Religions and Philosophies of Wisteria

In addition the core pantheon of Greyhawk Gods presented in the Player’s Handbook, the following is a partial list of the main philosophical faiths of Wisteria. This is a very incomplete list, and represents the purest form of that particular ideology. In most cases, any given individual has a faith based on tapestries of many core philosophies. Still, each faith does exist in pure form on Wisteria, and the cleric and his flock represent the unfettered extreme of a particular belief system.

The churches and philosophies are vast in influence and power, affecting politics, commerce, and war. Though the methods and manifestations of these faiths take on many different forms, the flocks are numerous and devoted.

All told, there are over 150 difference faiths and philosophies. Ten of the largest faiths are listed below:

Council of Artistry
Domains: Knowledge, Travel, Luck, Protection

This philosophy is concerned with the sanctity of objects and cultures of sentient races. Worshippers and followers spend their time concerned with various forms of knowledge, but seem to gravitate toward art, literature, and depictions of heroism/villainy. To understand the nature of their reality, one must examine and explore the creativity of the self and others. Truth lay in the gulf between the real and the created.

This faith is a favorite among bards, but sages and wizards also gravitate to the more academic aspects of the faith.

The Black Shadow
Domains: Law, Evil, Trickery, Death

This faith was started by a Thieves Guild within the great City of Cinnmore, and took root throughout the world. It is concerned with personal gain through theft, guile, and persuasion, as long as the social order is not upset through one’s actions. According to the philosophy, it is actually easier for the enlightened, evil individual to thrive in a good society as opposed to an evil one. The philosophy does not tolerate wanton violence or thuggery, and finds beauty in finesse and skillful manipulation. Ironically, most members usually end up producing more good than harm in their quest to benefit themselves.

Some splinter sects will not even tolerate lying, cheating, or breaking the law under any circumstances, but those are somewhat rare. Rogues, assassins, and many aristocrats find this faith very appealing.

Order of the Adamantine
Domains: Law, Strength, Healing, Knowledge

This Order believes that truth is found in the sensory world around them. The core identity is the sum result of one’s physical actions and reactions to the environment, making the perfection of the body an important facet to faith. In addition, true enlightenment requires a steadfast devotion to the obvious truths and principles of the universe. Life is a series of daily habits and routines, keeping every aspect of the self in a state of perfection and control. Members of the Order rarely feel fear, doubt, or weakness, and scorn those who do.

This faith is a favorite among monks and some fighters.

The Elementalists
Domains: Air, Earth, Water, Fire

Understanding the universe requires becoming part of that universe. The Elementalists believe that the self is nothing more than a cell in a larger organism, and understanding the “physics and chemistry” of the universe is required to transcend the awkward self, and ultimately find enlightenment within the greater physical whole. Once a part of that whole, anyone can use the mind to manipulate the universe according to one’s desire. Members are generally very attractive and muscular, believing that proper use and maintenance of the body is essential to truth, and each of the 4 elements have a subsect within the larger religion, representing the proper path and disposition toward transcendence.

Sorcerers and some druids enjoy this set of ideas.

Protectors of the Citadel
Domains: Good, Law, War, Protection

These men and women believe in the white sanctity of the soul, and many of the religious rites performed deal with cleansing and purifying the body and mind. Members are proponents of sanitation and good eating habits. They maintain that there are absolutes of good and evil, and it is much better to be good. Cleansing the spirit/soul/force is a process that requires individual attention, and the name “Citadel” refers to the individual’s soul. Each member must choose their own journey of purification/protection, based on their own set of rules. For most, this involves compete chastity, poverty, and diligence to hierarchy, but there are many tolerated exceptions.

This faith is a favorite among Paladins and Good clerics.

The Keepers
Domains: Magic, Healing, Protection, Sun

These priests are altruistic in the extreme, believing that their existence depends on helping others. The universe is constantly in flux, and when a kindness or a wrong is delivered to another, it will eventually be revisited upon the self. Power, according to the religion, is in giving of the self to others, to receive goodness and kindness in return. They are generally pacifistic and kind in nature, though some can be quite evil. There is a rare subset of this faith that is intensely masochistic in nature, and desires power of any kind, so that it may siphon off guilt and alms.

The tolerance of weakness and the solitude of this religion are preferable to Wizards and other hermits.

Timeseekers
Domains: Animals, Plants, Sun, Death

The Timeseekers believe that their identity and point of view is not their own. They believe that both their ancestors and their future offspring are all part of the same (but ever evolving) soul. Most of this faith have a great reverence of ancestry, believing that those who came before are still in existence, teaching and instructing those who came after them. The ultimate goal of a Timeseeker is to rear the next generation, preparing the way for an Earthy Nirvana.

This is a favorite among the Shogun templates, as well as practiced by close-knit families and barbarian/tribal social structures.

The Formless
Domains: Chaos, Knowledge, Magic, Death

This chaotic faith has no central membership. Most of the formless come to this faith on their own lost in the madness of their own self-reflection. They believe that their identity is based on the form of the body (two arms, two legs, etc.), and to understand the universe, one must have knowledge of all forms. Most Formless try their best to empathize with everything, and many have met their deaths trying to commune with Beholders, Mind Flayers, and other aberrations too gruesome to record. The more bizarre the form, the more the Formless is compelled to understand it.

This faith is a favorite among beings with extra-planar ancestry, and anyone who is a little insane.

Bringers of Decay
Domains: Chaos, War, Destruction, Evil

These men and women believe that entropy is the ultimate expression of truth. Any attempt to control or understand the universe is met with opposition, as it is only there to control others. Ironically, the ranks of the Bringers are immersed in social hierarchy, based on the strong bullying the weak. Fear and distrust are the prime sowers of this faith, and they work tirelessly to bring down the works of intelligent creatures. Ignorance and displays of physical strength are well regarding points of entry to this faith.

Barbarians and humanoid creatures are obvious choices for this manifestation.

Consumers of Truth
Domains: Travel, Strength, Protection, Luck

Each member of the faith is their own god. Everyone else and everything in the universe exists to serve the needs of that single individual. Understanding the motivations of the self is the prime concern of this faith. Its members have no official hierarchy, and value systems are based on the mouth; i.e. what an individual eats and how that food is obtained. All politics and social forms are designed to allow for the most efficient transport of that desire. Most of these faiths are overweight and indulgent, but all are skilled in the art of trade and manufacture/agriculture.

It is a favorite among Merchants and Royalty, but it is generally celebrated privately to avoid obvious entanglements.

Duality

Sages of Cosmology and Philosophy disagree on the nature of the universe and the proper behavior of an intelligent beings existing within in. However, the vast majority does agree that the nature of the universe must somehow encompass duality.

Duality is a concept of reality based on the conflict of opposing forces. Each set of dualities requires a dual set of opposing concepts. All knowledge (it is theorized) is an immersion of tens of thousands of dual concepts, all working together to create a tapestry of reality. In and Out, Up and Down, Right and Wrong, Good and Bad, Black and White, are all examples of the tapestry of duality that makes up our reality.

Here are a few of the myriad examples of duality in faith:

Council of Artistry vs. The Timeseekers – The application of history as a tangible and valued entity that enriches identity, OR one that is personal and insubstantial, based on lineage and learned/inherited behavior.

Elementlists vs. Consumers of Truth – The coexistence between the self and the other that enriches both as they become interrelated, OR an idea where everything in the universe is subject to the power and desires of the self where enrichment requires consumption and use.

Protectors of the Citadel vs. The Bringers of Destruction – A faith that desires the building and protection of things through forms of control, OR one that requires the speeding of natural decay to provide personal freedom.

Order of the Adamantine vs. The Formless – There is a security of truth in the application of the senses, which allows for absolute concepts, OR a rejection of everything based on the subjectivity of the sensory form.

The Black Shadow vs. The Keepers – Political and Kinship ties exist only to further the goals and material needs of the individual, OR Interactions are an extension of coexistence that is valued as being mutually beneficial.

Part One, Section One
“Grains of Salt”

Adventure Timeline
“I can tell you how to win. Swords and spells and mumbling faiths only strengthen the resolve of those you oppose. It is the slow, banality of progress that finally fells the mightiest of Heroes.” - Balthazar of Cinnmore

March 21-22, 312 B.R* (Year of the Albatross): The Town of Miresburg

Winter ends early in the mountain passes of southern Postenor, restoring yearly trade routes and insuring a good beginning to a prosperous new season.

The heroes begin their individual journeys to Miresburg, a small salt mining community nestled in the fertile valley plains of the Tironus Province. Motivated by their own demons and desires, each member goes about seeking their own fortune within the town.

It is revealed through several sources that the town of Miresburg is in dire straights. The demand for salt has been cut due to recent economic sanctions posed by the central City-State of Cinnmore. Furthermore, the few legal shipments that find their way through the northern passes are often harried by bandits seeking to sell to the stolen goods through international black market trade. It is rumored that the reclusive Salt Wizard is looking for heroes to flush out the bandits and restore safety to northern trade routes.

It is revealed that Magistrate Montgomery Tulles, appointed by Cinnmore, has initiated several changes in policy over the last two years. Recently, instead of requesting soldiers to quell a local insurrection, he has recruited goblin strongbacks from the mountains. Emboldened, other goblins settlements have begun to stir in the mountains.

It is revealed that the insurrectionists are sheep herders, who are furious over the sale of the Nesbit Thorpe and its surrounding lands to cattle rancher Ira Mostalvis, also called The Blackknave. Without grazing, the sheepherders are impoverished, and have been harrying The Blackknave and his ranch hands in hopes that they will find the venture unprofitable.

It is revealed that The Blackknave is unable to use the natural salt springs in the valley. Protected by a creature known only as the Ravenous Lady, the cattle baron has lost both property and men in attempts to use the alt licks, and has offered to pay handsomely to any who can kill her.

It is revealed that the Garrison is under obligation to protect the tomb of a local hero of the Demon Wars, Malchor Stormblade. He was one of only six who received the highest honor Cinnmore can give, and was recently interred at great expense in the hill under the Garrison’s foundation. Unfortunately for Captain Legare’s command, the tenants of high honor require no fewer that seven troops to serve as tomb guardians. Honor bound to obey, but missing the men for border patrol, Legare has made several requests to the Magistrate for more soldiers to fill the ranks. So far, he has heard no positive reports.

It is revealed that the nearly Thorpe of Willowind has been abandoned ten years ago. Featuring a lush freshwater lake, Willowind was formerly the site of a thriving fishing industry. A plague decimated the townsfolk, invoking a quarantine that exists to this day. Several fishmongers in town lost their businesses. A month ago, four priests of Pelor have attempted to visit the site recently, hearing rumors of dark shadows creeping through the mountain passes. Only one came back, Curate Alexa Ismere, wide-eyed and cackling with insanity. Now the backwater temple of Pelor is cared for by a single, overworked acolyte named Ibis Muern. It is believed that the proper burial and interment of the remaining 3 priests may help to restore the ailing Curate.

Coming together at last under the roof of The Lucky Dog, the five adventurers meet, and discuss the merits to solving one or more of the town’s recent woes. It was determined that they would begin by procuring supplies and borrowing horses from Captain Legare, and then accompany the next salt shipment north, hoping to find signs of the bandits who have been harrying them.

They successfully drive off the bandits, and kill their leader without taking any casualties. They learn that the bandits did not expect to meet any armed resistance, and claim that they were hired by a silk wearing dandy in Miresburg. They did not know his name.

Taking the sole bandit survivor prisoner, they return to the Halite Tower in Miresburg, in the hopes of receiving a proper reward from the mysterious Salt Wizard.

To Be Continued…

Salient Characters
“What is more important than adherence to principles of good or evil? Making your stand.” – Archimedi Mundi of Arcadium

Magistrate Montgomery Tulles
As Miresburg is run by a council of landowners and merchants, Cinnmore appointed an executive magistrate to oversee operations, keep order, and enforce laws through a local garrison. His decision making process has been recently called into question by the garrison’s commander, Captain Legare.

Captain Legare
A rugged ex-commander and veteran of two wars, Legare serves the Miresburg Garrison faithfully. He is in constant pain from a broken back and hamstringed leg, which he keeps in a heavy wooden brace. His face is scarred and he is missing two fingers on his left hand. He is currently petitioning Cinnmore over the Magistrate’s head to achieve more soldiers.

Ira Mostalvis “The Blackknave”
He is a wealthy landowner and cattle rancher who has recently purchased the Thorpe of Nesbitt and its surrounding lands for its rich salt licks. Bearing a thin mustache and dressed in black riding chaps and thin gloves, the Blackknave is rarely seen without a twist of tobacco between his teeth.

The Salt Wizard
This mysterious figure rarely leaves the confines of his Halite Tower, overlooking the town proper. He currently owns and operated the thriving salt trade with the northern kingdoms, and has written opposition to the stifling trade embargos on Kingdoms outside of Postenor.

Shanks
A small, bushy-headed halfling with massive lamb chops and an infestation of fleas, he runs the Lucky Dog, the town’s only surviving in. He serves flavored beer and several varieties of salted mutton or beef, and has some local knowledge to share. He also claims to be a great seafood chef, but has little opportunity to prove his worth. He doesn’t care who stays at his Inn, as long as they have coin to pay.

Curate Alexa Ismere
This poor woman was once a powerful cleric of Pelor. A few years after the quarantine and disease that destroyed the Thorpe of Willowind, there were rumors of dark things stalking the mountain passes. She was the only survivor of four priests who went to investigate. Returning with her mind broken, she hides from Pelor’s glare, caking herself in mud and whispering of a time of coming shadows.

Acolyte Ibis Muern
After the Pelor temple burned down, Ibis moved herself and Alexa to a cheap shop on Miresburg’s main street. She cares for Alexa, and runs the nearly defunct temple, selling goods and services from the temple’s wares to keep them afloat. She also believes that a proper consecrated burial of Alexa’s old friends may help stave off her madness.

* Editor’s note: In the Broken Age, each Kingdom kept its own timekeeping system prior to the unification of the Six Kingdoms and the adoption of the universal calendar in the year 0. For simplicity, the designation B.R. is used for “Before Regency,” while A.R. stands for “After Regency.”- Tironus, ed. 45 A.R.

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