Piety System

Piety Rewards

The gods are not simply present in the world of Evara: they bestow favors on those who actively prove their devotion. You may only gain piety with the primary God or religion you worship/follow. When your piety score crosses certain thresholds—3, 10, 25, and 50—you gain a supernatural benefit (these benefits are not included in the article - we are allowed to have some secrets). If your piety score exceeds and then falls below one of those thresholds, you lose the benefit you gained at the higher tier.
The gifts awarded to their devoted followers can be supported by your choice between two predetermined ability scores (i.e., you are presented with a choice between CHA and INT) or by one predetermined ability score (i.e., you do not have a choice and must use CHA). If you choose between ability scores for piety rewards, you must make the decision the first time you gain a piety benefit, and it applies to all subsequent piety benefits associated with that faith. This ability score choice cannot be changed later.
If you choose the Oracle supernatural gift, you gain different rewards for your piety score, instead of the ones normally granted by your god. This gift and its benefits are described in the Mythic Odyssey of Theros.

The Gods' Favor

When you choose your god or religion as a new character, your piety score related to that diety or belief system is 1. The gods have high expectations, so piety score typically only increases with significant accomplishments, personal sacrifices, or DM’s discretion. Carrying out acts that uphold (or contradict) a god’s interests usually earn (or lose) 1 piety per session of play. It is possible for your piety score to remain static during a session if you did not particularly champion or oppose the tenets of your faith.
Piety can only be earned in Epics or Side Stories (see Quest Guide: For Players for what this means) at the DM’s discretion. Changes (increase OR decrease) to piety are considered quest loot and the quest DM must include it on the loot report (see Quest Guide: For DMs for what this means).
The faiths of Evara appear below with example heroics that would allow a character to earn or lose piety with them. These are guidelines to help you understand the types of actions that change your piety score and are not the only actions you can take to earn the Gods' favor. It is always up to your DM's discretion if your character's actions were worthy of piety (i.e., if you keep making the same personal sacrifice over and over again, is what you’re giving up really that important to you? It’s only a sacrifice if it was important.)

Impiety

Not every hero actively champions their god. If you don’t devote yourself to a god or religion, you gain no rewards for piety, but you don’t suffer any negative consequences either. The Iconoclast supernatural gift offers a way for characters to gain benefits similar to rewards for piety without being devoted to a god.

Changing Gods

Sometimes, a hero’s adventure path takes them away from the service of a particular god. A character may leave the service of one god or religion for another, provided a compelling story reason exists. Once you abandon a god’s service, you can rarely go back without performing some act of atonement (DM’s discretion).
Your piety score starts at 1 for your new god/religion and you no longer have a piety score with your old god/religion. You lose all piety benefits gained in service of your previous god, including rewards for piety and any other divine blessings.
Your DM decides whether your new god will accept you as a champion and what you might have to do to prove your commitment.

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The First God, Adar // Adaration

Supporting Ability Score is INT or CHA

Adar looks for individuals who want to change their lives and/or create positive change for themselves and for others and always strive to create something new and beautiful. Followers of Adar may gain piety with The Creator by acts such as:

• Creating a masterpiece, such as a building or a poem
• Benefiting a community by sharing a new process or idea
• Siring or providing for children
• Be extremely hot probably

Adar cherishes life and creation and imperiling those things away are quick ways to gain his ire. Individuals may lose piety with Adar by acts such as or similar to:

• Slipshod or slapdash creation that is less than your best work
• Claiming another’s work as your own or other forms of dishonesty
• Willful destruction or defacement of a wonder or masterwork
• Taking the life of sentient beings

The Chimera, Alere

Supporting Ability Score is CON or INT

Alere delights in brutality and the alteration of life. Followers of Alere may gain piety with The Chimera through acts similar to the following:

• Summoning, animating, or becoming undead
• Creating or hybridizing life
• Taking something from someone unwilling to give it (such as an object, a secret, information)
• Acting against a rightful or moral authority for personal gain
• Knowingly aiding a Child of Alere or a Hybrid in the commission of actions that benefit Alere

Followers of Alere who diminish his influence, willfully subvert his ideals, or aid his enemies will find themselves on the receiving end of The Chimera’s disfavor. Individuals may lose piety with Alere through acts such as these:

• Destroying the undead
• Preserving the sanctity of life
• Rejecting or mistreating someone society would look upon as “the Other” (such as the deformed, practitioners of profane magic)

The Arya; Soreph, Etesia, Naseem, & Wayra // The Changing Sky

Supporting Ability Score is CON or CHA

Worshipers of The Arya place value in the life source of every creature. Followers of The Changing Sky may gain piety with The Arya by committing acts similar to the following:

• Embracing major changes or helping others to do so
• Aiding the weak or impeding the strong
• Mediating a major dispute or conflict

Individuals may lose piety with The Arya by performing acts such as:

• Imprisoning another creature or denying them their freedom
• Prioritizing your own needs over the collective good
• Causing disorder without the intent to bring order

The Bright One, Auros

Supporting Ability Score is CON or CHA

The brilliant flames of Auros are impossible to ignore and favors those just as ‘bright’ as he is. Strong, courageous individuals who do not hesitate to jump to action! Who are as strong as the very rays of the sun!! Followers of Auros may gain piety with Auros by performing acts such as:

• Performing grand acts of courage
• Land the killing blow to a powerful enemy
• Rescuing someone less brave than you
• Fairly overcoming long odds

Losing piety with Auros is a rare occasion but not impossible. Individuals may lose piety with Auros by committing acts such as:

• Delaying to take action in favor of deliberation
• Hesitating in the face of danger
• Running from an enemy
• Being defeated in a fair fight

Lord Luck, Bahram // Ship of the Grand Macaque

Supporting Ability Score is INT or WIS

Commerce, reciprocity, and fortune are the domains of the Lord Luck. Believers in the Ship of the Grand Macaque may gain piety with Bahram through actions such as:

• Defending a city or settlement from a major threat
• Defeating a tyrant who threatens a city’s freedom
• Making a significant donation to charity
• Taking a high risk for a high reward - even if you don’t succeed

You can lose piety with Lord Luck if you diminish his influence in the world, contradict his ideals, or undermine her civilizing influence through acts such as these:

• Destroying a civic institution or sowing chaos within a city
• Willfully breaking just laws for personal gain
• Stealing from the less fortunate
• Failing to pay forward a good deed that benefited you

The Grey Maiden, Erela // Church of the Long Death

Supporting Ability Score is INT or WIS

As the Goddess over death, all mortals come before Erela eventually. Erela prioritizes natural cycles and helps others to accept the inevitable. You may increase your piety score with Erela with acts such as these:

• Convincing a group of people to accept misfortune
• Overseeing burial rites for the fallen, particularly those slain unjustly
• Restoring the natural cycle of life and death by slaying an aberration, a fiend, or an undead
• Sharing stories about the deceased with others so their memory can live on
• Keeping a dangerous secret despite personal cost

To displease Erela would be a grave mistake for her followers. You may reduce your piety score by committing acts such as or similar to these:

• Desecrating a grave
• Robbing from the dead or defiling a tomb
• Denying a dying person their last rites
• Aiding in the creation of undead

The Greenwalker, Kiel

Supporting Ability Score is CON or WIS

The Greenwalker presides over the natural spaces of the world, preserving the balance of predator and prey. Followers of Kiel may gain piety with The Hunter by performing acts such as:

• Protecting the forests and wildlife
• Completing a great hunt
• Beating the shit out of a follower of Ogden
• Proving your worth with a display of weapon or hunting finesse

Balance and moderation in all things, from diet to violence. Individuals may reduce their piety score with Kiel by performing acts such as:

• Abusing or hurting people who trust you
• Destroying the forest
• Greed or overindulgence
• Wasting a hunt (i.e., such as hunting a shark only for its fins; a buffalo only for its horns; an elephant for its tusks)

The Last God, Lagahashra // Hemoism

Supporting Ability Score is CON or CHA

Lagahashra is a god of straightforward desires and earning his favor is likewise straightforward. The Last God delights in chaos and destruction and expects the same from those who worship him. Followers of The Maw may gain piety with Lagahashra by committing acts such as:

• Brutalizing or killing worshipers of Thara
• Desecrating a Tharan temple as an offering to Lagahashra
• Destroying an inhabited settlement
• Offering a significant amount of blood, such as through battle or (un)willing sacrifice
• Subverting the oppressive restraints of the law

Your piety score to Lagahashra decreases if you lessen his influence in the world, contradict his ideals, or make him look weak or ineffectual through acts such as these:

• Publicly displaying weakness or compassion
• Bringing order in a time of tumult
• Injuring a worshiper of Adar
• Failing to carry out a sworn vendetta

The Willow, Leanne

Supporting Ability Score is WIS or CHA

The Willow is a minor Goddess and many only pay tribute to her to gain favor with her mother. The few who devote themselves to her, however, may find themselves surprised upon receiving her favor. Leanne values individuals who see the wonder and beauty of the world; who seek to have fun while also bringing joy to others around them. Worshipers of Leanne may increase their piety score with her with acts such as:

• Bringing joy to a community
• Committing an act that benefits only others as opposed to yourself
• Playing fun (but harmless) pranks and practical jokes

Leanne is whimsical and her favor is fickle as a result. Individuals may reduce their piety score with Leanne with acts such as or similar to:

• Destroying something precious to another person
• Purposefully upsetting someone else
• Smashing flowers in a garden or meadow
• Harming innocents or noncombatants

The Mother, Leverett // Temple of Mother Leverett

Supporting Ability Score is WIS or CHA

Leverett values individuals who treat animals with kindness, give charity to those less fortunate, and who put family first. Bonds formed by love, both romantic and platonic, are the most important to her and should be treated equally so by her followers. Worshipers of Leverett may increase their piety score with Leverett with acts such as:

• Donating a significant quantity of fruits and vegetables to one of her temples
• Protecting or rescuing animals from harm
• Assisting a champion of Kiel or Leanne
• Observing a vegetarian lifestyle

Leverett is a peaceful Goddess and frowns upon unnecessary violence, especially when animals or children are involved. Individuals lose piety with the Rabbit with acts such as:

• Mistreating, harming, or killing a child
• Choosing violence without making a genuine effort for peace
• Abusing your relationship with others for personal gain
• Punishing children for the fault of their parents

The White Stag, Ogden

Supporting Ability Score is CON or WIS

The White Stag prioritizes primal urges, preservation of the forest, and the holiness of the natural world. Followers of Ogden may increase their piety score through acts such as:

• Saving an ancient tree from disease or destruction
• Engaging in revelry and pleasurable acts as an offering to Ogden
• Helping a group overcome self-conscious fear and worry

Individuals may reduce their piety score with Ogden by failing to hold to his ideals or ignoring his teachings, through acts such as:

• Burning down a large section of forest
• Killing a large portion of wildlife
• Doing something to benefit Kiel or his followers
• Obeying others’ expectations rather than your own desires when those two things are in conflict

The Dreamwalker, Nalani // Cult of the Dream Walker

Supporting Ability Score is INT or WIS

The Cult of the Dreamwalker believes that forewarned is forearmed. Nalani’s champions may gain piety through acts such as:

• Revealing a critical truth at an important moment
• Helping a group gain just perspective; perhaps what they view as evil is not as horrible as they imagine, and what is good, not as virtuous
• Discovering a creature's secrets

Nalani’s truths and secrets are meant to ease worry and help guide people toward the best possible outcome for themselves. Failing to observe the Dreamwalker’s edicts and precepts through acts such as the ones below may decrease your piety score:

• Abusing foresight for your own personal gain
• Telling false prophecies
• Willfully causing people to fear the future or the dark

The Great Healer, Rydia // Purity

Supporting Ability Score is CON or WIS

The sea nurtures life, and the storm carries the sea’s bounty far and wide. Champions of Purity may gain piety through acts such as:

• Pouring large quantities of rum into the ocean
• Rescuing others during a major storm
• Providing healing or support to those in desperate need

The wrath of the storm is vicious against those who claim to be Rydia’s champions and yet fail to uphold her ideals or who reduce her influence. A follower of Purity may lose piety through acts such as:

• Leaving those who need help to fend for themselves during a storm
• Needlessly killing ocean life
• Failing to practice good hygiene when you have the means to do so

Thara // The Resplendent Order

Supporting Ability Score is CHA

Thara the Preserver is ambitious and exacting. She encourages her followers to strive for beauty, perfection, and order. Followers may gain piety through acts such as:

• Seeking to improve after failing to meet your own expectations
• Building or restoring a temple to Thara
• Exacting fair retribution for a significant wrong done to you
• Creating a significant object of beauty as an offering to Thara

Of the gods you could offend, Thara ranks among the worst. Individuals may lose piety through acts such as:

• Breaking an explicit promise or oath
• Violating any just law for any reason
• Unfairly preventing someone else from reaching their maximum potential
• Causing disfigurement

The Storyteller, Veleda // Way of Wisdom

Supporting Ability Score is WIS or INT

Veleda suffers no fools. She values knowledge in its myriad forms, but the pursuit of knowledge must be tempered with wisdom. Followers of the Way of Wisdom may gain piety through acts such as:

• Solving a challenging puzzle or riddle
• Discovering or documenting an unknown people or a poorly understood creature
• Using your knowledge or discovering new knowledge to help a person or community
• Imparting lasting knowledge to a difficult pupil

Sometimes, in the learning process, you fail. Failing to abide by Veleda’s guiding principles through acts such as these can cause a champion to lose piety:

• Failing to plan appropriately for a challenge
• Jeopardizing others through foolish or rash decisions
• Willfully subverting or impeding a wise course of action

Adhara

Supporting Ability Score is INT or CHA

The Adhara is all about achieving and maintaining balance. Love, perfection, destruction, and chaos must be maintained as equally important to each other. Thus, achieving and maintaining harmony is valued and expected of adherents to Adhara. Followers of Adhara may gain piety through acts such as:

• Bringing order to a chaotic situation
• Building or restoring a temple to the Adhara
• Mediating a major dispute or conflict

Failure to achieve or maintain balance and harmony is seen unfavorably in the teachings of Adhara. Individuals may lose piety through acts such as:

• Putting others at risk through your own cowardice
• Breaking an explicit promise or oath
• Bringing chaos in a time of order
• Depriving others of the ability to create

The Big Mother

Supporting Ability Score is CON or WIS

For Leverett and Leanne, family is always what comes first. Whether their own family or another's, adherents of The Big Mother are expected to do what they can to allow for families to grow, be safe, and be happy. Followers may gain piety through acts such as:

• Feeding those who are starving
• Defending a farm from monsters or other dangers
• Finding healthy homes for orphans or reuniting a family

Due to the importance of family in the teachings of The Big Mother, failure to prioritize the health, safety, and happiness of families is a quick way to attract Leverett’s ire. Individuals may lose piety through acts such as:

• Destroying an orphanage
• Destroying someone's crops, fields, or livestock
• Purposefully splitting up a happy family
• Failing to treat animals with care and kindness

The Wild Hunt

Supporting Ability Score is WIS or CHA

The gods of the Hunt - Kiel, Ogden, and Leanne - focus on the woodlands, forests, and wide-open fields which are the hunting grounds of Kiel and the kingdoms of Ogden. In this harsh world, there is a light, and Leanne brings joy and new life in her wake. Followers may gain piety through acts such as:

• Giving chase to the things you want
• Succeeding at a dangerous hunt
• Overcoming a great obstacle
• Performing a great service for people in your trust

Their religion is a wild one where balance and moderation are key. The gods of the Wild Hunt may have different interests, but they all disapprove of acts such as following, which may decrease your piety score:

• Injuring or killing wildlife too young to be hunted (such as a fawn as opposed to a full grown stag)
• Mistreating young or wounded creatures (such as by using young or injured creatures as live bait to attract a larger creature)
• Knowingly upset the balance of nature

The Way of Water

Supporting Ability Score is WIS or CHA

The Way of Water is all about life, healing, and harmony. Water is viewed as sacred as it is believed through the blessing of water that these can be achieved and maintained. Those who worship The Way of Water are expected to assist in assisting with these things wherever they can while also respecting the boundaries of those around them. Followers may gain piety through acts such as:

• Maintaining the purity and cleanliness of water sources
• Respecting the boundaries and consent of others
• Bathing and staying clean every day or when you are able
• Providing sexual education or life lessons to a group

Sometimes, one gets swept off course by the waves of life and forget the core value of these teachings. It’s possible for worshipers to lose piety through acts such as:

• Polluting or otherwise contaminating a water source
• Losing or destroying another Way of Water practitioner’s ‘spring’ or personal vial of spring water
• Impersonating or purposefully making oneself falsely appear as a member of Llyrian laity