Church of the Stormlord
Many people call upon Kord or pray to him. His name is often foremost on the lips of athletes, gladiators, and warriors of all kinds. They seek his favor, his blessings, and an opportunity to earn some glory. They also offer thanks to the God of Strength for their successes and natural talents.
At the same time, many people pray to Kord in hopes of appeasing the God of Storms. Sailors, pilgrims, merchants, farmers, and adventurers all ask for protection from storms. They seek to appease the god’s turbulent anger; when Kord rages, the skies seethe with thunder, lightning, and powerful winds. Much like the storm, once it ends, Kord’s temper disappears with shocking suddenness, and all is right once more.
Although a formal church dedicated to Kord exists throughout Midvar, it is widely divergent, unorganized, with little interaction or communication between one church and the next. There exists no controlling hierarchy or “father church” for Kord’s clergy. Each temple is independent, operated by one or more priests and a number of acolytes. Not surprisingly, no two Kord temples are the same; they offer different religious services, they observe different rituals, and they emphasize different aspects of Kord’s beliefs.
The clerics of Kord’s faith are widely respected by common people. They often admire his clerics for their strength, athleticism, and competitive spirit. His clerics tend to be outgoing, enthusiastic, and personable. At the same time, clerics of other religions have little respect for Kord’s followers. They look at Kord’s clerics as pretenders or amateurs. In their view, Kord’s “religion” is nothing more than a collection of athletes and old warriors with no clerical training, no perceivable liturgical trappings, and no formal structure.
Tenets of Faith
Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction. Strength (and other forms of athletic prowess) is considered an indicator of worth in Kord’s eyes. He encourages his followers to pursue physical perfection in one or more forms, whether involving warfare or athleticism. Kord teaches the value of building strength and vitality at all life stages.
At the same time, strength is a gift that should be used for honorable purposes. Just because you are strong or powerful does not give you any rights or privileges. If you waste your strength on pointless violence, needless cruelty, or in dishonorable ways, you have squandered the gift and are unworthy. Kord has no problem with violence or conflict; these concepts stand at the foundation of his beliefs. Kord does, however, refute the use of violence for its own sake, or using it against those of lesser talent and skill. Besting a weakling or beating a helpless victim is unworthy of true competitors.
Be brave and scorn cowardice in any form. Defeat, although unpleasant, teaches many lessons – perhaps more than victory teaches. How you face defeat is more important than how you face success. If you surrender, flee, or give up in the face of obstacles, you have failed far worse than simple defeat. In Kord’s eyes, courage is another kind of strength, a form of strength worthy of recognition and respect. Cowardice, regardless of its form, deserves nothing but scorn.
Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown. Although the term “battle” often refers to actual combat, it also refers to any form of competition – a sporting event, surviving in the wilderness, or even raising a crop. A challenge (a physical challenge, that is) represents the purest way to demonstrate your abilities and skill. You should seek out physical challenge and take every opportunity to prove yourself. Once you find success, take joy in it and allow others to take note, so that they may follow your good example.
Worship
In the territories where the cult of Kord is well established, the temples dedicated to it are generally arenas in which the priests train and organize sports tournaments. Sometimes it is only a simple enclosure around which are arranged some wooden bleachers. The most important temples include baths, a gymnasium, a running track and a large statue of Kord.
Almost everywhere, you can meet followers from Kord who travel through Midvar in groups of two or three individuals. Their place of worship often consists of a simple tent provisionally pitched on the side of the road, always outside the big cities.
Priesthood
Priest, referred to as the Fists of Kord, are not known to be great thinkers, but they must be strong, well armed and trained, maintain their exceptional physical condition and be always ready to fight. It is a warlike clergy but without the objective of conquest or domination, and the chaotic actions of its members have hardly any strategic aims.
The Fists of Kord are known for their courage, kindness, compassion and generosity, but also for their ability to cause trouble. To doubt their physical form is a serious insult, and they do not hesitate to try and to prove their worth (although they know the difference between difficult and suicidal challenges).
The Fists of Kord are always searching for challenges, heroic quests to accomplish, and new adventures. If such tasks promote resistance to tyrannical and repressive regimes, it is even better. They will not accept missions that seem impossible to them but, if there is even a slight chance of success and a certain promise of glory, then they will undertake it without much hesitation.
The Fists of Kord are leaders at heart who must lead by example, leading the troops and showing unfailing courage in all battles. Some consider them reckless, stupid, or suicidal, but they are none of that. They can make whatever preparations they think necessary, and consider the magnitude of the problems or challenges before taking action. They sometimes become enraged when those they have sworn to defend are bruised, but it is usually a conscious decision on their part, when they feel it is the best course of action.
Any priest who shows cowardice (by conscious act and not under the influence of a magic fear or any charm) is immediately deprived of all his clerical abilities, with the exception of the spells of 1st and 2nd level he can always memorize, and must seek a higher level priest to atone for his fault. The disgraced priest will likely have to complete a heroic quest to prove his worth to Kord and his clergy.
One of the main motivations of the Fists of Kord is to resist any authoritarian rule, especially if it is imposed by evil beings. They disdain any questioning of free will and despise those who lead by force and fear. Any nation or region of Flanaess under the control of evil loyal forces is a natural target for their actions. They infiltrate such territories and try to cause as much disorder as possible by disrupting trade, drawing patrols into ambushes, and taunting officials. They help the locals who are mistreated, especially when they plan to overthrow the tyrant who makes their lives miserable.
Within the clergy of Kord, capturing an enemy rather than killing them is highly regarded. A priest who manages to defeat a powerful opponent by non-lethal combat techniques will be praised. This custom is also a source of income for priests, a reward that can be given for the capture of a criminal whom one wishes to bring to justice. Priests, however, accept such commissions only when the motive and the nature of the crime collide with their own principles.
Wherever the opportunity arises, the Firsts of Kord seize it to prove their strength and skill, especially if it takes the form of a sporting competition. It is sometimes a source of frustration for their companions, because such challenges can distract the priest from an urgent mission, and it is not without difficulty or whining that they can convince him not to participate. In addition, the priests of Kord often have the same romantic disposition as their god towards attractive members of the opposite sex encountered on the road, which can also be a source of trouble for their companions, especially when they are not not want to attract attention.
Evil dragons are the deadly enemies of the Firsts of Kord. Upon entering the clergy, they are taught to identify the five basic evil species of chromatic dragons (white, black, green, blue and red), although they have no special training in the strengths and weaknesses of these creatures (other than knowing the nature of each one's breath). If revealing signs of the presence of an evil dragon are discovered, they should seek to locate it and, as far as possible, make every effort to destroy it. If a priest ignores such a possibility, he will likely lose all of his clerical abilities for a week, unless he is clearly not powerful enough to defeat the monster, or has to complete a more urgent mission.
Priests never take offense that a stranger is better than them, it simply provides them with a new challenge. However, doubting the physical fitness of a priest of Kord is considered a grave insult to them, and they will go to great lengths to prove themselves.
Kord's clergy help train those under their charge to become stronger. They organize athletic competitions and eagerly participate in challenging athletic activities. They also participate willingly in the work of the community which requires strong arms. Their favored weapons are the greatsword and the bastard sword.
Would-be clerics of Kord come into the faith one of two ways. Most succeed on some feat of strength (often at a local carnival or sporting competition), drawing the admiration of a cleric of Kord. Less often, a youth attains notoriety for his sickly nature, but a cleric of Kord notices how passionately the child craves strength. Either way, becoming a cleric of Kord involves rigorous physical training, including calisthenics, running, and practice in any number of specific sports.
