Faith

2025-05-07

Original DFCO art for Michael Carpenter by Tyler Walpole

Introduction

“Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

• ScrewTape Letters By C.S Lewis

I’m no theologian.

I know any explanation of faith I could devise in my own words wouldn’t sum it up or do it the slightest justice. If there were any words I could point to that did, however, the quote above comes pretty close.

I said in a prior article that I wanted to cover the antagonist of Be Not Afraid before the protagonists (player character options), but this is a slight addendum to that. To be upfront, Be Not Afraid is not a Christian-centric game by any stretch. Faith as a power is merely an option among many—co-equal from a gameplay standpoint—and also serves to support the monster hunter trope of the priest who can banish ghosts or demons.

To be specific, this is an option for Mundane characters. Mundanes is a term used for characters who are not supernaturally empowered in any real way and are special only due to their own skills and abilities. Mundanes are a possible player option, with several planned paths they can pursue—Faith being one.

Setting Considerations

To be upfront, I am a Christian, so some of my interpretation of Faith from a metaphysical standpoint is going to be heavily informed by my beliefs. However, the mechanical systems as presented are generic enough to be pretty flexible when depicting the other Abrahamic religions. I probably wouldn’t use this system to depict Pagan belief systems, though.

A big theme I’m playing with when it comes to my setting is: Supernatural as suspension of reality vs. Supernatural as opaque/hidden laws of reality. Much of the distinctions I make between Magick and Miracles are built on this concept.

Magick is the use of hidden and unknown rules of reality, while Miracles are the outright temporary suspension of reality. Another analogy we could use is that Magick is like using intended or unintended exploits in a video game, while Miracles are server admin privileges.

Faith, therefore, is a means for a Mundane/Mortal being to gain access to Miracles. It must be noted, however, that the Miracle is not being produced by the Faithful in question. The Miracle is a divine intervention, whereas Magick (in the case of will-working) is pretty much always produced by the magician. In a shamanic model, it might be a joint effort between a spirit and the practitioner, but ultimately, that is still Magick.

Honestly, this specific distinction between Magick and Miracles is deserving of an article unto itself, but for now, I think this is a good overview.

Another thing to note: the number of people in the setting of Be Not Afraid who have enough faith to produce Miracles is pretty low, and those who do—and who are gung-ho about fighting the forces of darkness—get bumped off pretty quickly.

Design Notes

These rules should generally work in most OSR systems. However, keep in mind these were designed with my system in mind, which is a classless system that uses rolled random character progression. A lot of paths characters can take are independent of standard leveling, such as Faith. This means there aren’t really any restrictions on it the same way multiclassing imposes. Nothing prevents a Magic-User from having Faith, or someone with Faith from dabbling in magic (unless the magic is clearly demonic or doesn’t work with the character’s belief system).

However, I think GMs and players should exercise discretion when using these rules, given that they require a good deal of GM adjudication. So unless a character has a good reason to be using these mechanics, it’s probably best not to (aka don’t be a Munchkin).

Faith Systsem

Faith Score

Faith is actionable trust and belief in a divine power—most often expressed through a major religion or spiritual tradition. Most people, even those who are religious, do not possess Faith as this system defines it. They may profess belief, but only a rare few are able to manifest that belief in a way that has real, spiritual consequence.

Faith is a separate progression track from class or level. A character’s Faith Score ranges from 0 to 50. For every 10 points (20% of the total), the character gains +1 to all Faith Checks, which are used to perform a variety of spiritual actions and rituals—such as prayer, warding, and miracles.

The Faith Bonus is also added to saving throws against supernatural effects that target the mind or spirit, such as:

• Mind control (possession, enchantment)
• Emotion alteration (fear auras, despair, charm)
• Glamours
• Memetic or cognitohazardous effects

Note: While its effects are real, Faith is not a detectable force. Even creatures with supernatural perception (e.g. demons, fae, spirits) cannot sense someone’s Faith—except, perhaps, in the fleeting moment a miracle is performed.

Prayer

A Prayer is a focused act of devotion that invokes protection, grace, or guidance from a higher power. It is not guaranteed to succeed—faith is tested.

• Time Required: 1 minute of uninterrupted focus.
• Check: 1d20 + Faith Bonus vs DC 12
• Frequency: Each specific prayer can only be made once per day.
• Intent: The prayer must be for a good, selfless, or righteous purpose (as judged by the GM).

Effect (on Success)

If successful, the prayer grants a +2 bonus to the relevant checks or rolls described in the prayer’s scope. The bonus lasts for a reasonable time period based on the prayer’s subject (e.g., a road trip, a surgery, a dangerous conversation).

Examples…

• A prayer for safety on the road might grant +2 to all Driving checks or Reflex saves for the next hour.
• A prayer before a duel might give +2 to Resolve checks for the next fight.
• A prayer before attempting to talk someone down from suicide might give +2 to a single Reaction or social check.

Note: The GM decides how long the effect lasts and what actions it applies to. It should be narrowly focused and not used to game the system (“I pray for success in everything today” is not valid you munckins!).

Failure

The prayer is not answered—or the faith was not strong enough. No effect. The character may not attempt that same prayer again until the next day.

Warding

A character may attempt to repel evil supernatural beings by their faith while brandishing a holy symbol, relic, or spiritually significant item and invoking divine authority.

• Action: 1 action (typically 1 round)
• Requirement: The character must visibly brandish a holy symbol or sacred item and perceive the target (sight, spirit-sense, etc.)
• Check: 1d20 + Faith Bonus vs DC = 10 + Monster’s HD

Effect (on Success)

If successful, the creature is compelled to flee from the warding character for a number of rounds equal to the degrees of success (how many points the check exceeded the DC).

• A creature that cannot flee (trapped, cornered, etc.) may cower or take the Defend action instead.
• Warding does not inflict damage or harm—only repels.

Failure

The monster is unaffected and may continue acting normally.

No Faith & Low Faith Penalty

Characters with 0 Faith suffer a –4 penalty to their Warding check. Characters with 1–9 Faith suffer a –2 penalty.

Note: These are one of the few Faith actions a character with no faith can perform.

Affected Creature Types

Only certain beings are subject to warding, such as: Undead, Demons, Djinn, Unseelie Fey, Ghosts, Outsiders/Beyonders, and Evil Spirits

Warding does not affect: * Celestials, Angels, or other benevolent spiritual beings. Neutral spirits (unless they become hostile) or Mortal creatures, even evil ones.

Note: GMs may rule that some creatures can resist or ignore warding based on their nature or context (e.g. a vampire in full daylight might already be fleeing. also probably on fire.)

Miracles

Miracles are rare and potent acts of divine intercession—never guaranteed, always significant. They occur when a faithful soul reaches out in need and the divine responds directly. Miracles are not spells, powers, or tricks. They are sacred disruptions of the natural order.

Requirements

• Character must have a Faith Score of 20 or higher to attempt a Miracle.
• The character must spend 1 full round in focused, sincere prayer or invocation.
• The player declares the intended miracle—this may be specific (e.g., “Heal this man”) or general (“Spare us from death”), but the final effect is always determined by the GM.
• If the Miracle fails, that specific request cannot be attempted again until the following day.
• You may still attempt different Miracles that day, as long as each is a distinct petition. Example: You attempt a Miracle to save someone from bleeding out and fail. You cannot attempt another Miracle to heal them today, but you could still try a Miracle to protect others from harm or guide someone to safety.

Notes: The GM may allow exceptions to the Faith requirement for rare narrative moments, relics, or divine intervention.

Miracle Roll

• Roll 1d100.
• If the result is equal to or less than your adjusted Faith Score, the Miracle occurs.
• The GM determines how the miracle manifests. It may not be exactly as requested, but it will always be significant, helpful, and meaningful.

Miracle Modifiers

Modifiers apply to the effective Faith Score used for the roll (not your actual Faith Score):

Miracle Immunity to Magick

• Miracles cannot be countered, dispelled, or negated by magick.
• Any lasting effect caused by a Miracle (healing, banishment, purification, etc.) cannot be undone or overwritten by magical means—mundane or supernatural.
• For example: If a demon is banished by a Miracle, no summoning spell can recall it. If a doorway is created by divine means, it cannot be sealed by runes or wards.

Faith Advancement & Loss

Faith is not static—it grows through action and deepens through struggle. It is hard-won and not easily shaken.

Starting Faith

A character’s starting Faith Score depends on their background, upbringing, and spiritual training:

Gaining Faith

A character may grow in Faith through action and divine success.

At the end of a session, if the character has successfully used at least one Faith Action (Prayer, Warding, Miracle, etc.), they may attempt to gain Faith:

• Roll 1d100.
• If the result is greater than the current Faith Score, the character gains +1 Faith.

This roll is made once per session, regardless of how many Faith Actions were performed.

Example: A character with 17 Faith must roll 18 or higher to increase to 18.

The GM may award additional Faith gains for major acts of sacrifice, moments of revelation, pilgrimage, or surviving profound spiritual trials.

Losing Faith

Faith is not easily lost, but betrayal, despair, or corruption can fracture it.

A character may lose 1 or more points of Faith if they:

• Willingly betray their beliefs
• Commit acts of sacrilege or hypocrisy
• Make pacts with dark powers
• Deny their god or faith in moments of crisis
• Are corrupted by mind-breaking horrors, entities, or metaphysical damage

Optional Mechanics

Standardized Miracles (Optional Rule)

After repeated successful use of a specific Miracle (at the GM’s discretion), a character may gain access to a Standardized Miracle—a more reliable but limited form of divine intervention.

• Standardized Miracles are performed with a Faith Check: Roll 1d20 + Faith Bonus against a DC set by the GM (typically between DC 14–23 depending on power or complexity).

• They cannot be modified by intent, cause, or righteousness—these are fixed forms of divine favor.

• A Standardized Miracle may be attempted multiple times per day, but if the check fails, the character loses access to it for the rest of the day.

• Examples:

  • Laying on Hands: Heal 1d6+1 HP instantly (DC 14)
  • Turn Unholy: Repel 1d6+1 HD worth of monsters for 1 round (DC 16)
  • Intercession of Light: Remove fear or mind-affecting effect from an ally (DC 18)

Note: These are not true miracles and can fail, but are more predictable and repeatable. They represent a kind of divine habit or favor forged through repeated faith.

Divine Sense (Optional Rule)

At Faith Score 10 or higher, a character may gain access to Divine Sense, the ability to briefly feel the presence of spiritual or unnatural forces.

• Action: Takes 1 standard action to activate.

• Use: Usable once per day, lasts for 10 minute x Faith Bonus

• Effect: The character becomes aware of the presence of supernatural entities within 60 feet, including:

  • Spirits
  • Demons
  • Undead
  • Fey
  • Outsiders
  • Possessed creatures

• This does not reveal: Exact location, Nature or Morality, Intentions, Quantity.

• The sense is often vague—e.g., “a presence presses against the veil nearby,” or “the air thickens with invisible dread.”

Note: Creatures under magical or divine concealment may evade this sense at GM discretion.

Inspiration

I had a couple notable sources of inspiration for this article beyond of course my own background.

• Michael Carpenter & The Swords Of The Cross | Dresden Files’ by Jim Butcher

• True Faith | World of Darkness By White Wolf

• Divine Realm | Ars Magica by Atlas Games

• Holy Man / Holy Warrior Class | Baptism Of Fire by RPGpundit