Sodden
Faith for sale. Religious mercenaries. That's all they are. Great tailors though.
- travelling merchant
The non-descript buildings are built for and unusual take on form over function. The primary trade of Sodden is faith; selling that valuable commodity to whomever has the most coin can be a fickle business. One of the large buildings may be devoted to a minor lord one day then Gundrinn Spearleaf the next. Such shifting devotions makes buildings towards a specific deity impractical. Thus, the buildings have become a form of canvas that these faith merchants may dash with paint and tapestries once a new god is financed.
The local residents and the motley crew of clergy that litter the town have settled into a comfortable familiarity in the arrangement made between the worshippers and those who guide the worship. Common folk are still artisans or laborers plying their common trades but are given the chance to sell their prayers as well. Selling your devotion is difficult whoever, since no sane person can throw themselves into a new god every week. Runecarving has created a way to overcome this stubbornness of morality. Icons are carved when a new god hires the clergy. This Icon causes religious fervor in the participant so that praying with the devotion of a true convert is not only easy but hard to stop once started. When the person leaves the place of worship, they are relieved of this fervor to return to their normal lives. In this way, everyone may benefit from Sodden's most profitable past time at their leisure. Some may pray after work, some may pray for work, but none are forced into.
Sell small icons that allow people to wholeheartedly devote themselves to someone like the icons in the cathedrals in the city proper are sold so that people outside of Sodden may worship and earn coin same as the locals. Coin is sent to these people once the icon logs enough prayers.Demographics
Sodden enjoys a diverse range of races by actively recruiting under-represented populations from other nations. The morality of fair and equal representation in trade, law, and customs is unfortunately a by-product of the intended goal; to gather as large a coterie of worshippers as possible who may bring with them familiarity of religious practices and the deities to match them. Roughly half of the population is human with the remaining portion being roughly equal between dwarf, elf, goliath, tiefling, firbolg, genassi, halfling, and gnome.
Racial demographics aside, Sodden's salient detail separating one citizen from another is the religion that they devote themselves to. Although this varies from day to day, depending on which god currently has the coin to spend on such things, people tend to land in one of two camps.; whether they sell their time to good versus evil deities, for neither or forbidden within Sodden. If Sodden has garnered a mischievous reputation, it may be that demon, devil, tyrannical and monstrous patrons may be openly prayed to. This openness to questionable ties draws those who would rather not hide in other principalities, possibly causing an over representation of devotion to the darker deities.
Government
To keep the masters of the houses of worship close to her and her machinations, Agis Perrieth has created what appears to be a pluralist theocracy with her as the monarch that dominates them all. The heads of religions are represented whenever new edicts are debated or enacted, and are allowed to voice their concerns and opinions accordingly. The religion they represent however may change day to day, depending on which god is feeling most generous or desperate. Despite the mercurial nature of their faith, these representatives are not invested in the religion falsely. Their devotion is true and impacts decisions and opinions, just as anyone else's religion would.
This has led to a tumultuous political landscape in the past. Alliances formed one day may be broken the next as new philosophies dictate new goals. Rival houses may be united in the same religion if the patron has enough coin. This whiplash was tolerated only for a time among the general public. Soon, religious tolerance, no matter how odious the practices may be, became the unspoken law of the land since no one wants to make an enemy of a friend just to be friends again later. Thus, colors may change, idols are replaced, new clergy robes created but neighbors remain neighbors and families stay united.
Defences
Sodden was established as a fortress to protect the northwest passage between the Teeth of Causathon. It has withstood sieges from the August Elementals of Itand as well as foolhardy and impractical invasions from forces without. Thick walls and an army of paladins and clerics on call in a moment's notice make this a difficult target to take through force of arms. The typical means of capture in Ogavix (guile, deception, and economic pressure0 may be a less costly way to take the fortress.
Industry & Trade
Although adventurers may find most things in Sodden, the most noteworthy trade in the town is religious fanaticism. Houses of worship, ranging from small shacks to great cathedrals, litter the town with their non-descript architecture. At these halls, one may purchase the target of the assembly's prayers to improve the strength of an existing deity or possibly create a new one through the strength of the assembly's belief.
A single person's prayers are relatively weak, especially when the person being prayed to is not a god already. Sodden overcomes these underwhelming results through the use of Icons. These Icons instill a religious fervor in the assembly unattainable by most people. These zealots' devotion is what may tip the scales in the favor of one god over another.
This fanaticism has tempered most trade within the city. Houses of worship may have paladins and clerics in their employ as well. New patrons may fund a paladin's crusade in the name of deity. Clerics may be sent out on missionary work to convert as many people in neighboring lands as possible. In this quest to gain as many voices in the choir, Icons can be bought and sold in the markets as well. If a person wishes to make some coin on the side, they may purchase an Icon and pray to whatever god is in vogue. Coin is then sent to the faithful once enough prayers have been logged through the Icon. Using one of these items means one does not have to visit the house of worship to help the cause.
Guilds and Factions
The halls of worship within Sodden are distinct from one another. Each is free to ply their trade with any god who has enough coin. When two houses pledge themselves to the same god, it is by coincidence or the patron's need of more than one house to hoist their favorite demi-god to power. Although they are distinct from one another, they rarely come to physical altercations. Disrupting prayers is bad for business, after all.
Architecture
The architecture of Sodden is remarkable in the fact that it is completely unremarkable. The shape and form of buildings is bland, one difficult to distinguish from another, as if a rainy day dressed itself in stone and wood and forced passers by to suffer its countenance. This unimaginative engineering stems from the shifting allegiances of the house of worship. An unique plinth may be pleasing to one god but maddening to another. A symbol etched into doorframes may be scratched out as soon as its carved.
Paint, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive. Houses are splashed with colors as bright as the zealot's devotion is deep. The juxtaposition of festival colors to the bland architecture gives a disconcerting feeling that two minds attempted to work on the same project, starting from either end and meeting in the middle. It is not an unpleasant experience but makes a person wonder which of those minds they will meet when their knock on the door is answered.
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