The See of Medegia is a territory ostensibly within the Great Kingdom of Aerdy that is under direct sovereign rule of the Holy Censor of the Aerdian Church of Law. Though the reach of the Censor's ecclesiastical authority has diminished with the decline of the Great Kingdom, he remains one of the most powerful and wealthy rulers in the eastern Flanaess.
The Church of Law has ever tied to the Aerdi, their kings, and kingdom. While the various Hierarchs of Law of the Flanaess were independent, they were in communion, and the Hierarch of Medegia was invested as Holy Censor, guardian over the doctrine of Law and moral guide to the Malachite Throne and the entire Kingdom.
Most Medegian church houses, including its great basilica, were originally dedicated to Pholtus, the Blinding Light, though Legalism being a transtheistic faith, this was not true of other churches in other lands. Today, the iconography of Pholtus persists, but the stern-faced deity is little favored by the current Holy Censor, his most senior clergy, or the other highfolk of the land. The Divine Law has varied manifestations and champions, so why should they not pray to Zilchus, whose doctrine of material prosperity for the faithful is more amiable to their wealth and privilege?
Despite the Holy Censor's roll as advisor to the Overking, neither the indolent Hierarch nor his flattering and generous orthodoxy are favored at court. Ivid is rumored to have become enamored of an antinomian heresy wherein, as a divinely favored monarch, he is above the precepts that bind others. The Censor is, of course, concerned, but not overmuch, so that his enjoyment of his position isn't soured.
Ugh. I've had enough dealings with the hypocrisies of the "Prosperity Gospel" cult IRL to recognize that scam anywhere - even in Greyhawk.
ReplyDeleteYep! :D
ReplyDeleteNice note on the lawfulness of the original aerdi imperium, which could just as easily make Rel Astra their supreme court for those who find zilchus silly or irritating. Once we get away from the simple cleric/anticleric dichotomy there might be room for any number of professions that mechanically work more or less like adventuring clerics . . . I think there were notes to that effect, that most career religious were actually bureaucrats who can't pray for a lot of spells. This also makes room for corrupt clerics and hypocrites within any church hierarchy, which seems to be the kind of oppressive theocracy Gygax wants in place here. Not that Gygax is always going to be right! The “demon” references around the current dynasty have made a lot of trouble over the years for people who want the diabolical pacts and inverted church of a pseudo-medieval setting instead of the gibbering googa mooga of purely chaotic evil. Attempts to no-prize it by having Ivid start out as an acolyte of a state-sponsored Hextor cult don’t make things any better: if that form of lawful evil is acceptable for the crown prince then how is the current boss any worse than his predecessors? How do we show the collapse at the table where players can enjoy the cautionary tale and maybe fight against the dying of the light? Since Hextor comes late to the canon I might simply give Ivid anticlerical levels (satanism) with a side of wizard training and handwave the “demons.” Heironeous is probably OK as patron of the original paladin fief that spins out into Furyondy. If you have Hextor he might also be a perversion of the saintly paladin cult, maybe the antinomian religion (love that) the Herzog of the North promulgates in his dual role of dithering aristocrat and secret Grandfather of Assassins. But all of this arguably drove Carl Sargent out of the hobby, we might not go here.
ReplyDeleteAlso Veluna formally splitting from the pope in Rel Astra is probably a more complicated story than any Greyhawk game has been equipped to tell. What really happened here?
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, I agree regarding the diabolic vs. demonic of Ivid. My solution somewhat is to make alignment more pragmatic perhaps. A nakedly demonic king might lead to some sort of clerical action, but a more covert one might lead to a degree of tolerance--particularly for a clergy whose understanding of law permits several interpretations.
ReplyDeleteAt 30 mi a hex this region is about 300 miles across or about the size of Germany. This is coincidentally the size of my main campaign area in my world.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I've always had with Grayhawk as much of an influence as it has been on me (purchased the folio in 1980) is that the scale is simply sprawling with no detail on a human level.
Yes, it's size and emptiness at the stated scale is an issue
ReplyDeleteI've written a blog post about how I approach scale in my world. Also added you in my blog list
ReplyDeletehttps://thefieldsweknow.blogspot.com/2024/12/its-small-world-travel-in-your-low.html
Good post! I would add you to my blog roll, but my old template doesn't seem to want to allow changes at the moment!
ReplyDelete