The Faithful¶

The Faithful are religious institutions and their attendants. Temples, hermitages, great temples: houses of worship and the people who tend them.

Theme: Shrine¶

The village's small house of worship, tended by a single Acolyte or visited by a wandering Priest on rest days. Weddings, funerals, seasonal blessings. When problems arise in the village, the shrine keeper is often the first to know.

Scale	Creatures	Features	Locations
Village	1 Acolyte	Personality, Faith	Shrine

Theme: Temple¶

A house of worship at the heart of a town, seat of a High Priest. Runs a household of clergy, choristers, staff, and administrators. The High Priest's word carries weight in Council beyond his single seat.

Scale	Creatures	Features	Locations
Town	1 High Priest, 2-3 Elder Priests, 3-5 Priests, 6-10 Acolytes, 2 Guards	Personality, Faith, Relic	Temple

Theme: Hermitage¶

Small religious community of hermits, monks, or nuns living permanently at their place of worship. Prayer, contemplation, garden work, service to travelers.

Scale	Creatures	Features	Locations
Village	1 Senior Hermit, 2-6 Hermits	Personality, Faith	Small Temple
Town	1 Head of the Order, 6-12 Monks, 2-4 Novices	Personality, Faith	Chapter House
City	1 Head of the Order, 12-25 Monks, 4-10 Novices	Personality, Faith	Great Monastery

Theme: Great Temple¶

A great house of worship at the heart of a city, seat of a Grand High Priest. Draws pilgrims from beyond the city's walls. Runs a household of clergy, choristers, staff, and administrators.

Scale	Creatures	Features	Locations
City	1 Grand High Priest, 12-20 Elder Priests, 25-40 Priests, 50-80 Acolytes, 6-10 Guards	Personality, Faith, Relic	Great Temple

Details¶

Creatures¶

Acolyte. Junior clergy who tends the space day to day. In a village temple, the Acolyte is often the whole staff; a Priest visits on holy days from a nearby town. Uses the Acolyte stat block. Loot: holy symbol (5 gp), simple robes, offerings jar with 1d10 gp.

Chaplain. A Priest attached to a specific institution rather than a public temple or shrine — a fort's garrison, a manor's household, a ship's crew. Uses the Priest stat block. Runs the institution's Chapel, blesses its people, tends the dying, often serves as its scribe. At a noble family's residence he may be called the Household Priest and hears the family's private confessions. Loot: holy symbol (25 gp), prayer book, robes, 2d10 gp coin purse.

Elder Priest. Senior clergy at a Temple or Great Temple, above the working priests. Serves at the great rites, sits on the temple council, may hold a benefice from the temple's lands. Uses the Priest stat block. Loot: holy symbol (25 gp), ritual robes, ring of office (25 gp), a share of the temple treasury.

Grand High Priest. The most senior priest of a city's Great Temple, revered across the city and often beyond. Uses the Priest stat block with high proficiencies, or Noble for a politically prominent temple. Sends letters, sits on the crown's councils, sanctions the ordination of new priests across the region. Loot: ring of office (250 gp), circlet of the temple (100 gp), staff of authority (100 gp), ritual robes; the Grand High Priest's suite holds his treasury.

Head of the Order. Head of a monastery. Uses the Priest stat block. Leads the day's rites, admits novices, disciplines the brethren, sends correspondence to allied orders. Loot: holy symbol (25 gp), ritual robes, scriptorium key, offering coffer (5d10 gp town, 5d100 gp city).

Hermit. The hermitage's members. Live simply, work in the garden and the temple, welcome pilgrims. Uses the Acolyte stat block. Loot: simple robes, a small talisman, a few coppers.

High Priest. Head of the Temple, revered by the town's faithful. Confirms new priests, hears appeals from the temple courts, sits on the town's Council in an advisory or dominant role. Uses the Priest stat block, or Noble for a politically prominent temple. Loot: ring of office (100 gp), circlet (50 gp), staff of office (25 gp), ritual robes, book of rites; the High Priest's suite holds his treasury.

Monks. Monastery brethren. Follow the order's rule. Uses the Acolyte stat block, or Priest for senior positions. Loot: habit, cord belt, prayer beads (5 gp), a few silver.

Novices. Trainees learning the order. Not yet under vows. Uses the Commoner stat block. Loot: novice's robe, book of rites, a few coppers.

Priest. The temple's ordained figure. Runs the rites, hears confessions, negotiates with the settlement's Rulers over annual offerings and holy days. Uses the Priest stat block. Loot: holy symbol (25 gp), ritual robes, sacred text, offerings coffer with 3d10 gp.

Senior Hermit. The eldest or wisest hermit; the hermitage's informal leader. Uses the Priest stat block. Loot: holy symbol (25 gp), simple robes, personal book of rites; the hermitage's shared donations coffer.

Features¶

Faith. The deity or focus the community serves. d6: 1 sun god; 2 moon god; 3 hearth god; 4 forge god; 5 ancestor spirits; 6 singular divinity of one virtue.

Personality. The community's collective character. Roll d6 by theme.

Shrine: 1 humble (open door, few coins); 2 proud (formal rites, expects due); 3 zealous (converts vigorously); 4 gentle (welcomes all, avoids conflict); 5 inspiring (fills the seats); 6 troubled (recent scandal or doctrinal doubt).

Temple: 1 grand (the town's pride, holy days pack the main hall); 2 stern (rigorous observance, hard on the neighborhood priests); 3 political (the High Priest angles for higher office, the temple moves in the crown's affairs); 4 corrupt (favors openly sold, appointments follow coin); 5 troubled (a scandal, a schism, a rival cult in the temple's followers); 6 rising (a hero's tomb draws new pilgrims, offerings swell).

Hermitage: 1 devout (strict observance); 2 welcoming (open to pilgrims); 3 austere (spare and quiet); 4 zealous (converts vigorously); 5 troubled (schism or crisis); 6 corrupt (worldliness has crept in).

Great Temple: 1 grand (the city's pride, holy days pack the main hall and overflow into the forecourt); 2 stern (rigorous observance, hard on the quarter priests); 3 political (the Grand High Priest holds real power beyond his seat, moves in the crown's affairs); 4 corrupt (favors openly sold, appointments follow coin); 5 troubled (a scandal, a schism, a rival cult in the city's faithful); 6 rising (a hero's tomb draws pilgrims from distant lands, offerings swell).

Relic. The relic that anchors the temple's spiritual pull. Housed in the Reliquary. d6: 1 hero's bones (pilgrims come from a day's ride); 2 prophet's veil (heals if devotedly kissed on holy days); 3 fragment of a founder's relic (the temple's origin story turns on it); 4 miraculous image (weeps or bleeds on holy days); 5 an original manuscript of sacred writings (scholars come to consult); 6 an empty reliquary (the relic is lost, stolen, or its authenticity disputed).

Locations¶

Chapter House. Monastery. Chapel, cloister, dormitories, refectory, scriptorium, garden. Bell tower over the entrance. Compound walled but not heavily fortified. Loot: offerings coffer with 5d100 gp; ceremonial vessels (100 gp); illuminated texts; relics if the order holds any.

Great Monastery. The city's great monastic complex: multiple buildings around a great cloister within a walled compound. A great monastery has:

Main temple: the heart of the complex, where the brethren gather for the daily offices. Rows of choir stalls facing an altar, side chapels for private masses, an organ or bell loft at the west end.
Chapter house: where the chapter meets for daily readings of the Rule, admission of novices, chapter elections, and discipline. Benches around the walls, the Head of the Order's chair at the head, a small vault for the Order's treasury and records.
Cloister: covered walkway around a central quadrangle where the brethren walk in prayer and read. Silence is the rule.
Library and scriptorium: stacks of manuscripts on shelves, scribes' desks, a rare-book vault, the Librarian's ledger. The monastery's intellectual heart.
Refectory: the dining hall. Long tables, benches, a reader's lectern where a novice reads from a devotional text during meals. Kitchen adjacent.
Dormitories: cells or shared quarters for the brethren. Simple beds, personal chests, a common washroom.
Guest quarters: rooms for pilgrims, travelers, and visiting brethren from other houses. Plain but tended.
Gardens: cultivated ground within the walls - vegetables, herbs, orchard, beehives. Worked by the brethren.
Head of the Order's suite: the Head's residence. A private study, sleeping room, small hall for hosting bishops and secular visitors.
Gatehouse: the walled compound's entry. A porter (often a lay brother) keeps the schedule and screens visitors.
Reliquary: if the order holds a significant relic, it's displayed in a shrine off the main temple. Warded or barred.
Defenses: the gatehouse controls entry; the treasury behind a strong lock in the chapter house; the library's rare-book vault behind a strong lock; the reliquary warded (if present).
Loot: ceremonial regalia (250 gp); the Order's treasury (5d100 gp) in the Chapter House behind a strong lock; the library (thousands of gp for scholars); illuminated texts (100-500 gp each); relics of the order at the DM's discretion.

Temple. A stone building at the heart of a town. A temple has:

Main hall: the public worship space. Rows of benches or open standing space, banners of the god, side altars along the walls, a raised sanctuary at the far end. Packed on holy days.
Sanctuary: the inner space behind a screen or altar rail, reserved for senior clergy. The main altar, sacred vessels, the sacred fire (if the faith keeps one). The High Priest's throne sits here.
Side wings: lesser altars to associated saints or aspects of the god. Small side chapels used for private devotion, funerary rites, and side ceremonies.
Side shrines: alcoves along the walls for individual devotion, votive candles, small offerings.
Bell tower: houses the town's largest bells. Rung at services, at deaths of prominent citizens, at alarm.
Reliquary: the shrine where the temple's central relic is displayed. Warded or barred behind a grate. See the Relic feature for what the relic is.
Catacombs: the crypt beneath the temple. Rows of niches for the honored dead: priests, patrons, notable pilgrims.
High Priest's suite: the High Priest's residence, adjacent to the sanctuary or in a separate wing. Formal reception rooms, private quarters, private shrine, treasury, small garden. Holds the temple's records and correspondence.
Refectory and dormitories: where the clergy live and eat. Elder Priests have private rooms; junior Priests share.
Gatehouse or forecourt: the temple's entry. Public forecourt where pilgrims gather before services; guarded gates at wealthier temples.
Hazards: the Reliquary is guarded by the Guards and often by wards of the faith itself; catacomb collapses on a DC 15 Dexterity save if disturbed.
Loot: ceremonial vessels (500 gp); the Reliquary's central relic (100-1000 gp for material value; higher for a genuine relic to the right buyer); offerings coffer (5d100 gp) behind a strong lock; illuminated texts and rare manuscripts; the High Priest's treasury (5d100 gp) behind a strong lock; temple regalia (250 gp).

Great Temple. A great stone building at the heart of a city. A great temple has:

Main hall: the public worship space. Rows of benches or open standing space, banners of the god, side altars along the walls, a raised sanctuary at the far end. Packed on holy days; overflow into the forecourt on the greatest.
Sanctuary: the inner space behind a screen or altar rail, reserved for senior clergy. The main altar, sacred vessels, the sacred fire (if the faith keeps one). The Grand High Priest's throne sits here.
Side wings: lesser altars to associated saints or aspects of the god. Small side chapels used for private devotion, funerary rites, and side ceremonies.
Side shrines: alcoves along the walls for individual devotion, votive candles, small offerings.
Bell tower: houses the city's largest bells. Rung at services, at deaths of prominent citizens, at alarm.
Reliquary: the shrine where the temple's central relic is displayed. Warded or barred behind a grate. See the Relic feature for what the relic is.
Catacombs: the crypt beneath the temple. Rows of niches for the honored dead: priests, patrons, notable pilgrims. Older layers hold the founders and the temple's original relics.
Grand High Priest's suite: the Grand High Priest's residence, a full residential wing. Formal reception rooms, private quarters, private shrine, treasury, gardens. Holds the temple's records and correspondence.
Refectory and dormitories: where the clergy live and eat. Elder Priests have private rooms; junior Priests share.
Gatehouse and forecourt: the temple's entry. Public forecourt where pilgrims gather before services; guarded gates.
Hazards: the Reliquary is guarded by the Guards and often by wards of the faith itself; catacomb collapses on a DC 15 Dexterity save if disturbed.
Loot: ceremonial vessels (2000 gp); the Reliquary's central relic (500-5000 gp for material value; higher for a genuine relic to the right buyer); offerings coffer (5d1000 gp) behind a strong lock; illuminated texts and rare manuscripts; the Grand High Priest's treasury (5d1000 gp) behind a strong lock; temple regalia (500-1000 gp).

Shrine. Small building with an altar, an image of the deity, perhaps a few benches. Door with a standard lock. Loot: offerings plate with 1d10 gp; ceremonial vessels of modest value.

Small Temple. The hermitage's central worship building. A single chamber with an altar, benches, a hearth. Simple and clean. Loot: offerings (2d10 gp); ceremonial vessels; the hermitage's few relics or texts.

Stat blocks used¶

The Faithful draws on shared blocks.

Acolyte — SRD.
Commoner — SRD.
Guard — SRD.
Noble — SRD.
Priest — SRD.