Campaign Background: Religion

Update 3/27/2015: Changed of Umirfoxor to Desornia

The Great Church was a religious institution of the Sulian Empire, formed from an amalgamation of the nine most influential faiths among the Sulians. The Sulians established the Church both in hopes of securing the blessings of all the gods and as an instrument of policy. The Church itself ceased to exist with the fall of the Sulian Empire, though many of its constituent faiths continue to cooperate with one another. Likewise, the titles employed in most religions today are evidence of the Church’s continued influence even after its institutional cessation.

Ezaos (LG) is the god of medicine, poetry, and music. His clergy are well-loved, both for their healing prowess and for their lightheartedness. Temples to Ezaos typically include both hospitals and theaters, making them at times both busy and raucous.

Juros (N) is the goddess of fortune, prosperity, and destiny. Called Lady Luck, or simply the Lady, she is a whimsical and occasionally capricious mistress. Beseeching her aid is no guarantee of good fortune, only that the Lady will provide an unexpected outcome, leading some, such as the clerics of Vadros, to charge that she is, in fact, an enemy of Law rather than an ally.

Midis (LN) is the god of craftsmen, invention, and travel. He and Nycina are allies and their clerics often cooperate in endeavors of mutual interest.

Niysus (LN) is the god of the dead, and as such, is not much worshiped by the living. He is invoked to protect the recently deceased from necromancy and similar sacrileges. Niysus’s clergy are implacable foes of the undead and those who create such abominations.

Nycina (LN) is the goddess of strategy, heroism, and science. She is thus equally the patron of military officers, adventurers, and sages. Nycina and Sigmir have something of a rivalry, though many common soldiers pay homage to both deities, seeing both as necessary to success in battle.

Orcus (CE) is the Demon Prince of Undead.

Sigmir (LE) is the god of warfare and battle. He sees warfare as both natural and praiseworthy and teaches his devotees how to achieve worldly success through mastery of it. He and Nycina are often rivals, in part because Sigmir revels in physical battle while Nycina is as content with intellectual debate as she is with armed struggle.

Desornia (LG) is the goddess of grain, fertility, marriage, and law, making her worship widespread and important. Her agricultural aspects have primacy in rural areas, while her role as the guardian of marriage and the law is emphasized in cities, where her clergy commonly act as advocates and judges. There is some rivalry between the faith of Desornia and that of Vadros, particularly in realms with a more evil interpretation of Law.

Vadros (LN/LE) is the god of judgment, discipline, and trade, three spheres considered to be the founda- tions of man’s civilization. Vadros’s faithful con- sider their god the greatest of all deities. His clergy are numerous, and consist of clerics, priests, and priestesses. Vadros is renowned for his vigilance against demons and his clerics excel as exorcists and monster hunters. On the other hand, his clergy are also known as overbearing bullies, who use the influence of their temple to advance themselves in social situations.