religions of karameikos

Religions of Karameikos 1

Religions of Karameikos


Religions of Karameikos

by Giampaolo Agosta

This chapter expands the description of the religions and cults present in Karameikos. While the Church of Karameikos (20%) and the Church of Traladara (70%) together attract circa 95% of the human population of Karameikos, there remains a 5% of the population that either follow foreign cults (e.g., churches from Thyatis, Darokin or the Minrothad Guilds) or even darker, entropic cults.

The Church of Traladara

Circa 70% of the human population of Karameikos belongs to the Church of Traladara, the major native religion. While its belief date back to the Traldar Age of Heroes, the church itself has been around for circa six centuries. It has suffered several major setbacks with the Silver Purge, the holy wars, and finally the Marilenev rebellion, which all but destroyed a generation of church leaders.

The Church of Traladara concerns itself primarily with the behaviour and morality of its followers. Church doctrine, therefore, forbids that followers should cause harm to others or their property. Such unlawful behaviour is considered to contradict the examples of proper comport as given in the Church's holy text, The Song of King Halav. Therefore, the Church supports punishment for said immoral acts (as these are blasphemy), in proportion to the crime - up to and including the death penalty, for heinous crimes such as murder. "As the Beast-King did slay Halav, so Halav slew him in kind," goes a common sermon on such solemn occasion.

Other Church dogmas are supported by the Song, such as the proper behaviour of women (strong defender of

the home, and supporter of men), the role of magic in Traladaran life (accepted, as was Zirchev accepted by Halav), and the responsibility of every Traladaran to fight evil in its myriad forms (including both passive and militarised resistance against invaders). The Church also serves the community by providing guidance, performing ceremonies, and supporting traditional cultural expressions, such as the Shearing.

Followers of the Church of Traladara attend a formal ceremony, which involves an elaborate ritual granting forgiveness for repented misdeeds, prayers for the ill and the dead, and readings from the Song. Such ceremonies are held once daily in Mirros, and once weekly in smaller parishes throughout the countryside. Churches are always open, however, as it is common to find a handful of faithful there, praying, at all hours.

Larger churches also typically contain three or more small shrines in niches off of the main sanctuary. These shrines are each dedicated to a particular aspect of one of the three Traladaran patron Immortals. Halav, Petra, and Zirchev each have countless aspects, as every village worships one particular to their local area. Sages believe these aspects reflect guises in which the Immortals have given aid or comfort to Their chosen over the centuries, as well as remnants of ancient Traldar Immortals. The most common aspects are given below:

Pantheon The Church of Traladara worships primarily the three Great Heroes, Halav, Petra and Zirchev. None of the three is given precedence over the other, as the church stresses the importance of cooperation and strength found in unity.

Halav: Beast-Slayer; Lawgiver; the Eternal Champion; the Celestial King; the Unconquerable Warrior; the Just; the Wise; Divine Judge

Petra: Defender of the People; the Divine Mother; Weaver of Fate; Hearth-Maiden; Sacred Healer; the Fair Warrior; the Gentle Queen

Zirchev: Mageborn; the All-Knowing; the Sly; Nightwalker; the Blazing-Arrow; Elf-Friend; the Wild Huntsman; the Changeling; Unerring Councilor.

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Several other Immortals are acknowledged as powerful, but remote, forces. These are mostly the Immortals worshipped by the ancient Traldar -- Ixion, Khoronus, Djaea, Tyche, Asterius, and so on. However, these Immortals are not generally worshipped and only theology specialists are aware of their existence, names, and rituals. Most clerics just know that the Tarsian Twelve are powerful Immortals that were once the patron of the Traldar people, but left that role to Halav, Petra and Zirchev. Modern Traladaran cleric associate the Tarsian Twelve with natural phenomena that are beyond the control of humans -- such as the sun, earth, and weather.

Finally, several lesser heroes are also acknowledged, and local cultural activities are held to honour them. These may be Immortals, such as Chardastes, or simply long-gone mortal heroes or kings, such as Tarhek the Radiant or Prince Ithron.

The church activities and rituals focus on the historical events of the Song of Halav, with festivals where the battles against the Beastmen are re-enacted, and, on a smaller scale, on the spiritual needs of the worshippers. Traladaran priests are generally down to earth, and so are their teachings -- generally, they are oriented toward tolerance, goodwill, respect of fellow humans and similar virtues. The concept of sin is not clearly distinguished from that of crime -- in general, the Traladaran priests did act as judges in the pre-Thyatian clan system, and the modern theology closely reflects that approach, even though modern priests do not have judiciary powers.

History The Church of Traladara was formed around 400 AC in the town of Marilenev, as a result of the closer interactions between the local Traladaran population and clerics from Thyatis, Harbortown and New Alphatia.

The original Traladaran cult had been much more informal, with clerics generally trained in a master-apprentice system within each major clan. Since the Traladaran culture was orally transmitted, the priests served primarily as bards, advisers and healers to the Traladaran nobles, in many ways like the modern godi in the Northern Reaches. Halav was the most popular patron, though Petra was

also well liked by the townsfolk, and Zirchev had some following in the more remote communities.

When the Thyatian missionaries started collecting the Song of Halav, and taught the Traladaran how to write, they set the basis for the unification of the religious thought across all of Traladara. Three main ways of thought emerged, based in the towns of Svoga (near Halag), Marilenev and Selenica.

The Selenican church was heavily influenced by its ties with the Darokin monarchy, and, while named Church of Halav, did actually retain much of the older Traldar pantheon, including Ixion, Khoronus and especially Asterius. It quickly spread across the mountains to the northern Traladaran clans in Lugsid (modern Threshold) and Vaion (near the site of modern Penhaligon, but on the northern bank of the Shutturga). Its coat of arms displayed per pale: azure, the moon; or, Halav proper.

The Marilenev church was more similar to the modern Church of Traladara, and was the first to bear that name. It was more influenced by Thyatian missionaries, and it was the first to adopt the brown robe as a formal clerical vestment. Its coat of arms displayed natural, a priest argent.

The Svogan church had more influences from the neighbouring Five Shires, as well as from Harbortown -- the real power behind the throne in western Traladara at that time. This church focused its worship on Halav alone, leaving only a lesser role to Petra and Zirchev. It was also more militant, and in the decades between 400 and 450 AC, it raised a military order, the Knights of Halav. Its coat of arms displayed natural, a sword or armed argent.

The three churches had slightly different beliefs and philosophies, and controlled territories allied with different powers. Thus, they did not last long -- a cruel civil war erupted, and the Svogan Church of Halav was all but destroyed, while the Selenican church survived beyond the mountains under the Alasiyan emirs. The modern Church of Halav in the Gulf of Hule and the Church of Olgar in Hule are direct descendants of


the original Svogan Church of Halav, brought to the Savage Coast by exiled priests from the Halag region.

The Church of Traladara managed to survive through a number of other crises, including the Vampire Wars and the Marilenev Rebellion. The rebellion brought the death of many church officials who had sided with the Marilenev against young Duke Stefan, leaving the church with few experienced leaders. Only now is the church recovering, under the leadership of Patriarch Aleksyev Nikelnevich.

Organization The church is led by the Patriarch of Marilenev, Aleksyev Nikelnevitch (C11), a capable, middle-aged warrior priest. Unfortunately, there are few other experienced clerics, as the old generation priests are getting too old, and the best members of the generation of the 940 died in the conquest and rebellion. Moreover, Sergyev's schism of 995 brought away more priests -- Sergyev himself was the second highest ranking church official, the Patriarch of Krakatos.

A crop of younger priests is being named to important positions, such as the freshly-named Bishop of Kelvin, Balahov, and the Patriarchs of Vaion (Penhaligon) and Vidrin (Vorloi). However, the Patriarch of Luln (actually, of Halag in exile), Arkadi, has recently died of old age, and the Patriarch is looking for a suitable replacement.

Historically, the Church was organised into twelve Patriarchates (Marilenev, Vidrin, Dmitrov, Krakatos, Halavos, Vaion, Lugsid, Lumm, Halag, Ourosco, Koriszegy, and Svoga), four from each of the three original branches of the church. In time, the see of the Patriarchs of Krakatos moved to Lazkow, the Patriarchates of Halag and Svoga were merged into a single see, and the Patriarchate of Halavos moved first to Volaga and in modern times to Kelvin. During the Vampire Wars, the Patriarchates of Vaion, Lumm, Koriszegy, and Lugsid were all but destroyed, and have since remained vacant, or assigned as honorary titles to high-ranking priests in Specularum. Only the Patriarchate of Vaion was re-established about twenty years ago, in Penhaligon.

There have been talks of re-establishing the Patriarchate of Lugsid in Threshold, but the loss of the Shield of

Halav, the famed relic traditionally protected by the Patriarch of Lugsid, as well as the strong presence of the Church of Karameikos in Threshold still render this project infeasible.

The current status of each Patriarchate is reported in Table 1.

Patriarchates of the Church of TraladaraPatriarchate Holder Current seeMarilenev Aleksyev Nikelnevich SpecularumKrakatos Vacant since 995 AC SpecularumVidrin Tamara Iliescu VorloiDmitrov Zoltan Shtolin DmitrovHalavos Vassily Balahov

(regent)Kelvin

Vaion Vladimir Marushka PenhaligonLugsid (not assigned since

900 AC)Threshold

Lumm (not assigned since 721 AC)

N/A

Halag Vacant since 1000 AC LulnOurosco Jozsef Kazmarek VandevicsnyKoriszegy (not assigned since

743 AC)N/A

Svoga (merged with Halag) Luln

Below the Patriarchs, the traditional organisation only had Priests and Novices. In modern times, Bishops have been introduced, modelled on the Church of Thyatis, to take responsibility for populated regions that are not part of one of the historical Patriarchates, such as Rugalov. Bishops also replace Patriarchs in some recently re-established sees, such as Kelvin and, until a few years ago, Penhaligon, or help the Patriarchs of sees that have grown beyond the managing of a single person, such as in Specularum.

Holy / Feast Days

Church holy days often change locally, according to an important regional feast-day, or a day holy to a local Immortal aspect. However, the High Patriarch of Mirros - head of the entire Church - sets common holy days, which all faithful observe. The most important of these major feast days fall close together, making summer the holiest season for the Church. Holy days include:


Beasts' Day (1 Felmont ) - The battle between Halav and the Beast-King, and the end of the gnoll invasion, is observed. In Mirros, a large parade of celebrants, including charmed magical beasts, takes place before a grand celebratory Church ceremony. This marks the beginning of the official Church calendar year. Beasts' Day is the only Traladaran holy day recognised by the Karameikan and Thyatian governments (it's just too big to ignore).

Feast of the Three Stars (15 Felmont ) - Traladarans celebrate the ascendance of Halav, Petra, and Zirchev to Immortality. As legend has it, three new stars appeared in the evening sky, close together, in the weeks following the defeat of the Beastmen, representing the new Powers. On this night each year, children eat star-shaped cakes and gaze up into the heavens to see if the Immortals will "wink" at them for good fortune.

Feast of Tidings (15 Ambyrmont ) - The faithful observe the meeting of Halav and Zirchev, the magic-trained huntsman who comes from the north with ill news of Beastmen, massing for war. Traladarans honour Zirchev's loyal service to Halav by honouring magic (including hedge-magic and folk-magic) and magic-users this day. Traladaran mages also traditionally give a gift to the leader of their host town or village.

Queen's Day (28 Sviftmont ) - This holy day marks the day Queen Petra of Krakatos allied herself with the warrior Halav and his adviser, Zirchev, in preparing for the coming war. On this day, Petra is honoured in all her aspects, from Maiden of the Hearth, to Mother of the Traladarans, to Warrior Queen, to lover of Halav, to Wise Matriarch. Festivities range from solemn processions carrying images of Petra to grand feasts. Women are honoured this day by not having any domestic duties from dawn till dusk.

Day of the Dark Champion (15 Kaldmont ) - This day observes the dark necessity of Halav in slaying the King of Lavv, who disbelieved the Trio's warnings of the invasion. No bells are rung, and faithful gather in church for solemn ritual. Church fathers preach on Halav's desperate choice: the death of one man, his King, or the deaths of all unprepared Traladarans in the coming invasion. In recent

years, radical Traladarans on this day have taken to fomenting unrest with speeches of the "necessary" removal of the Thyatian-controlled government...by force, if necessary.

Days of Darkness (Klarmont 26-28 ) - Faithful observe Halav's ultimate sacrifice for the Traldar people these three days. It is considered ill form (and very bad luck) for Traladarans to celebrate Halav's victory against the Beastmen on 1 Felmont without having gone to Church to "mourn" his necessary sacrifice first.


The Church of Karameikos

The Church of Karameikos is a modern religion with roots in Thyatian theology and philosophy. It is the religion followed by the vast majority of Thyatian-blooded Karameikans, as well as by many Karameikans of mixed blood, and some Traladarans.

It is mainly a Lawful religion, even though its pantheon includes Immortals of all alignments. It basically teaches that the fate of each soul in the afterlife is based on its balance of sins. The Church provides rituals through which worshippers may free their souls from sins. As such, the beliefs of the Church of Karameikos tend to take the form of very detailed precepts of life, with the associated penances for each violation.

In this sense, the Church is much more dogmatic than its Thyatian ancestor -- which simply mediates between Immortals and mortals, generally letting every Immortals' priesthood set its own standard and preach its own doctrine, within a general framework. This policy was chosen by the founders to ensure a greater cohesion of the new Church, and avoid the periodic crises that affected the Church of Thyatis.

The Church of Karameikos is also bent on proselytising. Missionary efforts have been mostly directed towards the Traladaran natives, though recently clerics are being sent to the Five Shires as well -- though, once more, with no success to report.

Organisation:

The Church of Karameikos is a fairly well ordered hierarchy. Its head is the high patriarch, currently Olliver Jowett, who serves for life once elected by the patriarchs and matriarchs of the church.

Each patriarch oversees the church in a region of the country radiating out from the city in which his temple sits, appointing priests to all the temples within his district. One patriarch serves as the head of the Order of the Griffon, the Church's military arm. Every year, the patriarchs assemble for two weeks (or longer) to deliberate matters facing the church in the Great Synod. Most patriarchs also periodically invite their subordinate

priests to elect twelve delegates to meet with them yearly as a synod for their district, although this is not required.

The Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Church All Patriarchs and Matriarchs are at least ninth level.

High Patriarch: Olliver Jowett. He doubles as Patriarch of Specularum, watching over the church in the southern seaboard.

Patriarch of Threshold: Sherlane Halaran. Northern Karameikos is his responsibility.

Commander of the Order of the Griffon: Alfric Oderbry. He supervises the Order of the Griffon.

Patriarch of Kelvin: Baron Desmond Kelvin II (He is also a member of the Order of the Griffon, but was chosen for the Patriarchate on the death of his uncle, the former Patriarch). Central Karameikos is under his supervision.

Matriarch of Luln: Natasha Markova. All of Western Karameikos is effectively under her supervision.

Matriarch of Rugalov (based out of Rugalov keep): Anastasia Romanova . Eastern Karameikos is under her supervision, though at the present she's largely stuck playing chaplain to the Rugalov garrison and squabbling with Oderbry over who has jurisdiction over several Order of the Griffon fortified monasteries in the Dymrak.

The Order of the Griffon

The Order is the military wing of the Church, led by Patriarch Alfric Oderbry. They provide bodyguards for the Patriarchs, guards for the major temples, and provide the manpower which the Patriarchs call on in times of war to fulfil their duties to the Duke as landholders. The Order is a mix of Paladins, Fighters, Clerics, and


Warriors. It has two branches: the Soldiers of the Griffon, who are a mixture of low level Warriors and Fighters who serve the church, providing temple guards, garrisons for the fortified churches of the wilderness, and military forces to meet the feudal military duties of the Church. The Knights of the Griffon are a mixture of Paladins and Clerics who perform holy quests, bodyguard the Patriarchs, and command the Soldiers of the Griffon in garrison duties and peacetime. All are at least fifth level.

The order mans a dozen or so fortified monasteries/manors built in wilderness zones, whose revenues help to fund the order and whose dangers keep it in fighting trim.

Pantheon The major Immortal patrons recognized by the Church of Karameikos are

AsteriusPax Bellanica (Tarastia)VanyaValeriasIlsundalKagyar

Ilsundal and Kagyar were chosen by the founders to appeal to the demi-human inhabitants of the Grand Duchy, though with very limited success, as the demi-humans have a very different view of religion, more related to personal or family worship than to public, ritualistic worship.

Vanya, Valerias and Tarastia were chosen as the major Thyatian Immortals -- the presence of these Immortals guarantees that the Thyatians who come to Karameikos see the Church as simply a national variant of the Church of Thyatis. The philosophy of the church actually does not agree much with the teachings of Valerias, but the Girder-On of Weapons is so popular that the new Church could not expect much following, had it not included her.

Asterius is the personal patron of Patriarch Olliver Jowett, the leader and founder of the Church. This Immortal is worshipped in his aspect as the patron of trade and merchants.

History The Church of Karameikos is a recent creation. Up to thirty years ago, its founders were priests of the

Church of Thyatis. They were called by Duke Stefan Karameikos to cater to the spiritual needs of the Thyatian settlers who were colonising Traladara.

Under the leadership of Patriarch Olliver Jowett, these priests decided to leave the Church of Thyatis and found a new church. There were several reason for leaving the Church -- political ones, as Duke Stefan wanted the Church to work towards the full independence of Karameikos from Thyatis, but also philosophical and practical ones. The Church of Thyatis was indeed prone to infighting, due to the many different Immortals and philosophies accepted, and to corruption, since position were awarded by the Emperor, the Senate, or by election rather than by the will of the Immortals. The constant quarrels between radical followers of Ixion and Vanya might be tolerable in cosmopolitan Thyatis, but would be a fatal weakness in a frontier land like Karameikos.

Thus, Patriarch Jowett and his followers selected a smaller set of Immortals that would be looked up as models for the new church, and used their own philosophies as the one and only doctrine of the church. Since many of Duke Stefan's followers were Kerendans or Hattians, Vanya included in the pantheon, but Ixion was left out.

The new church was very successful in converting the Thyatian colonist, most of whom had been fairly poor, if not ruined, in Thyatis, and wanted to build a new life in Karameikos, much less in converting the Traladarans. Thus, fanatical factions developed within the Church, preaching the forced conversion of unbelievers. Only the authority of Patriarch Jowett keeps these factions from launching a crusade against the Church of Traladara. Unfortunately, Jowett is now old, and will not be able to keep the leadership for long. It is impossible to say whether the moderate wing, led by Patriarch Sherlane Halaran, will be able to rebuff the extremist wing of Patriarch Alfric Oderbry.

Organization The Church of Karameikos has many more Patriarchs and Bishops than the Church of Traladara, even though it has a much smaller number of Priests. Most priests of the Church of Karameikos live in structures owned by the Church itself, and work exclusively for the Church.


Thus, there are fewer itinerant priests and even fewer village priests than in the Church of Traladara. On the other hand, each temple of the Church of Karameikos is generally manned by more priests and novices than the typical Traladaran shrine.

Geographically, the structure of the Church mirrors the administrative organisation of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. Each fief is considered a Diocese, which may be the see of a Bishop or a Patriarch. The Patriarchal or Episcopal titles, however, are not directly linked to the sees -- though there are enough Patriarchs that none of the baronial Dioceses is held by a Bishop. Indeed, Patriarchs like Alfric Oderbry and Aleena Halaran are not attached to a specific see, having instead other positions in the church -- either as high officials (Marshals) in the Order of the Griffon, or as Vicars (overseers of a single city) or Legates (ambassadors to other nations). The same happens for Bishops not awarded their own Diocese.

Also, some Dioceses are not truly active, especially those in Traladaran fiefs like Marilenev, Sulescu, Vandevicsny, Rugalov and Dmitrov. The titles are still awarded to Bishops, but these priests actually reside in Specularum, mostly involved in political manoeuvres to obtain funds for missionary activities from the Duke.

In addition to the Dioceses, there are Chaplaincies, which are associated with less civilised territories under military jurisdiction. Currently, the Order of the Griffon does not have any hall or monastery outside Specularum. It does, however, provide military chaplains to the five keeps of Karameikos. Any Priest-Knight of the Order of the Griffon can be assigned as Chaplain, though often this is a position reserved to Bishop-Knights.

* Symbol: A twelve-pointed star

* Colours: Blue and Yellow

* Sacred Days:

* The first day of each month; each month is sacred to a particular Immortal.

Domains: * Good, Healing, Law, Protection

The Church of Karameikos was an effort to blend Traladaran religion with Thyatian; the result is not always entirely self-consistent, especially as they desired to appeal to all the races of Karameikos. Each immortal represents one of the twelve virtues. The twelve immortals of the Church of Karameikos are:

* Cleverness--Korotiku the Trickster (Thought)

* Compassion--Chardastes the Healer (Time)

* Courage--Halav Red-Hair (Thought)

* Craftsmanship--Kagyar the Artisan (Matter)

* Defence of the Weak--Petra the Holy Defender (Time)

* Discipline--Djaea, Averter of Catastrophes (Matter)

* Justice--Tarastia the Just (Energy)

* Love--Valerias, Patron of Lovers and Girder-on of Weapons (Matter)

* Patience--Khoronus, Father of Time (Time)

* Peacefulness--Koryis, Patron of Peace and Prosperity (Thought)

* Respect for Nature--Zirchev (Energy)

* Scholaship--Ixion the Adventurous Scholar (Energy)

Cleverness--Korotiku the Trickster (Heaven of Winds)

Ruler of the Heaven of Winds, Korotiku is the trickster whose pranks bring wisdom and laughter to all who meet him. He encourages his followers to puncture the pretensions of those who have become lost in their own self-importance and to bring comfort to those in pain through humour. Korotiku was one of the ancient Traladaran patrons, although the Thyatians also worshipped him, especially the Pearl Islanders.

Compassion--Chardastes the Healer (Heaven of Waters)


In the wake of the great war against the beast-men 2000 years ago, Chardastes travelled between the villages of Traladara, healing all those who had suffered at their hands. He even healed beast-men he encountered along the way, which proved his downfall, for a band of them tried to carry him off to keep as a healer. He offered no resistance, but refused to offer obeisance to their foul gods, so they slew him in a fit of rage. The Immortals then took him up and made him one of their number. Chardastes is the steward of the Heaven of Waters, tending to the needs of its inhabitants with quiet cheer. He encourages his followers to offer compassion and forgiveness to all, especially to their enemies.

Courage--Halav Red-Hair (Heaven of Winds)

Halav was the leader of Traladara in the great war against the beast-men, and it was he who slew their hideous leader in battle, he who brought the arts of metal forging to men. He now leads the griffon-riding Hosts of the Heaven of Winds in their wars against the Fiends of the Pit. He is husband to Petra the Defender. He encourages his followers to be steadfast and brave.

Craftsmanship--Kagyar the Artisan (Heaven of Stone)

Kagyar it was who forged the Dwarves from rock, Kagyar it was who raised the mountains which shield Karameikos from invasion, Kagyar it was who taught Halav to forge metal, and Kagyar it is who watches over the Dwarves and Gnomes of Traladara. His blessing shines upon all those who build things which will stand the test of time. Kagyar is the steward of the Heaven of Stone, ensuring that it will endure through the ages. He encourages his followers to be craftsmen in stone and metal, to build things which will endure forever.

Defence of the Weak--Petra the Holy Defender (Heaven of Waters)

Wife to Halav and Queen of Traladara in the time of the beast-men, it was she who invented the arts of pottery and weaving, she who insured that none would starve by beginning the storage of food against the famine the beast-men brought, she who called down the gods to do battle against the demons who aided the beastmen, and she who found Halav's fallen body and preserved it from desecration. To her is given the guardianship of the Heaven of Waters. She encourages her followers to protect the weak and innocent from assault and

injustice, and to prudently prepare for hard times to come.

Discipline--Djaea, Averter of Catastrophes (Heaven of Stone)

Djaea rules the Heaven of Stone, the world as it was intended to be before the plotting of the Fiends of the Pit marred the world. She it was who laid out the plans the Immortals used to forge it, and she who was first to see the plots of Entropy. Her struggle against them is patient and endless. She it was who warned Halav and Petra and Zirchev of the coming of the Beast Men, and she it was who still cries for fallen Blackmoor, which failed to heed her warnings. She and Khoronus were wed in the dawn of the world. She encourages her followers to be steadfast and true, to resist the temptations offered by the Fiends, to never abandon a project from boredom or exhaustion, but instead to persevere to the end.

Justice--Tarastia the Just (Heaven of Fire)

Her worship in Traladara is recent; Traladarans always looked to Halav and Djaea for justice. The Thyatians say she is one of their own, the legendary empress Valentia the Justiciar, who united the Thyatian Empire in its early years by fairly offering equal citizenship to all its subjects, making one people of all the nations. Duke Stefan has followed her example in his efforts to make one people of Traladar and Thyatians. She leads the hosts of the Heaven of Fire in their wars with the Fiends of the Pit. She encourages her followers to treat others fairly, and to be just in all their dealings.

Love--Valerias, Patron of Lovers and Girder-on of Weapons (Heaven of Stone)

Valerias is another Thyatian goddess. She is the lover of Ixion--their relationship is legendarily passionate and tempestuous. Like him, she is ancient beyond reckoning. She is the especial patron of star-crossed lovers who must battle against the odds, and has been known to bring weapons to those who must fight for their love. She guards the Heaven of Stone with her Sacred Band. Her followers are encouraged to love with all their hearts and to open their hearts to others.

Patience--Khoronus, Father of Time (Heaven of Waters)


Husband to Djaea, Khoronus rules the Heaven of Waters, sailing his great ship down the rivers of time. He brings patient, purposeful change, change brought about through careful planning and deep thought. Unwilling to act until he thinks things all the way through, he sometimes drives the other Immortals insane by being a little too patient, but when he acts, he is as decisive as anyone. He teaches his followers to both patiently accept what changes are beyond their control, and how to intelligently guide the course of history so far as it is within their power.

Peacefulness--Koryis, Patron of Peace and Prosperity (Heaven of Winds) Koryis is revered by the Ochaleans of Thyatis, and with the integration of Traladara into first Thyatis and now Karameikos, his worship has spread west. Koryis advocates trade as a way of building networks between people that channel their energies into peaceful competition instead of war. He is the steward of the Heaven of Winds, encouraging its mercurial inhabitants to live in fruitful peace with one another. He teaches his followers how to find the mutual interests they share with others, and how to then cooperate with them in order to benefit both.

Respect for Nature--Zirchev (Heaven of Fire) Zirchev the Hunter aided Halav and Petra in the war against the Beastmen, learning the arts of the hunt, of scouting, and of ambush. His studies taught him the secrets of nature, and he learned to use its power by flowing with its rhythms, instead of against them. He is the steward of the Heaven of Fire; under his care the Fire Forests have flourished. He teaches his followers to respect the wild places and the animals they hunt.

Scholarship--Ixion the Adventurous Scholar (Heaven of Fire)

The King of the Heaven of Fire, Ixion is like fire: he both warms and burns those who come close to him. He advocates the life which balances action and contemplation, doing and being, war and wisdom. He strives ever to learn more, and to do things with his knowledge. He encourages his followers to study the world in order to change it.

The Fiends:

There are five great fiends who plot the destruction of all the works of the Twelve Immortal Guardians. Each is served by many lesser fiends. They are lead by Thanatos, He who is Death, the End of All Things. He seeks to destroy all four of the Four Heavens, while the other four Great Fiends each target a single Heaven.

Death: Thanatos

At the End of All Things, the very bottom of the Pit, sits Thanatos, as all things tumble down into his maw. He is patient, for he believes that in the end, he will devour everything in an apocalypse from which there will be no rebirth. He is too foolish to understand that death is merely the prelude to new beginnings. Death has no especial foes, for he intends to devour everything in the end.

Destruction: Orcus (The Enemy of the Heaven of Stone) Favoured by orcs.

Orcus is destruction made flesh, the active principle which smashes big rocks into smaller rocks and turns all to dust in the end. It is by his plots that the world was marred, and he hopes

to one day destroy the Heaven of Stone, so that even the memory of the world in its first bloom of perfection

will be lost. His greatest enemy is Djaea, Queen of the Heaven of Stone.

Malice: Loki (Enemy of the Heaven of Winds)

Loki is malice, and jealousy, and spite and all the emotions which inspire people to hurt others and pull them down. He is the trickster whose pranks bring pain and suffering to others, who bullies and mistreats the weak and leads the proud to destruction. He is the rubber of salt in wounds, the joker who kills, the fire which burns all it touches. His greatest enemy is Korotiku, King of the Heaven of Winds.

Despair: Hel (Enemy of the Heaven of Fire) Hel is the greyness of despair, the one who whispers in your


ear that it is best to give up, to surrender, to accept that there is nothing you can do about a bad situation. Why fight? Why struggle? Why not just give in and accept you cannot change the world for good or ill and spare yourself the pain of your inevitable failure? That is the message she brings. Her greatest enemy is Ixion, King of the Heaven of Fire.

Selfishness: Talitha (Enemy of the Heaven of Waters) Talitha teaches that one should always put one's self above all others, that everyone else exists only to serve you and your pleasures. Greed and self-indulgence are the highest virtues in her sight. She struggles with Khoronus, the King of the Heaven of Waters.

The Four Heavens and the Pit: There are four Heavens, each home to three of the Immortals who watch over it. Those who die purified of their sins ascend to dwell with the immortal whose virtue they best manifested in life.

The first is the Heaven of Stone, ruled by Djaea, the world as it was before the Fiends of the Pit marred it in the War of the Gods at the dawn of Time itself. The roads are made of silver so that no fell werewolf may walk them, and the sun never ceases to shine, driving away the vampire and all his foul kin.

The second is the Heaven of Air, a great kingdom of clouds and wind, ruled by Korotiku. It is an ever changing land, constantly reshaped as the clouds drift about at the direction of those who rule them and dwell upon them. All the creatures of the sky find havens here, and noble cloud and storm giants build their flying citadels.

The third is the Heaven of Water, a great ocean dotted with islands green with life. Fishermen dwell upon the islands and gather their harvest from the sea, while beneath its surface dwell a million glorious civilisations. Khoronus rules there from his floating citadel where he keeps the Great Book, in which all that ever happened is written down.

The fourth is the Heaven of Fire, where all is made of light and fire, a world we can hardly imagine. It is home to Ixion the Sun King, who makes his dwelling place upon the back of a gold dragon the size of a continent. Here, all people become magicians of puissant power, and fire burns without consuming.

Each of these Heavens cast a shadow, the so called 'Elemental Planes', where dwell many strange and wondrous creatures, and they float in a great ocean known as the Astral Plane, through which runs the Silver Road that leads from the Mortal World to that of the Immortals.

As their light shines upon our world, our world casts a shadow across the Astral Plane, a shadow known as The Pit, home to the Fiends, Immortals who have been swallowed by their own darkness and strive to mar all that the Immortal Guardians create. The Pit has five great layers to it, four of which parody the Four Heavens, and the fifth of which lies below the other four, the End of All Things, home to Thanatos, He Who Is Death.

The Hell of Rubble is ruled by Orcus the Destroyer, a great void full of broken chunks of all that is solid, constantly being broken into tinier bits. The Fiends of Destruction, who live only to smash all else that is, dwell here, gradually destroying their own home.

The Hell of Ash is ruled by Two-Faced Hel, the Lady of Despair and Misery. It is a grey and dismal hall built from the fingernails of the dead, which stands in a great bleak plane of ash. There is no fire, no light, no hope here, only dismal grey twilight and an eternity of existence without purpose or meaning. The Fiends of Despair dwell here, moaning and bewailing their fate.

The Hell of Sand is ruled by Talitha the Vain, who dwells within a great palace made entirely from stolen goods, surrounded by a bleak and lifeless desert of endless sand under a constantly present hot summer sun. Every wall is mirrored so that she and her Fiends of Selfishness and Vanity can gaze upon themselves, admire their own beauty, and count themselves lucky to not be among the hapless evil souls condemned to toil endlessly in the desert.

The Hell of Fire is a great charnel house ruled by Loki the Jealous, who dwells in a great hall built of the charred and forged souls of the damned. All those consumed by their own jealousy, hatred, and envy of others fall into the Hell of Fire where they are turned into tools and money and food for the Fiends of Malice, who fatten upon them. Sometimes Loki invites the newly damned to compete with him for the right to join his fiends. The games are rigged so that no one but him can win; Loki greatly enjoys the joke. The losers become dinner for the winner.


The End of All Things is a great conical void whose walls are made of solid nothingness, a funnel down which all things slide into the waiting maw of Thanatos himself, who sits at the bottom, letting all things come to him as he believes they inevitably must.

Philosophy and Theology:

The Church of Karameikos' most fundamental practice is that of taking responsibility for one's ill deeds and doing penance for them. Anyone can be redeemed if they are willing to accept their own guilt and pay for it. The state of your soul at death is determined by how many of your sins you have done penance for. The problem with this is that some abuse it as a blank check to do evil things and pay for it later.

The Church's ideal is the marriage of discipline and creativity of thought and deed, but in practice, the disciplinary aspect tends to predominate. This often leads to clashes with the various Traladaran faiths and with anyone else who deviates from the cultural norms of the Thyatian elite who currently dominate the Church. It also leads some to be willing to crusade against other faiths or lands to spread the faith.

Marriage is very sacred to the Church because mortal marriages are symbolic of the union of discipline (law) and creativity (chaos) which forms part of its philosophy. It is to be noted that many of its patron immortals are either married or in extremely long-term relationships. Divorce is highly frowned on, and adultery and pre-marital sex are seen as grave sins.

The state of one's soul at death determines one's fate in the everlasting life. Those who die without repenting their ill deeds sink into one of the hells, as appropriate for their greatest sin. Those who die with their soul sufficiently cleansed by repentance and penance rise to the heaven which most closely reflects their greatest virtue. The most holy of those join the ranks of the Champions who serve the Immortals.

The Church of Karameikos condemns the various divination practices of the populace of Karameikos because they believe such methods are subject to manipulation by the Fiends, and are in fact a major tool by which the Fiends tempt and destroy humanity. They also believe that they don't work and are foolish superstitions.

Holy Books:

Most of the holy texts of the Church of Karameikos are either Thyatian or Karameikan in origin, and have been gathered together by Patriarch Jowett into what is called 'The Book of Twelve Stars'. It consists of:

* The Vision of the First Dawn (An account of the creation of the universe as seen by Patriarch Jowett in a vision)

* The Marring of the World (An account written from a vision by the seventh century AC Thyatian visionary Epithelius of Retebius. It deals with the rise of Entropy and the fall of the world from its first perfection.)

* Korotiku Steals the Secret of Death (Pearl Islander story about how Korotiku stole the secret of death from Thanatos, thus enabling himself to become immortal and those held prison in Thanatos' cave to escape)

* The Works of Kagyar (This is a spiritual history of the Dwarves and of the deeds of Kagyar over the centuries. Some now forgotten dwarven mystic wrote this at least a thousand years ago. It contains an extensive description of the Heaven of Stone)

* The Path of Light (an ancient text of Tarastia worshippers which lays out the twelve virtues and how to follow them. As might be expected, it especially exalts the virtue of Justice.)

* The Five Curses of the Fiends (This dark and gloomy book was also written by Patriarch Jowett after a vision, and describes the Five Hells and the Five Fiends in disturbing detail and the curse which each of them has put upon all the sentient races.)

* The Fall of Blackmoor (This is a lament by Djaea for the fall of Blackmoor and for the destruction the Rain of Colourless Fire brought upon the world. It is a traditional Traladaran text.)

* The Song of Halav (Traditional Traladaran epic poem about the Traladar-Beastman war of 1000 BC. Halav, Petra, and Zirchev figure prominently)

* Zirchev's Testament (Traditional Traladaran text which sets out Zirchev's warning to the Traladarans to respect the powers that dwell within the forests of their lands, said to have been dictated before he went forth to


war on the Beastmen and passed on by his children. Traladaran tradition holds that it was the failure to hold to these commands which enabled the Five Fiends to twist some of the forests dwellers into the lycanthropes which plague Karameikos)

* The Life of Chardastes (This is an account of the life and death of Chardastes written by one of his followers. It is Traladaran in origin)

* Love Songs (This book has three chapters, each of which is a love poem from one of the Immortals to another. The first is 'The Song of Petra', which is a traditional Traladaran love poem written by Petra to Halav on the eve of the battle with the Beastmen. She clearly fears she will never see him again, and pours out her heart to him. The second is 'The Passion of Valerias', written by Valerias to Ixion. It is a strange combination of pornography and spiritual ecstasy. The third is 'The Pledge of Khoronus', in which he pledges his love to Djaea. It shows the love of an old and stable couple in whom the flame of love burns lower but more steadily.)

* The Analects of Koryis (This is a strange and enigmatic book which consists of 144 sayings, each of which is a four line poem. The book is divided into twelve sections of twelve sayings each, with each section being a different kind of poetry and focusing on a different topic. While of Thyatian origin, it has circulated in Traladara for several centuries, being used as a divination system. The Church of Karameikos frowns on its use for divination, regarding it as a depository of spiritual wisdom)

* The Prophecy of Hope (This was proclaimed by a priest of Ixion in ancient Traladara after the destruction of the Beastmen. It contains twelve prophecies of future Traladaran triumphs, culminating in the utter overthrow of evil and the restoration of the world to its original beauty.)

Selected Quotes from the Book of Twelve Stars:

"Eyes cannot see, words cannot tell the glory of the world in the first spring, in the days when all was new, in the days before the world was marred, and yet, I must try." --The Vision of the First Dawn

"Order protects and sustains

Chaos creates and changes Entropy corrupts and destroys. Once all were one, But then the world was marred, And strife entered in its wake. Death seems everywhere triumphant. For every soul he waits At the End of All Things.

But he has forgotten the circle, misreads the seasons, ignores nature's every sign. After fall comes winter, but after winter is spring. The world's springtime will come again." --The Marring of the World

"Those who cannot take a joke are the ones who most desperately need one to be given to them."

--Korotiku Steals the Secret of Death

"It is not easy to forgive, to love one's enemies. But none of the good things in life come easily. Hate and destruction are the road that leads into the Maw of Thanatos. I will walk the harder road that leads into the light."

--The Life and Death of Chardastes

"Halav shoved himself up the spear, and hacked off the Beast King's head. For 'tis better to die a hero's death than to live a coward's life." --The Song of Halav

"Fires consume their fuel and die, songs fade and stories are forgotten, wood burns and flesh rots away, but stone and metal endure.

And so I command my children to build their homes and tools on a solid foundation for stone and metal endure." --The Works of Kagyar

"Fight not for your own glory, my love.

;Fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.":--The Song of Petra"Before you can bring order to the world,


you must bring order to yourself. Blackmoor never learned this lesson; do not walk their road." --The Lamentations of Djaea"Let not the judge forget that one day he too will be judged."--The Path of Light"Forge me with your hammer. Mould my clay into something beautiful and harden me with the fires of love. You are copper; I am tin. Let us become bronze."--The Passion of Valerias"In the winters of our love, remember the past and know that spring always comes again. Winter is but a rest that makes the spring all the sweeter. Be like the willow which bends in the wind and returns to stand upright when the wind passes, for it always does."

--The Pledge of Khoronus

"Everyone is someone else's stranger. When you look upon a man you know not and tell yourself he is odd and dangerous, you ensure he will come to think the same of you."--The Analects of Koryis"Did you make the forest? Did you set the plants to grow and the animals to their grazing and hunting? Can you make more land, set a sun in the sky and rain to fall? If so, then you may say the forest is yours, but you know that is not so."--The Testament of Zirchev"Without knowledge, action is aimless. Without action, knowledge is pointless. Do not choose merely to know, or merely to do. Use your wisdom, or you will lose it."--The Book of Hope.


The Cult of Halav

The Cult of Halav is a small, newer religion. It was born in 995 AC, when Patriarch Sergyev received a vision in dreams, which told him that the Immortals had reincarnated King Halav in Stefan Karameikos. Surprisingly enough, Sergyev was able to persuade a number of clerics of the Church of Traladara, and founded his own cult.

While the priests of the Cult are generally considered madmen, they receive clerical powers, which means that theirs is not a fake religion. However, their powers do not mirror those of the priests of Halav, though this is not apparent.

The Cult has no strict organisation. Patriarch Sergyev is the unchallenged leader. Under Sergyev there are cell leaders, who are in charge of smaller or larger groups of cultists.

The Cult of Halav currently exists only in Specularum and Kelvin, and has only a very limited number of followers, less than 1\% of the Karameikan population.


Demi-human Religions

The three demi-human nations of Karameikos have their own cultures, laws, and religions.

The Kingdom of Highforge is, like most dwarven and gnomish groups, very secretive about its religious practices. The dwarves worship Kagyar, and the Gnomes worship Garal Glitterlode. The followers of this two Immortals generally do not interfere with each other, and keep their beliefs to themselves.

The Callarii Elves follow Ilsundal and Mealiden, while the Vyalia follow Ordana and Ilsundal. Both clans have their own Tree of Life, though the Vyalia tree resides in Thyatian territory.

Karameikan Hin are mostly clanless. Most of them remember the legends and songs of the High Heroes, but there is no organised cult.

Few demi-human have any interest in human religions. Those who do are seen as eccentrics, but are generally left to their own devices.

The Goblinoid Pantheon

Since Karameikan tribes are smaller than Broken Lands tribes, they generally stick with one or two Immortals at most. As usual, worship of opposed deities often leads to feuds and even open war between neighbouring tribes. However, the Bugbear followers of Bartziluth and the Gnoll followers of Ranivorus are divided by large expanses of Elven and Human territory, so open wars are uncommon.

Wogar is the most popular goblinoid Immortal, since there are many more goblin than goblinoids of other races. Bartziluth, Karaash and Ranivorus follow, with Jammudaru, Yagrai and Kurtulmak having the smallest cults.

In addition to the traditional Goblinoid Immortals, several Entropic powers are worshipped, especially Orcus and Leptar.

The Dark Triad

Also known as the Temple of Evil Chaos in ancient sources, or as the Cult of Demons, the Dark Triad is a powerful force for evil in Karameikos.

Pantheon This cult worships primarily Orcus, but also other Immortal Fiends, especially Leptar and Demogorgon -- together, the three Entropic form the Triad that gives the name to this cult. In ancient times, Demogorgon was the primary focus of the cult, but since the great lycanthropic plagues, the Orcus faction has gained the upper hand.

The other Immortal Fiends are seldom worshipped, but are still part of the cult's pantheon.

History The origins of the Dark Triad are lost in the depths of time. The Temple of Evil Chaos already existed in the heroic age of the Traldar. At that time, Demogorgon was the unchallenged leader of the pantheon, but was largely ineffectual in undermining the Tarsian Twelve. Thus, other Entropic Immortals took the initiative, leading the Gnollish hordes to the lands of Traldar. The cult barely survived the Beastman war, and was reduced to individual witches and the occasional isolated village of entropic cultists.

Then, Orcus came, set on becoming Halav's nemesis. First, he sent his pawns, the Witches of Dymrak, to recruit a great hobgoblin king, Leptar, securing many goblinoid clans to the cause of Evil Chaos. Leptar succeeded in his goals to a great extent, joining the cult pantheon as an Immortal, and leading to the modern Dark Triad.

Then, Orcus engineered the theft of the Black Opal Eye and the corruption of the magician Trinkla, reducing the power of the Seer of the Lake of Lost Dreams. However, his plan was for a short time foiled by the Alphatian-trained, Thyatian-born wizard Elyas, who became the new Seer and recovered the Eye.


Orcus sent the three witches, Karelena, Solorena and Trilena, to kill Elyas. They succeeded, but Elyas was able to bind the spirits of the three witches, and the Black Opal Eye was lost.

The Dark Prince then brought the lycanthropes, who desired revenge for the Silver Purge, into the cult, making it easier for the cultists to survive in the dangerous wildernesses of Traladara. The influx of lycanthropes in the cult brought not only the werewolf's hardiness, ferocity and survival skills, but, perhaps more importantly, the devil swine's ability to control and manipulate others. As the dust of the Traladaran Wars settled down, the cult was able to infiltrate the towns. Vaion especially fell to the cult, leading to the corruption of the Monastery on the Hill, and the rise of Queen Elendorath during the Vampire Wars.

In the end, the Cult of Demons was defeated, Vaion was destroyed and the Monastery on the Hill razed. The cult itself, however, survived -- in the werewolf lairs of the Wufwolde hills and the Cruth Lowlands, in the goblinoid holdings in the Caves of Chaos, and in the dread forest of Dymrak.

Organization The Cult of Demons is a chaotic organisation -- almost a contradiction in terms. Personal power and pacts with the Immortal patrons rather than hierarchy drive the cultists, making it difficult to eradicate, as not even the most powerful members have control over the whole structure. On the other hand, the organisation suffers from infighting, conflicting personal agenda, and lack of communication.

The Cult of Demons is stronger in eastern Karameikos, especially in the Altan Tepee mountains, the Wufwolde hills and the Dymrak Forest.

The main strength of the Dark Triad is in their numerous, powerful pawns, including the following:

The green dragon Argos the Worrier. From his lair under the Rugalov River, Argos controls several goblin tribes and a number of lesser dragons. In spite of his power, the dragon is exceedingly careful, as if his secret allegiance to Orcus was exposed, all other dragon kings would team up against him.

The Witches of Dymrak. These nine mysterious witches have been around for almost two millennia, plotting and scheming -- often furthering Orcus' goals, other times their own. The witches control several strong goblin clans, but have a powerful enemy in the Seer of the Lake of Lost Dreams.

The Gambler. The devil swine known only as The Gambler is a travelling agent of the Dark Triad.

Several werewolf clans in the Wufwolde Hills and the Cruth Lowlands. The werewolf priest, Kalkask, leads the Cult of Demons in the Wufwolde hills.

Ilyana Penhaligon. This warrior woman, the half-sister of Lady Arteris and self-proclaimed "Queen of Vaion", is dominated by the spirit of Elendorath, the old Queen of Vaion, who was herself a cultist of Orcus. The evil priest, Bernal, acts as her adviser. Ilyana has recruited a number of mercenaries, both human and goblinoid.

Elwyn the Ardent. A former priestess of the Church of Karameikos, Elwyn is now devoted to Leptar, and is the driving force behind the resurrection of the Cult of Demons in the area between Penhaligon and Threshold.

Other goblinoid tribes. The ancient Temple of Evil Chaos still survives in the Caves of Chaos, near the Castellan's Keep, and attracts a number of orcish and goblin tribes. Also, the dungeons of the Monastery on the Hill are still home to goblinoid cultists.


The Gens Celaenes

This fractious cult is based in Fort Doom, and finds most of its adepts among the members of the Iron Ring (Slavers Confederation). It is a Thyatianized version of the cult of Kala, which the Iron Ring clerics have taken up in Jaibul.

Table 2: The Iron Ring Pantheon

Sindhi name Standard name

Meaning of Sindhi

name

Thyatian name

Kala Hel "The Black" Celaene

Mahavasha Masauwu "Great Spirit" Magnanimus

Jammudaru Jammudaru "Killer in revenge" Antiphon

Bhajyagwan Loki"The

Veiled One"

Aphantos, Farbautides

(rarely)

Bhrsharadha Brissard

"He who prospers through

violence"

Hybristes

Pantheon The Iron Ring imported from its primary trading partner, Jaibul, a number of dark gods, including Hel, Masauwu, Jammudaru, Loki and Brissard. The Iron Ring cultists rarely use the Sindhi names for the various Immortals, using instead the Thyatian names listed in Table 2.

The cultists refer to themself as the Gens Celaenes, that is the "House of Black Goddess".

History The Iron Ring was formed when a branch of the Shadow Hand, the largest Thyatian Thieves' Guild, moved in to Halag in 973 AC.

At that time, the Black Eagle was facing the opposition of a local Thieves' Guild, an organisation similar to Specularum's Veiled Society. He turned therefore to his court wizard for help in dealing with these stealthy enemies, who had already tried thrice to assassinate him.

The wizard, one Lucius Pamphilion, decided it was best to use thieves to catch thieves. His own shady past gave him the right contacts, and he was able to persuade a high ranking Shadow Hand guildsman, Lamacus, who had made several powerful enemies within the guild, to move in Fort Doom with his followers, where they would enjoy the Baron's protection in return for taking care of the local thieves.

Within three years, the newly formed group, not yet known as the Iron Ring, got rid of the local opposition with the help of Pamphilion and his apprentices. However, there was little left for them to do -- they could not steal from the rich, since the Baron had reduced the Traladarans to poverty, nor they could take over the protection racket from their Traladaran predecessors, since the Baron was already squeezing the local merchants dry.

Then, one of Pamphilion's apprentices had a brilliant idea -- the Black Eagle's rule was raising more and more discontent among the local population. While the Baron seized as many political opponents as he could, his dungeons were getting full of them. So the wizard proposed to Von Hendricks to let the unemployed thieves dispose of the prisoners.

This led to the formation of the modern Iron Ring, as former Ierendi pirates joined in to provide the means to transport the prisoners to Jaibul, the prime market for slaves. Thyatis was originally avoided due to the enmity between the Shadow Hand and Lamacus. Some of the most regular customers of the Iron Ring were the priests of Kala, Bhrsharadha and Mahavasha. As the slave traffic became the most important source of revenue for the Iron Ring, some members started converting to the cult of these Immortals, especially Bhrsharadha.

By 980 AC, the influx of political prisoner was down to levels insufficient to support the market request for slaves. So, the Iron Ring leadership, which, after the death of Lamacus, was composed of former apprentices of both Lamacus and Pamphilion, had to expand their business outside the Black Eagle Barony. The Iron Ring was now structured in two layers: the Masters, leaders of the organisation, and the Reavers, some of whom served under the Masters in Fort Doom, while others, more experienced, served as contacts in the various Karameikan towns or as travelling agents.


Reavers were in charge of procuring new slaves by kidnapping travellers, foreigners, or other people who would not raise much trouble on their sudden disappearance.

Contacts were established with goblinoid tribes such as the Vileraider Bugbears to provide further slaves and manage the secret transfers of slaves across the country. Meanwhile, the Reavers started working in the business of assassination as well as kidnapping rich people in order to exact a ransom.

The last major change to the Iron Ring structure came when Bargle the Infamous slew old Lucius Pamphilion and took his place as court wizard of the Black Eagle. Instead of killing the Iron Ring wizards, he helped them in disposing of the non-magic using Masters, and in establishing a further division between lesser and greater Masters. The newly established leaders of the Iron Ring, working on Bargle's recommendation, started investigating into magical occurrences, old artifacts and treasures all over the nation. To this end, clerical help was now needed, and so were bodyguards. The Iron Ring itself had many fighters, but they were all needed to keep the flow of slaves, and to keep track of their goblinoid allies, lest they started pocketing slaves from the caravans.

So, the Masters turned to the Jaibul priesthoods. They offered favourable trading conditions in exchange for the training of priests, chosen among the Reavers of the Iron Ring, as well as knowledge of the hypnotic techniques developed by the priests of Bhajyagwan and Mahavasha. Armed with this knowledge, the Masters went on to create their perfect tools -- the mind washed warriors known as the Hounds of the Iron Rings.

Nowadays, low-level priests of the five primary Jaibulite Immortals are quite common in the ranks of the Iron Ring Reavers. While these priests serve the Iron Ring, they also advance the agenda of the Jaibul priests -- and therefore of their allies from the Hulean Temple of Chaos.

Organization In Karameikos, the Gens Celaenes is part of the Iron Ring organisation, and shares its hierarchy and leadership. However, the priests also answer to the high priests of

Kala in Jaibul. Since these leaders are so distant, and the Iron Ring Masters appear to support the Jaibul priests, the issue of double loyalties has not yet arisen.

Priests of this Sindhi cult often serve as support staff for the Iron Ring Masters or as liaisons with several goblinoid tribes allied to the Iron Ring. Many lesser priests are also employed to "program" animated corpses used as guards or to select and mind wash prospective Hounds.

This cult is gaining some following among the most evil goblinoids that serve the Black Eagle Baron or work with the Iron Ring.


Other Powers and Religions

A few other powers are worshipped in Karameikos, thought these cults are generally followed only by a few individuals.

Nyx Nyx is worshipped by a few humanoids (the Dark Web tribe under the Zargash mountains), as well as by a few Nosferatu, "grey" necromancers, witches and other odd individuals.

However, several major underground temples of Nyx are hidden in various locations under Karameikos. These are actually ruins of the Taymor civilisation, and several contain sleeping undead servants of this Entropic power.

Thanatos Like Nyx, Thanatos was the focus of much worship during the Taymoran Age. Often, ancient temples to Thanatos are easy to confuse with those to Nyx, since few people are familiar with the esoteric Taymor symbology, and the underground temples have been abandoned for centuries.

One such error led the Count of Koriszegy to his tragic end -- what he thought an altar of Nyx had actually been the focus of bloody rituals of Thanatos, and his attempts to contact the first Immortal attracted the attention of the Grim Reaper, who cursed Koriszegy and destroyed his county.

Alphaks Followers of Alphaks are fairly rare in this part of the world. Alphaks is worshipped by the Temple of Evil Chaos, but is not part of the Dark Triad. His major foray in Traladara happened two centuries ago, when he gained the allegiance of Morphail Gorevich-Woszlany, a wizard and noble in the Moor in north-eastern Traladara. Morphail, however, was defeated and forced into exile by his enemies, and was never especially useful in establishing a strong cult of Alphaks.

Nowadays, some followers of Alphaks of Thyatian origin are found in Fort Doom and in Specularum, and a

tribe of Hobgoblins has been converted to the worship of the Roaring Fiend.

Foreign Religions Several shrines to foreign Immortals and cults are found in the Foreign Quarter of Specularum. These include the Eternal Truth, Minrothism, Augrism, the Church of Thyatis and the Church of Darokin.

These shrines mostly serve the foreign communities, or act as embassies for the churches to the Karameikan government.

References

A. Allston, GAZ1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos

G. Gygax, B2 Keep on the Borderlands

D. Niles, B5 Horror on the Hills

J. Bambra, G. Morris and P. Gallagher, B10 Night's Dark Terror

C. Sargent, B12 The Queen's Harvest

D. Brown, Church of Traladara Hierarchy

F. Defferrari, Dhrom Dhum Speaks

Håvard, The Witches of Dymrak

Håvard, Mighty Argos

Håvard, The Seer of the Lake of Lost Dreams

S. Wilson, Karameikan Timeline

http://www.pandius.com/sieltime.html

http://www.pandius.com/seerlake.html

http://www.pandius.com/argos.html

http://www.pandius.com/witchdym.html

http://www.pandius.com/dhrom.html

http://www.pandius.com/cot_hier.html

religions of karameikos

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