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Wintershiven
As the rot of cultural and social decay started to penetrate the Great Kingdom, many of the more devout and outspoken followers of the god Pholtus withdrew from the increasingly corrupt core of the land. Some of these settled between the Rakers mountain range and the Yol River. Around 356 CY, when Nyrond declared its independence from the Great Kingdom, so did these religious refugees. Thus was the Theocracy of the Pale formed. Its original capital was called Wintershiven, but it was located a good twenty leagues south of the city that now bears that name. When the troops of Nyrond moved in and subjugated the Pale, the entire capital was destroyed in a tragic fire. (Some still claim that the 'invaders razed the city to the ground. Calmer heads disagree, nothing more than carelessness: apparently some drunken Nyrondese soldiers set fire to a barn, and the firespread to destroy the city.) After the Treaty of Rel Mord, the Nyrondese troops withdrew and left the Pale to its independence (the date is still celebrated as a national festival. "The Emancipation"). A new capital was built and was graced with the name of the old. The people of the Pale had chafed under the subjugation by the "pagan" Nyrondese (particularly since many of the occupying soldiers were followers of St. Cuthbert), but their suffering had strengthened their faith. While before they had been devout followers of Pholtus, now that they had their freedom they became nothing if not wildly zealous in their belief. They were determined that nothing would ever oppress them again ... and nothing is more tenacious than zealots following an inflexible god. In addition to strengthening their faith, the period of occupation had also pushed the ethos of the Pale from lawful good to a very dogmatic lawful neutral. (Followers of Pholtus in other parts of the world have retained their generally good alignment, and many of them look on the Theocracy as somewhat of a distortion of their faith.) From its inception, the Pale had been ruled by clerical leaders -- in effect, the land's nobility -- with one of their number being selected as "the Theocrat," the supreme leader for his lifetime. After the Emancipation, matters formalized further. The clerical leaders formed a true government, with jurisdiction over all aspects of life in the land. The Theocrat became not just supreme cleric but unquestioned ruler of the Pale. Within ten years of the Emancipation, government of the Pale had taken on the form it would maintain for two centuries. While the Theocrat is presented to the populace as being "the Chosen of Pholtus,' selected directly by the god himself, there is an extensive political infrastructure to make sure that Pholtus selects the right candidate. The most influential clerics in the land sit on the Council of the Nine; seats on the council are of lifelong duration, and the other members select a replacement for Councilors who die in office or who ascend to the Throne of the Sun (that is, to the office of Theocrat). The main duty of the Council is to support the Theocrat in his governance and -- unofficially, at least – act as his advisors (unofficially because the Chosen of Pholtus shouldn't need human advisors). They also select the next Theocrat when His Worshipful Mercy dies: in closed-door sessions that can last days-and that can get rather nasty, if rumors are to be believed -- the Councilors appoint one of their numbers to take the Throne of the Sun. The chosen candidate is then hared by the entire Council as Theocrat. (Little is known outside the Basilica about the political maneuvering that goes on. While some of the residents are cynical (quietly so if want to keep their heads), most blithely accept that the Council is simply the tool Pholtus uses to make his will known ... and perhaps they're right. Since all clerics in the Pale are responsible to it, the Council holds great power in the land. It isn't the only authority, however. Some seventy years after the Emancipation, a splinter group of clerics rebelled against the central rule of Wintershiven. Their claim was that a person's relationship with Pholtus was a personal thing, and shouldn't be dictated through political expediency. This apostasy was quickly put down by an army division led by three of the Council. The hierarchy learned its lesson: sometimes spiritual force must be augmented by physical force. The result was the founding of the Church Militant, a paramilitary body of warrior-priests. While the officers of the Church Militant are typically human clerics of high level, many of the troops are half-elven cleric/fighters. The commander-in-chief of the Church Militant holds the rank of Priest-Commander, and reports directly to the Theocrat. While the Church Militant and the Council (and thus the ecclesiastical hierarchy) are both under the authority of the Theocrat, they should theoretically work shoulder to shoulder with no friction There is, however, often tension and sometimes out-and-out rivalry between the two sides of government. In the regular church, clerical rank names are used (acolyte, priest, curate, etc.). As if to set itself apart, the Church Militant uses army rankings (general, captain, etc.) coupled with clerical rankings. Thus, officers of the Church Militant are termed Father-General, Acolyte-Corporal, etc. The rank-and-file troops are known as Legates. The Church Militant is responsible for “ensuring purity of doctrine.” In the Pale, there are two sets of laws and two codes of justice: civil and ecclesiastical. Civil justice deals with such matters as theft, assault, and other purely criminal matters. Ecclesiastical justice, on the other hand, concerns itself with blasphemy, desecration, and other similar sorts of crimes against the Church. The Church Militant is solely responsible for the administration of ecclesiastical justice. With its own courthouses and jails, it's well equipped to do so. There are several differences between civil and ecclesiastical justice. The major one is that ecclesiastical justice is considerably harsher, and dispenses with such legal niceties as habeas corpus and the concept of "innocent until proven guilty." In an ecclesiastical court -- "under the Question" -- the central tenet is "sinful until proven innocent." Judgments handed down by ecclesiastical court range from flogging (for transacting business on a holy day) through incarceration, to death (for blatant heresy). In order to dispense its form of justice, the Church Militant constantly patrols Wintershiven (and other cities in the Pale). A typical patrol consists of eight half-elven legates led by a priest-sergeant.
In addition to meting out justice, the Church Militant is responsible for guarding the church's properties (particularly the central Basilica) and provides bodyguards for the Council and the Theocrat himself. Members of the Church Militant are adept at all combat skills, including leading troops on the field of battle. They are "the few, the proud:' and are very difficult to deal with. The current Priest-Commander is a hard-bitten human cleric/fighter (10th level in each class) named Reifus and often referred to as "the Paganhammer," a nickname he favors. Although most of the populace accepts the necessity for the Church Militant, the force's arrogant behavior tends to grate a little. Since many of the legates are half-elves, most citizens of Wintershiven feel an antipathy to that race. Half-elves visiting the city often have rather a bad time of it, because the citizenry takes out on them its frustration at the Church Militant. The least expensive accommodations are in the establishment located farthest from the Citadel --The Lightbringer Inn, on the outskirts of town to the northeast. The Rayed Sun Inn, in the southeast "suburbs” is a bit more expensive (average prices) and better kept. The Citadel Tavern -- which, despite its name, lies just outside Evengate -- is a high-priced place that's mostly frequented by dignitaries, well-to-do merchants and law enforcement officials. Pilgrims' Rest Rooming House, a short distance north of Noon Gate, is low-priced but clean and (relatively) quiet -- just the, sort of place that devout pilgrims would appreciate. There are two other significant organizations in Wintershiven, both "lay" forces consisting of nonclerical personnel. These are the City Watch and the Prelatal Army. The City Watch is responsible for policing the city streets, guarding the walls, enforcing civil justice, and basically keeping the peace. In all things -- although theoretically their authorities are equal -- the City Watch always cedes jurisdiction to the Church Militant when the latter group wants it. City Watch patrols usually consist of five privates and a noncommissioned officer.
Most of the Prelatal Army is constantly in the field, combating the barbarian, humanoid, and bandit raiders that plague the Pale; however, soldiers on leave or in the capital for training aren't an uncommon sight on the streets. Prelatal troops are in general very tough (lst-3rd level fighters with maximum or near-maximum hit points) and well trained. The City Watch reports to the Council; the army's chain of command (theoretically) bypasses the Council entirely to report to the Theocrat, who is their commander-in-chief. This table of organization is complicated, however, by the fact that the higher-ranking officers of both the City Watch and the Prelatal Army are drawn from the Church Militant. Most citizens of Wintershiven are unshakably devout ... or pretend to be, to avoid the attention of the Church Militant. (This organization is famous for its late-night knock on the door, leading to a "heretic" facing the Question in some windowless ecclesiastical courtroom, and being put to death before the sun rises the next morning.) The most common colors for clothing are white, silver, and gold (the colors of Pholtus), and people in their right mind don't make jokes about religion. Intolerance of other religions isn't strictly official policy, but it's fairly pervasive and tacitly accepted. Temples to other gods aren't permitted, of course; visiting clerics of other. faiths are treated with very cold respect (but only as long as they refrain from preaching their "pagan creeds"); nonclerics who are known to be of different faiths are discriminated against, and sometimes beaten up; anyone who openly professes another faith is, almost certain to attract the unwelcome attention of the Church Militant. Like many cities, Wintershiven has a central walled area -- the Citadel -- and an outside sprawl of poorer dwellings and businesses. The Citadel contains the governing power of the city, and has at its core the main temple, the Basilica. There are only three gates to the Citadel -- Dawn Gate, Noon Gate, and Evengate. Dawn Gate and Evengate are so aligned that, on the summer solstice, the first and last rays of the sun shine directly m through the respective gates. This day is a festival to Pholtus, and on this day the gates are left open. The Citadel is so laid out that the light shines directly down long, wide streets and paints the central temple with golden illumination. (It's not a good idea to do anything that will block this fight.) Although the veneration of Pholtus isn't officially a sunworshiping sect, of course the sun is an important symbol (as an example of the Blinding Light). There are some portions of the population, however, whose doctrine isn't exactly pure, and they put much more stock in the sun-revering side of the religion. (For these people, the solstices, the equinoxes, and such celestial events as solar eclipses are high holy days, to be marked by drunken revelry -- out of sight of the Church Militant, of course.) People wanting to enter the Citadel must pass through a small chapel -- a "Pilgrims', Chapel"; there's one at each gate -- and pay homage to Pholtus. (Under the watchful eye of armed Church Militant guards, it's probably advisable to take this quite seriously.) Once they've done so, they are given red "pilgrim's badges" that must be worn openly while within the city. Residents of Wintershiven wear white "citizen's badges " which exempt them from having to go through the chapel. Anyone wishing a pilgrim's badge must pay a deposit of 3 gold pieces, to be reimbursed when the badge is surrendered. No one without one kind of badge or the other is let into the Citadel. Even in the sprawling "suburbs," Church Militant patrols will often hassle people not wearing a badge, saying something like, "You should go and worship, just as a sign of respect, even if you don't plan on entering the Citadel." The Basilica is a huge and rather oppressive building constructed of dark basalt. It's crowned by a high spire atop which is a huge symbol of the rayed sun. The symbol is highly polished gold, with a large faceted gem mounted in the center. It catches the sun well, gleaming and flashing by day. By night, it shines with continual light. The entire symbol is worth 7,500 g.p. and weighs close to 250 pounds; the central gem is a diamond worth 5,000 g.p. Despite its size, the gem is flawed; thus its relatively meager value (for a gem as big as a man's head, that is). Although it may look unguarded, the symbol is protected by magic. The symbol itself and the entire spire are dweomered with a massive variant of shocking grasp, cast at the 25th level of ability. Anyone touching the spire or the symbol receives 10-60 points of electrical damage. The dweomer can deliver this charge four times before becoming inert. The overall alignment of the city is unarguably lawful neutral. For encounters within the city, use the City/Town Encounters Matrix on page 191 of the Dungeon Masters Guide. The DM should keep in mind the characteristics of the city, and should feel free to modify these encounters to better suit the nature of Wintershiven (for example, encounters with the city guard become encounters with Church Militant patrols).
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