I felt inspired to post a little something due to some observations I've made recently on people praying for empowerment and having difficulty reaching their imm.

Most of this has been said before, but it apparently needs to be said again.

- Pray to one imm, that is, don't switch to a different imm when you don't get a response. Praying to multiple imms may seem like it will statistically improve your chances of getting empowered, but trust me - it won't. If you've been honestly trying to pray to an absent imm consistently and appropriately, someone else on the staff will usually take notice and step in.

- Have patience after you pray. Online imms are often distracted working on MUD, dealing with other players, etc. I can't begin to tell you how many people I've seen pray while their imm was online and then quit in less than two minutes before their imm could possibly respond. I'd say a good ten minutes in the shrine is good.

- Write a note. If you're not getting a response, write an appropriately IC note to the imm you are trying to reach. This will, if nothing else, cue the imm to look for you. (If your character can't write or writing doesn't feel like something he'd do - a note that echoes prayers or thoughts can be appropriate too - notes to gods can be a bit less conventional than notes to mortals.)

- Have a role. While not required, it is a big help - *especially* if your imm has limited time, it's much easier to get to know your character and plan an empowerment interaction if there is a role to work from. Something relatively brief but still revealing is best.

By the way, I know the empowerment system isn't perfect, and imm availability sometimes makes empowerment classes difficult to get into. The imm staff is aware of this, and priests who follow the above recommendations, have a decent description, and consistently roleplay out of a shrine as well as in, will dramatically increase their chances of being empowered in a timely manner even if their imm has limited availability.