Post by gatalis on Jun 15, 2012 14:16:13 GMT -5
The Crying God, The Broken God, The Lord on the Rack, The One Who Endures, Ayuruk
Intermediate Deity
Symbol - two white gloved (or bare) hands with a red cord wrapped around them
Home Plane - Celestia (Formerly the house of the triad)
Alignment - Neutral Good
Portfolio - Suffering, Endurance, Martyrdom, Perseverence
Worshippers - The lame, the oppressed, the poor, monks, paladins, serfs, slaves
Cleric Alignments - NG, LG, and LN
Domains - Freedom, Hope (Formerly Good, Healing, Law, Strength, Suffering)
Favored Weapon - An Open Hand (unarmed strike)
Ilmater (Ihl-MAY-ter) offers succor and calming words to those who are in pain, oppressed, or in great need. He is the willing sufferer, the one who takes the place of another to heft the other's burden, to take the other's pain. He is the god of the oppressed and unjustly treated.
Ilmater is quiet, kind, good-spirited, and slow to anger. He appreciates a humorous story and has a rather rustic humor himself. When his avatar appears, he takes assaults upon his person passively and rarely lifts a hand against another. He is not totally nonviolent, though, as many often assume by his doctrine of endurance. When facing cruelties and atrocities his rage can boil up, and then he is a figure of frighteningly righteous wrath. His appearance can frighten the young, but he takes great care to reassure them as he treasures children and all young creatures, taking exceptional offense at those who would abuse or harm them.
Ilmater is pictured as a man with a mutilated, tortured body and wearing only a breechcloth.When manifesting himself via an avatar, Ilmater's limbs are broken and moving causes him a great deal of pain. He is covered in marks, cuts and scars, with a burly build, a kind face, balding head and a hairy body
History and Relationships
Considering their contrasting portfolios, the Crying God and his followers are a bane to Loviatar and her worshippers. At any opportunity, the followers of Loviatar will seek to torment Ilmater's people, finding the greatest pleasure in forcing a restrained Ilmatian to watch someone else be tortured to a slow and painful death. Among his other foes are Bane, Garagos, Malar, Shar, Talona and Talos.
The ranks of Ilmater's closest allies include Tyr (Now dead), Torm, and Lathander. He is also distant allies with most of the goodly gods and Kelemvor.
Dogma[/size]
Persevere in the face of pain. Heal the sick, the wounded, and the diseased. Comfort the dying, the griefstricken, and the heartsick. Take on the burdens and the pain of others. Champion the causes of the oppressed and unjustly treated, and give shelter and kind counsel to the lonely, the lost, and the ruined. Pursue the service of Ilmater, and he will provide—leave gross riches and the acquisition of all but necesities to others. Take up the tasks no others dare. Today is the first day in what's left of your life, so live it well.
Clergy and Temples[/size]
Those who are opressed, sick or poor are likely to be worshipers of Ilmater and those who have a dislike of weakness (tyrants, for example) do not understand why anybody would turn to him. A typical follower of Ilmater is generous and sharing, advocating spiritualism over materialism. Worshipers believe that all injustices should be rectified and that a death with meaning is not shameful. Cynicism and dark humour is common. They do not believe in impeding desires of others, even when those desires conflict with their own duty to provide alleviation and healing.
The clergy of Ilmater are known collectively as the Ilmatari. During a war, the Ilmatari will gather supplies in order to treat the dying and wounded. Ilmatari also shelter the homeless and offer moral support to those who need it. They will tour the wealthy areas of towns and cities seeking donations to help cover the costs of the church.
Temples and shrines to Ilmater are often manor houses on travelled routes, named after Ilmatari saints. It is common for these houses to contain an area for treating the sick and injured. There is no single leader of a particular temple; instead, a collection of senior clergy meets on occasion to make decisions. A temple to Ilmater often has an abbey or monestary affiliated with it or contained within it.
Temples found within large cities are often known as Sanctuaries. Healers of Ilmater are often dispatched to such places to found a Santuary in the slums. These temples are usually run-down and poor buildings, funded on material donation only, such as food, clothing, labor, and medical supplies. They accept no gold or valuables so as to discourage crime, as their healers are usually unarmed pacifists. Such temples will have a soup kitchen, infirmary and chapel for worship. Temple grounds are often granted to healers by the city as an inexpensive method of fighting sickness and plague and improving the general health (and therefore production) of the poorest commoners who cannot afford other temples. Even theif guilds and other criminal organizations tend to leave the Ilmateri in peace, or even protect such temples from lone crimnals and zealots as many of their own members find healing with no questions asked inside Ilmater's Sanctuaries.
Ilmater's followers tend to have more Hospitals, Homeless Shelters, and Orphanages than any other clergy due to their goals. Most anyone who has lived in a larger town has likely seen or experienced some form of goodwill from the Ilmatari.
The largest center of Ilmatari worship in the House of the Broken God in Keltar in Calimshan. The House of the Broken God is a huge monastery in the center of the town that is connected, via a series of walled gardens, to a temple farm on a hill northwest of Keltar, a walled leper house beyond that, and a sanitarium beyond that. Here Revered Father of the House Melder Rythtin of the Healing Hand, who is famous for his diagnoses and miraculous treatments of the afflicted, presides over the largest hospital and facility for brewing, concocting, and compounding medicines in Faerûn.
Holy Days[/size]
There are no calendar-related special holy days or any other festivals observed by the Ilmatari. Instead, the daily rituals of prayer to Ilmater at least six times per day govern each and every day of service.
A special Plea must be made to Ilmater to receive divine dispensation for a Rest, which is a tenday vacation from serving Ilmater's dictates. Usually Ilmatari request this when they are emotionally exhausted, but some adventurer-priests use Rests to perform things Ilmater would otherwise frown upon. This custom is an established tradition that some leaders of the faith rely upon, sending their best fighting clergy out to do things that the church cannot otherwise accomplish (covertly removing a tyrant rather than confronting him openly, for example).
The most important ritual of the Church of Ilmater is the Turning: It is the duty of every priest of Ilmater to try to get dying persons to turn to Ilmater for comfort, receiving the blessing of the Broken God before they expire. As the veneration of Ilmater grows, even in death, his healing power becomes greater.
Knightly and Monastic Orders[/size]
The Companions of the Noble Heart
A group considered fringe by most of Ilmater's faith due to their offensive nature. These knights and warriors serve as a military for Ilmater, and when not at war, and when not performing regular duties, hunt down the cruel. The Companions are the most vicious of Ilmater's followers when it comes to his religious enemys, demanding they surrender upon meeting, and outright hunting worshippers of Loviatar.
The Holy Warriors of Suffering
A proud knightly order consisting almost entirely of Paladins. These Paladins are sponsored by the church to protect adventurers, pilgrims, and travellers. They are most common in Damara, but can be found in the company of those traveling through areas hostile to the Triad.
The Order of the Golden Cup
Sometimes considered bile by the poor and oppressed, this knightly order is charged with the protection of Ilmater's Healers. They take many of the vows of Ilmater's clergy, but have no qualms with owning large sums of gold for the upkeep of their weapons and armor. Higher up members of this order typically protect healers and clergy on great quests, while novices of the order serve to protect initiates of Ilmater's faith. The Golden Cup will protect the poor and oppressed when they can, but if it were to endanger their own life, or the life of the one they defend, they will typically restrain themselves and look the other way. The knights consider the protection of his or her charge to be above the protection of anyone else, as their duties help more people overall.
Order of the Lambant Rose
This order is very evangelical and, some Ilmatari think, mercenary. It offers service for just causes throughout Faerûn in exchange for various favors. The favor could be anything from simply supplying food and basic medicinal supplies, to building monasteries or even conversion. The order tends to operate in areas with little or no other Ilmatari presence.
The Broken Ones
It is the charge of The Broken Ones to defend Ilmater's temples from enemies, and to punish those who inflict cruelty.
The Disciples of St. Morgan the Taciturn
The Disciples of St. Morgan the Taciturn are considered by many mainstream Ilmatari to be slightly crazed, but admired. They look to die a martyr's death as their eponymous symbol did. St. Morgan wandered the Moonsea region 250 years ago. He demonstrated his faith by action, not words. He spent much of his life preaching against the Moonsea tyrants and helped free hundreds of indentured servants, slaves, and prisoners from Mulmaster, Zhentil Keep, and Melvaunt. St. Morgan died for his faith without ever uttering a word during his lengthy torture at the hands of priestesses of Loviatar in Mulmaster. The Disciples tend to operate in lands and cities where goodly faiths are unwelcome and/or actively persecuted. While putting themselves in harm's way, they do not act rashly to bring about their own deaths. They do not, for instance, spit on Lord Orgauth of Zhentil Keep, just so he will have them killed.
The Disciples of St. Sollars the Twice Martyred
These disciples are possibly one of the oldest monastic orders in Ilmater's faith. St. Sollars was a man from another realm who traveled to Faerun to spread Ilmater's faith. The order tries to live life as St. Sollars did, but they also hold another important job, the collection of knowledge. These disciples make it their job to trace the genealogy of everyone they can, no matter their race, and work actively to extend their large archive of books and spells (most of which cannot use them). They are also known for their production of blueberry wine for use during holy occasions or rest times. These disciples are typically distrustful of anyone of chromatic descent, as a group of chromatic dragons, fearing the knowledge and genealogical records that they held, attempted to attack their main temple in 1373 DR.
The Followers of The Unhindered Path
The Followers of the Unhindered Path are a loose confederation of wandering healers who treat any and all. They are well received in many hamlets and slums across Faerûn. They started out of the House of the Broken God in the Year of the Blood Rose (1100 DR), but have broken all official ties. They use a broken crutch and sunflowers as symbols. The broken crutch symbolizes their duty as traveling healers. Sunflowers are often associated with roadsides in many areas of Faerûn, and many villages grow them for the seeds and oil. The Priests of the Unhindered Path are welcome in any Ilmatari site, but they rarely stay longer than the time it takes to pass on medical lore and replenish medicines and supplies.
The Order of St. Uzurr
The Order of St. Uzurr was a monastic order that was devoted to Ilmater and followed St. Uzurr. They were based at the Cloister of St. Uzurr in the city of Uzurr in Lapaliiya. The city itself was actually formed around the Monastary, which was used by passing pilgrims. These followers tend to have some affinity for trading, especially the trading of olives, wines, and assorted spices.
The Sisters of St. Jasper of the Rocks
An all female order, these monks work towards Ilmater's goals while holding agendas focused towards childbirth and medicine. The members of this order try to personify St. Jasper, an Ilmatari midwife who opened many orphanages in war-torn areas of Faerun. She became known as "of the rocks" after dieing a martyr's death, stoned by Loviatar's follwers.
The Weeping Friars
The Weeping Friars were an informal group of quasi-ascetics known throughout most of the Savage Frontier. They claimed to believe there to be only a finite amount of pain and suffering in the world and that if they take on someone else's burden it will ultimately lessen suffering in the world. They offer to undergo suffering on a person's behalf in exchange for money or items, usually taking the form of alcohol or trinkets. The Weeping Friars is considered very fringe by mainstram Ilmatari, some even claiming them to be heretics for refusing to take the vow of Purity. [/center]
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