[OOC] OOC Discussions - Priestess Main

[tomplum]

Please use this thread for any OOC discussions.

I will also post any FAQ's here.

 

The word of Evelyn is heard and interpreted by the Presbytera. She holds a similar position to a pope whereas the Temple of Evelyn is beneficial to the crown but is not beholden to it. The Knights of the Spear operate somewhat like the templars in that they are the Temple's army not the crown's. Of course, in a world mostly at peace with cut and dry enemies like elves or orcs, the internal politics that came of that arrangement just doesn't exist here.

There isn't a holy book with written down commandments or rules. The laws of the church is orally distributed from the temple at smaller shrines scattered about Kersdinas or around the kingdom.

Sacrifice plays a large part in the belief system of Evelyn which plays out as followers sacrifice of themselves for their neighbors, their kingdom and their goddess.

I'll grant plenty of flexibility for you to flesh this out yourself as well. I'm a fan of letting the players help shape certain aspects of a world.

 

In a mostly human campaign, the topic of languages to take can become a difficult decision.
Elves - Mortal enemies of the Kingdom of Rhyfel. Anyone with a military or scholarly background would most likely know this language.
Orcs - Former owners of the land the kingdom is built on but that conflict was a thousand years ago and most have been cleared out to the fringes by now. Again, though, a military or scholarly background may find use for this.
Dwarves - Very few dwarves live in Rhyfel and those that do supposedly fled their homelands. They have settled in the craftsman's ward of Kersdinas where they ply their trade as blacksmiths, finesmiths, and masons.
Halflings - For the most part the halflings of Rhyfel keep to their small settlement in the southeastern woods, though some do zip around the kingdom overcome with a form of wanderlust.
Centaurs(sylvan) - Centaurs patrol the western plains beyond Gietplan in small nomadic tribes following the buffalo herds. Some of the eastern clans will trade with humans.

I would also be fine with forfeiting a language for a skill proficiency.

[Aaric]

The Full Cast Sanctaid mrtowne Shira Everell The Priestess LinguaManiac Bartholomew Orthis The Paladin mandaanne Ari (Aracelia) Wardhouse The Fighter Anazider Brother Qu'hier'ren The Monk Arthilian01 Kane Karlo The Rogue Khul Boldohr Landsknechts Tahira The Priestess Kaiya Amelia Verrick The Paladin cookieyummy Araceli Naeva Hazesun The Wizard Andor Berilac Fairbairn The Ranger Maskain Huern Haive Amiliya'goule The Druid Brekka Aaric Kaylid Seaward The Priestess Duskdog Hadrian Hawthorne The Paladin RedWolf0214 Cornan Merrillbright The Wizard Smokefire12 Jubai The Ranger Superstrength79 Alaura'lyn The Druid

So I mugged Plum in PM with some questions and here's the answers now for everyone's convenience!

So sayeth Tomplum... Regarding the Religion of Evelyn: What does their holy symbol look like? Do they have particular iconography beyond the spear? Red spear on a white background. Does Evelyn have corresponding DnD domains? Mainly life but seeing as (for the most part, druids being an exception) its a monotheistic kingdom, most other domains are going to flow through her as well. Are there any ranks/titles I should know and use? I've been kinda winging it with generic/christian/Dragon-Age stuff. The priestesses would be just below the Presbytera and then any priests would fill in the rest of the ranks. Priestesses are held in very high regard. Are priestess and/or paladins of Evelyn bound by celibacy? Do they marry? They do not marry and any liaisons would be very private affairs. Not necessarily taboo but not something done in the open. Are there any major beliefs or tenets of the faith I should know? Its kind of modeled after how the catholic church would have people believe they are/were. Holy and pure agents of god. Any other gods I should know? There are other gods but they wouldn't be openly worshiped in the kingdom. They wouldn't kill you for it but you would be socially ostracized for taking another god. Regarding elves: How are elves viewed by humans these days? Would someone growing up in the capital have seen an elf or half elf before? Most people in the city would only see an elf if it was captured and paraded through the streets before its execution. Half elves are very rare and most in the city would try to hide their heritage. I would imagine most would live in more remote regions of the kingdom for this reason. How are half elves viewed? How rare are they? Poorly. Not open aggression but open resentment.

[LinguaManiac]

Originally Posted by tomplum

I'll grant plenty of flexibility for you to flesh this out yourself as well. I'm a fan of letting the players help shape certain aspects of a world.

Given this, perhaps we should all talk a bit about language. Common phrases and titles of things. For example:

• Terminology: In the backgrounds of my Paladin and our thread's Priestess, we have been calling them Brother and Sister.

Problem: To my mind, this can't be right. First, if we're following Catholic terminology generally, then Priestesses, being of equal rank to the Catholic Priests, would be called "Mother". Second, Priests in this world are above the Knights of the Shield. Perhaps therefore the Priestess and Priest ought to be called "Mother" and "Father" and the Knights of the Shield should be "Brother" and "Sister" (since we do have a woman Knight of the Shield in our group).

• In my application, I invented a greeting. "Keep Faith" was a way of saying "Hello" and "Goodbye" or more accurately the Irish "God be with you/And God and Mary with you" dyad.

There's no reason why anyone else should adopt this or why I should keep using it. I thought it gave the application color. However, as this entire post is an attempt to begin a process of filling this world with agreed-upon colloquialisms, I thought I'd offer it as a contribution. What do you all think?

[tomplum]

I'm fine with all of this.

[Aaric]

I'm excited to hash out some terminology! I love this sort of stuff. I have to step out in a moment, but some thoughts I've had:

Religious Ranks
I also was wondering when/where sister and mother ought to be used. There's also Reverend [Name] as a potential rank and "your/her eminence" as a term of address, though depending on just how highly these priestesses are regarded that's probably mostly reserved for the Presbytera.

All in all, I like Sister/Brother as at least a term between peers in an order who are of equal rank. So both the priestesses and the paladins might use it amongst themselves. (Eg. Priestesses may be Mother NAME, but within their order they may refer to each other as Sister NAME). ...Dunno if that'd be confusing.

Are you imagining Brother Bartholomew as the way you might address a paladin? I was imagining Sir Bartholomew/Sir Knight. Brother/Sister does underline the religious connections of the order though.

[Landsknechts]

May I suggest:

Clergy

• Presbytyr: Your Emminence
• Abbess, Prioress: Reverend Mother or Mother Abbess
• Abbot, Prior: Reverend Father or Father Abbot
• Priestess: Mother
• Priest: Father
• Religious Sister, including nuns: Brother Sister
• Religious Brother, including monks: Sister Brother
• Novice: Novice... (in training to be clergy, whether priestess/priest or nun/monk)

Knights of the Shield

• Grand Master: Worthy Grand Master or Your Worthiness, Ser Master... (In charge of the whole order, equal to a Prior)
• Master: Ser Marshal... (Local Commander of a Chapter, equal to Priest)
• Seneschal: Ser Marshal... (the right-hand man for a Master, equal to Priest)
• Turcopelier: Ser Marshal... (in charge of the Mounted Seargents of a Chapter)
• Standard Bearer: Ser Marshal... (in charge of the squires, paymaster. Equal to Priest)
• Knight: Ser... (Normally heavy cav, higher precedence than Religous sister/brother but less than Priest)
• Sergeant: Brother (normally one Sergeant/Knight rides (half as Mounted Crossbowmen/half as the rear ranks of the Knights)
• Squires: Squire... (equivalent to novice, in training to be Knight, in extremis will be fielded as last ranks of Foot Seargents)
• Novice: Novice (equivalent to novice, in train to be Sergeant, in extremis will be fielded as last ranks of Foot Seargents)

[Landsknechts]

I was an altar boy... in private the priests call each other by their first names ( and so did the nuns ). In public they meticulously used proper address- I guess because it's expected

I had to go to the convent to deliver something as a favor and was a bit flabbergasted when I saw like six of the nuns hanging out in front of the TV, drinking beer and cheering on the Knicks (it was the 80s when the Knicks used to win some)

2 religious order knights of the same order talking amongst themselves would normally not use Sir but brother in real life...
However, if there was animosity between the two, they would default to proper form of address and say Sir

As far as the Presbyter goes.. even in private, I can't see anyone other than a very close friend (which would likely be someone who was a novice with her) calling her anything less than Mother even if everyone else calls each other brother and sister. Same with the Grand Master- being on top is a lonely business.

[Duskdog]

I agree with that list, Landsknechts (though I think you may have gotten brother/sister switched while you were typing). We may not run into the need for all of those titles, but it's good to have them ready just in case we do. I do think they're probably all less formal in private (barring certain personality types), but I do envision them being quite formal in public. I don't have any particular reason for thinking that, it's just the "vibe" I've personally gotten from the setting.

I also like the "Keep Faith" addition, LM. It's good flavor.

[mandaanne]

GM question: are the dozen men-at-arms that are accompanying each Priestess and her retinue part of the City Guard or are they Temple men-at-arms?

[tomplum]

Not every priestess is getting a company of men-at-arms but the ones included in the Coedtref thread are kingdom guards assigned to the Knight of the Spear. So, in your case, Ari is in charge of the eleven other men and is reporting to Bartholomew who is in turn subordinate to Shira.

[mandaanne]

Originally Posted by tomplum

Not every priestess is getting a company of men-at-arms but the ones included in the Coedtref thread are kingdom guards assigned to the Knight of the Spear. So, in your case, Ari is in charge of the eleven other men and is reporting to Bartholomew who is in turn subordinate to Shira.

Ah, I see. I made a bad assumption that the party would be structured the same in all three groups. Sorry!

[mrtowne]

Just to chime in on the religious titles and such above, I am totally for using that title structure. Thanks for the list Landsknechts.

[Aaric]

I'm also like that list. Thanks for putting it together, Land!

Landsknechts, mrtowne--

Are head coverings going to be thing a thing for the Priestesses? I noticed Tahira is using one from her homeland and Shira has a a wimple/veil set up. I'm down to follow you lead if that's the route you guys want to go.

Also-- when did Shira enter the temple, Towne?

Right now it looks like we've got:

Tahira (25) in at age 12
Kaylid (26) in at age 6

Whether the groups end up meeting up or not, I'm just sort of curious how long they may have know each other and what their experiences have been.

[Landsknechts]

I did indeed...I originally listed the way the Church list it (skipping a whole bunch of titles to make it simpler) which general lists the male counterpart first even if of equivalent rank (Abbott to Abbess for example) but redid the order since this church is matriarchal instead of patriarchal...

forgot to lower brother and raise sister to right line.

[Landsknechts]

Originally Posted by Aaric

I'm also like that list. Thanks for putting it together, Land!

Landsknechts, mrtowne--

Are head coverings going to be thing a thing for the Priestesses? I noticed Tahira is using one from her homeland and Shira has a a wimple/veil set up. I'm down to follow you lead if that's the route you guys want to go.

well up until modern times head covering for female religious orders of many faiths was common.
many female religious orders still follow the tradition.

Or you can suck it up as the suffix -ira in this campaign means my head is covered

Personally I would love to see the Presbyter wearing the Papal cap and headpiece during Clerical Services and going to meet the faithful in public.

And someone aught to wear the thing from The Flying Nun show. But I don't know if there are any other sisters involved.