Religious properties
These descriptions cover the base product you get when you use The Stronghold or Business rules in my games. You can change the fluff to suit the deity, but the core descriptions stay – as do the staff and teams allocated to a building. However, you can always spend money to improve things. Prices on Request. Clerics of different deities will co-operate, so long as their Deities are not in real opposition to each other. For example a Pharasmin Canon may well conduct the technical aspects of a burial, while a Cleric of Erastil speaks the eulogy and comforts the family members. A Cleric of Sarenrae may accompany one of her parishioners when they visit a temple of Abadar to arrange a loan-
Buildings
| Religious Developments |
| Classification | Name | Cost BP | Economy | Loyalty | Stability | Minor | Medium | Major | Defence |
| Religious | Shrine | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Graveyard * | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Holy House | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Chapel | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Priory {★★★} | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Temple {★★★} | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Abbey {★★★★} | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Minster {★★★★} | 8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Religious | Cathedral {★★★★★} | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Most religious buildings have a group of Collegiate Adepts who live in, serve and maintain the building. Collegiate Adepts have the ability to perform rituals that enhance the Caster level of their lead priest - ie the PC Cleric who 'owns' the temple. When casting spells, using scroll and performing other similar tasks, the PC cleric gains the following bonus caster levels so long as they in their own church and take an hour to prepare.
+1 - Holy House, Chapel
+2 - Priory, Temple
+3 - Abbey, Minster
+4 - Cathedral
* A graveyard can be added to any other religious building (except a shrine) as an 'upgrade'.
Deity Preferences
Not all faiths provide the same services to their followers. Some like large public buildings - others prefer smaller or more private buildings. Remember that these are general preferences and every faith will have building that fall outside this pattern. If (for example) you are a priest of Erastil and you want to build a Cathedral - go for it :)
Abadar – Prefers Temples, Minsters and Cathedrals
Asmodeus – Prefers Temples, Minsters and Cathedrals
Calistria – Houses of Pleasure with a shrine as an upgrade.
Cayden Cailean – Beer Halls with a shrine as an upgrade.
Desna – Roadside shrines
Erastil – Country Chapels are best – although sometimes a temple is required in a town. Or a Wilderness Grove.
Gorum – Monastic buildings with fortifications.
Gozreh – Doesn’t mind where he is worshipped Chapels, Temples, Monasteries or a Wilderness Grove.
Iomedae – Monastic Buildings - often associated with sword schools and barracks.
Irori – Monastic Buildings often equipped with a reading rooms and a Gymnasium.
Nethys – Magical Lab or wizards guild with a shrine as an upgrade.
Pharasma – Graveyards and their associated buildings. Most have shrines or Monastic buildings, with the occasional Cathedral.
Sarenrae – Chapels, temples, Minsters and Cathedrals
Shelyn – Religious buildings dedicated to Shelyn cost twice as much as normal because they must be incredibly beautiful. So generally shrines in Galleries, Craft shops, Theatres, Bardic Colleges etc.
Torag – Forge or Master Smith with a shrine as an upgrade.
Descriptions
See Residential Classifications for a description of the ★ rating system.
Shrine – A small nod to a deity. It normally consists of a statue, painting or something similar that represents the deity. For Desna it could be a painting or carved butterfly, for Pharasma it might be a spiral path – the precise form will vary but so long as it is representative and has been dedicated to the deity, it is a shrine. A shrine that is not in a larger religious building could be tended by a a multi-classed Acolyte (Adept1/Commoner2?) who can provide very limited spell support. If the shrine is in a larger religious building it is probably attended by a Canon (Adept2), a Chaplain in training. Shrines may be found in villages, as roadside shrines or in other buildings. Depending on the location the shrines caretaker will be provided with ★ or ★★ accommodation.
Don't take this as absolute a shrine to Desna might be visited regularly by a much higher level cleric, a shrine to Nethys might be attended by a Cleric 1 / MU 10, A shrine to Calistria might be found in a brothel tended by a sacred prostitute.
Graveyard - A place to bury the dead, which includes a shrine (probably to Pharasma). It is supported by a Cannon grave digger (Adept2/Commoner1) who conducts simple burials. Graves are often blessed by higher level clerics when they visit.
Pharasma The standard Pharasman presence in a village consists of a Shrine and a Graveyard. The shine’s acolyte serves as a mid-wife recording and assisting with births, while the grave-digger records and assists with deaths (they may well be a husband and wife team). I know that is two shrines in the same village, but there are two different aspects to the goddess. It may well be a spiral footpath serves as the graveyard shrine, while large stone engraved with a spiral is set outside the midwife’s house. Both are kept in spotless condition and may be surrounded by small flowers.
Holy House – a Holy House has a shine with housing attached for a few minor clergy. It may be found serving a local community, or as managing and outlying responsibility for a Priory or temple. A Monastic House is managed by a sub-prior (often an Adept 3) who is supported by a Canon, Acolytes and Novices. A monastic house is generally ★★ accommodation.
Chapel – The first proper place of worship, a chapel offers a large room, complete with a shrine dedicated to the deity and is tended by a Chaplain who leads simple prayer services and can conduct simple ceremonies such as Namings, Marriages and Funerals. Many Villages have a Chapel as their primary place of Worship. However, Chapels are also found in other contexts, and may be constructed as part of larger religious buildings, or aristocratic homes. Many aristocratic homes, military establishments and schools have a chapel for private worship. A Village Chaplain is normally a Cleric 3 , while a Temple Chaplain is liable to be a L3 Adept and assisted by a couple of acolytes. Most chaplains are provided with ★★ accommodation.
Priory – a small Monastery, containing a chapel, dedicated to a deity and their faith. It is led by a prior (generally a L5 Cleric) who is supported by a sub-prior and a resident body of Cannons and Acolytes perhaps a dozen (or more) people all together. A priory provides ★★/★★★ accommodation for its residents.
Temple – A temple is the first religious building that has a proper Altar and can conduct full versions of ceremonies. It normally has a L5 Cleric as its priest, who is assisted by a Chaplain, Canons and Acolytes. There is probably a house, that provides ★★/★★★ accommodation, nearby to house them all.
Abbey - A large monastery led by an Abbot who is overall head of the priories and monastic houses (dedicated to the same deity) in the region. It is a prestigious building with a good sized private temple and accommodation for a large community of monastics. The Abbot will be supported by both a Prior and a Sub-Prior. An Abbey provides ★★/★★★★ accommodation for its residents.
Minster – A very large Temple that is probably run by a High Priest who is most likely a 7th level Cleric – it may well have a two or three chapels dedicated to different ‘saints’ as well as the main altar. There will be a good number of Chaplains, Cannons and Acolytes. The Minster will have a small cloister garden with a house for the High-Priest as well as a town house or two to accommodate the rest of the staff. A minster provides ★★/★★★★ accommodation for its residents.
Cathedral – A Cathedral is a massive temple, with a good number of chapels for private prayer and meetings, it is the base for a Bishop. The Bishop will have a mansion in the Cathedrals Cloister – and there will be a number of town houses to accommodate the rest of the cathedral’s roster of priests, chaplains and canons. A bishop is head of his faith in the region and may be selected from the Abbots or High-Priests across the region. A Cathedral provides ★★/★★★★ accommodation for its residents.
New thoughts on religious buildings
A shrine is just something that makes you think of a particular deity and that has a clergyman(1) of some sort (normally an Adept) associated with it. When the clergyman prays for spells at the shrine, it makes the shrine active, for the day. A shrine without a clergyman to maintain it becomes inactive and loses all special effects and building bonus (+1 Stability). A shrine could be simple - a butterfly carved into a tree or painted on a wall (Desna); a more complicated structure with a roof and doors protecting a statue of a deity; or even a painting in a wall niche of another room.
A graveyard – a place for burying the dead. It could be a traditional graveyard, a simple charnel pit that is filled with the bones of dead people or a special tomb reserved for the members of a given family. Rather than one large holy symbol there will likely be many smaller symbols on markers within the burial yard or tomb. The Clergyman associated with the graveyard tends to the graves, holds basic burial services – when they pray for their spells in the graveyard they activate it as a shrine. Without these prayers The Graveyard loses its +1 Stability bonus.
(1) Clergyman – someone who has access to Divine Spells gained by praying.
Notes
See Residential Classifications for a description of the ★ rating system.
Where two different accommodation ratings are shown, the majority of the churchmen get the lower rating. Only a few rooms, reserved for the head of establishment are at the higher rating. Junior churchmen fill any servant roles. An archbishop might have their own mansion or Noble Estate, however, that probably isn't provided by the church. A primate probably does have a Noble Estate provided by the Church, while a Prince Bishop probably has a palace or a castle. Mansions and Estates provided by the church will always include a chapel or temple of some sort.