Organizations · Religious · Regional
The Priests of Mammon
Many priests take a vow of poverty-but not the priests and priestesses of Mammon. But that is to be expected.
The priests of Mammon dress very well indeed.Many priests take a vow of poverty-but not the priests and priestesses of Mammon. At the bottom are the vicars and vicaresses, who wear a robe of fine red cloth and a torc of silver around their necks. Every town where Mammon is worshipped will have one or two priests. The great cities have a male or female Bishop,who wears a robe of purple silk and a golden torc.And the very top rank, and there are only about twenty of them, are the Cardinals,who wear purple and red silken clothes and golden torcs with jewels set in them.
The priests and those above them help people to set up farms and bisnesses in return for a monthly tithe to the Church.They also lend money at high rates of interest to those who worship other gods and goddesses.In their eyes, whilst they must do nothing to harm their flocks and thus their God, it is fine to extract large amounts of money from non-beleviers, providing it is not through outright theft/extortion.
The smaller churches are relitivly plain, to stop non-believers robbing them,but the great cathedrals are wonderful to behold,with golden altars,stained glass windows,and pico-wood benches with soft pillows for those who kneel to pray. Most of the money goes to keep the Churches running. A beliver who steals from his or her Church, and that includes embezzelment at even the highest levels, is cut off from his/her God, who lets the priests at all ranks know of this through a dream.Such a person is excommunicated, will have bad luck in life in a myriad of small ways, and, it is beleaved, will go to Hell in the afterlife and their souls will wonder starving in a plane of cold for all eternity.
A good worshipper, will have their own idea of Heaven awaiting them in their afterlife.Whilst those who serve Mammon do not want to die, they do not fear death as much as others because of their thoughts of a happy afterlife.
When they die they are buried with a small coin in their mouth to pay their way into Heaven.Apart from that there are no treasures in their tombs, as it would mean that sooner or later the tombs would be robbed,and anyway, buried wealth is no good to the Church.
Scrolls
Twists, chapters, and details meant to stream with the submission — not general discussion.
No scrolls yet — leave one if you have a twist worth keeping.
Sign in to plant an idea scroll.
Award XP
Enjoyed this? Sign in to thank Cheka Man with blade clashes — 5 XP each, up to 25.
5 10 15 20 25Sign in to award XP.
Discussion
Reader talk, questions, and feedback — not scrolls.
No comments yet — be the first voice in the hall.
Sign in to join the discussion.
Continue the path
Three more steps through the hall.
- Deacon Rogue by Cheka Man Bound
Other takes
No other takes yet — the best compliment on the Citadel is a Retelling.
Bonds
Curated bonds across the Citadel. Kindred Favors are another thread in the same weave.
Echoes 4
Pieces that link here
- Deacon Rogue Cheka Man linked by Cheka Man
- Mammon's Holy Defenders Cheka Man linked by Cheka Man
- Staff of the Swarm Cheka Man linked by Cheka Man
- The Rotter Cheka Man linked by manfred
The higher-level priests have both healing magic (given for free to proven Mammon worshippers, others have to pay for it's use) and certain pain-causing magics which they let loose if they catch someone stealing from them.They don't use deadly force,as it could cause severe and expensive legal problems, instead they have a spell which causes a quick burst of indigestion, which lasts long enough for the theif to be captured.
Very interesting idea. I have a religion similar to this in Hewdamia. They have a belief that wealth is the way to enlightenment and righteousness. Whether they are correct or not is another issue in and of itself.
Its always nice to see religions explains that have quirks.
When playing in a Palladium campaign I had to design the tenets of my characters church and explain why other races were not worthy. Its those ticks that make it unique.
Short but compact, I get all the important points from the post. An interesting deity likely to produce a smile on a player's face, but still believable, and can be easily put into many a game world.
Good work.
Nice, pragmatic church. Sub needs spellchecking.
"You can not serve both God and Mammon." ;)
Focused, well-described idea. I can tell it's a good idea because I can think of areas the sub can expand into. Are there other quality banks that compete with Mammon? What does the church do with its wealth?
Well...some goes to keeping the churches repaired,some to the priests (but not so much that it would bring the religion into disrepute) and some is saved or invested.
If there is a national disaster then the priests will help the country out, winning many willing converts in such a way.