(no subject)
You've been patient, so I offer another peek at the ongoing Mario d20 project. This time, it's a look at the religions of the Mushroom World. Ooooh, interesting!
Religion
The Mushroom World's faith is given largely to ideals, rather than beings. Clerics tend to champion the values common to their race. Still, there are a few exalted powers who garner worship and grant blessings, subtly vying for influence over the Mushroom World.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Star Spirits
Greater Deity
Symbol: Five-pointed star, constellation, borealis cloak
Home Plane: Star Heaven
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Knowledge, healing, luck, navigation, wishes
Worshippers: Wizards, gamblers, scholars, travelers.
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG
Holy Lands: Crystal Peaks, Star Hill
Domains: Good, Knowledge, Luck, Magic
Favored Weapon: Morningstar
A group of benevolent beings, the powerful Star Spirits watch the world from above, guiding those wise enough to seek their wisdom. The Star Spirits are typically depicted as five-pointed stars with some facial features, varying from star to star.
Dogma
The Star Spirits teach patience, tolerance, and understanding; the sufficiently enlightened mind can bridge any divide. They teach that magic can and should be a helpful, useful part of everyday life, and should never be abused for cruel or selfish reasons. They also teach that the greatest intellect and the most meticulous preparation can be outmatched by the unexpected, and that luck is a force best not overlooked. The Star Spirits are strongly opposed to undead, and the destruction of such creatures is an ongoing priority for the church.
Clergy and Temples
The Star Spirits guide their chosen clerics, granting them the wisdom and clarity to improve their world. These astronomer-prophets, in turn, act as polestars for their communities, a constant shining source of guidance and comfort. Wayists typically dress in white robes edged in midnight blue, or less frequently in robes cut and dyed to resemble the brilliant borealis.
Followers of the Way of Star Road are called "Wayists," and meditate for their spells under the night sky. Being indoors or underground interferes with this communion with the Star Spirits, but an overcast sky does not.
Lawful Wayists advise judges and heads of state, working to keep laws fair and compassionate. More chaotically-inclined Wayists tend to gravitate toward subversive work against the more tyrannical kingdoms. Wayists in general tend to favor the concerns of the common people over those of the elite--those with wealth and power already have the means to make their wishes come true, after all, and can afford to wait their turn.
The Way's churches have a loose heirarchy, based mostly on tenure and accomplishment, though all clergy respect one another regardless of rank. Temples are usually open-air structures with columns supporting a domed ceiling, inside which is painted a starmap (more prosperous temples might use gold or gems), with living quarters for the clergy located behind. A temple usually chooses a particular constellation to revere, like a patron saint, and depictions of that constellation tend to feature prominently in temple design and decoration.
Wayist clerics arbitrate disputes, give advice on magic, acquire and maintain rare books, and offer education to their communities. Wayist paladins are tasked with hunting out demons and undead, defending communities against attack, and assisting in disease-stricken areas.
~~~~~~~~~~
Smithy
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Gear, clockwork device, anvil
Home Plane: Factory
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Law, metalwork, war, construction
Worshippers: Generals, barristers, smiths, crafters
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, LE
Holy Lands: Kooparondacs
Domains: Destruction, Law, Strength, War
Favored Weapon: Warhammer
There is a place, a world of perfect, clockwork order that ticks in time to the whim and will of a single mind. The world is called Factory, and the being who rules it is known as Smithy. He has brought his domain into perfect synch with his own unrelentingly logical mind, and has come to the conclusion that his rule is a better way of life than the disorder and strife of other worlds.
Dogma
Smithy teaches that everything must have a purpose, and must work toward that purpose with utmost effeciency. Decoration and ineffeciency distract from the logical ideal, and should be removed or, if possible, made into something more useful. This is the core of Smithy's teaching, whether he speaks of weapons, legal codes, or society. It is the duty of all to improve what they can, obey those above them, and direct those below them toward the most logical, effecient means of improvment.
Clergy and Temples
Followers of the Cult of Smithy call themselves the "Forged," and meditate for their spells starting precisely at noon. This preciscion is marked in the Forged sense of time, which marks noon as the end and beginning of the day.
Evil clerics of Smithy focus heavily on the elements of obedience and command, and of destroying the dross of the world. Good-aligned clerics tend to focus more on the construction and renewal the Ticking God demands. Forged in general take an interest in smiths and crafters (usually possessing at least one Craft skill, themselves), and are always willing to offer advice on those professions.
Temples to Smithy always include a forge, and usually also include workshops for whatever resources are native to the surroundings. The worship paid in these temples takes the form of work on the temple's projects. Temples have little in common beyond purpose, as each is added onto by parishoners as the need or resources arrive. Ornamentation in these temples is minimal, rarely more than a large image of an anvil presiding over the main sanctuary.
Forged clerics give advice on war, accompany soldiers, create magic items, and supplement local police forces. Forged paladins carry the fight to the Bringers of Bunosc, and work to tame the lawless parts of the world.
~~~~~~~~~~
Subcon
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Lucky coin, spiral, key
Home Plane: Subcon
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Music, games, dreams, pranks
Worshippers: Bards, Rogues, alienists, rebels, artists
Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, CE
Holy Lands: Redam, City of Lights
Domains: Chaos, Luck, Travel, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Flail
Dreams swell and ebb, just beyond conscious perception. A thousand, thousand realms are born, ripen, and die with every night's slumber. The death of a realm, however, does not always spell the death of its inhabitants, and in a place where worlds overlap, bleed into one another, and drain away with disturbing regularity, some of the inhabitants have grown old indeed, and like unto worlds themselves. They look upon our world with curiosity, with hunger, with emotions that sane minds have no name for, and a mad few look back with an eye toward opening the way for these beings.
Dogma
To worship Subcon is to give oneself over to dream, imagination, and whim. Rules are restrictive, limiting the endless potential inherent in all things. It is only by understanding the restrictions placed on us and slipping free of them that one can truly be what they are meant to be. A great collective unconscious links all things, and innately knows the best way for all things; to yeild to it, to follow its urges and currents, is to move away from the prison of restricted thought and toward the freedom of enlightenment. Everything should be free; the enlightened should help those who are still bound.
Clergy and Temples
Those who would open the Mushroom World to Subcon's mad tides are called the Bringers of Bunosc, or "Bringers," and it is rare that any two meditate for spells at the same time of day, though any given Bringer will usually be consistent (and will do without when they aren't).
Good-aligned Bringers work to subvert the rule of tyrants, and promote the virtues of art, music, fun, and play. Evil clerics work to destroy infrastructure and the hallmarks of civilization, and encourage people to put off work and repair for the sake of "one more drink, one more game." Bringers in general pursue and promote consciousness-expanding experiences, trying to make the world more like Subcon, in the eventual hope of merging it with that polyglot plane.
Temples of Bunosc take no common form, but tend to be brightly decorated with disorienting colors and patterns. Bringer temples tend to have a slight air of the otherworldly about them, as though time and space are slightly fluid in and around their walls. Because many Bringers operate against the grain of local authority, many Bringer temples are hidden behind a facade of some kind.
Bringer clerics know the best and newest games, steer coming trends, nurture art and artists of all stripes, and offer advice on making the most of a celebration. Bringer clerics also tend to be involved in subversive movements, whether running with a gang of petty vandals or smuggling arms and contraband to criminal empires.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shadow Queen
Lesser Deity
Symbol: Black-glassed lantern, silver cuff and collar, mirror
Home Plane: The Shadow Pits
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Vice, pain, secrets, betrayal, undead
Worshippers: Necromancers, criminals, politicians, merchants
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Holy Lands: Rogueport
Domains: Death, Evil, Knowledge, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Dagger
Long ago, the skies of the Mushroom World were dark and empty, with day and night looking much the same. The people who lived in those grim days labored at the behest of a powerful queen, one to whom their cries of pain and sorrow were sweetest music. She drank their pain and their devotion, and bestowed her favor upon those who strove to be most like her, creating the first Shadow Sirens. Her rule was uncontested until the first star bloomed in the sky, and was wished upon--or so the story goes. What is known by the best-read of sages is that in the present day, the Shadow Queen is barred from the world, imprisoned in the Realm of Mirrors while her progeny, the demonic Shadow Sirens, work to bring her back.
Dogma
The Shadow Queen teaches that a heirarchy exists, along which pain and pleasure move; the weak are many, and at the bottom, while the strongest are few (or, ideally, one), and at the top. She teaches that her devotees may climb this heirarchy by strengthening themselves, and by weakening those around them. She also teaches that only the wishes of the strong matter--the weak are only chattel. Power comes in many forms, from knowledge to muscle to sex appeal, and any are acceptable tools.
Clergy and Temples
Those who devote themselves to the Shadow Queen, by the proxy of one of her Shadow Sirens, are collectively known as the Shadow Choir, and individually as Shades. Shades meditate for their spells in the dark hour before dawn, and must spill blood (not necessarily their own) as part of their daily rites.
Lawful Shades whisper in the ears of kings and leaders, urging them toward tyranny and exploitation, organize criminal empires, and raise armies of undead. Chaotic Shades rouse rabbles, spread poison and plague, and turn those same undead loose. Shades in general are tempters and corrupters, medicating misery with the balm of vice, and indulging their own cruel whims to whatever excess their surroundings allow.
Shrines to the dark powers are always hidden affairs, even in regions where the practice is tolerated. Ranging from ornate statues in locked cabinets or behind hidden panels to secret complexes under mansions or graveyards, the only common element is a statue of the worshippers' patron. Decor, too, follows the patron's preference; those Shadow Sirens who concern themselves with pleasure and decadence have shrines draped in lush fabrics and filled with embroidered cushions, while those more interested in the undead have shrines like crypts.
It should be noted, Shades are not beholden directly to the Shadow Queen, who can grant no favors from within her mirrored prison, but to the demonic Shadow Sirens who served as her lieutenants. These fiends jockey for position as much as their followers, and Shades try to sabotage one another as much as anyone else. All Shades, like their Shadow Siren patrons, want the prestige of freeing their dark goddess, and the rewards that her return to power would mean, and that common goal only barely unites them.
Shades know the juiciest secrets and the price on every soul, sow decay, and work from within even the noblest organizations to bring them down. Shades are also masters of the undead, confederates of demons, and reputedly the wildest lovers in the world. Though learning the truth of that last claim is a sure route to damnation, some would call it worth the cost.
Religion
The Mushroom World's faith is given largely to ideals, rather than beings. Clerics tend to champion the values common to their race. Still, there are a few exalted powers who garner worship and grant blessings, subtly vying for influence over the Mushroom World.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Star Spirits
Greater Deity
Symbol: Five-pointed star, constellation, borealis cloak
Home Plane: Star Heaven
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Knowledge, healing, luck, navigation, wishes
Worshippers: Wizards, gamblers, scholars, travelers.
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG
Holy Lands: Crystal Peaks, Star Hill
Domains: Good, Knowledge, Luck, Magic
Favored Weapon: Morningstar
A group of benevolent beings, the powerful Star Spirits watch the world from above, guiding those wise enough to seek their wisdom. The Star Spirits are typically depicted as five-pointed stars with some facial features, varying from star to star.
Dogma
The Star Spirits teach patience, tolerance, and understanding; the sufficiently enlightened mind can bridge any divide. They teach that magic can and should be a helpful, useful part of everyday life, and should never be abused for cruel or selfish reasons. They also teach that the greatest intellect and the most meticulous preparation can be outmatched by the unexpected, and that luck is a force best not overlooked. The Star Spirits are strongly opposed to undead, and the destruction of such creatures is an ongoing priority for the church.
Clergy and Temples
The Star Spirits guide their chosen clerics, granting them the wisdom and clarity to improve their world. These astronomer-prophets, in turn, act as polestars for their communities, a constant shining source of guidance and comfort. Wayists typically dress in white robes edged in midnight blue, or less frequently in robes cut and dyed to resemble the brilliant borealis.
Followers of the Way of Star Road are called "Wayists," and meditate for their spells under the night sky. Being indoors or underground interferes with this communion with the Star Spirits, but an overcast sky does not.
Lawful Wayists advise judges and heads of state, working to keep laws fair and compassionate. More chaotically-inclined Wayists tend to gravitate toward subversive work against the more tyrannical kingdoms. Wayists in general tend to favor the concerns of the common people over those of the elite--those with wealth and power already have the means to make their wishes come true, after all, and can afford to wait their turn.
The Way's churches have a loose heirarchy, based mostly on tenure and accomplishment, though all clergy respect one another regardless of rank. Temples are usually open-air structures with columns supporting a domed ceiling, inside which is painted a starmap (more prosperous temples might use gold or gems), with living quarters for the clergy located behind. A temple usually chooses a particular constellation to revere, like a patron saint, and depictions of that constellation tend to feature prominently in temple design and decoration.
Wayist clerics arbitrate disputes, give advice on magic, acquire and maintain rare books, and offer education to their communities. Wayist paladins are tasked with hunting out demons and undead, defending communities against attack, and assisting in disease-stricken areas.
~~~~~~~~~~
Smithy
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Gear, clockwork device, anvil
Home Plane: Factory
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Law, metalwork, war, construction
Worshippers: Generals, barristers, smiths, crafters
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, LE
Holy Lands: Kooparondacs
Domains: Destruction, Law, Strength, War
Favored Weapon: Warhammer
There is a place, a world of perfect, clockwork order that ticks in time to the whim and will of a single mind. The world is called Factory, and the being who rules it is known as Smithy. He has brought his domain into perfect synch with his own unrelentingly logical mind, and has come to the conclusion that his rule is a better way of life than the disorder and strife of other worlds.
Dogma
Smithy teaches that everything must have a purpose, and must work toward that purpose with utmost effeciency. Decoration and ineffeciency distract from the logical ideal, and should be removed or, if possible, made into something more useful. This is the core of Smithy's teaching, whether he speaks of weapons, legal codes, or society. It is the duty of all to improve what they can, obey those above them, and direct those below them toward the most logical, effecient means of improvment.
Clergy and Temples
Followers of the Cult of Smithy call themselves the "Forged," and meditate for their spells starting precisely at noon. This preciscion is marked in the Forged sense of time, which marks noon as the end and beginning of the day.
Evil clerics of Smithy focus heavily on the elements of obedience and command, and of destroying the dross of the world. Good-aligned clerics tend to focus more on the construction and renewal the Ticking God demands. Forged in general take an interest in smiths and crafters (usually possessing at least one Craft skill, themselves), and are always willing to offer advice on those professions.
Temples to Smithy always include a forge, and usually also include workshops for whatever resources are native to the surroundings. The worship paid in these temples takes the form of work on the temple's projects. Temples have little in common beyond purpose, as each is added onto by parishoners as the need or resources arrive. Ornamentation in these temples is minimal, rarely more than a large image of an anvil presiding over the main sanctuary.
Forged clerics give advice on war, accompany soldiers, create magic items, and supplement local police forces. Forged paladins carry the fight to the Bringers of Bunosc, and work to tame the lawless parts of the world.
~~~~~~~~~~
Subcon
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Lucky coin, spiral, key
Home Plane: Subcon
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Music, games, dreams, pranks
Worshippers: Bards, Rogues, alienists, rebels, artists
Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, CE
Holy Lands: Redam, City of Lights
Domains: Chaos, Luck, Travel, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Flail
Dreams swell and ebb, just beyond conscious perception. A thousand, thousand realms are born, ripen, and die with every night's slumber. The death of a realm, however, does not always spell the death of its inhabitants, and in a place where worlds overlap, bleed into one another, and drain away with disturbing regularity, some of the inhabitants have grown old indeed, and like unto worlds themselves. They look upon our world with curiosity, with hunger, with emotions that sane minds have no name for, and a mad few look back with an eye toward opening the way for these beings.
Dogma
To worship Subcon is to give oneself over to dream, imagination, and whim. Rules are restrictive, limiting the endless potential inherent in all things. It is only by understanding the restrictions placed on us and slipping free of them that one can truly be what they are meant to be. A great collective unconscious links all things, and innately knows the best way for all things; to yeild to it, to follow its urges and currents, is to move away from the prison of restricted thought and toward the freedom of enlightenment. Everything should be free; the enlightened should help those who are still bound.
Clergy and Temples
Those who would open the Mushroom World to Subcon's mad tides are called the Bringers of Bunosc, or "Bringers," and it is rare that any two meditate for spells at the same time of day, though any given Bringer will usually be consistent (and will do without when they aren't).
Good-aligned Bringers work to subvert the rule of tyrants, and promote the virtues of art, music, fun, and play. Evil clerics work to destroy infrastructure and the hallmarks of civilization, and encourage people to put off work and repair for the sake of "one more drink, one more game." Bringers in general pursue and promote consciousness-expanding experiences, trying to make the world more like Subcon, in the eventual hope of merging it with that polyglot plane.
Temples of Bunosc take no common form, but tend to be brightly decorated with disorienting colors and patterns. Bringer temples tend to have a slight air of the otherworldly about them, as though time and space are slightly fluid in and around their walls. Because many Bringers operate against the grain of local authority, many Bringer temples are hidden behind a facade of some kind.
Bringer clerics know the best and newest games, steer coming trends, nurture art and artists of all stripes, and offer advice on making the most of a celebration. Bringer clerics also tend to be involved in subversive movements, whether running with a gang of petty vandals or smuggling arms and contraband to criminal empires.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shadow Queen
Lesser Deity
Symbol: Black-glassed lantern, silver cuff and collar, mirror
Home Plane: The Shadow Pits
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Vice, pain, secrets, betrayal, undead
Worshippers: Necromancers, criminals, politicians, merchants
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Holy Lands: Rogueport
Domains: Death, Evil, Knowledge, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Dagger
Long ago, the skies of the Mushroom World were dark and empty, with day and night looking much the same. The people who lived in those grim days labored at the behest of a powerful queen, one to whom their cries of pain and sorrow were sweetest music. She drank their pain and their devotion, and bestowed her favor upon those who strove to be most like her, creating the first Shadow Sirens. Her rule was uncontested until the first star bloomed in the sky, and was wished upon--or so the story goes. What is known by the best-read of sages is that in the present day, the Shadow Queen is barred from the world, imprisoned in the Realm of Mirrors while her progeny, the demonic Shadow Sirens, work to bring her back.
Dogma
The Shadow Queen teaches that a heirarchy exists, along which pain and pleasure move; the weak are many, and at the bottom, while the strongest are few (or, ideally, one), and at the top. She teaches that her devotees may climb this heirarchy by strengthening themselves, and by weakening those around them. She also teaches that only the wishes of the strong matter--the weak are only chattel. Power comes in many forms, from knowledge to muscle to sex appeal, and any are acceptable tools.
Clergy and Temples
Those who devote themselves to the Shadow Queen, by the proxy of one of her Shadow Sirens, are collectively known as the Shadow Choir, and individually as Shades. Shades meditate for their spells in the dark hour before dawn, and must spill blood (not necessarily their own) as part of their daily rites.
Lawful Shades whisper in the ears of kings and leaders, urging them toward tyranny and exploitation, organize criminal empires, and raise armies of undead. Chaotic Shades rouse rabbles, spread poison and plague, and turn those same undead loose. Shades in general are tempters and corrupters, medicating misery with the balm of vice, and indulging their own cruel whims to whatever excess their surroundings allow.
Shrines to the dark powers are always hidden affairs, even in regions where the practice is tolerated. Ranging from ornate statues in locked cabinets or behind hidden panels to secret complexes under mansions or graveyards, the only common element is a statue of the worshippers' patron. Decor, too, follows the patron's preference; those Shadow Sirens who concern themselves with pleasure and decadence have shrines draped in lush fabrics and filled with embroidered cushions, while those more interested in the undead have shrines like crypts.
It should be noted, Shades are not beholden directly to the Shadow Queen, who can grant no favors from within her mirrored prison, but to the demonic Shadow Sirens who served as her lieutenants. These fiends jockey for position as much as their followers, and Shades try to sabotage one another as much as anyone else. All Shades, like their Shadow Siren patrons, want the prestige of freeing their dark goddess, and the rewards that her return to power would mean, and that common goal only barely unites them.
Shades know the juiciest secrets and the price on every soul, sow decay, and work from within even the noblest organizations to bring them down. Shades are also masters of the undead, confederates of demons, and reputedly the wildest lovers in the world. Though learning the truth of that last claim is a sure route to damnation, some would call it worth the cost.