Shells/Wards

Glad to see these in the game; it keeps each deity from having to invent their own transparently different defenses.

Also glad to see Marks; allows for 'staking claim' on important mortals. Helps to add role-playing solutions. What do you do when another deity's mark is upon the chieftan of the tribe that's invading you? How do you handle the diplomacy when one of your Marked Ones does something boneheadedly stupid?

Glad you liked the new rules.

Here is an answer to your questions.

What do you do when another deity's mark is upon the chieftan of the tribe that's invading you?

Well the chieftain of the tribe that is invading should be marked by the opposing god. The Mark just means he is favored and when he dies he will go to that deity's heaven (or hell) when they die.

Not much you can do about it unless the opposing diety is bound and has no belief. Then you could lay claim to him and put the little guy in your own personal hell made for him.

How do you handle the diplomacy when one of your Marked Ones does something boneheadedly stupid?

Well you can punish your followers. There is nothing against it. You can even save up some terror just to punish followers. As long as you do not wipe out your tribe or take out the marked one's punishment on every person in the tribe you should be ok.

Personally I would suck out his soul and take him to a nightmarish place for about 3 days and return him. By then he should learn not to do something boneheaded again. You would have put the "fear of god" in him .

Okay, I misunderstood (again). I thought that putting a mark on someone was also a social indicator 'THIS soul is important to me'. So that smiting the offensive mortal in question is an affront to the marking deity.

It also has the inverse social implication, that the deity sanctions the mortal's actions.

Which does beg the question of 'sub-marks'. Can one deity have different markings, each denoting something different? ie. 'I like this person.' 'This man is a heretic.' 'I owe this woman a favor', and so on? Which in turn begs the question of unrecognized markings.

Rhishisikk,

I could see a god making distinctions like this with his own followers. But will another god recognize this?

IMO I do not see any god but the god of the marked followers knowing who is who. If there was a way it would have to be indirect.

On possible way a rival god could find out this information is through infiltration into the god's camp using a disguise miracle and just ferreting out the information. Another might be kidnapping the mortal and digging through their memories to see what actions they have made towards, against the god.

I would think that a divine mark put upon someone would be visible to another god's sight, even if he may not recognize the mark (if he has not met or interacted with that god).

This gives us fun RP situations. Do you let the salamander raiders go without killing them because they bear the divine mark of a powerful god from the next valley, or risk his wrath by smiting them?