Generally only those who have undergone the ritual of investment at the font of Atur may utter prayers for actual effect. While another person may be able to speak a prayer, or even copy the gestures and intonation, there will be no actual effect without investment (and the attendant power investiture advantage). A Priest can, however, allow others to use such powers, through the use of a Scroll.
A scroll is a written copy of a prayer. Unlike an ephemera it does not contain instructions for learning the prayer, rather the prayer is cast into the scroll, and its energies can be released at a later date as if the prayer caster were present to do so.
To create a scroll the priest must inscribe it with costly substances onto the finest vellumn. They must also be able to case the prayer itself. To successfully complete the creation they must make a roll against their effective create scroll skill which is the lowest of their skill with the prayer and their illumination. Thus a priest with Blessing of Fire 15 and Illumination 12 has a create scroll skill of 12 when making a scroll of the blessing of fire.
The priest must spend a full day to create the scroll, or 3 days for a ritual, plus the casting time of the prayer. At the end of this period they must successfully case the prayer, and then roll against their create scroll skill. If the priest successfully rolls against the create scroll skill then the scroll is made. If they fail then they must spend a day on corrections and try again. If they fumble the scroll is destroyed. If the prayer roll fails they may simply try again however.
When the scroll is created it gains an effective power level. This is the level of the scroll used to calculate resistance, variable damage and so forth. The power level of the scroll is equal to the priest's create scroll skill + 1/2 of the amount by which they made their creation roll, up to a maximum of their skill in the prayer. e.g. for the priest above
roll power of scroll 6 or less 15 7 14 8 14 9 13 10 13 11 12 12 12 A priest may do other things to increase the power of the scroll. The quality of the materials involved give bonuses or penalties as follows
material bonus/penalty reclaimed vellum -2 cheap vellum -1 fine vellum +1 extra fine vellum +2 less than 1 ata inks -2 1-2 ata inks 0 2-4 ata inks +1 4+ ata inks +2
If the prayer cast involves a variable, but choosable, amount of fatigue then the priest must choose how much fatigue they spend. For example for the prayer Abjure the priest must choose whether to spend 1, 2 or 3 fatigue. If the ammount of fatigue spent is dependant on the target, as in the case of Exorcise, then the priest must spend 10 fatigue.
For a layman to use a scroll they must burn it. Often a scroll may be burnt in a blessed censer, but any type of burning is sufficient. The caster must meet all other requirements of the prayer, such as being able to see the target, and cannot maintain the prayer (so Chant and Aid cannot be used as scrolls, for example). In addition the burning is not instantaneous, so instant prayers such as Intervene cannot be used as scrolls.
Once burnt the prayer automatically takes effect, at an effective skill level equal to its power. In general the caster also pays no fatigue, the fatigue having been paid when the scroll was made. However when the ammount of fatigue required is variable (as in the case of Blessing of Fire), and exceeds the 10 fatigue used in making the scroll, then the burner of the scroll must pay the difference.
A Priest can use a scroll exactly as described above for a layman
They may also try to cast the prayer from the scroll, even if they do not know it. To do this they must roll against the power level of the scroll -3, and must also pay the full faigue of the prayer. If they fail the scroll burns itself and is destroyed without effect, otherwise the prayer is cast and the scroll may be reused. However no scroll can be used in this way more times than its original power divided by 5 (rounding up). For example a scroll with a power of 15 can be used 3 times in this way.