Dominion
The Dominion is one of the most prevalent supernatural auras in Mythic Europe, representing the influence of the Divine Realm on earth. It is erected by worship, and is therefore ubiquitous in religious Mythic Europe - the Dominion is spread over virtually all cities and villages, and even extends to the flock's places of work, like fields and mines.
The power of the Dominion is not entirely constant in time. It decreases at night and at evil days, and increases on holy days. Between Holy Innocents Day (December 28) and the Feast of Fools (January 1), it may cease to affect other Realms entirely (see RoPD p. 72).
It should be noted that the Divine also expresses itself in an Empyreal aura, that is identical to the Dominion in its mechanical effects.
The Dominion greatly penalizes the working of Hermetic Magic, which is a source of tension in the setting as it leads magi to distance themselves from the Divine and mundane society, and creates tension between them and any uprising of Divine worship in the covenant.
As described in Realms of Power: The Divine, the Dominion teems with angels and Divine beings. Every distinct thing in a Divine aura has an angel of the Authority choir, and Divine creatures attend to the operation of nature (protecting cities from the heat of the sun, delivering dew, and so on). Every living soul has a guardian angel (of the Angel choir), and every social group - from a family to an empire - has it own guardian angel (a Principality). There are also many other angels, such as Dominations that control numerous Authorities, angels that guide travelers, and so on. All of these beings are often only present in spirit form, invisible save for Second Sight, although sometimes they take human form and may even function as mortals within society for a time.
Some sagas may find such a large and omnipresent Divine host undesirable, and may want to limit it to high-aura regions or regios.
References
- The core rulebook, ArM5, page 183 for the Realm Interaction Chart, and pages 188-189 for a description of the Dominion itself.
- Further details on the creation and nature of the Dominion can be found in Realms of Power: The Divine, particularly on pages 9-11 and in the "Heaven's Host" section (p. 17-26).
Related Topics
Legacy Page
The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:dominion