Priest/Clergy Ranks

[Nokteronoth]

So, this is more an RP question and less rules and the like.

Say you're a priest/priestess in Cormyr and there isn't any set order played by PCs or by DMs. There's Oghmites, Kelemvorites, etc. But some of the other religions have only one or two PC followers and no open church built into the module. 

My question is thus: How do you handle rank in a church if there is no actively operated church on CD?
Do you just eyeball it by level? Make it up yourself? Okay it with a DM/admin? Ignore it entirely and just leave it to saying you're a priest, and no more?

How do you determine if/where/how many other NPC followers there might be? Do you just sort of..insinuate that your character helps with religious rites and rituals?


Do they have a church somewhere, even if it isn't built? Small altars here and there? Or would it be up to them to build/pay for one as if it would be a player home? (I might actually ask about doing this anyway at some point.)

~BR

[Edge]

First and foremost above all else, level is NEVER an automatic determination of rank in a church. EVER.

I'm emphasizing that above and beyond anything else in this thread because people believing or assuming that level=rank has been a constant and persistent problem on CD from day one, one that we have gone to great lengths to try and dissuade yet that keeps managing to rear its ugly head.

Now that that's out of the way....

We typically don't have any sort of strict structure for churches on CD unless there's a faction or guild focused around them. Sometimes those will be structured by the PC members, other times by the staff.

A general safe assumption is that PCs will usually if not always be outranked by NPCs. NPCs will always be the leader of any religious organization, either as high priest, head of a knighthood, archdruid, or whatever sort of title the faction would use for its superior membership, and PCs will be subordinate to them in whatever order of authority the religion uses.

If there's nothing especially questionable or unusual about your character being involved in a certain religion (a non-elf Corellonite, for example, off the top of my head), and they haven't taken any actions that would reflect badly on your faith, you can generally assume that they're welcomed into the church with open arms and placed at a non-novice rank. An adventuring priest is a valued member of any religion in Faerun, and unless there's good reason or doubt toward them, there's no reason they wouldn't be welcomed into the group and allowed to participate in rituals, rites, services, and so forth.

If there is no active group, temple, or organization of the church on CD, it's safest to assume that your character is a lone operative in a place where there is no sizable membership of your particular religion. In which case, you're generally free to set your own personal rituals and worship practices, because you're usually going to be operating alone, or with a small group of unaffiliated allies. Most evil religions will fall into this - Cormyr is a LG land, and barring some specific exceptions like Malar and Talos they're not very tolerant of evil religions so dark clerics are generally going to be underground and individual.

As such, the only other followers you'd be able to refer to would be any PCs you happen to convert, and any NPCs a DM creates for you or introduces to you. Otherwise, you're on your own.


For reference, here are the known public temples on CD and where they're located:

ARABEL:
Selune
Kelemvor
Tymora
Sune
Shaundakul (Traveler's Shield/Theavos's Portal)
Ilmater (Monastery)

SUZAIL:
Triad (Tyr, Torm, Ilmater)
Malar
Llira
(probably one or two more I can't remember, I'll edit when I get home and get on the server to look around)

THUNDARLUN:
Triad

HIGHMOON:
Oghma

EVENINGSTAR:
Lathander

HALFHAP:
Tempus

VELETHUIL:
Corellon (with shrines to almost all other Seldarine deities)

EAGLE PEAK:
Torm

GRIFFON HILL:
(I think there's one small temple, I'll check.)

STONEHAVEN:
Tempus (with shrines to Valkur, Red Knight, and one other I can't remember)

SSCHINDYLRYN:
Waukeen
Abbathor
Bane (inside Zhentarim Embassy)
Lolth (inside Lolthite/Noble Quarter)

Scattered around the server are small shrines to, off the top of my head: (not including dungeons)
Chauntea
Torm
Talos
Shaundakul
Malar
Auril
Azuth
Mask
Umberlee
And probably some others I'm forgetting.

[Deleted]

The Zhent embassy also has shrines to Loviatar, Malar, and one other that I can't remember right now.

[Edge]

Talona, probably.

[trylobyte]

Some additions to Edge's list:

The Sunite temple in Arabel has some shrines to others inside it; Sharess for certain, Lliira as well I think.
The Violet Flame has a shrine to Mystra.
[Spoilers hidden because I can.  -T]

[Edge]

I didn't mention the Eilistraeean one or the second Stonehaven temple because the list is exclusively open (aka Unhidden) temples.

It'd be a longer list if I added all the secret or hidden temples and shrines.

[trylobyte]

Oh, okay.  I must have missed that word!  Nevermind then.

[ladybug]

Suzail's also got one to Deneir and Milil, off the top of my head, and there's a pretty public altar to Umberlee right by the docks iirc. Just no NPCs by it.

There's a shrine to Chauntea pegged on the map as well, but it's also unstaffed like the one to Umberlee.

Waymoot has a Lliiran temple, I think, and the Waukeenite temple in Sschinderlyn has a priest of both Gond and Shaundakul there.

[Fire Wraith]

Shrine to the God of Murder - Every high level dungeon on the server

>.>

[tarriel]

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE
LET THE MULTIVERSE BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!

[Deleted]

I thought those were shrines to Vince... oh.  

[Edge]

Ninja Bella!

[thorien]

May 17, 2015 20:56:46 GMT -5 tarriel said:

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE
LET THE MULTIVERSE BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!

Thumbs-up for 40k reference!