Hello everyone:

This is a compilation of information on devotional mechanics and rituals.

If anyone has any additional information I may have missed, please send it to me and I will add it to my next update. If you wish to use this information on a website feel free. If you have any questions I can be contacted through email or in game. Currently I am residing in the Crossing.

There are spoilers about rituals and devotional mechanics here including specific information on what some people may consider in game puzzles or quests. If you don't want to read it DELETE this email now. Scroll down to get to the information. I have put a large chunk of empty space between the intro and the actual information.

Credits:

Thanks to Sholana, Sunnie, Demanes, Seprin, Conaught, Geoffin, Micwolf, Valken, Talineth, Threads, Alishana, Vladim, Ravenquest, Risden, Daemog, Valkri, Rosandria, Picay, Kharsih, Allyria, Dahis and many others who shared information with me or have it on a web site that helped with this compilation.

All comments, additions, and constructive criticisms are welcomed.

Kalira
Priestess of Damaris

Pilgrim and aspiring clerical scholar



















Updates:

There are no major updates in this edition but there are some small ones and some changes in syntax, grammar and spelling. I have included dabbing since I know this is a live ritual. Other minor updates are on lanahh pao bread, the sirese seeds, the Ratha cold metal altar, leaky devotion, almsboxes and preaching.

Notes on devotion and rituals:

Dabbing is a live ritual which I have no clue how to do. If anyone has solid information on this please let me know.

Sirese seeds: There is a new ritual involving sirese seeds out. The seeds have to be planted a distance away from the original spot they are found. I don't know if this is 10, 20 or 30+ rooms. Seeds are time sensitive, if not used within a certain time frame they go bad and you cannot gain devotion from using one. You sprinkle holy water several times on a room, plant the seed, and then sprinkle again. You will get standard ritual messaging if you do it correctly, or another message if you do not. Something like: you know it cannot grow here. The syntax for finding a seed is: GATHER SEED. You do not have to forage these seeds, simply gather them.

I have identified three places in Zoluren, one place in Ilithi, one place in Therengaria, and one place in Aesry to gather sirese seeds. Has anyone identified places on Ratha, Hara'jaal or Mer'Kresh or north of Lake Gwenalion?

Lanahh pao bread. I know this ritual is live and in game, but I have yet to figure out the correct way to do it. Plus I haven't been on Aesry to really experiment with it. Any information on this is greatly appreciated. The only thing I really know is that the bread should be as fresh as possible. And a hint I got indicates it has to be a certain time of day. Probably the dawn hours.

Almsboxes: In order to put coin in an almsbox you must be debt free. The Shard and Crossings almsboxes require that you be debt free in their respective provinces. The Riverhaven and Aesry almsboxes require that you be debt free in every province. Next to raising a person without favors, this appears to award the highest amount of devotion. You may offer up to 5 silver (or 50 bronze or 500 copper) in each donation. The more you offer the more devotion you get. However there is an amount of time you must wait between offerings to get devotion. I never bothered to figure out the timer since I just drop coin in whenever I run by an almsbox. I believe Threads determined the length of the timer. Her notes on which are posted on Micwolf's website.

Update: There is an upper limit to how high the almsbox will take you in devotional status. Once you stop getting the ritual messaging with coin donations you either gain minute amounts of devotion or none at all.

It is possible to go from the devotional message things of wonder to the thee and thine efforts message using the almsbox combined with other rituals such as dancing, cleaning altars, recitations, etc. You do not need to raise favorless to get to things of wonder. I have done it many times so I know it can be done. However it takes time and effort.

Offering of skins on an altar:

The skin must be of a cursed/evil critter. The current list of these creatures that I know of that can be skinned are:

Critter
Result of skinning it

Grendels Grendel ear
Ghouls Ghoul skin
Fanrae Reavers Reaver pelt
Sluaghs Sluagh hide
Fanrae Stalkers Stalker pelt
Dobryn Moruryn Moruryn stingers
Adan'f shadow mages Reddish black scale
Adan'f blood warriors Tail barb

To perform this ritual you sprinkle the skin/pelt/stinger/scale with holy water. Then you put it on the altar. Then OFFER <skin type> on ALTAR. Not all altars will accept this type of offering. You do not have to skin the creature yourself.

To get devotion the offering must be within your skill level/circle. Oracles will not get devotion offering grendel ears. From the help of several nice clerics I have narrowed the circles to as follows:

Critter Circle the pelt stops working at Grendel 10th
Ghouls 10th
Fanrae Reavers 30th
Sluaghs 30th
Fanrae Stalkers 40th
Dobryn Moruryn I know these work for over 70th but not sure where the cutoff is. * Adan'f shadow mages I know these work for over 70th but not sure where the cutoff is. * Adan'f blood warriors I know these work for over 70th but not sure where the cutoff is. *

*Since Adan'f and Moruryn are the toughest cursed creatures out there that can be skinned, I suspect there is no upper limit on them at the moment.

A tenth or lower circle cleric can use any of the skins for devotion.

Reading of holy books:

Chadatru's shrine in Therengaria and Hodierna's Solace in Leth Deriel: Sucessful reading of the books at these shrines will give devotion to clerics. Update: Scholarship is the trigger for this ritual not circle.

Reciting:

Reciting to the gods is the sucessful recitation of words of praise to the Immortals. In order to receive devotion the verse must have sufficient lines and mention either a neutral aspect of one of the Thirteen Immortals or contain the word praise, blessing(s) or love within the verse somewhere. I have seen verses with as few as three lines work and some verses that required 5 or 6. It may be a matter of word count or lines. I haven't bothered to go that in depth to it since what I do works for me. It seems to be contigent on the holy area itself. Some areas simply require more lines or words than others. Experimentation will allow you to customize a verse for yourself. The names of the light/dark aspect do not invoke the devotion. Words I have tried that do not invoke devotion include Immortal, gods, death, life and prayer(s). So you can conceivably use a verse that doesn't mention the name of an Immortal and be awarded devotion if it is phrased correctly. And I've done it so I know it can be done. Update: Reciting now awards a small amount of scholarship for clerics.

Reverent touching:

In a post, Alnilam once referred to touching an altar as reverent touching and I've concluded that touching an altar gives devotion. I believe only certain visions give devotion though. Probably the visions that involve the Immortals are the ones that give devotion and possibly only at certain altars. The altar in Misenvor Abbey gives visions specific to that altar. The visions appear to be of the past of things that happened at the Abbey. I have yet to have any of these visions anywhere else. This altar appears to be unique in this aspect. When this altar was first discovered, High Priest Brivabas warned me that I could be undone by this altar. It is highly likely that this altar has properties similar to the altar in Ratha, but I have not had any problems with it so far. Or it could have been a rhetorical warning about being seduced to the dark. I would advise extreme caution when touching this altar like having a cleric who can raise you there just in case. ;)

Preaching:

Preaching is another ritual I'm unsure of exactly how it works. We get a roundtime but unfortunately not a devotional message with this so I'm not sure exactly how this one works yet. One nice thing about preaching is that it doesn't have to be done in a devotional area. Just preaching to a crowd seems to work. So we have praying, preaching and prayer parchments to use in non consecrated areas. Only one line is needed to get a roundtime. Still not sure if it gives devotion or not or if it the number of lines affects devotion. I would suspect that the more preaching you do and to more people the more devotion you get up to a point. Preaching after all is sermonizing.

Casting rejuve and soul bond:

Buried in a cleric board post on another topic Alnilam revealed that there are times when you get a little devotion for casting these two spells. I don't know if there is any messaging with this or what the circumstances are that cause this to happen. If anyone has any detailed information on this please let me know the circumstances of it. I almost wonder if this is tied into dabbing but I haven't gotten it work myself.

The pools of Aesry:

Chamomile, lavender and sage can be foraged just outside the pools in the temple. There are three pools here.

The shell pool is the one for regular ritual bathing.

The misty pool gives visions to anyone who splashes the waters in the pool. You will not get a vision every time you splash. I believe some of the visions may be guild specific. An empath I know received a vision of a unicorn and something to do with healing in the vision and as many times as I have been in that pool I have never gotten it. These visions are not devotional however they provide some interesting things to think about including the origins of several of the Stones of the Cloud. The waters in this pool also heal wounds very slowly.

The black pool is not yet functional as far as I know. There has been an unconfirmed report that something in the black pool tried to grab a ranger who was in it. No other information is available.

Rituals indigenous to Qi'Reshalia

Ratha:

Touching the wires in Faenella's temple gives devotion.

Using the dream candle sold in the Ratha cleric shop in the Damaris temple causes devotion giving visions. The visions are parables. These visions are different from the ones caused by the ritual cleansing pools or touching the altars.

Feeding the dolphin in the pool in Eluned's Temple gives devotion. But you can drown in that pool if you can't swim back up from the bottom. The dolphin does swim up and down so if you wait long enough he'll come all the way up. You can buy the fish in the hut near the temple. I am not sure if the fish you can catch on the various ships works.

Offering any type of tarts in Glythtide's shrine gives devotion. The tarts are sold in the bazaar. Most shops in the bazaar are only open during the day. Tansy tarts are made from tansy, which is a poisonous plant, offering this tart will get you rue and devotion. Offering the passionfruit tart will get you rose petals and devotion. Offering any other type of tart will get you devotion. There is a tapestry in this shrine which recommends honoring or respecting all three aspects of Glythtide. This is either a clue about the tarts bringing roses and rue or possibly doing three offerings one after the other offers a cumulative benefit in devotion. This is just a guess on my part.

The Be'ort scission blade used in the severing of a soul bond is sold in a tent in the Ratha bazaar.

Aesry:

Offering fish and other items in the sand in the cove will get you devotion on Aesry. You have to offer several items in the sand to get devotion. This can be a mixture of gems, fish, and other things. I'm not certain which other things work but I do know turtles will work. It is suspected by myself and other clerics that the more items you offer the more devotion you will get.

Stones of the Cloud:

Touching the Stones of the Cloud will give you one of the biggest boosts in devotion there is. I think it may equal the almsbox and raising favorless in the amount of devotion it awards.

One stone per season gives devotion on the solstice. The first Stone at mid spring, the second Stone at midsummer, the third Stone at mid autumn and the fourth Stone at mid winter. The solstices are Day 100, Day 200, Day 300 and the eve of Day 399 into Day 1. Midsummer appears to be of more spiritual importance from various visions and information in a book or two in the Aesry library. Midsummer is Day 200. Midwinter is more dangerous since this is when Asketi rides on a black unicorn to collect souls if she has not been appeased. Midwinter starts on the eve of Day 399.

Drogor's altar in the caves has a unique ritual available here with an unexpected side effect. To please Drogor here you need to offer fish on his altar to please him. There is some speculation that the fish should be sprinkled with holy water before offering on the altar. If you are not in possession of any fish, gems and/or pelts can be substituted although you may need to offer more than one to please him. The pelts do not have to be of cursed creatures. I found that unyn spinnarets, blood wolf hides and snowbeast pelts all worked. I also offered some cutlasses I picked up from hhrirkiwhatchacalltit's on the altar and he liked them too. So weapons appear to work as offerings also. When Drogor is pleased you will get a message saying that he has imparted a portion of his power to you while in the sea. I don't know what this does or how it aids a cleric. Only clerics get this protection. Given Drogor's nature it is suspected by myself and others to be a swimming bonus. I have no data on how long the power may last. Now if you displease Drogor with your offering you get the message Drogor has his eye on you. I got that message when I offered a jadice flower on the altar. <snickers> I guess the sharklord didn't like my offering. But I don't know if this is a penalty of some kind or simply a warning.


For those of you who are unaware, there is a book in the Aesry library which details the rituals of a small sect of clerics. The ritual with the bread is detailed there. I believe the eventual goal is for all these rituals to go totally live one day. I believe these rituals will only be available in Qi'Reshalia, perhaps only on Aesry. An interesting sidenote to this book, is that the author is Esuin Laufi, one of the cleric guild leaders on Aesry and the brother of the notorious cleric Emuin.

Blessed items:

Usually any items which can be used in working rituals are blessed. For example, vials are blessed because they hold holy water. Prayer bells are blessed because they aid in praying which is a ritual. Or the item has some use in doing a commune or in the use of spell. The feathers sold in the cleric shops for use in the Faenella's Fire spell are blessed. There's a whole bunch of stuff out there I wouldn't have suspected was blessed but is. Anything in a shrine you perceive on that is blessed can be kissed for devotion.

This perceiving works the same as perceiving on weapons to determine if the weapon is blessed; you WILL lose devotion for perceiving on these items. The only thing you can perceive on and not lose devotion is a dead body. I'm not sure if perceiving on a live person causes a devotion loss or not. Perceiving also allows clerics to see the brands placed by other clerics on other people.

Some other things I have found that were blessed: altars, prayer chimes (although I'm not sure how these work yet. I don't think they work like bells though), wren feathers, certain charms sold at a merchant tent. One interesting note is that mobar blood is not blessed. So far the only known practical use for mobar blood was in the shrine restorations several years ago. I still wonder what the original purpose for mobar blood was and what it's eventual use will be, if any.

Disclaimer on the next section: These are my personal theories and suspicions. Most of it is not provable in game to my knowledge.

Devotional levels and pool size.

The following are the messages that come with communing:

You feel unclean and unworthy.

You close your eyes and start to concentrate. In a moment a vision appears of a barren garden, parched and thirsting for nourishment. You have an intense desire to tend it.

After a moment, you sense a distinct link between you and your god.

After a moment, you sense that your god is aware of your devotion.

After a moment, you sense your god is pleased with your devotion

After a moment, you sense that your god knows your name.

After a moment, you see a vision of your god, though the visage is cloudy and impossible to make out clearly.

After a moment, you see a vision of your god who calls to you by name, "Come here my child and I will show you things of wonder"

After a moment, you see a vision of your god who calls to you by name, "My child, though you may not always see my face, I am pleased with thee and thy efforts.

After a moment, you feel the clear presence like a warm blanket covering you or the shade of a giant Sana'ati tree.

Devotion came up at one of Enbarr's mini meetings. Alnilam showed up for a little while and I asked her if Talineth getting the sana'ati message was a fluke or if he had done the right combination of rituals to achieve this messaging. She was vague and wouldn't tell me. From this conversation and one I had with Talineth I have concluded that the sana'ati messaging is higher than the pleased with thee and thine efforts messaging. I do not know if this is the ultimate level for devotion or not. At one time we all thought the things of wonder message was the highest devotional level you could attain. I don't know if these devotional levels are part of the original commune system of the guild or if Alnilam added more of them as we have progressed in DR.

It takes more rituals to fill each devotional pool that the previous one. So when you are just starting out it isn't very difficult to fill the pool and move up several commune levels at once. Some rituals stop working at certain levels. I am not sure which ones stop when but I'm currently compiling some information on that. Threads has some ideas on this.

I have a working theory that all rituals offer some devotion no matter what your devotional state is. However I believe that if it is a low end ritual you recieve minute amounts of devotion. So kissing an altar while at the higher levels might give you a tiny amount but is probably more significant when you are at unclean and unworthy. As noted, I have been able to use the almsbox to get to the pleased with thee and thine efforts messaging. But it was very easy to slip out of this level because the pool size wasn't very big. A post by Enbarr infers but does not state directly that there was a change made to pool sizes. I believe the thee and thine efforts pool size has been enlarged. However it is very difficult or dangerous to attain this devotional level. And only certain types of rituals will take you there.

If you are on the low end of things of wonder you may not get to thee and thine efforts using these rituals individually but you may get there using other rituals combined with the rarer rituals. I once touched one of the Stones and didn't move up in level, but doing other rituals part of my normal devotional routine put me from things of wonder to thee and thine efforts a short time after this.

For those of you who are curious, I use the blessings we receive from the Immortals on a fairly regular basis. Most specifically Hodierna's Bless and Tamsine's. I do more soul bond severing than soul bonding and making the Be'ort rose costs more to make than it gives back so that drains my commune pool. The kiss roses appear to be even in the devotion they take and give back. I rarely use Eluned's Blessing since I'm not sure exactly sure what benefits this gives. I try to oil bless all my own weapons when I remember and when I have holy oil. The benefits of Kertigen's Bless far outweigh the normal spell bless. And even with all these communes I use, I rarely go below things of wonder. I make it a habit to daily do rituals to keep my devotional level up. Part of this is because of my rp style and part of it is to be able to use all the abilities we have as clerics.

One thing which will help take you to thee and thine efforts is doing the correct ritual(s) at the cold altar in Ratha. However if you do the wrong thing, the gods of that altar will kill you.

Update: This altar has been adjusted so that it will not take all your favors, so if you should decide to try and earn devotion from this altar you might die but you won't die favorless. It will still take favors but not all of them.

Another ritual which will help take you there is praying to a thirteen point star. The star must be one you earned from helping in an altar restoration. If you rerolled or walked the star will not work for you even if you have the same name. Talineth knows this from having tried it. The limitation here is that you can only use the star twice to do this.

Another ritual that will take you there is touching a Stone of the Cloud on Aesry at one of the in game solstices. This awards a fairly large amount of devotion.

The one thing in common with all these things is that they are limited to how often they can be used or they come with great risk. This is deliberate on Alnilam's part. Great rewards entail great risk.

I hope one day to find a viable method of measuring pool size and determining what rituals will fill each one. I know this won't be more than a guess but it's something I'd like to do. Threads used perceiving as a way to measure how much different types of rituals put in the devotional pool. I may try and build on this. If anyone has run any tests please let me know what the results were.

Leaky devotion:

Devotion does indeed leak according to posts by both Enbarr and Alnilam. To paraphrase Alnilam, there appears to be an ebb and flow to devotion. This is most noticeable when you are on the cusp of devotional levels. I have found that while hunting if I am at the very low end of one pool I will can drop to the next lower pool. I suspect the devotion loss is tied into skinning and searching the corpses of dead critters. This would tie into what the original help messaging says about clerics becoming unclean when interacting with the dead. However I believe the loss is minimal because it is fairly easy to make up.