The ever rising faith of Bane calls upon those seeking power in all aspects of life, while serving the Dark Lord's will. Join in the conflict heavy RP as The Black Hand's forces clash with other positions of power, and there many hated foes.
All alignments are accepted, as long as they integrate themselves into the Banite way of life, or else face harsh punishment. Following Bane is a serious character commitment as any who were to turn their backs on Bane would face persecution from the rest of His Church, and would most likely be captured, and sacrificed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bane_%28god%29
The black-haired man's skin was pale where he wasn't bruised. His armor-clad attendants half-dragged him in front of the Imperceptor. Surrounding the man's chair were a dozen headless corpses, all of which the beaten man recognizes as the bodies of his friends. "Koryn Bersk, you have been found guilty of worshiping Cyric in defiance of the will of Bane. What do you have to say in your defense?" Koryn was silent. His jaw was broken. "Very well. Your punishment is about to be enacted." The Imperceptor loomed in front of him, an apparition of mail and black cloth. The man's gauntleted finger stabbed at his chest, trailing green flames. Koryn whimpered as the flames seared the word HERETIC across his chest. The Imperceptor stood back, and at his nod the guards released the prisoner, who collapsed in a low kneel. A moment later, the man's head was severed and his body fell next to those of his former companions. "Bring in the next one," ordered the cleric of Bane. The dread deity Bane is alive again and closing his hand about Faerun, for only now do they realize how easy they've had it for the past fourteen years, with the evil deities fighting each other and in some cases enacting purges among their own ranks. The forces of Bane are marshaled and stand ready with firm faith in their reborn deity. Aided by the Zhentarim and dark magic, the Banites are a threat to the safety of all Faerûn. Because he has always been more appealing than Cyric or Xvim, Bane is drawing his lost worshipers back to the fold and gaining converts from the disillusioned members of other evil faiths.
Bane was a scourge upon the world for hundreds of years. Controlling, intelligent, and incredibly evil, his servants were the source of much misery. When Bane was slain by Torm during the Time of Troubles, the common folk rejoiced, only to find his successors, Xvim and Cyric, to be almost as much trouble, although certainly not as intelligent or competent. Now that Bane has returned, he is showing the competence and power that made him a feared name for centuries. Though he battles with Cyric frequently and still must face his traditional foes, the Black Hand is confident and plans to lead his church in conquest of all Faerûn.
The church of Bane is well organized, well equipped, and populated by people who understand the need for order and enjoy hurting those weaker than they. This combination of qualities makes the church of Bane a more credible threat than the church of Cyric, despite the Dark Sun's greater numbers and his worshipers' willingness to sacrifice themselves in a frenzy of killing.
-Branches within the Church of Bane-
"The Clergy (clerics)
The clergy acts to spread the portfolio of Bane by converting those who are willing, and terrorizing those who are not. Senior clerics are constantly scheming as to how best to further Fear, Strife and Tyranny in order to increase Bane's dominion in the realms. Religious rites, ceremonies, sacrifices, and ensuring religious compliance are all normal activities."
"The Order of the Iron Gauntlet (monks)
The Iron Gauntlet does two things: Guard the temple, and whatever dirty work the clergy needs done. Spying, reconnaisance and assassinations are normal activites. Monks are trained to use stealth and guile rather than direct force whenever possible."
"The Order of Hatred's Wrath (blackguards and other melee types)
Hatred's Wrath is a knighthood which answers to the clergy. They serve as the temple infantry when needed, and also assist the High Inquisitor or High Imperceptor in dealing with heresy within the ranks. They are unholy warriors, religiously fanatic in the extreme."
"The Arcane Gauntlet(sorcerors, bards, wizards)
The Arcane Gauntlet utilizes arcane magic to extend the will of the clergy. It is specifically geared towards fighting external enemies, subduing them either through force or fear."
As both a lawful entity and the deity of tyrrany, Bane expects a well-defined structure for his church and compliance in all given orders. The head of the church is Fzoul Chembryl, who has absolute authority over all other members of the church. Headquartered in Zhentil Keep, the church is organized like a military unit, with each temple having a clear chain of command and the temple leaders (called Imperceptors) reporting to a senior cleric of a region, who reports to Fzoul or one of his direct underlings.
The church's goals are simpleâ€"convert all to the worship of Bane, and destroy those who do not convert. It is presumed that some exceptions would be made for servants of allied deities (such as Lovitar, Malar, Mask, and Talona). In the meantime, people should be made to fear Bane so that they invoke his name in fear and to ward him off, which gives him some small power.
The church of Bane uses force and persuasion to control territory, whether by marching armies against reticent towns or by bribing bored nobles with slaves, riches, and offers of power. With its close ties to the Zhentarim, the church has been able to focus on the subtler methods of conversion, leaving the more direct methods to the Black Network.
Given that it wishes to convert everyone to worshiping Bane, the church is very open to new recruits. Anyone can swear loyalty to Bane and join the church. However, the church expects loyalty and is not stupid, so it performs alignment checks on new recruits (with detect chaos and detect good) to see if they are fakers or potential saboteurs. Even those with alignment differences are given the opportunity to convert (often with an atonement spell), for Bane recognizes the value of those who have seen the lure of good and turned away from it to serve evil (one of his most powerful servants is a blackguard of this type, after all)
Followers of Bane can sometimes enlist the aid of his servitor deities Loviatar, Malar, Mask, and Talona, although their alliance is more a pact of mutual nonaggression than true friendship. The greatest ally of the Banites is the Zhentarim, and all followers of Bane are taught how to recognize Zhentarim safe-markings and the proper countersigns to give to an agent of the Black Network.
Because it wishes to subvert and destroy all other faiths, the church of Bane is opposed by nearly every other church in Faerûn (some of the weaker deities hope that by serving him, they may survive). The rivalries with the churches of Helm, Ilmater, Lathander, Mystra, Oghma, Torm, and Tyr are particularly strong, and the Banite clerics take great pains to kill clerics of these faiths in gruesome ways, leaving them to be discovered by unsuspecting innocents.
Cyric is Bane's greatest divine foe, for the Dark sun wishes to reclaim the portions of his portfolio taken by Xvim, which were then passed to the new Bane. Bane has similar feelings for Cyric, and would love to crush the upstart under his heel, seizing his lost portfolios in return. Banites enjoy branding Cyricist corpses and altars with the word "heretic" as a warning to other followers of the Dark Sun.
The Banites are also opposed by the Harpers, the Lord's Alliance , the Emerald Enclave, and other groups that respect local governments and the freedom of people to make decisions about their lives.
In combat situations, the faithful of Bane are trained to follow orders from the clerics. In turn, the clerics are expected to react intelligently in combat, give precise orders, and have those orders carried out. Clerics of Bane try to maximize the use of flanking, cover, and the strengths of their trooops, using their spells to increase their own abilities or directly attack their enemies. Banite clerics tend to rely upon wands and potions to heal their allies, since they dislike preparing cure spells in favor of attack magic. Rarely do they use defensive spells, seeing this as a weak-willed usage of Bane's gifts. Defensive magic items, however, are acceptable and common. Bane and Xvim have provided their clergy with several unique spells, and Bane continues to grant these spells to his worshipers, even though some of them have spread to other faiths. These spells are battletide, mystic lash, and stone walk. Since his return, many of his faith have been using a weapon they call a Banesword, and these blades are becoming as recognizable as Bane's own symbol.
The church of the Black Hand knows many dark rites that grant the devout recipient powers or immunities in exchange for sacrifices. Each ritual takes several hours of prayer and requires the intervention of two clerics of Bane, one of whom must be at least 7th level.
Ritual of Terror's Allegiance: This ritual cements the recipient's loyalties to Bane, reducing the chance that they might be controlled by another being. The target gains a +4 morale bonus on Will saving throws against fear and a +2 morale bonus on all other mind-affecting effects. The ritual requires a black star sapphire worth 1,000gp or more as a material component and drains 800XP from the recipient.
The Rite of Dread Presence: The recipient gains the abillity to use a fear spell once per day as a supernatural ability. The caster level is 7th, and the DC is 14 + the recipient's Charisma modifier. The ritual drains 2,000 XP from the recipient
The black-haired man's skin was pale where he wasn't bruised. His armor-clad attendants half-dragged him in front of the Imperceptor. Surrounding the man's chair were a dozen headless corpses, all of which the beaten man recognizes as the bodies of his friends. "Koryn Bersk, you have been found guilty of worshiping Cyric in defiance of the will of Bane. What do you have to say in your defense?" Koryn was silent. His jaw was broken. "Very well. Your punishment is about to be enacted." The Imperceptor loomed in front of him, an apparition of mail and black cloth. The man's gauntleted finger stabbed at his chest, trailing green flames. Koryn whimpered as the flames seared the word HERETIC across his chest. The Imperceptor stood back, and at his nod the guards released the prisoner, who collapsed in a low kneel. A moment later, the man's head was severed and his body fell next to those of his former companions. "Bring in the next one," ordered the cleric of Bane.
The dread deity Bane is alive again and closing his hand about Faerun, for only now do they realize how easy they've had it for the past fourteen years, with the evil deities fighting each other and in some cases enacting purges among their own ranks. The forces of Bane are marshaled and stand ready with firm faith in their reborn deity. Aided by the Zhentarim and dark magic, the Banites are a threat to the safety of all Faerûn. Because he has always been more appealing than Cyric or Xvim, Bane is drawing his lost worshipers back to the fold and gaining converts from the disillusioned members of other evil faiths.
Bane was a scourge upon the world for hundreds of years. Controlling, intelligent, and incredibly evil, his servants were the source of much misery. When Bane was slain by Torm during the Time of Troubles, the common folk rejoiced, only to find his successors, Xvim and Cyric, to be almost as much trouble, although certainly not as intelligent or competent. Now that Bane has returned, he is showing the competence and power that made him a feared name for centuries. Though he battles with Cyric frequently and still must face his traditional foes, the Black Hand is confident and plans to lead his church in conquest of all Faerûn.
The church of Bane is well organized, well equipped, and populated by people who understand the need for order and enjoy hurting those weaker than they. This combination of qualities makes the church of Bane a more credible threat than the church of Cyric, despite the Dark Sun's greater numbers and his worshipers' willingness to sacrifice themselves in a frenzy of killing.
-Branches within the Church of Bane-
"The Clergy (clerics)
The clergy acts to spread the portfolio of Bane by converting those who are willing, and terrorizing those who are not. Senior clerics are constantly scheming as to how best to further Fear, Strife and Tyranny in order to increase Bane's dominion in the realms. Religious rites, ceremonies, sacrifices, and ensuring religious compliance are all normal activities."
"The Order of the Iron Gauntlet (monks)
The Iron Gauntlet does two things: Guard the temple, and whatever dirty work the clergy needs done. Spying, reconnaisance and assassinations are normal activites. Monks are trained to use stealth and guile rather than direct force whenever possible."
"The Order of Hatred's Wrath (blackguards and other melee types)
Hatred's Wrath is a knighthood which answers to the clergy. They serve as the temple infantry when needed, and also assist the High Inquisitor or High Imperceptor in dealing with heresy within the ranks. They are unholy warriors, religiously fanatic in the extreme."
"The Arcane Gauntlet(sorcerors, bards, wizards)
The Arcane Gauntlet utilizes arcane magic to extend the will of the clergy. It is specifically geared towards fighting external enemies, subduing them either through force or fear."
As both a lawful entity and the deity of tyrrany, Bane expects a well-defined structure for his church and compliance in all given orders. The head of the church is Fzoul Chembryl, who has absolute authority over all other members of the church. Headquartered in Zhentil Keep, the church is organized like a military unit, with each temple having a clear chain of command and the temple leaders (called Imperceptors) reporting to a senior cleric of a region, who reports to Fzoul or one of his direct underlings.
The church's goals are simpleâ€"convert all to the worship of Bane, and destroy those who do not convert. It is presumed that some exceptions would be made for servants of allied deities (such as Lovitar, Malar, Mask, and Talona). In the meantime, people should be made to fear Bane so that they invoke his name in fear and to ward him off, which gives him some small power.
The church of Bane uses force and persuasion to control territory, whether by marching armies against reticent towns or by bribing bored nobles with slaves, riches, and offers of power. With its close ties to the Zhentarim, the church has been able to focus on the subtler methods of conversion, leaving the more direct methods to the Black Network.
Given that it wishes to convert everyone to worshiping Bane, the church is very open to new recruits. Anyone can swear loyalty to Bane and join the church. However, the church expects loyalty and is not stupid, so it performs alignment checks on new recruits (with detect chaos and detect good) to see if they are fakers or potential saboteurs. Even those with alignment differences are given the opportunity to convert (often with an atonement spell), for Bane recognizes the value of those who have seen the lure of good and turned away from it to serve evil (one of his most powerful servants is a blackguard of this type, after all)
Followers of Bane can sometimes enlist the aid of his servitor deities Loviatar, Malar, Mask, and Talona, although their alliance is more a pact of mutual nonaggression than true friendship. The greatest ally of the Banites is the Zhentarim, and all followers of Bane are taught how to recognize Zhentarim safe-markings and the proper countersigns to give to an agent of the Black Network.
Because it wishes to subvert and destroy all other faiths, the church of Bane is opposed by nearly every other church in Faerûn (some of the weaker deities hope that by serving him, they may survive). The rivalries with the churches of Helm, Ilmater, Lathander, Mystra, Oghma, Torm, and Tyr are particularly strong, and the Banite clerics take great pains to kill clerics of these faiths in gruesome ways, leaving them to be discovered by unsuspecting innocents.
Cyric is Bane's greatest divine foe, for the Dark sun wishes to reclaim the portions of his portfolio taken by Xvim, which were then passed to the new Bane. Bane has similar feelings for Cyric, and would love to crush the upstart under his heel, seizing his lost portfolios in return. Banites enjoy branding Cyricist corpses and altars with the word "heretic" as a warning to other followers of the Dark Sun.
The Banites are also opposed by the Harpers, the Lord's Alliance , the Emerald Enclave, and other groups that respect local governments and the freedom of people to make decisions about their lives.
In combat situations, the faithful of Bane are trained to follow orders from the clerics. In turn, the clerics are expected to react intelligently in combat, give precise orders, and have those orders carried out. Clerics of Bane try to maximize the use of flanking, cover, and the strengths of their trooops, using their spells to increase their own abilities or directly attack their enemies. Banite clerics tend to rely upon wands and potions to heal their allies, since they dislike preparing cure spells in favor of attack magic. Rarely do they use defensive spells, seeing this as a weak-willed usage of Bane's gifts. Defensive magic items, however, are acceptable and common. Bane and Xvim have provided their clergy with several unique spells, and Bane continues to grant these spells to his worshipers, even though some of them have spread to other faiths. These spells are battletide, mystic lash, and stone walk. Since his return, many of his faith have been using a weapon they call a Banesword, and these blades are becoming as recognizable as Bane's own symbol.
The church of the Black Hand knows many dark rites that grant the devout recipient powers or immunities in exchange for sacrifices. Each ritual takes several hours of prayer and requires the intervention of two clerics of Bane, one of whom must be at least 7th level.
Ritual of Terror's Allegiance: This ritual cements the recipient's loyalties to Bane, reducing the chance that they might be controlled by another being. The target gains a +4 morale bonus on Will saving throws against fear and a +2 morale bonus on all other mind-affecting effects. The ritual requires a black star sapphire worth 1,000gp or more as a material component and drains 800XP from the recipient.
The Rite of Dread Presence: The recipient gains the abillity to use a fear spell once per day as a supernatural ability. The caster level is 7th, and the DC is 14 + the recipient's Charisma modifier. The ritual drains 2,000 XP from the recipient
Go Banites!
Join us in exacting Lord Bane's will. Be rewarded for loyalty to His cause, or be punished for failure to heed His name, and fear it above all else.
Join us in establishing a organized faith of militaristic zealots who scheme for power by any means. The Black Hand rises over Ymph, enclosing the island in His iron grasp!
Come to the dark side! Join in political intrigue, and power hungry scheming in controlling the world!
MORVA
Oi! Sorry I have not been around too much lately, work is insane. Anyone interested in joining, or learning more about the church of bane, send me a PM. We can arrange a time to meet IG, and I will answer any question to the best of my ability.
I have something, that might fit perfectly