Religion, Caspianism
Caspianism is both the dominant and the state religion of the Kingdom. Adherents are referred to as 'Caspianists,' and include most of the Kingdom's populace.
Basic Information:
Origin Date: Unknown, at least a year or two before the Great War and Transcension, where it existed in the form of various secret isolated cults and single worshipers outside of Celes.
Founder/Originator: Caspian Deus Rex with teachings conveyed through direct appearances and revelations. There were no human prophets or major reformers.
View of God: Polytheist; with Caspian as the reigning supreme deity and the Great Ones as his demigod servants, who are worshiped as well.
Dietary Restrictions: None.
View of Life/Death: No belief in an afterlife. Obedience and goodwill are rewarded with longevity, power, and luxuries in Celes. Disobedience and evil deeds are punished by death, imprisonment or exile to the Dungeon. Both Celes and the Dungeon are physical places, not spiritual ones.
Lifestyle Foci: The Sixteen Codified are regarded as the primary commandments in which all worshipers should live by.
Worship Restrictions: The fundamental commandment is "Worship only that which is real." In practice, Caspian and his Great Ones are regarded as the only real deities and so are worshiped. Other faiths and religions are regarded as false for this same reason.
The Core Beliefs of Caspianism:
The core beliefs of Caspianism are as follows:
Belief that Caspian is the supreme deity and rightful ruler of the world, humanity and life by virtue of being the most powerful known being (note: that the belief does not preclude the existence of other deities, merely implying that Caspian is the most powerful known. Hence Caspianism differs from other religions that believe in their deity by faith, while Caspianists believe in their god due to knowledge).
Belief that Caspian is worthy of worship, praise, glorification and obedience by virtue of his immense power, knowledge and wisdom that transcends or is superior to the power, knowledge and wisdom of humanity, either individually or as a whole.
Belief that the Great Ones also possess power, knowledge and wisdom beyond humanity, and so are also worthy of worship, praise, glorification and obedience.
Belief that Caspian physically resides in Celes, but watches over and spiritually touches and guides the minds of mortals everywhere. It is also assumes that he is aware of the actions of humans, though it is possible to escape his awareness.
Belief that Caspian and his Great Ones are actual, physical entities, at least partially limited to time and space, not truly spiritual or entirely metaphysical in nature. As such, they can be seen, touched, or heard when they are present, as well as be depicted by images, identified by gender or described with shapes. This also means that the Caspian and the Great may partake in the physical activities performed by humans.
Belief that humanity is imperfect and prone to error and mistake when not guided or ruled by Caspian, either directly or indirectly.
Belief that humanity and life would experience disaster leading up to extinction if not guided or ruled by Caspian, either directly or indirectly.
Belief that Caspian speaks directly to humanity, and none can truly act as his spokesperson. There are no prophets, nor does he have any true intermediary through whom his message may be confused.
Belief that Caspian had a beginning, that humanity and life and the world existed before him, but now that he exists will continue to exist indefinitely.
Belief that Caspian and his Great Ones are functionally immortal, and though it is conceivable that they may killed, that the event of their demise will lead to the extinguishing of life either through the destructive actions of mortals or through the unleashing of the Kaiju.
Belief that no gods existed before Caspian, and were delusions or deceptions perpetuated by mortals to gain control over others. The coming of Caspian and the Great War purified the world of these delusions and led to the establishment of a true religion based on knowledge and the revealing of a deity that was truly worthy of worship, by virtue of his physical presence and obvious existence.
Belief that the truly worthy are rewarded with extended life and luxury of Celes, while the truly guilty are punished with death or exile in the Dungeon.
Belief in the validity and truth of the Lathra, that it was written by Caspian himself or under his guidance, and that its teachings should form the basis of any government structure or body.
Belief that the Lathra while not lacking, is still not complete, and receives constant revision and improvement as history and time progress.
Belief that Kingdom was personally established by Caspian after the Time of Absence for his purposes, and continues to be guided and ruled from Celes.
Belief that the Great War was justified, and cleansed the world of hostile error-prone nations, religions and cultures.
Belief that any one who denies Caspian's divinity and/or existence is in error, and can be considered either insane or foolish.
Belief that all other faiths, religions and gods must be put to task, and prove themselves to be true immediately through direct observation or evidence. Any who fail in this regard are said to be worthy of mockery, ridicule, persecution, and/or destruction.
Sacred Texts:
Rituals and Holidays:
The Birth of Caspian: Widely believed to be the date of Caspian's birth. It is celebrated on sixteenth day of the first month, but this date is not known for certain to be have been his actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly twenty-one days after a forgotten historical Prewar festival, or the date of the northern hemisphere's winter solstice. Despite millennia of scholarly research, and several theories, Caspian's mortal life remains the stuff of legend. Some stories are considered holy. Others just provide fodder for humanity's sense of myth and mystery. It is a time of reflection and mediating and reaffirming Caspian's supremacy and rule of the world. Effigies of his enemies and forgotten pagan deities are constructed, erected and then destroyed to symbolize his ultimate triumph over all pretenders (none will admit to even remembering the names of these figures). Banned books are reprinted, collected in casefulls and tipped into cesspools of the public latrine or burned in massive bonfires. Sacrifices may be offered and festivals are carried out in his honor. All across the Kingdom, parties begin, hymns are sung and gifts are exchanged. In Celes a provision of free credit towards such purchases is provided from the treasuries in return for praising the God-King and his kind generosity. It is also a time of revelry, and the most serious of rioting and civil unrest is due to occur around this time of year. People tend to overindulge in drink and food and the pleasures of the flesh as they lose themselves in the morass of the single largest party of the year. As a result, many children are conceived on this day.
Origins and Founder:
Historical Development:
Present-Day Facts:
Sect Hierarchy
See Rank, Caspianism
Game Information:
On a whole Caspianism is considered a lawful evil religion as outlined in the D&D book Defenders of the Faith:
"The philosophy of Lawful Evil societies is that all of existence is filled with scared, pathetic fools, petty people, who if left to their own devices would live in a squalid world of darkness and misery.
They must be given rules and instructions like children, so that they know how to behave and how to build societies. These rules must be expertly crafted, and if followed they will make for utopia. Only the strongest and smartest should control things, and all who serve them should obey unconditionally. This is the way the world was intended to be from the very beginning and, inevitably, it is how it will be in the end. The Lawful Evil deities are certain that they are the rightful rulers of it all.
When presented with the opportunity to grow and recruit members, a Lawful Evil religion is a powerful force indeed. Its members understand and agree with the necessity to maintain order and channel the often chaotic impulses of the common man. They also believe, however, that the strong should dominate the weak and their religions often become little more than an excuse for the deity to control, through his clergy, a large number of mortals. There are a surprising number of people in any world that are willing to sacrifice their freedom in order to follow a Lawful Evil religion - they are told exactly what they can and cannot do, absolving them from decisions about their own entirely.
Lawful Evil religions will have typically have a large number of minor vows that are designed to restrict the freedom of the congregation and ensure their loyalty to the institution of the church. All of these vows revolve around controlling various aspects of the members’ daily lives, putting ultimate control of the congregation in the hands of the clergy who design the minor vows. Dietary restrictions, required prayer times, and mandated styles of dress and speech are quite common in Lawful Evil religions. Typically, such minor vows have only tangential connections to the deity the church venerates and are simply ways for the clergy to control the lives of the congregation.
Sacred vows are nearly as plentiful as minor vows and are integral to the religion. Lawful Evil deities relish control and use their sacred vows in much the same way as the clergy use minor vows as a way to control those weaker and lower in position than themselves. The sacred vows for a Lawful Evil religion are restrictions aimed at preventing priests from falling away from the faith or performing actions that go against the plans of their deity. Common activities forbidden by the sacred vows are working with individuals outside of the faith, using divine powers to assist those who are not members of a congregation, or speaking with clerics of another deity. These vows are draconian and common - a priest can be expected to take no less than a half dozen sacred vows when joining a Lawful Evil religion and perhaps twice that number.
Their holy books bristle with commandments and instructions, often to excruciating detail and with elaborate (and frequently violent) punishments for infractions. Lawful Evil deities despise disobedience and reward it with death, exile or excommunication. A religion of this alignment will have three or more mortal vows, all of which are directly lied to the long-term schemes and domains of the deity that leads them. The exact nature of mortal vows varies from god to god, but they are most often extensions of sacred vows that a deity feels the need to emphasize.
Though they do not support any legitimate authority except their own, Lawful Evil clerics are often part of a ruler's privy council, valued for the balance they provide in debates. Adventuring clerics face stringent questioning between quests, to ensure they have not weakened in their devotion and dedication. Worship is a communal affair conducted according to an established order, with some participation from the gathered faithful and much speaking and reading from the clergy. Clerics spend much of their time among their congregations, scrutinizing their lives and scourging out any sign of mercy or compassion.
Lawful Evil churches are ruthless organizations and foundationally authoritarians religions dedicated to their own supremacy. Since they have no moral compunction against fighting among each other, a rigid hierarchy keeps infighting to a minimum. They see "good" as a doctrine that is weak and lacks conviction or direction at best, and hypocritical and counterproductive at worst.
Lawful Evil temples are elaborate, symmetrical edifices designed to impress all who see them. They convey a sense of foreboding and menace through the use of symbols, colors, and spells carefully woven into their construction. They are frequently soaked through with authoritarian imagery: crowns, yokes, chains, thrones, kingdoms and kings. Members of the church see Lawful Evil temples as signs of the strength of their organization, and they gain confidence and strength through the fear the temples instill in others. Temples themselves have established places within the church hierarchy, with larger temples corresponding to higher-ranking clergy.
There are no individual rights in Lawful Evil churches. The church or the state, if those are separate entities, is supreme, and all a worshiper's efforts must be dedicated to that. The church teaches how much easier it is to achieve success without the encumbrance of mercy or compassion. Individual success is tolerable only if the individual makes proportionately greater "contributions" to the church's growth."
Individuals sects of Caspianism can be of any alignment, but all of them tend to lean towards either Evil (lawful, neutral or chaotic evil) or Lawful alignments (Lawful Good, Neutral or Evil). Worshipers may be of any alignment, though neutral good, chaotic good or chaotic neutral followers tend to be weak in the faith, and may abandon it all together. Chaotic evil followers are also not typically welcomed and are considered too dangerous or unsubtle for advancement (unless they are brought in as hired help or thugs).
Other Forms of Caspian Worship:
Caspian is worshiped by many other sects outside of the official banner of Caspianism.