Religion of the Trinity

Probably one of my least favorite aspects of worldbuilding is religion.  It bores me to tears, mostly because I never really cared much for clerics or divine classes in the game as a player and gods seem more like a plot device than something that actually exists.  However, what D&D fantasy world would be complete without some form of religion in it (probably a cool one, but that's for another blog), so I thought I'd put the ideas I have so far for religion in my homebrew campaign The Broken World, out into the universe to give it some authenticity.

Keep in mind that I'm not striving for originality here.  Much of what I have has been directly stolen from other religions (mostly Christianity).  Also, what I'm trying to create here is a religion, not an actual divine pantheon of actual gods.  These gods may or may not exist - at this stage in the campaign, we don't know and it's not important.   What is important is that many BELIEVE they exist and that belief is what gives the church its power.

THE RELIGION OF THE TRINITY

Directly after the Great Devastation, people of all islands in The Broken World looked to the aether and shouted for help from any gods that would listen.  No response was given.  Many people assumed the gods were dead or had forsaken them.  Some turned to new gods, beseeching aid, while others took advantage of the loss of organized religion to start their own religions for the purposes of gaining power and control over others.  Over time, the religions and gods of the Old World were forgotten and many other religions rose and fell throughout the Archipelago.  It was not until the Age of Exploration when the Trinity Tablets were found that religion was restored to the world and the Church of the Trinity was formed.  The Trinity Tablets were not complete, with one or more tablets missing, but the three that were found offered a glimpse into the Creation mythology of the Old World, provided insight on how the world came to be, who the gods were and what they expected from their children.  The Church of the Trinity grew powerful quickly as people wanted and needed gods to pray to for stability, security, prosperity and guidance; and the Trinity provided that.  This religion is the largest and strongest religion in the Archipelago today, but it is not the only religion.  Others still exist in isolated places and the church does its best to find these “cults” and disband (destroy) them.

Tenants of the Church: The stated purpose of the church is to bring every living soul in the world under the guidance, glory and protection of the Trinity.  It's primary claim to the existence of the Trinity is the resurgence of Divine magic when the Trinity Tablets were discovered and faith was restored to the world. 

• Divine Oversight: The church teaches that the gods of the Trinity do exist, they watch over the world and protect it from the threats of the universe beyond, keeping the islands alive with their divine might.  The only reason the gods do not repair the world is because all of their power is directed at protecting it from the Entropy, but they have given us the power to protect ourselves with Divine magic.
• Sacrifice: The church teaches that the gods fought a great war against a terrible enemy that brought about the Great Devastation, but that only the power of the gods saved the people of the world and banished the threat.  But to keep the threat at bay, they have left their Divine realms to guard the borders of the universe against the threat of the Entropy.
• Mystery: The church teaches that the mystery of the gods is incomplete because of the missing Trinity Tablets and that the key to restoring the world to the way it was before the Great Devastation is by finding the missing tablets.

Politics of the Church: As one of the most powerful organizations in the world, the church is by necessity, one of the most political organizations.  It is involved in nearly every aspect of life in the Archipelago, has influence over most civilized lands in the Independent Islands region and in much of the Confederacy of Agrivaar.  Its influence is even spreading into the religiously devoid regions of the Dragon Isles and Titanicus.  There is a church, shrine, temple, and/or monastery of some kind dedicated to one or more of the gods of the Trinity on nearly every island in the Archipelago and there is a divine agent that answers to the church in nearly every government.

The Trinity: The gods of the Trinity are Paladian, Mortalas and Raxus.  Despite the fact that the church venerates all three as a unit, people tend to associate with one or another god in general and may honor the others during certain occasions.

• Paladian: Typically represents the ideals of law, order, goodness, light, protection, honor, justice, and virtue.  Paladian is said to live in his domain of Haven with his celestial army of angels ready to aid and protect the people of the Broken World from evil.
• Mortalas: Typically represents the ideals of balance, neutrality, time, shadow and death.  Eternus is where Mortalas and her reapers watch over the world to ensure neither Order or Chaos reign supreme and to harvest souls to take into the afterlife.
• Raxus: Typically represents the ideals of war, darkness, freedom, anarchy, corruption, evil.  He resides in the Fortress of Iron in the realm of Hellius, where his legions of devils hold back the endless hordes of demons and aberrants from The Beyond.

Othus (currently Jozen Galan): The title of Othus represents the spiritual Figurehead and Leader of the Church of the Trinity and the most powerful office in the church.  The othus has the final word on church doctrine and differences of interpretation of religious lore by the Congress Triune.

The Congress Triune: The body of high ranking priests that develop church doctrine from study of religious artifacts, primarily the Trinity Tablets, but those unearthed in other ruins, and carry out the implementation of satellite churches.  It is made up of three branches; the Palanir, Mortalir and the Raxilir.  Each branch is led by an elected official called the Orator.

Denominations: Although the church demands that all three gods of the Trinity are venerated equally (known as Trianity), there is an operating structure that each focus on one of the gods which developed of the centuries in order to bring peace to the conflicting nature of the orders.  The denominations mirror the branches of the Congress Triune; the Palanir, the Mortalir and the Raxilir. 

Palanir Sects

• Inquisitioners: This fundamentalist sect is not supported by the church currently, but was once it's most powerful sect.  Its members follow the belief that Entropy was able to enter the Universe because of the reckless use of magic by sorcerers, witches, wizards and warlocks, which weakened the Godwall and resulted in the destruction of the world.  It was this movement that brought about the Holy War against magic users that weren't sanctioned by the church.  These people are often referred to as Inquisitioners or Witch Hunters. 
• The Devoted: This sect is made up of paladins (and their followers) that have taken the Oath of Devotion and follow the ideals of justice, virtue and order.
• Peacekeepers: This sect is devoted to the concept of law and order and typically support governments and nations by serving as judges, law enforcers, and lawyers.
• Warguard: This sect is similar to the Warmonger sect of the Raxilir, but is focused on the ongoing protection of the Archipelago rather than seeking out battles.   Since the Illithid Incursion, their training has focused on threats from beyond the world, though there are many cells that still prepare for a resurgence of violence between the regions.

Mortalir Sects

• Chronologists: This sect is obsessed with Mortalas' aspect of the mistress of Time.
• The Ancients: This sect is made up of paladins (and their followers) that have taken the Oath of the Ancients.
• Arbitrators: These devotees are less likely to follow the spirit of the law and more likely to seek an amicable agreement between opposing sides and find a balance. 
• Naturalists: This sect believes that nature is the ideal balance between order and chaos.  Mostly druidical orders fall into this sect.
• Speakers for the Dead: This sect believes that only through living a balanced life does the spirit rest in the afterlife, and unbalanced spirits are restless.  They devote themselves to contacting these spirits and getting them to move into the light…or destroying them if they are stinking, abominable undead.
• Sign of the Reaper: This sect is not sanctioned by the church and its members practice necromancy and venerate the high priestess, Raven Vaasa, and her work in attempting to legitimize necromancy in the church as an aspect of Mortalas.

Raxilir Sects

• The Syrinx: This sect follows the tenants of Sanctu Syrinx, who believes that music was the greatest sin against Raxus because of its seemingly free, but actually structured form.  Only the chaotic sounds of battle are the true music of Raxus.
• Avengers: This sect is made up of paladins (and their followers) that have taken the Oath of Vengeance.
• Oathbreakers: These paladins have come to realize that taking an oath is itself a means to order and is against the nature of chaos, so they have broken their oath, usually to pursue some dark ambition or serve an evil power.  These are sometimes called "anti-paladins".
• Warmongers: This sect is one based on the tenant of survival of the fittest.  Made up of warpriests and holy warriors, they train day and night to lead armies into battle.  They tend to be relegated to mercenary roles these days since the Pact of the Neutral Aether brought most hostilities between the regions to an end, but there are still plenty of disputes and fights within the regions to keep them active.
• The Infernal: This sect is not sanctioned by the church, but it exists nonetheless and its members are obsessed with making contact with the servants of Raxus; his legion of devils and, in particular, the most powerful of them.

Clerical Titles: The priests and clerics of the church go by many titles, which are typically dependent on which branch of the church the priest falls within. 

• Paladian: Clerics that favor Paladian are given the titles of Justice, Guardian, Peacekeeper, Lawbringer, or Protector.
• Mortalas: Clerics that favor Mortalas have titles like Deathpriest, Spiritguide, Timekeeper (or just Keeper), Judge, Mediator or Arbitrator.
• Raxus: Clerics that favor Raxus are known as Warpriest, Sanguinous, Blood Father/Mother,  Instigator, or Executioner.

Biblia Trinitas: This is the collection of scriptures from the various bits of religious lore that have been unearthed over the last 1000 years, but consist primarily of that which was learned from the Trinity Tablets. 

• Apocrypha: This is a collection of scriptures that have been considered by the Congress Triune but rejected for various reasons – usually because the veracity of the lore could not be qualified or because it contradicts accepted doctrine.  One of the most infamous of these is known as the Dark Book, which contains damning lore blaming most non-human races for the Great Devastation and was the primary tome used to instigate the Inquisition.

The Sancti: Some followers of the church achieve heights of spiritual awareness or have performed acts or led lives deserving special recognition and appreciation by the church.  These are known as the Sancti; people who are honored as true saints and prophets of the Trinity.  Some of the more famous sancti (sanctu is the singular of the title) are:

• Sanctu Baryston, the first to translate the Trinity Tablets and unlock the power of the divine.
• Sanctu Montus, who is credited for bringing together the armies of the region to fight together against the Illithid Incursion.
• Sanctu Amarra, a missionary who spent her life traveling the Archipelago to spread the gospel of the Trinity and is credited for doing the most to grow the religion in the early days.
• Sanctu Jae-Mal, a warpriest who inspired the 12th Legion to hold off thousands of marauding illthids in the defining Battle of Tolomas, which ended the Illithid Incursion.

Holy Days: These days are celebrated by the church for having religious significance.  Most civilized islands recognize and celebrate these days, though the way they are celebrated varies.

• Baryston Day: Celebrates the return of the divine gift to the world.  Usually celebrated by giving gifts to loved ones.  Baryston has become the Santa Claus of the Broken World.
• The Eve of Mal (sometimes referred to as Maltas): Honors the bravery of Sanctu Jaer-Mal and the sacrifice of the 12th Legion.  Those who serve in militaries, as guards or sentinels usually hold ceremonies, parades, etc., to honor the fallen of the 12th Legion.
• Rebirth: Honors the strength of the people of the Broken World, who survived the Great Devestation and endured centuries of hardship to bring back civility to the world.  This holy day is usually spent in revelry.
• Passing or Day of the Dead: The day when all dead are honored.  This has become something of a divided celebration, with the daylight hours spent in quiet reflection with friends and family, and the night time hours spent celebrating the lives of the fallen, but has also become something of a party time that focuses on the causes of death, mainly monsters.  This is a combination of Memorial Day and Halloween.

THE DIVINE DOMAINS

The Church teaches that the Trinity each maintained a godly realm, separate from each other.  Whether these places actually exist are matters of faith and philosophy, for nobody but perhaps the gods know where they

Haven: This is the realm of Paladian and is typically thought of being "up" in the heavens.  It is believed that the strong and just become angels in Paladian's court, who are responsible for maintaining the barrier known as the Godwall, which keeps out the demons of the Void.

Hellius:This is the underworld where the corrupt, foul and wicked come to serve its master and his devil lords in the divine armies to do penance for leading an unholy life. 

Eternus: This is the realm of Mortalas and it is thought to be a timeless limbo in the Aether where the souls go to be judged and either go to their final reward or to be recycled, and where the new souls are formed.

THE DIVINE SERVANTS

There are actual beings in the Aether that claim to be servants of the gods, but they rarely match mortal's idealized concept of them.  They are intensely jealous of the mortal's of the world and are forbidden from interacting with them directly, but that divine law has many loopholes that have been exploited over the centuries.

Angels: The most jealous of the divine servants, these creatures cannot enter into the world directly, but may possess a mortal if invited to do so willingly.  Once in possession of a mortal shell the angel may act as it pleases in the mortal realm, and those actions have not always been in the mortal's best interests.

Devils: Also forbidden from entering the mortal realm, these beings have learned that mortal souls are powerful and can be enslaved if the mortal willingly gives a devil power over it.  Devils tend to tempt mortals to trick them into succumbing to them.

Reapers:  These beings are the only divine servants that may enter the mortal realm, and only then to collect souls from the dead bodies of the deceased and to take them to their final resting place.