Dungeons & Dragons has introduced a new way for characters to gain benefits based on their devotion to a particular deity. Earlier this week, Dungeons & Dragons released Mythic Odysseys of Theros on various digital platforms including D&D Beyond. One of the new mechanics introduced in the sourcebook is a new way to track a character’s piety and devotion to their chosen god’s ideals through the commitment of certain acts. A DM can choose to assign a player a piety score that tracks a character’s devotion throughout the campaign, which grants a character certain benefits (such as the ability to cast spells innately) upon reaching certain milestones.
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One key to the Piety System is that it isn’t dependent on being a Cleric, Paladin, or another “divinely touched” character class. Martial players can gain the benefits of piety as much as a cleric to a certain god, provided that they show their devotion in certain concrete ways. This opens the door for a player to create a religiously devout character that isn’t slotted into the traditional healing or cleric role. After all, there’s no reason why a Rogue or a Wizard can’t also be a devout worshipper of one of the multitudes of gods that exist within the D&D multiverse.
Mythic Odysseys of Theros stresses that it’s up to the DM to decide when a character’s Piety Score increases, but the book does provide examples of how a character can show their devotion to certain Theros deities. For instance, a player’s piety to the storm god Keranos increases when they solve a particularly challenging puzzle or restores a temple to Keranos, while their piety score will decrease when they fail to plan appropriately for a challenge or jeopardize others through a rash action. Some of the piety benefits are also pretty powerful, such as increases to certain Ability Scores upon reaching a Piety Score of 50, or negating advantage on attack rolls against you for a full minute.
The Piety System is a really interesting new mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons, one that provides additional reason to roleplay and develop a character outside of combat. It is noted that players can’t be punished by the Piety System for being agnostic or atheist, and that this system is purely optional and up to the DM to utilize.
Mythic Odysseys of Theros is available now on digital platforms such as D&D Beyond and Roll20.
