Ranks: 1
XP Cost: 10
Learn Time: 8
Skill Point Cost: 15+
Self-Teach :+25%
Pre-Requisite: 3rd Level Divine
Debarment: –
Limitation: –
Rarity: Uncommon
Description:
This is the power to move other people with words and emotion. By captivating an audience, the player character can convince them of the rightness of his words through force of will and dramatic speaking. Players characters with this skill can attempt to proselytize (seek converts) among small audiences by proclaiming the glories of their faith and the dangers of nonbelief, but the character must pay a skill cost of 15SP or more to win any long-lasting converts to the faith. A convert will listen to the priest’s suggestions or ideas, but won’t necessarily become a follower or hireling of the character.
The marshal can decide how any group of listeners is likely to be affected by the priest’s exhortations. If they’re inclined to be hostile or are preparing to attack the scholar, there’s very little he can say to change their minds. However, if the scholar pays the skill cost, he may be able to modify an encounter slightly—hostile to indifferent, or indifferent to friendly, for example. Optionally, he may be able to encourage the crowd to take a specific action that they’re inclined to perform anyway. If an angry crowd wants to see an important prisoner freed because it’s rumored he was convicted wrongly, a scholar with Oratory may be able to push them into storming the jail or convince them to give up and go home. If the player presents an especially moving argument or speech, the skill cost may be reduced by up to 50%.
