BobGhengisKhan
2007-01-08, 12:29 PM
Given that the PHB has given us fairly little to go on with the way that religions actually work, here's a writeup I did a little while ago on the church of Hextor. I posted this before, but now that there's a forum for all homebrew stuff, I thought I'd place it here.
Church of the Many-Handed one.
The Church of Hextor, when compared with many of the other religions that follow the evil gods, is hardly an enigma. One would be hard-pressed to say that he would not recognize one of the temple knights of the many-handed one, nor is his symbol shrouded in any mystery or legend. The Church of Hextor, and all it represents, is a very real, palpable force in the world, and to some, the concreteness of its existence make it all the more terrible than the shadowy whispers and sketchy rumors about those who follow the long-dead Vecna. The clanking of their armor and the steel of their swords is no phantasm, their force of arms no illusion. Their fortress temples are as substantial as the stone of any mountain.
While they may lack in numbers compared to the armies of the kings, their fierce professionalism and unrelenting, almost cruel discipline make them an enormously powerful fighting force.
While the disciples of Heironius speak of warfare with valor and respect, the Hextorites preach that they turn a blind eye to the grim reality of warfare, the mud, and the gore, and the bloodshed, the cleaving of the bones and sinews of another man. There is no reality in war but the killing of other men, so why consider such paltry, fleeting things as honor and respect?
The chief doctrines of the church of Hextor are laid out in the principal tenants of the religion, also known as the "Six hands". No one may enter their fortress temples without knowing all six, without exception, be it commoner or a bishop of their own church.
They are:
Fear: Fear is weakness, fear is illusiory. Transcend your own fear while doing all you can to instill it in others.
Obedience: The Law is supreme, but when conflicted, the laws of Hextor are your only laws. If others fail to obey them, then they have failed Hextor.
Domination: The enemy, when defeated, must not be shown kindness. You must strike from their hearts any hope of new victory.
Discipline: Hextor has no room for a disordered mind. Clear it of all thoughts, and focus entirely on the task in front of you.
Sacrifice: Your blood is Hextor's blood, your arms are his. Do not waste them in vainglorious attempts to distinguish oneself. Service to Hextor is honor enough.
Order: Chaos must not be tolerated. Those who submit to the law live, those who oppose it must be made to have no means to overturn the law.
Organization:
The church of Hextor, like churches of other lawful gods, is organized under a strict hierarchy. The only difference is that the organization of the many-handed one is far more strict than most, rivaling even that of Saint Cuthbert. Regular followers tend to be allowed into the regular churches of Hextor, usually located inside cities: The actual members of the church are careful not to break standing laws, however distasteful they may be to the church leaders. The main power bases of the Church of Hextor, however, lie in their fortress temples.
The fortress temples of Hextor have more in common with defensive castles than cathedrals in terms of architecture. They are built to project not merely foreboding, but also martial power. It is from these places that the bishops of the Church and the Magisters of the soldiery conduct their affairs in their assigned regions. They take great care to acquire land that has fallen into disuse due to banditry and the like: Such opponents are used as training exercises to acculturate the new members of the soldiery into the methods of the Church of Hextor. It is said that the areas around these fortress temples have not the calm of peace, as during a day in mid-spring, but the calm of the grave, suggesting that they instill such terror into the surrounding landscape that not even a bird dares to chirp without their say-so.
There are several levels of organization. At the bottom are the regular followers, but there are two groups within the church that serve different functions: The Soldiery and the Clergy.
The Clergy are the spiritual and magical heart of the Church. The leader of the religion at any one time is the Archbishop, who appoints his own successor in his will and testament before he dies. The Church of Hextor frowns on lichdom as a perversion of order, and tends not to indulge in the practice of such necromancy. Living soldiers can be motivated and pushed beyond their own percieved limits, while undead fight like rank automatons.
Below the archbishop are the regular bishops, each one assigned to a particular region in which a fortress temple has been built. this person oversees the running of the churches in that region, the establishment of new parishes, and the management of money. They also, should there be call for it, join wtih the regional army in times of large-scale war.
The next level are the priests, which spread the faith to those interested in the ways of the many-handed one in the various churches that dot the landscape. These men are ready at a moment's notice to join with the armies of Hextor on punitive expeditions against the enemies of the church.
The lowest, however, are the acolytes, those undergoing training to become the next priests. Real combat is as important for them as for the soldiery, and it is ensured that everyone who becomes a priest is a veteran of combat: Hextor has no use for those who cannot withstand the rigors of battle.
The soldiery is the army of Hextor, and has a chirf commander of its own, known as the Grand Magister. He deals with the administration of the forces under Hextor, and leads in when the entire army of the Church must be mobilized against its enemies. Rumor has it that the Grand Magister, due to his utter devotion to the cause of war and hegemony, is occasionally granted dark powers beyond those normally posessed by the normal armored fighting man. The Grand Magister is not to be underestimated, and put no means of inflicting harm past his personal abilities. He also chooses his successor by appointment.
The normal military activities of Each region, however, are supervised by the Magisters, the commanders of the soldiery in a given region. They do all of the strategic planning for a region, and lead the army into battle himself, should a large-scale response be needed by a regional force. He also handles the contracting of mercenaires.
Below the Magisters, then, are the Temple Knights of Hextor. These oversee the day-to-day martial activities of the region, and lead detachments of soldiers to fight against local threats. They also lead the contingients of mercenaries hired by outside powers, and are the chief defenders of the fortress temples. The prowess of these knights is great, and nightmarish for regular conscripts to face on the field. The rank fo temple knight is soght after fiercely, due to the status it holds. A temple knight is immediately recognized as one who is strong in Hextor, his teachings, and martial prowess.
The lowest rank, of course, are the regular soldiers. The church takes care to equip its men well, and train therm well for battle, but the requirements are steepr than for most armies: Any who wish to join Hextor must be a veteran of battle already. No one can come straight from the fields and join the armies of Hextor. Because of this harsh recruitment policy, the quality of the men obtained is greater than those seen in regular armies, and training exercises, such as the extermination of local nuisances, are all that is required to acculturate them into the methods of Hextor's army.
WHile the two parts of the church are outwardly united, the Grand Magister and Archbishop constantly jockey for power and influence against each other, to see who truly "Rules" the church. Such power stuggles are a fact of life in a religion following a dark god, but these struggles tend to be kept out of sight as much as possible, so as to not show weakness to outside forces.
Mercenaries:
Perhaps the most curious practice of the Church of Hextor is the hiring out of their troops as mercenaries. While it may certainly seem odd ofr such a strictly orthodox and conservative religion to hire out troops to nonbelievers, the material advantages become apparent easily. It gains the armies of Hextor valuable experience in battles, it gains vast revenue for the Church itself, plus it allows the Church some information on the military state of potential adversaries.
The mercenary contracts are reviewed and drafted by the Magister and his own cadre of barristers retained in his employ (Hextor employs some of the greatest lawyers of all religious oganizations), ensuring that there are no exploitable loopholes. The contract is commenced when half of the expected payment is recieved in advance, and expeditions are led by members of the Temple Knights. If the employer defaults on or tries to break the contract, that employer is forever marked as an enemy of Hextor, and the rest of the payment may be extracted through force of arms, if possible.
The church of Hextor, however, always retains the right to recall mercenary forces in the case of an emergency, such as a credible attack on one of the fortress temples.
Adversaries:
Aside from the church of Heironieus, the Church of Hextor has assembled a number of traditional enemies that oppose them or are opposed by them over territorial or ideological issues.
Chief among the secular enemies of the Church of Hextor are creatures that thrive in disorganized ways of living. They have no respect for the laws of Hextor, and will attempt to attack the assets of anything percieved, rightly or wrongly, as an invader. This includes bandits, as well as the ubiquitous orcs and goblinoids. These provide little challenge to the well-disciplined armies of Hextor, for the most part.
The elves, however, are another matter, due to the degree of civilization they have achieved despite their frivolous lifestyle. The Church of Hextor has long been at odds with the sylvan peoples, however, they have developed a method of doing battle with them that bears some note. If their men are being harassed by the elves, they keep their men away from the woods until their scouts have discovered the location of the elven settlements. They then march their armies towards those settlements, forcing the elves into a decisve battle that they are neither usually equipped nor trained to fight.
Also, there are local lords which oppose the expansion of Hextor over material or ideological means. For this the means are simple: If the matter is simply material, then the church will negotiate a comfortable settlement. In the case of ideological differences, however, the church will attempt to find a way to replace the lord with a more suitable neighbor. If this fails, open war may follow.
Perhaps the most dangerous of the secular enemies of the church of Hextor are the children of Moradin, the dwarves. The dwarves build geat mountain fortresses, have incredible wealth due to their mining, and amass strong, well-organized armies, with excellent equipment, due to their knowledge of metalworking. Their knowledge of stoneworking allows them to build fantastic seige engines, and the dwarves have, as such, inflicted horrendous losses against regional armies over the centuries. In one battle, the Grand Magister lost his life against a warpriest of Moradin. No temple fortress lost to dwarves has been rebuilt, and any dwarven lands are considered unsuitable for the ways of Hextor for the time being.
The religious adversaries of Hextor are numerous. The father of paladins, mentioned many previous times, has a legendary rivalry with the many-handed one, dating back to before there were men to fight in proxy of the two Gods. his is a rivalry that can only end in the destruction of one church or the other.
St. Cuthbert, being one who brooks no evil, has no love for Hextor as well, and clashes between the Church of Hextor and the order of the saint are infrequent, but tremendously bloody when they do occur.
The Chaotic gods do all oppose Hextor on some level or another, but don't have the organized following required to dislodge Hextor's foothold.
Allies:
The Church of Hextor is not without allies: To have none would mean that it would be wiped off of the face of the world, a distant memory existing only in stories to scare children into eating their vegetables. As odd as it may sound for such an organization to maintain allies, it does occur.
There are lords who do not oppose the Church of Hextor due to the fact that they tend to stabilize a region they control. The lack of banditry and other monstrous interference tends to lead to tolerance for the presence of the Church, even if the lord may not technically agree with their teachings. Some may actively aid the Church in times of need, with money equipment, and even armies.
Hobgoblins are an occasional ally of the Church of Hextor, due to their mutual hatred of elves and other traditional enemies of the goblinoids. These alliances tend to be brief, however, as they may vie for power after a mutual threat has been extinguished.
The most dangerous secular ally that the Curch may have is that of an entire kingdom that is run by the phiolosophies of the many-handed one. In such a place there is no sanctuary, no freedom, and little hope. In such a place, the government itself must be toppled, and its armies defeated before there can be any change. Absolute tyranny requires far more than half-measures and discussion to topple.
The religious allies of the Church of Hextor are few, but important. The Church of Wee Jas, knowing the disdain that they have for necromancy, have often found common, if temporary cause inf defeatting necromancers that use thier power in an immoderate manner, such as Liches and others that wish to cheat natural death.
Closing:
The Church of Hextor is not only dangerous, but its danger is very visible and substantial. They rely on terror and the destruction of hope to rule with a mailed fist. They are ferocious in battle, and cruel to their enemies as they are to themselves. However, they are not invincible, as has been shown, and the Good peoples of the world can defeat their works by making common cause against a foe that is, occisonally, divided against itself.
Church of the Many-Handed one.
The Church of Hextor, when compared with many of the other religions that follow the evil gods, is hardly an enigma. One would be hard-pressed to say that he would not recognize one of the temple knights of the many-handed one, nor is his symbol shrouded in any mystery or legend. The Church of Hextor, and all it represents, is a very real, palpable force in the world, and to some, the concreteness of its existence make it all the more terrible than the shadowy whispers and sketchy rumors about those who follow the long-dead Vecna. The clanking of their armor and the steel of their swords is no phantasm, their force of arms no illusion. Their fortress temples are as substantial as the stone of any mountain.
While they may lack in numbers compared to the armies of the kings, their fierce professionalism and unrelenting, almost cruel discipline make them an enormously powerful fighting force.
While the disciples of Heironius speak of warfare with valor and respect, the Hextorites preach that they turn a blind eye to the grim reality of warfare, the mud, and the gore, and the bloodshed, the cleaving of the bones and sinews of another man. There is no reality in war but the killing of other men, so why consider such paltry, fleeting things as honor and respect?
The chief doctrines of the church of Hextor are laid out in the principal tenants of the religion, also known as the "Six hands". No one may enter their fortress temples without knowing all six, without exception, be it commoner or a bishop of their own church.
They are:
Fear: Fear is weakness, fear is illusiory. Transcend your own fear while doing all you can to instill it in others.
Obedience: The Law is supreme, but when conflicted, the laws of Hextor are your only laws. If others fail to obey them, then they have failed Hextor.
Domination: The enemy, when defeated, must not be shown kindness. You must strike from their hearts any hope of new victory.
Discipline: Hextor has no room for a disordered mind. Clear it of all thoughts, and focus entirely on the task in front of you.
Sacrifice: Your blood is Hextor's blood, your arms are his. Do not waste them in vainglorious attempts to distinguish oneself. Service to Hextor is honor enough.
Order: Chaos must not be tolerated. Those who submit to the law live, those who oppose it must be made to have no means to overturn the law.
Organization:
The church of Hextor, like churches of other lawful gods, is organized under a strict hierarchy. The only difference is that the organization of the many-handed one is far more strict than most, rivaling even that of Saint Cuthbert. Regular followers tend to be allowed into the regular churches of Hextor, usually located inside cities: The actual members of the church are careful not to break standing laws, however distasteful they may be to the church leaders. The main power bases of the Church of Hextor, however, lie in their fortress temples.
The fortress temples of Hextor have more in common with defensive castles than cathedrals in terms of architecture. They are built to project not merely foreboding, but also martial power. It is from these places that the bishops of the Church and the Magisters of the soldiery conduct their affairs in their assigned regions. They take great care to acquire land that has fallen into disuse due to banditry and the like: Such opponents are used as training exercises to acculturate the new members of the soldiery into the methods of the Church of Hextor. It is said that the areas around these fortress temples have not the calm of peace, as during a day in mid-spring, but the calm of the grave, suggesting that they instill such terror into the surrounding landscape that not even a bird dares to chirp without their say-so.
There are several levels of organization. At the bottom are the regular followers, but there are two groups within the church that serve different functions: The Soldiery and the Clergy.
The Clergy are the spiritual and magical heart of the Church. The leader of the religion at any one time is the Archbishop, who appoints his own successor in his will and testament before he dies. The Church of Hextor frowns on lichdom as a perversion of order, and tends not to indulge in the practice of such necromancy. Living soldiers can be motivated and pushed beyond their own percieved limits, while undead fight like rank automatons.
Below the archbishop are the regular bishops, each one assigned to a particular region in which a fortress temple has been built. this person oversees the running of the churches in that region, the establishment of new parishes, and the management of money. They also, should there be call for it, join wtih the regional army in times of large-scale war.
The next level are the priests, which spread the faith to those interested in the ways of the many-handed one in the various churches that dot the landscape. These men are ready at a moment's notice to join with the armies of Hextor on punitive expeditions against the enemies of the church.
The lowest, however, are the acolytes, those undergoing training to become the next priests. Real combat is as important for them as for the soldiery, and it is ensured that everyone who becomes a priest is a veteran of combat: Hextor has no use for those who cannot withstand the rigors of battle.
The soldiery is the army of Hextor, and has a chirf commander of its own, known as the Grand Magister. He deals with the administration of the forces under Hextor, and leads in when the entire army of the Church must be mobilized against its enemies. Rumor has it that the Grand Magister, due to his utter devotion to the cause of war and hegemony, is occasionally granted dark powers beyond those normally posessed by the normal armored fighting man. The Grand Magister is not to be underestimated, and put no means of inflicting harm past his personal abilities. He also chooses his successor by appointment.
The normal military activities of Each region, however, are supervised by the Magisters, the commanders of the soldiery in a given region. They do all of the strategic planning for a region, and lead the army into battle himself, should a large-scale response be needed by a regional force. He also handles the contracting of mercenaires.
Below the Magisters, then, are the Temple Knights of Hextor. These oversee the day-to-day martial activities of the region, and lead detachments of soldiers to fight against local threats. They also lead the contingients of mercenaries hired by outside powers, and are the chief defenders of the fortress temples. The prowess of these knights is great, and nightmarish for regular conscripts to face on the field. The rank fo temple knight is soght after fiercely, due to the status it holds. A temple knight is immediately recognized as one who is strong in Hextor, his teachings, and martial prowess.
The lowest rank, of course, are the regular soldiers. The church takes care to equip its men well, and train therm well for battle, but the requirements are steepr than for most armies: Any who wish to join Hextor must be a veteran of battle already. No one can come straight from the fields and join the armies of Hextor. Because of this harsh recruitment policy, the quality of the men obtained is greater than those seen in regular armies, and training exercises, such as the extermination of local nuisances, are all that is required to acculturate them into the methods of Hextor's army.
WHile the two parts of the church are outwardly united, the Grand Magister and Archbishop constantly jockey for power and influence against each other, to see who truly "Rules" the church. Such power stuggles are a fact of life in a religion following a dark god, but these struggles tend to be kept out of sight as much as possible, so as to not show weakness to outside forces.
Mercenaries:
Perhaps the most curious practice of the Church of Hextor is the hiring out of their troops as mercenaries. While it may certainly seem odd ofr such a strictly orthodox and conservative religion to hire out troops to nonbelievers, the material advantages become apparent easily. It gains the armies of Hextor valuable experience in battles, it gains vast revenue for the Church itself, plus it allows the Church some information on the military state of potential adversaries.
The mercenary contracts are reviewed and drafted by the Magister and his own cadre of barristers retained in his employ (Hextor employs some of the greatest lawyers of all religious oganizations), ensuring that there are no exploitable loopholes. The contract is commenced when half of the expected payment is recieved in advance, and expeditions are led by members of the Temple Knights. If the employer defaults on or tries to break the contract, that employer is forever marked as an enemy of Hextor, and the rest of the payment may be extracted through force of arms, if possible.
The church of Hextor, however, always retains the right to recall mercenary forces in the case of an emergency, such as a credible attack on one of the fortress temples.
Adversaries:
Aside from the church of Heironieus, the Church of Hextor has assembled a number of traditional enemies that oppose them or are opposed by them over territorial or ideological issues.
Chief among the secular enemies of the Church of Hextor are creatures that thrive in disorganized ways of living. They have no respect for the laws of Hextor, and will attempt to attack the assets of anything percieved, rightly or wrongly, as an invader. This includes bandits, as well as the ubiquitous orcs and goblinoids. These provide little challenge to the well-disciplined armies of Hextor, for the most part.
The elves, however, are another matter, due to the degree of civilization they have achieved despite their frivolous lifestyle. The Church of Hextor has long been at odds with the sylvan peoples, however, they have developed a method of doing battle with them that bears some note. If their men are being harassed by the elves, they keep their men away from the woods until their scouts have discovered the location of the elven settlements. They then march their armies towards those settlements, forcing the elves into a decisve battle that they are neither usually equipped nor trained to fight.
Also, there are local lords which oppose the expansion of Hextor over material or ideological means. For this the means are simple: If the matter is simply material, then the church will negotiate a comfortable settlement. In the case of ideological differences, however, the church will attempt to find a way to replace the lord with a more suitable neighbor. If this fails, open war may follow.
Perhaps the most dangerous of the secular enemies of the church of Hextor are the children of Moradin, the dwarves. The dwarves build geat mountain fortresses, have incredible wealth due to their mining, and amass strong, well-organized armies, with excellent equipment, due to their knowledge of metalworking. Their knowledge of stoneworking allows them to build fantastic seige engines, and the dwarves have, as such, inflicted horrendous losses against regional armies over the centuries. In one battle, the Grand Magister lost his life against a warpriest of Moradin. No temple fortress lost to dwarves has been rebuilt, and any dwarven lands are considered unsuitable for the ways of Hextor for the time being.
The religious adversaries of Hextor are numerous. The father of paladins, mentioned many previous times, has a legendary rivalry with the many-handed one, dating back to before there were men to fight in proxy of the two Gods. his is a rivalry that can only end in the destruction of one church or the other.
St. Cuthbert, being one who brooks no evil, has no love for Hextor as well, and clashes between the Church of Hextor and the order of the saint are infrequent, but tremendously bloody when they do occur.
The Chaotic gods do all oppose Hextor on some level or another, but don't have the organized following required to dislodge Hextor's foothold.
Allies:
The Church of Hextor is not without allies: To have none would mean that it would be wiped off of the face of the world, a distant memory existing only in stories to scare children into eating their vegetables. As odd as it may sound for such an organization to maintain allies, it does occur.
There are lords who do not oppose the Church of Hextor due to the fact that they tend to stabilize a region they control. The lack of banditry and other monstrous interference tends to lead to tolerance for the presence of the Church, even if the lord may not technically agree with their teachings. Some may actively aid the Church in times of need, with money equipment, and even armies.
Hobgoblins are an occasional ally of the Church of Hextor, due to their mutual hatred of elves and other traditional enemies of the goblinoids. These alliances tend to be brief, however, as they may vie for power after a mutual threat has been extinguished.
The most dangerous secular ally that the Curch may have is that of an entire kingdom that is run by the phiolosophies of the many-handed one. In such a place there is no sanctuary, no freedom, and little hope. In such a place, the government itself must be toppled, and its armies defeated before there can be any change. Absolute tyranny requires far more than half-measures and discussion to topple.
The religious allies of the Church of Hextor are few, but important. The Church of Wee Jas, knowing the disdain that they have for necromancy, have often found common, if temporary cause inf defeatting necromancers that use thier power in an immoderate manner, such as Liches and others that wish to cheat natural death.
Closing:
The Church of Hextor is not only dangerous, but its danger is very visible and substantial. They rely on terror and the destruction of hope to rule with a mailed fist. They are ferocious in battle, and cruel to their enemies as they are to themselves. However, they are not invincible, as has been shown, and the Good peoples of the world can defeat their works by making common cause against a foe that is, occisonally, divided against itself.