Life as a Priest/Priestess

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    • Life as a Priest/Priestess

      So...Late at night, I'm cracking open my book of writing prompts while watching reruns of the 90s Where on Earth is Carmen Sandieago' on Channel 30-2 and I decide whatever blank prompt I find I will do it. The 2nd prompt I do is 'A Woman at her first day at a Convent' I decide to make this a Shard-Based story and instead a regular Christian Nunnery I make it about a Female Whiptail Lizard Janah Beginning her first day as an...Apprentice Priestess (The exact term of this escapes me) And finds a murdered Cobra Priest slumped over the Altar with a black mark upon his forked tongue

      (I'm obviously inspired by The Name of the Rose film)

      This got me thinking more about the Holy Caste and what life as a Monk Priest of Priestess is like...Are Priests and Monks to stay celebrate in Dardunah or can they get married?
    • Sounds like an interesting take on a murder mystery! Having a young acolyte discover the body of some high priest or priestess, which then leads to the unraveling of a mystery for a group of young priests and their friends sounds like a cool way to begin an adventure. Plus, "The Name of the Rose" is a great film, and a fun piece of inspiration!

      Things like celibacy on Dárdünah are not really required of ALL faiths across the known world, but individual vows of many kinds could certainly be considered for ant individual or group of monks or priests wishing to show their piety... Such vows might be tailored to the specific devah being worshiped at that temple, and would reflect those things or behaviors closely associated with that divine entity... Any such vows should be represented as a Drawback (perhaps) taken by the character, as a "code of honor" of some kind...

      As modern examples in our world; The vows of the Western traditions, taken by Orthodox monks for instance, are: Chastity, poverty, obedience, and stability. The vows are administered by the Abbot or Hieromonk who performs the service.

      In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of religious vows are taken by the lay community as well as by the monastic community, as they progress along the path of practice. In the monastic tradition of all schools of Buddhism the Vinaya expounds the vows of the fully ordained Nuns and Monks. Depending upon which traditions they followed, there could be hundreds of such rules and vows that would need to be followed. There is nearly endless research that could be done if you wish to bring this depth of religious realism into your game, so consider carefully if you wish to reference these kinds of vows and rules when setting the tone of any campaign that centers around religious themes...

      Eventually, the "World Guide" for Shard will highlight many of Dardunah's faiths (to some extent), but ultimately it will be up to the GM to decide what vows characters in their games might be required to take if they play a priest from some particular sect... All of it should be considered for the sake of ultimately making the game more fun and interesting for everyone involved.
    • I am waiting to play a priest character who is observes the rule of not taking part in physical combat. I am sure it will be difficult to adhere to my ideals while keeping my character alive, but that is part of the thing which makes the game of SHARD so much better than any other RPG I have personally had the pleasure of playing. Within the rules of this game there are literally very few limits regarding the type of personality traits and possible story ideas for everyone to take advantage of, while allowing your imagination to run free, thus creating characters which are memorable and help to drive the subtle nuances which create truly fantastic stories which can capture the hearts and attention of anyone who is fortunate enough to either participate or observe the game.
      I love the idea of an adventure which takes place in an isolated monastery, perhaps a murder mystery as you suggested with an over arching story of bandits attempting to lay siege to the temple and relieve it of some precious artifacts or tombs of ancient knowledge with only the monks to stand between them in a heroic stand off...

      As Scott Jones mentioned above the last book currently scheduled to be released will give greater glimpse into the daily lives of all of the inhabitants of the world including those who serve the will of the DEVAH.
      I for one cannot wait until the process begins for THE WORLD GUIDE, because it will contain fantasy as well as ideas on how each region views other regions and even include information about what commodities certain areas trade with others.... With this valuable tool in the hands of a competent GAME MASTER the sky will truly be the limit regarding the depth of the most entertaining and memorable games ever!