Ravenloft religions

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Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

This is a thread for new RL religions, new versions of old cults, and variant faiths.

I have used the popular 3E format.

---------



Barovian Church

Symbols: stylized sun with rays, raven
Alignment: LG
Cleric alignments: LG, LN, NG

Domains: Good, Law, Sun, War

Favored weapon: short sword or bastard sword


The Barovian Church is almost extinct in its home territory. It survives in Borca and Dorvinia, and among small groups of Barovian exiles in various lands.

In Dorvinia the Church has been reduced to penury by Ivan Dilisnya’s forced loans and his expropriation of land. Clerics live as mendicants. Dilisnya claims that priests don’t want to be burdened with worldly possessions and money, so he graciously accepts their contributions to the public coffers.

In Borca the Church has been corrupted and bought-out by Ivana Boritsi. To the casual observer, the Borcan church appears wealthier than the destitute Dorvinian branch, but in reality its finances remain totally under Ivana’s control and she holds the title to most church property down to the very graveyards. No one gets to be even a sexton or churchwarden without her informal assent.

Both the Black Widow of Borca and Dorvinia’s mad tyrant tolerate spell-casting, adventuring clerics, so long as the clerics stay out of politics and stick to healing the sick and hunting monsters. In the latter pursuit, clerics may even expect occasional aid from the hired thugs and tax collectors of the rulers.




Meta notes:

This religion replaces the cults of Ezra and of the Morninglord in Barovia and Borca.
It is based on material from the original module and the Black Box, and mostly ignores later published sources.
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

Mordent-shire

The High Faith survives in two forms:

The clarks

Moor-witches



Clarks

Clarks keep records for the gentry and town governments. They record births, deaths, marriages, and so on.
They don't perform magic. (At least, none openly do magic.) Theurgy draws the attention of unquiet spirits, and Mordentshire men have long since learned to leave ghosts and spirits in peace.
On various occasions, such as the opening or markets and the burial of the dead, the clarks publically recite prayers taken verbatim from old devotional texts bearing the imprimatur of an ancient Bishop of Osterton.

Moor-witches

Most moor-witches are herbalists and beast-doctors whose skill in magic amounts to simple charms based on old High Faith rituals mixed with popular superstition. But a few possess greater powers. Some can chase away ghosts, or so they claim.
Nobody respectable admits to dealings with moor-witches, but the witches' services buy them toleration from the rich and poor alike.
Last edited by ewancummins on Tue Sep 05, 2017 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

If a character delved far enough into forbidden theurgy, and perhaps interviews the shades of departed High Faith clergymen, he might develop true clerical powers.


High Faith
Symbol: trefoil/clover, cross
Alignment: Lawful Good
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, NG, and LE (corrupted theurgists only)
Domains: Law, Good(Evil), Knowledge, Repose(Death)
Favored weapon: mace

Corrupted theurgists are extremist or too-ambitious clerics who have fallen under the sway of infernal forces.
Any good or lawful neutral High Faith cleric may " reverse" certain spells, such as harming rather than healing or plunging a room into darkness rather than lighting it up.
Casting reversed spells draws the character into corruption...


------

Based on Ravenloft 2 House on Gryphon Hill
And on old school clerics


Symbols are drawn from Ravenloft 2. Yes, there is pretty obvious real world derivation for these symbols, but that can be played around with, as discussed in another thread.
One way to distance the High Faith from real world religion is to use a different title than "Bishop." I don't think that title appears in the module.
Hierophant may fit.

The trefoil of the High Faith might represent mind, body, and spirit as opposed to its normal religious meaning in European art.
The cross might stand for a conjunction and crossing over between life and death, the visible and invisible worlds.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

High Faith part 2
Musings

I think it was a mystery religion. After Mordentshire was dragged into the Mists and away from the old world, the clerics of Ostreton were unable to go there, rebuild and consecrate their chapel, and perform once again the sacred mysteries.
The clarks only have some scant records, published prayers, and codified remnant of oral tradition. They don't have the inner theurgic mysteries, at least not in complete form.



-----



Dementlieuse religion

A compound of old High Faith customs and the " scientific" ideas drawn from the notebooks and teaching of the Mesmerist.
No empowered clerics.
The typical mesmerism is a fraud or a quack-- at best a well-meaning scholar dabbling in matters he does not understand.


Witches, whose abberant psyches and forbidden occult practiced dement others's minds and produce dangerous physical manifestations, are relegated to convents by order of the governor. Though regarded as madwomen by respectable society, most people believe in the witches' powers of healing, lifting curses, and performing other strange feats.

Metagame note

These witches replace the Hala witch-nuns from Chilling Tales.

Arkandale

Similar to Mordentshire, but with much local lore about wolf-geists.
Witch-women and cunning men live closer to town, or in the settlements.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by Five »

I have some ideas for a cult/faux religion that I wrote down on the plane last night. Bear with me because they're not quite fully formed ideas...

Fellowship of the 7th House (aka 7th House, Cult of the 7th House)

- Southern Cross Cult (meaning it's Evil) that, so far, is doing a great job of hiding beneath a shell of benevolence.
- Sacrifice/Suffering, Healing/Pain. While the priests publicly go about magically absorbing the wounds, ailments and diseases of others, they privately cultivate these same "offerings" in dark rituals to be gifted to an entity they call "the Watcher".
- "Chosen ones" are initiated and taught through rituals (such as repeated exposure to "the Mouths of Madness", a ritual of untruth/group gaslighting) to prepare for communion with the Watcher. The "Watcher's Eye" is a direct link, through fire, to the entity.
- Chosen ones are assigned specific tasks, that only they have knowledge of, and are in truth being groomed for transposition.
- A "Firemass" is the sacrifice of the mortal self to the Watcher. It involves free will sacrifice by laying down in a giant firepit.
- Low-level priests, and some mid-level, are not exposed to these twisted rituals and are very much unaware that they even exist. The priests are generally good-aligned healers who absolve people of sickness and disease and who cleanse themselves of them in a ritual that actually transfers it to the higher level priests, who in turn transfers it to some poor unfortunate sacrifice to the Watcher.
- Flaying of these newly-diseased victims is standard M O. The pain draws the Watcher closer to RL. Some of the victims, particularly those who fall victim to the blood eagle (look it up) rise again as unholy creatures of the night who spy mutely like some sort of grotesque gargoyle, and who glide on bloodied "wings" of peeled flesh. These soul stealers (they actually feed on the breath of others) mainly monitor the members of the 7th house, reporting back to their masters those that would reveal its darkest of secrets. Only the high priest of each of the seven houses (cells) can command these ghastly creatures. On rare occasions that a potential sacrifice comes to their senses and makes a break for it the Blood Eagles are sent out on seek and destroy missions (to protect the inner members from incidental exposure). Numbering appearing: 1, 2 in larger settlements.
- the Watcher is a single entity, but it cannot gain access to RL without first sending several (7) of its minions through to "prepare" entry. Simply put, even the high priests are incapable of the sickness that is required to fuel the entry.

And that's all I have right now. Maybe I'll poke around this thread and edit it into something a little more presentable...
Last edited by Five on Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"A very piteous thing it was to see such a quantity of dead bodies, and such an outpouring of blood - that is, if they had not been enemies of the Christian faith."

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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

Cool!

:azalin:

I look forward to seeing more of the 7th House.
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by Five »

The 1st House:

Viaki, Darkon.

For several generations now the Adonidas family has had its fingers in lucrative business dealings spanning the width of Darkon and beyond. Merchants kings, some have called them, others mistakenly think the family of noble lineage. And the lifestyle of this clan does little to dispel these musings. Extravagant parties with guests that would cow all but a baron were the norm and many a business deal, some secretly, was cut in the Adonidas parlor...

However, the current generation finds itself haunted by the ghosts of yesteryear.

Georgios Adonidas is a shrewd businessman, mostly straight, and would certainly be in the least equal to his 'merchant king' ancestors, yet he finds his family living a day above poverty. Business is drying up at an alarming rate, as former investors are inexplicably pulling out, decades-old suppliers are dealing elsewhere, and properties, some ancestral, have been seized by agents of the Crown.

Yes, hard times have befallen the Adonidas', and even the servants, all but two that is, have left to find more stable employment. And it all started when Georgios' wife, Kassandra, left him and their two children for another man (DM's note: she's a thrall of a Kargat vampire). Soon thereafter the money started to disappear. Caravans of goods vanished without a trace. Former associates grew cold, distant, and then all contact was severed. Properties were seized; hired help, some lifelong friends, left in droves...leaving poor Georgios bewildered and doubly-heartbroken.

Yet Georgios, for all his grey-toned approach to business, is first and foremost a family man. And he has never denied his children anything. Especially since Kassandra left him. He knows exactly what his now adult children are spending, that they are in fact living well beyond their means, but Georgios responds simply by locking himself in the parlor and planning the family's financial future. And the man is a demon-possessed. Now, he spends the majority of his time on the road, outside of Darkon, conducting business deals large and small. Not able to afford a capable assistant, he feels he needs to manage all of his dealings personally. Rumors abound that the man carries such a massive amount of debt that he has fled Darkon to become anonymous, a beggar blur, in some far-flung land, such is the time he spends away from the Adonidas estate. And in his good-intentioned absence his children, Makarios and Agathe, are left to fend for themselves.

The elves of Darkon have a saying: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Well, in Makarios' case they're wrong; the apple rolled down the hill.

Perpetually brooding, Makarios is rotten to the core. Even as a child he displayed no outward perception of joy. Despite his doting parents, despite the great plans that his father had for him to one day take over the family business, Makarios was a stain on the Adonidas family name. Of course, none of Georgios' partners would ever dare tell him that his son was a ruthless bully to their children during each and every working vacation at the Adonidas estate. The fear of risk to current and future dealings was too great. It was easier to keep silent and, eventually, leave their children at home. The dead animals found by the groundskeepers? They were disturbing, but nothing a pack of hard-bred dogs couldn't handle...

And so the imperceptibly evil child grew into a young man. His mother had abandoned him, and his father's anguish, combined with his drive for business, blinded him to the sadistic growth of his son. And it was within that void that Makarios would blossom into the cold, calculating genius that he is today.

Agathe, on the other hand, is the jewel of the Adonidas bloodline. And if there is any sympathy for the family's current plight it is because of this young woman's purity of selflessness. For Agathe is the type who will, and has, given the last coin of her coinpurse (allowance) to those in greater need than she. And it is this charity, combined with her uncompromisingly positive attitude towards even the most desperate of situations that endears her to the community at large. In fact it is through her charitable nature that her brother has exploited her to no end.

At first the socially-inept Makarios brought home a friend and gave over one of the estate's numerous guest rooms for an indefinite stay. Only too happy to see her brother actually have a friend, Agathe agreed wholeheartedly. Then others began to fill the rooms. Agathe had her doubts at first but Makarios would assure her that they were there to help renovate the mansion, to bring it back to its former glory as a surprise to their morose father, and that they would move out after the work was done. Agathe, thinking only of her father, agreed. The renovations were sporadic at first, but not wanting to step on the toes of her brother and his new friend, who had assumed management, she left it be. Over time, the renovations were complete, yet the workers still did not leave. They were steadfast friends of Makarios and took on additional duties around the house, filling the gaps that the exodus of house servants had left behind. Not overly happy with the unsavory lot, or their rowdy parties, Agathe kept her distance. She would concentrate on helping those less fortunate in her community.

Eventually Georgios would return for a brief respite and when questioned, Makarios would tell him that the new guests of Adonidas were hired help, who paid for lodging with a portion of their pay, and who were more than capable in their current roles. Georgios, always locked in thought on his next financial endeavour, absentmindedly agreed and set out for his next trip. He hadn't the mind to even notice the renovations. Agathe, upon hearing her brother's blatant lie, was about to confront him but stopped herself. Always sad to see her business-obsessed father leave, always concerned over his weakening health, she concocted a plan to put a positive spin on the situation. Through a lie would come a truth. She would open up the Adonidas estate to travellers that would come through Viaki. A bed and breakfast that was fairly priced and that would cater to those itinerant groups and individuals that some call 'adventurers'.

Yet the adventurers never came in the flocks that she envisioned. Most of the guests were individuals that travelled to Viaki for opportunistic business peddling, others rough-and-tumble trappers, others still that would send shivers down her spine. It wasn't what she had planned, but it was generating enough to allow the siblings to be less dependant on their father's enormous sacrifice.

That all changed when Makarios and his 'friends' decided one day to take over the estate, and cut her out from all responsibility. They would manage and she would see to the guests' needs. Disappointed but committed to her father, she eagerly took on her new role in the Adonidas estate and became a hostess extraordinaire. But try as she might she could not help but think about her absent father and his declining health. And one evening it must have shown, for a new guest, a very charming and handsome man, looked at her and saw past her smile. He asked. She, normally stoic and without even knowing why, broke down and poured her heart out.

He said he could help her help her father for he was a healer, blessed with the power to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit of pain and suffering in all its wretched forms. It was his life purpose to rove from place to place, from castle to hovel and hovel to the homeless, and end the misery borne by the undeserving. He With No Name, the Watcher that sees and weeps at the suffering of creatures great and small, guides him during his journey, sending him to those in need of healing such as a moth is drawn to the flame.

Too skeptical to believe but desperate enough to listen, Agathe stayed with the man and did just that.

Her doubt must have been obvious, for the man made her a promise to show her his blessed gifts the following evening, so that she can believe in them. For only through the power of belief can this gift exist in a form to be passed on from one compassionate soul to another. And as further proof of his intentions, he said, he could ease her mind of the burden she was carrying for the well-being of her father, if she would but allow him. Sheepishly, and for reasons that she would never understand, she said yes. And before the strangeness of it all could creep into her mind, he ever so softly caressed her cheek with the back of his two fingers and they simultaneously sighed, she with relief and he with her turmoil. They locked eyes for a moment of eternity and then, abruptly, she excused herself.

The man smiled and bid her good night. She hid hers and did likewise.
Last edited by Five on Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
"A very piteous thing it was to see such a quantity of dead bodies, and such an outpouring of blood - that is, if they had not been enemies of the Christian faith."

- Jean Pierre Sarrasin, "The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville"
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by Five »

True to his word, the next evening the stranger took Agathe to the town proper and without guidance he led her to Toadsfoot, an scraggy old inn with a less than stellar reputation, especially after sundown. And there he led her directly to a man with whom she needed no introduction.

Stompin' Drol Corven, known to the local youth as "Stomp on Drol Corven", formerly of Tempe Falls, formerly of Martira Bay, etc, was a sod of a man whose one concern in life was to seek out the bottom of every bottle that he met. Some would say that a close second was his affectionate showering of kisses to the ground beneath his feet (as his missing teeth can attest to). The fact that he was blind served only to compound the poor bastard's problems. And as sure as the dead are cold, this night found Stompin' Drol in a corner attempting to regale the room (himself) with tales of somebody's (his?) glorious accomplishments. Had Agathe not been the caring soul that she was, had she not been the only person in Viaki to see the man behind the wretch, then it would've struck her as funny that he was in fact back-on to the crowded room and talking to the wall.

It was to this man whom she was led. The stranger offered her a sad smile of understanding before having a quiet word with the blinded drunk. Astonishingly to Agathe, who knew this man as a creature of habit, Mr. Corven instantly ceased his babbling, straightened himself, turned towards the man, nodded, and gestured towards his table. It was almost as if she was watching a different man. A sober man. Her thoughts thus raced and she missed the first part of the exchange between the two men.

Mr. Corven turned towards her direction and nodded. He and the man mouthed more words but she couldn't make them out, distracted as she was by the rowdy din of the taproom. And the heat...! She wiped the sudden sweat from her forehead, closed her eyes, and fought a wave of nausea. That sudden bout of hers must have caught the attention of her escort, for when he turned to include her in the conversation he frowned and asked her something that she couldn't make out. Another exchange between the two gentlemen and he rose from the table. The suggestion was made to take her outside for some fresh air, and so he gently led her through the busy room towards the door, Stompin' Drol Corven following quick at his heels...


cont.
"A very piteous thing it was to see such a quantity of dead bodies, and such an outpouring of blood - that is, if they had not been enemies of the Christian faith."

- Jean Pierre Sarrasin, "The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville"
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

Lamordian religion (historical)

Olympian Pantheon

The name, Adam, is an obvious biblical allusion, but we already have some quasi-Christian material in published Ravenloft.

Doctor Mordenheim actually names several deities in his journals, and they are all from Classical mythology.
My take on it would be that hardly any active cults of these gods survive in contemporary Lamordia, but vague myths and half-forgotten legends do persist.
The classical nomenclature Mordenheim used in his journals reflects his elite education. Common folk used local names for the gods.


The Modern Prometheus...
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Ravenloft religions

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Falkovnian Statism


No spellcasting clerics.

Drakov remains wary of religion and priests, remembering what happened in Thenol. He promotes a brutal ideology of statism, militarism, and human supremacism as an alternative to traditional religious beliefs.

Clerics in Falkovnia are tolerated if they keep a low profile, steer clear of politics, and provide free healing and other services to the military. Units posted along the border of Darkon even include clerics in the ranks, but official record lists these spell casters as common soldiers with asterisks no one professes to notice inked next to their names in the ledgers.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by alhoon »

To be sincere Ewan for a military dictator to overlook the very clear benefits of divine magic even at the lowest levels is kinda far-fetched. Even if Drakov persists on robbing his troops from healing and blessing spells, his generals probably won't. Especially when they are so worried about undead from Darkon.

Then it gets to the nice religion of Bane\Lawgiver, that aligns very well with Drakov's ideology of might-makes-right, oppressing tyranny and strife. Why would Drakov be opposed to that? After all, some incarnations of Bane (i.e. the FR one) speak of a man that won his divinity from the Gods. That's easily twisted to human-centric superiority.
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by Rock of the Fraternity »

True, but whichever religion would be recognized in Falkovnia would make Drakov the second highest authority in his territory after the deity in the eyes of his subjects. Remember how much of an egomaniac he is. Or maybe he just doesn't want a priesthood developing a non-military powerbase in his country.
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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

Drakov grew up in a world where all the priests who claimed magical powers were really wizards or charlatans.
And then came the new prophet, a priest of Hiteh.
Trandamere.
The king of Thenol allowed the new sect to grow and prosper. Then, on a terrible night of horror and treachery, the dead rose at the command of the evil priests of Hiteh and overwhelmed the king's men. Bishop Trandamere, prophet and cult leader, rules Thenol now, with a puppet king.

So, yeah, Drakov has excellent background reasons to be leery of clerics.

Thenol's history and Drakov's origins in Thenol are described in published TSR material.

As noted, my assumption is that Drakopv does allow clerics to operate within certain bounds, provided they give his soldiers free healing and other support. But he remains suspicious of any ambitious clerics, and won't allow temples to grow wealthy or powerful.
Last edited by ewancummins on Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Ravenloft religions

Post by ewancummins »

RE Lawgiver, I think Drakov would be less hostile to druids than to the Lawgiver cult.

Lawgiver cult is evil. Why would Drakov want evil cultists operating in his realm, much less evil politically involved cultists? You can't trust people like that. 8)



And druids of the TN old school sort might appreciate him.

. Sure, they might object to some of the more extractive, short-term forestry plans, but they can see the wisdom in limiting human population growth through war and impalements. Harsh, but it works. Drakov keeps the realm's population from exploding. He creates forests!
He's GREEN.
:azalin:

And he likes birds.
Nice guy.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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