Pantheon of Alnwich

The Pantheon is the local temple to the gods. As is common among the religions of the North, there is no centralized governing body for the faith, and members meet rarely. Instead, each temple is a bastion unto its own and operates without support or interaction with the greater religion.
The Pantheon of Alnwich is run by the High Priestess Thyra Hakondottr with the assistance of her priests and initiates. The temple is supported by contributions from the community and employs some servants and laborers to maintain the grounds and building. Should these not suffice to keep the temple in good order, Earl Borg has been known to make contributions of men and supplies to keep the house of the gods in good repair.
People tend to interact with the individual priests of the Pantheon personally rather than with the organization as a whole. To influence ARs, roll a Quick Contest between any suitable social skill and the individual member’s Will. The AR modifier is half the margin of victory (minimum +1) or loss (minimum -1).
The Pantheon doesn’t have official ranks; still a few terms tend to apply. Those new to the order are of Rank 0 and called Acolytes, Initiates, Neophytes, or Brother or Sister, and once an initiate completes his initiation, he gains Rank 1 and the title of Priest. The priest in charge of running a temple is usually called the High Priest or High Priestess.

What the Pantheon Wants

The Pantheon seeks to serve and appease the gods. They offer sacrifices, conduct ceremonies, and otherwise do their best to make sure that Alnwich invites only favorable attention from the deities of the world. In times of distress, they will also seek the guidance of the gods in hopes of learning what must be done to assuage their wrath. This sometimes involves special quests that require the services of heroes.
The priests of the Pantheon also depend on couriers to remain in touch with other temples throughout Northmarch. This is a dangerous and difficult job that often is accompanied by significant pay. Often, merchants are employed, and with the recent arrival of the RMS, mail has been far more reliable for the temple. Still, some communiques are too important to entrust to foreign businessmen, and that is when adventurers are typically sought.

What the Pantheon Can Provide

The Pantheon can provide training in any skills on the Cleric template and counts books, holy symbols, holy water, medical supplies, and mystical aids such as potions as professional goods. The Pantheon also offers a discount on healing services to its members.
Assistance which the Pantheon can provide include:
Artifact Magical items available at the Temple are divine in nature.
Augury
Backup The Pantheon is not heavily staffed enough to provide a body of assistance. Instead, backup is provided by a single Ally built on 150% of the requestor’s points, with a frequency of appearance of Rank+9. Roll daily for appearance. On a failure, the Ally vanishes to take care of important tasks elsewhere and reappears the next time the roll succeeds.
Blessings This is the Temple’s stock in trade; ARs are at +3.
Hideout Hideouts provided by the Temple don’t furnish actual concealment, but they do extend widely respected sanctuary. Civilized enemies may know where those receiving sanctuary are, but won’t touch them, giving those being sheltered time to heal up, regroup, and think of ways of sneaking out.
Immunity The Temple is plugged into the local power structures and can exert modest influence on the nobility.
Lore The Temple has extensive but focused records. The effective Contact skill is at +2 for religious topics, -3 for all others.
Recharge The Temple does a lot of this, as well; ARs are at +3.
Spellcasting Adventurers may request any spell granted by any of the major gods.
Other ARs are at -3 or worse.

Table of Contents

General Information

Type

Religious, Temple

Leader

Thyra Hakondottr

Leader Title

High Priestess

Location

Alnwich

Related Ethnicities

• Skidafolk

Mechanics

Rank

Rank 0 to 2.

In the Ranks

Clerics and Initiates.

On the Payroll

Anyone, but mostly servants and laborers.

Influencing the AR

Any social skill; see below.

Further Reading

Other Factions