Falan
is a deity caught between two existences. He is worshipped by both the
undead and those who control them and by those who would destroy the
undead. These two groups are generally diametrically opposed to one
another.
In his mortal life, which
ended when he ascended during the return of Amat, Falan was a friend to
Stasis and Mouser, who were also mortals at the time. His ascension came
with the rare blessing of the Oldest Orc, a fact that none have ever
explained.
His religion is split.
Although most of the faithful fall into the category of fearing and
wanting to destroy the undead, many clerics use the undead, or are
themselves undead.
The race of Sakor’akai also
worships Falan. The first of their kind appeared on Habololy shortly
after the ascension of Falan, and claimed that he had created them. Falan
has never admitted to doing so to the Counsil or to his clerics, but the
belief persists.
Falan favors the methods used
by the Counsil, but disagrees with their decisions on many occasions. He
often falls into the minority when choices are made. He allies himself
with Tfop on most decisions.
Most of the Counsil disliked
Falan and his religion, as do all of the cults. If it were not for the
blessing of the Oldest Orc, he would most likely not be in the position he
is.
Power:
Lesser God
Symbol:
The wheel of eight swords.
Alignment:
Chaotic Good (Neutral)
Aspects:
Necromancy, Swords, Sakor’akai, Undead,
Innovation
Plane of Existence:
Prime Material
Domains:
Death, Magic, Repose
Prayer Time: Any time, but only once in 24 hours
Favored Weapon:
Long Sword
Turn Undead:
Turn or Control Undead (choose at 1st
level)
Back from the Dead:
Any
Favored Class:
Wizard (Necromancer)
High
Temple:
Dethembrais
High Cleric:
Temmley Bladelore
Number of Faithful:
500,000
Associated Groups:
The Bladelords
Dogma: Existence on
the material plane is change. From the time you arrive to the time you
leave you change. Death is the ultimate change and must be understood.
Its study yields insights that guide us through life. It guides what we
believe, how we act and what we fear. Those who understand death live
without fear of it. The study of swordplay can help overcome fears.
Death is not evil; those who worship it as a force of darkness or seek to
bring it to the innocent must be opposed. At death, life is defined; it
is the reward of mortals but should be forestalled or even conquered by
those with work left to do.
Feast Day: 8th
Trest (Birthday of the Mortal Falan)
The Church
The church of Falan is a divided faith, with an
orthodox following and a heretical splinter group that still draws its
power from Falan and claims to represent his true nature. The orthodox
have no name for themselves, but are frequently referred to by outsiders
as white necromancers. The heretics refer to themselves as the Eternal.
The two factions are constantly at war for the soul of the church and
some say Falan himself.
The orthodox branch of Falan’s church is among the
least hierarchical of the Counsil faiths. There is virtually no
bureaucracy, with the exception of the Ordo Sanctus discussed below, and
no meaningful system of rank. The church has no regional organization
to speak of but the wandering clerics and shrine priests tend to report
when necessary to the closest temple. Falan appoints the high priest of
the church himself but beyond that has no control over the day to day
operation of the church. Past high priests have made major changes to
the religion; the high temple was moved from Messada to Dethembrais,
clerics have been required to study at one of the world’s institutions
of higher learning, the Ordo Sanctus was founded and the practice of
creating free willed undead (other than revenants) was abolished. Many
of these changes are related to the heretical activities of the Eternal
as the church has struggled with how to deal with them.
The leaders of the church are usually the high
priests of Falan’s nine temples. However, as will be discussed below,
prominent individuals that are either not attached to a temple, or are
not high priests, are almost as common. High priests may come to power
by any honest means. Murder, extortion and trickery are not allowed and
many clerics who have used these methods have found themselves face to
face with a member of the Ordo Sanctus or worse yet Grave or Nemesis.
Falan prevents such clerics from rising through the ranks by very direct
means. He requires all clerics of a certain rank, or who are in line to
become a high priest, to report to the high priest at the high temple in
Dethembrais. There they are subjected to a ritual of purification and
inquisition overseen by the Ordo Sanctus. Those that fail are never
seen again, though passing only requires that the cleric be true to the
orthodox faith. Aside from this limited safeguard, clerics and
worshippers of Falan are free to observe their faith in whatever way
seems best to them. Some have little or no interest in necromancy,
instead pursuing the art of swordsmithing or the path of the Bladelords.
Others devote their lives to the study of anatomy, as the magic of
necromancy lends itself to that scientific approach to healing. Besides
Hemator, Falan easily has the most non-spellcasting healers among his
faithful. Finally, there are those that devote themselves to some other
form of study or experimentation, as Falan is the patron of innovators
of all types. His clerics, however, are primarily devoted to Falan as
the power of necromancy and draw their power from that aspect.
Each temple is staffed by one or more priests, led
by the temple priest. Beyond that maxim, no other universal commonality
exists. Some temples will have a community of priests while others will
be run by a lone cleric who prefers solitude. Obviously the larger
temples will have more staff possibly including a Feyalin, wizards,
bards and servants. Even the smallest shrines have a small library and
laboratory for research. While the clerics tend to be self-centered and
self-reliant, Falan expects them to act for the common good by offering
healing, both magical and mundane especially in areas where the cult of
Hemator is absent or underground. The clerics are always expected to
aid in battles against the undead, to show the people that they are not
in league with such creatures. The temple will aid those seeking refuge
from evil or tyranny, even at risk to the temple itself. Temples rely
upon their community members for most of their revenue as the clerics
spend most of their time in study. Some temples produce goods of some
type, usually mundane cures or books. Clerics often hire themselves out
as scribes or translators as well. For the largest temples where a
Bladelord is a member of the community there will be a forge for the
production of swords, which will be sold to select buyers. The temples
stockpile wealth only to assist their research and purchase books and
materials, though Falan does not require his clerics to take any sort of
vow of poverty and the temples are usually very comfortable places.
Within the orthodox church there is one organized
group based at the high temple in Dethembrais: The Ordo Sanctus. The
Ordo Sanctus is composed of men and women, primarily human, though many
Sakor’akai are drawn to it as well, whose primary task is to purge the
church of the Eternal and act as Falan’s agents against other evil
organizations as well. The members of the organization are answerable
to the head of the order, who is elected from among their ranks and
answers only to Falan, and the high priest. The membership roll of the
order is kept secret but members identify themselves as sanctifiers and
typically wear a silver version Falan’s holy symbol. The order includes
all of Falan’s few inquisitors as well as many of his Feyalin. Almost
all members of the order are good-aligned, with a much higher percentage
of Neutral Good compared to the rest of the church. Disciples are rare
among the order but are among its most zealous members. They are potent
hunters of the undead and the Eternal that consort with them. Psions and
Psionic Warriors are recruited into the order for their ability to
uncover evil that is operating behind closed doors and pleasant faces.
As the only true bureaucracy within the church the order is also
responsible for maintaining the library of the church. Scribes have
over the centuries completed four copies of the library and new work is
duplicated three times as well. All of the original works are stored at
the first temple in Messada, a structure that is reputed to have some of
the most formidable magical safeguards available. Copies used and
expounded upon by church researchers are kept at the high temple in
Dethembrais. Finally copies are kept for teaching purposes at both the
Bardic College of Icefia and the Trueheart Academy in Yellowia, where
most of Falan’s Feyalin are trained. The order maintains good relations
with the faculties of both of those institutions as well as other groups
discussed below. The order has a specific mandate that has been passed
down for the last three hundred years – eliminate the Eternal and their
undead allies. The members of the order tend to be serious and somber
individuals, acutely aware of their responsibility and willing to do
anything to carry it out, even to the detriment of Falan himself. The
order includes many members who are members of other organizations, such
as the Knights of the White Sword and the Order of the Banished Hero.
The members work primarily in secret but do so in concert with other
goodly organizations and governments and are quick to volunteer their
services when a threat from the undead is discovered.
The Church tries to maintain good relations with
all the churches of the good and neutral deities of the Counsil, as well
as the Cult of Hemator and the faithful of Mouser and Allanda. The
Church tends to be on excellent terms with the churches of
Arsur’anyodel, Gnarion, Stasis, Tfop, Tommimao and Treetop. Stasis,
Tfop and Arsur’anyodel are Falan’s closest allies on the Counsil and he
expects his clerics to work with these faiths whenever it is necessary.
The Church of Stasis and Falan work together to combat evil, especially
fiends and undead. However, the centuries long friendship between
Stasis and Falan does not easily translate to their followers and the
two groups have very little in common. On the other hand Falan’s
followers mix easily with those of Arsur’anyodel and Tfop.
Sutyr and Dresta have no illusions that Falan is
their enemy and would gladly see them adrift on the Astral Plane.
Fortunately for Falan’s followers and clerics, most people treat them
with a mixture of caution and detachment, leaving them to their own
devices until needed for some urgent task. Falan and his church oppose
the cults with the exceptions of Allanda, Mouser and Hemator. Falan has
nothing but hatred for the powers of evil and generally includes both
Drunnbar and Arsenal among their ranks.
Falan’s church maintains close relations with only
one outside organization: the Guardian sect based at the Guardian Temple
in central Icefia. The Guardians dedicate their live to defending
Habololy from the forces of the lower planes. Falan has fought numerous
battles against the powers and deities of the lower planes throughout
his existence and has advocated for the sect along with Stasis to the
Counsil. His clerics are expected to aid the Guardians whenever the
need arises.
