The Lord of Light
The Lord of Light is the God Above Gods, according to his worshippers. They hold him to be the one true god, lord and master over all else that is.
Followers of the Light typically refer to themselves as Lightbringers; they are also colloquially called Shiners. (This is often, though not always, a derogatory term; one should be careful to know the sensibilities of a Lightbringer before calling him a Shiner.) There are many sects and orders of Lightbringers, each having differing views on how to serve their Lord, and differing relations with the other branches of the faith.
Clerics holding to the different sects also have access to different domains, but all can access the domain of Good. Most clerics of Light are Lawful Good, Neutral Good, or Lawful Neutral; a few orders also have Chaotic Good clerics.
Followers of the Light also have differing views on the gods of the Taleron and the Triad, depending on sect and individual. Many moderates hold them to be true gods, some aligned with the Lord of Light, some against him; all worthy of respect, though not of worship. Others consider them lesser beings that distract mortals from the worship of the God Above Gods. A few hardliners believe them all to be demonic beings masquerading as gods.
Sects and Denominations
Brotherhood of Watchful Knights
- Alignment
- Lawful Good
- Domains
- Good, Law, Protection, War
- Favoured weapon
- Longsword
- Members known as
- Sentinels
- Keywords
- counsel, defend, watch
The Brotherhood of Watchful Knights, or Sentinels, are a sect of Lightbringers who focus on uncovering and opposing evil forces, especially organised and militant evil. The order was founded during the Shadow War and gained much prestige from their efforts during that conflict.
An unusually large proportion of Sentinels are paladins. However, ordained and lay members of the sect can come from almost any class.
The headquarters of the order are in Iskandar, on the Trade Coast, though Sentinels range far and wide in Sciaras and Carantar. A number are also stationed semi-permanently in Siduran to keep watch on the remnants of the Shadow King’s evil hordes.
The Shuttered Lantern
- Alignment
- Neutral Good
- Domains
- Good, Knowledge, Oracle, Trickery
- Favoured weapon
- Club
- Members known as
- —
- Keywords
- convert, hide, secret
The Shuttered Lantern is a secretive sect that exists almost exclusively in lands hostile to the Faith of Light. Its mission is to spread the Faith in lands where proselytisation is unwelcome, especially those where Lightbringers are persecuted or killed.
The Shuttered Lantern has no hierarchy and no headquarters; indeed, branches of the sect have little contact with one another. Many of its most devoted missionaries are not even ordained clerics. However, most maintain ties, carefully concealed, with a church of Lightbringers of another sect, who serve as sponsors, and as a spiritual authority at need.
Priests of the Shuttered Lantern are unusually skilled (for Lightbringers) in deceit and secrecy. They also make much use of divination, in order to have forewarning should they be in peril of discovery.
Of all the orders of Lightbringers, the Shuttered Lantern boasts the greatest variety of races. A Lightbringer hobgoblin or kobold is rare enough; one who is not of the Shuttered Lantern is almost unheard of. Even those races—such as elves—that are not actively hostile to Lightbringers, but that tend to disdain conversion, are better represented among the Shuttered Lantern than among other sects.