Rhya Cult____________________________

Description: Lesser Goddess, Young Gods pantheon, wife of Taal, mother of Manann, Mórr, and Verena.  Those who worship her view Rhya as the deity of fertility, childbirth and the family.  Others, outside the cult, view Rhya as either a lesser aspect of the Earth Mother or a deity who is much diminished so that her worship is incorporated with and overshadowed by Taal.  Depicted as a loving mother (and, at times, a pregnant one), Rhya represents the fertility and bounty of the earth and mothers everywhere.
    To scholars of theological studies, Rhya represents a deity in decline.  As such, her exact role in the scheme of divine matters is the subject of much debate.  Is she a deity in her own right?  Or, a lesser aspect of the Earth Mother dealing with the bearing of children and sowing a crop in the fertile earth?  Maybe, she is only the wife of Taal and therefore should be incorporated into his worship.  Naturally, the cult is inclined to frown upon those diminishing their deity.

Where Worshipped:  Rhya is chiefly worshipped in the small farming villages that are located on the outskirts of cities and large towns throughout the Old World (to those involved with animal husbandry, Rhya is known as Dyrath, the Fertility Goddess).  Also popular with pregnant women and young mothers.

Alignments:  Neutral and Good preferred.  Law tolerated.  Evil and Chaos prohibited.

Friends and Enemies:  Associated with many spirit, elemental, and ancestral cults.  Closely associated with the Earth Mother cult.  Reciprocal respect towards the Elder Races cults.  Cordially allied with the other Young Gods cult.  Tolerant but critical of Ranald cult.  Enemies of Dark Children and Chaos.

Cult Symbols and Dress:  Clergy of Rhya identify themselves with the following symbols: an acorn, a sheath of wheat, a babe in a mother's arms, or a hearth.  Initiates and Priests wear simple, green woolen robes with one or more of these symbols sewn into the hems, carved into their staffs, or on the straps of their satchels containing healing herbs.  Cultivators favor green tunics and brown trousers and carry the symbols on their seed pouches, amulets, and inscribed on their bows.  Midwives wear a green chasuble embroidered with cult symbols.  

Cult Careers Available:  Initiate, Priest, Cultivator, Midwife.

Distinguishing Principles and Doctrines:
Reverence for the bounty of the earth, the miracle of life, and the honor of motherhood.  Respect and honor for family and kin.  Defend family and the bounty of the earth from any who would destroy, defile, and corrupt them.  Aid any kin less fortunate, especially the elderly.

Afterworld:  After death, the children of Rhya are transported to warm cottages surrounded by orchards of fruit-laden trees and bountiful vineyards in a peaceful vale.  Here, they are relieved of pain, misery, and the wants of life as they are one with Rhya's realm.

Temples and Shrines:  The cult is widespread with individual temples (few as they are) and shrines autonomous in all matters.  Only during the summer solstice (Sonnstill) do a number of priest gather in a place chosen by Rhya.  There is no seat for the cult as most of the priests are itinerants, traveling from village to village, shrine to shrine.  Most farming villages are unable to support a temple dedicated to Rhya.  Instead, a small, simple shrine is usually built and maintained between the village and the fields.  In homes, especially isolated homesteads, the hearth would be set aside to honor Rhya.  Cairns are also built in the fields so that Rhya may bless their labor.

Saints and Heroes:  Some saints and heroes of Rhya are farming folk who fell in defense of family and kin, or worked feverishly to ease any pain and anguish, such as Juliane Hebamme who worked three straight days delivering eight babies in the village of Schwangerschaft during the legendary winter of 2470 I.C.(even the mighty Reik froze that year in Nuln).  Others include those who brought forth the bounty of the earth for their fellows.  One such was the renowned Johann Kirschesaat who planted and protected fruit trees (chiefly, cherry trees) for use by travelers along a fifteen-mile stretch of the Nuln-Moot road.

Cult Requirements:  Requirements for Laymen Status:  Automatic for offspring of cultists.  There are no explicit requirements for acceptance into the cult; the cult is theoretically open to all petitioners, including the Elder Races (especially Halflings).
Requirements for Initiate Status:  Granting of an ease pain is commonly acknowledged as a sign of a Calling.  Must be sponsored by a priest.
Requirements for Priest Status:  Approval by a priest of second rank.
Requirements for Cultivator Status:  Approval by a priest of second rank.
Requirements for Midwife Status:  Selection and approval by a council of priests.

Trials:  Trials typically involve delivering produce to blight ravaged areas and successfully working those fields to recover its fertility or protecting isolated homesteads in bandit (or other foul being) infested areas.

Blessings:  A one-time-use bonus or automatic success with favored cult skills such as cure disease, heal wounds, or herb lore.

Penances:  Journeying to large towns and cities seeking to return lost souls (bawds, prostitutes, beggars) to the fields where they will be redeemed, reclaiming lost farmlands from the encroaching wilderness, protecting and assisting midwives in their sacred duty for extended periods.

Holy Days:  Rhya's main festive days are the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes as they are associated with the planting and harvesting of crops.  Minor days include 2 Jahrdrung (Day of Pruning), 9 Sommerzeit (Harvest of Spring Fruits), and family birthdays.

Gifts:
Rank 1:  May use ease pain twice per day at no MP cost.  
Rank 2:  May use sense land thrice per day at no MP cost.
Rank 3:  +15 bonus to cure disease, heal wounds, and herb lore.
Rank 4:  May use entanglement at a cost of 6 MP with twice the area of effect.
Cultivator:  Automatic success with dowsing and silent move rural.
Midwife:  +10 bonus to cure disease and herb lore.

Cult Prayer Lists

Initiate
Required:  Bless Token, Blessed Sacraments, Ease Pain, Heal Cultist, Know Follower, Seek Shrine.
Honors:  Detect Magic, Heal Petitioner, Light the Path, Shadeward, Vigilance.
Rank 1
Required:  Bless Shrine, Cure Poison, Leap of Faith, Learn God's Will, Remove Minor Curse, Sacred Circle, Sacred Warding, Sense Land, Summon Divine Counselor.
Honors:  Bless Weapon, Dispel Sorcery, Follow Tracks, Identify Divine Instrument, Mindlink, Sanctuary, Soullink, Spread the Word.
Rank 2
Required: Bless Thy Servant, Faith Provides, Grant Greater Prayer, Make Thy Servant Whole, Summon Guardian, Treat Illness, Ward Vegetation. 
Honors:  Banish Lesser Numina, Great Soullink, Hand of God, Pillar of Flesh, Sense Hidden Danger, Smite Thy Enemy. 
Rank 3
Required:  Blind Enemy, Heal Injury, Heal the Faithful, Riddling the Signs, Shelter against Daemons, Shelter against Elementals, Shelter against Undead, Summon Divine Servant.
Honors:   Banish Divine Servant, Banish Ensorcelment, Consecrate Lesser Instrument, Contact Soul of Faithful, Self-Defense, Summon Lesser Elemental.
Rank 4
Required:  Barrier, Consecrate Altar, Divine Vision, Entanglement, Grant Sacrament of Prayer, Remove Great Curse, Summon Divine Avatar.
Honors:  Banish Daemons, Banish Divine Avatar, Banish Elementals, Banish Profane Enchantment, Banish Undead, Consecrate Greater Instrument, Nullify Greater Instrument, Preach the Word.

Numina Forms
Counselor:  Spirit of a departed Cultivator or Midwife
Guardian:  Guardians may be summoned in the following beast forms: bull, stallion, wolf.  Profiles follow those of normal animals, but with an Int of 20 and 10 MP.  Spirit guardians take the form of ghostly deceased priests.
Servant:  Spirit of a departed priest.
Avatar:  Spirit presence of Rhya.

Special Careers

Cultivators
   Cultivators (also known as Seeders, Harvesters, or Greenpants) are wanderers who are experts in the conservation and replenishment of the earth's fertility, as well as the treatment of diseased plants.  They travel from village to village sharing their lore with the local farmers and assist them if needed.  Some Cultivators have taken to planting and tending (as well as protecting) orchards on a small cleared parcel of land along roads in the wilderness.  The famous Johann Kirschesaat is an example of this type of Cultivator. 
   Prerequisite Career: To become a Cultivator, one must have been an initiate of Rhya for at least one year and selected by a Priest of second rank.
Advance Scheme
M  WS  BS  S  T  W   I  A  Dex  Ld  Int  Cl  WP Fel
- +10 +20  - +1 +2 +20  -  +10  -   +10 +20   -  -  
   Prerequisite Career: Initiate (Rhya)
   Career Exits: Explorer, Priest (Rank 1- Rhya), Scout
   Skills: concealment rural, cure disease (plants only), dowsing, herb lore, identify plant, silent move rural, specialist weapon- double handed (polearms), specialist weapon- flail, wilderness lore.
   Trappings: Bow, flail, pruning saw, seed pouches

Midwives
   Midwives of Rhya are widely known for their expertise in the delivery of babies.  This exclusive group of women (mostly human and Halfling) travel from village to village facilitating childbirth and easing the associated pain.  Naturally, their reputation is such that they are welcomed wherever they travel and are often sought out by the rural aristocracy to deliver their heirs. 
Prerequisite Career:  To become a Midwife, one must have been an initiate of Rhya for at least two years and selected by a council of priests.
Advance Scheme
M  WS  BS  S  T  W   I  A  Dex  Ld Int  Cl  WP  Fel
-   -   -  - +1 +2 +10  -  +10   - +10 +20 +10  +20
   Prerequisite Career:  Initiate (Rhya)
   Career Exits:  Pharmacist, Physician's Student, Priest (Rank 1- Rhya)
   Skills:  Cook, Cure Disease, Drive Cart, Heal Wounds, Herb Lore, Immunity to Disease, Manufacture Drugs (herbal base only).
   Trappings:  Green chasuble with cult symbols, sling bag with dried herbs, pestle and mortar, shoulder bag with towels and baby blankets.

Favored Cult Skills
Layman:  bind wound*, silent move-rural
Initiate:  animal care, concealment-rural, identify plant*
Rank 1:  drive cart, herb lore*, wilderness lore
Rank 2:  cure disease*, divining, heal wounds*
Rank 3:  immunity to poison (only for herbal based), surgery (only for setting broken/dislocated limbs and treating heavy wounds)
Rank 4:  immunity to disease*, manufacture drugs (herbal base only)

Sub-Cults and Honorary Orders:  None.

Cult Prayers

Ease Pain
Prayer Rank: Petty
Magic Points: 2
Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous
Area of Effect: one individual
Resistance: None
   This prayer grants the cleric the ability to ease the pain experienced by an individual.  Usually it's used to ease the pain of childbirth and other minor injuries which does not normally result in a loss of W.  This prayer can also be used to lessen the effects of the first rank prayer Scourge Enemy (thereby reducing the penalties to WS, BS, and all skill tests to -25).

Ward Vegetation
Prayer Rank: Second
Magic Points: 5 per 125 Cubic Yards
Range: touch
Duration: 1d3 days
Area of Effect: 125 Cubic Yards per 5 MP spent
Resistance: None
   The cleric is granted the power to protect a large area of vegetation (and the soil within which they are rooted) from blight and other infestations.  In addition, this spell can slow any seepage of contamination from Chaos substances such as Warpstone and Warpdust.
   The volume to be warded must be marked off by holy symbols inscribed onto the barks of trees and stems of smaller plants.  Once invoked, the inscribed symbols disappear from normal view and can only be perceived by those with the Sense Magic skill.