Religion in Karameikos in Mystara – a worked example

In my last post, I talked about why you should include religion in your campaign, and reviewed Eventyr Games’ publication “Devotion and Divinity”.

In this post I describe the Mystara canon, and what I took from it when developing my first 5e campaign based in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos.

My (TTRPG) religious backstory

When I was starting in my teens, with the Menzter BECMI D&D sets, my main character was a cleric. But I didn’t really think about the fact that his powers and spellcasting came from a god. It was just like the water or electricity – a utility that’s on tap, but doesn’t require much in return except paying the bill off-screen – like having a direct debit that goes out of my bank without thinking about it.

Similarly, although one of the major features of the Master set is the path for a character to become immortal, and the Immortal set being all about being an Immortal and trying to influence the world without being able to interact directly, I didn’t think much about the Immortals and their influence in my campaign.

Fast forward thirty years. When I restarted playing, I started in the classic starter town of Threshold in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. In GAZ1, there are two cultures – the native Traladarans, and the incoming (some say invading) Thyatian-based nobility of the last 30 years or so – and they have separate religions. The Traladarans have their King Arthur-style trio of Halav, Petra and Zirchev who supposedly saved the country from beast men hundreds of years ago, and will come again to free the country from the invaders. The newly-arrived Thyatians have set up the Church of Karameikos with the goddess Tarastia, goddess of justice and revenge, plus a few others.

So when I was sending out the campaign prep/session zero material, among this I included a bit of information about both sets of immortals, including how they are rumoured to manifest in the real world.

Note: a lot of this has effectively been inherited from the BECMI ruleset and the gazetteers, since my campaigns are based on the Mystara world described there. I have changed other rules to fit in with 5E, but this Immortal setup works well for me.

Divinity in Mystara

This world has Assumed Divinity – gods exist, and some or most mortals believe in them. It could be Definite Divinity – everyone knowing that the gods exist, but I think that, while the gods definitely exist, there is sufficient ambiguity that not everyone is convinced of this.

Immortals were once mortal, and became immortal after a long and arduous quest (the Master Set contains rules for the four different paths to immortality). They are Celestial Spirits, who normally live Extraplanar, but can manifest in the world as avatars with significant limitations (described in The Immortals Set). As Wrath of the Immortals summarises:

On the Prime Plane, Direct Action Against Mortals is Forbidden.

This does not mean that Immortals cannot meddle in the affairs of Prime Plane worlds. It does mean that Immortals-all Immortals-are  forbidden to go to the Prime Plane in Manifestation Form in order to accomplish their goals. It’s as simple as that. There are exceptions to this ruling, but those exceptions are rare.

The Hierarchs created a spell usable only by Immortals to allow them to scan the Prime Plane for the tell-tale emanations of direct Immortal intervention on the mortal planes. An Immortal who just shows up in the Prime Plane and starts killing the mortals he or she dislikes will be noticed. The scanning Immortal will report to the Hierarchs, who will send out a party of guard-Immortals to capture the offender and drag him or her before a council of Hierarchs for trial.

For this reason, Immortals influence mortals through a variety of other, indirect ways.

They appear to mortals in’ dreams, describing what they want the mortals to do. They take on Mona! Identities (which the scanning spell cannot detect as a product of Immortal magic) and intervene in mortal affairs with only the powers of capable NPCs. They establish doctrines (rules and guidelines) for their followers and make those doctrines known to the clerics of their clerical orders.

Of course, not all Immortals are happy to bow to the will of the masses. A few – some evil, some good – chafe at the “direct action” rule and violate it whenever they think they can get away with it. Most, however, are content to hide their Immortal natures by taking Mortal Identities and advance their plans in those Mortal Identities.

The canon has an extensive pantheon (see The Immortals Set and the free Wrath of the Immortals). This is organised into five spheres – Matter, Energy, Time, Thought, and Entropy – and within each sphere they are organised into a hierarchy of power. This starts with Celestials at the lowest, through Empyreals and Eternals, to Heirarchs at the top. Each sphere also has an ultimate Hierarch, ruler of the Sphere: Terra for Matter, Ixion for Energy, Khoronus for Time, Odin for Thought and Hel for Entropy.

Different Immortals have different motivations just like mortals, and these may clash even with other Immortals from the same sphere – they are supposed to all be working towards the primacy of the sphere, but they may well have different ideas of the best way of going about it.

The database of all characters, locations and immortals in Mystara, collated by Michael Diehm and available on Pandius, lists 172 immortals. This is far too many for them all to be relevant in any one campaign or location, but means there are plenty to choose from.

Here’s what I chose for that first Karameikos campaign.

Religion in Karameikos

The churches in Karameikos have differing philosophies, although all are dedicated to strengthening the human spirit through meditation and the observation of moral lessons. There are two churches in Threshold.

The Church of Karameikos

The Church of Karameikos believes in the philosophy of the unstained spirit: Sins stain the spirit of the doer and these stains require acts of purification to cleanse from the spirit. The individual’s role in the afterlife will be determined by the amount of stain remaining on their spirit.

Sins according to the Church of Karameikos include assault, abuse, murder, theft, lying, adultery and living together without the sanctity of matrimony. Also, an unwillingness to undergo purification is itself a sin punishable by being thrown out of the Church, the eventual result of which is that their spirit becomes so stained they can never be redeemed.

It is the responsibility of members of the Church to bring the benefits of the Church philosophy to the unbeliever, and to remain true to the precepts of the Church even in hostile lands so that the benefits of the Church be denied to no-one.

Magic ritual with no confirmed basis in formal magic or clerical ritual is ignorant superstition.  This includes things like lucky charms, foretelling via tea-leaves, palmistry, card-reading, etc.  To a believer of the Church of Karameikos, these are all just a waste of time and a sign of uncouth ignorance.

It is the role of the cleric of the Church of Karameikos to determine and hand out acts of purification appropriate to the sins in question, and to spread the word to help more people purify themselves for the afterworld – possibly with the mace

The Church of Traladara

Sins according to the Church of Traladara include assault, abuse, murder, theft and lying; these are considered to be brought on by weakness or the influence of evil spirits. Sinners should be punished by the community in the same way that children are punished by their parents.

The role of the individual in the afterlife is determined by their state of wisdom, strength of character, and goodwill at the time of their death. Relationships between men and women is a personal matter and doesn’t involve the philosophies of the Church in and of itself. Likewise, comomn magic rituals such as use of lucky charms, reading tea-leaves, palmistry and so forth stem from a person’s curiosity about the world and are often rewarded by the Immortals with hints about the future or the nature of the world.

The Church of Traladara further believes that events of The Song of Halav are literal truth, that King Halav, Queen Petra and Zirchev are Immortals guiding the righteous and punishing the wicked in Taladara/Karameikos, and that they will one day return to Traladara, bringing back the Golden Age.

It is the role of the cleric of the Church of Traladara to provide advice to young people based on their experiences and the role models given the The Song of Halav. Also to officiate at ceremonies, preach the Church philosophies and promote goodwill. They will fight to save lives or defeat evils.

The Gods of Karameikos

With Karameikos being built from two different cultures, there are a range of different Immortals worshipped in the country. These are the most common.

The Traladaran Trio – Halav, Petra and Zirchev

All three work together to support and promote the lands of the Traladara people and work towards a new golden age.  They are taking the long view with the Thyatian invasion and the land of Karameikos – accepting the people in and gradually nudging them towards assimilation into the Traladaran vision.

Halav

Halav was a fighter in his former life, now an Immortal of the Sphere of Thought.  His favourite aspect is as a 7’ muscular man with generous (but not long) curly golden-brown beard, shoulder-length hair and a huge battleaxe.  He has a golden aura.  He is also said to appear as a huge golden eagle or an enormous golden-haired bear. He inspires his followers to understand and better themselves, and to bring meaning to their lives with a greater purpose – with a slant towards bringing purpose to Traladara and restoring the fabled golden age.  While not overtly belligerent, he encourages people to stand up for themselves and their family and friends, and to stand against injustice. He watches over and inspires the warriors of the land, teaches continual tests of military prowess – competitions, bouts, war games, and his favour is invoked in martial ceremonies and before contests and battles.

Petra

Petra was a cleric in her former life, now an Immortal of the Sphere of Time.  Her favourite aspect is as a milky-skinned woman swathed in white robes (sort of Roman effect).  She has a white aura – overall a VERY bright white effect. She will also sometimes appear as a white doe or as a flock of doves.  She teaches acceptance of change and the flow of life, the cycles of the seasons and the natural beginnings and endings of life and death.  Of the Immortals of Traladara, it is her influence that is most invoked in the ceremonies of life – birth, coming of age, marriage and death.

Zirchev

Zirchev was a wizard in his former life, now an Immortal of the Sphere of Energy.  His favourite aspect is the classic sage with a long beard and hair, huge bushy eyebrows and a gnarled staff – think Gandalf. He will appear and disappear in a flash of flame and a puff of smoke. He also favours the falcon, the salmon (appearing as a 4’ Ocean salmon) and the salamander (often also appearing in furnaces and ovens). His teachings are constant learning, creation and invention, making the world better one change after another. He inspires his followers to come up with new inventions and innovations in all areas of industry and teaches his most promising acolytes in flashes (literally) of inspiration and fiery signs and portents.  He is the champion of craftsmen, wizards and merchants.

Thyatian Gods

The Thyatians recognise many Immortals across their extensive country, and apart from clerics, most do not follow the teachings of any one Immortal. That said, the Church of Karameikos is dedicated to the goddess Tarastia, and so that is the most common in Karameikos, although there are a few others worshipped more informally.

Tarastia

Tarastia is the patroness of Justice and Revenge. Usually depicted holding up scales in her right hand and with a grounded sword in her left hand (representing the two aspects), the Church of Karameikos is dedicated to her. She is associated with the colour blue – a rich blue like the blue of the sky on a summer day, and the main church of Karameikos in Specularum has an 8-foot statue of her carved in marble with her robes magically stained blue. It is one of the tourist sights of the capital. She is also said to appear as a blue-barred raven from time to time, and is associated with the lily – flower of fragrance and funerals.

She always looks imposing and imperious. Her teaching are those of the Church of Karameikos. Her clerics can call on her for assistance in impartial judgement of cases and commensurate penances and punishments, which they are expected to then carry out and enforce. They are also expected to look out for and deal with injustices in society.

Valerias

Valerias is the patroness of love and the girder-on of weapons. She promotes love and romance – particularly fiery, passionate romance. Very much associated with pale pink, her favourite aspect is as a stunningly beautiful black woman enveloped in yards of diaphanous pink gauze so fine it merges into her aura. Where Tarastia is stern and serious, Valerias is smiling, cheerful, laughing, often even giggly. Often accompanied by showers of rose petals which give out a rich calming fragrance (calming, but also inspiring of romantic feelings). She is also said to appear as a rose bush with pale pink roses, or to be drawn to bless such plants, so single rose bushes standing on their own often have gifts and wishes for romantic success, and rose petals are a staple ingredient in love philtres.

She is also known for bringing weapons to those in need.

Vanya

Most popular Immortal to the main Thyatian population, although overshadowed in Karameikos by Taratia, Vanya was supposed to have been a Thyatian warrior-woman in the distant past. She is now patroness of war and conquerors, so particularly popular within the Karameikos armed forces. She expects her followers to show prowess, steadfastness and bravery in battle, and to fight to the last, and to those who embody these ideals best in her name she is said to bring luck and guidance. Always depicted in golden armour and kilt with bare arms, sandals which strap up to her knee and with short hair – the classic roman legionnaire look.

Thanatos

Thanatos is a death-loving Immortal who hates all life. His followers are underground sects of clerics who would betray their race for personal power. Often depicted as a hunch-backed ugly man swathed in dirty sack-cloth, he is used by the general population as a bogey-man to scare kids with and as a curse.

Alphaks

This patron of pure evil causes death, destruction and misery. His sect is illegal within the Thyatian empire and also Karameikos. Part of his dogma is “Alphatia must be destoyed” which explains why it is popular with chaotic Thyatians who hate Alphatia, and also why it is less popular within Karameikos. It is rumoured that the leaders of the Black Eagle Barony follow Alphaks.

My Akorros pantheon in Darokin

That was religion as described for my first campaign based in Karameikos. Then the campaign headed into the world of X2 Castle Amber, which is set in a separate pocket dimension, and we were there for a couple of years (UK calendar time). During this, there was an almost complete turnover of characters, so most of surviving characters had been rolled up while in Averoigne during the X2 days, and hadn’t come from Karameikos. Given options of assorted locations around the BECMI gazetteers’ “Known World” of Mystara, almost without exception the players wanted to explore the city of Akorros in the Republic of Darokin.

So, when we finally finished X2 and returned to Mystara, the players wanted to explore their home city. They landed in a basement in Akorros, and I needed to develop a complete new setting. The previous campaign fizzled out and a new one was started, but they still wanted to be in Akorros.

I have found that city campaigns are not my comfort zone, and I have rather been playing catch-up ever since, so I have more concentrated on the corporeal setting and spent less time on the pantheon.

So far, I have established that Akorros is the seat of Khoronus, aka Father Time, and also his temple has a wing for Chardastes the healer. The paladin is a paladin of Ixian, the sun god. The temple of Ixian, the healers of Chardastes and the library at the temple of Khoronus have featured in the campaign. But I really haven’t given the gods the same level of attention as I did for Karameikos. Yet…

Recent developments have made this rather urgent. Check back soon for the next post in this series…