Ravers of Puellor
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Ravers of Puellor
It is perhaps an error to label the worship of Puellor a church, since that implies some measure of temporal organization. The church has no such organization. Each shrine of Puellor stands alone and defiant, snarling their mad messages at the world in insane solitude. It is fortunate that there is so little cooperation among the Ravers, for they truly have no limits on their behavior, and no act is too despicable or depraved for them. Despite the surface randomness of the church, there are definite trends to be found in the various temples, as they follow the greater tendencies of the mad God they profess above all others. Most temples of Puellor are temporary affairs, since the worship of Puellor, while not illegal, is discouraged by all sane people who live near it. The activities of the faithful of Puellor often are illegal, and any professed worshipper of the Mad God is likely dangerous to be around. Temples are often secret, relying on divine madness to bring the faithful to their door. Temples have no formal name, but are often called Pits. There are a few large and permanent Pits, notably in the Grass Sea and the Sand Sea, and those are places of horror.
The largest sect of Puellor is that of the Mad, and much of the confusion about the church's organization stems from the fact that every Pit of the Mad is different from every other one, shaped by the individual psychosis of the Raver in charge. One common element is the fact that most of the Mad sects are motivated by Puellor's overwhelming desire to dominate the universe, and so act toward expanding their influence. They do this in a million different ways, and are often chillingly clever about it. Not all of the Mad sects are mindless brutes, lashing out. Far too many of them are subtle, but no less destructive in their effects. Add in the fact that a large proportion of them are working on information gained from their madness, toward goals that are insane, at a pace that only the daft could understand, and it is easy to see why Puellor is unwelcome as a neighbor.
The next sect of Puellor is that of the Despoilers. These raving maniacs are the most well known, since they seek merely to ruin and destroy as much as posssible. Mass suicides, poisoned children, ritual murders, uncontrolled summonings, rituals so dark the very earth shudders at their touch, all these are the tools of the Despoilers. Few despoilers last more than a few years, and other sects often degenerate into despoilers. They quite simply seek to destroy everything, leaving Puellor supreme by default. The despoilers are responsible for much of the random evil loose in the Empire today, and one of their favorite tricks is to drive someone mad, turn them into an undead, and release them to spread their curse among their family and friends. Lycanthropes of all sorts are also popular among the Despoilers, and many of those monstrous shapeshifters are devout followers of Puellor the Despoiler. Despoiler Pits are usually stamped out as quickly as they are found, but there are always more.
A much less well known sect is that of the Betrayers. Betrayers are often associated with Quellada, and they seek many of the same goals. Betrayers live to gain trust and power, then stab and rend those who trusted them, fostering pain and grief far beyond their original crime. One of the worst possible nightmares occurs when a Betrayer Raver infiltrates a school or temple. The twisted acts they commit against children destroy huge tracts of the social structure, and the worst thing is that they often go uncaught for a long time, committing their horrors and then moving on to do it again. A single Betrayer kills much less than Despoiler, but they possibly spread even more fear and horror in their wake.
The last of the major sects of Puellor is similar to the Betrayers, but instead of treachery against the mind, they commit treachery against the body. The Greedy ravers seek to hoard up everything for their own use, depriving others of it. They are racketeers, packrats, and thieves. The Greedy are insidious in their evil, starving children to death by proxy instead of killing them outright. The Greedy sect has grown like wildfire of late, in the former Eastern Federation, and serves as a constant drag on the Empire. There aren't any splinter sects in the worship of Puellor, since all of the odd worshippers of Puellor are lumped into the Mad sect. Puellor doesn't have any organized day of worship, either.
The "leader" of the church is the Vilest One, Sir Quince Devault.
Duties: Ravers are required to sacrifice to Puellor. These sacrifices will entail destroying works of art, homes, etc., as well as living sacrifices and human sacrifices. Ravers may be required to slay members of their own families or persons who have offended Puellor in order to advance levels or to atone for committing acts offensive to Puellor.
Class Skills: Intimidation, Rope Use,Professional Skill:Torture, Ride, Knowledge,
Other Limitations: Ravers rarely form into large organizations, so they often spend their time in solitary schemes or as small temples in neighborhoods or hidden in ghettos. Note: there are some extremely powerful Ravers who have accreted large temples, but usually only through personal magnetism.
Puellor's Colors: The raiment of Ravers, when it is of a special color, is always Black, Blood, and Ash.
Hit Dice: d8
Requirements
Alignment: Pure Evil, Chaotic Evil, or True Chaotic Skills: 1 rank Knowledge:Puellor Spells: Able to cast 1st level Cleric spells. Special: Must have Puellor as patron deity.
Class Skills
The Ravers' class skills (and key ability for each skill) are
Skill Points: 2 per level + Int Modifier
Advancement Table
Level BAB Fort Refl Will Special Spells per Day
Class Features Weapons and Armor: Ravers may use any armor and are allowed to use any shield. Puellor only allows his priests to use his own weapons: Long Sword, Battle Axe, Flail, Dagger, or Garrote.
Divine Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Madness, Pestilence, Strength, War
Powers: Ravers gain Divine Madness 1/day at first level. This is a rage ability similar to Barbarians, except that Divine Madness must be fueled by death. The Raver must kill or help kill at least one target to enter the Divine Madness, and must kill one more in order to end it.
Ravers get a bonus to all rolls to compel undead, and can use the same mechanism on evil outsiders.
Ravers add their class level to their cleric level for undead turn attampts, all results pacing the undead under the ravers control. At higher levels, Ravers can also attempt to turn outsiders.