The WarpriestA battlefield cleric for the tabletop

The Missal · Sixteen Litanies in Four Ranks

The Litanies

Sixteen prayers, four ranks, one voice. Filter by purpose, rank or word, and read the verse out loud. It is part of the rules.

Before the Reading

How a litany is spoken

A litany is not a spell cast in a hush. It is a short liturgy spoken aloud at the pace of battle: a verse, a name, a gesture with the Iron Sigil. To speak one you need your voice, your Iron Sigil in hand, and Fervor equal to the litany’s rank. If you cannot speak you cannot cast, and a Warpriest who has been silenced is, for the moment, a well-armoured person in a difficult situation.

Litanies come in four purposes. Ward litanies keep people standing. Rebuke litanies make enemies regret their choices. Mercy litanies close wounds, usually at a price. Command litanies move the shape of the battle: who goes where, who sees what, who stays calm. Ranks run from I to IV and open at degrees 1, 3, 5 and 7. The degree table in the Codex says how many litanies you know at each step.

Some litanies must be Held. You can Hold only one at a time, and each time you take damage you make a Grit check against 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher. Fail, and the litany ends. Speaking a new Held litany ends the old one without ceremony and without a refund.

The Reading

The sixteen litanies

Showing all 16 litanies.

  • Litany of the Raised Shield

    WardRank I

    “Let the blow find the iron and not the kneeling.”

    When an ally who can hear you is struck, add +2 to their Guard against that Strike. If this turns the hit into a miss, the attacker is left with the distinct impression of a shield that was not there. Speak it after the attack roll is announced and before damage is rolled.

    Cost
    1 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Reaction
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. Yes, the table will ask whether the shield is real. It is exactly as real as the miss.

  • Litany of First Light

    CommandRank I

    “In the dark a single word, and the word was lit.”

    A steady ember-light fills a 20-foot radius around a point you can see, for ten minutes. Creatures inside ignore penalties from dim light. Creatures of gloom and the long dead are Shaken while in the light unless they pass a Resist roll.

    Cost
    1 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    Grit, gloom-bound creatures only
    Hold
    No

  • Litany of Bitter Mercy

    MercyRank I

    “I close the wound; the debt remains with me.”

    Touch an ally and restore 1d8 plus your Faith modifier in Vigor. The wound closes in a way that is visible and mildly uncomfortable. You then lose 1 Vigor to the strain, which nothing can prevent.

    Cost
    1 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    Touch
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. Players will call this unfair. Point out that the name is on the card.

  • Litany of the Brand

    RebukeRank I

    “Be known to heaven, and to every blade at this table.”

    Mark one foe you can see. Until the end of your next turn the foe sheds a faint light, cannot gain the benefit of hiding, and is Branded. The first Strike you land on it deals an extra 1d6 radiant damage.

    Cost
    1 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    Voice, negates
    Hold
    No

  • Litany of the Counted Breath

    CommandRank I

    “One. Two. Three. The world holds still as you do.”

    When an ally who can hear you becomes Shaken or Winded, the condition ends at once. The ally also adds +1 to their next check or Strike made before the end of their next turn.

    Cost
    1 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Reaction
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. It is a breathing exercise with consequences. Do not tell the dragon.

  • Litany of the Armour of Hymn

    WardRank II

    “Sing it onto the shoulders; wear it like the verse.”

    One creature you touch gains +2 Guard for one minute. You must Hold this litany. It ends early if you fail a Grit check after taking damage.

    Cost
    2 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    Touch
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    Hold

  • Litany of the Verse of Thorns

    RebukeRank II

    “Whoever strikes the faithful shall be pricked by the psalm.”

    Choose one ally within reach of your voice. For one minute, any foe that Strikes that ally takes 1d6 radiant damage after the Strike resolves, hit or miss. You must Hold this litany.

    Cost
    2 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    Hold

    Aside from the GM. The foe does not take this personally. The psalm does.

  • Litany of the Field Surgeon’s Chant

    MercyRank II

    “Hold fast, hold fast, the needle is a prayer.”

    Up to two allies who can hear you each recover 2d6 plus your Faith modifier in Vigor. The chant has a rhythm that is very hard to interrupt: you may speak it while Shaken without penalty.

    Cost
    2 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

  • Litany of the Cry of the Standard

    CommandRank II

    “Up! The cloth still flies, and so do we.”

    Allies within 30 feet who can see or hear you may each move up to 10 feet at once without provoking, and add +1 to their next Strike this round.

    Cost
    2 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. Not a charge. A very motivated shuffle. Players will still call it a charge.

  • Litany of the Closed Door

    WardRank II

    “Here the threshold is holy, and the latch is mine.”

    Choose one ally. For one minute, a hostile creature must pass a Resist roll before Striking that ally; on a failure it must choose another target or lose the action. The litany ends if the warded ally Strikes anyone.

    Cost
    2 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    Voice, negates
    Hold
    No

  • Litany of the Pillar of Cinders

    RebukeRank III

    “Let the field remember what stood here.”

    A column of ember and white heat strikes a point you can see, filling a 10-foot radius. Each creature inside takes 4d6 fire damage, or half on a successful Resist roll.

    Cost
    3 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    60 feet
    Resist
    Reflex, half damage
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. The column does not check who is wearing the tabard. Please stand clear, friends.

  • Litany of Last Rites Denied

    MercyRank III

    “Not yet. I have not finished with you.”

    When an ally within 30 feet falls to 0 Vigor, they stand again with Vigor equal to 5 plus your Faith modifier plus your Oath bonus. Once per target per Vigil.

    Cost
    3 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Reaction
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. Death at your table is not abolished. It is merely rescheduled.

  • Litany of the Long Procession

    CommandRank III

    “Every foot a verse, every verse a mile.”

    Up to six companions travel at double pace for one hour of march, are not Winded by the march, and are not slowed by rough ground. The litany ends if the group fights.

    Cost
    3 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Ritual (10 minutes)
    Reach
    Self and companions
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. Useful for the road. Less useful for the eight monsters at the end of it.

  • Litany of Anathema

    RebukeRank III

    “Be unwritten from the book of the brave.”

    Name a foe you can see. For one minute it suffers −2 to its Strikes and to its Guard unless it passes a Resist roll. You must Hold this litany.

    Cost
    3 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    60 feet
    Resist
    Voice, negates
    Hold
    Hold

  • Litany of the Cathedral Rises

    WardRank IV

    “Stone from nothing, light from stone, a roof for the unroofed.”

    Radiant stonework forms a dome with a 20-foot radius for three rounds. Allies inside cannot be reduced below 1 Vigor by Strikes. Foes must pass a Resist roll to enter. You must Hold this litany.

    Cost
    4 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    60 feet
    Resist
    Grit, to enter
    Hold
    Hold

    Aside from the GM. Nobody asks where the cathedral came from. Nobody asks where it goes afterwards, either.

  • Litany of the Dawn After Battle

    MercyRank IV

    “And the morning comes whether or not you asked it.”

    All allies within 30 feet recover 4d8 plus your Faith modifier in Vigor and end every condition affecting them. Once per Vigil.

    Cost
    4 Fervor
    Speaks as
    Action
    Reach
    30 feet
    Resist
    None
    Hold
    No

    Aside from the GM. The best moment of the session. Let it breathe before moving on.

After the Reading

Edge cases and rulings

Reactions and timing

A reaction litany is spoken in answer to a trigger, after the trigger is announced and before its effect resolves. You may speak only one reaction between your turns. If two reactions would answer the same trigger, the one spoken first wins and the other keeps its Fervor.

No higher rank

Litanies cannot be spoken at a rank above their own. There is no stronger version of a small prayer. If you want a bigger one, learn a bigger one. This also means a Rank II litany always costs 2 Fervor, even if you have 9.

Areas and allies

Litanies that fill an area affect everyone inside it, including your friends and, regrettably, you. A Resist roll is made by each creature separately. Cover blocks a litany only if it would block a thrown stone. Ritual litanies take the stated time and fail if you are interrupted by anything louder than the litany.

Stacking

Bonuses to Guard from different litanies do not stack: take the highest. Healing does stack, because there is no such thing as too many people in the line trying to live.