Mephibosheth
2006-08-11, 03:39 PM
The Callers of the Summer Rain
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h197/Mephibosheth85/Rain.png
Note: This is an organization created for use in the Tears of Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=world;action=display;num=1121098590) campaign setting, currently being created here at Giantitp.com. The above link contains summaries of many of the setting-specific information used in this write-up. I apologize for the specificity of this organization. Hopefully it will prove easily adaptable to non-Tears of Blood games.
General Background
The early months of summer in Pahal (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/Tantolian/Maps/TOB-MC7a.jpg) (the large peninsula located west of the Al Barajah Desert) are among the hottest and driest months the region suffers. Plants wither and die, wild animals and livestock become emaciated and lethargic, and life in general seeks nothing more than escape from the heat. Humankind is no exception to this imperative.
As long as the Pahali have worshiped the gods, the Callers of the Summer Rain have preserved the vital ritual known as the Shaagyaa, which is believed to please the rain god, Bharshii, and bring the life-giving summer rains to the region after the hard months of early summer. A small, dedicated group of priests, monks, and hunters, the Callers have taken upon themselves the responsibility of conducting the Shaagyaa and protecting the Shaagyaa cat (a large cat, usually a tiger, that is chosen to be sacrificed at the end of the Shaagyaa ritual) as it wanders the land. They regard their mission as of utmost importance, and are ruthless in ensuring its proper completion. At any given time there are between 50 and 60 members of the organization, most of them involved somehow in catching and protecting the Shaagyaa cat.
The Shaagyaa ritual is an exceedingly complex and difficult one to complete. In late summer (after the rains have begun), the hunters of the Callers (known as the Hands of the Rain) venture forth to capture the Shaagyaa cat for the next year’s rituals. The cat must conform to a bewildering number of requirements, and only the most perfect animal is chosen for the ritual. Once the perfect animal is found and captured (no easy task, since the animal’s blood must not be drawn in the process of its capture), it is brought to the priests for purification. The purification process takes one week to complete, and involves bathing the cat repeatedly with purified water from the River Jiva. After the purification is complete, the animal is released and allowed to roam the countryside for 10 months, during which period it cannot be touched by human hands or the ritual will fail. During the cat’s travels, the Hands of the Rain follow it and ensure that no unwitting hunter or farmer lays a hand on the sacred animal. At the end of the 10 months, the Hands herd the cat back to the priests, who ritually sacrifice the cat to Bharshii, ensuring another summer’s rains.
Purpose
The Callers of the Summer Rain exist for the sole purpose of catching the Shaagyaa cat, purifying it with the necessary rituals, protecting it as it roams, and conducting the proper sacrifice at the end of the cat’s wandering.
History
No one knows when the Callers of the Summer Rain began their rituals, but even the oldest texts and tales refer to the organization and its ritual. It would seem that the organization has been around as long as men have worshiped the gods.
The Callers’ unknown founding notwithstanding, the chronicles are full of stories about the ruthlessness of the organization and the importance of its mission. Thrice in the memory of man has the Shaagyaa failed, once because a perfect animal was not captured, once because the cat was touched during its wanderings by a farmer trying to drive the cat away from his livestock, and once because the cat killed the priest on the alter and escaped before the sacrifice could be completed. Each time the ritual has failed, the summer rains haven’t come, and the land has suffered immensely from the resulting drought.
Alignment
The Callers of the Summer Rain are Lawful to a man, caring about little more than keeping with the dictates of the traditional rituals. They are almost all Neutral as well, seeing their actions as working toward the good of all but not above committing heinous and ruthless acts to ensure its proper completion.
Resources/Benefits
The Callers of the Summer Rain are incredibly well-funded and well-equipped. Wealthy patrons from all over donate generously to the organization to ensure the prosperity and fertility of their lands. The organization can easily acquire any item or service valued up to 50,000 gp, and can more likely than not acquire items and services valued at much higher amounts, should the need be dire.
Members of the Callers are marked with a tattoo on their right cheek that shows the symbol of the organization and marks them as members. These symbols almost always gain their bearers discounts on most services, usually around 15%. Often temples will heal and equip members of the Callers for next to no fee.
Gather Information/Knowledge DC’s
DC 10: “The Callers of the Summer Rain? Sure, everyone knows about them. They conduct the Shaagyaa ritual and ensure the summer rains. But don’t cross them, or you’re liable to be hurt bad. They don’t sanction interference with their rituals. If you see someone with one of those rain tattoos, stay away if you know what’s good for you.”
DC 15: Details of the Shaagyaa ritual and the doctrines of Bharshii.
DC 20: Details of the location and current membership of the Callers, the status of the current ritual.
Adventure Hooks
While wandering in the wilderness for some reason, hunting PC's happen upon the Shaagyaa cat. If they make any threatening gestures toward the cat, the Hands of the Rain will intervene. How will the PC's handle this sort of intervention?
The Hands of the Rain are able to subdue the PC's who had attempted to attack the Shaagyaa cat, but the Hands were impressed with the PC's abilities. They heal the PC's and offer them the opportunity to apply for membership in the organization.
The PC's are sent by their patron to apply for membership in the organization. Their patron hopes that they will provide him with an eye and and ear inside the organization and that his "offering" of new members will make the organization more friendly to him.
The PC's are sent by their patron to kill the Hands of the Rain and ruin the ritual. Whether or not the PC's go along with this assignment is up to them.
The PC's attempt to touch the Shaagyaa cat and, in the ensuing battle with the cat's guardians, kill the Hands of the Rain assigned to guard the cat. Soon thereafter, a member of the Callers appears in the midst of the PC's and attempts to force/persuade them to take the place of the previous Hands, if only temporarily.
As above, except the Callers of the Summer Rain distribute the PC's names and descriptions far and wide, inciting hostility against the PC's wherever they go. How will the PC's deal with the situation?
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h197/Mephibosheth85/Rain.png
Note: This is an organization created for use in the Tears of Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=world;action=display;num=1121098590) campaign setting, currently being created here at Giantitp.com. The above link contains summaries of many of the setting-specific information used in this write-up. I apologize for the specificity of this organization. Hopefully it will prove easily adaptable to non-Tears of Blood games.
General Background
The early months of summer in Pahal (http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/Tantolian/Maps/TOB-MC7a.jpg) (the large peninsula located west of the Al Barajah Desert) are among the hottest and driest months the region suffers. Plants wither and die, wild animals and livestock become emaciated and lethargic, and life in general seeks nothing more than escape from the heat. Humankind is no exception to this imperative.
As long as the Pahali have worshiped the gods, the Callers of the Summer Rain have preserved the vital ritual known as the Shaagyaa, which is believed to please the rain god, Bharshii, and bring the life-giving summer rains to the region after the hard months of early summer. A small, dedicated group of priests, monks, and hunters, the Callers have taken upon themselves the responsibility of conducting the Shaagyaa and protecting the Shaagyaa cat (a large cat, usually a tiger, that is chosen to be sacrificed at the end of the Shaagyaa ritual) as it wanders the land. They regard their mission as of utmost importance, and are ruthless in ensuring its proper completion. At any given time there are between 50 and 60 members of the organization, most of them involved somehow in catching and protecting the Shaagyaa cat.
The Shaagyaa ritual is an exceedingly complex and difficult one to complete. In late summer (after the rains have begun), the hunters of the Callers (known as the Hands of the Rain) venture forth to capture the Shaagyaa cat for the next year’s rituals. The cat must conform to a bewildering number of requirements, and only the most perfect animal is chosen for the ritual. Once the perfect animal is found and captured (no easy task, since the animal’s blood must not be drawn in the process of its capture), it is brought to the priests for purification. The purification process takes one week to complete, and involves bathing the cat repeatedly with purified water from the River Jiva. After the purification is complete, the animal is released and allowed to roam the countryside for 10 months, during which period it cannot be touched by human hands or the ritual will fail. During the cat’s travels, the Hands of the Rain follow it and ensure that no unwitting hunter or farmer lays a hand on the sacred animal. At the end of the 10 months, the Hands herd the cat back to the priests, who ritually sacrifice the cat to Bharshii, ensuring another summer’s rains.
Purpose
The Callers of the Summer Rain exist for the sole purpose of catching the Shaagyaa cat, purifying it with the necessary rituals, protecting it as it roams, and conducting the proper sacrifice at the end of the cat’s wandering.
History
No one knows when the Callers of the Summer Rain began their rituals, but even the oldest texts and tales refer to the organization and its ritual. It would seem that the organization has been around as long as men have worshiped the gods.
The Callers’ unknown founding notwithstanding, the chronicles are full of stories about the ruthlessness of the organization and the importance of its mission. Thrice in the memory of man has the Shaagyaa failed, once because a perfect animal was not captured, once because the cat was touched during its wanderings by a farmer trying to drive the cat away from his livestock, and once because the cat killed the priest on the alter and escaped before the sacrifice could be completed. Each time the ritual has failed, the summer rains haven’t come, and the land has suffered immensely from the resulting drought.
Alignment
The Callers of the Summer Rain are Lawful to a man, caring about little more than keeping with the dictates of the traditional rituals. They are almost all Neutral as well, seeing their actions as working toward the good of all but not above committing heinous and ruthless acts to ensure its proper completion.
Resources/Benefits
The Callers of the Summer Rain are incredibly well-funded and well-equipped. Wealthy patrons from all over donate generously to the organization to ensure the prosperity and fertility of their lands. The organization can easily acquire any item or service valued up to 50,000 gp, and can more likely than not acquire items and services valued at much higher amounts, should the need be dire.
Members of the Callers are marked with a tattoo on their right cheek that shows the symbol of the organization and marks them as members. These symbols almost always gain their bearers discounts on most services, usually around 15%. Often temples will heal and equip members of the Callers for next to no fee.
Gather Information/Knowledge DC’s
DC 10: “The Callers of the Summer Rain? Sure, everyone knows about them. They conduct the Shaagyaa ritual and ensure the summer rains. But don’t cross them, or you’re liable to be hurt bad. They don’t sanction interference with their rituals. If you see someone with one of those rain tattoos, stay away if you know what’s good for you.”
DC 15: Details of the Shaagyaa ritual and the doctrines of Bharshii.
DC 20: Details of the location and current membership of the Callers, the status of the current ritual.
Adventure Hooks
While wandering in the wilderness for some reason, hunting PC's happen upon the Shaagyaa cat. If they make any threatening gestures toward the cat, the Hands of the Rain will intervene. How will the PC's handle this sort of intervention?
The Hands of the Rain are able to subdue the PC's who had attempted to attack the Shaagyaa cat, but the Hands were impressed with the PC's abilities. They heal the PC's and offer them the opportunity to apply for membership in the organization.
The PC's are sent by their patron to apply for membership in the organization. Their patron hopes that they will provide him with an eye and and ear inside the organization and that his "offering" of new members will make the organization more friendly to him.
The PC's are sent by their patron to kill the Hands of the Rain and ruin the ritual. Whether or not the PC's go along with this assignment is up to them.
The PC's attempt to touch the Shaagyaa cat and, in the ensuing battle with the cat's guardians, kill the Hands of the Rain assigned to guard the cat. Soon thereafter, a member of the Callers appears in the midst of the PC's and attempts to force/persuade them to take the place of the previous Hands, if only temporarily.
As above, except the Callers of the Summer Rain distribute the PC's names and descriptions far and wide, inciting hostility against the PC's wherever they go. How will the PC's deal with the situation?