Living Greyhawk: The Yeomanry

The Church of Hieroneous

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Worshipers of Heironeous can be found throughout the Yeomanry, due to the prevalence of proselytizing priests involved in the Yeoman Militia. While the Heironean church is smaller than the Church of Seven Faiths (Co7F) as a collective entity, the worshippers of Heironeous are second in number only to those of Phaulkon. The Church of Heironeous and the Church of Seven Faiths have a number of fundamental disagreements in the Yeomanry. Hieroneans consider the Co7F to be backwards and outdated, while Co7F worshippers consider Heironeous to be an unwelcome reminder of Keoish imperialism. However, both groups agree that protecting the Yeomanry from evil, both within and without, is of the highest priority.

Organization

The religious hierarchy of Heironeous is organized like a military order. It has a clear chain of command, lines of supply, and well-stocked armories. This may be, in part, why the Church remains so popular with Army and Militia regulars. Heironean hierarchy fits well within Yeoman military ranks, and it is only rarely that the Church chooses to field its own forces. When it does, and in all other religious matters, each Heironean worshiper owes temporal obedience to a single Primarch of the Church. In times of conflict that threaten the faith and necessitate the assembly of the faithful, the Primarch conducts the full force of Heironeous' war machine, known to the laymen as "The Great Host". The Primarch is aided by the Exarch Inquisitus of the Illuminating Bolt, who commands the inquisitors of the church and seek out the evil influence of undead and outsiders. Beneath the Primarch are the Hierarchs of the various nations of the faithful. There is one for each nation with a significant church presence, such as the Yeomanry and Keoland. The current Hierarch in the Yeomanry is Taave (human Clr14 LG), who serves in Longspear.

Beneath the Hierarchs are the Patris-Martial - priests who are expected to command in times of conflict. Under the Patris-Martial are the Patris-General, who serve as hospitalers, templars, and mendicants to the oppressed. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the Laymen. These are comprised of Yeomen from all walks of life. They are the core of the church strength and the church often calls upon them for support in times of need.

Laymen

Prerequisites

Characters who wish to be Laymen of Hieroneous must have the Yeomanry as their home region. Switching regions from the Yeomanry results in expulsion from the group and all the benefits that come with it.
Lay Members must be either Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, or Neutral Good in alignment.
PCs must be active worshippers of Heironeous - it must say so on the PC's character sheet. Should this be changed, the PC loses all benefits at any level.
Laymen must also have a minimum of 2 ranks in Knowledge: Religion.

Requirements

Lay Members of the Church must spend 2 TU per year (attending services and supporting the church in battling evil) and donate 5% of their income or 500 gp (PC choice) to the church per year. Failure to do so results in the loss of all benefits of membership.

Benefits

Heironeans are generally held in low regard by members of the Church of Seven Faiths. To represent this, all diplomacy, gather information, and bluff checks are made by Laymen with a -2 penalty when dealing with clerics of the Co7F deities in Yeomanry regional and metaregional adventures.
Similarly, worshippers of Heironeous are looked upon with respect by members of the Yeoman militia and army. As such, all diplomacy, gather information, and bluff checks are made by Laymen with a +1 circumstance bonus when dealing with militia and army members. Note that these effects could be cumulative (dealing with a militiaman who worships Kord, for example). This is also stackable with any bonuses a PC might receive due to army or militia enlistment.
Laymen are entitled to have Clerics of the church perform burials, marriages, act as advocates in legal matters, and other Church sacraments for them.
The DC for determining if a desired divine spell is available to the PC is reduced by 2, and the gp cost of such spells is reduced by 10%. See YEO-R2, Purchasing Divine and Arcane Spells in the Yeomanry, for exact details. In a rural environment, however there is a 25% chance that a Hieronean spellcaster is not available.
Laymen are given a 5% discount on the purchase of healing potions (up to 500gp) and potions of bull's strength, but ONLY if purchased from other followers of Hieroneous.
Laymen gain access to the following magic item: potion of cure serious wounds.

Priests

The priesthood of Heironeous is complex in its own right. Many of these priests are trained in combat and tactics, and it is not uncommon to see Priests of the church actively fighting alongside their more martial brethren in combat. There are three levels of priesthood within the church, each with differing benefits and levels of commitment. Priests begin service as a Patris-General. After a year of service, they become a Patris-Martial. Higher ranks exist, such as Marshall of Battles and even Hierarch, but must be applied for and earned specifically and at the invitation, direction, and discretion of the Triad.

In addition to the costs and benefits designated to Laymen, Priests have the following costs and benefits:

Prerequisites

PCs must be Laymen of the Church for two calendar months before becoming a Patris-General, who must serve an additional calendar year before becoming a Patris-Martial.
A Patris-General must have a minimum of 6 ranks in Knowledge: Religion. A Patris-Martial require 10 ranks. A Priest may substitute 2 ranks of Knowledge: The Planes, or Language (Celestial) for 1 rank of Knowledge: Religion.
All Priests of Heironeous must have the ability to cast divine spells.
All Priests of Heironeous must be proficient with either the battleaxe or longsword. Patris-Martials must be able to cast Divine spells of at least 4th-level OR have a base attack bonus of +7 and Divine casting ability.

Requirements

Priests must spend additional TUs based on their rank in the Priesthood. So Patris-General must serve 4 TUs, and Patris Martials 8 (this counts the 2 TUs that Laymen must spend). These TUs represent time spent working in and administering a church, charitable work in the field, or proselytizing.
Priests of the Church must donate 5% of their income per adventure or an annual 1000 gp lump sum (PC choice) to the church per year. Failure to do so results in the loss of all benefits of membership.

Benefits

A Patris-General gains 1 'permanent' influence point per rank when determining the costs of purchasing divine spells in the Yeomanry. This only applies when dealing with other clerics of Heironeous. PCs must pay regular price when dealing with clerics of other deities (other than clerics of the Co7F). A Patris-Martial gains 2 'permanent' influence points.
The penalty to all diplomacy, gather information, and bluff checks is increased to -4 when dealing with clerics of the Co7F deities. Furthermore, any spells cast on them by NPC clerics of the Co7F cost 50% more.

Similarly, Priests of Heironeous are looked upon with respect by members of the Yeoman militia and army. As such, all diplomacy, gather information, and bluff checks are made by Priests with a +2 circumstance bonus when dealing with militia and army members. Note that these two aforementioned effects could be cumulative (dealing with a soldier who worships Joramy, for example). This is also stackable with any bonuses a PC might receive due to army or militia enlistment.
A Patris-Martials receives a +2 Circumstance bonus to Sense Motive checks when dealing with Yeoman soldiers, reflecting extensive fieldwork and familiarization with the average Yeoman fighting man.
Priests of Heironeous gain access to the following prestige classes:
Patris Martials also gain access to:
- Church Inquisitor (DotF, must have campaign documentation of meeting requirements)
- Foe Hunter (MotW--foe must be worshipers of Hextor).
Priests of Heironeous gain access to the following feats:
Patris-Martials also gain access to:
Priests of Heironeous, (all ranks), assuming they meet all other requirements, are granted access to the following spells:
Partis-Generals gain access to the following magic items:
They may also upgrade their armor and / or shields with the Sacred enhancement and their weapons with the Shock enhancement. Patris-Martials may also purchase Circlet of Persuasion, and upgrade their weapons with the Holy or Shock Burst enhancements.

Background and History

Brought by Oeridian settlers from the northeast during the Oeridian migrations of -240 CY to -180 CY, the worship of Heironeous was largely subsumed as the immigrant Oeridians adopted local Suel and Flan deities. Only a small and loyal core held onto Heironean worship as basic survival and rural needs supplanted lofty ideals of valor and justice. That being said, worship of the Arch-paladin remained among a small group of Oeridian nobles that settled along the Jotens and faced constant giant incursions. In other parts of the country, the Heironean sect (as it was called by officials of the Church of Seven Faiths) faced stark discrimination and loss of membership and holdings as the Church of the Seven Faiths solidified its grip on the average Yeoman citizen and obtained secular sanction for the appropriation of the lands and holdings of "unofficial" faiths.

All of that changed, however, with the induction of the Yeoman League into the Keoish Empire in -96 CY. While the Keoish tended to disdain religion in organized form, they brought many of the old Oeridian gods with them as the two cultures began to overlap and merge. Additionally, their efforts to reduce the political clout of established religions such as the Church of Seven Faiths allowed other faiths to establish footholds in the League. As the Yeomanry meshed itself into the more sophisticated culture of Keoland, more sophisticated moral and religious concepts began to gain acceptance among the rich landholders and bourgeoisie merchants. As such, the god of valor and justice began to make significant inroads among the upper classes. Children who saw the shining knights of Keoland began to dream of becoming Heironean paladins.

When the Yeomanry formally severed its membership from the Keoish Empire in 361 CY, there was a backlash against Keoish influence. Many of the Oeridian gods fell by the wayside or their worship was absorbed into more acceptable "yeoman" faiths. But some few, notably Heironeous, Fharlanghn, and Zilchus were too firmly established and had enjoyed over three centuries of entrenchment. Although the Church of Seven Faiths re-established its pre-eminence, it was unsuccessful in rooting out Heironean religion. This was especially true as many of the upper-class Freeholders with political clout were devotees of the Arch-paladin. The Church of Heironeous has seen a recent resurgence in the Yeomanry, starting with the return of Iuz in 571 CY. As he established his kingdom on the border of the Bandit Kingdoms, numerous humanoid and giantish tribes, as if in response to the growing evil, began agitating and conducting raids throughout the border states and the Sheldomar Valley. Seen as a bulwark against the encroaching evil, the faithful of Heironeous were ever in the forefront of any battle. Heironean knights also were instrumental in the Greyhawk Wars and crusading knights brought back tales of glorious battles and evil defeated or kept at bay that electrified the common listener. In one illuminating example, when a Giant-led horde menaced the city of Loftwick in 390 CY, a militia sergeant / blacksmith named Teck invoked the name of Heironeous in an inspiring speech and led a counter-charge that helped break the right wing of the Giant army and sent them retreating back into the Jotens.

Still not pervasive enough to be considered a "religion of the common man", the worship of Heironeous has nonetheless gained a substantial following among the freemen and the number of laymen of the church grows daily. It retains its core following among the upper echelons of Yeoman government and counts among its numbers many Spokesmen, Freeholders, Freeknights, military personnel, and shire reeves. With a goodly foundation among various Sheldomar nations and increased need for valorous fighters in these dark times, the Church of Heironeous seems set to grow tremendously. And wherever there are Yeomen fighting the good fight against chaos and evil, there will likely be Heironeans leading the charge from the front lines.

There are two major centers of Heironean worship in the Yeomanry. The first is the Citadel of Valor in Longspear. The Hierarch of the Mission-Militant decided to avoid confrontations with the Church of Seven Faiths and to give the impression of refraining from political meddling, and so the main bastion of the faith was laid in Longspear and not Loftwick. Many of the faithful still make the trek to Longspear to consult with church officials and to train at the Citadel, which rivals the training academies of many small nations. The second noteworthy gathering of Heironeans is the Hospital of Spitalvale. There, the faithful gather to learn basic combat skills and aid the weak and helpless. It is the center of Heironean Hospitalers and draws numerous ill and maimed seeking cures or comfort from the Hospitaler Order. In the cities of Westburn, North Reach, Farvale, High Crag and Loftwick are major temples. In the towns of Cottonton, Dart, Hardwick, Singleton, Sule, Tarris, Whitehurst and Wickler there are medium temples. Minor shrines and small churches are scattered in the Yeomanry and are likely to be found in any village.

Interestingly enough, while the Church of Seven Faiths, as the official religion of the Yeomanry, may buy and purchase land freely, most other religions are relegated to renting land and space from landholder citizens. It took a special session of the Council of Common Grosspokesmen in 574 CY to concoct the legal fiction of assigning "citizenship" to the Churches of Heironeous, Fharlanghn, and Zilchus. Now, these churches may purchase land and property in their own names, though contracts must still be handled through actual citizen members of the Church.

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