Wee Jas (Wee-jas)

Witch Goddess, Ruby Sorceress, Stern Lady, Death's Guardian, the Dark-Eyed Goddess

Magic, Hidden Lore, Vanity, Law, Death, the Dead (particularly lawful dead)

Greater Goddess of Acheron, Lawful Neutral

Origin: Suel
Aliases: Asiji (pre-Rain of Colorless Fire name of an avatar of Wee Jas, and not in common use)
Domain Name: Tintibulus/Patterned Web
Superior: None
Allies: Lendor, Bralm
Enemies: Syrul, Llerg, Nerull, Norebo, most chaotic deities
Symbol: A skull surrounded by rubies or flames
Worshipper’s. Alignment: LN, N, LE, NE

Wee Jas is the Suel goddess of law, vanity, magic and death. She is worshipped by wizards of Suel descent or training, necromancers of all stripes, and anyone who commonly deals with the dead (undertakers and the like). In addition, she is venerated and placated anywhere Suel culture has survived, particularly the Sheldomar Valley, the Amedio Jungle, among the barbarian nations in the far northeast, the Suel of the southeast, and the Duchy of Urnst.
Wee Jas oversees death and the application of magic in the world. She is always portrayed as a stunning Suel woman dressed in a beautiful gown, and often wears some sort of skull ornament, whether a ring, bracelet or necklace.
Worshipped mainly by wizards (and especially necromancers) across the Flanaess, there are sects venerating her for her magical power, her death aspect, and her belief in a strict order in all things.
The common follower believes that Wee Jas protects a departing soul on its way to the afterlife, and the priests of Wee Jas are greatly respected because of this. Note that she is a protector of the departing soul, not the body; therefore she does allow use of spells such as animate dead. She is supportive of wizards who wish to become liches — a long-lasting and worthwhile use of magical power.
The Taker is a staunch advocate of law, and like most of the Suel powers, judges others not by their affiliation with weal or woe, but by their sense of order or chaos. She does not tolerate insurrection in her mortal or immortal followers and is nearly as strict as those she associates with; her inclination is more to punish those who fail her than to praise those who succeed, and her punishments can be harsh.
She is on good terms with most lawful powers of her pantheon, both good and evil, and has poor relations with the less lawful members, particularly Llerg and Syrul. She shares a strong relationship with Lendor (who is described as her father in the older, pre-Rain myths), and enjoys the company of Jascar. She largely ignores gods from the Oeridian and Flan pantheons, although she dislikes Myhriss for her status as goddess of beauty.
The only exception to her antipathy of the chaotic Suel gods is Norebo; she is madly attracted to him despite his alignment. Their love affair is supposedly secret, although word of it has spread to the rest of pantheon and even to their worshippers. It is rumored that the divine couples' first argument caused the southern Crystalmists to erupt in flames, earning their current name. the Hellfumaces. The churches of Norebo and Wee Jas tolerate each other, although outright conflicts are not unknown.
Rumors of her romantic involvement with Norebo continue to circulate, despite her priesthood's stout denials of this (priests of Norebo wink, nod, and grin broadly while heartily denying any such liaisons).
Wee Jas's relations with Nerull, The Reaper, deserve special consideration. The two have an intense but subtle rivalry, a centuries-long contention over the dead and death itself. Wee Jas's interest in this area, though reported by several sources to be only a few centuries old, is thought by more knowledgeable sages to hearken back to the aftermath of the Rain of Colorless Fire and the deaths of so many mortals in the Suel Imperium by magical means. This irrevocably linked magic and death in the minds of the survivors, and imbued Wee Jas with the portfolio of death and the dead.
In the years following the Twin Cataclysms, the Suel and their pantheon suffered as the different cultures of Oeridian, Suel, Flan, and Bakluni mingled into one, and worship of the Flan god Nerull ascended among the common folk of the Flanaess. Despite the eventual recovery of fragments of Suel culture and the rise of such Suel-born nations as Keoland and the Urnsts, however, worship of the Ruby Sorceress steadily declined, reaching its low point around 200 CY. At that time, and after decades of consideration, the priests of Wee Jas instituted a new policy, becoming far more vocal in their advocacy of Wee Jas. The Witch Goddess, they proclaimed, was a goddess of order and law. She took no souls before their appointed time, doing only what was lawful and proper. This was in stark contrast to Nerull, the Reaper, who was said to stride the Flanaess searching for souls to cut down. Wee Jas, in the careful politicking of her church, was the goddess of those who died in bed asleep and peaceful, while Nerull brought only pain and suffering, the agonizing and unrestful deaths of suicide and murder.
This promise of a peaceful passing appealed to many of the peasants and other common folks, and Wee Jas' fortunes have slowly improved from that time. At the moment, Wee Jas holds influence over the deaths of lawful beings, those who die as the result of law (executions and such), and those who die in a peaceful and serene manner. Her servants guide those souls to their final resting places in the Outer Planes and into the protection of their patron power, or to the Outlands where the atheists, agnostics, and those without a favored power end their journey. Nerull lays claim to the deaths of chaotic and neutral beings and those who die in an untimely manner or as the result of unlawful or violent action (murder and suicide). These souls are at much greater risk, and unless a servant of the soul's god arrives to escort them to the Outer Planes, they may be stolen away to Nerull's realm to feed his servants and minions.
The Dark-Eyed Goddess's involvements with Boccob are far less certain. Neither deity will acknowledge the presence of the other for good or ill and the two priesthoods maintain careful neutrality between them. Wee Jas is invariably haughty and condescending to mortals and is never amused by petty diversions or distractions, though she may sometimes be persuaded to listen by an extraordinary gift or a subtle appeal to her vanity. Her growth as a goddess of death and law has awoken Wee Jas to the possibility of acquiring more power, and it is this greed that has caused the shift toward evil in her alignment.

Manifestations

When Wee Jas manifests on Oerth, she normally does so through gems, skulls or magical items. Gems might become as bright as a light spell or darken to inky blackness to show her favor or disfavor, or to attract attention to something she wishes seen. Decorative or actual skulls might speak as if under the influence of a magic mouth spell, and magical items might float, dance, or activate their powers. If extremely displeased or taking action to defend a favored worshipper, the target of her wrath might be attacked by an animated flying skull with 90% magic resistance (attacks as an 8 HD monster with maximum hit points, a movement rate of 9", and a bite that does 3d4 damage). She may also animate any statue and speak through it or cause it to attack as a stone golem.

The Church

Clergy: Cleric, speciality priest, monk, wizard
Clergy's Alignment: Lawful Neutral, Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil
Turn Undead: No
Command Undead: With permission (Cleric & Specialty Priest)

All clerics (including multi-classed clerics), monks, and specialty priests receive religion (Common, Suel) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. Wizard clergy receive spellcraft as a bonus nonweapon proficiency, and they are required to purchase religion (Common, Suel) as well (at a cost of 1 nonweapon proficiency slot).
Wizards, monks, clerics, and specialty priests of Wee Jas are all welcome within the hierarchy of the faith, and each has an assigned place within it. Warriors of the faith are either temple guards or part of the soldiery of the church, depending on their inclination (these are discussed further under affiliated orders). Lawful bardic worshippers of Wee Jas, known as Keepers, likewise have a place of their own within the hierarchy, as messengers between the different temples and recorders of the lore of the common people.
Non-classed clergy members have the ability to cast a cantrip spell (lasting one round) once per day. Clerics and specialty priests must ask permission before using their power to command undead or if they wish to raise or resurrect a character.
The worshipper must use a commune spell to speak to the goddess in these situations; she rarely gives permission to revive a non-lawful character (5%) and is even less likely to give permission for a chaotic character to be helped (1% chance). She rarely (15%) gives permission to command chaotic undead, sometimes (50%) allows the command of other non-lawful undead, and usually (80%) allows the commanding of lawful or mindless undead; in any case the use of the undead must further the cause of law, magic, or death. A priest who doesn't ask her permission or goes against her wishes in this immediately loses one experience level and three levels of spellcasting ability until he is able to perform an atonement. Atonement usually involves a very public flogging, the number of lashes depending on the severity of the transgression.
Followers of lower rank are expected to obey the orders of their superiors unquestioningly.
Wee Jas is not a commonly worshipped goddess in the Flanaess, and her followers are infrequent at best. She is sometimes worshipped, and often placated, by wizards and spellworking bards, sages, morticians, and others who must or choose to work with the dead. Her faithful are seen as aloof and slightly sinister by the common people, and their reputation has not been improved during recent times. In the lands of Sunndi, Idee, Ahlissa, Onnwal, and the Lordship of the Isles her clergy have been suspected of collusion with the Scarlet Brotherhood, and these accusations (though unproven) have turned many against her faith.
In some nations, where the Suel race is predominant, there are beautiful temples b uilt and dedicated to Wee Jas. The temple is always built much like a mages' tower, and is often guarded by charmed monsters and slaves. The temples are decorated with artful statuary and unobtrusive skull motifs; they often store lore and records of local law, so each temple has an extensive library. A few even have permanent magical fires burning atop the highest point of the temple. Such is how the Silent Tower in the Sheldomar River Valley is built.
However, in the far north, the barbarian tribes do not have churches or huge temples to Wee Jas as most of the barbarian tribes are suspicious of magic as a whole, but there are dedications to her face of death.
The followers of Wee Jas are collectively known as the Jasadin (JASS-a-din). The leader of the Wee Jas faith in the Flanaess is called the Archon, and the high priests of each temple are titled Archites. Lesser members of the faith are titled Archpriest X (where X is the member's name). Forms of address include Blessed (for general use, when one is unsure of the exact rank or responsibilities of the priest), and in exact titles are (ascending order of rank):

1. Spiritwatcher
2. Soulguide
3. Deadspeaker
4. Soulbringer
5. High Spiritwatcher
6. High Soulguide
7. High Deadspeaker
8. High Soulbringer
9. Lord/Lady High Spiritmaster

These titles are the same across the length and breadth of the Flanaess, although certain conservative temples continue to use the Suel titles, rather than their Common tongue translations.
Almost all (95%) of Wee Jas' worshippers are humans, with 4% half-elves and the remainder mostly the rare evil elves. 70% of her human worshippers are Suel, with Flan, Oeridian, and mixed-race evenly composing the rest. 50% of her clergy are specialty priests, 30% are wizards, and 15% are clerics. It is the clerics who maintain the smaller shrines and temples or are assigned duties assisting and guarding the specialty priests of Wee Jas.
Monks are likewise uncommon in Wee Jas' clergy (5%), and all those in service to the Witch Sorceress are members of the Order of the Patterned Web. It is their task to guard and preserve the accumulated lore and knowledge of the church. The Monastery of the Ebon Flame, in the Hellfurnaces south of the Yeomanry and west of the Tors, is home to the Grandfather of Mysteries, the leader of the Order. Wizards (mostly necromancers and diviners) conduct research and experimentation in the name of the goddess of Ruby Goddess. A few live at the various temples and monasteries, but most prefer solitary lives, keeping in contact with one another by magical means, or via the bardic heralds of the faith. The wizards are all members of the A'ath Ulkiam, an ancient order that predates the Twin Cataclysms.
Specialty priests hold a clear majority in the clergy. They are the favored servants of Wee Jas, and the Archon of Wee Jas (the leader of all the sects, orders, and temples together) is always chosen from their ranks, as are the lesser archites (or high priests) of each subordinate temple.
There are approximately the same number of males as females.
The relationship between undead and the priests of Wee Jas is a complex one. The Taker views any disturbance of these spirits as an infringement upon her will, and so her priests (both specialty priests and clerics) must gain her permission to command any undead, under any circumstances, just as they must seek permission to perform such rites as Raise Dead or Resurrection. Failure to do this brings swift retribution (typically the loss of all but first-level spells) until atonement is made. A second violation results in the errant priest's excommunication from the faith. Lower-level priests may seek to divine her will by casting Augury, or Divination (this use overrides the spells' normal functions), but the chance of receiving any answer at all is only 40% and 60%, respectively. The Omen spell is more appropriate and is more likely to be answered, but not all of Wee Jas' clergy are granted knowledge of this spell. Priests utilizing a Commune spell are guaranteed an answer, and may ask other questions as per the normal use of the spell.
Occasionally, members of Wee Jas' faith are allowed to continue beyond death as undead, typically liches (although some survive as mummies or even guardian ghosts). These undead maintain their standing and position in the Church, and are addressed as Taken on the rare occasions they are addressed by the living. It is suspected that an Archon of Wee Jas may call upon a secret council of liches that normally lie, neither awake nor asleep, beneath the White Temple in Niole Dra until their advice and council is sought.

Dogma

• Order before all.
• Knowledge brings power, power brings strength, strength brings order.
• The rules of magic are the rules that govern the universe; understand them, and nothing is beyond reach.
• Know the order of the world and your place in it.
• Accept that progress and advancement come not through luck or blind fortune, but by knowing the laws of the world (social, political, legal, magical, etc.) and following them dutifully.
• Magic is the key to all. Understanding yourself and the world around you, personal power, security, order, control over your fate — all come through the study of magic.
• Respect those who have been here before you, passed on their knowledge and left the world to make room for you, for the time will come when your life is over and those who come after will honor your passing.

The clergy of Wee Jas are governed by centuries of laws, decisions, rules, and edicts carefully recorded and organized by their predecessors. These strictures govern everything from the hierarchy of the church to the amount of time acolytes may sleep (6 hours) to naming the foes and allies of the faith. This adherence to procedure, more than anything, is the hallmark of Wee Jasian dogma and policy. Everything, they believe, has rules, and to follow those rules is to succeed.

Day-to-day activities

Priests of Wee Jas perform multiple roles. They are collectors of magical knowledge and artifacts, and young acolytes spend many long hours transcribing arcane lore (failed priests often seek employment as scribes). Older priests perform their own research into the secrets of magic or supervise (and assist) their allied wizards in doing the same.
They are also guardians of the dead, and the principal officiator at funerals. Many low-level priests travel the Flanaess, performing funeral services for a small fee, or simply saying a few words in exchange for food and supplies. Others are stationed in catacombs and graveyards, to maintain and preserve those areas, and guard against defilers and desecrators.
They also arbitrate disputes. give magical advice, investigate magical curiosities, research magic and administer funerals. More powerful priests can magically fortify the temple and the city in which they live.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies

The most important ceremony to the followers of Wee Jas, and indeed almost all Suel, is the Day of Fire on the 28th of Patchwall, originally said to mark the date of the invocation of the Rain of Colorless Fire and the subsequent deaths of 90% of the population of the Suel Imperium. Over the centuries, the ritual has lost much of its original meaning, and it is celebrated throughout the Flanaess as a time to placate and honor all the dead. It is also a time to renew oaths, forge agreements, and take oaths and pledges (often of vengeance). It is worth noting that undead attacks from the Sea of Dust on the watchtowers of the Order of Bone peak around this time.
Twilight is a time of great power to worshippers of the Taker, and special ceremonies are usually timed to reach their culmination around this point in the day though the summation may consume an additional two or three hours.
Nights when a moon is waxing are holy nights to Wee Jas — they represent the heavens showing their beauty, but not so much as to anger the vain goddess. Great magical fires are lit on certain of these nights, with illusion magic creating images of her. Coldeven 4th (when both moons are waxing) is called the Goddess' Blush by her followers; on this night, the most valuable piece of jewelry discovered in the previous year is sacrificed to her in the fire.

Major Centers of Worship

All temples, shrines, and other places of worship to the Dark-Eyed Lady are ranked according to their size. The White Temple of Wee Jas, in Niole Dra, houses the Archon of Wee Jas, and is the only holy place of that goddess currently active accorded the status of a Temple of the First Circle (at least three others were destroyed in the fall of the Suel Imperium, and one, near current day Rel Deven, was razed during the Oeridian invasion six hundred years ago). Temples in Hookhill, Lo Reltarma, Radigast City, Rel Astra, and Scant are accorded the rank of Temple of the Second Circle. Temples of the Third Circle are located in most major cities where the Suel settled in great number, Temples of Fourth Circle (those with only a few permanent priests), are scattered about the Flanaess, and Temples of the Fifth Circle, being no more than wayside shrines, may be located nearly anywhere. The location of each of these is recorded in tomes (copies of which are stored in Niole Dra, the Monastery of the Ebon Flame, and each of the Temples of the Second Circle), and once a year a visit is paid to each one for the purpose of inspection, re-consecration, and (in the case of Temples of the Fifth Circle), confirmation of the shrine's very existence. A single stark tower of volcanic stone overlooks the Solnor Ocean, 90 leagues north of the Sablewood, at the very tip of the Thillronian Peninsula. Called the Dokkhulder, or Dark Hall. Studiously avoided by the local Cruskii barbarians, this fell structure is somehow tied to the Dark-Eyed Goddess, for mages in service to her are sometimes seen making their way there, usually in the company of a bardic Keeper.

Affiliated Orders

The most important orders affiliated with the Church of Wee Jas are the Order of Bone, the Company of the Invisible Fire, and the Keepers. The former two are warrior orders, and open to any warrior of lawful or true neutral alignment devoted to the Taker, while the latter is a bardic order. The Order of Bone is comprised of temple guards and defenders, and those charged with maintaining the sanctity of any ground sacred to Wee Jas (primarily graveyards and battlefields). In addition to their posts throughout the Flanaess, the Order of Bone maintains several watchtowers on the outskirts of the Sea of Dust, near the most commonly used trails from the east. Their symbol is a skull against a crimson background.
The Company of the Invisible Fire, formed in the wake of the Twin Cataclysms, is a mobile force that safeguards the wizard followers of Wee Jas, investigates magical occurrences, and acts as guards for any extended travel by a superior (level 7+) priest of Wee Jas. Their symbol is a silver outline of a flame on a white background.
The Keepers are the most enigmatic and smallest of the non-clerical orders associated with the Church. Its members are all lawful neutral or true neutral bards devoted to Wee Jas. The Keepers travel from one temple to another, delivering messages, information, and spell lore. In addition, they keep scrupulous logs of their travels, chronicling any interesting pieces of information they come across, which are later transferred to the permanent records of their home temple. The symbol of the Keepers is a black circle on a grey background.
A conclave of fire elementalist wizards calling themselves the Cabal of the Everburning Flame sprang up in the Scarlet Brotherhood perhaps twenty years ago; all worshippers of Wee Jas, they volunteer as battlewizards for the church or the Brotherhood and create and maintain the magical fires burning in the temples of their homeland. This is perhaps the only known organization within the secretive Scarlet Brotherhood.
In addition, there is the Order of the Patterned Web and the Order of the Ebon Flame listed above.

Priestly Vestments

Priests of Wee Jas wear ornate and expensive robes or gowns, usually cut to enhance the wearer's physical attributes. They favor white, crimson, silver, and black, but will wear deep blue or gold attire if appropriate.
When performing official functions in a temple, the ceremonial garb consists of a number of layered silken robes (the exact number and cut dictated by rank), so that the priest appears wrapped in mist or fog. Evil priests of Wee Jas wear white vestments and neutral priests grey vestments. When Wee Jas allowed good-aligned priests (some centuries ago), they wore robes of deepest ebony interwoven with strands of silver, some of which are still preserved in the older temples. Older robes (of all hues) are often magically treated to prevent damage and aging, and a few of these robes have been recovered from dungeons and caverns after decades or centuries, intact and ready to be worn.

Adventuring Garb

Few priests of Wee Jas go adventuring, and those that do are expected to carry and don their ceremonial vestments whenever they officiate a ceremony or engage in spellcasting in the name of the Ruby Sorceress. If this is impractical (as it often is), they instead carry a simple silk scarf (the color of which reflects the priest's alignment), and wear ordinary but well-tailored Suloise-styled clothing. Under no circumstance may a specialty priest or mage dedicated to Wee Jas wear armor or bear a shield for defensive purposes. Priests who question the Dark-Eyed Goddess' ability to protect her faithful by doing so often find themselves unable to cast all but the simplest spells until they atone.

Specialty Priests (Karuth)

Requirements: Intelligence 13, Wisdom 11
Prime Requisites: Intelligence, Wisdom
Alignment:Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil
Weapons: Dagger, dart, knife, quarterstaff, sling
Armor: None
Major Spheres: All, astral, charm, divination, elemental (all), guardian, healing, law, necromantic, protection, summoning, thought, time
Minor Spheres: Combat, sun, wards
Magical Items: As priests or wizards
Required Proficiencies: Reading/ writing, spellcraft
Bonus Proficiencies: Ancient language (Suel)

Almost all of Wee Jas's worshippers are human or partially so, as most of the demihumans of the Flanaess who might be inclined to worship her (olve and gnomes), remember far too well the treatment their peoples received at the hands of the Suel invasion a millennium ago. A few half-olves in the Spindrift Isles and Keoland have become priests or priest/mages of Wee Jas.

• Karuth command undead as though they were 2 levels higher when they have requested and received Wee Jas' approval. Karuth have extensive knowledge of the destinations of the spirits of the departed. This information is known as Netherworld Knowledge.
• Karuth gain a +1 bonus to all saving throws vs. spells.
• A Karuth can use ability score alteration once per day; this power allows her to raise or lower one ability score of a target creature (Strength, Dexterity, etc.) by 1 point for 1 round per level (save vs. spell negates for an unwilling target) to a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 18.
• At 3rd level, Karuth gain +1 to all saving throws versus spell.
• At 6th level, Karuth may pray for 1st- and 2nd-level wizard spells from the enchantment/ charm or illusion/ phantasm schools as if they were cleric spells of the same level. These spells are cast as if the priest were a wizard of the same level. For example, a 7th-level archpriest casts wizards spells as a 7th-level mage. Archpriests pray for their wizard spells instead of studying to memorize them, and chosen wizard spells replace priest spells potentially available for use that day. (In other words, the wizard spell occupies a priest spell slot.)
• Karuth of 9th level and higher may pray for 1st- through 4th-level wizard spells from the schools of alteration, enchantment/charm, illusion and invocation/evocation as if they were cleric spells of the same level; they may also use magic items normally useable only by wizards.
• At 13th level and above, Karuth gain 5% magic resistance, rising an additional 1% per level thereafter.
• If they take a experience point penalty, Karuth may reduce the casting time of their spells with casting times of less than one round. Casting times cannot be modified below 1. and this bonus only applies to actual clerical spells, not wizard spells received through prayer. If a Karuth gives up the experience point penalty at any time, this ability is lost until she has paid the penalty again for one year. Casting times are reduced as follows:

Character Level	Spell Level/Casting Time Reduction
1-5	1st-2nd reduced by 1
6-10	1st-2nd reduced by 2
11-15	1st-2nd reduced by 2, 3rd-4th reduced by 1
16+	1st-4th reduced by 2, 5th reduced by 1

Wee Jasian Spells

Third Level:
Ability Alteration
Determine Final Rest
Peace of Wee Jas
Spell Shield

Fifth Level
Grace of Wee Jas
Casting this spell on a living being is not considered an attack and does not require the permission of the Taker. Casting the spell on an undead for purposes of rendering it vulnerable to attack is considered an attack, and casters must receive permission from Wee Jas before undertaking such action.

Sixth Level
Guarded Soul

[Adapted from The Scarlet Brotherhood by Sean Reynolds and Wee Jas: The Lady of Book and Bone in Oerth Journal #7 by Nathan Irving]
[More information available in Dragon Magazine #350]