Lord of the Blue Sky

Lord of Silver Linings

THE DIETY

Name(s): LORD OF SILVER LININGS, CAREGIVER, LORD OF THE BLUE SKY

Spheres of Influence: The Lord of Silver Linings is the deity of healing, hope and mercy.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Spells Returned: At Dawn

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

Appearance: The Caregiver appears as a comely person in sky blue or rainbow colored robes. He wields a powerful artifact, the Staff of the Merciful, an oak staff topped by the golden divine focus of the Lord of Blue Skies.

THE CHURCH

Worship: Worship of the Caregiver occurs in open-air temples. On the first day of each month, worshippers pray for their hopes and dreams for upcoming month in private or individually at a temple. On the last day of each month, they must undergo atonement for the preceding month’s transgressions. This atonement is usually very general in nature. For example, a cleric might tell everyone in the temple to donate to the poor.

Holy Symbol: The holy symbol is a capital psi, with a circle above the center vertical arm, and the whole set atop a rainbow.

Holy Days: The first day of each month is celebrated by praying for one’s hopes and dreams for the coming month. The last day of each month is reserved for atonement for one’s transgressions during the preceding month. This is especially practiced on the 28th of Famine and the first of Renewal. The faith teaches that fervent prayer on these dates may result in fulfillment of a miracle.

Holy Colors: Sky blue, rainbow, silver.

Holy Animal: Merciful Fates often have a dog as their companion. The breed of dog varies by region.

Raiment: Robes worn by clergy of the Church of Everlasting Hope tend to be made of heavier, more durable material such as wool, particularly in the fall and winter months. This is primarily due to the Merciful Fates’ habit of worshipping in open-air temples.

Advancement: Advancement within the church is by healing and caring for local followers and others in need.

A Gentle must have at least 5 ranks in Heal. A Gentle is able to heal with a tender word alone. The Gentle suffers no penalty to her Heal checks if she doesn’t have a Healer’s kit.

A Tender can administer long-term care to an additional character for each character level.

A Helper must have at least 10 ranks in Heal.

A Healer adds her Wisdom bonus to the hit points restored by all cure spells (all spells with the word “cure” in the title). This bonus does not apply if she uses the cure spell to harm undead.

A Counselor’s stipend increases to 200 gp/month.

A Soother must have at least 15 ranks in Heal. A Soother gains an additional use of cure light wounds per day. She cannot give up this spell for a domain spell. A Soother’s stipend increases to 300 gp/month. A Soother who advances to rank 8 gains a second follower of any class that can cast cure spells (DM‘s choice).

A Hope Master must be able to cast resurrection.

Sacrifices: A concoction of rare herbs on a monthly basis, and the healing of all those in need. The herbal concoction must be worth at least a number of gp equal to the cleric’s level + 1, and weigh no less than one ounce.

Friends and Allies:

The Parish of Love: “They want only the calm peacefulness of love. What a hope to cherish!”

The Church of the Life’s Fire: “Assisting the growth and development of any creature leads to the fulfillment of its greatest potential.”

The Hall of Oaths: “To honor truth above all else makes helping each other easier…”

The Face of the Free: “To be free is a goal that everyone should share.”

The Temple of Enchantment: “The use of magic can be very helpful, at times…”

Foes and Enemies:

The Conventicle of Affliction: “Sickness and death are ills no one should willingly endure.”

The Temple of Strife: “Conflict is the lowest form of communication. It is the last resort of the foolish.”

The Order of Agony: “To cause another pain is a grievous evil.”

The Congregation of the Dead: “To hope for death and to bring others to it is more than evil, it is foolish and sick.”

The Temple of Sleepless Nights: “To cause fear and loathing in others is a twisted goal.”

Major Temples: Important centers of worship for the Merciful Fates include Crandolen, Dalen, Bet Kalamar, Segeleta, Sobeteta, and Aroroleta.

Temples of the Church of Everlasting Hope feature a wedge shaped worship hall built into a large building. The worship area is usually sloped with the cleric toward the bottom, in a symbol of humility. Unique to their worship, each worship hall might have some benches set aside the walls on which sick or injured worshippers may sit. In addition to the worship area, the temple always maintains a hospital and apothecary. They almost always have an accompanying garden for growing their own herbs as well.

Cathedrals have a larger worship area, usually created by widening the wedge to a full half-circle and simultaneously making the wedge longer. Cathedrals thus usually have a curious half-dome shape that stands out among an urban skyline. Some builders achieve this design by carving into a mountainside or hillside in appropriate terrain.

Bet Rogala houses the faith’s seat in a relatively modest cathedral that nonetheless plays a fairly important role within the city. In a nation at war, the seat’s hospital is always full. Besides casualties of war, the hospital tends to victims of training accidents for the army and the College of Magic.

Hope Master Takane B’Sepigo, the faith’s leader, has a tenuous hold on his position. He has constantly spoken out against the war with Tokis, and only his position as a prestigious cleric prevents his execution for sedition. Prince Kafen exerts great pressure on the faith’s resident Hope Healer and Soothers to replace B’Sepigo, and the Hope Master is finding it difficult to direct his faith in the face of this opposition.

Sayings: “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” - “Heal the mind and the body will follow.” - “I wish goodness to envelop you this night.” - “The mercy you grant will be returned tenfold.” - “People granted mercy today give us all hope for tomorrow.”