Church of Razmir
Overview
The Church of Razmir is the cult surrounding the self-proclaimed god Razmir. Its members enforce Razmir's proclamations over the people of his theocracy, Razmiran. It is the only legal religion in Razmiran; all other faiths are outlawed.Tenets of Faith
The faith of Razmir is relatively simple. It preaches that life is about the acquisition of gold and power. Those who follow the teachings of the Living God may enjoy life's luxuries while blasphemers and heretics deserve only to toil for the faithful. The faith preaches its superiority to all other faiths, other gods being regarded as lesser and irrelevant, and outsiders need to be converted to the fold, by force if necessary. The many individual tenants and rules of the clergy tend to be vague and open to interpretation. Punishments for breaking rules also vary, depending on the whim of the superior priest at the time. Indeed, many of the rules are intentionally contradictory in order to allow more experienced clerics to punish acolytes and thus imbue fear and obedience into the offending individual.
Worship
Razmir's temples are located in every village and market square throughout Razmiran, but also have spread into several nearby River Kingdoms, Dalelands, and some far distant lands. The governments of Archendale, Damara, and Kymos have banned his worship and forbid his clergy from proselytizing. Most temples are quite simple affairs with a large central worship chamber arranged around a set of steps that lead up to a gold or silver mask.
Priesthood
Razmir's faithful are strictly ordered by their loyalty to Razmir, and by what they have been able to accomplish in his name. These orders are referred to as Steps, and correspond to the number of steps one is allowed to climb in a temple to approach the mask symbol of the Living God. Each congregant is given a robe and mask that denotes his or her Step, which are delineated as follows:
- Acolyte of the First Step, white robe and white mask
- Priest of the Third Step, gray robe and white mask
- Herald of the Eighth Step, black robe and iron mask
- Mask of the Twelfth Step, blue robe and silver mask
- Vision of the Fifteenth Step, red robe and gold mask
