I'm planning a homebrew city (got some help on a different thread) with 3 gods and each one has a church for the obvious stuff: praying and such. Then each of the gods' clergy has a secondary function in the city; Abadaran Inquisitors are used as elite guardsmen in the city called Warders, Erastil has a wilderness protectorate on the outskirts of town patrolled by rangers. I'm looking for suggestions for the clergy of Sarenrae.
A hospital? Obvious. Bard College? Boring. Hit me with your stuff. Right now I'm thinking really sophisticated escorts like the Companions of the world of Firefly. I'm open to your suggestions...
|
Since she's the goddess of redemption and honesty, as well as healing and the sun, having Sarenrae's church responsible for the courts, magistrates, legal system and prisons of the city could work.
Since the Abadarites have gone more into an elite guardsman position, more typical Abadarite secondary roles of administering city justice, or of handling mercantile matters are left open for Sarenraens to take over.
A group of Sarenraen advocates and magistrates could be seen as honest arbiters of not only legal and justice matters, but also disputes involving trade and commerce, and, unlike the Abadarites, be seen as having no conflict of interest, since the Church of Sarenrae doesn't run banks or countinghouses or get as personally involved in mercantile trade.
As proponents of a diety of the sun priests and devoted followers gather in a large public square near the temple where there is a sun dial. The sun dial plays a crucial role in a number of rituals.
|
|
Cities can benefit from major business concerns. The church of Sarenrae might find a glassworks to be an appropriate sort of business to oversee, and provide income for the church. The city might be the regional source for various glassworks, and the city itself might have stained glass windows and artworks that are famous across the continent.
How about an assassin's guild? Hear me out...
Dunspar is isolated by land with most of its trade coming into port from up and down the coast. It sees a lot of disease and the other churches in town (Abadar and Erastil) either only cater to the wealthy or can't do that much for the suffering. The church of Sarenrae is taxed with the burden of caring for most of the citizens. When even their powers are worn too thin they turn to the Order of Twilight's Mercy.
The Order, posing as commoners themselves, serve the needs of the faith at its most dire - to asuage epidemics they release the suffering of the afflicted; when souls stalk the streets who refuse redemption Twilight's Mercy ends their terror.
Of course they're still an offshoot of Sarenrae; no slaying the innocent, no poison, and offer redemption unless assured it will be refused (fiends, the undead, etc). They would be westernized ninjas, like the Brotherhood of the Assassin's Creed games. They wouldn't even ALL have to be rogues; I could see monks and inquisitors, even by a stretch to the extreme: paladins.
Ok, so this is turning into less of an assassin's guild and more into an adventurer's guild, but the missions might still be the same. What say you all?
Cities can benefit from major business concerns. The church of Sarenrae might find a glassworks to be an appropriate sort of business to oversee, and provide income for the church. The city might be the regional source for various glassworks, and the city itself might have stained glass windows and artworks that are famous across the continent.
For that matter, what about smiths and forgeworkers too? You can't bend metal w/out fire and heat? But these wouldn't be the heavy weapons and plate armor of the dwarves but light, beautiful things of pewter and wrought iron.
Another thought, to go w/the glassworks would be gemwrights and jewlers. I know beauty = Desna, but light = Sarenrae and gems/crystals rate their beauty by their sparkle.
I picture something akin to an artists commune along the bay. Airy windchimes of glass or crystal beckon you into an open stone courtyard with several folks hard at work; braziers or open hearths adjoined by worksheds, anvils and benches. Think of your local ren faire's artisan area.
|
Charity work. Abadarites take care of order and the system, Erastil's folks deal with the outside, but it is those from Sarenrae who look out for the poor and the destitute, which will surely place them in conflict with the Abadarites from time to time. Time for some good ol' Good vs Law dilemna.
In fact, based on the gods' alignments, you can have Erastil (LG) being the arbiter between Abadar (LN) and Sarenrae (NG).