OSJLocal Chapters Challange: Pillar-Temple of Ptah

Another entry into the Local Chapter's Challenge! :)

 

Pillar-Temple of the Heavens

Greyspace: Church of Ptah

 

            The Pillar-Temple of the Heavens is an enormous structure
found in Greyspace.  Orbiting around the sphere's sun, Liga, is a pillar
5 miles high and over 1000' in diameter, resting upon a tiny flat world
about a mile in diameter.  At the base of the pillar are 500' tall
statues of many so-called Egyptian gods, including Ptah, Thoth, Ra,
Horus, Isis, Geb, and others.  Tunnels behind the statues have been
converted into temples largely for Ptah with smaller shrines for other
Egyptian gods.

            The Pillar-Temple has become the primary temple of Ptah for
all of Greyspace.  Young would-be priests travel to the temple for
training while older priests engage in cut-throat politics.  The temple
is a popular destination for captains seeking blessings for their ship,
in need of healing, a friend to be raised, or other miracles.  Fees are
high, but the quality of the services rendered is exceptional.

 

Goals

            The priests of the Pillar-Temple want to establish
themselves as the primary temple to Ptah anywhere in the Known Spheres.
Barring that, they want to expand Ptah's worship throughout Greyspace
and establish him as the primary deity.  Thus far they have been
somewhat successful in the wildspace communities, such as those in the
Grinder, but their efforts on Oerth have all failed to date.

 

History and Motivations

            Roughly four centuries ago, a low-ranking priest of Ptah
received a vision to travel to Greyspace.  He spent over five decades
tolling in the sphere, searching for proof of his faith through acts of
charity and good deeds.  At the time, the sphere was rocked by the
Unhuman Wars and welcomed his message and helping hand.  Finally, near
the end of his life, he received a final vision to that the proof he
sought was to be found at Liga.  It was in orbit around Liga that he
finally found his proof when the Pillar of the Heavens was revealed to
him and his followers.  Ptah gave to him the name Ubain, and commanded
him to build a temple within the caves of the pillar.

            Ubain was granted an unusually long lifespan, and spent the
next four decades directing the construction of the temple.  He copied
down his visions from Ptah into a book called the Canon of the Pillar-
Temple.  That text has become a religious relic for the faithful of
Ptah.  He died not long after the completion of the Temple and the
Canon, his work complete.

            Since then, the Temple has always been run by a head priest
with the title of Ubain.  Other priests have joined the Temple and it
has flourished.  It remains a minor player in Greyspace politics but as
Ptah's faith grows in the wildspace communities the Temple's influence
will likewise increase.

 

Organization

            The Priests maintain a very strict chain of command.  At the
head of the Pillar-Temple is the Ubain, who is the head priest.  Below
him are five Akhanptah handle most of the logistics of the Temple and
Church of Ptah in Greyspace.  Below the Akhanptahs are various priests
of Ptah and a handful of priests of other Egyptian gods.  Many priests
hold meaningless titles in preparation for Ptah becoming the primary
deity in Greyspace.

 

Chain of Command

            At the very top of the Temple hierarchy is the Ubain and the
five Akhanptah underpiests.  Three of the Akhanptah are detailed here,
while the other two are left available for future development.

 

  a.. Ubain IX (N human male P16 of Ptah; Wis 19, Cha 18); The current
Ubain is an aging man that walks with a stoop and is suffering from poor
health.  He is always attended by four body-guards and servants.
Ubain's mind is still sharp, and plays the various Akhanptahs against
one another to determine the strongest and cleverest of the five to act
as his successor.  Ubain doesn't expect to live another decade and is
looking to complete his legacy.
  b.. Akhanptah Hiji (LN human male P14 of Ptah); A clean-shaven monk
who was born and raised in the temple, Hiji is most likely to become the
next Ubain.  He is a master of politics and many in the temple owe him
'favors'.  Hiji has used his position to acquire a sizable amount of
personal wealth that he uses to fuel his political ambitions.  Hiji has
many responsibilities in the temple, ranging from organizing the defense
to handling temple funds.
  c.. Akhanptah Habal (LE half-elf male P15 of Ptah); Habal was born in
Realmspace but found that his life there a dead-end.  He became a priest
of Ptah to escape Realmspace.  He spent twenty years wandering the Known
Spheres before he landed himself a position at the Pillar-Temple.  He
quickly wormed his way through the byzantine politics on his way to the
top.  Habal is a tall, muscular man who is never without a quartet of
under-priests that serve his every beck and call.
  d.. Akhanptah Jadi (N dwarf female P11 of Ptah); Jadi hails from the
Lisimbaptah, a colony of Ptah-worshipping dwarves.  She trained at the
temple before returning to Lisimbaptah to take over as head priest.  A
century later, Lisimbaptah thriving and the Ubain called her back to the
temple to help train a new generation of priests.  Jadi is a typical
mountain dwarf, save that she shaved all hair on her body and wears
elaborate black wigs.  Jadi suffers from vanity and spends hours
preparing herself to look exotic and beautiful.
 

Rank and File

            There are about forty priests and three hundred followers at
the temple.  Their duties range from tending gardens and cleaning
statues to guarding the treasury and manning ships to protect the
temple.

  a.. Bomandi (LN human male F10); A large, dark-skinned man from
Hepmonaland, Bomandi is in charge of defending the temple.  The
hammership Opener is under his command.  He is incredibly loyal to the
temple and the Ubain and cannot be bribed.  Before he was taken into
wildspace by a priest of Ptah, he was a slave of the Scarlet Brotherhood
and owes his freedom to the Church.
  b.. Omortiti (LE human female P9 of Ptah); This woman was once quite
beautiful, but laziness and sloth has turned her into an obese,
obnoxious woman.  She is the wife of Akhanptah Hiji, but the two haven't
shared a bed in many years.  Omortiti demands respect from those around
her, but most young priests do their best to avoid this unpleasant
woman.
  c.. Gariji (LG dwarf male P7 of Ptah); Gariji is Jadi's right-hand
man.  He came to the temple at the same time Jadi did and the two are
inseparable.  Gariji is a mountain dwarf from Lisimbaptah who has been
Jadi's follower for years.  He intends to ride her coattails all the
way, hoping to become an Akhanptah once Jadi becomes Ubain.
  d.. Safiya (LG human female P6 of Ptah); Safiya's beauty is unrivaled
in the temple.  She is a dark-skinned beauty from Bralspace who showed
unusual promise and was sent to the temple for training.  Her beauty is
the envy of every woman at the temple, in particular Omortiti.  The fat
priestess (rightfully) believes Safiya is having an affair with her
husband, Hiji, and plots to murder this young priestess.
 

Raw Recruits

            At the very bottom of the strict hierarchy are priests in
training.  Their studies include religious studies, wildspace cultures,
history, planar research, and shop crafts.  In addition to their packed
course studies, they also are responsible for tending Temple grounds in
payment for their education.  These young priests have absolutely no
free time on their hands, as the priests keep them quite busy.  Some of
the more notable priests are:

  a.. Tau (LN human male P3 of Ptah); A strapping lad of about seventeen
summers and in prime physical condition.  Tau is an idealistic dreamer,
and tends to shirk his duties to daydream.  His tutors are considering
putting him on a spelljammer to get him out of the temple for some '
character-building' voyages.
  b.. Esha (N human female P2 of Bast); Esha is a comely young priests
of Bast.  She has been trained in the arts of pleasure and seduction.
Esha has been with many of the priests in the temple, and is not well-
respected.  Despite this, she knows far more than she lets on, and gets
her way through quite whisperings while her lovers sleep.  For a price,
she can provide all sorts of secrets and rumors.
  c.. Usi (LN human male W5/P4 of Thoth); Usi is a middle-aged, heavy-
set man with a curled mustache and bald head.  He is Thoth's
representative at the temple and is responsible for much of the scribe-
work of the temple.  He favors the sleep spell and has created at least
three variations of it.  Usi prefers this spell because it is the least
destructive to the temple and his precious scrolls.
 

Methods and Activities

            The Pillar-Temple serves as a quiet monastery for meditation
and learning for the priests of Ptah.  The rhythm of the day-to-day
activities is broken only when a spelljammer shows up in need of healing
or a raise dead spell.  Costs of such services are high but captains
that want to remain in good stead with the Church of Ptah pay full price
and make sizable donations in addition.

 

Abilities

            Priests of Ptah are masters of travel.  As they gain more
experience, they learn more powerful means of travel, such as teleport
and plane shifting.  When using their teleport ability, the temple acts
as an anchor, allowing them to teleport back into the temple without
fear of error.

 

Resources

            The Pillar-Temple is the center of Ptah's faith in
Greyspace, and thus commands all of the resources it has in that sphere.
More than eighty priests are either at the temple or are under its
leadership.  Grateful or desperate captains have donated hundreds of
magical items to the temple.  Its coffers are extensive.

 

Spelljammers

            The Pillar-Temple has a number of spelljammers on-hand for
various purposes, such as transporting priests, defending the Pillar-
Temple, and like duties.  The temple owns eight spelljammers including
two hammerships, three tradesmen, and two dragonflies.  The hammerships,
the Hammer of Ptah and the Opener, patrol the area immediately around
the temple.  The dragonflies are the temple's transports and are almost
never at the temple.

 

Areas of Operation

            The operations of the temple are solely limited to
Greyspace, but its influences range much farther.  Many priests are
trained at the temple before being transferred to other spheres.
Priests of Ptah are particularly active in the Grinder.

 

Allies and Enemies

            The Pillar-Temple can count many captains as their allies.
Unfortunately for the temple, it has more enemies than allies.  Priests
of native deities consider the temple priests as interlopers and work to
undermine them at every turn.  Pirates don't particularly like the
temple, though some seek to use individual priests to their advantage.

 

Status Quo

            The temple will continue to act as a training ground for new
priests, a source of healing and miracles, and a cog in politics for the
conceivable future.