Church of Rhodena
Roleplaying Notes
The ‘church’ of Rhodena is just a loose collection of individuals, and each follower of the deity is unique. Everyone views Rhodena differently, and the form, pronouns, and titles used to describe them might mean a great deal to the individual, but not to Rhodena themselves. They can be either gender, both, neither, any species, made up entirely of ice, or daffodils, whatever strikes their fickle mood. Rhodena’s natural world is cruel and bloody, deadly to the unwary. To followers of Rhodena, the natural world is not the flower garden tended daily by a gardener, or the sedate pond the village grandparents take their grandkids to to fish on a lazy summer afternoon. It’s the forbidding mountain that seven people have died trying to climb, it is the darkest woods where the wolves hunt…it is all the dark places of the map people have not yet visited, that makes them feel like the invader when they attempt to get there. That said, Rhodena’s followers are all unique, and should be treated as such. If someone is polite, seems to be trying to keep their impact on their surroundings low, and shows respect to the followers of Rhodena, they might be allowed to pass unmolested, or even convince Rhodena’s devotees to aid them, if they can show an alignment of interests. It is easy to dismiss Rhodena’s followers as stupid, because they rarely have any kind of conventional education, but that is a mistake. They might be feral, but nature does not reward stupidity when it comes to survival in the harshest of wildernesses.Mythology & Lore
Legendary Items Associated with Rhodena
Rhodena is not big into physical objects or mortal trappings, but there is at least one sacred object tied to worship of her.Rhodena’s Favor
Others call it, “The Amulet of Cycles,” or “The Authority of the Natural World,” but Rhodena’s worshippers just call it, “Rhodena’s Favor.” It looks like her holy symbol, the quartered circle with the elements, on a cord of a strange, unbreakable leather. Anyone who wears the amulet finds the symbol burns into their chest, and the cord merges with their skin. As long as the wielder lives (more on that below,) they cannot remove the amulet. The Amulet has the powers of a Ring of Elemental Command, with a few exceptions.- The Dominate Monster power not only works on ANY Elemental creature, it also works on creatures with the Beast, Fey, and Plant creature type, as well.
- The amulet grants the benefits listed under the Rings of Elemental Command when one of the creatures under the control of the user kills an enemy, not when the wielder kills an elemental.
- There are no charges for Rhodena’s Favor. Instead, when the wielder would spend one charge from the amulet, they take 1d8 damage instead (so two charges is 2d8, etc. This cannot be avoided or circumvented through use of temp HP - power requires sacrifice.)
- The wielder may summon an elemental by taking an action and sacrificing 3d8 hp.
- The type of Ring of Elemental Command the amulet mimics otherwise, and the elementals it can summon, depend on the time of year - during spring, it grants the powers of and summons water elementals, summer is fire, autumn is earth, and winter is air. Any type of elemental can be dominated at any time, however.
Tenets of Faith
The Duties of the Clerics of Rhodena
The idea that Rhodena and their church assign any formal duties is laughable. However, followers of Rhodena DO tend to share their deity’s contempt for the civilized world, and reverence and fierce protectiveness of the natural world. There are no RULES, per se, but Rhodena tends to guide their followers through portents, divinations, and dreams. Rhodena doesn’t tend to make them simple or straightforward to understand, either - all life is a struggle, and only by overcoming challenges can their children grow smarter and stronger. Even once their followers finally suss out the meaning of their dreams, nothing FORCES them to follow them. But Rhodena tends to choose well in setting challenges tailored to the desires and drives of their followers, and few of those who serve Rhodena are the type to shy away from a challenge set by their harsh deity.Forbidden to Rhodena
Rhodena doesn’t set specific rules for their followers, but both Rhodena and their other followers would deal harshly with any child of Rhodena who chose to dwell too closely in the civilized world. Those mercifully few times any worshiper of Rhodena actively helped some one exploit the resources, plants, or animals of the natural world, or was otherwise responsible for the exploitation of some previously unspoiled stretch of wilderness…no one has even been left alive to bear witness, all that has been left behind are blood, scraps, and bits of mangled bone.Sacred to Rhodena
Rhodena values the preservation and protection of unspoiled wilderness, and the destruction of the tools and technology of the civilized world. The moon holds special significance to Rhodena’s worshippers, since, like the season, it constantly changes in a cycle, while the cycle remains the same. So, certain acts are sacred under certain phases of the moon. The new moon is hunting for what is hidden, the crescent moon is for gathering fruits, berries, and seeds, or hunting (depending if it waxing or waning, but with the aim of filling one’s belly, or finding food for future lean times,) the half-moon is for balancing things out-of-balance, the gibbous moon is for seeking vengeance (or justice, but that’s pretty much the same thing for Rhodena’s followers,) and the full moon is for acts of passion or fertility.Typical Offerings
Offerings to Rhodena, like the deity themselves, can be violent and bloody. The hearts or bones of hated foes, parts of aberrations, monstrous invaders, outsiders, etc. On the other hand, Rhodena appreciates anything natural, or part of the cycle. Acts of sexual passion or fertility can sometimes serve as offerings to Rhodena. There are plenty of tales of hunters, lost in the woods, stumbling across a beautiful maid standing nude in a river, a lake, or a spring glade, who invites the man into her bower for the night…only to find themselves beset by wolves, or bears, or birds of prey when they awoke the next morning to find their former lover gone.Worship
Major Areas of Worship
Sometimes, Rhodena’s followers find their dreams lead them to a central location, such as a glade deep in the forest, a high mountaintop, or a deserted plateau overlooking a desert. These gatherings are called Moots when more than two of Rhodena’s children are brought together. Gatherings of more than a hundred are called Grand Moots, and quite rare. Rhodena’s clerics use these gatherings to trade tales, share wisdom, take on new apprentices, and conduct some of their most sacred rites.Holidays
As a very elemental deity, Rhodena values cyclical events, like the solstices and the equinoxes, phases of the moon, eclipses, and natural celestial occurrences. Some worshippers of Rhodena will hold a feast on the last day of fall, and then ‘hibernate’ after a fashion, until spring comes. The Green One’s children will sometimes end Moots with a violent revel they call, ‘The Wild Hunt.’ If they can transform into beasts, or summon them, they will do so, and run howling through the woods, searching for some civilized interloper to bring down and tear apart, or at the very least, some worthy creature that doesn’t belong, preferably one that does not belong in nature, or at least that part of the world, as an offering that would please Rhodena.Common Sayings and Blessings
There’s not really any commonality in how followers of Rhodena speak or act. Their clerics and druid followers tend to be the wisest and most knowledgeable sources for information about the local wilderness, but sometimes seeking that information can be more dangerous than wandering about uninformed.Priesthood
Leader of the Church
“Leader” is a bit of a stretch, but the current Preserver of the Cycle is a half-elf cleric/druid named Iona. That is not her birth name - she has left ‘the name-chains of the world of man’ behind, and no one knows much about who she used to be before coming into the service of the Green One. Iona finds the ‘overly tarnished’ lands of Europa distasteful ,and tends to wander through the forests and mountains of Avalon, Montaigne, Patlov, Vesten, and Ruskovich. She seems to have no fear of the Iron Curtain, and has been said to ignore the Iron Gates and cross wherever she feels like without consequences. The shrine in Novandria is known as Nature's Rhapsody.Ranks within the Church
There’s really no “organization,” per se. Rhodena makes it pretty clear who they favor, and who they don’t. If someone wants to worship Rhodena, an older cleric or druid tends to show them the basics, then gives them a swat on the ass and a ‘give ‘em hell, kid,’ and calls it a day. Even the gentlest and shyest follower of Rhodena will fight like a cornered badger if pressed. Also, many, MANY druids revere Rhodena, and anyone who pissed off the Ruler of the Elements tends to find the full wrath of the natural world unleashed against them.Clothing
Aside from more clothes of more natural colors of greens and browns (when they wear clothes at all, mind you,) there’s not really any single unifying factor for the outfits of Rhodena’s followers.Membership Restrictions
Rhodena tends not to favor the races who cleave closer to notions of civilization, order, and the taming of the natural world. Their followers are expected to eschew the civilized world, and be able to not just survive in the wild places of the map, but thrive. Genasi, elves, halfings, orcs, dragonborn, and goliath tend to be the majority of those who follow the Lady of Perseverance (side note - that aspect of their deity is the only time Rhodena’s worshippers tend to gender their deity. They believe that women are the tougher and more enduring of the genders, which is why Rhodena chooses them to be the ones strong enough to carry and bring forth new life.)Typical Types of Followers
Outsiders, survivalists, druids, rangers, barbarians…basically, only people fully at home in the wild spaces of the map, who have turned their backs on the civilized world, or were never part of it to begin with.Political Influence & Intrigue
Interaction with Society
That’s really just up to the individuals who serve Rhodena…the deity couldn’t give less of a fuck. Some clerics and druids that follow Rhodena use their gifts to protect the natural world, and will help lost travelers or wounded people who seem to show proper reverence for the woods. Others exist as the ‘mad witch of the woods,’ killing anyone who ventures too deeply into places man was not meant to tread.Ceremonies
Rhodena’s worship is highly individualized, but every devoted follower of the deity adopts more and more odd quirks or habits that are signs of devotion to their faith, and each has their own set of rituals that they will adapt and perform ritualistically over the course of their lives. But aside from the Moots and Grand Moots (see above,) the clerics of Rhodena do not tend to perform ceremonies for anyone beyond themselves and each other.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Leader
Divines
Notable Members