Church of Avacyn

The Avacynian faith is a complex system of beliefs and magical practices intended to protect the humans of Innistrad from the predations of the plane’s monsters. Over the centuries, layers of belief and ritual have accreted to this basic core, but as long as Avacyn remained present and sane in the world, the wards of the church remained strong, preventing the utter extinction of the human race. Clerics, druids, fighters, paladins, rangers, and wizards might serve as cathars, inquisitors, or archmages within the broad organisation of the church.

Church Hierarchy

The church is headed by the Lunarch Council. Consisting of bishops and cathars of the highest ranks, the council continues to struggle to come to terms with the madness of Avacyn and her angels. Bishops are the leaders of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the church. Elders govern the parishes that make up each province, combining the administrative responsibilities of a mayor with the religious authority of a minor bishop. Priests attend to the needs of the people at parish churches, village chapels, and crossway altars. All priests have the ability to perform magic, though some are more powerful than others. Most of them focus on the protective blessings that make up the rituals of the church. Cathars are the soldiers of the Avacynian church, but “soldiers” is a broad term encompassing everything from crime-solving investigators to mounted paladins. Some cathar orders are so independent as to be virtually separate sects of the church, while others are tightly bound to the hierarchy of the faith:

The elite cavalry of Innistrad, the Gavony Riders, are extensively trained in mounted combat with swords and lances.
The mausoleum guards are the rank-and-file soldiers of the cathars, wielding little magic but making up for it with their numbers.
Midnight duelists patrol the streets, particularly at night, on the lookout for thieves, vampires, and corpse traders.
Moor chaplains are battlefield faithful who wield magic and weapons with equal skill. Their magic focuses on healing and protection, so they don’t usually fight on the front lines.
Cathars of the parish-blades serve as escorts along the crossways and protect the cathedral in Thraben. They are an elite military force that assembles at the bishops’ command.
The Quiver of Kessig is an order recently split off from the parish-blades. Its members specialize in archery and long-range defense, and often guard town walls and church roofs against spirits, vampires, specters, demons, and other flying attackers. Cathar might be clerics (especially moor chaplains), fighters or paladins (especially Gavony Riders, mausoleum guards, midnight duelists, or parish-blades), or rangers (in the Quiver of Kessig). The soldier background works well for cathars.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Related Professions