Favored Souls - How do they work?

[Vermilion]

Bit of background- a friend of mine is DMing a Pathfinder PnP game in which one of the PCs is the chosen one of a homebrewed minor thief/trickster god. The twist here is that this PC utterly resents this responsibility and just wishes he could get out of it, but the god just refuses to leave him alone.

I thought this was a hilarious setup but then started thinking - would this work for a Favoured Soul? Are they granted any consent in what they do? Could a FvS reject their deity's favour, or is it something they actively have to seek out in the first place?

Not thinking of playing this - I scarcely have enough IG time for 1 PC as it is! - but wanted a bit more understanding really.

[Calodan]

My impression of FvS RP is that they are often a bit jaded against their favored god at times. However they seek action. Actions to them speak louder than words. Rather than stay inside a temple pouring over prayers and rituals they go out and be the very Hand of their deity if they must be favored they prefer to be in the thick of it all.

[Tantive]

They are the deities values personified I believe, so even if they would hate it, somehow they still do exactly what the god wants of them. I'm trying to find better descriptions that would give more to play with.

This is what I could find from the Complete Divine. But, favored soul isn't really a Forgotten Realms thing.

http://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/cl ... soul.shtml

[chad878262]

Not exactly.

Drizzt is favored of like 3 gods if I recall correctly, one of them being Lloth. So they don't always do exactly what the god wants (Mielikki and Lloth can't possibly have the same agenda very often!)

That said, the Sundering series of FR books go in to a little of what Favored Souls can be and my take on it was that they are very much like any other type of character. i.e. different strokes for different folks.

You have Catti-brie who is very happy in her role as favored of Mielikki, some 12 year old kid who has no clue why Lathander chose him, nor does he want the responsibility (though he comes to accept it). I would say in many cases there is some confusion born in any person when they learn they are the chosen of a god. For some, such as a chosen of Bane, they might have the ego and personality where they feel like they deserve such power while a chosen of Eldath might quietly accept such a burden to bring peace and solace to the quiet glades of the world. Each individual is going to react very differently based on the type of person they are. I am quite certain that were he ever to know that he is a chosen of Lloth Drizzt would very much rebel against such, regardless that he has no choice in the matter.

There are many possibilities for a player to have fun with when it comes to favored. My personal opinion is that it would be far more interesting to play a character that is not totally accepting of the role, nor totally against it. Like a Sunite FvS that appreciates many of her aspects, but doesn't agree with some of the more hedonistic dogma or a FvS of Tyr that leans more towards Law than good (or vice versa). My personal opinion is that it's boring to just play the FvS that is constantly lamenting how they hate X god that won't leave them alone and how things just keep happening to make them do things they wouldn't normally have done. Likewise it's somewhat boring to RP the FvS that is blindly loyal to the word for word dogma of their patron deity. This is all just my opinion though, each player has the things they enjoy which is part of the fun of such games as this!

[Glowfire]

Bear in mind that Favoured Soul and chosen of a god are two different things. Chosen are given a vast amount of power, in many cases, to the point where they stop ageing altogether.

[chad878262]

Bear in mind that Favoured Soul and chosen of a god are two different things. Chosen are given a vast amount of power, in many cases, to the point where they stop ageing altogether.

Tell that to Cadderly!

[Deathgrowl]

I'm not sure the heavy artistic freedom of the Drizzt novels (or others of Salvatore's novels) can really be used as examples for Favoured Souls as a class.

Drizzt doesn't have favoured soul levels. He is maybe favoured, but he's not a favoured soul. Very important distinction to make. It's like the distinction between bard and true bard. A bard is just a troubadour - a minstrel. A true bard is one that is born with bardic magic.

Tantive has the right of it, I think. Favoured souls are essentially servants of their gods whether they want it or not.

This is from the "Background" description of the class in Complete Divine:

Favored souls learn of their connection with the divine at a young age. Eventually, a young favored soul understands the power that she has been wielding unintentionally. Favored souls, as naturally inclined divine channelers, are also born loners. Unlike clerics in a temple, they gain little by sharing their knowledge and have no strong incentive to work together.

This seems to me to mean they are born with it and learn what it means later in life. In Forgotten Realms, you must serve a deity to gain divine spells, and so it is with favoured souls. In this case, even if they aren't aware of their deity, they are likely to act according to their deity's morals and values.

A favoured soul of Oghma that isn't aware of his patron, is still likely to place high value on knowledge.

A favoured soul of Tyr who is unaware of her patron will have an innate sense of justice.

And one of Mask may be something like a kleptomaniac.

You get the point, I think.

[aaron22]

this comes down to choice. a FvS is not a FvS by choice automatically. they have the choice to accept their fate upon discovery of the gifts or they can withdraw from this deity and of course anywhere in between the two extremes. the god grants the gifts with the hope that the gifted will follow the path they have designed. but becuse the FR gods are not omnipotent they can only grant the power and then hope the mortal will follow a path. the choice is in the soul of the mortal.

this is my interpretation of this class. tempted by power but with freewill to choose.

[Nyeleni]

They are a bit like sorcerers. They don't work for their gifts either. They just have it in the blood.
Although you don't see sorcerers complain about their powers often, I think in theory there could be some in Faerun who grew up in a community where magic is reviled and see it as a curse. Maybe not even using any magic unless in emotional turmoil thus loosing control.

[Miyuki]

I would also recommend the complete divine. Novels are nice and can give inspirations. But that is the only source book i know with informations for favored souls.

They are so to speak chosen by a god. But in the way chosen are. Favored sould don't choose or study for the faith and spells like a cleric does. They can have a certan education if they are part of a church or temple. But they are normally not priests.

The way i see favored souls they can be very various. You can play them as not knowing what they are. Some players hee do so. I play mine as totally aware of what she is and trying to do her deity justice. But it totally depends also on the deity.

A FvS of Liira can goof around or party all the time, wanting to bring joy to people.
A FvS of Bane can be a tyrant who wants to spread fear and surpresses others.
I even once saw a FvS of Cyric, pretending to be a priest of Helm.
Just as some examples.

There is actually no way to tell how they work in general. They have basic things they have in common. But they can be also different, because the alignments and deities and the way they live also influences that.

On one hand, like others already said, you have a certain annount of fools freedom. You don't have to do things the way clerics and priests do. But on the other hand, you serve your deity, whether you want it or not. That is why i play mine with some kind of compulsive behaviour even.^^

The rest was actually already said.

[Rhifox]

They are a bit like sorcerers. They don't work for their gifts either. They just have it in the blood.

They do work for it, once they learn they have it. That's how you continue to advance levels. Sorcerers still have to experiment, figure out what works and what doesn't. They still require reagents and verbal components to their spells, afterall, they just learn those details by trying out different things until something happens (and thus probably need different components required for the same spell compared to wizards or even other sorcerers). Even raw talent requires practice.

Favored Souls would be the same. Advancement in FvS levels indicates that the character has recognized what they are (they may not know what it means, of course) and is actively working to build on their natural talents. Someone who mains another class and only has an FvS dip indicates the character has some idea of their natural abilities, but has chosen to focus their efforts in other fields.


So, to answer the OP's question: I'd say if you are taking FvS levels, then you are seeking it out. Maybe you don't like the god that favors you, or don't even know that your talents are the result of a god's favor, but you recognize that you have these powers and are pursuing them. And as these are the result of a particular god's blessing, it stands to reason that development of those powers requires following the god's doctrine to at least some degree. An FvS of Bane, even if he doesn't know he is an FvS or blessed by Bane, feels good when engaging in acts that cause strife or enslave others, and that feeling comes with a certain mystical enlightenment. It's addicting, it makes him feel whole, and pursuing that destiny unlocks more and more of his hidden potential. But if that FvS of Bane is Chaotic Good and refuses to engage in those activities because they are evil and tyrannical, it's very likely he won't gain many if any FvS spells or levels because he is acting in ways contrary to his "destiny". The god will still probably find ways to use you regardless of your choice to refuse (afterall, you're an investment on their part), so you'll be faced with temptation and manufactured events encouraging you to do your god's will all along the way, you're just not likely to advance very highly in FvS levels if you are kicking and screaming the whole way. You should have to voluntarily choose to embrace your destiny (whether by knowingly agreeing to serve a specific god, or unknowingly pursuing activities in alignment with that god) to actually get the rewards your divine patron is leaving on the table for you.

Personally I did something like that with my character, who is sorcerer-blooded but has only 10 Cha so never actually discovered her talents and, ergo, has no sorcerer levels. The bloodline still occasionally plays a factor into her interactions with the world (a magical bloodline attracts attention), but without any knowledge or effort on the part of the character no actual class levels are gained.

[Moltrazahn]

Or like my FvS of yurtrus! He never felt like that plague was so bad... unlike those that died around him. Eventually after the boils came and he gaining a s case of cronic *everything*... his local shaman told him that he -might- should get some charisma-points down the line!

*nods sagely*