lord of Invigoration

PowerMaster

THE DEITY

Name(s): POWERMASTER, THE HARBINGER OF HEALING, THE INVIGORATOR, THE QUICKENER, LORD OF INVIGORATION

Spheres of Influence: The PowerMaster is the deity of strength and medicine.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Spells Returned: At Noon

Favored Weapon: Greatclub

Appearance: The Harbinger of Healing appears as an enormous, strapping young being. He is bald except for a braided shoulder-length tail of black hair. The PowerMaster is clad in sleeveless blue robes with a large silver girdle. The Invigorator wields a silver greatclub (called “Foecrusher”).

THE CHURCH

Worship: Each civilized kingdom has one major temple to PowerMaster. The temple is always located in a remote area. Temples to PowerMaster exist in a few cities, towns or villages as well.

Weekly worshippers of the Temple of the Three Strengths spend their service exercising, preparing a healthy meal together and quietly meditating. While devoted followers might train vigorously, the casual visitor often leaves fatigued. Services take place several times during the day, and worshippers gain respect from their peers by attending multiple times.

No other faith has established as many monasteries as the Temple of the Three Strengths. From one end of Tellene to another, monks and friars of the PowerMaster exist in these sequestered communities, continually training and focusing their minds and bodies. The most famous of these is the Convent of the Dread Guard outside Bynarr. The nuns there are fearsome and respected warriors who have more than once proven their worth in battle. The Convent sits astride a strategically located crossroad near the border with Dodera and is in many ways the first line of defense for Tharggy against threats from their neighbor. Only the reclusive nature of the nuns prevents them from gaining significant numbers of new acolytes and exerting greater influence over Queen Defyn.

Holy Symbol: The holy symbol of the PowerMaster is a mountain rising up through a cloud.

Holy Days: Every third week, on Veshday, is a special day that features games and contests of wit, endurance and agility. The tug-of-war, boulder-toss, and obstacle course are fun events to play or watch. The iconic event by which these services are recognized is the dragon-chase. A cleric chases worshippers about a field, and anyone he touches gets “eaten.” The last survivor ceremonially slays the exhausted dragon and takes the title of “knight” for the rest of the day.

Holy Colors: Blue, white and silver.

Holy Animal: Seekers of the Three Strengths value the strength and sturdiness of the ox. To them, it is not blasphemy to use an ox for laborious work, but the animal must not be treated unkindly.

Raiment: Clergy of the Temple of the Three Strengths teach their followers to overcome the need for the material world. They could not effectively do so while adorning themselves with fine garments. The robes of the Seekers of the Three Strengths, always blue and sleeveless, tend to be simple linens. Once a cleric attains the rank of Aspirant of the Third Strength, he wears a pure silver girdle, though this is never valued for its monetary value.

Advancement: Advancement is through a yearly competition. Clerics compete in contests of physical strength, intellect, and renditions of spiritual songs, poems and stories. If they do well, they advance.

An Aspirant of the First Strength gains a +2 bonus to all Fortitude saves made to avoid ability loss or damage to his Strength.

A Keeper of the First Strength must have a Strength score of 16 or higher, and gains a warrior follower instead of an adept follower.

An Aspirant of the Second Strength gains a +2 bonus to all Fortitude saves made to avoid ability loss or damage to his Wisdom.

A Keeper of the Second Strength must have a Wisdom score of 16 or higher.

An Aspirant of the Third Strength gains a +2 bonus to all Fortitude saves made to avoid ability loss or damage to his Constitution. An Aspirant of the Third Strength’s stipend increases to 150 gp/month.

A Keeper of the Third Strength must have a Constitution score of 16 or higher.

An Aspirant of the Three Strengths must have Strength, Wisdom and Constitution scores of 17 or higher. An Aspirant of the Three Strengths gains a monk as his second follower.

A Keeper of the Three Strengths must have Strength, Wisdom and Constitution scores of 18 or higher.

A Master of the Three Strengths must have Strength, Wisdom and Constitution scores of 20 or higher.

Sacrifices: Seekers of the Three Strengths burn herbs to the PowerMaster, at least once every ten days.

Friends and Allies:

The Church of Everlasting Hope: “Hope is what drives the common man on to do great things. Without hope, all is lost.”

The Order of Thought: “It is wise to develop a powerful mind. If only they would see the wisdom of developing the body as well.”

The Founder’s Creation: “Solid buildings, solid people. They are not always powerful, but they are good nonetheless.”

Foes and Enemies:

The House of Shackles: “They seek to gain strength through capturing the strength of others. They have no understanding of the true power of self.”

The Conventicle of Affliction: “Disease cannot bring about anything but weakness.”

The House of Vice: “They waste themselves on all their lesser senses… They do not understand the power of healthy strength.”

The Order of the Passionate One: “Wasteful and uncontrolled – they seek joy of spirit at the expense of their own body and mind.”

The Confuser of Ways: “Illusions rob the mind of its power just as disease robs the body… A lie is not a forgivable offense.”

Major Temples: Important centers of worship for the Temple of the Three Strengths exist in Dalen, Bet Kalamar, Sobeteta, Aroroleta, Balelido, and Gaketa.

Temples of the PowerMaster are usually rectangular buildings with a pointed roof that descends in long eaves almost all the way to the ground on the sides. About three-quarters of the building’s length serves for formal group worship, while the rest contains a hospital or a smaller room for private worship in the form of physical exercise. They contain a dozen or two tiny cells for quiet meditation.

Temple grounds usually have a wrestling mat on which worshippers can test their strength against each other or against followers and clerics. This lively place is a center of activity in the town or city.

Cathedrals have a larger worship area, always have a hospital, and they have hundreds of private meditation cells. These cells are typically four feet high, dark, and totally lacking in comfort or decoration. Cathedrals might have several rows of these cells filling a long corridor, with stairwells reaching the higher levels from a central walkway.

The faith’s holy seat in Dalen stands near the Brolador River, and its grounds extend to the river’s shores. The wide tiled roof makes for a good landmark among the river’s boatmen. The temple holds just over 1,100 worshippers, which is only a fraction of the total number in the city, so it conducts many of its services along the river’s bank.

Master of the Three Strengths Andal the Virile brings a balance back to the faith that it has not seen for generations, say the faith’s senior clerics. He is strong in mind, spirit, and intellect, neglecting no aspect of his development. Andal comes from a noble Eldoran family, and all of his senior clerics are human. Before Andal became Master of the Three Strengths, dwarves were common among higher ranking clerics, but none of them have been appointed to prestigious positions within the faith’s seat. Non-Eldorans fear corruption by the Emperor of Scorn, but the powerful in Dalen know that Andal makes his decisions out of political necessity.

Sayings: “Heal the soul and the body will follow.” - “Discipline makes for great strength.” - “Balance the three strengths to gain perfection.” - A farewell: “Go in good health.”