The Calling of the Clergy

The clerics of The Lands are representatives of divinity to the world. They are normal mortals who have answered a calling to become followers and agents for one or more immortal powers. In the course of this work they become key members of the community. They serve as casters of theurgic spells. Those spells fall into the five schools of Divination, Abjuration, Elementism, Vitalism and Inspiration. Anyone interested in these callings will also be interested in the Gods & Goddesses.



Human clergy serve well-defined gods and goddesses while demi-human clerics venerate and draw guidance from other more amorphous powers.

Elves are pantheists and venerate 'the Universe of which we are an integral part'. Elves think that the spirit becomes part of an eternal and infinite oneness. Elvish clergy are known as Ar-U-Mari. Half-Elves can also be clerics for Human deities.

Dwarves preserve the memory of legendary ancestors and the Balthar clergy celebrate the phenomenon of reincarnation. Half-Dwarves can also be clerics for Human deities.

Halflings worship incarnations of the same well-defined gods and goddesses as Humans - The Deliverer, Linesa and Elchemar are particularly popular.

Half-Orcs can become clerics just like Humans or they can be spirit-worshiping Orcish Huguch celebrants.

From Druids to Clerics

In the ancient past all Humans lived in small rustic villages or wandered in nomadic bands. At this time the only sort of clergy were interpreters of nature who represented all the elder powers at once. For these magico-religious figures all the gods and goddesses were one close family grouping and all these powers together shared in ruling and preserving the forces of nature. In the ages since populations have grown larger and with this there came a growing trend towards separate congregations with preferences for particular powers including the younger gods and goddesses (this trend seems to have started in Lehenic lands).

They participate fully in the life of the community (which allows them the option to marry). The most common sort of holy person is the Cleric who serves one god or goddess but among rural villagers one can find nature clergy in the form of Druids. They venerate Garlomen & Marumi in particular. However they also follow neutral aspects of Olarin, Urala, Kandoth and Nitara. More can be known of the Druids by examining the tales of the Brethic Royal Dagger (see in Sage Scrivenings). One can find churches of most powers (including Bernalli, Teloch, Linesa, Elchemar and The Deliverer) in all major population centres.

Some Notes on the Churches

The characteristics of every church can be derived from the descriptions given in other documents of the gods or goddesses they follow. However a few comments can be made on the structural and cultural aspects of particular churches.

The Druids

The Druidic movement is unique in that it is organized on the basis of natural rather than political borders. As a result the power structures of the Druids transcend national identity. This makes the Druids the only transnational religious structure in The Lands (which wins them the resentment of some national rulers). There is one Grand Druid who resides in the ancestral homeland of the Deben Wood. That figure is served in turn by three Ovates - one each for Westara, The Wandering Lands, and the Eastern Expanse. These four endure many challenges to ascend to such roles. Assisting them are many others. The largest of Druidic gatherings are sometimes served by male and female co-clergy.

The institution of separate churches is so old in Nerina and its surrounds that unitary nature worship is all-but-extinct there (however the Zinda have a creed that seems practically Druidic yet independent of the authority of Deben Wood). Note that Druids will only consume meat if they or those serving the meal have hunted and killed the giver of that meat. Only Humans, Halflings and Half-Elves are known to be Druids.

As Different As Night And Day

There is an amity between most churches but rivalry exists between the clerics of Urala and Olarin. Rarely does this rivalry turn to violence. In fact most of the time it manifests as overly polite coldness. However once the clergy of one or another church come together a portion of confidential talk will always turn to the problems of the rival church. Most casual worshippers overlook this as they can see the value of both night and day. Sometimes you seek hope while at other times you embrace melancholy and these churches provide such alternatives.

Itinerants Of Kandoth And Nitara

All churches include wandering clerics who travel alone or among caravans and adventuring parties. The churches that most actively foster this practice are those of Kandoth and Nitara.

Clerics of Kandoth travel to witness the variety of climes and conditions shaped by the god of storms. They will sometimes be asked by locals they meet to bless them with better weather or even to curse rivals with worse conditions.

Clerics of Nitara travel to experience the diversity of plant and animal life. They carry with them hardy seed stocks and bring succour to villages at risk of famine or pestilence. They promote fertility by match-make future parents. And they influence others to assume roles in midwifery or animal-husbandry.

The Cooperative Churches of Bernali and Elchemar

These two churches follow very different powers but both are characterized by a very lawful disposition. As such the churches of both Bernali and Elchemar are very well organized and structured. They cultivate and preserve formal links between national church groups. They conduct regular exchange programs in which every national church has representatives present in every other national church. Likewise both churches hold international conferences annually. The Conclave of Bernali allows its attendants to work towards common legal standards across borders while the Convention of Elchemar allows for the display and sharing of all manner of new technological developments.

The Independent Churches of Teloch and Linesa

These churches are much more disparate in nature and every national church has developed over time in isolation from others. This is in keeping with the chaotic nature of these two powers. As a result one will find marked differences between the clergy of both Teloch and Linesa from one nation to the next. Every national church of Teloch comes to identify with the military needs and characteristics of its own state. Every national church of Linesa comes to mirror the national culture of its home nation. There is a recognition and respect between clergy of the same power from different nations but rarely anything more than that.

Village Churches of the Deliverer

In urban areas the churches of separate deites are common. In rural areas the unitary worship of nature under the guidance of Druids is common. However there are villages in bordering territory in which there is a desire to follow separate powers but a lack of infrastructure. In such locales there may be just one church – nominally of the Deliverer – at which small shrines are housed for every deity. The church will have just one cleric of the Deliverer but worshippers of other powers can use the space. This arises from the fact that the Deliverer has the best relations with other powers.

The services of the Church of the Deliverer (graveyards and genealogy records) are ones needed by any community so it is also found in cities. The church stringently advocates for fidelity in marriage and some joke this is because they wish to simplify the work of genealogists. The Deliverer is a divinity with varying gendered manifestations. Anyone for whom this resonates is welcome to try the particular role of tending to and guarding important tombs and relics as part of an ascetic chapter known as The Tay (a custom obversed most in Lehenic lands).

Clergy Game Rules

Here is a summary of game rules as they apply to clergy in The Lands.

Clerics must have above-average Wisdom and Charisma.

Druids must have above-average Wisdom, Constitution and Charisma.

For Life Points they roll the same number of d8 as they have levels till level ten (inclusive). Between levels eleven and twenty they get an extra 2 life points per level. At level ten a religious 'brother' or 'sister' takes on the title 'patriarch' or 'matriarch'.

Clergy must use the armour approved by particular churches (see under Gods & Goddesses).

Clergy start with 1 weapon proficiency point at level 1 then get an extra point at every third additional level (levels 4, 7, 10 etc). Clergy must first be proficient in a weapon deemed holy by the church they serve (see under Gods & Goddesses). Clergy using non-proficient weapons deduct 2 from both hit and damage rolls.

Druids get the skills of Animal Taming, Herbalism, Hunting-Fishing and Weather Sense for free.

Clerics of Olarin and Urala get Astrology free. Clerics of Nitara get Agriculture for free. Clerics of Kandoth get Weather Sense for free. Clerics of Elchemar get Blacksmithing for free. Clerics of Linesa get Artistic Talent and Tailoring for free. Clerics of both Bernali and Teloch get Rhetoric free. Clerics of The Deliverer get Genealogy free.

Dwarvish Balthars get Genealogy free while Elvish Ar-U-Mari get History free.

Clergy variously cast Divination, Inspiration, Abjuration, Vitalism and Elementism spells.