Talen Drake wrote:
Ok, so all I have ever found on Blackwand and churches is very vague. Henry ruled that the League of Princes follows the Mother Church of Coryan. Is this temple in Blackwand a Mother Church temple? Or is it an Orthodoxy church? Would they have High Priests?
So ... the Western Lands is "the frontier" of the Mother Church. And also a frontier for Seremas. And on frontiers things can get squirrelly since you are a long way from your "central authority." Squirrelly here equals complicated.
Parts of the League of Princes do follow the Pantheon of Man (generally Whon, it's subsidiaries & Eppion), but plenty of people there also (quietly) worship the elements. Other parts of the League DO NOT follow the Mother Church such as Llylifel - whose King follows the Elements. But I bet there are plenty of PoM worshippers there if you scratch the surface too. The people in the League who do follow the PoM are predominantly in the folds of the MC which is the only major religious arm that is active there (as opposed to followers of the Kahlindrul, the Milandesian Orthodox Church or the Church of the Dark Triumvirate).
BUT Blackwand is a weird exception to that rule.
Blackwand's church may someday be important to the Living Arcanis storyline. But right now as players its a weird foot note. It's essentially as unknown as the elorii homelands. Is the Church there connected to the Orthodoxy? We don't know. I kinda doubt it because the Orthodoxy does not produce pantheistic priests (it's path produces a weird double specialty priest). But I could be wrong in that guess. Does Blackwand have (a) High Priest(s)?
Great question! When we know we'll be sure to share that with you.
Regardless, there is no reason why a priest of one of the temples of the PoM (from Whon or Coryan or wherever) couldn't be there (proselytizing, hiding, spying...) but your Mom probably wasn't part of the local hierarchy.
Nierite wrote:
Mother Church is NOT Pantheonistic, therefore the Blackwand Temple (and only the Blackwand Temple) is NOT Mother Church of Coryan. Of course, that argument raises some interesting questions re: Orthodoxy members who take their special Path. . .
Then again, a lot of the "Your sect" choices seem to be completely subjective rather than mechanical. After all, there really is not real difference between the Milandric Orthodox Church and the Mother Church of Coryan from a straight Dogma point of view (disagreements about liberal attitudes and a general aversion to Nier and Neroth, and less so with Sarish), so any separation between them is in the mind of the person involved. As such, if you SAY you are a member of the Mother Church, and consider yourself to be in the Mother Church, than spells that only target 'your sect' would only target Mother Church.
Egads magical metaphysics!
Then again, a lot of the "Your sect" choices seem to be completely subjective rather than mechanical. After all, there really is not real difference between the Milandric Orthodox Church and the Mother Church of Coryan from a straight Dogma point of view (disagreements about liberal attitudes and a general aversion to Nier and Neroth, and less so with Sarish), so any separation between them is in the mind of the person involved. As such, if you SAY you are a member of the Mother Church, and consider yourself to be in the Mother Church, than spells that only target 'your sect' would only target Mother Church.
Egads magical metaphysics!
Personally I would suggest that the treatment of Neroth, Nier & Sarish as minor gods - plus the acceptance of the Fire Dragon (whatever that turns out to mean at street level) result in fairly substantial doctrinal differences between the MC and the MOC. Still on the broader point I agree strongly with Cody that "your sect" at times looks like a weird and nebulous thing.
Blackwand as written just can not be part of the MC for the purposes of sect. High level members of the Orthodoxy must know of Blackwand...I would love to know what they really think of it.