Clergy

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Clergy

Postby Alric Wilmot on July 22nd, 2013, 9:33 pm

Hello, I was wondering if I could be employed as an "Alter Boy" even if I traveled to other places? I was hoping to act as a traveling preacher, but the term Alter Boy makes it seem as if I'd stay on at a place of worship and clean it and prepare it for use.

I'm using the term Alter Boy, from the Price List, a job available for those of one mark to their respective deity.
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Clergy

Postby Verilian on July 22nd, 2013, 9:43 pm

Altar Boy is just one name out of many that describes those who serve in the beginning ranks of a church. (L1 Gnosis required to attain this base salary. L1 Gnosis doesn't guarantee salary; must be an active, serving member of a church.)


So in other words.. altar boy is just a name. It doesn't mean you have to stay in one place. As long as you have the first rank of gnosis for that deity, you should be able to get employed, even if traveling.
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Clergy

Postby Alric Wilmot on July 22nd, 2013, 9:48 pm

Thank you very much for the swift response
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Clergy

Postby Gossamer on July 23rd, 2013, 5:55 am

That employment still means you have to do threads to earn it and work your job. But unlike Verilian, I feel like you need to have an actual CHURCH to be employed in... how can you be an alter boy and travel? That makes NO SENSE to me unless you are part of a traveling church and so far there's no groups like that roaming around.
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Clergy

Postby Gillar on July 23rd, 2013, 6:50 am

When I included "Altar Boy" in the Income list, it was meant to fit those who actively serve a church (temple, shrine or whatever the specific faith requires). An Altar Boy helps tend to the facility and is not sent out into the world to spread the word of their deity.

Generally speaking, someone who serves a faith organization will likely fall into one of four categories. How an individual serves is tied to their number of gnosis marks as the marks dictate how much their deity favors them. So someone with one mark will likely fill support roles at their local temple . Two marks will offer them a bit more freedom in how they serve. These are the individuals who will often be sent out to spread their faith and aid others of like mind. Three marks make one a full-fledged priest or cleric or whatever the faith officially calls one with that many marks. These are the individuals in charge of a specific temple/religious site. They ofter preside over a number of one and two marked individuals and manage the formal worship of their deity in their city. Four marks of course indicate a champion who possesses the most direct connection to their deity.

That said, there are obviously some deities that do not maintain formal institutions of faith among the races of Mizahar. Their followers are more spread out and their worship is not based on formal teachings. For these followers, they will find it quite difficult to gain an actual income tied to their practice of their faith. The reasoning? Who is going to pay them? An established church, temple, shrine, etc., will often operate off of donations, tithing or taking coin in exchange for their various services. Some of the more religious-based cities outright pay for their religious institutions and their various functions. If you are not part of church, where does the money come from to travel and preach?

To qualify as a "traveling preacher" and want to get paid for it, you have to be a part of a religious organization that:

A. Exists for the deity you have gained the favor of (again, not all deities maintain organizations).

B. Feels the need to have someone travel around and advertise their religion (not all religious organizations operate using the "traveling preacher" model.)

C. Want to actually pay and support someone to travel around and talk about them (not all religious organizations possess the ability or desire to actually pay someone to do this).

Another thing to realize is that traveling around Mizahar is not an easy task. It is dangerous and takes a lot of time. Cities are spread out over great distances and the further you travel from a religious organization's place of power, the less strength the words of a "traveling preacher" will hold.

Finally, the closer Income listing for such a venture would likely fall under Teacher/Instructor and unless you have multiple marks from the deity you are preaching for, you will likely be on the lower end of the pay scale. Also, just having marks won't cut it. You would also need a good amount of skill in Leadership, Rhetoric and Persuasion else remain on the very low end of the pay scale. Why all of this? Simple, who wants to listen to someone who has no charisma, doesn't know how to speak to people and has no ability to persuade others to follow a deity who the "preacher" is barely associated with themselves.

Anyway, these are just some things to consider for anyone wishing to get involved with spreading their religion to others. It's not all that bad of an idea but there is a lot to think of before going down this road. I suggest looking through the various religious factions and seeing if there are any that support such a thing and then decide if your character is in a position both IC and OOC to move in that direction.
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Clergy

Postby Alric Wilmot on July 23rd, 2013, 6:12 pm

Well I had thought the same Gossamer, but was unsure, hence why I thought I might ask. Also, thank you for the detailed response Gillar. Alric is competent in Persuasion, and soon will be in Rhetoric. I had thought that the Temple of Ionu was run by a clergy, that is why I thought there was an established church for Ionu. I had supposed only having one mark might hinder this, not to mention I had not considered that not all deities care to advertise, the point brought up in section C.

I will consider some other employment, even if I do decide to have Alric be a bit preachy.
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I have implanted an Obsession
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