Church of Abadar
The worship of Abadar is both functional and theological. It is an excellent everyday faith, for it deals with matters that directly affect daily life. The churches of Abadar in each city encourage friendly competition with other cities to promote trade. Church law forbids clergy from attacking each other, regardless of political, national, or financial motivations, as warfare creates instability and chips away at the foundations of civilization. Thus, in wartime, the churches of Abadar often become neutral territory, not participating in the struggle and acting as safe havens and mediators in the conflict.
Priests of Abadar within a given city or temple arrange themselves in a set hierarchy, as in a mercantile house. The head of a smaller temple is called a banker, while the leaders of larger temples or greater geographical areas are archbankers. The church defines itself by its wealth, counting coins as blessings from Abadar. Competition between priest-backed business ventures remains friendly, and making money is at once a holy duty, a serious pursuit, and a beloved pastime, with all the fun and excitement of an organized sport.
Abadar’s faith can be found anywhere people strive to make civilization work. It is most common in large cities, and its greatest holy site in the Inner Sea region is the Bank of Absalom. At this center of trade, the blessing of commerce flows out into the world, and the archbankers can control the interest rates and help adjust the economies of the nations that deal with its great vaults to maximize trade’s benefits. Of course, this wonder of commerce is still only a shadow of the great banking houses in Abadar’s district of Aktun in the Eternal City of Axis.
Services to Abadar include songs with complex harmonies (generally accompanied by hammered instruments such as dulcimers and glockenspiels) and the counting or sorting of coins or keys (often in time with the singing or music). Services and ceremonies always take place indoors, representing the shelter of civilization. Worshippers unable to reach an actual building make do with at least a crude structure or a even a sloping wall or cave that provides protection from the elements. Services usually take place in the morning, and it is customary to thank Abadar after a profitable or advantageous transaction.
Many urban clerics work with the local legal system as judges, lawyers, and clerks (often donating their services, much as a healing-oriented church might run a hospice or give food to the needy), although they are not usually politicians or part of the city’s government. In wilder areas, clerics act as judge and jury, seeking out threats to civilization and eliminating them. Younger priests who are physically fit often do tours through smaller towns and frontier areas to carry news, act as wandering magistrates, and make sure order leaves its footprint. As an arbiter of justice, each priest traditionally carries a single golden-headed crossbow bolt for when a criminal must be executed. This bolt goes to the dead criminal’s family as compensation for the loss and as an initial stake to begin making an honest living.
Although Abadar’s temples are mercenary when it comes to providing healing, they are generous when protecting public health, seeing it as an important component of their role as guardians of civilization. Likewise, when traveling with others (such as an adventuring party), clerics of Abadar do not charge their companions for healing, seeing it as an equivalent service to a fighter’s sword swing or a ranger’s scouting. Like a business, questing and traveling requires teamwork, and it is part of the cleric’s responsibility to provide healing and magical support—for an equal share of the eventual profits.
A typical day for a priest involves waking, breakfast, prayer and the preparation of spells, reading or listening to the local news for anything worth investigating, and a period of work. At night, there is a brief prayer before the evening meal, and the evening is reserved for hobbies, time with family, or other non-work interests. Most clerics of Abadar are at least proficient in Knowledge (local) in order to be familiar with the laws of their home cities. Most also dabble in Knowledge (local) and (nobility), or practice some sort of craft or profession— always something useful to a developing or established settlement. Clerics are not permitted to give money to those in need, only to lend it at a fair rate and record the transaction for the church’s record. They are required to tithe, and most clerics have small investments in local businesses that generate enough income to cover the tithe. Those whose talents for dealing with people exceed their business acumen often work as teachers, educating children and adults so they can advance themselves and better serve the community. Every cleric belongs to a particular temple, even those touring remote areas. If circumstances warrant distant travel or a long period near another city, the home temple files paperwork transferring the cleric’s affiliation to a closer temple.
Inquisitors of Abadar, known as “taxmasters,” confront the perpetrators of fraudulent payments and tax dodging, track down stolen goods, and battle thieves’ guilds. Local officials usually grant them the legal right to threaten, punish, or even injure those who withhold the revenue that allows civilization to persist and grow, although the inquisitors are just as likely to turn around and rebuke nobles and other leaders who set taxes excessively high for mere personal gain. Hated and feared by most people, the taxmasters usually wear golden masks or mustard-yellow veils to protect their identities while performing these duties. Like clerics, inquisitors who serve Abadar usually belong to specific temples and have established territories in which they perform their legal functions. Old, infirm, or recuperating taxmasters do most of the research that finds evidence of financial cheating.
Champions of Abadar are not common, as their virtuous zeal doesn’t mesh easily with the more balanced approach to ethics that the Master of the First Vault practices, but the god understands that an active force for good is sometimes best for dealing with threats to civilization. Their specialized interests and abilities sometimes lead them to work behind the scenes in lawful-evil nations where the leaders are exploiting the economy at the expense of their subjects. Champions tend to be more fiscally aggressive than clerics, using their wealth to inspire others to join the cause, and willing to invest in promising enterprises, take a loss on a deal in order to motivate trade, and take greater risks with their money.
Adventurers and explorers who worship Abadar rarely embark on solo expeditions, for they see adventuring parties as microcosms of society and believe strongly in the power of cooperation and the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While priests of Abadar usually charge random petitioners for healing, the merchant god’s followers are thrifty rather than miserly, and know that helping their adventuring companions and sharing resources with them will likely increase everyone’s wealth down the road.
Priests of Abadar within a given city or temple arrange themselves in a set hierarchy, as in a mercantile house. The head of a smaller temple is called a banker, while the leaders of larger temples or greater geographical areas are archbankers. The church defines itself by its wealth, counting coins as blessings from Abadar. Competition between priest-backed business ventures remains friendly, and making money is at once a holy duty, a serious pursuit, and a beloved pastime, with all the fun and excitement of an organized sport.
Abadar’s faith can be found anywhere people strive to make civilization work. It is most common in large cities, and its greatest holy site in the Inner Sea region is the Bank of Absalom. At this center of trade, the blessing of commerce flows out into the world, and the archbankers can control the interest rates and help adjust the economies of the nations that deal with its great vaults to maximize trade’s benefits. Of course, this wonder of commerce is still only a shadow of the great banking houses in Abadar’s district of Aktun in the Eternal City of Axis.
Services to Abadar include songs with complex harmonies (generally accompanied by hammered instruments such as dulcimers and glockenspiels) and the counting or sorting of coins or keys (often in time with the singing or music). Services and ceremonies always take place indoors, representing the shelter of civilization. Worshippers unable to reach an actual building make do with at least a crude structure or a even a sloping wall or cave that provides protection from the elements. Services usually take place in the morning, and it is customary to thank Abadar after a profitable or advantageous transaction.
Temples & Shrines
Abadar’s temples are elaborate buildings with rich decorations and high, thick stained-glass windows. These windows have heavy frames (to guard against thieves) and usually feature vivid yellow glass that casts a golden hue on everything within the church. Most temples have a guarded vault for church treasures and wealth, and many also rent space in their vault to those who wish a safe place to keep their valuables. Any temple in a small town or larger settlement also serves as a bank, currency exchange, and moneylender, which helps keep interest rates reasonable and consistent—while Abadar’s clergy see making a profit off such exchanges as a holy duty, their loans and deals are rarely predatory or exploitative, as such practices weaken and destabilize the populace. The banker in charge of the temple watches the local economy and adjusts interest to stimulate growth, encourage investment, or help recover from a disaster. As priests often serve as lawyers and judges, the temples are usually built near courthouses.Clothing
Ritual garb for religious ceremonies includes white silk cloth trimmed with gold thread, a belt or necklace of gold links bearing a golden key, and a half-cloak of deep yellow or gold. Ceremonial items are always crafted out of precious metals if available and often decorated with gems or inlays, though not to the extent that the item becomes fragile or unusable. In casual situations, the faithful try to maintain an air of prosperity, or at least a tidy appearance, as a shabby, dirty person is a poor representative of wealth and civilization.A Priest’s Role
Abadar’s followers believe in advancing civilization, teaching the unenlightened about systems and trade, driving commerce in pursuit of comfort and happiness, and the idea that fairness lies in both the letter and the spirit of the law. They promote cooperation and believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but also feel that self-interest is the best motivating factor for individuals within a society. While they have an acquisitive bent, they are thrifty rather than miserly, and know that helping their neighbors attain prosperity improves the lot of everyone, themselves included. They turn trails into roads and towns into cities, eliminate monsters and troublemakers in urban and rural areas, adjudicate disputes, make legal rulings, and reassure law-abiding people that the forces of order are watching over them.Many urban clerics work with the local legal system as judges, lawyers, and clerks (often donating their services, much as a healing-oriented church might run a hospice or give food to the needy), although they are not usually politicians or part of the city’s government. In wilder areas, clerics act as judge and jury, seeking out threats to civilization and eliminating them. Younger priests who are physically fit often do tours through smaller towns and frontier areas to carry news, act as wandering magistrates, and make sure order leaves its footprint. As an arbiter of justice, each priest traditionally carries a single golden-headed crossbow bolt for when a criminal must be executed. This bolt goes to the dead criminal’s family as compensation for the loss and as an initial stake to begin making an honest living.
Although Abadar’s temples are mercenary when it comes to providing healing, they are generous when protecting public health, seeing it as an important component of their role as guardians of civilization. Likewise, when traveling with others (such as an adventuring party), clerics of Abadar do not charge their companions for healing, seeing it as an equivalent service to a fighter’s sword swing or a ranger’s scouting. Like a business, questing and traveling requires teamwork, and it is part of the cleric’s responsibility to provide healing and magical support—for an equal share of the eventual profits.
A typical day for a priest involves waking, breakfast, prayer and the preparation of spells, reading or listening to the local news for anything worth investigating, and a period of work. At night, there is a brief prayer before the evening meal, and the evening is reserved for hobbies, time with family, or other non-work interests. Most clerics of Abadar are at least proficient in Knowledge (local) in order to be familiar with the laws of their home cities. Most also dabble in Knowledge (local) and (nobility), or practice some sort of craft or profession— always something useful to a developing or established settlement. Clerics are not permitted to give money to those in need, only to lend it at a fair rate and record the transaction for the church’s record. They are required to tithe, and most clerics have small investments in local businesses that generate enough income to cover the tithe. Those whose talents for dealing with people exceed their business acumen often work as teachers, educating children and adults so they can advance themselves and better serve the community. Every cleric belongs to a particular temple, even those touring remote areas. If circumstances warrant distant travel or a long period near another city, the home temple files paperwork transferring the cleric’s affiliation to a closer temple.
Inquisitors of Abadar, known as “taxmasters,” confront the perpetrators of fraudulent payments and tax dodging, track down stolen goods, and battle thieves’ guilds. Local officials usually grant them the legal right to threaten, punish, or even injure those who withhold the revenue that allows civilization to persist and grow, although the inquisitors are just as likely to turn around and rebuke nobles and other leaders who set taxes excessively high for mere personal gain. Hated and feared by most people, the taxmasters usually wear golden masks or mustard-yellow veils to protect their identities while performing these duties. Like clerics, inquisitors who serve Abadar usually belong to specific temples and have established territories in which they perform their legal functions. Old, infirm, or recuperating taxmasters do most of the research that finds evidence of financial cheating.
Champions of Abadar are not common, as their virtuous zeal doesn’t mesh easily with the more balanced approach to ethics that the Master of the First Vault practices, but the god understands that an active force for good is sometimes best for dealing with threats to civilization. Their specialized interests and abilities sometimes lead them to work behind the scenes in lawful-evil nations where the leaders are exploiting the economy at the expense of their subjects. Champions tend to be more fiscally aggressive than clerics, using their wealth to inspire others to join the cause, and willing to invest in promising enterprises, take a loss on a deal in order to motivate trade, and take greater risks with their money.
Adventurers
The bulk of Abadar’s worshippers work as judges, lawyers, merchants, and all the other roles necessary for keeping society running smoothly; relatively few are adventurers. The pursuit of adventuring as a way to make a living is an indication that local society has failed or broken down— most of Abadar’s worshippers who become adventurers believe they have a holy calling to extend the reach of their god to places where civilization has been forgotten. For the most part, if you call Abadar your master, you believe strongly in eliminating agents of chaos, destroying monsters that threaten rural and urban society, teaching the unenlightened about systems and trade, and displaying the truth that law brings. You often mediate between opponents, and believe that fairness lies in both the letter and the spirit of the law.Adventurers and explorers who worship Abadar rarely embark on solo expeditions, for they see adventuring parties as microcosms of society and believe strongly in the power of cooperation and the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While priests of Abadar usually charge random petitioners for healing, the merchant god’s followers are thrifty rather than miserly, and know that helping their adventuring companions and sharing resources with them will likely increase everyone’s wealth down the road.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Demonym
Abadaran
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Champions of Abadar
Of all the neutral gods, only Abadar supports and promotes a holy order of champions. As the god of civilization and order, Abadar recognizes the value of holy warriors in advancing society’s aims. His champions follow the standard code of protecting the innocent, acting with honor and honesty, and respecting lawful authority. In addition, an Abadaran champion upholds the following creed.- I am a protector of the roadways and keep travelers from harm. No matter their destinations or goals, if they are peaceable and legitimate travelers who harm no others on the road, I will ensure that they pass safely.
- Bandits are a plague. Under my will they come to justice. If they will not come willingly before the law, where they can protest for justice in the courts, they will come under the power of my sword.
- Corruption in the courts is the greatest corruption of civilization. Without confidence in justice, citizens cannot believe in their countries, and civilization begins to disappear. I will root out corruption wherever I find it, and if a system is fundamentally flawed, I will work to aid citizens by reforming or replacing it.
- I am an aid to the markets. I ensure equitable trade between merchants and citizens. Theft and deceit on either side are intolerable.
- I make opportunities, and teach others to recognize them. When I aid others, I open the way for them, but will not carry them—they must take responsibility.
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