Holy Orders

The Great Church has three powerful holy orders: clergy, paladins, and deacons. There are also two lesser holy orders: the churchguard and the friars. Of these orders, the clergy are dominant and they decide the direction of the faith. The paladins are important and influential, but they operate almost entirely apart from the Church. The deacons, however, are the Church’s greatest strength: While they are officially referred to as “teachers,” they are dedicated to influencing the secular leaders and steering the course of history in the world. The deaconry is made up of Church members skilled in political matters, and secular leaders who’ve been given given status in the Church to seal their loyalty.
The Supreme Patriarch or Matriarch, the highest-ranking member of the clergy, heads the Church. The Supreme Patriarch is seated in the Great Cathedral, located in the city where Saint Hefasten founded the church.
A great rock stands at the center of the Cathedral: the lump of marble enchanted by Zheenkeef. Most people looking at it see their own likeness on the surface, but once in a great while, someone, presumably chosen by the gods for greatness, sees something other than themselves in the rock, as Hefasten did. This has not happened for hundreds of years, and when it does, it usually signals an event of potentially cataclysmic importance.
The Great Cathedral supports the Supreme Patriarch, an archbishop, a bishop, twenty-five clerics, three lords protector, ten captains, one hundred paladins, twelve archdeacons, twenty deacons, and fifty churchguard.
The Great Church’s other places of worship vary wildly in size, however. Most cities and large towns have Churches, each led by a dean with the support of three or four clerics, one or two paladins, and six to ten churchguard. Deans, with consultation from those they oversee, make all decisions pertaining to the Church. The paladins can follow their own paths, but they do obey orders from the deans, and paladins certainly consult with the deans about their quests and matters requiring spiritual guidance.

Clerics of the Great Church

The clergy stands at the center of the Great Church’s five holy orders. From them arise bishops, archbishops, and the Supreme Patriarch. Members of the order focus on missions for the church, spread the faith wherever they go, perform doing great deeds in the name of the gods. The clergy of the Great Church is vast, and accommodates a range of different beliefs. The Supreme Patriarch, however, determines the order’s official attitude, missions, goals, and actions.
Therefore, the role of the Church in any world varies based on the heart of its highest-ranking cleric. Most clerics of the Great Church are lawful good, as is the Church.
However, there are strong contingents of neutral good and lawful neutral clergy. The lawful good clerics are dedicated to the furthering of the Church’s goals for the spiritual salvation of every common person, and strongly believe this can be best accomplished by doing the Church’s work and spreading its teachings and laws.
Lawful neutral clerics of the Church care for little but the Church itself. Most involve themselves in Church politics and secular affairs, seeking to expand the influence of the faith. Because they are so dedicated to their work, lawful neutral clerics are among some of the most powerful in the Great Church. They are also the most closely tied with the deaconry.
Neutral good clerics are usually politically unskilled, but are particularly good at fulfilling Church doctrine. It is from the neutral good group that most of the adventuring clerics come, with many of them gone from their home Church for years on end, performing the gods’ works abroad. For this reason, among others, they make terrible deans, and almost never receive the opportunity to rise further in Church hierarchy.
Joining the Clergy Anyone of faith might find a place in the clergy by spending several years as an acolyte, working and studying in a church to learn all the prayers and how to perform the various services. Those who complete the training become clerics and are assigned to a church determined by the dean of the church where they trained. Since the Great Church encompasses all the gods, clerics can take almost any domain for the Divine Domain class feature, though domains of an obvious evil bent such as Corruption, Death, or Tyranny are not permitted. Clerics use their church as a base of operations, and undertake missions determined by their deans.
After some time and experience, clerics are free to do the gods’ work in whatever manner they choose. Adventuring clerics favor weapons that resemble the tree of their faith, so most use clubs and maces. Particularly powerful or important clerics carry massive maces made to look like trees, with green heads and studs that look like golden fruit.
Deans Clerics who prove themselves might lead their own churches. Those who do are called deans. The bishop who oversees the region makes the appointment, usually for political reasons. Ambitious clerics might petition the bishop for the post, but their petitions can be rejected for any reason. Once elevated to the position, deans oversee all the goings-on of their churches, issuing assignments to all the clergy serving them. Deans are addressed as “reverend father” or “reverend mother,” and introduced by full title.
Bishops By decree, the Supreme Patriarch divides each nation under the Great Church’s protection into regions, and the nation’s Archbishop assigns each region to a bishop, whose office is called a bishopric. Limited numbers mean advancement occurs only when there’s a vacancy. The Archbishops usually make their selections for political reasons, choosing individuals for their piety, of course, but equally for their loyalty to the higher office. Bishops oversee large geographic areas and reside at the area’s largest church, from which they instruct the deans and participate in the political affairs of the area. Bishops are addressed as “blessed father” or “blessed mother,” and introduced by full title. Bishops, archbishops, and the Supreme Patriarch can all be addressed as “your eminence,” “your holiness,” or “your grace.”
Archbishops The Supreme Patriarch alone can elevate a bishop to archbishop of a nation or large region. One cannot petition for this position; the method by which archbishops are chosen is shrouded in mystery, and known only to the Supreme Patriarch. As with bishoprics, an archbishopric is only available when a new region becomes available to the Church, or an existing archbishop dies (or is elevated to Supreme Patriarch). An archbishop is granted control of the Church’s presence in an entire nation or other significant political body, is addressed as “holy father” or “holy mother,” and is introduced by full title.
Supreme Patriarch or Matriarch An archbishop can be named the Supreme Patriarch or Matriarch only by a unanimous vote of all the archbishops. When the existing Supreme Patriarch dies, the archbishops convene at the Great Cathedral. Together, they determine who among their number might be an appropriate Supreme Patriarch. All such candidates cannot vote on which of them rises to the office. One can imagine that this is a very useful political tool for removing dissenting voices, and raising a candidate some of the archbishops might oppose fiercely—and it is a method that has been abused in the past. Each archbishop can only name one appropriate candidate, and no more than half of the deliberating body can be forced to sit out the decision. Once appropriate candidates have been selected, the remaining archbishops must come to a unanimous conclusion to name the new Supreme Patriarch or Matriarch. This process can take months. The Supreme Patriarch is the voice of the Church and commands the clergy and the faithful alike. The Supreme Patriarch is addressed as “Most Reverend Lord/Lady” or “Most Holy Father/Mother,” and introduced by full title.

Paladins of the Great Church

Paladins are the warriors of the Great Church. Founded by Saint Anne, the first paladin (or according to the Church, the first “modern” paladin, as the many mortals who fought at the gods’ side before the Compact were all paladins), the holy order of paladins is vast, and dedicated to opposing evil wherever it arises. Saint Anne was a pilgrim who came to see the wondrous marble statue in the Great Cathedral soon after the founding of the faith.
When she looked at it, she saw herself in shining armor flanked by a thousand warriors. At Saint Hefasten’s urging, she founded the order, and its numbers soon began to swell as people from all over the world heard the call to rise up and fight evil.
The paladins do not pay homage to any single god. They worship them all, receive power from the angelic Choirs, or so Church scholars assert, and fight evil in the name of the gods. They are loyal to their order and, therefore, the Church—but were the Church to become corrupt, it likely would not take the paladins with it, as they have a deeper connection to the heavenly than most.
Loyal as they are, paladins are not the enforcing arm of the Church’s will, or servants and protectors to the clerics. Paladins are great heroes with their own wills and purposes. They wander the earth to fight evil in its many forms. Every paladin heeds a very personal call to do this, feeling destiny-bound to perform her duties. The primary purpose of paladins is to go questing, traveling widely and righting wrongs wherever they go.
Captains Paladins ascend to the rank of captain in time and with experience. No one’s permission is needed for this promotion. All other paladins recognize the character as captain and thus obey any commands the captain gives. In cases of more than one captain ordering a group, the less experienced captain defers to the more experienced—no argument necessary. Deans of churches (and higher authority figures) and any cleric of the Great Church recognize captains for the commanding figures they are without needing to be told. Deans always welcome captains to use their churches as bases of operations. A captain continues to be addressed and introduced as a paladin.
Lord Protector Finally, the greatest captains become lords protector. Again, this simply happens and does not require anyone’s permission. Throughout the world, lords protector are figures of legend and renown. Kings bow to them, the infirm beg them for healing, and those of evil heart leave the area when they hear a lord protector is coming. Lords protector are addressed as “lord” or “lady,” and is introduced by full title.
Joining the Paladins Becoming a paladin is simple enough: Those who hear the call know instinctively what they must do. They go to a Great Church and pray for three days without food or sleep until they are lifted up by the local paladins and taken into the order. For ten years, they are trained exhaustively in warfare and holy doctrine. In cases where the new paladin already knows much of this (a character with a religious education, for example), this period is reduced to a year. Paladins can choose any oath, but most swear the Oath of Devotion. Paladins are addressed as “sir” or “dame,” and introduced by full title. They are usually based at Churches where captains are regularly present.

Deaconry of the Great Church

The deaconry is the third great holy order of the Great Church, dedicated to political and secular matters. Deacons work with prominent members of the community to further the Church’s goals and are experts at diplomacy, languages, and the subtle arts of intrigue, all learned in the name of the gods’ good works. Deacons are addressed as “deacon,” while archdeacons are addressed as “archdeacon.” The order works to secure the Great Church’s secular position, influence political leaders, and steer historical events.
Deacons are often expert diplomats, performing missions abroad for their bishops. The greatest archdeacons have the ear of the Supreme Patriarch, and work closely with him. Deacons have access to resources and wealth to spread the Church’s influence. They are generally influential, smooth and clever speakers, and experts at getting people to see things their way without resorting to ugliness. Many famous adventurers over the years have been made deacons, and eventually archdeacons, for bringing back great treasures and giving them to the Church—or simply for aiding the Church greatly in times of crisis. Upon becoming deacons, archdeacons or the bishops send these agents to perform diplomatic missions in the name of the Church, so every deacon must possess some diplomatic ability.

Joining the Deaconry

The deaconry recruit candidates from all backgrounds, though they tend to bestow the title of deacon onto political allies or grant it in exchange for a sizeable donation. Potential deacons must demonstrate some skill at intrigue and they cannot be members of different orders within the Great Church. Finally, openly evil individuals, or those with evil reputations, are never considered.
Bishops or higher officials in the Great Church might bestow the title of deacon as a reward for some great service performed in the church’s name. It can be a title only and left at that, with no special powers attached to it. It is quite possible to be a full-time politician and dedicate no time to one’s order—the deaconry welcomes members who are out in the world, influencing events.
People can also earn the title by donating time and money to the Church, though monetary donations must total 10,000gp or more. The completion of a significant quest, such as the recovery of an artifact, or donations of 100,000 gp or more, might earn an individual the title of archdeacon.
Special Status As a deacon, you are an important figure in the Great Church and as such enjoy privileged status. You need never pay for food or lodging at a Great Church chapter, and you receive significant discounts from merchants who are faithful to the Great Church. You can access the Great Church’s extensive libraries, including many secret collections. Finally, when you ask for audience with political figures, you will only be rejected if that political figure wishes to alienate the Great Church.
As an archdeacon, you enjoy even greater benefits. Not only do you receive all the benefits from being a deacon, but you also enjoy free spells and possibly loans of magic items from the Great Church larder, subject to availability of course. Merchants faithful to the Great Church are unlikely to charge you for smaller items. Important political figures might invite you to their courts if they hear you are nearby.

Personal Guard
Because you are extremely valuable to the Church, you receive special protection from the Church’s clergy and paladins. If you find yourself in difficulty, you can call upon the Church for help and receive it at the GM’s discretion. As well, you are provided a retinue of bodyguards from the Church. You have the protection of 8 guards if you’re a deacon, or a detail of 64 guards if you’re an archdeacon. Your bodyguards are loyal to you, but their primary purpose is to defend you against harm. They obey your commands, but they reject any order that would put you in danger, or excessively trouble their consciences. Fallen guards can be replaced in any city loyal to the Great Church


Other Orders
Two other orders round out the organization of the Great Church. These are the Churchguard and the Friars.
The Churchguard is an order of devout warriors charged with protecting the clergy and the churches. Dressed in distinctive red uniforms with tabards bearing the Tree and the five fruits on their chests, they are always found standing guard at churches or in the company of deacons and higher-ranking officials.
Friars make up the second order, and all walk away from their lives to reflect on the teachings of the gods. Friars have no possessions and simply wander the land, taking what people offer them. They are fed by the Great Church and given shelter there, participating in holy services, but often make pilgrimages into distant lands. Friars do much of the spreading of the faith.
Many members of this order serve only a few years, and then go back to their prior professions. Some friars are trained monks, able to fight against evil powers with their fists and their inner strength.