Lord of Intuition

Eye Opener

THE DEITY

Name(s): EYE OPENER, LORD OF INTUITION, THE WISE ONE

Spheres of Influence: The Eye Opener is the deity of wisdom.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Spells Returned: At Dawn

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

Appearance: The Eye Opener appears as an older being with white hair, garbed in light brown robes and carrying a beech staff (named “the Staff of Wisdom”).

THE CHURCH

Worship: Temples to the Eye Opener can be found in cities, towns and villages. Worship of the Eye Opener involves hymns and songs, but it also involves puzzles posed to the group by one of the clerics. Individuals may discuss the puzzle among themselves or ponder the question silently, but they are encouraged to be industrious in their pursuit for knowledge. Different difficulties are offered to worshippers of different ages and ability, and moving to a more challenging group is an occasion for congratulations and respect.

Holy Symbol: An owl in flight grasping a staff in its talons.

Holy Days: During the spring and fall equinox, the worship challenge is reversed for the celebration of the Feast of Enlightenment. The worshippers ask questions of the clerics, who share their answers and their thought processes with the worshippers. Typically, the worshippers make an offering before asking a question, so these events generate a large portion of the faith’s income for the year.

Holy Colors: Light brown.

Holy Animal: Seekers of Sagacity revere the owl, long associated with wisdom and sight.

Raiment: Clerics of the Order of Thought are philosophers and teachers, and have little time or concern for fancy clothing. They wear simple linen robes or tunics of light brown. Although many Seekers of Sagacity keep their head unadorned on a day-to-day basis, each wears a special low, black, flat-topped hat. For each level of their rank in the church, they wear one owl feather attached to the hat. Many of the younger clergy, who tend to be more in tune with the modern youth of the day, have taken to dangling their owl feathers from a leather thong which hangs down 8 to 10 inches from their hat.

Special Requirements: Members of the faith are kept to a strict vow of abstinence from all alcohols, drugs, stimulants, and other forms of intoxication or mind influencing substances. Violation of this prohibition is a breach of the faith and requires atonement, although unintentional violations evoke a great deal of sympathy from other faithful. Intentional breaches are met with disdain and contempt, and usually result in excommunication for a second violation.

Advancement: Advancement within the Order of Thought is by seniority. Therefore the oldest cleric is usually the leader of the Seekers of Sagacity. In addition to learning basic skills during training, clerics must solve a riddle. They may not advance until they answer it correctly. A cleric may hazard three answers. If all are incorrect, the Order demotes the Seeker.

A Sight Seeker must have an Intelligence score of at least 13.

A Smell Seeker’s reputation is such that NPCs recognize the character’s willingness to share wisdom and advice. NPCs that are not Hostile, their initial attitude is one category more favorable toward the character.

A Taste Seeker’s stipend increases to 300 gp/month.

A Touch Seeker must be a middle-aged member of his race. A Touch Seeker gains a gynosphinx as his second follower.

A Sense Master must be an old member of his race.

An Imparter must be a venerable member of his race.

Sacrifices: On the first day of each month, Seekers of Sagacity burn beech twigs in sacrifice to their god.

Friends and Allies:

The Fraternal Order of Aptitude: “They seek out knowledge and truth. Although their methods are a little too stoic, they seek the right things.”

The Founder’s Creation: “The knowledge and wisdom in a sound building is self evident."

The Temple of Enchantment: “Magic can be a gateway to great wisdom, or to great folly. Be careful, and wield these tools well…”

Foes and Enemies:

The Church of Chance: “Luck and risk are not wise tools. Approach the world with thought and contemplation, not reckless abandon.”

The Confuser of Ways: “The enemy of wisdom is deceit.”

The House of Vice: “Moderation is wise, and lack thereof breeds sloth in thought.”

The Way of the Berserk: “To seek death with such abandon is unwise.”

Major Temples: Important centers of worship for the Order of Thought exist in Crandolen, Bet Kalamar, Kaleta, and Gaketa.

Such centers tend to include strange geometric features around which worship takes place outdoors. Conventional buildings in the local style fill non-worship needs like clerical living quarters and storage. The temples themselves, the Seekers of Sagacity believe, must be in an exact shape in order to augment the power of their divinations. Mortal necessities like windows and doors often run contrary to these purposes.

Cathedrals usually fare slightly better at incorporating necessary elements into the exotic designs, although some of them require passwall or teleport to reach into inner chambers. Expensive and exotic materials like crystal make up a larger part of the building, if not the entirety. Semiprecious materials like coral might make up altars within the cathedrals.

The faith’s seat in Inolen is facing a crisis. The number of local worshippers has never been large enough to sustain the temple’s expenses. In the past, it channeled wealth from the faith’s cathedrals and local revenue produced by church-owned lands in the east has supported the seat. Recent changes in Eldoran tax laws has cut in half the seat’s local wealth, forcing the Imparter to relocate his clerics to other cathedrals. Now the seat barely maintains enough clerics to lead regular services.

Oprem Crel is the current Imparter, is a quiet and introspective soul. He has a great talent for composing riddles in elaborate impromptu rhymes. He has been Imparter for only four years, serving as the Sense Master in Crandolen before that. Unfortunately, the riddle of how to raise funds for the church without starving the other temples is one he has yet to solve.

Sayings: “Violence is the last refuge of the wise.” - “At last, his eyes are open.” - A greeting: “What can you teach me?” - A farewell: “Keep your senses about you.”