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I've always homebrewed everything, save deities. In 1e - 3.5 I used the default pantheon and simply cobbled together my own fluff regarding their faithful. Since picking up Pathfinder fairly seriously though a few years ago, I've struggled with the gods since I haven't had the resources to go and get any sourcebooks outside the CRB and a couple others.
My players made it easy on me at first. Old-school wargamers, they didn't really care WHERE their cleric's channels and buffs came from so I just used default info in the CRB. In my most recent reboot however I've gotten new players...FLUFFY players.
So the struggle returned: How to present the core gods in an engaging and immersive way. I used some stuff online, read the wikis, and re-imagined the Golarion deities how I wanted to see them.
This thread is NOT a manifesto on my retconned pantheon. No, I just wanted to present some interesting churches that intro the flavor of the land of Karnoss. I found it cathartic to start at this level, the physical buildings and work backwards from there.
Enjoy this first locale. Feel free to use it or mod the idea however you'd like if you so choose. Also I highly encourage any and all fluff regarding your own unique creations to be posted here in response. Without further ado:
The Vigilant Post: This ancient place is part Erastilin Shrine, part defense tower. The squat base of the Post is an l-shaped lodge while above it rises in tiers amid the surrounding foliage to watch the surrounding countryside. It is crafted in the old style of the Dunevain; a dark brick façade with steeply pitching shingle rooftops, the eaves descending like shields over the walls below.
When Inderwick was first being settled the Post was little more than a rural shrine outside the walls. Nestled at the intersection of two fields and a woodlot the shrine and the clergy who tended it granted Old Deadeye’s blessings at the beginning and end of the season. After a time local hunters took to passing the shrine out of town to bring good fortune to their pursuits in the venerable eastern wood.
The rise atop which the place stood was a natural defense for the burgeoning city. In time rangers in the service of the Argentine Guard made a rally point and lookout of the place. The modest hunter’s lodge was raised with the addition of the tower that now stands here.
The Vigilant Post was given its name during the Wilding. A young ranger named Jhoveke Talonshot was at the Post when the order was issued to evacuate. She refused to yield, steadfastly vowing to remain in vigilant. Captain Talonshot believed a horde of goblins massed, just inside the tree-line, using the cover of the magically encroaching wood to advance with stealth. Since none dared enter the forest to confirm her fears she was left to man the lonely rise.
After a few days unattended the forest began mingling with the already burgeoning woodlot around the base of the hillock. A few days more found the whole rise coiled in the unceasing march of the wilds. It was a fortnight from the last time any had laid eyes on Captain Talonshot when the alarm of the tower rang out, deep within the boughs of the advancing forest. Long, mournful blasts like the howls of a doomed wolf sounded to rally the guard and warn them: the horde had come to Inderwick.
Just this small warning was enough to ready the militia. The unruly tide of the goblin horde broke against a wall of shields and were scattered before dawn arrived. The Hawkbow Regiment, the rangers who’d served under Captain Talonshot gave chase driving the brutes back in the woods that spawned them and holding their line at the foot of the Post. Amazingly the forest still respected the place and had not crushed it as it had so many others, though it was sealed against entry by the unnatural growth.
Forcing their way in they found their fallen captain. By all accounts she’d died days before and her horn was not among her things. To this day the truth of the event is unknown but the Hawkbow who still man the Vigilant Post in her honor claim that her spirit would not rest until her vigil had ended and that it went into her horn to sound that fateful night and when it departed this world for the next it took the device with it.
It has been over 70 years since Jhoveke Talonshot stood vigil at the Post. Now the clergy is made up of lay priests guided by Ylvaros Wulfenfletch, a dwarven ranger and captain of good account in the Hawkbow Regiment. He is credited for defense of the city against the warlock Uhglabadok and his spirit-bound fey host. The captain pursued the warlock into the mossy wood and returned with the wretch to earn his title and the scars on his mangled shoulder to boot.
Winterhune Mortuary: at the end of Ironbrook Street at the heart of Inderwick’s Mortum Ward a two-tiered shop of weathered brick and slate shingles stands alone from the block. There is no storefront window but rather narrow arched casements just enough to let some light in. The door is set into an arcade and a stoop of 3 steps is fronted by small grotesques perched at the corners. A wrought-iron placard hangs above depicting a pair of death masks; the name proclaims it as Winterhune.
Frygidia Winterhune is a talented sculptress at heart, but her business is in preserving the dead for burial. Despite her remote location in the city even the noble houses have used her services. Mistress Winterhune is trained in the skills of alchemy and embalming but this is not what makes her unique. It is the ice.
The Winterhune method involves adding alchemical reagents and the liquid prayers of this Pharasmin priestess when preserving the corpse. This results in the body becoming encased in thick layers of ice. Her process then offers an extra measure of security against the ravages of undeath. Mistress Winterhune works with the local clergy to ensure that none of the burial rites are disturbed by her procedures and even offers her skill at sculpting to craft a frozen death mask for her clientele.
Frygidia Winterhune is a devout to Pharasma, singing the songs and practicing the faith bequeathed her by her human mother. Her elven father contributed little more than a name. Though not an ordained priestess or cleric of the church she nonetheless is in contact with the divine. Her familiar, a Graveborn Pixie she calls Tallowroot often assists and advises her in her work.
The basement of the shop is a wide vault divided into 3 cysts. The main and largest of these is the embalming chamber while the smallest is storage. But the third is a modest shrine to both her mother and the Lady of Souls. At the foot of this altar she offers prayers, brews potions and communes with the divine. An ossuary spiral adorns the altar which is crafted from the headstone of her departed mother; a woman buried face down in unhallowed ground for suspicion of heresy. It is unclear whose bones adorn the piece.
Along with her services as a mortician Frygidia Winterhune also works with many in her neighborhood. She sells potions and her meager spells to those in need. As such she is known to adventurers as well as an ally in their efforts in taming the Gnarl or other quests. Often she sells a condensed, alchemical potion as a lesser form of her process. If administered upon the death of a comrade the preservant freezes the corpse of the fallen for twice the normal length of time a similar spell would.
I don't have a stat block for Mistress Winterhune but I know she's Lawful Neutral, a bit pale and frumpy. She also favors a somewhat Victorian style, complete with spectacles and a bun of black hair. She's also not meant to be either an Alchemist or a Cleric, but rather a talented NPC Adept. Talented enough that she's earned the feat Improved Familiar beyond her standard starting feats of Brew Potion and Skill Focus: Alchemy.
The Redeemer’s Vault: it is an odd thing when the clergy of Saranrae and Abadar work together. It took nearly forty years for this union to arise, but the Redeemer’s Vault is the fruit of one such pairing.
Originally an adjunct cave for storage in Dununder Prison beneath the Citadel Ward of Inderwick, this place is now a hallowed hall of fine construction. The walls are masoned stone vaulted with pillars and wrought iron buttresses. Along the north wall a series of barred casements allow the light of day in the proceedings here. The floor is raised platform around which small assemblies of clergy, prison administration and other notables gather. Here the redemption is delivered not by the judgment of words, but by combat.
This is not some Dunevain fighting pit or one of the gladiatorial arenas of Izmok. Instead this is a place of “civilized combat” meaning only hand fighting is done here. The Abadaran sit in judgment of the fight, scoring rounds and offering up prayers to their deity and odds to the crowd. Betting is common though clearly regulated by the Master of the Vault. Currently this position is held by Abel Von Halvenszke. Master Von Halveneske is a fair, if brutal judge and can be exceedingly ruthless in his rulings.
The Saranites have only recently been allowed into the proceedings here. Originally this was a place of discipline and training for the guards at Dununder. They would bring unruly prisoners here and “Correct” them amid seeping walls of dressed stone. When word got out eventually the decades-long campaign of the Everlight activists resulted in the redemption offered here.
Through a series of fights debtors, thieves and even one convicted murderer have been offered their freedom. These do not come easily and of course these prisoners are also selected and counseled by a member of The Dawnflower’s flock. It is also not guaranteed; the requirements of their freedom are determined by the Master of the Vault depending on the crime for which the person was convicted. Finally these combats are intended to be humane, but under Von Halveneszke have become violent and even lethal.
The entirety of the event has become ritualized though and as such honors both the deities. They are divine spectacles; holy service through combat and blood sacrifice. Although healing is on hand it is up to the Master of the Vault to pause or stop the fight. In some instances Master Von Halveneszke has stayed his hand while lethal damage was done.
Despite all of this there are still some prisoners who opt for this path. It means counseling and training with the Saranites, and then a series of fights arranged with various guards or notables chosen by the prison. Finally should they lose prisoners often pray for death for, if they fail they are remanded back to their cells to mete out the rest of their sentence, sometimes under the care of the very staff they came to blows with.
Who would think that the merchant guilds of Abadar would run gladiator stables? This was the thought in my head for this concept. But then I thought of the scenes from the original Bloodsport movie; sure it was an over-the-top 80's kung-fu action movie, but it had some great visuals.
These images: a judge and his panel sitting before the fight floor, onlookers betting feverishly but in a somewhat controlled manner, runners posting scores as well as serving the needs of the crowd and the fighters. All of these are what inspired this "church"
Its not a place where adventurers would hear service, buy healing or commission spells and magic items. Instead it could be a springboard for adventure. Perhaps the party is imprisoned and given the chance to fight their way out; alternatively the Saranites might plant the party to bring down the brutality of it all. Whatever the case its interesting, and that's the point of the thread.
New potential hombrew rule rattling around from the Vigilant Post: Vigils
So if the PCs visit a church and participate in a vigil they need to make a knowledge: religion check. They must also sacrifice either 1, 2 or 3 uses of Channel Energy. Doing this allows them a specific bonus based on the type of vigil they use.
Lesser Vigils would grant 24 hour buffs from levels 1-3, take a single channel, and require a DC 20 check.
Middling Vigils grant 24 hour buffs from levels 4-6, take 2 channels and require a DC 25 check.
Greater Vigils grant 24 hour buffs from levels 7-9, take 3 channels and require a DC 30 check.
Vigils cost money: use the standard costs for a potion plus a little more (say a potion + a scroll) of the level spell.
What do you think?