The Pantheon of Alnwich
In Charge: Thyra Hakondottr
(Cleric).
In the Ranks: Clerics
and Initiates.
On the Payroll: Anyone,
but mostly servants and laborers.
Influencing the AR: Any
social skill; see below.
The Pantheon is the local temple to the gods. As is common among the
religions of the North, there is no centralized governing body for the faith,
and members meet rarely. Instead, each temple is a bastion unto its own and
operates without support or interaction with the greater religion.
The Pantheon of Alnwich is run by the High Priestess Thyra Hakondottr
with the assistance of her priests and initiates. The temple is supported by
contributions from the community and employs some servants and laborers to
maintain the grounds and building. Should these not suffice to keep the temple
in good order, Earl Borg has been known to make contributions of men and supplies
to keep the house of the gods in good repair.
People tend to interact with the individual priests of the Pantheon
personally rather than with the organization as a whole. To influence ARs, roll
a Quick Contest between any suitable social skill and the individual member’s
Will. The AR modifier is half the margin of victory (minimum +1) or loss
(minimum -1).
The Pantheon doesn’t have official ranks; still a few terms tend
to apply. Those new to the order are of Rank 0 and called Acolytes, Initiates, Neophytes,
or Brother or Sister, and once an initiate completes his initiation, he gains Rank
1 and the title of Priest. The priest in charge of running a temple is usually
called the High Priest or Priestess.
What the Pantheon Wants
The Pantheon seeks to serve and appease the gods. They offer
sacrifices, conduct ceremonies, and otherwise do their best to make sure that
Alnwich invites only favorable attention from the deities of the world. In
times of distress, they will also seek the guidance of the gods in hopes of
learning what must be done to assuage their wrath. This sometimes involves special
quests that require the services of heroes.
The priests of the Pantheon also depend on couriers to remain in
touch with other temples throughout Northmarch. This is a dangerous and
difficult job that often is accompanied by significant pay. Often, merchants
are employed, and with the recent arrival of the RMS, mail has been far more
reliable for the temple. Still, some communiques are too important to entrust
to foreign businessmen, and that is when adventurers are typically sought.
What the Pantheon Can Provide
The Pantheon can provide training in any skills on the Cleric template and counts books, holy symbols, holy water, medical supplies, and mystical aids such as potions as professional goods. The Pantheon also offers a discount on healing services to its members.
Assistance which the Pantheon can provide include:
- Artifact. Magical items available at the Temple are divine in nature.
- Augury.
- Backup. The Pantheon is not heavily staffed enough to provide a body of assistance. Instead, backup is provided by a single Ally built on 150% of the requestor’s points, with a frequency of appearance of Rank+9. Roll daily for appearance. On a failure, the Ally vanishes to take care of important tasks elsewhere and reappears the next time the roll succeeds.
- Blessings. This is the Temple’s stock in trade; ARs are at +3.
- Hideout. Hideouts provided by the Temple don’t furnish actual concealment, but they do extend widely respected sanctuary. Civilized enemies may know where those receiving sanctuary are, but won’t touch them, giving those being sheltered time to heal up, regroup, and think of ways of sneaking out.
- Immunity. The Temple is plugged into the local power structures and can exert modest influence on the nobility.
- Lore. The Temple has extensive but focused records. The effective Contact skill is at +2 for religious topics, -3 for all others.
- Recharge. The Temple does a lot of this, as well; ARs are at +3.
- Spellcasting. Adventurers may request any spell granted by any of the major gods.
Other ARs are at -3 or worse.
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