Corrupt(ible) churches in Faerun

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

I've been pondering character concepts for an upcoming game centering around the Harpers. One concept is (at least in part) an Ur-Priest who only steals spells from a particular deity, and works to take that church down one bit at a time. I would like the achievement of this goal to be a good thing, even if the means the character uses aren't.

Ideally if there were a church accepted in most civilized lands that has a hand in the slaving business (secretly or not) then he could definitely go for that. Obviously I can talk with my DM about adding this to any church, but he has a lot on his plate. He'd probably prefer to approve of something I bring up than create half a backstory for me. Problem is, I don't really know a lot about Faerun deities and churches.

Hence I turn to the Playground for help. What churches might have these qualities?

[meto30]

The church of Horus-Re, which doubles as the government of Mulhorand, might work. They, being a lawful church of a LG deity, will be acceptable in most lands at peace with Mulhorand, and as slavery is legal in that realm, they also deal in slaves. Although to be frank, Mulhorandi slavery is very different from the usual form the practice takes.

Most Faerunite churches that deal in slavery are also evil and work in secret. The church of Bane, in partnership with the Black Network (the Zhentarim), more or less work in the open (they openly dominate and rule multiple city states around the desert of Anauroch) and also do garden-variety slavery. However, the church of Bane is unambiguously evil, and might not work for your purposes.

[Valwyn]

To be honest, I don't know about the fluff of FR, but here are some ideas.

The church of Hoar (:smallbiggrin:) might work. LN god of retribution. Maybe some of the officers go too far?

Depending of the time period, the church of Kelemvor (LN god of death) has some ex-Myrkulites that are converting. Perhaps some of them are having issues with his antiundead policies?

Followers of Tyr (LG god of justice) are sometimes too bossy and are sometimes called "tyrants". Some of the paladins or clerics (a high priest, perhaps) could be acting as judge as well as jury and executioner.

The chuch or Waukeen controls trade. Some of its members could be taking/giving bribes or dealing with illigal stuff (drugs, weapons, slaves, etc) to increase their personal gain. Maybe even assassinating rivals.

Hope this helps. :smallsmile:

[Zubrowka74]

Can't spell "Tyrant" without "Tyr" ;)

[Asteron]

Afaik, there aren't any chruches dedicated to slavery in FR.

Does it have to be a Good church turned bad? If so, IMO, that had been done to death. If not, there aren't really any Evil churches that are accepted across Faerun... but there are several that can be found in almost every civilized nations regardless of whether they are accepted or not. The church of Bane, for instance, has agents everywhere. They would have no qualms about selling beings into slavery. The Drow are notorious slave owners that can pop up anywhere and take some slaves to the Underdark. You can make almost any church into slave runners.

[Norin]

Might be quite relevant to know what general area and year the campaign is set in.

Any info on that?

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Unsure about area, though given the craziness of this group we'll probably be hopping around the entire map by the low-mid levels.

Unsure about the year, except that it's 3.5 era timeline (so 4e hasn't killed everything off yet, or I think that's what happened?)

The church doesn't have to be dedicated to slavery. It's more like they're aiding and abetting slavers without losing favor with their god*. Maybe a LN or N church has some LE or NE clergy who discreetly tax and operate the local black market, including the slave market. But what kind of N or LN god would be okay with that?

*Or maybe he can figure that out later, and wonder why he's been stealing spells from the god that forsook them long ago...

Anyway, that's just one idea.

[meto30]

In that case, I guess the church of Waukeen would be good for you. Waukeen is the god of merchants, and merchants from both Sembia and Amn are known to go for unscrupulous methods sometimes. Perhaps a regional church from such a region decided slavery is not a very bad thing.

And although the church of Tyr is known for its sometimes aggravating behavior, they also follow a very strict moral code, and that disallows slavery. So IMO Tyrrans won't work very well with your idea, although it is entirely possible they go all the way knights templar and start forcing criminals to 'correctional' labor, which others might see as slavery.

The church of Hoar at the 3.5 timeframe is very small and disorganized... I was of the impression that you wanted a church with more clout, so I'd not recommend the church of Revenge :smallsmile:

[Alleran]

Well, first off, the Harpers are a good-aligned society who don't approve of evil members, and they certainly wouldn't approve of an Ur-Priest (who must be evil), setting aside the thorny issue of how the Ur-Priest is very difficult to slot into FR in the first place (one feat I might recommend taking is "Servant of the Fallen" from Power of Faerun, since it'll allow you to draw power from a dead god, and you may also want to ask the DM about refluffing it so that you aren't required to be evil).


The church doesn't have to be dedicated to slavery. It's more like they're aiding and abetting slavers without losing favor with their god*.
I can't think of any churches offhand that are dedicated to slavery anyway. There are, however, several that tangentially incorporate it (e.g. Bane, Loviatar), and several nations and organisations that use it (Thay, Zhentarim, Calimshan) to varying degrees (e.g. in Thay, if you have magical skill you move up in society, if you don't you're a low-class serf). Pretty much all the countries on the eastern side of the Sea of Falling Stars at least support it, as well as good chunks of the Vilhon Reach.

This being said, they'll all have varying types of slavery. The Zhentarim have the nasty kind, while Thay has a Magocracy (either you're a mage or you're a serf). Calimshan is very "Middle East" in its style, while Mulhorand, Chessenta and other nations towards the east are a bit closer to the Romans (IIRC, one of them has gladiator-style slavery). Egyptian culture, in the case of Mulhorand.

And there are, of course, the drow.

Assuming that you're talking about the actual evil conception of slavery (setting aside the moral and ethical arguments for whether slavery is good or bad), I don't think you'll find any good-aligned churches that aid it - they'll almost all oppose it, possibly outright depending on location and church. It does in part depend on the direction of that church in the region (e.g. whether the local temple of Tyr is staffed by clerics who are "Lawful GOOD" or "LAWFUL Good" instead, but even then they wouldn't be able to go too far from the precepts of the god), of course, where if slavery is part of the laws, then their opposition may or may not be open.

But no good-aligned church that I can think of will allow it wholesale. Not many neutral ones either, for that matter. Waukeen is about the only option, and then only through trade. And I doubt that the church will support slavery outright, considering that Waukeen spent several years imprisoned and tortured in the Nine Hells as effectively a slave from the Time of Troubles through to about 1369 DR. Again, you'll probably get a case-by-case basis deal.

I would say a better target would be a specific nation or organisation than church, since that's normally where you'll find the slaving. And it also allows you to aim for the really bad stuff, then slowly work back to the milder forms.

[Matticussama]

The church of Helm (LN God of Protection) has gotten into a lot of trouble due to its actions in Maztica. Their actions are analogous to the real-world conflicts between the Spanish conquistadors and the Native Americans; while not condoned by the entire church, some of the over-zealous (and less scrupulous) followers of Helm in their colonies in Maztica have resorted to slavery. At the same time, Helm has a presence in most major nations in Faerun; while he is only a lesser god, he is especially venerated by soldiers and town guards due to his emphasis on protection and guardianship.