I'd like to confirm whether the Meissa faith is bound to everything in its help file. I ask because it seems awfully prescriptive compared to the help files of other faiths.
Part of the fun of the sphere system is finding clever ways to define the words that still fit the god's personality, but that are also interesting to play out. But the Meissa file describes all the spheres in detail. As an example, here's less than half of what's written about Art:
Quote:
Expressing one's self through Art is a form of Healing in its own right, and exploring the Art created by others can give insights to their innermost truths. As such, each form of Art is valued equally, from musical and written word composition to sculpture and painting to collage and mosaic and beyond.
So a priest that claims art's value comes from the wonders it communicates so well, or who says sculpture is a particularly valuable art form worth emphasizing, seems to be a blemishable heretic.
Personally, I also find the Unity sphere off-putting. Not that there's anything wrong with the sphere itself. While the most recent generation of "My Little Pony" would be grossly inappropriate for SK's setting, it illustrates how much fun you can have with the harmony concept. But the help file insists upon:
Quote:
Meissa's flock seeks to become perfectly-tuned instruments of Good so that they may easily find themselves in harmony with others of the Light.
One of the problems of playing a lightie priest is balancing IC obligations with what's OOCly fun. That the help file encourages being a cog in Team Good isn't helpful in striking a good balance. It also pushes being a peacemaker, which is fine in measure. However, being an instigator in faith rivalries can be fun, and it can also provide enjoyable conflict for the game. (It's not PK, of course, but even fountain RPers need some conflict.)
This isn't to say the help file is bad. It even makes good IC sense that a unity faith would have a well-developed creed to stop disagreements. But given that Meissa's religion spell already seems a bit of an obstacle to players, I want to check if this additional obstacle is really intended.