Faith

The world of Eckor plays host to hundreds of individual cults of worship. Some are not so much legitimate faiths as they are excuses to justify whatever behavior the so-called faithful want to practice. Many, especially the oldest or the largest, are populated by constituents that genuinely believe the dogma of their church and have faith in the power behind it.  This power is in some cases not just figurative. Some of the larger cults have insinuated themselves upon the civic world and wield considerable political power for it. Other smaller faiths often aspire to mark their footprint on the soil of the political circuit as well. This sometimes results in a beneficial outcome for the smallfolk of the region, as one sure way to gain influence is to increase the number of worshipers through good works. Other times, the outcome is less-desirable, as cults often compete with each other for worshipers and resources, sometimes to the exclusion of their good works.

New cults spring into existence all the time. Some are fairly spontaneous, as someone discovers information about a deity worshiped in ancient times, or maybe even starts a sect on a lark.  Some are schisms between similar faiths, where a group splinters off from the main body of worship in order to observe their faith a little bit differently. Sometimes these new cults persist, but many fizzle and disappear for lack of a constituency, with the worshipers usually being absorbed into the congregation of a similar faith. Others are sometimes removed by faiths with competing dogma or with congregations that refuse to tolerate specific forms of worship, and often violently. Some faiths are exactly what they claim to be… a different path to a desirable outcome. Many are just covers or excuses for behavior that would be social unacceptable outside of the bounds of religion. Small social groups dedicated to gods of lust, alcohol and hedonism are many, though they are rarely taken seriously as actual faith.

The Role of a Cleric

Clerics, like members of any other character class, are as varied in personality and description as the stars in the sky. But as the worldly representative of a larger power, they are sometimes more limited in how they might live their lives, interact with others, or act in a given situation. In theory and in practice, a cleric is typically guided in every action by the tenets of his or her belief as well as the belief of his or her church or congregation, should they have one. Click HERE to read more about the role clerics fill in the world of Eckor.

Examples of Faith

There are potentially thousands and thousands of different systems of faith that have existed in Eckor at any given time. Some have persisted since long before recorded history. Others are fledgling beliefs, still in relative infancy. Some congregations are made up of thousands of faithful worshipers, while others are a small circle of three or four like-minded people. Some faiths are in direct opposition to others, while many others are simply schisms, where congregants who believe or worship slightly differently have broken off to form their own group venerating the same power.

The examples below are a tiny fraction of the religions that can be found in Eckor and typically represent the most popular and powerful.

Shi’al-na (Shi’al)
The state religion of the nation of Al-Amim with a dogma of strict adherence and a veneration of law and order.

Keenism (Khebel-Ra)
Congregants of keenism venerate the natural power of the Great Desert as a form of living god.

Ni-she’wa (Kull)
A religion venerating slavery and subjugation as the natural order. It is practiced openly only in places where slavery is a part of life.

The Dichotomy (Yangu & Yinga)
An old faith practiced in the northern city states of Mon Gaar which apotheosizes two opposed deities sharing a single body.

Systitim (The God Above)
An old faith venerating The God Above as the creator of the world and everything in it.

Condox (The God Above)
A schism from the systitic faith that seeks a greater understanding of and closeness with The God Above through knowledge and discovery.