Church of Razmir

Razmir is the ruler of Razmiran and a self-proclaimed living deity. Razmir claims to be a god of law, luxury, obedience, and the land of Razmiran itself. Razmiran priests are able to exhibit the powers of a divine domain as though they were servants of a real god.

• Titles
  • The Living God
  • Master of the 31 Steps
• Alignment     Lawful evil
• Race/Species     Human (Taldan)
• Class     Wizard 19
• Gender     Male
• Homeland     Thronestep, Razmiran
  

Background

Early life

Razmir's early life is shrouded in mystery. According to some accounts, he grew up in a farm in the Varisian countryside, and left his simple life behind when he discovered a secret library of the runelords; another story claims that Razmir was once a penniless boy, begging for food and sleeping under a sewer grate in Oppara. Despite their differences, all of these tales agree that Razmir came from humble beginnings.

Seizure of Melcat

Razmir appeared in the Arch-Duchy of Melcat, in the western part of the River Kingdoms in 4661 AR, claiming he had gained divinity by passing the Test of the Starstone. While he actually has no divine abilities, his incredible arcane power was enough proof of his godhood to many people.[1] He declared himself to the people of Xer, whose local magistrate had him arrested inside his very first temple. Razmir offered the magistrate a place in his clergy, and when the magistrate refused, Razmir turned him into a fox, then took control over Xer.

His religion quickly spread throughout the kingdom, with only the capital, Aerduin, resisting. Razmir approached the city at the edge of the Vergan Forest on 17 Erastus and demanded fealty of Duke Melcat three times; three times he was refused. That night he summoned a terrible cloud of fire, and by morning the city and all of its inhabitants had been reduced to ash and ruin. Few resisted him after that.

Further expansion

Razmir has expanded his territory three times since then, each at the expense of another River Kingdom, and now rules a sizable nation under the total domination of his clergy.

The sun orchid elixir

Razmir has been on the throne for decades now, and is beginning to fear his own mortality. To stave off death, he seeks vials of the sun orchid elixir from Thuvia to halt his aging until he can achieve true immortality.[3] However, when his winning bid was fraudulently rejected (according to Razmir himself), he has sent agents to Thuvia to either steal the recipe or even kidnap Artokus Kirran himself. In the past few years, he has grown increasingly more paranoid and angry, and at least two of his high-ranking clergymen have gone missing.

Relationships

Most deities regard Razmir with contempt or disdainful amusement. The only exception is the deity Sivanah who has an incomprehensible interest in the Living God. Her followers, most often veiled witches from Irrisen, are her most commonly utilised emissaries to Razmiran.

Because Razmir is not a true god, his priests cannot cast true divine spells, instead using arcane magic to mask their deficiency. Healing, normally a staple of all clerics, is a particular problem for Razmiran priests, who use obscure arcane magic, folk remedies, and so-called "holy" artifacts to cure. These priests are quite convincing, and are able to dupe most commoners who see them perform their magic.

Razmiran priests use arcane magic to mimic the abilities of true clerics, relying on obscure spells, secret "holy" magic items, and folk remedies to fill in the gaps when it comes to healing. Razmiran priests are able to exhibit the powers of a divine domain as though they were servants of a real god. The domains that Razmir is able to falsely replicate for his followers are Charm, Evil, Law, or Trickery.

Through deception and the careful use of arcane magic, a mundane entity can appear to grant divine magical abilities to its followers. This practice is referred to as false divine magic. A user of false divine magic might be able to deceive witnesses of their spellcasting into thinking their use of a hidden arcane magic item was a divine power. Others might use a false divine focus to fuel the material component of an arcane spell. The masked ruler of Razmiran spreads his false faith through lies, arcane magic, and magic items that make his followers' abilities appear to be divine miracles.

Recently rumors have begun to circulate among the upper echelons of the clergy of Razmir that the Living God has been acting erratically and become withdrawn from his priests.

A small colony of shackleborn tieflings live in Razmiran, trained from youth to serve the will of the clergy. It is believed that these are the offspring of velstrac torturers, employed to persuade doubtful acolytes. However, the Razmiran priests have never confirmed any such dealings with the evil outsiders.

Razmir's faithful are strictly ordered by their loyalty to Razmir, and by what they have been able to accomplish in his name. These orders are referred to as Steps, and correspond to the number of steps one is allowed to climb in a temple to approach the mask symbol of the Living God. Each congregant is given a robe and mask that denotes his or her Step, which are delineated as follows:

• Acolyte of the First Step, white robe and iron mask
  
• Priest of the Third Step, gray robe and iron mask
  
• Herald of the Eighth Step, black robe and iron mask
  
• Mask of the Twelfth Step, blue robe and silver mask
  
• Vision of the Fifteenth Step, red robe and gold mask

Steps generally achieve promotion not through acts of faith, but by seizing new territory and worshipers for Razmir. When trying to expand the faith into new regions, temples are always built in the poorest neighborhoods first. The clergy then begins working for the poor and sick and handing out alms to attract followers. Clergy then use the growing flock of faithful to help influence local government while extorting money from local businesses to "protect" them from their mobs. Once a new church has achieved sufficient clout, it then begins installing members of the faith into local positions of power.

The faith of Razmir is relatively simple. It preaches that life is about the acquisition of gold and power. Those who follow the teachings of the Living God may enjoy life's luxuries while blasphemers and heretics deserve only to toil for the faithful. The faith preaches its superiority to all other faiths, other gods being regarded as lesser and irrelevant, and outsiders need to be converted to the fold, by force if necessary. The many individual tenants and rules of the clergy tend to be vague and open to interpretation. Punishments for breaking rules also vary, depending on the whim of the superior priest at the time. Indeed, many of the rules are intentionally contradictory in order to allow more experienced clerics to punish acolytes and thus imbue fear and obedience into the offending individual.

The bodies of the dead have long been considered unclean and taboo, and the recently deceased are generally taken to be disposed of in communal mausoleums.

Razmir's temples are located in every village and market square throughout Razmiran, but also have spread into several nearby River Kingdoms, Molthune, Nirmathas, and Ustalav. The governments of Druma, Kyonin, and Lastwall have banned his worship and forbid his clergy from proselytizing. Most temples are quite simple affairs with a large central worship chamber arranged around a set of steps that lead up to a gold or silver mask.

A highly addictive drug, tears of Razmir is a combination of narcotics and hallucinogens that was created by Razmir, the ruler of Razmiran masquerading as a god.[1] Users report reinforced energy and a higher pain tolerance.[2] Razmiran clergy will give away this drug to people who are not addicted, hoping to hook them and charge them for later doses. This is done not only to fill the church's coffers but also to control the addicts.[1] Payment from wealthy addicts can be as much as 10 gp for a single dose.

In 4719 AR, after Tar-Baphon was freed from his prison, Razmir sent a herald to the Isle of Terror to make an offer: should the Tyrant not disturb him and his country, he would return the favour. The herald returned, transformed into a wraith, with news of Tar Baphon's acceptance of Razmir's offer on one condition: Razmiran would tithe at least a thousand corpses per month to Tar-Baphon to maintain the peace. No one knows if Razmir accepted the terms, but there has been no fighting between the two.

However, Razmir has begun to act erratically and become withdrawn from his priests, entirely focusing on Tar-Baphon one day and treating the Tyrant as beneath his notice the next. Some of his faithful are frightened by this lapse in protection, especially in the face of the Whispering Tyrant, but the rumour has not spread far outside of the secret circles in Thronestep and First Step.

The dangerous situation with Tar-Baphon across Lake Encarthan has made some of this most devout followers begin to doubt whether they can really count on the protection of their god against the dangers of this time.