Silent Evermore (Class: Arbiter)

 For QAL ASHEN. 

A mesopotamian-esque setting, where the world is consumed by a curse that infuses all living things with Too Much Life, turning them into immortal monsters. The only safe place, where uncursed people remain, is a bleak, theocratic city where the God of Death is worshipped: Qal Ashen. 

+

I’m continuing the chain of adaptations.

+

Droughts and plagues. Comets and sea-beasts. The rumbling monstrosities which till the soil. Slithering horrors and terrors with wings. Dog-headed men, burning winds, sacred birds. Floods, storms - and grim and terrible fate. 

Every God has their servants. 

THE ARBITER

+1 Orison  per Template. 

You start in possession of the Symbols of your Cult. 

A - Ordained, Cult, 2 Incantations, +1MD

B - Condemn, Abjure, 1 Incantation, +1MD

C - Famed Ability, 1 Incantation, +1MD

D - Didact, 1 Incantation, +1MD

Orisons

Each level, choose to learn one of the following clerical techniques:

• You can speak Scapular, the secret language of the Arbiters. 

• You can sterilise an object with a wave of your hand. 

• While you kneel and pray, you cannot be perceived by divine beings. 

• You can sense the presence of The Curse as a writhing feeling in the air. 

• You can cast handfuls of wood-ash to consecrate a space, sickening enemies of Qal Ashen that enter it. 

Ordained

Ordinary Ashenites respect and trust even the weirdest Arbiter, so long as they don’t worship the Cruel Nine or (openly) harm people who don’t seem to deserve it. 

You are often required to perform Arbitrative duties, such as burying corpses which cannot be reanimated, tending to the great catacombs, offering prayers on behalf of the Monarch, patrolling the District in which you reside, and arbitrating various disputes. 

There is technically nowhere in the City you are not allowed to be, apart from the personal chambers of the Monarch themselves. 

Arbiters do not claim to spread the Word of Qal Ashen. He does not have Words. He is a god of silence. 

Cult

You must follow tenets supplied by the philosophy of your Cult. The first tenet is the major tenet, breaking which brings down the wrath of Qal Ashen, the rest are minor tenets, breaking which only brings down the disapproval and derision of your Cult-fellows. 

You are a member of one of the following Cults:

1. The Argents

Sentiment: “All morality derives from us.”

Symbols: Silver death-mask, white pall.
Founder: Arminius, Brother of the First Monarch

The most temporally powerful Cult, which has the ear of the Monarch. They have the secret of creating the Returned, undead with memory of their lives and free will. They argue that only the righteous can return from beyond death, and, as they have been given the power to restore the righteous, they are the favoured of Qal Ashen. 
Tenets:
1. In all things, obey the Monarch and protect the City. 2. Protect the Argent Cult, unless it contradicts the above. 3. Reveal no secret of the City, unless it contradicts the above. 4. Wear the silver death-mask of Arminius you were given, unless it contradicts the above.

2. The Celebrants

Sentiment: “The real work begins in death. Relax now!”

Symbols: Painted skulls, faded red silk.
Founder: Lakhmu, a Lune from a foreign land. 

Believe that we go to the Underworld to undertake sacred toil. As such, they say that the abundant City is a sort of paradise-before-death, which it is impious not to enjoy. Tolerant of other Cults - it’s up to people how they waste their paradise - with the exception of the Myriapoda. They carry the painted skulls of dead Celebrants to offer them glimpses of paradise.  Tenets: 1. In all things, minimise pain. 2. Use the least effort possible, unless it contradicts the above. 3. Treat others with respect, unless it contradicts the above. 4. Carry with you the painted skull of a deceased Celebrant.

3. The Victors

Sentiment: “All must prepare.”
Symbols: Hammer, thurible.
Founder: Nergui the Spider, a famed general who served the Fourth Monarch. 

Believe the final day is rapidly approaching, and are preparing to battle with Qal Ashen in a great ekpyrotic war at the end of time, which they call the Time of War. They are militant warmongers, without a foe left to fight, apart from the monsters. Notorious for disproportionate retribution. 
Tenets: 1. Never make peace. Instead, win. 2. Never go unarmed. 3. Never allow pain or adversity to defeat you or dishearten you. 4. Prepare for the Time of War when you can. Secret redoubts, weapon-making, army-training, etc.

4. The Crows

Sentiment: “We must guarantee justice.”
Symbols: Beaked clay mask, bone dagger.
Founder: Otoug, the Mighty. Ranged far from the City and found what he returned to wanting. 

Believe that killing those who are evil or who threaten the sacred City is not only moral, but necessary, and appoint themselves executioners to carry out the task. They don’t believe the outside world can be saved, as such, protecting what remains is of the utmost importance. Tenets: 1. In all things, destroy the guilty and protect the City. 2. Strive for fairness, unless it contradicts the above. 3. Never show fear. 4. Wear a clay mask depicting a crow’s beak, to hide your emotions.

5. The Gravebound

Sentiment: “The message has been lost.”
Symbols: Shotel, veil.
Founder: Merodach, Companion of the First Monarch. 

Descended from the servants, advisors and soldiers of the First Monarch. The only hereditary Cult, and by their reckoning, the oldest. Regard all others as heretics. Gravebound veil or mask their faces in public. 

Tenets 1. In all things, strive to serve Qal Ashen and oppose the Cruel Nine. 2. Side with your family, even against the City herself, unless it contradicts the above. 3. Destroy monsters when you can, unless it contradicts the above. 4. Wear a veil or a mask, and show no part of your body to strangers.

6. The Redeemers

Sentiment: “The world can be saved.”
Symbols: Lilies, chains.
Founder: Florus, Son of the Eighth Monarch. 

Strive to end the Curse and redeem the world from the hatred of the Cruel Nine. Wear heavy chains around their necks or limbs to remind them of the weight of suffering all outside the city have experienced. Eat only the flesh of plants, as a form of spiritual cleansing from blood.  Tenets 1. Never kill. 2. Wear a heavy chain, to remind you of the weight of the Curse. 3. Maintain a strictly vegetarian diet. 4. Your door is always open – welcome vagrants, strangers, exiles and magi as well as you would a long lost sibling.

7. The Ghouls

Sentiment: “God is fond of death.” 

Symbols: Filed teeth, green tattoos. 

Founder: Namtaru, a towering wall-guard who died only recently.

The youngest Cult. Fearless and belligerent (sometimes performatively so). Believe that any death one reaches is a good one, and not something to be feared. Believe that submitting to the will of anything or anyone but Qal Ashen is a spiritual hazard. As such, they are tyrannical warlords, communal anarchists or animalistic eremites. They are fond of none of the other cults, though they reserve special hatred for the Argents, who return people from blessed death. Tenets 1. Allow nothing and nobody to rule you. 2. Never show fear. 3. Destroy monsters when you can, unless it contradicts the above. 4. Betrayal and treachery make you lower than the worms.

8. The Firebrands

Sentiment: “Burn out the dead wood.”
Symbols: Torch, scripture burned into skin. 

Founder: Red Naram-sin, an explorer who discovered much beyond the city. 

Offer criticism, explore widely, and burn scripture into their skins. Approve of sorcery of all sorts. Fire, symbolic of casting back the darkness, removing rot, destroying the unwanted and burning the incautious, is their friend. They seek to make the City greater and brighter, and to excise the parts which harm or weaken it.  Tenets: 1. Always seek to improve the City, even if you must destroy parts of it to do so. 2. Burn scripture and sacred symbols into your skin. 3. Explore the world beyond the walls when you can. 4. Politeness and pleasantries are for idle aristocrats, and the dead. Speak brusquely and be bluntly honest.

9. The Myriapoda

Sentiment: “Decadence damned us once before.” 

Symbols: Cilice, grain flail. 

Founder: Adrahasis, the Sage, a philosopher who lived in the days of the First Monarch. 

Believe The Curse was punishment for impurity, decadence, cruelty and moral dissolution in the Old World. Live ascetic lives, often going barefoot and eating only plain food, ignoring the City’s vast bounty. They encourage others to do the same. They prefer debate to violence, and seek to avoid the further notice of the Cruel Nine. 

Tenets 1. Never take more than you need. Own nothing larger than a hut. 2. Live in poverty, and convince others to do the same. 3. Favour the parent over the child, the creator over the created. 4. Never resort to violence to defeat your enemies.

Every Cult has a secret list of Incantations, which function similarly to Spells. Arbiters jealously guard their arts. Maybe the list will manifest later. 

However, the first three Incantations on every Arbiter’s list are:

1. Turn Living – [sum]HD of living creatures flee you screaming.
2. Speak with Dead – Ask [dice + highest] questions of a skull or dead body. -1 [dice] to compel truth, -1 [dice] to hear the emotion of the voice.
3. Animate Dead – Bestow [dice]HD on a dead body, allowing it motion. Bodies will regain some of the skills they had in life, if invested with the appropriate amount of HD. Animated Dead follow orders from any Ashenite, and otherwise lack cognition. 

Everyone knows about these three. 

New Incantations can likely be discovered from ancient holy texts, or similar. 

Condemn

You have gained enough spiritual authority to declare people in the City enemies of your Cult, unless a more senior Arbiter disagrees. This usually has severe repercussions for those not directly protected by the Monarch or another lesser ruler. 

You can Condemn district rulers, but to send upright, pious Ashenites after the explicit proxies of the upright, pious Monarch causes some interesting theological tangles. 

As for Condemning the Monarch, well, the Monarch is the City, and the City is God. As such - you can’t Condemn the Monarch. 

Abjure

In response to another Priest using an Incantation, you can roll your MD to Abjure it, reducing their [sum] and [dice] by your [sum] and [dice]. MD expend as normal when used to Abjure. 

Famed Ability

Every Cult has some famous ritual or power, which are often what springs to mind first, to the ordinary Ashenite. 

1. Argents - Returning the Dead

Blessed Arminius created the very first of the Returned to establish the City’s ways. 

With a Season’s work, you may return the Shade of a person you can name to their body. You specifically need the correct body. They become a Returned, an Undead with free will. They will likely be grateful. Resurrecting people the Argent Cult don’t like will be received poorly. 

2. Celebrants - Reversing Decay

Lakhmu never let a good thing go to waste.

With a wave of a hand, you can unspoil food, unrust small amounts of metal, unfester wounds, and so on. With a Season’s work, you may return a corpse to exactly how it looked in the prime of its life, restore a building to a formerly glorious state, or reverse a willing person’s age by 3 years. 

3. Victors - Corpse Armour 

Nergui the Spider was said to wear an elephant’s weight in human bone. 

With a Season’s work, you can assemble a towering set of Corpse Armour from the bones of your fellow Ashenites. It conveys 17AC, and makes you taller than just about anyone in the city. While you are wearing it, you have +[templates] Strength and can grapple with larger creatures than a normal mortal can. 

You are the only one who can use your Corpse Armour. 

With a further Season’s work, you can add a negotiated feature or property to your Armour. 

4. Crows - Touching the Intangible 

Otoug cut the shade of the hated Seventh Monarch to shreds. 

While you are silent, and in full focus, your weapons and body can interact with intangible creatures as if they were physical. This usually surprises the bastards. 

5. Gravebound - Resisting Death 

Merodach was swallowed by a sea beast - he walked home along the seabed. 

When you would die, you have a 3-in-6 chance of just not doing that, instead. 

6. Redeemers - Calming Monsters

It is said Florus walked fearlessly, leading the people of lost Tekir back to the City. 

When you place your hand on a Monster’s body, and recite scripture, it becomes as docile as a lamb. Monsters which are calmed for a long time will often doze off. 

7. Ghouls - Stealing Strength

The Ninth Monarch asked Namtar from whence his strength came. He responded: Meat. 

If you eat the flesh of a creature with more HD than you, you gain a negotiated ability - tending towards the physical or the brutal rather than the magical or delicate. You can have [templates] stolen strengths at once, and must discard old ones to gain new ones. 

 

8. Firebrands - Summoning Pyre-Flames 

Red Naram-sin burned monsters and traitors alike in her flames. 

By shedding your own blood, dealing 1d6 damage, you may summon the scarlet flames of the Pyre of Qal Ashen where the droplets fall. They can only be extinguished by you or a fellow Firebrand. They burn just as well as normal fire, and even seem to reach for living things. 

9. Myriapoda - Deathlike Meditation 

Adrahasis sat atop the Hill of Kigal for 234 years, never moving, but his influence was still felt.
You can choose at the start of a Season to enter a meditative state. While in this immobile, insensate state, you require no food, water, air, or other essentials for life, and you do not age. While meditating, you can speak through willing members of your Cult. You may choose to leave this state the next time a Season begins. 

Didact

All curses, illnesses, banes, hexes, etc. affecting you vanish - including, if you are affected, The Curse. You no longer need food. 

You can spend a season in quiet meditation to learn a Way to Power, or to trade one of your cult’s Incantations for another on the same list.

Finally, you now have the legitimacy to break away from your Cult and try to found a new one. Perhaps, with a new cult, you may discover a new ability to be famed? Perhaps yours will finally make the City her perfect self?