Help System

NAME
shrines - five religious shrines, where religious adherents battle against    
one another for glory and their Power's benevolence

DESCRIPTION
In the Sigil Underground, there exist five Shrines developed in secret
jointly by the Council of Seven and the Council of the Arcane. Handpicked to
oversee their construction and administration by Archmage Glacius and Lord
Maldra was a Xaventry cleric named Mariquesh. Five structurally identical
Shrines, hidden underground for decades, each hold four Periapts, beings
that represent the various aspects of the Powers in whose Shrines they are
contained.

The Periapts are viewed as being vitally important to the Powers; theories
abound why this might be, if it is true at all, Ranking religious officials
nevertheless view the integrity of their respective Periapts as critical; ill
health is never tolerated, and each of the Periapts is kept in resplendent
comfort.

Now that the Shrines' existence are public knowledge, Mariquesh has permitted
for a monthly and rotating competition, whereby twice  every two months, one
at a set time and another on a different day each time, followers of deities
within each of the Powers' elemental family do battle with the followers of
the other Powers' families.

BENEVOLENCE
The five Powers quantitatively possess 1000 Benevolence between themselves.
Benevolence is gained and lost during competitions, when one Powers'
followers invade the domain of one of the other Powers' Periapts. When that
Periapt loses all of its integrity, it is vanquished for the duration of the
game, and the invading Power gains the 5 Benevolence from the vanquished
Periapt's Power. A religion can maintain their current Benevolence by
defending their Shrine and its Periapts for the duration of the competition,
and can gain Benevolence by attacking other Shrines and their Periapts.

Benevolence is the essential currency of the Powers; possessing significant
Benevolence allows a Powers' followers to cast powerful spells granted by
their Power, and in most casts can alter the efficacy of those spells based
on how much Benevolence they possess.

INTEGRITY
Each Periapt has 250 integrity. They are kept in good health by their
handlers, and have their fully integrity at the start of every competition.
Periapts lose integrity simply by being in the presence of a follower of
another Power during competitions. A Periapt will lose 3 integrity every
Alyrian minute for every one of another Power's follower that is present.
However, a Periapt's spirits will be bolstered by the presence of one of
their own followers, and will gain 5 integrity every Alyrian minute for
every one of their own followers that is present. Integrity will not change
if multiple Powers' followers are in the room, or if combat is occurring in
the room.

When a Periapt loses integrity in the presence of competing Powers'
followers, integrity is also lost |Uon that Periapt by all other Powers
whose followers are not present. When a Periapt loses all of their
integrity, the Power whose integrity is |Ucurrently highest on that
Periapt will gain 5 Piety, not necessarily the Power that was represented
when the Periapt was vanquished.

GEOGRAPHY
The Shrines are located in the Sigil Underground beneath Auryn. They are
always open, for followers and visitors alike, but their Periapts can only be
vanquished during competitions, before which the Shrines are cleared of all
visitors.

Shrines contain four main pathways, each leading to one of the Periapts.
There also exist many passages to which access is restricted to followers of
that Shrine's Power.

A map of the shrines is available. See HELP MAP OF THE SHRINES.

SEE ALSO
Piety, Powers, Fourpointthree, Religion, Map Of The Shrines, Ctf, Pk, Religious Spells, Clan Alliances