Exiled and Reverenced Deities
An important part of the setting of Vendrith is the Great Silence in which the deities were exiled from the material world and are likely unable to either observe or communicate with it any longer. However, as a game and as a world, this does not remove divine content, magic, and gameplay. Worshipping an exiled deity still works as usual, with the only consideration being that direct pleas to deities likely won’t work.
Reverenced deities, those whom have ascended above even heaven, work the same, as does special deities like the Painter Monkey and Nourishing Bulwark. You are also less likely to find active temples to reverenced deities, and thus should consider that if you want a character able to pull on church connections.
Cleric Spells
Cleric Spells are amongst the benefits you can get playing as a Cleric, or having other class or item options that grant you benefits based on the deity you worship. Cleric Spells are spells not from the divine list that Clerics of said deity gets to prepare as if it was one, themed after the deity’s strengths and personality.
Normally in PF2e these are always one 1st rank spell, and then two other spells of slightly varying ranks. However an exception is made for the Deity of Magic (Nethys) in its lore, and frankly shows that it does not break the game. In order to get more personality and use out of the deities - in Vendrith all deities grant Cleric Spells of every Spell Rank. These are mostly original per deity to ensure variety, though there is overlap on the last couple ranks of spells due to limited selection.
Other options, like the Faith Tattoo can grant access to your deity’s Cleric Spells. You can work with your GM to get a Faith Tattoo, or other homebrewed thematic item, that grants access to a Cleric Spell of a specific Rank you’d like (using the GM guidelines for item creations, cost, access to spells of which rank, etc.). GMs are encouraged to make themed religious items that take grant or buff Deity’s cleric spells, especially once Faith Tattoos become an increasingly common sight.
Crusader Archetypes (whenever they get developed - if you are interested in playing one for a fitting campaign please say so) will get access to Cleric Spells in some form or other.
Boons and Curses
Most deities have not had, or at least not used, overwhelming and ultimate power at all times - but have been happy to perform Divine Intercessions. These come in the form of Boons or Curses, given out to those who please a deity, such as through helping their temples, following their ideals, or saving their followers; or to those who offend them, through flagrant sacrilege, betrayal of the cause, or desecration of their Holy Sites. These are divided into 3 levels of Boons and Curses each.
Note that while the Titans of Vendrith are seemingly incapable of communicating with, and possibly even observing, the material world, they still are able to grant out their blessings, curses and divine powers. This is likely done through a series of ‘automatic rules’ or other systems that could act automatically they established before they left, many of which are hinted towards in their New Creed. Broadly speaking this means that the boons and curses are granted out as normal, though a GM can judge that creative, sneaky ways of desecrating temples that may circumvent something like an automatic rule is possible to get away with. While it is risky, a blind God can be tricked.
As part of developing the pantheons of Vendrith we have made a list the standard Boons and Curses deities tend to give, though GMs can also make specialised ones depending on circumstances.
See the list of standard divine intercessions here.
Religious Rituals
See rules on Rituals if you are unaware.
Clerics, Champions and such cannot make up the entirety of the divine and magical potential of a religious following, and the spells, boons and curses a deity grants may not be enough to fully represent the lifestyle or mission a deity commands. To this end, in Vendrith, certain rituals of varying ranks exist that are only capable of being performed as or together with followers of specific deities.
An example is the Ancient Survivor, whose followers are effectively viewed as hostile infiltrators (often righteously so) and sought to be rooted out if they do not hide their identities. Meanwhile, the Survivor encourages its followers to either hide, or better, infiltrate deeply into a society so that they are protected by its own hierarchies and systems of prestige and law. Towards this end, it’s important for these followers to pass off their worship as that of other, more acceptable, deities (which they continue and use to rise in the ranks of an enemy church). One ritual the Survivor grants to help with this is Needle in a Haystack (1st), which makes it easier for a follower of the Survivor to falsify their faith, and the later Stitched to Life, which creates a weak golem that can imitate another creature and perform basic daily activities to pass off as them (and create alibis).
Full list of Deity Rituals.