Ritual components: Followers

[Bedwyr]

Two questions:

1. I presume that with all other components, followers will be, in some measure, used up.  Are they temporarily exhausted?  For how long?  Can any person only be used once?  I presume they don't die, as that would fall under human sacrifice, but are they permanently harmed?

2. What level of consent is required here?  Whole-hearted devotion?  Grudging acceptance?

[Tom]

you are asking the wrong questions.

this is a free-form roleplaying game. Make it up as you go, do whatever you feel is right. The part on the website states clearly that this is just a sample.

[Bedwyr]

Weeeellll...My instinct would say that that to qualify as followers they have to consent, but more enthusiastic followers provide a greater benefit (I.e. a group of religious zealots who think you are the Second Coming will help a lot more than random thugs helping because you're paying the standard fee for the day), and it leaves them exhausted as if they had been doing hard labor for the time period of the ritual.

Mind control would work, but I imagine that the mind control breaking while in the midst of a ritual would be...Catastrophic.

[Tom]

I'd agree on most of that.

[Bedwyr]

Alrighty then, that gives me a nice starting point at least.

[Tom]

Basically, the components on the website are guidelines. If you have other ideas, please tell me so I can add them.


So for followers, it would be adequate to modify the values. A large crowd of mostly apathetic followers would count for maybe half their number only, while a group of especially dedicated and trained helpers may well count for 20% more than they are in numbers.

[Bedwyr]

I'd imagine that having them actually performing something would help, and the more complex the better.  So if you sing your magic, and can get singers, that's good.  If you get opera-quality singers, that's better.  If they're trained to perform together with you, that's the best.