Holy Vows are covenants between a person and their deity. They alter the character of a religion or sect in a settlement. Most of the time, the religion as a whole won't require them, but they are common for sects, splinter groups, and cults.
They change the nature of the religion and how it interacts with the
Reputation,
Edifice, and
Proselytizer scores of a settlement.
Vows
Vow of Peace- A Religion of Peace doesn't do violence. It never commits a Pogrom, and if a Pogrom would be committed against them they lose twice as many adherents and inflict no casualties. Martyrs' Tombs and Relics provide double the Edifice bonus. For every 10% of the population that joins the Religion of Peace, the area gains +1 to its
Control score.
Vow of Death- A Death Cult is the opposite of a Religion of Peace. A Death Cult is in open warfare with all other religions, especially any that it might have splintered from. They gain access to new ways to gain and lose
Reputation: If they conduct a mass casualty attack, the site of the attack is regarded as a Statue for the purpose of adding
Edifice and they gain 5 Reputation for each casualty they inflict AND loss they suffer. Their Martyrs' Tombs count for double the
Edifice score. If they are the target or perpetrator of a Pogrom, they inflict double the casualties.
Vow of Poverty- An Aesthetic Cult donates all of their worldly goods and the fruits of their labor beyond what is required to feed, clothe and house themselves. All income is doubled, and the
Reputation bonus is tripled for charity works. Monastic orders usually swear to this vow, and palatine orders often swear a modified version of this vow (to exclude their personal arms and armor, which they regard as being on loan to their order).
Proselytizers don't leave if they aren't being paid, but they die of deprivation if the windfall falls short of their salary for two out of three months of a season.
Vow of Chastity- A Chaste Order swears to abstain from worldly pleasures. Depending on the exact sect involved, this may include some or all of the following: Sexual activity, alcohol, fine foods or spices, or anything else one might like.
Vow of Charity- An order under vows of Charity require service of all of its members in the form of charities or good works. They are always looking to assist their community. Consequently, the sect gains 1 Reputation every week for every 10 members, and 1 for each zealot.
Vow of Mysticism- Often called an Esoteric Order, a Sect with a Vow of Mysticism is dedicated to the spread and development of
Folk Magic as part of their faith. This adherence to the old magics boosts the
Wild score by 1 and subtracts the
Control score by 1.
Vow of Memory- A Mematic Sect is dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of knowledge. Monks often take these vows. Each member of a Mematic Sect is a repository of information every bit as in depth as a library. Their positions in high places generate 100 Reputation and halves their Reputation loss each season, but they never become Ascendant.
Vow of Reclamation- A sect formed under these vows does so to recover lost ground. Typically this happens when a Vow of Protection has failed. They do not recruit from the local population, and can neither gain, use, or lose Reputation until they reclaim what they have lost.
Vow of Vengeance- A sect formed with a Vow of Vengeance is often religious second. They have been wronged (as far as they are concerned), and can sometimes resemble a Death Cult in terms of raw violence. An Avenging Order regards a specific different sect of Apostates, and its leaders can declare a Pogrom at any time. Even if the leader doesn't, there is a 10% chance each month that they commit one anyway, always against the target sect (even if the Avengers are neither Ascendant nor Dominant)
Vow of Protection- An Order of Protection is assigned to defend a place or thing, usually a relic or holy site. Any site guarded by such an Order has double the Edifice score and can't be damaged in Pogroms unless the Order takes at least 10% of its membership in casualties of that Pogrom. This is a common vow of palatine orders. If the protected object or place is destroyed or taken, Orders of Protection often become Avenging Orders or Orders of Reclamation.
Vow of Palatines- A Palatine Order is an order of Templars. These are holy warriors that fight for their cause. They eat, sleep, train and pray in roughly equal measure. All members of a Palatine Order are zealots. Additionally, they cannot be restrained from attacking Infidels and Apostates to their order, and automatically inflict 1 death for every 10 members on such enemy organizations every week. Their high degree of skill also causes them to inflict double casualties and receive half on a Pogrom, either on the receiving or giving end. Additionally, their leaders can declare a special kind of Pogrom; a Crusade. In a Crusade, the zealots of a settlement inflict their violence on another settlements' Apostates and Infidels.
Vow of the Scribe- An Order of Scribes (most often as part of a monastic tradition) copy and distribute texts. While the first and foremost texts they distribute are their religion's holy texts, they also will copy any book that comes into their possession. They bring income into the faith by copying texts for
Plutarchs and other notables, or by loaning out their members as bookkeepers and biographers. A Scribe Order generates 1 GP for ever ten members every month.
Vow of Fertility- A Fertility Cult has the motives of productivity. More children, higher yield farmland, more wild game, even more stray cats if the cult has its way. A Fertility Cult adds +1
Wild for every 50 members, and subtracts 1
Control for every 100. More children and higher yields adds 1 to the
Economy as well. May or may not involve blood sacrifice, but almost all Fertility Cults involve wild orgies under the moons.
Vow of Revelry- A Revelry Cult is hedonistic to the core. Celebrations of all kinds are at the core of this interpretation of the various faiths of Kobos. Revelry Cults subtract 2 from
Control scores of the settlement, but nonetheless gain
Reputation from all celebrations, holidays, and parades as if they had called it themselves, and double if they actually did call it. Revelry Cults are the life of any party.
Vow of Mystery- A Mystery Cult is a society with secrets. Membership, exact sectarian ideologies, and the deepest rites are only known to the highest ranked in the order. As one progresses through the different levels of the cult, they learn more and more. The layers of secrecy and security make Pogroms against them useless, but also halve all recruiting measures.
Fiendish Vows- Cults dedicated to the highest fiends of Hell and the Abyss are similar to Death Cults, but with an end goal beyond sweet oblivion for all (a lot of Fiendish Cults dedicated to Demons are also Death Cults). They have all the options of a Death Cult for gaining Reputation, but if they gain 1000 Reputation in any season they get to summon either their patron or (much more often) a representative to give them power and smite their foes.
Vows of Madness- Cults dedicated to Elder Evils and the most powerful monsters of the Far Realms (Beholders, Aboleths, Elder Brains, etc.) exist, and are horrifying. Their goal is to make the world more palatable for their masters. Like Fiendish Cults, Madness Cults gain a special 1000 Reputation ability: they can make the settlement more habitable by their masters. This means many different things depending on their patron, but it boils down to: things get weird.
Comments