Priests of Rathma
Guardians of the Balance between life and death, operating from deep within the eastern jungles.
Origins and mission
Section titled “Origins and mission”The Priests of Rathma are an order dedicated to preserving the Balance: the equilibrium between life and death, Order and Chaos. They were founded during the Sin War by Mendeln ul-Diomed, under the instruction of Rathma, son of Inarius and Lilith, and Trag’Oul, the dragon guardian of Sanctuary’s balance. From those origins the order took both its name and its purpose.
Their home is the Necropolis, a vast underground city hidden in the eastern jungles of Kehjistan. Necromancy is the order’s practice and its instrument; the preservation of the Balance is the end it serves.
Beliefs and outlook
Section titled “Beliefs and outlook”The Priests hold that the dominance of either Heaven or Hell over Sanctuary is an existential threat, and that the cycle of life and death must be preserved against both. They are pragmatists who treat death as a natural and necessary part of that cycle rather than an evil to be resisted. This outlook has helped the order largely resist corruption by the Prime Evils, in part through philosophy and in part through the fact that it polices its own. The Blackthorn Arbiter enforces internal discipline: necromancers who upset the Balance are pursued and stopped by their own people.
Relationships
Section titled “Relationships”The order has been in persistent conflict with the Zakarum Church, which regards necromancy as anathema and persecutes its practitioners. The Priests’ methods unsettle most outsiders they encounter, and the order does little to make itself more palatable.
Ties to Tristram
Section titled “Ties to Tristram”A Priest of Rathma abroad is almost always investigating a threat to the Balance. The disturbances gathering around Tristram are exactly the kind of imbalance the order exists to watch for, and are enough to send a Priest west to see the matter for themselves.
Player character ideas
Section titled “Player character ideas”Example motivations:
- The Balance above all, with life, death, Heaven, and Hell alike secondary to the cycle.
- A conviction that death is not evil but necessary.
- Self-policing treated as a mark of integrity.
Suggested classes: Cleric (Death or Grave), Wizard (Necromancy), Warlock.