By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

Act 4, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare‘s Macbeth.

The Creation of Crasimoff’s World

“In the beginning…” is a common way for religious storytellers to begin their tales. But, what follows those words varies greatly according to sect, and in reality no one really knows what happened “In the beginning”.

The Creation myth favoured by certain A’stall worshippers is as follows “A’stall created the dwarves, and then created the astoffs. T’gellen created the fire breathing dragons and the hawks. K’nor created the first man. V’garn was unable to create anything at all, and in a fit of jealous rage, he killed a man that K’nor had created. Later, V’garn repented of his action, and tried to resurrect the dead man by breathing life back into his body. He succeeded in doing this, but was able to restore the spirit, and so the first zombie was created.”

An A’dicne creation myth tells how the world was created when A’dicne slew a great demon in single combat.

Canathlion the Golden Dragon was once asked how the world was created and replied “When I was a hatchling, my father told me that the world was created from a drop of blood from T’gellen’s finger.”

K’norian priests have claimed that the world was created when K’nor wept at the wickedness of his brother F’nor and and shed a tear which formed the earth.

Some L’denon priests, say that “In the beginning” there was nothing – no world, no life, not even time. Then L’denon, created the arch of time, and within it he created the world as a place to amuse and educate his many children – the Gods. However, the dogma that L’denon was the father of the Gods was seemingly dispelled by the appearance of T’sardon, who said he was one of L’denon’s three sons.

It is not known which God or Gods actually created the world – you pay your money and you take your choice!

However, it is known that in the early days the Gods themselves walked Crasimoff’s World – they quarreled and loved, created and destroyed, and eventually made the world into what it is today. They created land and seas, mountains and plains, and populated the world with plants, creatures and animals.

At first all the Gods worked together, under the guidance of their father and did not try to impress and dominate each other. L’denon taught them that each one of them was different, but complementary and necessary to each other. He made his children swear an oath to safeguard themselves and give them everlasting peace.

The oath stated that no god, either singly, or in conjunction with other, could directly involve themselves in the affairs of the mortals. Any that did would have to endure the wrath of all the other gods.

All the major powerful gods and their close allies signed this, and confirmed it with the blood of a close relative. No being of any consequence from the spiritual plane would dare to break the blood oath, as every god and ally would have to act to restore their name and honour, bringing great shame on any that didn’t.

The historians and the priests of the world’s greatest temples are in agreement that the gods made a pact among themselves not to interfere directly in worldly affairs. However, the blood oath did not stop them from using the mortals to do their deeds for them.

As the world developed, some of the gods felt that it should have gone more in one direction, than in another. In order to control the development in the direction they desired, the gods tried to use like-minded priests and followers to impose their wills.

The gods are no longer working together for the good of all, but are divided and deeply suspicious of each other. Once firm friends are now terrible enemies, and brother has turned against brother, each trying to outdo the others.

Divine Power

The power of even the weakest of the Gods is awesome and beyond the scope of mortal comprehension.

The only known limits of divine power is the pact between the gods and their own voluntary restrictions and desires. Put simply, if a God wishes to do something, he or she can do it!

With a few exceptions – notably L’denon – the Gods of Crasimoff’s World draw their power from the prayers and sacrifices of the people worshipping them. The more followers a God has, the more powerful they are likely to be. For this reason, the Gods are involved in a constant struggle to gain new followers , while at the same time, trying to reduce the influence of the other God.

Priests

The Gods are served by their priests who worship them and pass their teachings on to the people. To help them in their work, the priests receive special powers and abilities. Many of the priests do not serve a particular god, instead they worship them all. As a result these priests have a wide range of powers available to them.

Town priests tend not to be under the sway of any particular god as all the Gods realise their value and are careful not to let them fall under the power of a rival. It is said that the High Priest of the Zantac Town Temple is believed to be “devoted to all the Gods as one celestial host” whatever that may mean!

Other priests however, prefer to worship a single god, and the powers which they receive are less varied but bill often have a greater effect to reflect the favour which their particular deity bestows upon them.

Priests can use their abilities to become respected and powerful members of society, and the town of Malande on the island of Kry Tir is run by the local temple.

In most towns there will be at least one priest on the Council or amongst the ruler’s advisors. Even if they have no official position, they will be able to exert considerable influence amongst townsfolk. Common folk often go to them for advice on a wide range of matters and the priests use this opportunity to spread their teachings about the Gods, or about one God in particular.

Priests can obtain spiritual guidance through prayer and the advice they can give is often valuable. They can also use their special powers to gain wealth and influence.

To join a particular religion, it is normally necessary to journey to a secret temple of the sect and be ordained by the priests there – although any priest can initiate a new lay member, only a High Priest or Priestess can ordain someone into the Priesthood.

The initiation ceremonies will be totally different depending on which sect is joined, but once the vows have been made and the person ordained, backing out is extremely difficult, and well-nigh impossible so it is well to think carefully before joining a certain sect. Once a priest has joined a sect he will immediately be granted additional powers as a sign of his chosen deity’s favour. What the powers are will depend on the sect joined, and the priest may lose powers which are contrary to the beliefs of his sect. However, the priest will always gain more powers than he loses.

In order to help them serve their God more effectively, lay members are often given money, armour, and weapons, but this depends on the sect joined, and the experience of the new members. These should be looked upon as a loan rather than a gift however, and experienced members are expected to make donations to the sect coffers whenever possible to help the sect finance its recruiting and other activities.

New members will receive some sign or mark to show which sect they belong to. This will take the form of a skin blemish in an easily hidden spot. Priests will be further rewarded for deed which further the aims of their God and gifts to him or her. They are expected to pray regularly and to try to persuade others to join the faith.

The Gods do not have time to answer each prayer in person and therefore use other methods of replying. The most common method is not to reply at all, and some Gods such as T’gellen can get extremely irritated if their followers annoy them with trivial questions.

The Gods tend to expect their followers to think for themselves and prayers will only be answered in special circumstances or if a sacrifice is being made. When an answer is given it is normally in the form of a vision or dream.

Occasionally, one of the God’s spiritual servants will be sent with an answer or perhaps even help of some kind. It is extremely rare for a God to appear in person.

When praying it is usual for a priest to use a focus of some kind. This helps them to concentrate and can be used to transmit visions or as a gateway from the spirit world to the physical world. The most famous version of this is the Gate to the Dark Lands of F’nor which was opened by the Moranaria Ritual at Baron Brocklebrack’s Castle.

Each God favours the use of certain types of powers. They give these powers as a gift to followers who serve them well. These powers are also useable by the spirits serving the God, but usually each spirit will be only able to use one type of power. For example a K’norian spirit might be able to use either healing or protection spells but is unlikely to be able to use both.

Temples

All but the smallest of towns will have a temple dedicated to all the Gods and this temple will be a place of worship for followers of each and every God. The temple priests will usually be totally unaligned and when their help is sought, they will pray to which ever of the Gods seems most likely to help in the given situation.

In addition to the temple, many towns also have smaller places of worship dedicated to a single god – the most famous of these being the massive T’gellen Church in Nevik. The priest or priests at these shrines and chapels will worship their chosen deity to the exception of all others and are able to provide specialised assistance not available at the main town temple. These places are usually well defended to prevent interference by the followers of other Gods.

Finally, there are the Sect bases. The sects were established many years ago and are now powerful and influential organisations. Each sect worships a single God and uses its power to promote the worship of that God. The sect will support all the priests who worship that God and also support the shrines and chapels dedicated to that God. Each sect is controlled from carefully concealed and protected bases, usually in the wilderness, many miles from the nearest town. The location of these bases is kept a closely guarded secret, only known to sect members.

The High Priests and Priestesses of the sects usually reside at these bases. As well as providing organisation and protection, each sect is able to provide special training to its members to help them in their work. They also teach their members special passwords and signals to enable them to recognise other members of the sect.

Meeting With A Priest

You are approached by a man wearing a long flowing robe tied round the waist with a plain leather belt. His hair is long and tied behind his neck, keeping it out of the way. He seems to be friendly, and, as far as you can tell, is not carrying any weapons apart from a small knife attached to his belt. When he gets closer, he holds up his hands in the air to stop you, and also to show he means no harm. He asks you what you are doing in this part of the world, and if you are searching for anything in particular. The priest says that you have become very close to a hidden temple of the God ……., and that his is a priest of that sect. The priest then tells you something about the Gods of Crasimoff’s World and about his God in particular. He says that, if you wish to go to the temple and learn more about his God, he will take you. Once at his temple, it would be possible for you to take your vows to the God and join the sect if you so decide. Before you agree to go, the priest says that it will be necessary to blindfold you and your party, so that you cannot see the way to the hidden entrance to the temple. They have to do this because it is not unknown for rival groups to attack and destroy a hidden temple when its position is known. If you don’t know the exact position, it will be possible for them to free you gain if you decide not to join. (Don’t count on this with F’norians and V’garnians!). At all times you will be allowed to keep your weapons and armour (Don’t count on this with L’noval!).

THE GODS

A’dicne, God of War

A’dicne is also known as the God of Courage and Honour. Soldiers of all types pray to him regularly but his most devout followers tend to spend more time getting killed in battle than spreading the word. A’dicne is considered by many to be one of the lesser Gods, but his sect has gained many new members recently and his power is growing. He encourages his followers to be brave, self reliant, and honourable. He has no interest in the conflict between good and evil and his sect will accept people of both alignments. His followers are taught that cowards should be treated as animals or slaves and that anyone acting in a dishonourable manner must be regarded as an enemy. A’dicne worshippers must be aggressive and decisive. In combat they believe that attack is the best means of defence and attack levels must always be higher than defence levels.

A’dicne dislikes the use of magic in combat and does not favour those who use it. Mages are not permitted in the A’dicne sect. A’dicne rewards his followers for converting new people to his worship and for doing battle. Each person killed in battle by an A’dicne sect member counts as a sacrifice to their God.

Followers of A’dicne must ALWAYS fight fair and no favour will be gained for initiating an attack against an obviously inferior foe.

The sect is not allied with any others but it respects the sects of T’gellen and F’nor. These sects also encourage an aggressive attitude and self reliance.

The pacifistic sects of A’stall and K’nor are regarded with contempt and the decadent sect of L’noval is a bitter enemy.

Sect members have a symbol of two crossed battle axes branded on their chests when they join the sect.

Sect priests usually gain powers to aid them in battle but others are sometimes gained too. If a priest has powers such as Cause Disease they will be lost when he joins the sect.

The A’dicne sect can teach its members special skills to help them survive while spreading the word of A’dicne. For 25 oraks, all members of a party can be given special combat training. This gives them an attack bonus and makes them resistant to all magic which influences or controls the mind.

For the same amount, the sect will teach its priests how to make specially blessed weapons. These weapons will give an attack bonus and will be effective against certain creatures which can normally only be hit by magical weapons.

Followers of A’dicne will use combat as a focus for their prayers. They shout their prayers aloud as they wade into battle. The chance of a response is related to the amount of blood being spilled in the immediate area – the more the better! A spirit responding to the prayer will aid all followers of A’dicne present by increasing their morale, boosting their strength, or perhaps sending them into a berserker fury.

A’nis, Goddess of Fertility

According to some of her followers, A’nis, Goddess of Fertility, was the first God to be worshipped by humans. They say that in the days before the human empire which preceded the astoff one in the old lands, she was the most powerful of the Gods.

On Peldere, where the official religion is K’norian, other dieties such as A’nis are considered to be pagan, even evil gods who should no longer be worshipped. It is believed that A’nis was one of the most powerful Gods of Caith.

But Caith fell because people turned away from the true nature of things and became selfish, regarding themselves as being more important than anything else. Despite the fact that the official religion of Peldere is K’nor, A’nis is still one of the most commonly worshipped Gods, especially by those who live outside the towns and are close to nature.

However, as A’nis has few priests and priestesses to serve her so she is no longer as powerful as she once reputedly was.

A’nis is known by many different names – Goddess of the Harvest; of the Weather; of the Moon; of Nature; of the Trees; Our Lady of the Fertile Fields; the Great Earth Mother; etc.

To the Hinithôn, A’nis is known as the Tree Spirit; to the Grimli she is the “Forest Mistress” and is greatly feared.

Her druidic followers on Peldere say she is too important to refer to by name and they call her the “Great Spirit”.

Most of her worshippers are farmers and peasants. They pray to her for good weather, fertile soil, and a good harvest.

A’nis is a nature Goddess and she tries to preserve all things in their natural state, especially flora of all kinds and the land itself. She is opposed to the rapid growth of civilisation because of its effects on the world. The wood from thousands of trees is needed to construct even a small town. Vegetation must be cleared from the area where the town is built and the end result seriously disfigures the landscape. Established towns cause deforestation to increase available agricultural land and provide timber for further construction and the pollute rivers.

A’nis has no reason to like humans and she especially dislikes those who deliberately damage the forests or land for no reason at all. Followers of A’nis are rewarded for preventing this damage and for recruiting more people to the A’nis sect.

Special favour can be gained for blood sacrifices of those who have offended her. Sect members must try to persuade people to live at one with nature in a symbiotic relationship instead of taking everything and giving nothing, like a parasite.

The followers of A’nis are often militant conservationists, prepared to go to any lengths to protect the environment. It is rumoured that the building of several new towns on Peldere were sabotaged by druidic orders.

Sect members preach that there should be more settlements, but they should be smaller, and constructed of stone. The towns should look after the forests around them as a farmer tends his crops. Timber could be obtained by pruning branches from trees and collecting dead wood. Occasionally, trees grow too close together and this is bad for them all. Culling a few of them to promote the growth of the others is quite acceptable. If a town requires more wood than can be provided by these means, it could chop down a few extra trees as long as the trees were not all taken from the same area and new saplings were planted to replace them.

A’nis priestesses and priests are granted all sorts of druidic powers as well as more normal powers such as Cure Wounds and Dazzle. Sect members can be taught how to predict the weather and the priestesses and priests are excellent farmers. They can get a good harvest from the poorest soil, or if they wish, can cause crops grown in the most fertile of soil to wither and die.

Prayers to A’nis should be made in a special grove or temple dedicated to the worship of nature. This may be a forest glade or perhaps a circle of standing stones. A blood sacrifice will gain extra favour. One method of reply is variation in the weather. Flashes of thunder or clouds indicate displeasure while pleasant breezes or sunshine indicate a favourable response. Occasionally a nature spirit will be summoned. The spirit will either possess and animate a suitable nearby tree or take the form of a terrible storm which obeys the priestess or priest who made the prayers.

Some powerful A’nis priests and priestesses are rumoured to have the ability to summon Earth Golems, regenerate damaged trees, mind meld with trees and plants, and grow a Staff of Power.

A’nis High Priestesses and Priests are said to have great powers whose only limits are the wishes of the Goddess of Fertility herself.

Little is known of the Supernatural Advisors to A’nis, but the most powerful is said to be I’risil, the Golden Reaper who was once a powerful A’nis Priestess.

The most sacred A’nis artifact is said to be the Tree of Life, the tree from which the life force of every living creatuure on the world emanates. Although the original Tree of Life at the Ents A’nis Chapel was destroyed by Nightwind and an army of F’norian demons, a cutting was saved by the Valkyrian Handmaidens. This is said to have been planted in Vialin, the settlement on the Hinithôn of Kry Tir, and under their care the new Tree has flourished and is larger and stronger than the original.

The High Priest of a druidic order on Peldere was heard to say “I knew that the Tree of Life is the home of the Great Spirit, but I had never regarded it as a physical entity.”.

A’nis is one of the few dieties who appeared in person in the Old lands. The Goddess of Fertility appeared to thank her followers after they, aided by others not of her faith, had attacked the F’norian sect base in the Depths Marshes. She looked about 17 or 18 years old and was the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen. Standing about 5’8″ tall, with shoulder-length black hair, she had a well-rounded and beautifully proportioned body. She wore a brilliant white dress to just below the knee and a cloak made of many sorts of leaves, from young green leaves at the top to old, golden brown ones at the bottom. On her head was a garland made of exotically coloured flowers, and her outline was blurred due to the bright light behind her.

It seems that A’nis may appear in the forests of Peldere too – one party mentioned A’nis to a grimli and it ran away screaming “Speak not the name of the Forest Mistress, you mightbring here here and she will punish me!”.

A’stall, God of Knowledge

During the years of the astoff empire, A’stall was the most powerful of all the Gods, but now he is one of the lesser Gods. He is also known as the God of Magic, and is not at all popular as most townsfolk still regard him as the astoff’s God.His priests, who are called sages, are regarded with suspicion and distrust because of this. Despite this, A’stall still seeks to help humanity in its struggle upwards from barbarism to civilisation.

He hopes that in a more civilised world people will have more time for study and education and thus more reason to worship him. He disapproves of all violence and is especially concerned about the conflict between the different races of the world.

A’stall rewards his followers for recruiting new people to his worship, for spreading the word, preventing bloodshed, promoting harmony between the races, and seeking out the lost knowledge of the astoffs. He also encourages his followers to spend time in towns educating the towns children. Most adults are unable to read or write and very few are competent at even simple arithmetic. A’stall hopes to see this change, but it is difficult as few townspeople trust A’stall worshippers.

A’stall is a peaceful God and gets on fairly well with K’nor and L’denon.

Sect priests are specialists of information, communication, and detection powers. Very few adventures are truly suited to this passive non-violent lifestyle. The A’stall sect will not let adventurers join unless they have first proved that they are capable of devoting their lives to the arts of study, peace and teaching, instead of fighting, war, and violence.

The A’stall sect teaches its members that they must think for themselves. Knowledge is something that must be earned if it is to be used effectively. For this reason, A’stall will give his followers guidance and powers to aid them in their quest for knowledge, but direct requests for information will be ignored. E.g. “How can I find out about Varga Plant?” might get a reply of “Ask the Valkyrian Handmaidens” but “How is Varga Plant used and what are its effects?” would probably get no response.

The A’stall sect has learnt more about astoff magic than the other sects. It is able to teach its priestly members how to use some of the less powerful magic spells which, of course, can normal only be used by mages. It can also provide detailed information about most spells, their side effects, if any, and their limitations in unusual circumstances.

Mages wanting to know exactly how an unknown spell will work will often pay the A’stall sect to find out.

A’stall sages use a variety of focuses when they pray. Most common are a pool of water or a crystal sphere. If a reply is received it will be in the form of a visual clue appearing through the focus. It is extremely rare for a spirit to reply directly.

On Peldere, the main A’stoff centre of learning is said to be the Silver Tower in the Caith Hold Mountains. Here is said to be kept the biggest library in the whole of Peldere: a collection to rival even the Astoff Library on the Ardean Peninsula.

The High Priest of A’stall is known as The Sage of the Great Lore. Others sages are known as the Green Sage, an expert on Caith; the Scroll sage, an expert on magic; the Grey Sage an expert on animals in magic; the Sage of the Clear Path; the Purple Sage, an expert on crystals and so on.

Many A’stall Sages have a pet, or “familiar” which the Sage of the Great Lore says is excellent company for any priest travelling alone in the wilderness.

It is not surprising that A’stall currently supports the Emperor Crasimoff. Somewhat more surprising is the fact that his only ally at present is L’denon.

B’romdin, God of Creatures

B’romdin is one of the nature gods of the world. Few humans worship him and very little is really known about him. B’romdin is not an individual sentient being like the other Gods, he is a kind of group conscious and is not believed to be sentient at all.

Every living being; insects animals, and even humans, contribute a small part of their own consciousness to this gigantic corporate mind. Most humans have no conscious awareness of B’romdin’s presence all around them, but animals do. For example, even a young horse instinctively knows that a kresh is dangerous. This is because both the kresh and the horse are linked to the same corporate mind and both are therefore able to understand a little bit about each others’ nature.

Some humans are more sensitive to B’romdin’s presence and these individuals are almost invariably priests. It is said, however, that some barbarian tribes have maintained a contact with B’romdin and are able to use the Force for their benefit. By self-discipline and constant practice a priest can increase his awareness of B’romdin but this leaves no time for the usual priestly disciplines of prayer and worship. As a priest’s awareness grows, he will gain many new abilities, but will lose most of his old priest powers. Any priest who “becomes one” with B’romdin will acquire animal-like instincts. They will know whether a creature which they can see is dangerous or not, and will sometimes sense the presence of a creature nearby, even though they cannot see it. As their awareness grows, they will be able to understand the surface thoughts of any nearby creature and will be able to communicate with it. Learning to communicate in this way is not easy and uses ethereal points. By putting more effort into it, a priest can influence the thoughts of a creature or can communicate with it at a distance. Eventually a priest will be able to manipulate B’romdin’s power to perform even more remarkable feats.

Some say that an experience B’romdin priest can shape change at will, is immune to poison and disease, and communicate with plants and trees. How much of this is true is not known. Priests do not pray to B’romdin, but the meditation which they practice has a similar effect. They can use meditation to learn more about the natural world around them and to summon nature spirits to aid them. Nature spirits usually appear as an animal of some kind. The type will depend upon the priest’s needs. For example, a spirit resembling a horse could be used to carry the priest at great speed, while a wolf could be used to track an enemy. The spirit will often be invisible to all but B’romdin priests.

In Peldere, the official K’norian view is that the sect of B’romdin are a heathen cult, dating back to the time before people became cultured. They say that nowadays there are only rumours of beast men who live in caves in the Tharkon Mountains.

D’rakleth, God of the Sea

D’rakleth, God of the Sea, is one of the minor Gods. D’rakleth was sickened by the constant squabbling between the other Gods so he abandoned the land and took the unclaimed ocean as his sphere of influence.

In addition to the Ocean, D’rakleth is overlord of all areas of water including lakes, rivers, and streams.

D’rakleth is neither Good, Evil, nor Neutral – he is for the seas alone.

D’rakleth is just one of a hundred names for the Lord of the Waves, whose followers are those who respect and revere the sea.

D’rakleth rewards his followers for spreading the word of his sect and protecting the sea from harm. He is tolerant of those who respect the sea but does not wish the quarrels between Good and Evil to spread to his domain.

D’rakleth himself has talked with several parties who have visited his temple-dwelling in the Isles of Plenty in the Old Lands and has personally initiated sect members by baptising them with sea water.

D’rakleth appears as a 30 foot high giant seated on a throne, but his true form is that of an enormous water dragon.

D’rakleth rewards his followers with abilities concerned with the sea, but demands that his followers refrain from some other action. For example, in order to be able to breath in water, a priest must remain celibate while on land, while to be able to converse with sea creatures the priest must not eat meat.

F’nor, God of Darkness

F’nor, God of Darkness, is also known as the God of Pain, Destruction and Misery. He is without doubt the most powerful of the evil Gods. He delights in the spread of death, destruction, and misery. His aim is to destroy or gain supremacy over all the other Gods and thus become the sole deity of the world.

He encourages his followers to be violent and cruel and to kill anyone who does not worship him or his ally V’garn, God of Death. He also expects his followers to be self reliant and capable of independent action. Those who require constant guidance and assistance are regarded as weak fools.

Occasionally he will order a group of his followers to perform a particular task. He requires unquestioning obedience in such matters. F’nor’s followers are rewarded for killing members of other sects, deeds of extreme violence, and for converting people to his worship. He also looks favourably on human sacrifice. The method of sacrifice is usually to torture the victim to death.

When praying to their deity, F’norians focus upon a tortured animal or person, and if the prayer is answered, an evil spirit may possess the creature and tell the priest what F’nor requires of him, or provide the priest with assistance. If no creature is made available, the spirit may possess the priest instead. Occasionally an evil spirit will appear in its own form. These vary widely, but are all extremely unpleasant, for example a humanoid figure with scaly skin, twisted spine and poisonous breath.

F’nor’s main enemies are his brother, K’nor God of Light, and T’gellen, God of Fire.

The F’norian sect is allied with that of V’garn but F’norians consider themselves superior to the followers of the God of Death.

The symbol of F’nor is a black triangle in the middle of a worshipper’s back. It appears soon after a person joins the sect.

F’norian priests gain powers which an cause pain, suffering or even death and all manner of darkness, destructive, offensive, and corruptive powers. Unsuitable powers such as cures will be lost when a priest joins the sect. The F’norian sect can teach its members special skills in the fields of poisons and possession. The poisons skill provides knowledge of how to make poisons and how to use them effectively. With training in possession, a priest can sometimes take over the mind and body of another person, even against their will. The sect will only teach these skills to F’norians, and charges 25 oraks for each.

Several powerful F’norian parties formed an organisation called F’nor’s National Liberation Army or FNLA for short, and at one time this was the most feared organisation on Crasimoff’s World. At the height of it’s power, the FNLA’s Dark Crusade took over the town of Cas. Nowadays the old guard of Black Light and the FNLA have been eclipsed by the new terror of Nightwind and the Dark Order. Apparently there are plans to resurrect the FNLA.

K’nor, God of Light

K’nor, God of Light, is one of the most powerful Gods on Crasimoff’s World. K’nor is also known as the God of Peace, Healing and Mercy. He believes that all people should be free to fulfill their destiny without interference from other people or the gods. His aims are to protect the weak from their aggressors, and to minimise the influence of his evil brother, F’nor on world events.

K’nor disapproves of violence except as a last resort, and his sect prefers to avoid its use as much as possible. K’nor’s followers are rewarded for protecting the weak, healing the ill, and for spreading the teachings of K’nor.

Powers available to K’norians include all manner of healing, protection, light, and purification spells, and K’nor is the God most likely to reward his followers with “Resurrection”. He does not expect sacrifices from his followers, but does expect regular prayer and good deeds.

Prayers to K’nor are usually made during the day or using a bright source of light to symbolise K’nor’s presence and also as a focus. As with all the most powerful Gods, K’nor seldom makes a direct response to his priests or those who pray to him. K’norian spirits responding to prayers will use the light source as a gate from the spiritual world where they reside. They usually appear as ghostly young men or women dressed in flowing white robes, which glow slightly with white light. The most powerful of these beings, A’le, is worshipped as the Goddess of Healing in some towns.

The enemies of K’nor are F’nor, God of Darkness, and V’garn, God of Death. T’gellen, God of Fire has similar aims to K’nor but their methods differ greatly. Followers of T’gellen seek to destroy all evil by slaying all followers of the evil Gods and all wrongdoers. The K’nor and T’gellen sects sometimes help each other, but K’norians disapprove of the T’gellen sects violent approach to life, and many K’norian priests consider T’gellenites to be little better than barbarians.

As a symbol of their devotion to their God, all followers of K’nor have a small white triangular mark in the centre of their backs. This appears shortly after joining the sect.

As a reward for services to K’nor, K’norian priests will gain new powers. They will usually be powers of healing or defence, but others are sometimes gained too. If a priest has unsuitable powers such as Curse, these will be lost when the priest joins the sect.

K’norians have a wide knowledge of medicine and medicinal herblore. They are also excellent exorcists and are able to dispel many forms of undead or evil spirits. A priest trained in healing can increase the speed of natural healing and can also increase the effectiveness of any healing herbs used. Priests with the undead skill have a chance to turn or destroy them. K’norian sects will teach these skills for 25 oraks each to sect members. They will sometimes teach non sect members but will charge much more.

A few years ago, K’nor, God of Light was the most powerful God of Crasimoff’s World, but his stress of pacifistic methods of persuasion caused a mass exodus to the sect of T’gellen some years ago.

L’denon, God OF Balance

Although L’denon is one of the most powerful Gods, he is the most enigmatic as he has few followers. It is not understood how L’denon is so powerful but it is assumed that the ethereal points sacrificed from his priests is not the only strength of his power.

The common folk know little or nothing about L’denon and even his followers do not fully understand his intentions. He teaches that each of the other Gods exerts an important influence on the world. They are all necessary if the development of human civilisation is to continue. If any of the Gods gains a major advantage over the others then civilisation will stagnate and fall back into barbarism. It is the constant conflict which stimulates the creativity and ingenuity of human society.

Followers of L’denon are rewarded for maintaining the balance and for spreading L’denon’s word and teachings. they are encouraged to work indirectly and with great caution at all times. It is not always obvious where the balance lies and before acting, a member of the sect should consider all the facts carefully.

At present on Peldere L’denon appears to be allied with A’stall. As A’stall is supporting Crasimoff it appears that the balance for the moment, is on the side of the Kingdom of Peldere.

Balance does not just apply to the Gods but to all aspects of life – cruelty and kindness, poverty and wealth, law and chaos. With civilisation at its present level, towns are few and far between, and with towns so far apart and so independent, laws are very difficult to enforce.

The sect is trying to unite the towns so that the strength of law and the structure of civilisation is enhanced. At the moment, the easiest way to achieve this is by trade. Trade between towns is profitable, but very dangerous and few established merchants risk it. The sect encourages its members to trade as much as possible as not only does this help unite the towns, but it increases the wealth of the sect too.

The sect can teach its members several useful disciplines to aid them in their work. Sect priests can be taught how to recognise members of the other sects, and any L’denon sect member can be given instruction in the art of unarmed combat.

L’denon priests enter into a state of trance to make their prayers and no focus is required. If a prayer receives an answer, the priest will awaken from his trance with the information in his mind just as though he had always known it.

At present L’denon is displeased with Crasimoff and says that he “upsets the balance”.

L’Noval, Goddess of Love

L’noval is one of the lesser Gods, but she places few restrictions on the activities of her followers and this makes her popular with many adventurers. As long as her followers pray regularly and make some effort to increase the number of people worshipping her, she is not worried how they spend the rest of their time.

Members of the sect use any tactic they consider necessary to achieve their aims. Trickery, deceit, and blackmail are all acceptable tools, but care must be taken not to bring the sect into disrepute. Murder should only be used as a last resort as killings are likely to attract unwanted attention to the sect’s activities.

Amongst her own followers, L’noval is also known as the Goddess of Thieves and Lies. Sect members will be rewarded for recruiting new members and thus increasing L’noval’s influence. Her followers should try and reduce the influence of the other Gods. Suggested ways of doing this are to preach false propaganda about other gods, stir up trouble between the other sects or discredit their famous and influential members. When preaching about L’noval, care must be made not to reveal her true nature.

Her priests teach that L’noval is a benevolent God who protects her followers with loving care. They say that the world would be a better place with more love and that L’noval takes special care of lovers which is why she is known as the Goddess of Love. They do not mention her tolerance of corruption, trickery, and deceit, unless they can be sure that the listener is a likely candidate for sect membership.

he L’noval sect is not allied with any others but sect members will work with members of most other sects if it will further L’noval’s cause. They will not work with anyone from the sects of A’dicne or V’garn as these are bitter enemies of L’noval.

L’noval priests will gain powers to help them in their devious activities. Few of their powers will be useful in combat and they have no powers relating to the undead. The sect can give member priests special instruction in the use of a wide range of narcotic drugs and all members can be given instruction in the arts of lock-picking, cat burglary, and forging.

L’noval priests use a variety of narcotic drugs to aid their prayers and if special favour is being sought, a small orgy is arranged! The reply will usually be in the form of a vision, but occasionally a spirit will materialise in the form of a beautiful young woman (or a man if the priest was female) wearing very little, if anything.

N’alaptir

N’alaptir was a mighty giant who unfortunately drowned at sea. All that could be seen of him was his mighty hand sticking out of the waves, and the sect has adopted a hand as it’s symbol. Men who saw the hand of the drowned giant were so impressed by it that they worshipped it as a God. So strong was their faith that N’alaptir did indeed become a God. N’alaptir considers himself to represent the qualities of all the Gods except V’garn. Apparently, he lost his worshippers to the plague and he blames V’garn for that. Otherwise, he is a neutral and associates most closely with L’denon. The sect symbol is a golden hand as a necklace. The only people known to wear them are the Heroes of Geddon. Although N’alaptir has no official followers, the Heroes pray regularly and were responsible for awakening the God.

T’gellen, God of Fire

T’gellen, God of Fire, is also known as the God of Vengeance. He is by far the most powerful of all the Gods who are worshipped on Crasimoff’s World. T’gellen believes in the principles of courage, honour, and good. His aim is to destroy all that is evil in the world. The only way that this can be achieved is by force. His followers are encouraged to crusade against the evil sects. They must be warlike and brave for it is their task to fight evil in all its forms.

Although he is a good God, T’gellen is hot tempered and dislikes being disturbed with trivial questions or requests. His followers should pray regularly, but are not encouraged to ask for guidance or assistance.

T’gellenites are rewarded for killing members of evil sects, bringing other wrongdoers to justice, and for recruiting new people to the worship of T’gellen. Special favour can be gained by sacrificing evil sect members. The method of sacrifice is for a T’gellen priest to kill the victim in combat while chanting prayers to T’gellen.

The enemies of T’gellen are F’nor, God of Darkness, and V’garn, God of Death. The T’gellen sect has an uneasy alliance with the sect of K’nor and they occasionally work together. However, many T’gellenites consider K’norians to be well meaning, but cowardly pacifists whose methods are ineffectual.

T’gellenites wear a ring of white gold on their left little finger and shortly after joining the sect, a white scar will appear around the base of their right little finger.

T’gellen priests gain a wide range of purification, offensive, fire and protection powers to help them in their fight against evil. The powers gained will usually be useful in combat but other types are sometimes gained as well. If a priest has powers such as Cause Disease or Animate Dead these powers will be lost when he joins the sect.

The T’gellen sect can teach special skills to its members to aid them in their work. The first skill taught enables a priest to protect himself and his companions from the effects of extreme heat or cold. With the second skill a priest can make the blade of any ordinary metal weapon burst into flames. The weapon will then do extra damage, especially against undead. The sect will charge 25 oraks for the teaching of each skill.

T’gellen priests use fire to focus their prayers and to gain special favour will burn an evil priest at the stake. A positive response to prayer usually takes the form of a vision seen in the flames. If a spirit is sent to answer the prayer it will either appear as a fiery being (humanoid in shape) or as a flaming weapon, useable only by the priest making the prayer. The weapon will have damage bonuses against any creature which can be harmed by fire.

V’garn, God of Death

Also known as the God of Plague, V’garn is one of the cruellest and most feared of the Gods on Crasimoff’s World. He lusts continually after power and cares nothing for human life except as a means of increasing his power. Even his most loyal followers fear him for they know that if they should fail him in any way he may claim their souls.

V’garn rewards his followers for causing death, making sacrifices and for converting people to the V’garnian religion. Human sacrifices are of course preferred. The method is to cut open the victim’s throat whilst praying to V’garn. The blood should be collected in a bowl and drunk by all present.

Although V’garn himself cares nothing about the activities of the other Gods, his sect has allied itself with that of F’nor, God of Darkness. V’garnians often help F’norians because of the opportunities for causing death which usually occur as a result of most F’norian activities. V’garnians hate followers of K’nor and T’gellen because of their fanatical opposition to V’garn and their persecution of V’garnians.

The symbol of V’garn is the Hand of Death, a skeleton hand with long curved nails. Junior V’garnian priests wear a pendant made from the bones of a human finger. Senior priests have a complete skeletal hand hung around their neck. These symbols should be concealed in the presence of non sect members.

V’garnians gain powers which enable them to summon and create undead. They also gain powers to help them spread death to all non sect members. The sect temples can teach members special skills to help them serve V’garn. One such skill gives a priest the ability to control even the most powerful types of undead. The second skill taught enables a priest to prevent the decay which usually occurs in the lower forms of undead such as skeletons and zombies. The sect will charge 25 oraks for instruction in each of these skills.

V’garn’s priests use the head of a dead animal or human as the focus of their prayers. To improve the chance of a reply, they will first sacrifice the head’s owner. If the prayer is answered, an evil spirit will possess the head and speak through its mouth. If a body is still attached, it will sometimes animate this too. Depending on V’garn’s feelings towards the priest, the spirit will either attack or obey his commands for a short while. If no focus is provided the spirit answering the prayer will kill the priest and use his body to respond! Last, but not least, any member of the V’garnian sect who is killed will automatically become a zombie at midnight unless the body is destroyed. It is not possible to resurrect a V’garnian.