FLARR
Silverdrake, High Adjudicator, Blade of Justice
God of Law and Order
Alignment: Lawful Good
Cleric’s Alignments: LG, LN
Domains: Glory, Good, Law, Order, War
Symbol:
Favored Weapon: longsword
Centers of Worship: Skorport, Fallshaven
Nationality:
Obedience (need the Deific Obedience feat):
Hold your primary weapon in front of you and hang a holy symbol of Flarr from it. Kneel while focusing on the holy symbol, pray for guidance and protection from the Silverdrake, and swear to follow his teachings. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Diplomacy and Knowledge (nobility) checks.
Exalted Boons:
1. Glorious Servant (Sp): shield of faith 3/day, enthrall 2/day, or searing light 1/day
2. Righteous Strike (Sp): Once per day, you can channel the effects of holy smite through your weapon. You must declare your use of this ability before you roll your attack. On a hit, the target is affected as if targeted with holy smite.
3. Just Ally (Sp): Once per day as a standard action, you can summon a shield archon. The shield archon follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute for every Hit Die you possess before vanishing back to its home in Heaven. The shield archon doesn't follow commands that would violate its alignment, however, and particularly egregious commands could cause it to attack you.
Evangelist Boons:
1. Courageous (Sp): remove fear 3/day, blessing of courage and life 2/day, or heroism 1/day
2. Demon-Feared Caster (Ex): You are used to fighting the forces of evil. You gain a sacred bonus equal to 1 +1 for every 4 Hit Dice you possess (maximum +6) on caster level checks to overcome the spell resistance of outsiders with the chaotic or evil subtypes. These bonuses stack against outsiders who are both chaotic and evil (maximum +12). If you don't have the ability to cast spells, you instead gain the ability to use protection from chaos/evil as a spell-like ability three times per day.
3. Wrath of the High Adjudicator (Ex): Three times per day, you can call upon Flarr during the casting of spell to increase its potency. When you use this ability, you can cast any spell that deals hit point damage and has a casting time of 1 standard action as a full-round action instead. Doing so changes half the damage dealt to divine power, similar to a flame strike spell. If you can't cast spells that deal hit point damage, you instead gain the ability to imbue your weapon with holy power. Three times a day as a free action, you can grant your weapon the holy weapon special ability for 1 minute.
Introduction:
One of the older gods of the realm, Flarr has fought evil at all fronts. He is a righteous knight, fearless in fighting, master of tactics and has an unwavering belief in all that is just and right that propels his actions. He loathes incorrigible evil, fiendspawn, traitors, and those who abuse good in the name of “greater” good. He is valor, glory, honor, justice, and strength, and avenges the right against all that is wrong.
Flarr’s teachings are black and white. There is no gray involved. Either you are fighting for the greater good, or you are not. If your actions are evil, you need to be brought to justice. If you wrong someone unjustly, your actions need to be avenged. If one refuses the right to fair trial, then justice will be dealt swiftly and humanely by Flarr and his worshipers.
Where Dragar relies on shear strength and power to defeat his enemies, Flarr relies upon tactics as well as skill to defeat his opponents. He will never wade into battle recklessly. His tactics are near flawless and has allowed him to overcome insurmountable odds when facing the forces of darkness.
Flarr has many followers and has a strong following of paladins. Leaders of kingdoms worship him and his tenets of law and justice. His worshipers cross over many good races as he has been the hope they see when facing the face of evil in many of its forms.
He often appears as a knight in holy shining armor atop a gleaming silver dragon. Others claim to have seen him as the dragon itself and his name, the Silverdrake, is well-founded. His holy order of paladins is based upon Flarr’s association with the drake and it has flourished by producing many holy knights to spread the word of justice and carry out the avenging blade against evil.
The Church:
Flarr’s Church is divided into two – The Arbiters of Righteousness, the priests and leaders of the church, and The Holy Order of the Drakes, the knights who fight for the cause of Flarr.
The Arbiters are the priests and leaders of the church organized into circles of 10-50 priests. The head of the church is the High Arbiter or First Blade Knight. His circle is the first circle, comprised of 13 Second Blade Knights, each of whom leads a second circle, and so on. There is much competition to join circles led by a famous Blade Knight and it is a mark of honor to be selected for such a knight’s circle. The Blade Knight ranks correspond to military ranks in standard armies (general, colonel, captain, and so on). Temple music is composed to inspire courage and invigorate tired flesh, with upbeat marching tempos, repeated choruses, and simple harmonies.
It is tradition for a young priest of the Silverdrake to receive a gift of a sword when he leaves the temple to enact the god’s will; in some cases, this is a weapon once used by a senior priest or other hero of the church. Some blades have passed through many hands, as Flarr believes it is wasteful to bury a perfectly good weapon with the dead; the only time a fallen hero is buried with his weapon is if it were broken or if there is unusual magic tying it to him, and even in these cases the weapons have been known to turn up in moments of great need, as if plucked from the tombs of the goddess herself. It is common for the faithful to bury a small token sword (often just an inch long and usually made of copper, tin, brass, or bronze) with their dead, believing the sword will fight battles on behalf of the good soul so that person can remain at rest.
Just as swords are generally kept in the hands of the living, it is rare for worshipers to be buried in armor. Most faithful who are wealthy enough to own armor usually bequeath it to close relatives or their favorite temples so that it may find use in the god’s name even after they are gone.
Flarr’s preference for law and order results in strong church support for marriage, and equally strong disapproval of adultery, abuse, and other activities that threaten healthy relationships. Even if it goes against local tradition, the church teachers that spouses retain their individual rights and are not property. Likewise, it insists that children must be treated with love and respect, though this does not preclude an appropriate level of discipline. The church’s focus on self-discipline and honor in action and appearance lead most of the faithful to consider poorly behaved children or a family that appears unkempt or unruly a great embarrassment, both to themselves and to their community.
Of all the good churches in Raden, Flarr’s is the most aggressive in seeking out and fighting evil. His priests prefer to be out questing rather than doing mundane tasks in a city. Older and infirm priests who cannot handle the rigors of battle work in courtrooms and as advisors to nobles and city leaders, or else train the next generation of crusaders and Drakes. Layfolk and talented acolytes staff most in-city positions and see to the auxiliary needs of the church, helping run temple-owned farms, smithies, and shops.
He presides over all of the churches functions and personnel. Under him are three Scales of Flarr. They spread the word of Flarr and make sure his edicts and tenets are adhered to by his followers. They also serve as advisors to communities and are leaders in combat especially in battles against evil.
Paladin Code:
The Holy Order of the Drakes are the holy crusaders and knights of Flarr that lead the armies of good against the forces of evil. They are broken down in ranks that begin when they are inducted officially into the Holy Order. When a paladin attains the divine ability to resist fear and disease (3rd level), he must enter the Rite of Justice. Each paladin faces trials of their own and they do not reveal their experiences to any as it is a very personal experience. Those that fail this trial are buried within the church’s hallowed ground. Those that succeed find themselves in the Order and a rune of an blackish gray dragon curled around a blade visible on their neck, visible for all to see when not wearing head gear, giving them the rank of “Iron Drake”
Their life mission is to right wrongs and eliminate evil at its root. They serve as examples to others, and their code demands they protect the weak and innocent by eliminating sources of oppression, rather than merely the symptoms. They may back down or withdraw from a fight if they are overmatched, but if their lives will buy time for others to escape, they must give them. Their tenets include the following affirmations.
- I will learn the weight of my sword. Without my heart to guide it, it is worthless – my strength is not in my sword, but in my heart. If I lose my sword, I have lost a tool. If I betray my heart, I have died.
- I will have faith in the Silverdrake. I will channel his strength through my body. I will shine in his legion, and I will not tarnish his glory through base actions.
- I am the first into battle, and the last to leave it.
- I will not be taken prisoner by my free will. I will not surrender those under my command.
- I will never abandon a companion, though I will honor sacrifice freely given.
- I will guard the honor of my fellows, both in thought and deed, and I will have faith in them.
- When in doubt, I may force my enemies to surrender, but I am responsible for their lives.
- I will never refuse a challenge from an equal. I will give honor to worthy enemies, and contempt to the rest.
- I will suffer death before dishonor.
- I will be temperate in my actions and moderate in my behavior. I will strive to emulate Flarr’s perfection.
- I will answer the call and follow the commands of my leaders in the constant fight against evil.
- I will present myself as does the Blade of Justice, hair shorn, appearance always as pristine as possible and after a most gruesome battle, will do my best to return to said pristine condition.
- I will guard my steed as if it were an equal, and never knowingly mistreat it for any reason.
Paladins within The Holy Order of the Drake have a hierarchy within their own and are called “Flights” that usually number between 40-100 paladins. The highest level in the Order is a Platinum Drake. The Platinum Drake is head of a Flight, usually named after the region or a specific church dedicated to Flarr. A Platinum Drake has 3 paladins to assist in his duties as Lord Commander of the Flight called Golden Drakes. These Golden Drakes each have 3-6 Electrum Drakes, and each of these Electrum Drakes have 3-20 Steel Drakes, who in turn are in charge of the 10-20 Iron Drakes.
Movement in the ranks is of import to paladins of the Holy Order. Rising in the Order is done through bravery and acts of valor and following the tenets of the order strictly. Testing and decisions of ascension are determined by the Platinum Drake who often hears praise of his paladins through the voices of leaders of the hierarchy. With ascension, the rune upon the neck of a Drake assumes the color of his ranking. It is a great honor within the Order to achieve the next ranking, and it is said that Flarr may honor a very devout paladin with a special steed. It is rumored several high ranking Drakes have draconic steeds. Paladins of the Order, as part of their tenets, obey their superiors, even if they are from another Flight.
Temples and Shrines:
Flarr’s temples are pristine buildings that double as courts and living space for holy knights. Each has at least one fortified tower or wing that is easily defensible even if the rest of the structure is razed. Arched entrances, pillared courtyards, statues of knights, tapestries of dragons, high-stained glass windows and large fountains are common decorations. While priests and knights set aside an hour per day for prayer, the church usually holds public worship once a week for an hour or two depending on local interest.
Each large temple, may be the home to a Flight of the Holy Order of the Drake. The Platinum Drake of the flight and his military often assist the temple with many of its duties and routines, especially if justice needs to be served. The Flight often takes the name of the settlement in which it exists or a nearby holy site.
The devout often create a shrine of stones on the site of a great battle fought in the name of Flarr, sometimes capping it with a broken sword thrust into the top of the pile. Flat stones carved with the god’s symbol, crossed longswords in front of a background of scales of justice mark the graves of the faith, as well as locations of miracles or sites important to saints of the church.
A Priest’s Role:
All of Flarr’s priests are clerics, although he has many rangers, inquisitors, paladins, and cavaliers serving the church in important roles, as well as a wide variety of lay worshipers.
An ideal day for a priest of Flarr varies. For those within military organizations or entrenched in battle, ritual is of less import as compared to doing whatever is necessary to further the cause of justice and light, and for a priest to stand on ceremony at the cost of the church’s goals would be highly shameful. As such, priests in war zones tend to act much like chaplains or military commanders rather than city priests. If there is no sign of active villainy, priests travel, perhaps in ways that help local officials (such as transporting a criminal from a remote town to a city’s jail). City priests keep their ears to the ground for news of local crime, always ready to attack a thieves’ guild headquarters, uncover an evil cult, or slay some monster fresh from the depths. To perform their duties, most priests have ranks in Diplomacy, Heal, and Knowledge (history and nobility).
Priests must act honorably, show courage in battle, uphold righteous laws, bring evildoers to justice, and generally conduct themselves like great knights. Even the most battle-weary stand proud and tall in the presence of common folk and impressionable youths. Priests have a reputation for trustworthiness that serves them well in political affairs, and while few choose to retire to political offices such as judge or magistrate, having a priest of Flarr as a witness in a trial is highly advantageous. To a priest of Flarr, the quest for justice and the need to work hard for the betterment of all is never complete.
Adventurers:
To follow Flarr is to tolerate neither chaos nor evil, and to vow to stamp them out wherever they arise. His faithful travel the world to find uprisings of evil, and are willing and able to serve and to lead; they have forthright attitudes and have no patience for lying, fraud, or deceit. They believe in discipline tempered with love and respect, and still prefer the word over the sword, though they recognize that situations exist where the sword is the only answer.
Clothing:
Formal raiment is a white cossack with silver trim and matching mitre, but this rarely sees use outside of the church. In practice, most Flarr warriors are recognized by their shining armor and prominent display of the god’s symbol. Banners with his symbol are also popular, almost always in white and silver. Most ceremonies involve the use of a sword and even the naming of a child requires touching the hilt of a sword, so it’s rare to find a priest without one. These weapons are always suitable for combat, though some become extensively decorated after decades of use; to the faithful, a sword that isn’t serviceable as a weapon is useless.
Holy Texts:
The one book common to all churches is The Edicts of Light, usually just called The Edicts. The book explains the duties of man and the church and actions faithful must follow in his eyes. It also recounts the battles Flarr has waged against evil and its masters.
Individual churches usually keep a ledge of names of local heroes and saints, important battles that took place nearby, and the inspirational tales that reinforce the ideals of the faith.
Holidays:
Ordnance: Observed on 1 Crossan, this is traditionally a day to train commoners in the use of simple weapons, choose squires for knights, and ordain new priests. Jousting tournaments, duels and proud celebrations are also very common on this day. Priests discuss past wars with their followers and the importance of fighting evil, and at times the necessity of war.
Day of the Drake: Observed on 13 Quaren, this day is remembered for the day when Flarr, upon a silver dragon, appeared as inspiration for the overwhelmed fighters on the battlefields near the now named, Blood River, in the kingdom known as Skor. Against insurmountable odds, a holy knight of Flarr, Corrin Skor, showed immense bravery and valor against hordes of evil orcs and their kin. It also marks the beginning of the kingdom of Skor, a kingdom dedicated to the worship of Flarr and his tenets.
A great celebration and a reenactment of the Battle of the Bloodstone, often is done by the youthful worshipers of Flarr.
Order of the Drake: Twice a year on 1 Crossan and 1 Relun, paladins who wish to join The Holy Order of the Drake petition to take the Rite of Justice to the Platinum Drake of the Flight they wish to join. Whether there is a petitioner or not, Flarr is celebrated on this day. If there is a petitioner, he is treated with the highest regard until the time of his Rite is upon him. A sanctuary in the largest temples is designed for the petitioners to be able to meditate and complete the Rite. If a petitioner fails, the celebration ends with a somber march to the resting places of the faithful, but hopeful in that the petitioner is able to be at the side of the Silverdrake in the afterlife.
Aphorisms:
For Victory, For Justice, For the Heart: Whether whispered as a prayer or shouted as a challenge, this saying refers to striking at the heart to make sure a foe is slain. Knights use it in battle, priests use it when baptizing a new acolyte, and farmers use it when cutting a tree stump.
The Silverdrake Will Judge: Said when priests are preparing to make a decision on a ruling of innocence or guilt. Knights will state when in battle against soldiers and are slain by their blade as to whether Flarr will be forgiving to one who fought in battle for their leader. Only said against non-evil creatures.
Relations with Other Religions:
Flarr is on good terms with many of the lawful and good gods. He tolerates the chaotic gods, but sometimes, their aloofness and unpredictability grates his nerves. He doesn’t believe in chance and loose ends. Although he is on good terms with Kahrillar, God of Life, and Pentar, God of Peace, he ignores their pleas for both when a war is waged. There cannot be justice without death and war when freedom and righteousness is in jeopardy.
Flarr has a mutual respect with Dragar, God of War. Not always agreeing with his methods or strategies, he respects his combat ability and results, but not always the brutality that his followers may inflict upon their foes.
Flarr will always battle the evil gods and their minions. At every opportunity, he and his followers will work to thwart any evil plan, fight any battle against evil and its ilk. Light and justice is his priority, and nothing evil brings either. Xellix, God of Madness, Monsters, and Nightmares, is his sworn enemy.
Realm:
Flarr’s home is within Heaven’s second tier, near the border with the first tier, a land dotted with keeps and castles. Flarr’s role in heaven is to general the armies of good against the armies of darkness. His realms are filled with angels and archons who follow his direction as they wage war against the unjust. He also acts as Arbiter when the gods have squabbles they cannot solve without intervention.
Planar Allies:
The church is known for its saints, all of them dead mortals granted power and sometimes a new form in the afterlife. In some cases, these saints are the patrons of particular churches or military orders, and may only be known to locals or religious scholars. In addition to his servitor race, the iophanites, the following are well-known suerpnatural servitors of Flarr, and are suitable for calling with planarally or similar spells. Flarr's divine servants are all clad in shining armor and have an aura of good; even servitors of other gods who come to serve him experience a transformation to match his other minions.
Arvassia (unique silver dragon): This young silver dragon often appears when faithful of Flarr are in dire straits against insurmountable odds of evil most sinister. She will use her draconic abilities to scatter the minions of evil and bring forth death to those who oppose good. She is extremely wise and can see through any illusions or deception before her. She is unforgiving to those who are unjust. Her appearance to aide a mortal is a sign of being in great favor of Flarr.
Hand of the Blade of Justice: This silver-skinned angel serves as Flarr’s herald. The Hand of the Blade of Justice focuses on honorable combat, the preservation of just rulers, and valorious deeds. He feels no guilt in slaying those who embrace evil, but strikes to subdue when his opponent is magically controlled or otherwise compromised in his decision-making. He enjoys battle hymns and marching music, though his voice is more suited for harmonizing with a true performer than leading a song.
Heesin (unique iophanite): This servant appears as a white concave spiked shield burning with silver fire, but is able to spread the hundreds of swordlike shardsthat comprise his body over an area, acting much like a blade barrier, except that those who touch him take slashing, fire, and holy damage. He can dampen his fires in his natural state, though he complains that it is uncomfortable for him to do so. He prefers payment in the form of rare or exotic oils and magical swords, which he usually gives to deserving heroes in the world.
Saint Beragon (unique angel): This angel appears in armor of solid silver wielding a longsword of silvery flame, and a silver shield that has a mirror-like surface. He is a no-nonsense sort of angel, intolerant of cruelty or injustice, and inclined to strike first and ask questions later. (In fact, he is the patron saint of first blood). He enjoys gifts or payments of magical weapons and armor which he gives to lower celestial beings under his command.
For Faithful Characters:
Priests of Flarr that follow his tenets and graces often are granted special powers by Flarr.
- Hunting down and bringing to justice a known criminal who has escaped justice or an evil that has caused cruelty and injustice to a community will gain the favor of Flarr. While on such a quest, a priest of Flarr gains the ability to see invisible, detect lie, and locate object (of a known item on the creature followed) at will.
- When fighting worshipers of Xellix, or outsiders from the Abyss or Hell, priests of Flarr gain the smite evil ability usable by paladins.
- Priests who take craft arms and armor feat may add the “holy” enhancement to their crafted weapons at no additional cost.