luck)	4

Red Brother

A fierce sight on a good day, a dour note on a bad one. Thrilled by chance, and mezmerized by shine. A warm drink of jealousy and spite. The sunrise spirit of working to pay your overwhelming debts.

A gamble is worth itself.
Finer things are worth the work.
The snakes don’t bite if you tread thoughtfully.
Honor none weaker than yourself.
Demand better of others.

Manifestation: Gold, jewels, snakes, leather, wood, cards, dice, the wind, sunrise.

Sacrifice	MD
The chance to cheat or win in a competition	1
An entire stock of something you crave dearly	2
An item or treasure, won by chance	3
Something or someone you covet above anything else	4

Black Brother

A black, cloudy day, without the kindness of rain. Thunder booming on the horizon without lightning’s hint. A coal-filled car burning down the salted earth of freshly lain tracks. The one who ties up the loose ends, before the mother takes you away.

Progress above all else.
Fix that which is broken.
There is art in efficiency.
Clean only when work is finished.
Value the work of others.

Manifestation: Salt, rust, smoke, oil, spiders, the dead, tombstones, steel, coal, train tracks, midnight.

Sacrifice	MD
A perfectly working tool	1
A week’s worth of downtime	2
An item or treasure, crafted to perfection	3
All non-natural healing for a year	4

Waxlotche Ancestors

The watching eyes in every tree, the notes behind wolf calls. A lineage of familial knowledge and values, charging through your soul like a charging steed. Open arms, worn hands, kind eyes, and heart fuel.

All natural things contain spiritual life.
Fear should be an advisor, not a commander.
Deny thy father at one’s own peril.
The dead are with us every day, do them proud.
Honor your mount as family.

Manifestation: Plants or animals, spirits, weather

Sacrifice	MD
A prisoner of war	1
Shelter from weather	2
An honored mount	3
A weapon that has great meaning	4

B: Threads that Bind

If someone breaks a tenant of your god around you, their consciousness cracks, and their thoughts begin to leak. You are given three topics they have been thinking about recently and may tug on one to learn a surface-level fact about it.

If you wish to tug on that thread deeper, or change threads, you must succeed on a series of increasingly difficult luck tests, rolled with a -1 for each time you tug or change threads. If you fail the luck test, they learn one thing you’ve thought about in the last 24 hours, determined by the gamemaster. The person whose thoughts you read does not know what you know, but feel unease about you, as you dig through their mind.

If either of you is killed while you are digging, the other takes damage rolled from the creature’s hit dice.

C: The Story of Forever

If you touch and meditate on a manifestation of your god, you see a vision of its story, from a god’s eye view. Going forward or backward in time takes 10 minutes in game time per hour in the vision.

You may consume the manifestation in order to meld its experiences into your mind. If you do, a slot fills with “Wisdom of (manifestation)”, which acts as a new career for the purposes of base knowledge and gaining advantage on luck tests.

D: Wicked and Divine

This level’s magic die is a d12. It is only expended on a roll of 9-12. It is recovered only if you broke no tenents while it was expended. If you did, you must make a two MD sacrifice, and receive the d12 in lieu of the normal reward.