Instead of empowering to higher level of supplications, empowerment increases the upper limit of the percentage of their supplications.

For example, an unempowered can only practise up to 50%, next empowerment 70% and so on. To balance the game, higher level supplications will have lower percentage limit.

The idea is that a player can continue to play, with more difficulty, while waiting for the next empowerment, instead of hitting a brick wall.

Disclaimer: I have never played empowerment character before, so this idea may sound absurd or silly.

I have played a few empowerment classes (not many).
I have noticed there are few imms that my times didnt match up for or he/she wasnt around much.
I would try various ways to interact with that imm.
Be it my role additions, or writing them in game missives or perhaps emailing them at their CF email address (which I havnt done, and should likely be a last resort).
However, I was not afraid to level past my empowerment limits barring the first empowerment.

Empowerment by certain Imms is done differently.
But all have the basic concept of empowering you when they think you deserve it.
The "brick wall" is designed so that if you are not doing things right they can scold you and to ensure they make sure you are keeping to your RP.

Usually they tend to empower you up to key abilities, I've noticed.
So if you get Sanctuary at a certain level they might empower you up to that point but not further.
So you wont be a paladin running around without any defense for example.
If you keep on doing the right stuff the that specific religion you should be fine, especially if it is an active imm and your times match.

So what I'm saying is that this is not needed.

However, I do have a question for the imms regarding paladins.
Why is it that when you get virtues that the skills in that virtue do not start at 70 or 75%?
Because it seems to me that eventhough you might have a lot of practices left,
you are likely to completely run out if you get three virtues depending on race/int.
(I'm sure you may be fine with this and I've never had 3 virtues),
but since virtues are much like Legacies for warriors...
I believe they should be granted at 70%.

>However, I do have a question for the imms regarding paladins.
>
>Why is it that when you get virtues that the skills in that
>virtue do not start at 70 or 75%?
>Because it seems to me that eventhough you might have a lot of
>practices left,
>you are likely to completely run out if you get three virtues
>depending on race/int.
>(I'm sure you may be fine with this and I've never had 3
>virtues),
>but since virtues are much like Legacies for warriors...
>I believe they should be granted at 70%.

Virtues are more like the skill set you get for choosing a weapon spec. An imm who decides to give a third virtue to a paladin will most likely have plenty of support to do so and therefore get the aid they need to make sure the said paladin has enough practices to use them. There might also be a situation where the paladin only has enough practices for a few of them and their deity might find it more appropriate that they only get to choose certain ones of that set for the time being. I can see many ways where giving a virtue without having enough practices might actually enhance the goals of that character and not hinder it.

provides some differentiation between racial choices. A benefit of choosing classes with hit int and wis is that it is easier to learn everything that a class has available to it. By providing skills/spells/sups with an already learned rate it diminishes the value of having high int and wis in the first place.

:)

maybe allow spells over your empowerment to go to 50% or so, that way they could potentially be used, but at great risk...if you had to level a char with all your spells only being 50% until your 2nd empowerment, that wouldnt work too well.