Holystone - Religion

The Cathedral

The Cathedral is dedicated to the High Church. It is run by Archbishop Reginald Atwater (C 12), a cleric of Sol. He is in general charge of the entire Church. He got his position after the last Archbishop passed away, following a vote of the senior clerics of all three branches, which is the typical election process. He is well regarded by the Count and all three of the Bishops, though he has a friendly rivalry with the Lunar Priestess.

The High Church

The High Church was formed centuries ago, combining the worship of three powerful deities. Clerics consider themselves to be priests of the High Church and specifically clerics of one of the three gods.

Church laymen worship all three gods, with a slight bias towards the god that is most likely to help them with a specific prayer. Many pray to all three gods in the same prayer, asking Sol for rain, Luna for luck with dice, and Gaia to heal their sick relative.

Sol (The Sun)

Church Leader: Bishop Arvik Jonston (C10) is the head of the Sol Church, though he defers to the Archbishop on major decisions. He is a methodical man, and is very humble.  He gets along well with all of the nobility.

Holy Symbol: Golden disc

Cleric attire: A yellow tabard with an orange disc worn over armor. In church, priests wear yellow robes with an orange disc on the back.

Alignment: Good

Favored Weapon: Longsword

Areas of Concern: The Sun, Fire, War, Weather, Justice

Sol’s followers include nobles, clerics, halflings, monks, judges, city watchmen, soldiers, and paladins. 

Luna (The Moon)

Church Leader: Lunar Priestess Elwyn Erindor (Elf Cleric 10) has been at the Cathedral for almost 200 years, and has led the Lunar Faith for the last 150 years. She has no interest in being the Head of the Church, being much more interested in her own congregation. Elwyn is great friends with the city admiral and the pilot, but is distant with the Count. She is considered something of an anomaly by her elvish kin, as she does not follow the Faerie Lords.

Holy Symbol: Silver disc

Cleric Attire: A dark blue tabard with a silver disc worn over armor. In church, they wear dark blue robes with silver discs on the front and back.

Alignment: Neutral

Favored Weapon: Scimitar

Areas of Concern: The Moon, Prophecy, War, Luck, The Sea, Magic

The port and the lighthouses are dedicated to Luna. Her followers consist of clerics, gypsies, mages, admirals, pirates, and sailors.

Gaia (The Earth)

Church Leader: Mother Jeri Holystone (D10) is the grandmother of the current Count. She tries to stay out of city politics, finding the Church politics more than enough to deal with. She spends much of her time outside of the city making sure all the neighboring farmlands are bountiful.

Holy Symbol: Mountain inside blue circle

Cleric attire: A plain brown tabard over armor. In church, they wear brown robes with dark green sashes.

Alignment: Neutral

Favored Weapon: Staff

Areas of Concern: The Earth, Animals, Plants, Healing, Farming

Gaia's faithful gather in parks in the city and sacred groves and stone circles in the farmlands. Her followers include dwarves, halflings, druids, rangers, farmers, witch doctors, midwives, and herbalists.

Faerie lords

While not technically gods, the lords of the fae are so powerful that they can grant cleric spells just as a god would. The Faerie Lords do not have an organized religion. Their followers tend to gather in clan-sized groups instead.

Oberon (King of the Seelie Court)

Holy Symbol: Oak tree

Cleric attire: A green tabard with a brown oak tree over armor. At services, they wear green robes with a brown sash.

Alignment: Neutral

Favored Weapon: Spear

Areas of Concern: Animals, Pacts, War

Oberon’s followers include elves, drow, halflings, druids, rangers, nobles, merchants, and soldiers.  Oberon maintains no temples, though small shrines are found in the homes of his followers.

Titania (Queen of the Seelie Court)

Holy Symbol: Tiara

Cleric attire: A red tabard with a golden tiara over armor. In services, they wear sheer, very revealing, red robes.

Alignment: Neutral

Favored Weapon: Shortbow

Areas of Concern: Fertility, Plants, Love, Poetry, Song

Titania’s followers include elves, drow, halflings, lovers, poets, bards, rangers, and druids.  Services to Titania are held at ancient trees or large hills.  Mushroom circles are also favored by her.

Mabb (Queen of the Unseelie Court)

Holy Symbol: Crescent moon.

Cleric attire: A black cloak with a silver crescent moon over normal armor or clothing. During some services, they only have the cloak on, and are nude underneath it.

Alignment: Evil

Favored Weapon: Dagger

Areas of Concern: Magic, Trickery, Lust.

Mabb’s followers include elves, drow, mages, thieves, harlots, and gamblers.  Mabb does not care for temples or shrines. She has been known to place a geas on wayward followers, forcing them to complete a quest if she thinks they have been ignoring her.

Demon Cults

Demons cults are found in the city, and are always hidden from general view. All three cults are illegal, and cultists that are captured are executed. Nevertheless, unscrupulous nobles and merchants seem to be prone to joining them.

Diabolus, Lord of Hell

Holy Symbol: Forked trident

Cleric Attire: A dark red tabard with a black trident over armor or no obvious symbols. All services are held while wearing armor.

Alignment: Evil

Favored Weapon: Polearm

Areas of Concern: Pacts, Destruction, Evil, Fire, War.

Diabolus’ followers include nobles, generals, knights, merchants, and assassins. His temples are usually austere and spartan, with braziers and bonfires present.

Lilith, Queen of the Succubi

Holy Symbol: Nubile cambion woman

Cleric attire: No obvious symbols are worn while in public. The entire congregation is completely nude during normal services. Some clerics might wear a holy symbol necklace during services, but that’s it.

Alignment: Evil

Favored Weapon: Dagger

Areas of Concern: Lust, Illusion, Evil, Greed, Knowledge, Subterfuge.

Lilith’s followers include scholars, harlots, jilted lovers, ratmen, thieves, and merchants. Her temples are often houses of ill-repute or in the homes of rich merchants.

Orcus, Master of the Undead

Holy Symbol: Skull-head mace

Cleric Attire: A black tabard with a silver goat head over armor. All services are held while wearing armor.

Alignment: Evil

Favored Weapon: Mace

Areas of Concern: Chaos, Undeath, Evil, Gluttony, Wrath.

Orcus’ followers include berserkers, ratmen, necromancers, and psychopaths. His temples are often in out of the way places like sewers, swamps or the darkest forests.