Religion in the World
The primary religion in the World centers around the worship of a pantheon known as the Twelve. The Twelve consist of six gods and six goddesses considered by some to be distinct individuals and by others as different manifestations of a single godhead. While it’s possible to worship the Twelve as a whole or certain combinations therein, devotion is typically focused on a single member. This is mostly due to the fact that Players must choose a single god to act as their Patron. This is less relevant for People of the World, but they also tend to focus on a single god as a matter of convention.
While the Twelve are associated with numerous aspects of Nature and society (often overlapping with others), I’m just going to list them with their primary attributes here and may do more extensive coverage in the future.
- Luxion, the God of Light
- Nyxia, the Goddess of Darkness
- Manaan, the Goddess of Life
- Tantalion, the God of Death
- Parthena, the Goddess of Order
- Kontos, the God of Chaos
- Pyrion, the God of Fire
- Maara, the Goddess of Water
- Thoros, the God of Wind
- Genaan, the Goddess of Earth
- Denaan, the Goddess of Wood
- Zoltan, the God of Metal
Obviously, the way Players view the Twelve and the way the People of the World view them are different. For Players, the benefits of a Patron are more tangible. A Patron determines the type of magic a Player can use and conveys Blessings that influence things like weapon proficiency, resistances, and more. Now, it is possible for Players decline to have a Patron, but there are few benefits to this other than avoiding the weaknesses of any single alignment.
The center of worship is the Great Temple in Axios. This is where Players are first summoned. There is a separate chapel for the Faithful of each of the Twelve. Because People of the World do not have access to magic or Blessings, Players comprise the whole of the clergy and are supported by dedicated layfolk among the People of the World called tertiaries. Each Cult is headed by a Pontifex supported by an Archbishop for each domain (two for Axios) and any number of Bishops (which is not restricted to the Job class of Bishop but includes all Tier 3 Clerics). Simply having the Job of Cleric doesn’t automatically make a player recognized clergy of a particular Cult. They must complete a term of Temple Service in order to be eligible to wear the official vestment and must maintain good standing with the Cult to retain that privilege (and wearing vestments without the Cult’s recognition can result in prosecution for the crime of impersonation).
Different days of the week are assigned as sabbaths to each of the Twelve. Furthermore, there are weekly cycles for each season, excluding the weeks of the solstices and equinoxes, which have their own celebrations. Beyond that, there are monthly and yearly cycles (akin to the Western and Chinese zodiacs respectively), and whenever these align, it marks times seen as especially holy. Other observations commemorating saints and martyrs and such have varying degrees of observation depending on your location.
Outside the worship of the Twelve, traces of animism and other folk religions can be found among the smallfolk, as well as ersatz versions of various Earth religions, particularly a pseudo-Buddhism observed in parts of the Hidden Trials of Murakumo and Shangri-La. In many cases, there is a syncretistic blending of these other belief systems and the worship of the Twelve.
As a brief overview, this should suffice for now. I may do expanded commentary on particular aspects of religious observation in the World at a later date. Stay tuned.
Tags: Commentary, Else Arc, Miscellany, Welcome to the World, WttW
Commentary, Else Arc, Miscellany, Welcome to the World | James Carmack | 21 December 2023 |
