Editing Powers Check (section)

==Mechanics==
Dark Powers Checks have a fairly simple mechanic that remains pretty consistent between [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] and [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]]. When a character commits an evil act, they have to roll a d100 and check the result against the value assigned to that kind of act; if multiple sins are committed in a single swoop (for example, using the [[necromancer]] spell Chill Touch to murder an innocent child), add the value of the combined sins together. If the percentile roll is over the resultant value, that character escapes the attention of the Dark Powers... for now. If they roll equal to or under that value, though, they've caught their attention, and they descend one stage of corruption, until finally they are damned.

It bears mentioning that the "value" of a sin depends on its target. As a [[demiplane]] embodying the concept of [[Gothic Horror]], the [[Demiplane of Dread]] fundamentally operates on a very "black and white" view of morality, so doing evil unto evil is usually not as big a deal as doing it unto the goodly. As such, "sin values" are divided into four categories: Evil NPCs and Monsters (M), Neutral NPCs (N), Good NPCs (G), and Fellow PCs, Family Members, and Innocents (I).

'''Assault, Unprovoked:''' This is defined as an assault in which the perpetrator has no actual intent to murder or cause lasting harm to the victim, such as most unwarranted manifestations of malice, spite or bigotry - mugging is an example of this kind of sin. Its sin values are 0% (M), 1% (N), 2% (G) or 3% (I).

'''Assault, Grievous:''' This is any attack in which the perpetrator doesn't specifically ''intend'' to kill the victim, but doesn't care if they end up dying anyway. Its sin values are 1% (M), 2% (N), 4% (G) or 6% (I).

'''Betrayal, Major:''' This sin is defined as violating the ''spirit'' of a secular promise in such a way as to cause long-lasting harm or even death to the other fellow - breaching holy oaths or spiritual tenets are their own distinct sins covered under Blasphemy below. Its sin values are 1% (M), 3% (N), 6% (G) or 9% (I).

'''Betrayal, Minor:''' This sin is defined as violating a secular promise and, in doing so, causing public humiliation or forcing a change in the lifestyle of the person you betrayed. The example is revealing an embarrassing secret entrusted to you by a friend or lover. Its sin values are 0% (M), 1% (N), 3% (G) or 6% (I).

'''Extortion:''' This covers any criminal acts not directly described as sins here, as well as forcing others to perform evil or undesirable acts on your behalf. Its sin values are 0% (M), 2% (N), 5% (G) or 8% (I).

'''Lying:''' This is actually one of the least serious sins on the list - you literally don't have to bother making a Powers Check for this unless you lie to a fellow PC, a family member, or an Innocent, and even then, it's only a 1% failure! 

'''Murder, Brutal:''' While all murders are, technically, brutal, to count as this sin, the kill must be slow and inflict unnecessary suffering. The example given is strapping a victim to a table and forcing them to watch as an axe-bladed pendulum slowly swings itself down lower until they are decapitated or cut open by it. Its sin values are 3% (M), 6% (N), 10% (G) or 100% (I). 

'''Murder, Nonbrutal or Premeditated:''' This is basically any act of killing that doesn't count as the above, especially kills made in the name of personal gain or vengeance. Its sin values are 2% (M), 3% (N), 6% (G) or 10% (I).

'''Theft, Grave Robbing:''' Stealing from the dead, or taking corpses to turn them into [[undead]] or [[Flesh Golem]]s, is the most horrific form of theft under Gothic values. If the native culture believes strongly in the sanctity of the dead, this may even count as an act of Desecration (see below) - especially if the grave robber is from that culture themselves! Its sin values are 0% (M), 1% (N), 5% (G) or 7% (I).

'''Theft, Major:''' For terms of Powers Checks, major and minor thievery is defined by "how badly does this hurt whoever you're stealing from"? Taking 20 silver from a merchant prince with a personal vault filled with thousands of gold pieces is minor theft... taking the same sum from a peasant family who will literally starve to death before they can hope to regain that much money is a major theft. Its sin values are 0% (M), 1% (N), 4% (G) or 7% (I).

'''Theft, Minor:''' For terms of Powers Checks, major and minor thievery is defined by "how badly does this hurt whoever you're stealing from"? Taking 20 silver from a merchant prince with a personal vault filled with thousands of gold pieces is minor theft... taking the same sum from a peasant family who will literally starve to death before they can hope to regain that much money is a major theft. Its sin values are 0% (M), 0% (N), 3% (G) or 6% (I).

'''Threats of Violence:''' Like with Lying, intimidation isn't really a major concern to the Dark Powers; it's only a sin if you use it on Good NPCs (1%) or against the Innocent (2%), and even then the odds of the Dark Powers giving a shit aren't that high.

'''Torture, Routine:''' Basically, any act of torture, no matter what you justify through committing it, is a sin in Ravenloft - and a pretty major league one at that! Its sin values are 4% (M), 7% (N), 100% (G) or 100% (I).

'''Torture, Sadistic:''' What distinguishes sadistic torture from routine? Basically, routine torture is just done for the job - it's an attempt to force somebody to reveal concealed information or assigned as legal punishment. Sadistic torture, on the other hand, is just done because the torturer likes to hurt other people, so it ''definitely'' going to get noticed. Its sin values are 10% (M), 100% (N), 100% (G) or 100% (I).

As well as the "basic" sins described above, there are some sins which mess with the formula in different ways, which are described below.

'''Acts of Blasphemy:''' Committing acts of disrespect against religions are judged in severity based on the native nature of the faith; none of these acts are a sin if committed against an Evil-aligned religion, whilst they are if committed against Neutral or Good-aligned ones. As with the "common" sins being most likely to get noticed if you harm the purest spirits or those closest to you, blaspheming against your ''personal'' religion is much more likely to get noticed. Unlike the "standard" sins, a character can only commit blasphemy ''knowingly'' - if you have no idea what the tenets of a specific religion are, you never need to make Dark Powers Check for breaching them. If you perform a blood sacrifice on an god's altar without knowing that god disapproves of the practice, it's not blasphemy. On the other hand, if you ''do'' know, then there's no excuse.
* ''Breaking a Religious Tenet:'' This is the sin of knowingly going against a rule or stricture of a religion - if a religion demands vegetarian diets, then eating a juicy steak is this sin. Its sin values are 1% (N), 2% (G) or 5% (P).
* ''Breaking a Holy Oath:'' What separates these from breaking tenets is that the sinner specifically promised their deity that they would uphold this charge, so it's the blasphemous equivalent of betrayal. Its sin values are 2% (N), 5% (G) or 10% (P).
* ''Breaking a Holy Vow:'' This is the worst form of blasphemous betrayal. Its sin values are 5% (N), 10% (G) or 100% (P).
* ''Defilement:'' This is defined as any act which makes a once-sacred thing lose its sacred nature, such as pouring lamp oil into a font of holy water. Its sin values are 4% (N), 8% (G) or 100% (P).
* ''Desecration:'' Defilement's big brother, Desecration means the sinner actively seeks to make the once-sacred thing be unholy or unclean in its patron deity's eyes - performing a blood sacrifice on the altar of a god of love and peace, for example. Its sin values are 8% (N), 100% (G) or 100% (P).

'''Laying a Curse:''' The act of invoking the Dark Powers to lay a curse on somebody has its own minigrid, based on how justified the curse is (Highly Justified, Justified, Unjustified) and the severity of the curse across its 5 layers of deadliness. ''Embarrassing'' Curses have sin values of 0% (HJ), 1% (J) and 2% (U). Frustrating Curses have sin values of 1% (HJ), 2% (J) and 3% (U). ''Troublesome'' Curses have sin values of 2% (HJ), 4% (J) and 8% (U). ''Dangerous'' Curses have sin values of 4% (HJ), 8% (J) and 16% (U). And finally, ''Lethal'' Curses have sin values of 8% (HJ), 16% (J) and 32% (U).

'''Using Black Magic:''' Finally, using magic classified as inherently evil just provokes its own kind of Powers Check. In AD&D, "Evil, Non-Necromantic" spells have a 1%/spell level sin value, whilst "Evil, Necromantic" spells have a 2%/spell level sin value. In both cases, using this magic with good intentions halves the power's check value. In 3rd edition, the mechanics are more complicated, largely because the definition of black magic is more explicitly baked into the rules and because magic items are more prevalent:
* ''Spell has the Evil descriptor OR Necromancy school:'' 1% per effective spell level
* ''Spell has the Evil descriptor AND Necromancy school:'' 2% per effective spell level
* ''Using an Evil Magic Item:'' As per casting equivalent spell. 
* ''Bearing an Evil Magic Item:'' 1/week, sin value is equivalent to that of the most powerful spell it can replicate.
* ''Creating an Evil Magic Item:'' Combined sin value of all invoked spells; if the item is reusable, multiple by 10% of EXP value. For example, a Hand of Glory requires Animate Dead (3rd level spell) and 288 EXP, so creating one calls for a 31% Powers Check (3% for Animate Dead, times 28 for the EXP value).

In AD&D, using "Evil [[Psionics]]" also calls for a Powers Check; 5% for a ''Science'' and 3% for a ''Devotion''. In 3e, this is simplified to certain psionic powers having the same Powers Check value as equivalent black magic spells.