[Friend/Foe] The Mah'kaarite Sect

[Mephibosheth]

The Mah’kaarite Sect

Aditi tiptoed furtively into the temple, totally overwhelmed by the immense, cavernous stone space. The large empty room seemed to consume her, and the line of dim oil lamps seemed to draw her inexorably toward the shrine in the alcove at the far end of the main chamber. Stepping over the threshold carefully, she clutched her small plate of herbs colored with red powder to her chest, careful lest she spill any of the offering on Mah’kaari’s floor and incite his anger. Her mother had always said that Mah’kaari’s temples and shrines must remain completely clean.

When she reached the other end, she knelt in front of the alcove, proffering the plate of reddened herbs by placing it in front of her before prostrating herself on the ground. Out of the shadows behind the alcove’s doorway stepped one of the silent priests of Mah’kaari, his bare skin still wet and raw from one of countless ritual baths and his mouth covered by a sopping wet cloth that smelled strongly of alcohol. He reached down to inspect the plate and, looking at Aditi’s prostrate figure, quietly grunted his acceptance of her offering and gestured that she should cross the threshold into the shrine itself. Shaking with fear, Aditi rose, took the plate from the priest’s hands, and brought it before the image of Mah’kaari himself. She knelt again at the base of the image and placed the plate at its feet before beginning the slow, lilting song that was her individual performance offering. Then, having completed her song, she lifted the plate over the idol and upended its contents onto the deity with shaking hands before backing slowly out of the shrine. Once in the main room, she turned and ran from the temple, tears of fear and relief coursing down her cheeks. She had assuaged Mah’kaari and ensured another month of safety for her and her family.

Hopefully, her brother could make the trip next month.

The Weeping has wracked Ursoule, leaving devastated populations, unanswered questions, and paranoia in its wake. Some attribute its ravages to the Plague Fiend, the entity who governs disease and pestilence. Most fear and hate this figure, hesitating even to speak his name. A few secretive groups are devoted to serving and worshipping him. Many deny his existence and attribute the plague to a bewildering variety of causes mystical and mundane.

In Pahal, where the divinity takes countless forms, a new deity has risen to prominence in the wake of the Weeping. Known by the name “Mah’kaari,” this new god is widely believed to be responsible for the spread of the deadly disease. Unlike the hatred inspired by the Plague Fiend, Mah’kaari’s name is freely spoken in Pahal. However, few (if any) are devoted to the service of Mah’kaari, for he is seen as a master impossible to please who demands the ultimate sacrifice of his servants. Instead, Mah’kaari is placated, and offerings are made at his temples and shrines as a way of ensuring that the supplicant and his/her family will avoid the deadly wrath of the deity.

For those that are interested, background information on Pahali civilization can be found here.

[Mephibosheth]

Mah’kaari – God of the Plague

Mah'kaari image by BearofbadNews!

Symbols and Iconography: Mah’kaari is most often represented as an emaciated ascetic figure, clad in a loincloth made of the leaves of a wide variety of plants, usually stylizations of important herbs. He is usually seated in a meditative posture upon a stool that rests on the bodies of disease victims. He has 10 arms, each of which holds a vial or incense-burning device (the exact nature of these implements depends upon location and the prominent diseases of the area). His hands are usually postured to indicate waving or shaking as he distributes these diseases over the world. His symbols include an incense burner, a stoppered vial, a leaf, a scarf, and a drop of water or blood drawn in ash.

Alignment: Mah’kaari is usually represented as Chaotic Neutral, his diseases being nothing more than a part of life, though he spreads them with a wantonness and joy that many find disturbing. However, as happens so frequently within Pahali religious, this view is far from universal. Some factions within the sect represent him as Neutral Evil, the bringer of and destruction. Others represent him as Neutral Good, one who prevents plagues when properly placated. Mah’kaari’s actual alignment is the providence of the individual DM.

Portfolio: Disease, plague, pestilence, healing, death, life, purity and impurity

Domains: Death, Healing, Madness (Complete Divine), Pestilence (Complete Divine)

Favored Weapon: Light Flail

Personality: Mah’kaari is most often depicted as a dangerous god who must be placated to forestall disease and epidemic. In some representations he is vindictive and will instigate a plague at the slightest provocation. In others he is slightly benevolent, seeking to prevent outbreaks of disease but ultimately bound to let them free on occasion. Again, his personality differs from temple to temple and village to village. The only universal in this sect is the need to placate him, lest disease be set free.

Broader Association: Mah'kaari is associated with Life & Death in the Pahali pantheon, linking him closely with Jekhaharti. Indeed, he is often seen as nothing more than a form of Jekhaharti, come to Ursoule in order to fulfill some important role in the play of life.

[Mephibosheth]

The Sect and the Devotees

General Background
The official apparatus and hierarchy of the Mah’kaarite sect is very small, often only one or two priests at every temple. It is also widely dispersed and largely unorganized, having at least some presence in almost every town where the Weeping hit but lacking much central direction. Most often, individual priests conduct the affairs of their temples in isolation.

The high hierarchy of the sect is centered in the city of Milanaa, one of the hardest hit by the Weeping. It is often thought that the worship of Mah’kaari originated in this city. This rumor that is more than likely true, though the rapidity of the sect’s spread makes it difficult to trace its origins. Nonetheless, such guidance as there is for the larger sect flows from the priests at Milanaa. The Mah’kaarite sect is primarily a religious institution, making little effort to involve themselves in politics. However, some of the more benevolent branches of the sect attempt to pressure local rulers to institute public health services, and all branches of the sect try to secure the patronage of local powers and prominent local citizenry.

Mah’kaarite ritual is complex and laborious, especially for priests who engage in ritual ablutions at least ten times daily, hoping to purify their bodies and ward off disease. These baths are vigorous and intense, and involve scraping the body with ritually-pure implements and the application of several kinds of salves and soaps. Priests also refrain from all but the most basic conversation and keep their mouths covered with an alcohol-soaked scarf, hoping to prevent the transmission of disease through their breath. Mah’kaarite temples are also kept spotlessly clean and ritually pure. Often, fragrant herbs and spices are burnt in incense burners in all corners of the temple so that their healing smoke wafts through the building and prevents disease. Lay devotees often offer a selection of medicinal herbs to the deity in hopes of placating him. These herbs are always sprinkled with red powder to represent the tears of plague victims. Visiting a Mah’kaarite temple is often a frightening and emotionally-draining experience for the lay devotee, with silent priests and the perpetual chance of catching disease or offending the god with improperly performed rituals. Often, the sick are brought to the temples to make special offerings for cures and health, contributing to the risk of infection at a Mah’kaarite temple.

While local organization is light and most members of the sect are concerned only with their own rituals and struggles, there are factions of the sect operating throughout Pahal. One of these factions, known as the Tears of Mah’kaari, is a benevolent organization that seeks to heal and assuage the wounds caused by disease, especially the Weeping. The other faction, known only as the Censers, is a shadowy and little-known organization that researches the spread and transmission of disease, often with the purpose of intentionally aiding it.

Temple Architecture

Above all, Mah'kaarite temples are symbolic, representing the nature of Mah'kaari and the overall goal of the devotees (i.e. dealing with disease). When viewed from above, the temple structure itself looks like an angular teardrop which, combined with the reddish sandstone almost always used to construct the temples, reminds the viewer of the bloody tears that represent both the Weeping and Mah'kaari himself. Mah'kaarite temples are always located adjacent to a source of running water; either a river or a man-made channel or canal. The temple structure and grounds are always constructed in a recession in the ground of about 7 feet deep (again, either natural or man-made), and water is diverted over the outer wall of the structure and the doorway. This water is released slowly through small holes in the door frame, producing a constant shower of water. As devotees enter the temple through this door, they are required to spend a few moments cleaning themselves before entering the temple grounds. The grounds surrounding the central temple structure are always perfectly flat and are usually marked by one or more bathing pool, where priests and devotees frequently conduct vigorous cleansing rituals.

The inside of a Mah'kaarite temple is always kept spotless, and is a remarkably open space. It is supported by a series of pillars that guide the devotee from the front door to the shrine of Mah'kaari at the back. Oil lamps are mounted on many of these pillars, providing light to supplement the few beams of sunlight that come in through the front door. In all corners except near the front door, incense burners remain constantly lit, filling the temple with fragrant smoke and symbolically killing any air-born diseases that may be present. The shrine itself is found at the apex of the teardrop-shaped structure, and is separated from the rest of the temple by a wall and doorway. The priest serving the temple most frequently sits behind this door until a devotee requires his attention. The image of Mah'kaari is enshrined in this structure. The image itself is always constructed of red sandstone and, depending on the wealth of the temple, may be lavishly decorated.

Purpose
Again, the Mah’kaarite sect is exceedingly diverse and relatively disorganized. Most priests only seek to maintain their local temple and continue to placate the god. Most devotees only seek to protect their immediate families from disease.

The Tears of Mah’kaari and the Censers, however, have much more well-defined goals. The Tears seek to prevent epidemics and efficiently treat diseases that do occur. They conduct intense magical research into methods of curing diseases and disperse their agents throughout Pahal, seeking to become involved at the local level in preventing disease. They often take up residence in or near Mah’kaarite temples to give themselves better access to those that need their services.

The Censers, on the other hand, work to understand methods of disease transmission. Often they work to prevent anti-disease efforts or to guide the course of epidemics in what they believe to be natural patterns. Other times they seek to start or facilitate epidemics, using disease as a tool to re-establish natural population patterns. Sometimes their activities are guided by political or economic concerns, and the services of individual Censers can occasionally be bought.

History
While the popularity of Mah’kaari worship is a relatively new phenomenon dating only to the spread of the Weeping, Mah’kaari is actually a much older deity worshiped in the small villages around Milanaa. The tropical climate of this region combined with its proximity to the ocean (and a major trading port) made disease a relatively common occurrence and encouraged the development of Mah’kaari as a local deity to deal with the ravages of the various diseases that plagued the villages.

With the passage of the Weeping through Pahal, people began to seize on everything that could possibly help prevent and cure the ly plague. As a result, worship of Mah’kaari began to spread quickly to all corners of the land, and people flocked to the temples that were sprouting up to offer their collections of herbs and assuage the wrath of the god.

Even now, as the plague has largely subsided and life is beginning to return to normal, a steady stream of nervous suppliants trickles into and out of Mah’kaarite temples, and plates of herbs are offered with shaking hands to appease Mah’kaari.

Resources and Benefits
The average Mah’kaarite temple has very little resources. Most of the contributions to the deity are made in herb form and though herbs can be sold, the income to the temple is meager. In larger cities where disease is more virulent, temples tend to have larger incomes, but nowhere can Mah’kaarite temples be called truly wealthy.

The only exceptions to this general rule are the two major active factions within the organization. The Tears of Mah’kaari earn substantial revenues by selling medicines and preventative measures. These monies go to fund their research and distribution apparatuses. Members of the Tears can usually acquire any item or service up to 10,000 gp with a little effort, and can sometimes acquire items or services valued at up to 50,000 gp in dire situations.

The Censers tend to be wealthier than the Tears, “earning” their revenues by extorting money in exchange for plague cures, looting towns destroyed by disease, and similar activities. Members of the Censers can acquire any item or service up to 20,000 gp with a little effort, and can sometimes acquire items or services valued at up to 100,000 gp if the need is dire.

Demographics
The Mah’kaarite sect is very racially homogenous, with the vast majority (about 95%) of the membership being Pahali humans. Indeed, the entirety of the priestly and administrative groups is composed of humans. There are a few Halfling and Baran devotees of Mah’kaali, but most of them are amongst the traders that set up shop in centers of commerce like Milanaa and Phataka.

The class diversity of the sect (amongst the leadership) is slightly higher, and is divided as seen below. The devotees are of all classes possible, as almost everyone offers herbs to Mah’kaari at least once in their life.

• Cleric: 50% - Mostly levels 5 and lower, though many of the sect’s leaders, high priests, and members of the two active factions are higher-level Clerics. Many of the temple priests are Cloistered Clerics.
• Monks: 20% - Along with Clerics, Monks help serve at temples, and some temple priests are Monks. Monks also feature prominently in the ranks of the Tears of Mah’kaari.
• Rangers: 10% - Rangers are especially prominent in both the Tears of Mah’kaari and the Censers, where their travel and wilderness abilities help extend the reach of these factions and give them access to the wider world.
• Druids: 5% - Druid members of the sect are mostly engaged in research into the nature of diseases and how diseases progress when left unchecked.
• Arcane Casters: 5%
• Other: 15% - Mostly members in administrative roles (including Rogues, Bards, Experts, and other classes). Very few Fighters and Barbarians are members of the organization, and no Paladins.

[Mephibosheth]

The Censers and the Tears

The Tears of Mah’kaari and the Censers are the two most active factions within the Mah’kaarite sect, both in the world at large and (as often as not) against each other. Two sides of the same coin, these two organizations coexist within the Mah’kaarite hierarchy but rarely work together and frequently clash over the general direction the sect leadership should take.

The Censers

The Censers are an organization of individuals who believe that disease is a part of nature and should be allowed to run its course. The ideology they espouse is one of the superiority of natural processes and patterns, especially the importance of maintaining “natural” population levels and allowing epidemics to run their course.

The Censers are involved in a variety of projects, ranging from the theoretical to the concrete. They research the nature of disease transmission and spread, including patterns of disease outbreaks and plagues, population levels and birth/death rates, and the influence magic can have on disease. Agents of the Censers occasionally act to start diseases, releasing carefully-prepared pathogens into water and food supplies or starting magical infections in selected targets. They also work to allow diseases to spread, interfering with quarantine and treatment efforts and helping to guide the progress of diseases.

Individual members of the Censers operate with a high degree of independence, and don’t necessarily follow the dictates of their leaders to the letter. It is often possible to compromise, bribe, or otherwise sway a member of the Censers, and many politicians and power-brokers work to maintain influence with at least one member of the organization.

THE SWINGING CENSER

The advanced arm of the Censers, a Swinging Censer is an expert in disease transmission and initiation and uses his/her unique abilities to start infections and interfere with efforts to stop the spread of disease.

Requirements:
Feats: Empower Spell, Heighten Spell
Skills: Knowledge (Geography) 5 ranks, Heal 13 or Profession (Doctor) 13 (or similar, at DM's discretion)
Spellcasting: Ability to cast Contagion as an arcane or divine spell
Special: Membership in or acceptance by the Censers (or a single agent of the Censers)

Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Heal, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (Religion), Profession, Search, Speak Language, Spellcraft
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Spellcasting

1st|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|

+2

|Disease Body|+1 Level

2nd|

+1

|

+3

|

+0

|

+3

|Rapid Degeneration|+1 Level

3rd|

+2

|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|Empowered Contagion|+1 Level

4th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Virulent Disease|+1 Level

5th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Deadly Disease|+1 Level[/table]

Class Features
Diseased Body – Beginning at 1st level, a Swinging Censer’s frequent exposure to disease give him/her a bonus equal to his/her class level on saves to resist diseases. In addition, he/she gains a bonus to natural armor equal to half his/her class level (minimum +1).
Rapid Degeneration – Beginning at 2nd level, a number of times per day equal to his/her class level, when a Swinging Censer casts the Contagion spell, the infected creature must make a fortitude save every 2 rounds to avoid repeated damage instead of the 1 day duration normal for diseases. Beginning at 4th level, the character must make a fortitude save every round to avoid repeated damage.
Empowered Contagion – Beginning at 3rd level, thrice per day a Swinging Censer can empower his/her Contagion spells with no effect on the spell’s caster level or casting time.
Virulent Disease – Beginning at 4th level, any creature that has an ability score reduced to 0 by a disease caused by a Swinging Censer’s Contagion spell must make an additional fortitude save or die.
Deadly Disease – Beginning at 5th level, a Swinging Censer gains the ability to use the Contagion spell to infect his/her foes with a unique disease. This disease, known as the Fragrance, is particularly deadly, dealing 2d6 points of Constitution damage if the target fails a fortitude save (DC equal to the save for the caster’s normal spells).

CARRIER – New Spell
Transmutation
Level: Clr 5
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 Standard Action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature Touched
Duration: 1 hour/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude Negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

When casting this spell, the caster selects one of the diseases usable with the Contagion spell and makes the subject of the spell a carrier for that disease. For the duration of the spell the subject has a 75% chance of passing the chosen disease on to every creature he/she meets who can contract that disease. The subject must fulfill any requirements for passing on the disease (touching in the case of a contact disease, breath/sneezing/coughing/etc in the case of an inhaled disease, etc). The subject of the spell does not suffer from the ordinary disease and remains unaffected once the spell’s duration ends. The spell does not, however, grant the subject immunity to the chosen disease in general, and the subject could even possibly catch the disease from one of the people he/she infected.

The Tears of Mah’kaari

As has been said, the Tears of Mah’kaari are concerned primarily with mitigating the effects of diseases, whether it be researching cures for especially deadly plagues, providing minor care for those suffering from diseases that cause mere discomfort, and helping enforce quarantines. Often, this mission brings them into conflict with the Censers, and it’s often difficult to believe that the two factions are part of the same religious group.

The hierarchy of the Tears of Mah’kaari is much tighter than that of the Censers, and individual members most often travel with detailed orders and specific missions. The organization also hosts clinics attached to Mah’kaari temples in a few major cities, though their resources aren’t large enough to support more than those in the largest cities.

The Tears of Mah’kaari aren’t entirely benevolent, however. The organization can act ruthlessly to stamp out disease, should the need arise. The history of the sect records a few seldom-mentioned incidents when the Tears destroyed the populations of entire villages to halt the spread of the Weeping. These incidents of killing the patient to cure the disease are few in number, but there is always a fear that every mission the Tears undertake will degenerate into this kind of strategy.

MAH’KAARITE HEALER

Mah’kaarite Healers, like the Swinging Censers, are the front lines of the Tears of Mah’kaari. They are the individuals dispersed throughout Pahal, fighting diseases and epidemics wherever they go. As such, they are infinitely familiar with the kind of physical and mental degradation that disease (and, by extension, poison) can visit upon an individual, and have developed many unique techniques for enhancing their effectiveness at combating this sort of damage.

Requirements:
Feats: Self-Sufficient
Skills: Heal 13 ranks, Profession (Herbalist) 5 ranks
Spellcasting: Ability to cast Remove Disease and Lesser Restoration as divine spells
Special: Membership in or acceptance by the Tears of Mah’kaari

Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (Nature), Profession, Search, Spellcraft, Survival
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Spellcasting

1st|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|

+2

|Heightened Immunity|+1 Level

2nd|

+1

|

+3

|

+0

|

+3

|Efficiency|+1 Level

3rd|

+2

|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|Improved Healing|+1 Level

4th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Immunize|+1 Level

5th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Killing Cure|+1 Level[/table]

Class Features
Heightened Immunity – Beginning at 1st level, a Mah’kaarite Healer’s constant exposure to disease gives him/her an improved immune system. The Mah’kaarite Healer gains a bonus equal to his/her class level on saves against diseases.
Efficiency – Beginning at 2nd level, a Mah’kaarite Healer’s ability to care for illness and injury improves. Any time he/she makes a Heal check that requires more than a standard action, the time required is halved. Alternatively, the Mah’kaarite Healer can care for twice as many individuals, though the time required is not reduced. Finally, the Mah’kaarite Healer can provide first aid as a move action instead of a standard action.
Improved Healing – Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a Mah’kaarite Healer casts a spell that heals ability damage or removes ability penalties, he/she can make a Heal check as a free action to increase the amount of ability damage healed. A DC 20 Heal check adds 1 point to the amount of damage healed, and every 10 above 20 adds an additional point (DC 30 heals 2 extra points, etc).
Immunize – Beginning at 4th level, a Mah’kaarite Healer can impart immunity to disease or poison onto an individual. He/she can only provide immunity to a disease or poison he/she has experienced (either through personal suffering or observation). The Mah’kaarite Healer makes a Heal check as opposed by the disease’s fortitude save DC, accepting a -5 penalty to represent the increased difficulty of providing the immunity. Each immunity lasts a number of weeks equal to half the Mah’kaarite Healer’s class level, and any given individual can be immunized against a number of diseases or poisons equal to their Constitution modifier (minimum 1).
Killing Cure – Beginning at 5th level, a Mah’kaarite Healer’s devotion to eliminating disease reaches a fever pitch, and he/she gains a potent but dangerous healing ability. Three times per day when he/she makes a successful melee touch attack, a Mah’kaarite Healer can force all foreign particles and organisms from the body of the target. This automatically cures all diseases and poisons afflicting the target and restores all ability damage, but also inflicts 2d8 points of damage per class level of the Mah’kaarite Healer on the target. A successful fortitude save (DC 10 + class level + Wisdom modifier) halves this damage.

[Mephibosheth]

Adaptation and Adventure Hooks

The Mah’kaarite sect can easily be inserted into any campaign taking place in Pahal or any area influenced by Pahali civilization (likely only a few cities on the southwestern coast of the Baran desert). Because the widespread worship of Mah’kaari is a recent phenomenon, it is quite possible that the PC’s might not have encountered it at all until the DM introduces is. In fact, the only region that absolutely must have a Mah’kaarite presence is Milanaa and the region immediately surrounding it. The sect can be introduced in a multitude of ways. There might be a Mah’kaarite temple or shrine in the town the PC’s pass through. They might cross paths with an adventuring member of either the Censers or the Tears of Mah’kaari. They might have been stricken with a disease and go to a Mah’kaarite priest for healing.

The Mah’kaarite sect can serve almost any role in a campaign. A member of the Censers could be a major or secondary villain, attempting to thwart the PC’s efforts to end a plague. A member of the Tears of Mah’kaari could be a major or secondary villain, attempting to kill the PC’s or their loved ones or random strangers in an effort to wipe out a disease. The PC’s may be the ones starting the disease and look to the Censers for help or fight against the Tears efforts to stop the plague. The sect could just be a background organization, affecting the politics of the setting and adding verisimilitude.

Adventure Hooks

• The local Mah’kaarite temple is overwhelmed with an outbreak of a disease. No other agents of the sect are available in this isolated area, so the temple priest turns to the PC’s for help.
• One of the PC’s is stricken with a deadly disease and goes to the Mah’kaarite temple for healing, where he/she is quickly rebuffed and sent away by an obviously nervous priest. If the PC’s investigate, they find that the disease was started by a Swinging Censer and that the PC was picked as a carrier to spread the disease.
• The local Mah’kaarite temple, which is known throughout Pahal as a pilgrimage center where people have received miraculous healing, has suddenly lost its power to heal. The priest begs the PC’s to investigate.
• The PC’s are approached by a Swinging Censer, who wants their help to infect the local well with a virulent disease. What will they do?
• A small village is infected with a deadly disease, and the Tears of Mah’kaari are at a loss for what to do. They ask the PC’s for help to cure the disease/eliminate the population/maintain the quarantine until the disease burns itself out.
• A family of villagers has run out of sources for herbs to donate to Mah’kaari, and it’s almost time for the monthly offerings. They ask the PC’s to track down some important healing herb.
• The PC’s are agents of the Tears of Mah’kaari and find themselves suddenly falling ill after an encounter with some other devotees of the god. How did this happen? Are the other devotees Swinging Censers? What will the PC’s do?

[Mephibosheth]

Essentially, this is a new religious sect that was developed in Pahal after the plague went through. The Pahali religious tradition is one of a multitude of gods, with the classification into the same 5 categories as the rest of the continent a more recent addition to Pahali religious faith. Thus, local deities like Mah'kaari are still worshiped throughout the continent.

The Mah'kaarite Sect can easily serve as a foe or a friend for the PC's, most likely through interaction with the organization's central hierarchy or the two active branches of the sect, the Tears of Mah'kaari and the Censers. For example, if the PC's are trying to cure a ly disease in a small village, a member of the Tears of Mah'kaari might assist them in their search for the cure while a member of the Censers might serve as the BBEG, having started the disease in the first place. Alternatively, the sect might merely serve as background for the campaign, with a temple or small shrine in almost every village and city the PC's visit. Finally, this sect is likely limited to the Pahali region, with perhaps a few shrines and temples in any areas where Pahali live overseas (likely only on the edges of the Baran desert).

I hope people find the sect interesting. I welcome any comments/suggestions/whatever you may have. Let me know what you think.

Mephibosheth

[HealytheHealslime]

This is a very good entry! The only problem is that there doesn't seem to be any crunchy bits for the Tears of Mah'kaari. Other than that, though, it's pretty much perfect.

[Mephibosheth]

Crunch for the Tears of Mah'kaari is here!

Glad you like the rest of the entry. Any other comments/suggestions/whatever?

Mephibosheth

[Bearofbadnews]

Wow, fan-freaking-tastic entry. I need to sleep now, but I will try to comment more thoroughly on the morrow.

"The Weeping has wracked Ursoule, leaving devastated populations, unanswered questions, and paranoia in its wake. Some attribute its ravages to the Plague Fiend, the entity who governs disease and pestilence. Most fear and this figure, hesitating even to speak his name. A few secretive groups are devoted to serving and worshipping him. Many deny his existence and attribute the plague to a bewildering variety of causes mystical and mundane."

I think this may be a typo?