The One God
Other names: The One Who Knows, The Great Psion, The Guide, The Fountainhead
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Symbols:
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: All, to some degree. In Amador and Emic, he is the only deity worhipped by a significant portion of the population. In areas where other gods are also worshiped, he is associated with personal development and self-discipline.
Favored Weapon: Staff
Common Worshipers: Anyone devoted to self-improvement. Monks are especially common worshipers.
History: The One God has become substantially more popular over recent decades. He is the primary deity of much of Western Aranthar, and his followers have come to control the religious life of the area to the extent that they spend more energy on internal disputes than on rivalries with other faiths.
Philosophy: Self-improvement. Each person should strive to be better at the end of the day than they were when they rose that morning. There are two versions of the faith that differ substantially in the manner they approach this task. The older version emphasizes strict discipline, with very limited tolerance for error or those perceived to depart from the true path. The newer version is still very clear about the expected behavior of the faithful, but relies more on constructive criticism and positive example than compulsion and intimidation.
Dogma: Strive each day to improve yourself. Set an example for others.
Places of Worship: Temples to the One God can be found in any city in the areas he is worshiped. They are generally substantial, well-built structures, usually in keeping with the architecture of their neighborhood. Older temples frequently have a very severe appearance, while newer temples are frequently design ed to look more welcoming. Regardless of their age, the temples are always well looked after, as the priests understand that the state of a man's house is a reflection of his commitment to himself.
Average services: Services are invariably orderly, with plenty of solemn devotion and steady, serious songs. They are held in the evening, to ensure that they do not prevent the faithful from working (work, after all, is a great way of expressing self-improvement and resolve).
Example Prayer:
Prayer here
Holy Days:
- New Year's Day
- The beginning of the year is an excellent opportunity to examine one's failings the previous year, and to lay out plans for improvement in the year to come. Many members of the faithful express their plans in public, the better to ensure they follow through on them.
- 1st of each month
- This is a minor version of the new year's day festival. Followers are supposed to keep track of their promises of improvement, as regular accountability is the best way to ensure that they stay on track.
Priesthood
Description
Alignments: Almost always lawful. Usually lawful neutral.
Duties: As they are often the only priests in a given area (especially in smaller towns), the priests of The One perform all the traditional duties of clerics. They handle baptisms, marriages and funerals, and provide whatever moral guidance their flock needs at any given time. They aspire to set an example of continuous self-improvement.
Enemies/Allies: In areas where other gods are little known, the church faces mainly internal dissent and older pagan cults. In areas where other gods are commonly worshiped, the church usually has friendly relations with the followers of Gilidan, Kerius and Grazon. They view all other churches with varying levels of mistrust, as they all espouse dogmas contrary to the cause of independent personal development.
Domains: Law, Knowledge, Protection, War, Inquisition, Force
The most prevelent faction devouted to The One God but not of the Church is The Order of Illumination. This organization spends it’s time routing out the darkness and ensuring the safety of all who “Walk in the Light”
Smaller factions do exist such as The Knights of St. Simon This small group is a calling of hunter's who seek the eradication of all manner of things that go bump in the night. They track and slay all maner of Undead Lycanthropes and demonic beings.
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