Posted by Oft-Arbiter(VIP) on June 7, 2000 at 08:44:34:
I have never had a problem with the current empowerment system, but I've always "cheated" a little. I've always chosen immortals that I've known to be especially active(Nepenthe, Shokai, Bria, Lantheraen(sp) when he was around, etc). One immortal or another has posted on this forum that were a better system suggested the imps would likely look into it, but that they haven't seen this better system yet. SOOO many great ideas have been given on this forum to tweak empowerment, but often they have been ill-communicated or taken to extremes. So I give you my rendition, a conglomeration(sp) of pre-existing forum-based empowerment tweaks with my own special pinch of special ingredients.
The Mortal Avatar - This is a tattooed follower of the immortal in question who has shown great interest in spreading the word of the immortal. This Avatar should be logged on a fair amount, should be wise as to all aspects of the religion, and should be an exceptional roleplayer. The Avatar would interview the empowerment-seeker and if pleased with what he/she has heard can grant an "extension" to the empowerment seeker. The extension would be an additional 5-10 ranks(number based on the roleplay, devotion, etc of the of the seeker) that would allow the seeker to use the supplications/skills of those ranks. For example, let's say I'm a shaman of Balgrimnr. I speak with Bal's Avatar who is slightly pleased with my roleplay/responses. The Avatar grants me an extension to the 16th rank. So now I can practice the skills/sups up to rank 16, but not beyond. To go further I have to get in touch with Balgrimnr himself. The extension just allows the seeker to feel as though he/she is making SOME progress, instead of being stuck at 10th or 11th rank for hours on end.
The Quest - The quest could be used in conjunction with the Avatar, or could be an automated, but RANDOM, set of tasks for the empowerment-seeker. Basically, the shrine's guardian or Avatar can send the seeker on a quest that has been set up by the immortal. Upon completion of the quest the seeker could be granted a small extension(2-3 ranks). The quest should be closely linked to the religion of immortal. The quests should be lengthy(5 times as long as the boot quest maybe) and should be fairly difficult. They should also be random so seekers can't just run through the same quest time after time with ease. This would also cut down on the tendency for people to spit out quest secrets on the forums.
The Feedback - Sometimes an empowerment-seeker just isn't going to get it. They're RP might suck, they might not have a description, they're role might be 3 lines long. It's in these instances where the immortal should just say "You're not going to get empowered, sorry."
The Absentee's Shrine - There certainly could be certain events that could occur to let a seeker know that his chosen immortal has been or will be dormant for some time. Perhaps pechoes could be set up to let the seeker know that the god is on extended leave when said seeker enters the shrine. It could be as simple as "Upon entering you notice the dust and empty feel of the shrine, as if your God has been dormant for quite some time."
Bake at 350 degree and season to taste.