OSR: Boss Fight: The Stone Cobra Guardian

Stats: as a standard Stone Golem, or an Ogre with a resistance to slashing and piercing damage. Slow moving and bulky.
Appearance: a stone knight clad in carved armour. It wields a huge dented sword in one hand. Its other hand is empty when combat begins.
Wants: to protect the rest of the Tomb of the Serpent Kings and kill any interlopers

Attacks 

Each round, the Stone Cobra Guardian can perform one of three attack patterns.

1. Shield Draw. The Guardian calls to a shield attached to the wall of the arena. The shield deals d6 bludgeoning damage (Save vs Dex negates) to any creatures between it and the Guardian. The Guardian holds the shield in its empty hand, granting it +1 Defense. The shield can be sundered as normal (reducing incoming damage by 1d12 and destroying the shield).

2. Leap and Slam. The Guardian leaps into the air and slams down 5' to 20' away from its starting position. It will not land directly on creatures, but any adjacent creatures take 1d4 damage, Save negates. Creatures that take damage are knocked prone.

3. Twin Slash. The Guardian swipes at two targets with its sword. The targets must on the same facing (front, side, or rear) and must be adjacent to the Guardian. This is a normal attack, dealing 1d8+strength bonus damage on a successful hit.


The Stone Cobra Guardian will be encountered first as a boss fight, but may end up becoming a semi-normal enemy for high-level groups. It fights in a very Dark Souls way. Over a long fight, the patterns will become obvious to players, and can be used to their advantage.

Akhnout, François-xavier Huet

My group defeated it using the Mobile Rod they found in the pool of dissolved mummy goop in Room 11. The Mobile Rod is the opposite of an Immobile Rod, and pushed the Guardian backwards and into the chasm. The Guardian did chop off Tito's leg.

Room 19 is designed for the players to flank the Guardian, or flee (it can't pursue up the stairs) or push it out into the chasm, or flee past it and hope it doesn't follow them (it will). The shields on the walls can be used by the PCs as well, and some of them are valuable if looted and disassembled.

OSR: Learning Dungeon, Level 2

This is the second level of my Learning Dungeon. When you first start up Super Mario Bros, the game doesn't give you any instructions. The first level is cunningly designed to teach you the rules: jump on enemies, pick up mushrooms, look for secrets, get coins, avoid pits. There is no tutorial. The game itself is the tutorial.
This dungeon is designed to take a group of non-gamers - even non-video-gamers - and teach them the basics of dungeoneering. The 1st level covered the basics. Some more advanced concepts will be introduced on this level.

More art.

Room (8) is directly below the statue in room (7). It's a 5' wide hallway alcove-like hall that leads to room (9), a hall of statues. Six huge statues of snake-men loom over the hall, glaring at the party. One of the statues can be moved to reveal a secret room (10).

Lessons: The party should have learned, in room (7), that secret passages are sometimes hidden behind statues

Room (10) is a secret guardroom for temple assassins. Now it is empty and dark. The furniture has rotted to fragments. There are two hooked polearms here that are still usable, along with some silver icons.

Lessons: secret rooms contain more treasure.

Room (11) is a large chamber, also ringed with statues. It looks like there was once a pit in the centre of the floor, but water trickling down from the surface, through (7) - (9) has filled it to the brim. The pit is completely full of dark, oily water that smells like licorice. Inside are two mummy fragment (as crawling claws, but with mummy rot and better strength). The mummy fragments will lunge out and attempt to strangle or bludgeon anyone who comes near the pit.

Lessons: there are hidden monsters. Some monsters deal damage and also inflict diseases. It is really hard to hit a monster clinging to your friend's throat.

If the party manages to kill or disable the mummy fragments, they may attempt to dredge or search the pool. This is difficult, but if they manage to succeed, it contains the following items: a very angry and completely insane mummy's head, a heavy gold chain, a silver ring, and possibly a magic utility item of the GMs choice, or a randomly rolled item. Touching the water does not cause mummy rot, but drinking it or getting it into any open wounds does. The silver ring is a ring of eyesight. While wearing it, one of the user's eyes pops out and becomes hard as glass. The eye still sees normally.

Lessons: look for treasure at the bottom of pits and pools. Magic items can solve problems.

Rooms (12) through (16) are tomb chambers. They are sealed with thick stone doors, but the doors can be levered open without too much trouble.

Room (12) contains 3 stone coffins. Two snake-brides remain (as corpses), but the snake-man (Xisor the Green) is missing. He wandered into the pit in room (11) several centuries ago and slowly dissolved. The passage to room (12) contains a pressure plate. Stepping on the plate activates a lighting bolt spell trap, aimed straight down the hallway. The trap only works once. The electrum plate the bolt fires from is valuable. There is also a spell scroll (eye venom, or a random spell) inside Xisor's coffin.

Lessons: sometimes the floor is trapped. Traps are deadly. Approach unknown rooms with caution.

Room (13) is collapsed. The blocks of the ceiling caved in. If the PCs start to excavate the room, they will hear Sparmuntar (a snake-man mummy wielding a greataxe) on the other side of the blocked passage. He is not very subtle, and will try and strike the moment he can see the head of a living creature. His funeral trinkets are valuable.

Lessons: you can hear some monsters before you see them. Some rooms are best left alone. 

Room (14) is more primitive than the others, and has cruder paintings and carvings. It contains one stone coffin with the badly mummified remains of Franbinzar, last king of the fortress. His mummification did not go well. Counts as a black pudding. His grave goods are clay copies.

Lessons: oozes live in dungeons. They are difficult to bludgeon, just as the skeletons were difficult to slash. You can use the environment to your advantage (by circling the pit in Room (11), by closing the stone doors on the ooze, by luring the ooze upstairs and hitting it with the hammer trap, etc.)

Room (15) has a wooden door, not a stone one. It contains three beds, some rotten shelves, a silver and emerald snake-god icon, and possibly one minor magical item (that is most likely cursed). This room was used by the priests of the upper tomb. The scrolls scattered around the room record the ravings of the trapped mummies.

Lessons: valuables take unconventional forms. The ravings might be worth quite a bit if translated... or sold to the credulous.

Room (16) is an unfinished tomb. It might make a nice bolthole in an emergency, or a place to stash supplies.

Lessons: some rooms are empty.

Room (17) contains eighteen clay statues of snake-men warriors. Their swords are rusty. One might have a bow with magic arrows. All the statues are hollow, but contain nothing. The statue in the far south corner of the room sits over a secret passage to the Basilisk Hall (covered in the next post).

Lessons: some rooms look more threatening than they are. Keep looking under statues for secret passages.

The hallway (18) is protected by a very ornate stone door. It descends downwards into darkness. There is a faint wind. The third stair is trapped. If any weight is put on it, the stairs tip to become a smooth stone ramp. The bottom of the ramp has spikes. The trap resets 5 rounds after it is activated. The ramp is easy to slide down if you know it's there.

Lessons: the floor is trapped. Traps can move you and not just harm you.

Room (19) is a large arena-like room entirely covered with shields from the tribes defeated by the snake-men. Some shields are rotten, but some are still useable. In the centre of the room, the Stone Cobra Gurdian waits. Behind it is a narrow path along a bottomless chasm.

The Stone Cobra Guardian has a writeup here.

OSR: Race: Crocolings

There are a lot of different kinds of People in Creation. Depending on whether national or familial power structures exist you can get wildly different species living side by side (with all the problems and benefits that brings), or isolated enclaves who loathe outsiders and anyone unlike them.

Crocolings are from one of the enclaves.

Mindraq, Jason Behnke

They aren't very bright. Some of them can work leather and wood, but they never figured out metal, geometry, or irrigation. They don't understand writing.

They love eating, and are baffled by people who kill and cook their meals. Why bother? The meal didn't want to be eaten anyway. They'll happily bargain for chickens, slaves, or adventurers with equal careless joy. They sometimes try to be cunning and "invite you to dinner", but the drooling and the cutlery belts give them away. Only the credulous would accept such an invitation, and the sum of gold that comes with it. The crocolings scrupulously pay for their meals, even if their definition of "meal" includes orphans, livestock, and pets.

Crocolings will even eat each other if they get bored. They haggle over price, but as soon as payment is made it is forgotten, to be picked up by other nearby crocolings. They lack the imagination required to worship, and are vaguely resentful of other races.

They make excellent hirelings if food is in plentiful supply. Otherwise, they'll simply wander off to go forage. "As lazy as a crocoling in winter" is a proverbial saying. They can't handle the cold. They excel as hunters, foragers, guides, and unquestioning .


What are those crocolings doing?
1. Trying to coax a ferret out of a stump.
2. Sharpening cutlery and lounging after a meal.
3. Napping near something warm.
4. Bartering with the smallest of their group. They'll make the PCs an offer.
5. Chasing a 1) child 2) dog 3) deer 4) butterfly, snapping their jaws.
6. Setting up an ambush. The PCs may be invited to join.

What makes these crocolings extra weird?
1. Too many teeth. Some of them can barely close their mouths.
2. War paint. Water soluble but brightly coloured.
3. Wizard meat. One of them accidentally ate a wizard, and the others have been poking them with sticks to try and get the spell out. It hasn't worked so far, but it's only a matter of time.
4.  Tons of little crocolings. At least twenty, maybe more. They are nearly impossible to hit unless they latch onto you and bite. Five hatchlings working together can inflict 1 damage per round.
5. Prophecy. These crocolings can see the future, but only a few seconds ahead, and they are usually too stupid and indecisive to act on this knowledge. They do get +4 Defense and Save.
6. Nets. Two crocolings, working together, will toss a huge net over any opponents or interesting-looking creatures. They will then haggle with their captives.

Dickensian NPC Generator

Suitable for use in most games, novels, and genre parodies.

	First Name	Last Name	Appearance	Demeanour
1	Benjamin	Ayresleigh	widely spaced eyes	pious
2	Bayham	Badger	gawping, slack mouth	proud
3	Solomon	Bagnet	drooping jowls	reserved
4	Ezekiel	Bambler	uneven nose	suspicious
5	Ian	Pross	wild, tangled hair	prying
6	Barak	Bazzard	profuse sweating	vicious
7	Cain	Plummer	off-putting stare	vindictive
8	Dariel	Bevian	charming, smiling eyes	casually rude
9	Enoch	Brunlow	sloped forehead	rebellious
10	Gaius	Carker	missing limb	polite
11	Garvel	Barnacle	beautiful	obsessive
12	Jericus	Cromwell	pointed and widely spaced teeth	off-world affectations
13	Mordeci	Wolfe	closely spaced eyes	simpering
14	Pontiu	Wollsey	duelling scar	paternalistic
15	Reestheus	Noggs	rheumy, raw eyes	spouts half-blasphemies
16	Thaddius	Carton	fierce eyebrows	witty
17	Titus	Brandybone	high, finely wrough cheekbones	kind
18	Varnais	Claypole	deeply scarred	arrogant
19	Callidon	Murdstone	dirty or dusty, as if unearthed	pretensions above their station
20	Castus	Creakle	drunk or seeking drink	obsequious
21	Gallus	Manette	shakes and tremors	nearly comatose
22	Kaltos	Dartle	remarkably small head	smug
23	Ravion	Diver	splayed, wide-nostrilled nose	pretends to be feeble
24	Trantor	Gammerage	sunken head and short limbs	meddling
25	Venris	Roller	nervous tic	over-familliar attitude
26	Victus	Gargey	pinched, pointed chin	territorial
27	Barbosa	Harris	well-worn, yellowed teeth	stern
28	Constantius	Neckett	unusually tall and slender	permanent expression of disgust
29	Havelock	Langley	deep-sunk, lidded eyes	habitual liar
30	Iaction	Noggs	uneven limbs	sneering
31	Lionel	Radfoot	slouching	prone to fainting at excitement
32	Serghar	Thribbs	greasy	sarcastic
33	Tybalt	Bimbler	consumptive and deathly ill	brow-beaten by associates
34	Vern	Maylile	prominent mole or boil	wrapped in fast glories
35	Orlick	Stiltstalker	woefully mismatched features	dashing and flashy
36	Uriah	Havisham	sad, pouting mouth	mutters curses or comments
37	Mortimer	Nubbles	porcelain skin	prattling, wheedling voice
38	Jarvis	Prattler	no chin to speak of	gourmet
39	Peter	Jaggers	unusually large head	verbose
40	Dolge	Squeaks	pleasant smile	unfaithful
41	Augustus	Kastobar	broke-fingered hands	crafty
42	Silas	Blambercarriage	short, badly cropped hair	boisterous
43	Horatio	Rackbourne	lantern jaw	thinks they are witty
44	Albian	Hopcraft	domed head	cackling
45	Quintus	Figg	waddling	of a famous line
46	Sextus	Krenridge	fluttering, always-moving hands	paranoid
47	Septimus	Dombey	dark circles under the eyes	bombastic
48	Octavius	Tackleton	small, tightly pursed mouth	superior
49	Nonus	Wringer	viciously parted and combed hair	weary
50	Marta	Oddsprocket	very fine long hair	slow-witted
51	Bertha	Pancks	exceedingly be-wigged	deeply religous
52	Akadia	Hooper	oddly effeminate, or masculine	excitable
53	Cyrine	Potts	haggard and haunted	indifferent
54	Ephrael	Kenwigs	half-asleep	soft-spoken
55	Galatia	Nupkins	unusually large nose	scripture-quoting
56	Hazel	Omer	furtive eyes	addict
57	Lyra	Dwimmerlight	long, skeletal fingers	hums snatches of music
58	Ophilia	Smidgely	hooked, dribbling nose	vain
59	Atella	Turveydrop	slab-faced	bitter
60	Odessa	Watts	fashionable, but decrepit	menacing chuckle
61	Megehra	Ortell	faint smell	apathetic
62	Ada	Doyce	large, vein-coated ears	desperate
63	Fan	Sweedlepipe	darting, narrow tongue	politically savvy
64	Nixia	Rouncewell	arched, thin eyebrows	lover of conspiracies
65	Estella	Traddles	bloated stomach	pompous
66	Sarah	Flintwinch	rictus grin	holds irrational grudges
67	Helena	Voles	protruding, uneven teeth	studious
68	Charity	Tulkinghorn	smoothed, as if made of clay	surrounded by props
69	Mercy	Blurt	mismatched eye colours	cautious
70	Chastity	Hawk	swollen goiter	hesitant and stuttering
71	Harriet	Mordans	great shock of white hair	extraordinarily hypocritical
72	Lucretia	Littimer	cracked and yellowed skin	ambitious
73	Bountiful	Elphenstone	extraordinarily wrinked	fanatical
74	Salome	Westlock	rheumatic or gout-plagued joints	devoted to procedure and rule
75	Carlotta	Crummles	thin, pale lips	wrathful
76	Eugina	Barnaparnassus	perfect, smooth teeth	predatory
77	Kara	Pelever	blotched complexion	gambler
78	Devotional	Langdale	hissing, raspy voice	cantankerous
79	Superlative	Trundle	crippled limb	philosophic
80	Prudence	Lorry	crossed eyes	swaggering and pompous
81	Francheska	Wackford	long-necked	utterly senile
82	Sophia	Bombard	extraordinary compressed	deviant tastes
83	Severine	Staggers	dotted with warts	reckless
84	Belinda	Skiderslew	youthful, but unsmiling face	incompetent
85	Clara	Rugg	aged and wrinkled	ruthless
86	Rose	Wormsby	bedecked with jewelery	braggart
87	Maggy	Vickston	bulbous nose	morbid
88	Lynn	Durdles	spindly, knob-jointed limbs	contempt of lower orders
89	Amy	Harmond	careworn features	corrupt
90	Prima	Swidger	tufted, cloud-like hair	romantic
91	Secunda	Litwickler	bespectacled and blinking	faithless
92	Tertia	Capula	cruel, cold features	melancholic
93	Quarta	Orlick	placid, widely spaced features	raving mad
94	Quinta	Slummley	speckled with sores	quick-witted
95	Sexta	Wickfield	dandyish, thick makeup	indecisive
96	Septima	Shrewcatcher	cold, dead skin	benevolent, but manipulative
97	Octavia	Gramsby	uneven, half-collapsed face	greedy
98	Nona	Didcot	wiry-haired	flirtatious
99	[No given name]	[No family name]	androgynous	dispenses aphorisms
100	[No given name]	[Roll Again Twice]	bucolic and wholesome	cowardly

OSR: Class: Generic Cleric

There are no clerics in my game. They don't have a niche. Priests deal with day-to-day matters. Paladins enforce the word of the Authority. A good lunch heals you. If someone really wants to play a holy man, I'd probably use these excellent Mystic rules, or something like them.

But in the interests of filling in all the blanks, here are some rules for playing a "Generic Cleric" using Arnold K's GLOG system.

His name is Eric.
Class: Generic Cleric

Starting Equipment: chainmail, shield, mace, holy symbol
Starting Skill: [d3]: 1. History, 2. Scripture, 3. Commerce
A: +1 DD, +1 Miracle Slot, +2 Spells (1-6), Divine Intervention
B: +1 DD, +1 Miracle Slot, +1 Spell (1-8), Bodyguard
C: +1 DD, +1 Miracle Slot +1 Spell (1-10), +1 Attack
D: +1 DD, +1 Miracle Slot, Divine Inspiration

You gain +1 Divinity Die and +1 Miracle Slot for each Cleric template you possess, to a maximum of 4 each. You also gain a +1 to Save vs Unholy and +1 HP for every two Cleric templates you possess.

 

As you level, you will gain spells from the Generic Cleric miracle list. Instead of gaining a random spell, you may always chose to learn heal if you do not already know it.

Clerics do not need to prepare spells in the morning, as Wizards do. They can cast each of their spells once per day, provided they have DD remaining to power it. Spells return at sunrise. To cast a spell, select [dice] DD from your pool, and roll them to get their [sum].

Divine Intervention
You may take 1d6+level damage to cast a spell you have already cast today.

Bodyguard
If an adjacent ally would take damage from a physical attack, you can choose to take the damage for them. This ability has a 4-in-6 chance of succeeding.

Divine Inspiration
Learn up to 6 spells from the Generic Cleric miracle list, or perform one significant miracle, on the order of raise dead or earthquake. 

Inquisitor by rubengramos

Cantrips:
1. By praying over a mixture containing water, you can cause the water to separate from the mixture. This requires at least a partial service (1hr), a consecrated container of up to 2L per cleric level, and no distractions. You will only distribute water to the faithful.
2. You brandish your holy symbol at an unholy, undead, or unnatural creature. It must Save to approach you on its next turn. This has no effect on most mortal creatures.
3. Once per day, you may smite an unholy creature and add damage equal to the number of Cleric templates you possess.

Miracle List:
1. Bless
2. Banish
3. Remove Fear
4. Water Walk
5. Speak with Dead
6. Heal
7. Light
8. Truesight
9. Hold Person
10. Sending
Emblem Miracles
11. Abominate
12. Soul Flight

Abominate
R: [dice]x10 radius T: area D: concentration
Declare one thing or type of thing to be Abominated. Examples: the Undead, people with bad breath, elves, the colour green. That thing cannot enter the area of this spell. The spell is centered on the caster. Abominated things in the circle must Save each round or be pushed to its edges.

Banish
R: [dice]x10' T: creature D: 0
Make an opposed Charisma check against a demon, spectre, ghost, shadow, spell, spirit, or disease. If you succeed, you banish it from an area determined by the dice you invest. 1 [dice]: immediate area (a room, a body), 2 [dice]: village or dungeon, 3 [dice]: province or nation, 4 [dice] Creation. The creature is banished for a year and a day. If you fail your Charisma check, you take damage [sum] damage. Holy icons, proper rituals, favourable circumstances, and firm convictions may add +2 to +4 to your Charisma.

See these rules or this post for notes on banishing diseases.
  
Bless
R: touch T: creature or object D: [sum] rounds
Choose one effect per [dice] invested: (a) The target treats all critical failures as critical successes for the duration of the spell, (b) The target automatically passes their next Save (c) Creature or object counts as holy for the duration of the spell, (d) Target gets a new save against any ongoing mental effect.

Heal
R: touch T: creature or creatures D: concentration
Heal up to [sum] HP of creatures you touch. You may distribute healing among as many creatures as you would like, as long as the total HP healed does not exceed [sum] and you maintain concentration. If you invest 4 [dice] or more, you may instead heal a single target fully. Alternatively, you can chose to inflict [sum] damage, distributed among creatures you touch as long as you maintain concentration, or invest 4 [dice] to deal [sum] damage to a creature and force it to Save or lose a limb.

Hold Person
R: 50' T: creature D: concentration, up to [sum] rounds
Target creature or object is locked in place by divine force. You must maintain concentration for this spell to work. Target can breathe and move their eyes, but cannot swim, fly, or perform any other action. If the creature is particularly willful, blasphemous, or a spellcaster, it may Save each round to break free, with a penalty equal to the [dice] you invested.

Light
Written up here.

Remove Fear
R: 100' T: creatures that can see and hear you D: Up to [sum], varies
Target creatures that can see and here you are immune to fear and automatically pass all morale checks for the duration of this spell. The duration varies with the dice invested. 1 [dice]: minutes, 2 [dice]: hours, 3 [dice]: months, 4 [dice] years. The caster cannot benefit from this spell. If the caster fails a Fear test or a Morale check in sight of a creature affected by this spell, the spell's effects end for that creature.

Sending
R: unlimited T: creature you have spoken to before and whose true name you know D: [sum] rounds
You send a message that can be spoken in [sum] rounds or less to your target. The message will appear in 24-[sum] hours. It may appear to them as a dream, as a waking
vision, or as a booming voice only they can hear.

Soul Flight
R: touch T: self D: [sum] minutes
You fall into a trance and your soul leaves your body. Your deity ensures no one moves into your body while you are gone, but cannot protect it from physical harm. Your soul can move as quickly as an angel's spear (200 miles per hour). Your soul is invisible, intangible, and unable to affect the world. You can attempt to possess a living creature with an opposed Charisma check. They gain a bonus equal to half their HD. If you successfully possess a creature, the duration becomes permanent. It resets to [sum] minutes when and if you leave. The target may Save at the end of each duration interval to expel you. 1 [dice]: minutes, 2 [dice]: hours, 3 [dice]: months, 4 [dice] years. When you return to your body, you must Save vs Intelligence to remember any details about your experiences and travels. Your soul remembers, but the meat does not.

Speak with the Dead
See the Necromancer here.

Truesight
R: touch T: sighted creature D: 10 min / permanent
If you invest one [die]: Target can see invisible things. Target can see through illusions. Non-magical disguises are not penetrated.

If you invest two or more [dice]: This can only be cast on yourself. As above, except you can also see through magical darkness, and see the true forms of shapeshifters. There are also some permanent effects: (a) You can tell if someone is possessed by looking them in the eyes, and (b) You can always see the vague outlines undead, demons, or spirits, even in darkness, provided they are aware of you and are hostile.

Water Walk
R: touch T: [dice] creatures D: [sum] minutes
You can walk over water as if it were land. Very wavy seas may require you to Save vs Dex.

Other Generic Cleric miracles:

Create Food
R: touch T: point D: 0
You create enough food to feed [sum] people for one meal, along with clean water to fill one mug per person. Mugs, utensils, and condiments are not provided.

Raise Dead
R: touch T: corpse D: permanent
You cannot normally learn this spell. It should be the object of an epic quest. You ask the Authority to return target creature to life. The creature must have died no more than 48hrs ago. The corpse must be mostly intact. If this spell succeeds, the creature returns to life at 0 HP. Any life-threatening wounds are healed to the point where the creature can function, but missing limbs will not regrow and deep scars will remain. The raised creature permanently loses 1d6 HP, and must Save or lose 1d6 Charisma.

Any truly devout priest of the Authority can cast this spell even if they do not know it. Unless it is cast as part of a major miracle, it has a 99% chance of failure. If you are coerced or paid to cast this spell, the chance of failure is 100%.

Sticks to Snakes
R: touch T: stick D: 0
Target stick becomes a snake. The snake owes you no favours. It has a 1-in-6 chance of being venomous (improved by +1 for each [dice] you invest past the first). The stick must be small enough to lift with one hand.

OSR: Religion in Elderstone

I haven't decided what to call my setting. The people in it call it Creation, but that's not too useful for online reference purposes. For now, let's call it Elderstone. It's a bit like calling the earth Boston, but it will do.

My players asked for a "generic D&D setting". I can't, therefore, make my setting too innovative or weird or interestingly flavoured. Here is a meat-and-potatoes divinity for a meat-and-potatoes game. I'm fairly sure the word "god" doesn't appear once in OD&D, but if it did, it might be something like this.

Paolo Girardi

Gods and Mortals

No one knows who created everything, but the Authority* created the world. The Authority's power lies in organization and separation. Before Creation, everything was mixed together. Stone had the properties of water, water had the properties of light, light had the properties of writing. Everything was formless and ever-changing.  The Authority created the Laws that separated one thing from another, and defined its shape and place in Creation. The Authority created the sun and the moon. He defined the seasons. He gave elementals their shape and nature. He created Beasts and People, and defined their orders and hierarchies: kings above lords, lords above knights, knights above serfs, serfs above slaves.

As long as every part of Creation obeys its designated purpose, the world will be full of righteousness, peace, and justice. But because People are willful, ignorant, or corrupted by the forces of the Adversary**, the world is... the way it is. The Authority is not unmerciful. Try your best, and your soul may be taken into Heaven. There are many rules for correct living. The Church is your guide. This world is a transient place, a preparation for the better world to follow.

In order to reserve some goodness, joy, and love for Heaven, the Authority put the greater part of the Evil things of Creation into the Hells in the centre of the world. The duty of the Adversary is to keep unworthy souls out of the world, and to torment them according to their sins, and to test the faith of the living. The devout have little to fear from the Adversary and her legions.

The Authority filled the world with many things, some known, some mysterious. Many things that are not understood are worshipped by heathens as gods. Their willful blindness condemns them to the Hells. The worship of false gods offends the Authority.

*Doctrine states that the Authority is male because obviously He mumble mumble mumble Kings mumble mumble organization of life mumble mumble...
**Doctrine states that the Adversary is female because obviously She mumble mumble mumble mumble oh look at the time...

 

The Observant, Harrower

The Truth

is, of course, more complicated. The outline given above is dogmatic truth, and therfore, quite important. It is not nessesarily accurate.

In an ideal world, every village has a wise and literate priest, a noble and caring lord and his true and honourable knights, and well-fed serfs. But Elderstone has a great deal in common with 14th century Europe, including untrained and venal clergy, warring lords, fear, plague, doubt, greed, and foolishness. Brigands roam the land. Lords tax their serfs unjustly. Wizards and Merchants have no place in the "orderly" creation described earlier, yet they are increasingly common.

Nevertheless, the Church binds Creation together. The triangles of the Authority hang in every home in Elderstone. Official Church doctrine is remarkably harsh towards women, "perversions" of the natural order (from murder to wearing silk robes), unbelievers, and the insufficiently devout. In practice, intolerance varies widely. The Church has only a few pages of core doctrine. The rest is regional variance and ad-hoc justification for actions taken centuries ago.

A few decades ago a terrible plague swept through Creation. A third of all People died. Communities turned against each other. Whole cities vanished. It was - and is - commonly believed that the Authority saw the wickedness of the People and wished to harm them, as a warning against future wickedness. People being what they are, lawlessness, warfare, and corruption have only increased since the plague. There is a pervasive but mostly unspoken sense that Creation may be collapsing into anarchy.

Servants of the Authority

The Authority organized Creation through words, but His voice is too powerful for most of Creation to endure. He therefore sends divine messengers to correct or influence Creation. The Authority has goals and plans for all of Creation but cannot predict the future. He does have complete knowledge of the past and present, and can attempt to steer Creation according to His vision.

Angels, or "divinity elementals", are spirits specially chosen to assist the Authority, just as demons are spirits specially chosen to assist the Adversary. They appear in thousands of forms, though they favour light and fire. The guard the sacred places of Creation.

Paladins of the Word choose to give up their voice to speak for the Authority. They also chose to give up a portion of their free will. They go where they are commanded to go without ever knowing why. While only men are permitted to enter the priesthood, anyone can become a Paladin, a fact which the Church takes great care to ignore.

Roma Kupriyanov

The Church

Every priest of the Authority can perform a minor miracle, known as the Separation. During a service they mix water and some other substance: blood, wine, filth, sand, poison, etc. They then pass their hand over the mixture and invoke the Authority's name. The mixture separates into pure water and other substances. The faithful then drink the pure water.

Priests lose this power if they break any of the core tenets of their faith, or if they displease the Authority in some other way. A fallen priest can use suspiciously clear "poison" or other tricks to maintain their position, but, in theory, will eventually be found out and punished. Many priests leave the "venal" business of collecting fees and donations and managing land to their deacons. The priest can remain "pure" provided they feign total ignorance of the origin of their luxuries and funds. In the years after the plague, good, literate, and kind priests are hard to find.

Churches across Creation all pay reverence to the Two Archpriests, the dual high priests of the Church. One is a living man, elected by a convoluted and wholly political process. The other is a carved statue, ancient and glowering. This is Memnock the Ancient, a powerful stone elemental who was elected Archpriest of the Elemental Spirits in some long-forgotten era. He is decidedly less active.

The Church maintains society's order. It counsels serfs to remain serfs, captives to endure their captivity, lords to act nobly, and knights to act valiantly. It maintains that women should not hold positions of leadership or real responsibility, at home, at court, or at war. In practice, the Church is widely ignored. Serfs rebel. Knights raid innocent or allied villages. Lords feud and bicker and plot no matter how wisely they are counseled. And women, despite restrictive laws and customs, still inherit land, rule castles and domains, become merchants, wizards, guild masters, and in rare cases soldiers without the Authority striking them down. 

The Great Day of His Wrath,  John Martin

Heresies, Lies, and Rumours

It is said that worship of the Authority is recent, perhaps as recent as 50 generations. Any priest will tell you that this is a vile lie, for while the Church has changed somewhat over the centuries, it has always existed.

It is said that in heathen lands, the Authority is worshiped under other names, and in other forms. The Intercessors maintain that the heathens are deceived. There is only one Church.

It is said that women can, if instructed, perform the ritual of Separation as well as any male priest. Rumours of female priests haunt the Church. 

It is said that there were once many gods, and that they ruled over their appointed aspects of Creation, but the Authority, in His jealousy, consumed them.

It is said that the Intercessor is a wholly corrupt and secular lord, and that his predecessor was no better, and that the corruption of the Church spreads from the highest ranks.