The Churches

Intro

Knowing about the gods is one thing, but in order to operate in the real world, it is far more important to know about the churches that have grown to worship them. There can be quite a gulf between what the god represents, and what the churches teach. It is even common for churches to the same god to be split into various different factions that disagree with each other more violently than they disagree with the other churches. Some churches are more fragmented than others - Elna, Lomara and Kalar (oddly) are all fairly unified, Hagol and Yorcas are fairly fractured, and Kylax has no trace of unity at all.

This must be kept in mind while reading the following. I describe the mainstream, or the typical, or simply what it's like in Keese, but the churches can vary quite significantly. If your idea of any of the gods differs from the ideas these churches present, simply create a character from a far-off land where they teach things differently.

To be an Adventurer-Priest, and to wield the divine magic that you no doubt lust over, you must be a follower of the god, not the church. You must be able to present an understanding of what the god represents, and how the church is only an earthly manifestation of their glory, and nonsense of that ilk.

Far more than any other character-type, a priest character must understand the background of the world, of their god, and of themselves.

Church Hierarchies

For simplicity, all the churches use pretty much the same hierarchy, although some take it more seriously than others. For instance, Hagol and Yorcas are quite strict with the hierarchy, whereas Lomara and Elna are fairly relaxed, and Kalar barely uses it at all. However, for the purpose of game mechanics, all priest characters use the hierarchy exactly as stated.

Up to the rank of Initiate, 'promotion' is based on intent. A starting character could easily be an Initiate just by stating that he intends to be a Priest. From there until the rank of Priest, promotion is based on knowledge. Every so often a ref will question you to check that you know enough about the god and the church (and have bought the skill Divine Lore, when it becomes apt) to warrant promotion.

Once you are ordained as a Priest, promotion is a matter of opportunities that arise. Simply being the most experienced Priest in town will be enough to be promoted to High-Priest, and being the High-Priest of the largest or most important town in a country will generally warrant promotion to Arch-Priest. Once you're an Arch-Priest, you will have to suck up to the Hierophant, and hope he appoints you as a Cardinal, and then you have to somehow get yourself elected to the post of Hierophant when the old one dies (or falls from grace).

From Hierophant, there's nowhere left to go.

The ten ranks can be roughly compared to the ranks in the Mages' Guild.

Believer.
At the lowest level of faith you don't even need to be a regular at the church. As long as you actually believe that your chosen god is the correct one for you to worship, and you do actually worship in your own way, you are considered a Believer.

Follower.
Anyone who declares their loyalty to the church, and regards themselves a genuine believer and one of the faithful, is regarded as a Follower. You have no position in the church, but you are a regular attendee at all the rituals.

Initiate.
If you wish to dedicate your life to the church, you must be initiated. You will go through a ritual (often with a bunch of other would-be initiates) to declare your undying fealty to the church. You then act as a general dogsbody in the workings of the church. You may even get some robes.

Clergyman.
Once you've been an initiate for a while, you can be promoted onto the first rung of priesthood proper. A clergyman is someone who is regarded as knowledgable in the basic tenets of the faith, and can answer factual questions (e.g. what were the names of all the disciples).

Cleric.
Once you have studied enough to posses the skill Divine Lore, you can be regarded as someone who can answer the more taxing and remote factual questions (e.g. what was the name of the second wife of Adam?) and simpler interpretative questions.

Priest.
Once ordained as a priest, you are allowed to conduct the main religious services and rituals, including the intitiation of Followers. You are expected to be able to answer any question they throw at you, and you will get some good swanky robes.

High-Priest.
The High-Priest is the most senior priest in a town. He is responsible for keeping things in order, and for watching over the wannabe priests. If there is only one Priest in town, he is likely to call himself the High-Priest as soon as he is ordained.

Arch-Priest.
The Barony only has one or two Arch-Priests (if any) for each church, but a larger country might have a few more. They tend to be the High-Priest of the capitol city, so if you're very lucky you could become an instant Arch-Priest as soon as you're ordained, although as Priests are ordained by an Arch-Priest this is logically unlikely.

Cardinal.
A Cardinal will usually sit on some sort of central council that governs the entire church. They decide on church policy, moniter the churches in the various countries, and wear really big hats. Cardinals are chosen by the Hierophant from the Arch-Priests that he fancies the look of.

Hierophant.
In some churches there is only one hierophant in the whole world. He is considered the personal representative (if not the living emodiment) of the god. However, gods can have more than one embodiment, so sometimes there are multiple hierophants (e.g. for different races). Every word they utter is considered a divine edict, so they have a huge amount of power. So much so, that they tend to go irreparably mad.

Others.
In addition to the standard hierarchy, there are a few other titles and accolades that one can attain within one or more of the churches. For instance, the church of Yorcas awards coloured sashes based on accomplishments and ability in combat, and people who assume the role of "Paladin" or "Knight" can sometimes be given official endorsements from the church they have chosen to crusade for.

The Church of Hagol

Hagol the Allfather represents order and tradition. As such, his church is the most orthodox and conservative religion, with respectable people dressing respectably in their sunday best, attending dignified and tasteful ceremonies that don't include any of those dreadful displays of emotion.

The churches are large and impressive, but not too austere, favouring sober grey stone and little or no ornamentation except for some discreet solid gold candleabras, or the priests tastefully woven silk robes. The ceremonies consist of the priest resiting bits of the sacred texts, with short bits of audience participation (the odd "amen" or something).

Followers of Hagol are the Hyacinth Buckets of the world, conducting their lives according to what is "right and proper". They frown on scandal, respect the authorities, and look down in snobbery upon what they regard as the "lower classes", ie worshippers of any other god.

The teachings of the Church of Hagol are impossible to summarise, but anyone born to the English middle classes will recognise them instantly. In essence, anything gregarious, showy, extravagent or in any way pleasurable is bound to be sinful. They assume that the old, traditional ways are correct, and anything new that might change the staus quo is shocking.

Priests of Hagol are very keen to teach people the errors of their ways. If they didn't put so much emphasis on dignified restraint, they would be dangerously fanatic missionaries. As they are however, they seek to right wrongs, and ensure that justice is done in the world.

As the church is supported by all the noble families, there is never any shortage of cash, but all expenditure of the Priests is carefully monitored for signs of spendthriftedness.

Adventurer-Priests that follow Hagol tend to be markedly different from the usual Priests and Followers, as they follow the original teachings in their original spirit. These are such things as honour and justsice and fighting to free the innocent from the yolk of oppression. Real olde-worlde knight-errant stuff. Unfortunately, the mists of time have occulted these original teachings, and true Believers are relatively uncommon.

The Church of Elna

Elna the Earth Mother is a good deal more welcoming. She is kind and comforting, and welcomes all people provided they have warm hearts. The Church is run mainly by Priestesses, who conduct the friendly rituals and serve the food.

The Temples and church buildings are wooden, built by the Priestesses and Followers. They are simple, and tastefully decorated with murals and carvings. Rituals are normally conducted outside, but if the weather is bad, they are taken indoors. Food and wine are served, there is singing and dancing, with the occasional orgy on special holidays.

Elna teaches her followers love and respect for all living things. In her eyes you can do no wrong unless you cause suffering to another. Penalties are never more strict than a sound telling off. The Church is always open to the needy, and adventurers often crash in demanding healing. The Priestesses will tolerate this behaviour, but will always insist they join in a serious prayer session first (assuming they can).

Priestesses of Elna seek to alleviate the suffering that is found throughout the world. They do not seek converts, but do seek to teach people not to be so nasty to each other. Elna seeks only to make the world a better place.

The Church is basically self-sufficient, and it needs to be as its followers are generally peasants and farmers.

The Church of Lomara

A church of Lomara is an uncommon thing. Her followers and priests tend to remain unconcerned with such things as formal worship. They travel from place to place, learning what they can and contributing what they can. Unsurprisingly for followers of a goddess of truth, Lomara worshippers are the most honest of believers.

Sometimes a priest will settle down in a place in particular need of Lomara's wisdom. He will set up home (comfortable, but not garish) and welcome all visitors. Occasionally, a meeting of all the priests in the area will occur. A few dozen priests will happen to turn up in the same place at the same time, and will have a get-together. These are always very genial occasions, with food and drink, but above all with conversation.

Lomara teaches that if there is not an equal exchange of ideas, there is an inherent imbalance. Thus there are no rituals as such in her worship. A follower visits a priest for a drink and a chat. The priest visits a high priest for an informal debate. The hierophant might have supper with Lomara herself if she was free.

Mages and scientists sometimes formalise the worship of Lomara. For such people, and for various special occasions, there are minor rituals to follow. Burnings of incence, recitation of mantras, chanting and meditating are all signs of people who believe in Lomara, but do not truly understand what she stands for. She does not respond to bribery, and will only favour those who ask for genuine reasons.

Followers of Lomara know that all prayers are answered, but sometimes the answer is no.

The Church of Kalar

A church of Kalar is a strange place indeed. They are invariably located in some secluded space out of town, as their practices are somewhat off-beat. They tend to be utterly random affairs - a few trees tied together, or an old dungeon that has been taken over. Kalar worshippers rarely have the patience to build anything of note.

Things are normally conducted by a high priest (or priestess - to Kalar, all people are equally ridiculous) who has earnt the respect of his peers by any one of a dozen means. He may have pulled off an amazing prank, told a particularly witty joke, or brutally and horribly murdered all the existing hierarchy. The high priest has complete power over how the church is to conduct itself. Should it be geared to laughter, madness, chaos or some other interpretation of the freedom of Kalar.

While many onlookers confuse the worship of Kalar to the infinitely more destructive cults of Kylax, there is always one essential difference. Above all other things, Kalar represents freedom of choice. No follower is ever punished for speakiing out of turn, no believer is ever repremanded for disagreeing with the high priest (but then again, no high priest is ever demoted for ignoring the rules).

New and original thought is invariably rewarded in some way. Being dull (or reporting church activities to the authorities) are sure ways for being thrown out. Traditionalists scream in horror at the decadence and debauchery of a Kalar temple, but few worshippers ever choose to leave - if nothing else because of the cocktail of drugs they have imbibed.

All people are welcomed into a temple of Kalar, but few people are welcomed back from one.

The Church of Yorcas

A visitor to a temple of Yorcas could be forgiven for mistaking it for the Adventurers' Guild. The building is sparse and functional, basically any spare largeish building with a few symbols slapped on the walls. There will invariably be someone stalking about in full battle dress practicing with some especially arcane piece of weaponry. A more travelled visitor might notice its close resemblance to an oriental dojo, and they would be very near to the truth.

Yorcas teaches that enlightenment can be found in conflict, and that heightened states of awareness are attained through combat training. The priests of Yorcas are among the most formidable warriors ever known.

But the teachings should not be confused with mindless violence. The priests and followers take the spiritual side of it very seriously, and stress aspects such as honour and mental balance. They share many beliefs with the Shaman, such as true awareness lying beyond the limits of five senses, and ideas of mystical forces of life that can be harnessed and focussed. Anyone who understands the spiritual aspects of the oriental martial arts will understand the Church of Yorcas.

Priests of Yorcas seek to develop their prowess to the pinnacle of possibility, to achieve the absolute peak of physical and spiritual mastery. To this end they will often travel far and wide to seek challenges that will test them to their limits. To an ignorant eye, it will look as if they are prowling the earth looking for a fight, which I suppose they are.

This is a very solitary religion in many ways. The Church has no interest in recruiting converts, and doesn't even hold congregations as such. There are a couple of holidays in the year that manifest as tournaments, and once a week they will hold a religious ceremony that can reasonably be viewed as a weapons class, but they are definitely the least religious religion.