I'm looking for general advice on how to approach Immortals in character, for purposes of building a role, gaining various benefits, etc.

How does one go about their worship? Obviously it's going to be based largely on your particular role and the personality of your god of choice, but I'd like to know things like how you go about initiating that relationship and how often there is back-and-forth interaction.

What benefits tend to come out of it? Should you come in with much praise and basically kiss ass? Can you ask for a tattoo or is that usually given as a reward for well-played roles and general worship? Do something impressive first? Just talk through your own issues and philosophies and chat about your life and ambitions? Can you deal for things (edges, legacies, forms, whatever, if it's in role, etc.) or does that not really happen unless you like win the Role Contest or something big like that?

I'd like to add some depth to my characters, maybe gain some extra benefits or at least make my characters a little more interesting, and thus far have not found the IMM interactions that I've had in my first few attempts have gone all that well. I feel like they ask me what I want, like why I'm bothering them, and I don't really know what to say other than some version of I am here to worship, at your service, etc., which doesn't seem to get me very far.

Thoughts on worship? What works and what to expect? Thanks.

If I'm playing a non-empowerment class when should I start praying to the IMM I want to follow to become part of their religion? I'm not too sure how the religion thing works. Does it matter if I start praying to follow them at level 11 or wait till 20 or whenever?

Start at 11, start at 20, start at 51 (if it's Kasty.)

If you think it's appropriate for you to go to the shrine, then it probably is. You might not get the attention you want immediately, but isn't that the whole thing about praying?

What was posted earlier is all good advice. There is a thing or two I might add.

1. Try looking up a few premium pbfs of empowered characters. Paladins, druids, healers shamans. They all get empowered, so they follow a religion. You can see how they incorporated religions into roles and such, and usually there are some imm comments relative to their religious progress in there as well. Can be helpful if they are for an imm you are considering following too.

2. I followed one Imm, it was awesome. However, I went into it for no other reason than to follow the imm and be empowered. I think if an Imm knows you're doing it solely for the perks, they're going to be hard pressed to give them to you. But if you are engaging with the Imm and putting the effort in, I think perks will flow naturally. Just don't say I follow Daev, so I should get a 3rd legacy at 100 hours. It's not going to happen 99 times out of 100. Tattoos are rare, and they are earned.

3. Almost all religions come at a price. You may have the tattoo, but you'll have duties along with it. You'll be expected to hold the faith and preach it. I followed Ysaloerye. At first I swore off pills and potions. Later I gave up any magical armor. Then I had to cease travelling with or aiding any mage (not easy for a dwarf paladin). However, I was the first to reach the highest position among her followers, and that was an awesome feeling. Also, when you have a patron, they will snoop you far more then you know, so you better have the RP all the time, not just when you think they're watching. Or else you might find yourself on the wrong side of an imm's attention.

4. Can't stress it enough. Be respectful. They're taking their time to try and make you have a rich and full experience, but you have to put in to it as much as they do, or they're probably not going to want to bother. Have a role before you go. Have an idea about why you follow them. About how you can bring forth their glory into Thera. You are trying to serve then, just always keep that in mind.

Ultimately immteraction can be a very wonderful and rich experience, because imms have some of the best RP in CF. But you tend to only get out what you put into it. Don't come into expecting them to do you any favors, but give them a reason to want to watch and reward you, and usually they will.

>How does one go about their worship?

Visit the shrine at least every other day and send up an IC prayer. If you don't know the shrine's location then pray from somewhere that seems appropriate and ask to be guided to the shrine.

Also evangelize others with your deity's religion. Be an advocate. And, of course, behave in accordance with the tenets of the religion.

>how often there is back-and-forth interaction.

This often depends on how busy your deity is in real-life and whether your times match up. If you're never online at the same time then obviously there's not going to be much back and forth interaction.

>What benefits tend to come out of it?

Enjoyment. Tattoo. Imm XP.

>Should you come in with much praise and basically kiss ass?

Depends on the deity. Most deities won't respond well to obvious ass-kissing. Some might. Generally you should be showing extreme awe and respect.

>Can you ask for a tattoo or is that usually given as a reward for well-played roles and general worship?

Nothing stops you from asking, but it's usually a bad idea. Sometimes not, though, such as if you're following a deity that covers the pride sphere. When asked what your "goals" are you might respond, "I want to bear your mark, Lord, that all may know I am your favored servant."

It's got to be IC though. No deity wants to hear, "I want your tattoo because it has a cool prog. Gimme."

>Do something impressive first?

Doing something impressive never hurts. I think they generally like to "time" giving you the tat so that it coincides with something cool you've done. Though, if you're not online at the same time they may just give it to you the first time you're both around at the same time once they think you're worthy. Mainly because it might be another few days before they even get the opportunity.

>Just talk through your own issues and philosophies and chat about your life and ambitions?

Usually your talks will center around how your philosophies, life, ambitions, etc. relate to the religion. Some imms are much more about "sitting around and talking" than others. Marcatis liked to use the Socratic method.

>Can you deal for things (edges, legacies, forms, whatever, if it's in role, etc.) or does that not really happen unless you like win the Role Contest or something big like that?

Generally your imm is not just going to hand out stuff like that. That's usually reserved for RC rewards and/or super long-lived characters who are just phenomenal.

>I feel like they ask me what I want, like why I'm
>bothering them, and I don't really know what to say other than
>some version of I am here to worship, at your service, etc.,
>which doesn't seem to get me very far.

You need to have something in your role about why your character even wants to worship this deity in the first place. Did you have a vision when you were young? Were you raised by monks who taught you the basics of the faith? Are you driven by the pursuit of power, and so come to its ultimate source? Do you strive to escape the fog of illusion and achieve purity of the soul?

If your deity asks you why you're at the shrine, then you might say something like, "I come to give praise the One who is worthy; I come to pay homage to you, My Lord." Or something like that.


>
>Thoughts on worship? What works and what to expect? Thanks.

I've had one tattooed character and two RC wins, and each of my "serious" characters has sought out Immteraction on various levels.

The first thing I would do (and you've probably already done this) is determine which Immortal you're going to try to interact with. Whether or not you're seeking a tattoo, but especially if you are, this will be sphere dependent.

As a serial Villager I may be biased, but Thror has supplied several of my characters with fantastic interactions and I'm planning on following him again soon. He is, however, The Lord of Hardships and it's not an easy road.

I have never had an Enlilth follower or even played a character remotely on his side, but I have encountered him IC a lot and he is awesome. I've also interacted with his morts and never been disappointed.

I could go on and on as I am wont to do, but I'll leave it here and use these two as examples.

Once you find the shrine you should decide what you're looking for. If it's a tattoo, you're on the right path. If it's a third legacy, you're better off working on your role and trying to win the contest. We'll assume you're looking for the tattoo.

Thror's a Dwarf, so he's going to be blunt. He's also going to expect you to be straightforward. Tell him you want to bear his mark. Or, if you're looking for the mysterious secrets of Sapper
training, tell him that.

Enlilth is different, an Imperial Duergar who fancies himself the King of Kings. Bring him something. Offer him something. He will be sly. Compliments and respect count here. Granted, when dealing with a god, they always do, but your fawning praise to Twist will fall on uncaring ears. Enlilth wants to hear it.

Just remember two things. 1. This is a role-playing game and you started this ball rolling by wanting to role-play, so here's your chance. Respond to questions as if you were an elf or a fire-giant or whatever you are. There's no wrong way to do it, but if you come across like a guy sitting at a computer somewhere, you're doing it wrong. 2. They're gods. Forget that at your own peril.

Any path you take goals will be set and tasks given to you. This, in my opinion, is where CF really starts to shine. I once had Thror give me a task that I seriously considered impossible (kill Lirad, who I was 0-5 against.) I succeeded and blew my own mind, by the way. That's what makes CF such a great game.

One thing to remember is that even if you don't get 3 legacies or a mountain of CON, at the very least repeated interactions with an immortal will tend to help you accumulate IMMxp, which goes a long way towards gathering edges.

Interacting with the gods is like any other RP scenario. It might feel goofy at first, but if you run with it and have fun, you can't go wrong.

Good luck.

Thanks. All very good info.

Can you follow a God and be tattooed and such if you are not of their exact sphere, but if say it's related in a way that makes sense with your role and their belief system?

Also, do all Gods who cover sphere have shrines somewhere in Thera?

>Can you follow a God and be tattooed and such if you are not of
>their exact sphere, but if say it's related in a way that makes
>sense with your role and their belief system?

Most Imms will not tattoo or empower out of sphere characters. Other stuff may vary. I had a sphere Purity Villager given a bunch of con by Iunna, who is a Herald Imm (with a soft spot for Battle, granted.) Where the RP fits, things may happen, but don't expect a tattoo or empowerment off sphere.

>Also, do all Gods who cover sphere have shrines somewhere in Thera?

No, but if they don't have a shrine, there should be a clue in the help file about where an appropriate place to pray is. Also, you need not pray from a shrine. I've prayed plenty to the gods of Battle from the site of the old Village. Just don't pray from your guild (unless maybe sphere sloth) or another god's shrine.

I'll add: if you want to pray to a made-up deity (as opposed to one of the existing ones displayed by the 'wizlist' command) then don't choose a sphere that belongs to an existing deity.