Early church history:
Back in the days just before the Cataclysm, a prophet came forth among the people, warning them to repent of their ways, and not to worship the gods of the Fair Folk, the Stone Folk, gods of earth, gods of air, gods of nature, but to embrace the Holy One, who fights ever against the Evil One, or prepare to pay for their sins. Most people laughed, but this prophet, Elisar, drew more and more followers as time went by. The cult was persecuted as they grew in numbers and power, and Elisar himself was hanged from a fig tree, his body burned to ashes, and the ashes scattered to the winds, so that no gravesite might ever be venerated or fought over. Even his hanging was done in great secrecy, so that the government of the Ancients would not make him into a martyr.
Largely mystical, focusing on transcending beyond the flesh into pure light through meditation and fasting at first, the church grew and changed in the years following the Cataclysm. Elisar’s foremost followers, the Seven (Akilar, Manus, Kylea, Corae, Shandar, Nashag, and Irae, four men, three women) took the Cataclysm to be a sign of the Only Holy’s wrath, and instituted a system of theology that stated mankind to be inherently corrupt, from birth, and all people had to atone, throughout their lives, for the sins of their ancestors—except for those whose ancestors had embraced the One Holy’s truth from the beginning, of course.
High religious status can be had in two ways: either descent from one of the original followers of Elisar, or by working one’s way up through the monastic system, which was established in the years following the Cataclysm as a way to preserve knowledge and as a system of communal living that allowed people to eke out a living from the land in relative harmony. The periodic waves of invasion from other humans, as well as demihumans and monsters caused the Church to come more and more to the conclusion that other races, and other beliefs were a plot of the Evil One. Monks may be either male or female; they devote themselves to an ascetic lifestyle, and may not have children. Normal priests and priestesses may have children, and indeed are encouraged to do so, especially if they are descendants of the Seven.
All references to other beliefs were excised from the libraries, along with a good deal of scientific knowledge which had been created by people affiliated with these religions or who wrote extensively of other races. Most of the books are written in the dialect spoken by humans at the time of the Cataclysm, and few can read it now, even among the highest members of the Church.
True believers understand that if they have not atoned for all their evil nature by the time they die, they will cease to exist, subsumed into the essence of the Dark One, and thereby adding to the Evil One’s power. Those who have been found worthy by the Holy One join with him instead, becoming transcendent, no longer just themselves, but part of the ineffable light. No true believer will ever consent to be resurrected, due to the outcome of a schism, detailed below.
The Church has had many schisms, which it has thoroughly squashed. Perhaps the most eventful happened some two hundred years after the Cataclysm, when a splinter faction broke off, insisting that Elisar would someday return in the flesh to guide the faithful in a great battle against the unbelievers, especially the nonhumans. While the Church didn’t mind the concept of a holy war against nonhumans, it did mind the fact that its power wsa being fractured. The Patriarch of the Church declared that the Holy One had spoken to him, and revealed that no one ever returned from death, save by the power of evil. Death was inevitable, a reward for a good life, or a punishment for a bad one. Those who sought to avert it, were, by definition, evil. Since Elisar was, by defintion, good, he would not return. The rebellion was put down, violently.
In order to prevent anyone from resurrecting someone, willingly or unwillingly, and also to honor their holy prophet, all true followers of the Church are cremated upon death, and their ashes scattered to the four winds in an elaborate ceremony.
Other unorthodoxies: Small cults, especially those devoted to agricultural deities, have persisted in the backcountry, far from the center of the Church’s authority. Periodic attempts have been made to stamp out these “heretical witches,” with greater or lesser effect, depending on the time period. Always seems to persist, somehow.
Stance on non-religious magic:
Dubious. If it doesn’t come from the Holy One, it must come from the Evil One, so which side are you really on, Mr. Wizard?
Rituals:
The Church is big on ceremonies and feast days. There are over one hundred days of ritual and festival, of lesser and greater degrees, each year. Any priest or monk is expected to observe them all, and their conditions, except when given a special dispensation by the head of his or her order.
There are numerous rituals of penance imposed upon lay believers as well, but fewer. They must pray in the directions of the four winds at least three times each day (4 separate prayers); in towns, they are called to prayers by criers. Anyone who does not respond to the criers is looked on with suspicion and hostility. They must make a pilgrimage to one of the sites where Elisar’s Ash came to rest, at least once in their lives. They must give away a belonging that means much to them once a year. They must observe a lengthy fast, in honor of Elisar’s imprisonment each year. They must marry a person of the faith in a ceremony of purification that binds their spirits together for eternity (and lasts three days). Other important rituals include the Final Atonement—a final reckoning of one’s sins and a distribution of all one’s wealth to others, prior to death (in cases of accident or sudden death, the Church grants this posthumously, and redistributes the person’s wealth as it sees fit), and the Burning, which, they believe, sets the soul free from the body, and permits it to go to its just reward.
Atonements: can and may include fasting, imprisonment, self-whippings, and self-mutilation. In extreme cases, if someone wishes to make up for a truly heinous sin, a priest may impose upon him or her one last chance to atone, by self-immolation. If they are able to throw themselves into the fire, they are forgiven, through the intercession of the priest, and may join with the Divine One. If they cannot, they are put to death, and thus forced to join with the essence of the Evil One. (This penalty has not been enacted in over a century.)
In more recent years, the philosophy of forgiveness has swept the Church, except for some of the more old-time, fire and brimstone factions. People have begun to buy forgiveness for their crimes by purchasing indulgences. (Yes, direct rip-off of history here.)
There are numerous factions within the Church, which is governed by seven (NEED TITLE) staff-holders, who stand in place of the original Seven followers of Elisar, and one Patriarch or Matriarch, who speaks with Elisar/the Holy One’s voice.
Priests of the Holy One do have clerical abilities, so they are tied into something real. Some believe with a fanatical devotion; others go through the motions of the ceremonies, and believe very little.
Festivals:
The Fast: A month-long fast during daylight hours in honor of the Prpophet’s imprisonment. Water may be drunk during the day, but only unleavened bread may be eaten at night, dipped in honey on the three holy days during the Fast. Birds brought the bread to the Prophet in his cell, and golden light bathed him and restored him three times during the time he was jailed.
The Burning: A three-day festival; very solemn at first, since the first day commemorates the hanging, the second celebrates the fact that no decay touched to body as it hung from its tree, and no vermin would devour it, and the third day is a wild party, to celebrate the fact that Elisar’s spirit was released, and his Ashes scattered in order to save the world.
The Rebirth of the World. Celebrated in spring, especially at sites where it is supposed that his Ashes came to rest. Supposedly, the sacred nature of the Ash prevented the Cataclysm from harming some of these sites; while in others, it came to rest there after the Cataclysm, and refreshed the earth.
Others TBD.
Creation myth: TBD, probably the Holy One caused the world to be, and created all the other races. But the Dark One twisted each in turn, until it came time to make the humans. The humans resisted the Dark One personally, since the Holy One strengthened them, but the Dark One taunted his eternal foe, and said that the humans must be weak, or else they’d be able to stand up on their own. The Holy One withdrew, and the other races tempted the humans to follow other gods, mere faces or reflections of the Evil One. The humans, all but a few, succumbed, and the world was destroyed and remade to punish them and the other races.
Myth of Elisar’s birth: None. He was a mysterious figure in his own time, who seemed to appear out of nowhere one day, coming down from the highest mountains, as if he had meditated there for years, even centuries.
The Child: There is a long-standing fable that Elisar fathered a child in the last days before his death. The Church has tried many times to squash this rumor, but it remains in the minds of the peasant folk, in whispered tales told around campfires, when no one in authority is around to hear.
Ghosts: A nebulous stance on these. If the spirit is tied to some great task, or if its body has not been cremated, the spirit may be destined to walk the earth still, waiting to be released.
Reincarnation: The great Schism based itself off of this, and some people still believe that if someone dies in a perfect state of balance, they may be reborn to work off their sins once more. The Church denies this idea, and, in fact, the Ritual of Final Atonement (if given posthumously) is believed to redress the idea of a “balanced” individual.
Others: TBD
Let me know if this is too over the top, if this gives you any better ideas, or if I’ve been too limiting. My idea here was to create potential sources of conflict, but still to represent that this Church has been a force for good in its past, although it has become corrupt and far too supremacist now.
In areas further from Church control, the people have either debased Church doctrine in accordance with one or more of the Schisms, follow local agricultural deities, or, more recently, have uncovered ancient temples, and begun to worship the old gods once more. A few (very few) humans have even begun to worship demihuman deities. (I’m taking the names and some of the attributes from Sumerian and Akkadian mythology, since it’s more primitive than others, and less familiar to most players. It should also feel a little more exotic, I’m hoping. Others, I’m making up!)
Ashnan, goddess of grain, daughter of Enlil, the lord of air and wind. She is a positive goddess, but not a direct analogue for, say, Mielikki. Think more along the lines of Norton’s Gunnora. Wheat sheaves, and maybe grape vines as a symbol.
Enlil, lord of the air.
The son of An, heaven, and earth, Ki.
Replaced his father An as the lord of the World; An is still the
Overlord of the Universe. Enlil holds the Tablets of Destiny, which
give him power over the world and the
affairs of man. He is sometimes friendly towards mankind, but can also be a
stern and even cruel god who punishes man and sends forth disasters, such as
the Cataclysm. Enlil was portrayed
wearing a crown with horns, symbol of his power in original myths. No one worships An directly; in fact, his name is not known, having been
effaced from most of the monuments by rabid followers of Elishar.
Utu—Palladium notes
that Rifts campaigns use this god (not a worshipped one) as a shorthand for the
ultimate god of death. If he doesn’t
agree to allow a deity to kill off a follower, that follower doesn’t die. May be useful. The absolute authority on Entropy. Enmesarra, lord of the underworld in Sumer, is roughly equivalent. (The
Summerian god Utu was actually one of fertility and law-giving, but. . .)
Ea—Lord of the sweet waters. Ea knows
everything and is regarded as the source and patron of wisdom, magic, and
medical science. He is one of the creators of mankind, towards whom he is
usually well disposed, and taught them arts and crafts. (Denier/Ogma analogue,
also important in agriculture). For
purposes of this pantheon, let him be the husband of Ashnan.
Ninnanna—Queen of
the Stars, and mother of Nature.
Goddess of the wild places, fertility, love, and war. Often depicted as fickle, attracting men and
then rejecting them; her symbol was an eight-pointed star. More powerful than Ashnan, and far more primal
and dangerous to deal with. (Ishtar and Inanna are other names for her, but
would prefer the more obscure form.)
Suggest replacing her name solely with epithets: “The Lady,” “The Mother,” etc., so as not to
gain her notice.
Ishkur—God of storms
and rain. In some respects positive
(rain is good). I’d like to make this
into our Coyote/luck/Loki./trickster figure.
A relatively minor god, but one that takes an interest in humans, and
that interest is not comfortable.
Martu-Amaru—god of
destruction and storms. Talos analogue.
Ninurta—Heroic
hunter and champion of the gods; the one who has retrieved the tablets of
Destiny. Good guiding god for
adventurers and rangers, perhaps, if Ninnanna is too forbidding?
Mammetu—goddess of
fate and destiny
Nammu—goddess of the
sea
Ninkarrak—goddess of
healing
Shamash—god of the
sun and god of warriors. Principally the judge and law-giver; a victorious warrior,
the god of wisdom. Shamash is
represented with the saw with which he cuts decisions. Often depicted as a consort of Ninnanna, but
less chaotic. A good god for paladins
of the Borderlands.
Tiam—(originally Tiamat); the essence
of chaos; the serpent in the sea, which underlines the whole earth. Only subservient to one other, and that is:
Anzu: the lord of chaos and despair. Eternal demon foe of the good gods, absolute darkness. Think Cthulu.
Nergal-Erra—the god
of war, death, and pestilence. Not a
positive deity; one to be warded off at all costs. Usually depicted (originally) in a drunken stupor.
I’d suggest revealing only a few of these gods at a time; maybe Shamash, Ninnanna/the Lady, Ninurta, maybe Ishkur. Can find more evil gods as needed, potentially from other pantheons. This is only a spitball session, after all. What would be fun is to make them completely mysterious to the players as well as their characters; dark, foreboding, dangerous “do you know what you’re getting involved with here?” type primal forces.
I’ll leave the demihuman deities for another time, but we can probably use the attributes, if not the names of the standard FR ones. Might make life easier, anyways.
Feedback, PLEASE!
Ravenwind