Religion Skill
The Religion Skill for the Atomic RPG System system is mostly a generalization of knowledge of religious and spiritual things in the campaign world, including religious topics, such as the prominent gods in an area, what rituals they perform, holidays they celebrate, and the leaders and happenings within these religious sects. The Religion Skill is also used for knowledge concerning religious creatures such as devils, angels, holy people, and other things that may be related depending on the type of campaign you are playing.
The Religion Skill is something that most religious characters should have some investment in so they can know their own deities well and honor them appropriately.
Spirituality also falls under the realm of the Religion Skill check. This can be used for more metaphysical insight and discovery if the campaign the players are in do not have organized religions or gods.
The character’s Mind Trait changes the Religion Skill’s base score. This starts the Religion Skill slightly higher, but any character can train the Religion Skill to increase it.
Here are some of the common uses for the Religion Skill.
Sample Religion Skill Checks
The Religion Skill in the Atomic RPG System will be used in a wide range of situations. Below is a list of some of the most common uses of the Religion Skill. The difficulty of these checks will be determined by the GM. Normally these will be an Easy, Moderate, or Hard Skill Check. Reference the GM guide for Skill Checks for more details.
- Identifying a Diety
- Understanding a Ritual
- Detect Motivations
- Faith Based Interactions
- Social Situations
- Understand Divine Creatures
- Know Social Norms
A character's Mind Trait determines the base skill bonus.
Player Cooperation - Aid Another
Multiple characters can work together to figure something out. This is called Aiding Another.
To successfully Aid Another character the character helping must make the same check the as the one rolling the Skill Check. If they succeed then the player rolling the Skill Check can add their Character Tier to their roll.
However, if the character helping fails in the check, the player will get a penalty to the roll of their Character Tier. Only one player may Aid another at a time.
Passive Religion Checks
Your Passive Nature check is your normal bonus + 10. This is used by the GM to determine things that you may notice or know without having to actively ask to use your skill.
This is a useful tool the GM can use to give out information in the game. Or can even be prompted by the player to see if the GM is willing to give you something for free.
Religion Check as an Action
Religion as an Action will happen when a player character tries to do something that may require a Religion Skill. Examples that would require the use of an Action would include determining if the a symbol is religious, knowing the motivations of the locals, or knowing if a union was legal.
Ceremonies
There are many possibilities but all of them will be up to your GM to say what is appropriate for each Atomic RPG System game.
Dictate Action
The Religion Skill can help to find out what customs may be important to a certain people faith.
The Religion Skill check can even be used to help a player govern their own actions to be sure they are following their own gods moral requirements.
Identifying Religious Things
Rolls to determine things such as this will need to be assigned by the GM on a case by case basis.
Understanding Laws
Rolls to determine things such as this will need to be assigned by the GM on a case by case basis.
Learn About Divine Creatures
Some examples of these creatures may be things such as devils and angels. There may be many creatures and NPCs in your Atomic RPG System campaign world that are not from the natural world. Instead they are created by the power of deities or their direct servants.
Make sure to discuss with your GM what creature would be considered religious.
Reveal Motivations
Using the Religion Skill in this way can also help to identify motivations and other possible plot points. Often times religious organizations are behind many of the happenings in a world and the Religion Skill can help players reveal what these happenings are.
Religion Skill Has Many Uses
These are the main uses for the Religion Skill in the Atomic RPG System. However, this is not a comprehensive list. Due to the widely flexible and malleability of the Atomic RPG System system there is no way to cover every application of the Religion Skill. Keep in mind that if the player is trying to do something, learn about something, or otherwise interact with religion, spirituality, or the gods it is likely they will need to use the Religion Skill in the Atomic RPG System to do so.