Places of worship

Every person is, within themselves, a private cathedral to the Seven. The intensity with which one follows this inner divine flame is a personal decision. For some, the role of performative religion in their lives is minimal; for others, it is an all-consuming conflagration. From inner conviction comes outer actions, and in theology this is most visible in public worship.

Places of public worship are either dedicated to a single God, or to all the Seven. In some instances, these places of worship have elicited the most exquisite generative beauty from artisans, sculptors, and builders, such as the Grand High Temples found throughout the land. In other examples, a modest niche in a wall cradling a simple ceramic bowl suffices. There are about 5,000 religious structures across Kalderesh.

Further information is available on architectural aspects of religious structures.

Table: Religious building types

type	presiding priest	structure	base size	n worshippers
Grand High Temple	Pater, Patriarch (25+)	free-standing	huge (180 x 180')	900
Grand Temple	Serif, Grand High Priest (20+)	free-standing	enormous (120 x 120')	400
High Temple	Wotten, Arch Priest (15+)	free-standing	very big (80 x 80')	180
Temple	Captal, High Priest (9+)	free-standing	big (55 x 55')	80
Fane	Officiant Priest, Priest (7+)	free-standing	modest (35 x 35')	30
Chapel	Officiant Priest, Priest (7+)	adjoining	small (20 x 20')	30
Chantry	Prior, Abbot, Novitiate (3+)	adjoining	small (10 x 10')	10
Shrine	any	adjoining	small (10 x 10')	2
All-Gods	Novitiate (3+)	any	small – big	2 – 80
Monastery	Officiant Priest (7+)	free-standing	big	30
Priory	Officiant Priest, 2nd order (5+)	free-standing	modest	30

Table: Census of churches in Kalderesh

type	total	Barban	Daern	Kirvan	Krethes	Toreen
Grand High Temple	18	8	2	3	2	3
Grand Temple	16	6	1	6	1	2
High Temple	9	—	2	2	2	3
Temple	90	26	9	30	9	16
Fane	160	48	14	51	16	31
Chapel	375	87	42	132	43	71
Chantry	1,504	334	147	525	176	322
Shrine	1,891	410	187	695	231	368
All-Gods	913	227	94	312	102	178

Grand High Temple

These are the largest religious structures, and are dedicated to a single deity. They are ultimate seats of power, presided over by a cleric of the highest rank (Pater or Patriarch; at least 25th level), who is regarded as the ultimate human authority for a given faith.

There are 18 Grand High Temples in Kalderesh: four to Qidra and Razim, three to Salaah, two to D’Aad, Oohm, and Sahir, and one to Arawn. Camfor has Grand High Temples to six of the Seven; the Grand High Temple of Arawn is in Akarat.

Grand Temple

Grand Temples are large complexes dedicated to a single deity. Grand Temples are overseen by Serifs or Grand High Priests (of at least 20th level).

There are 16 Grand Temples in Kalderesh: four to Qidra, three to Arawn and Sahir, two to D’Aad and Salaah, and once each to Oohm and Razim. Grand Temples receive tithes from their lesser temples and fanes.

High Temple

High Temple of Oohm in Daernbeck

High Temples are large structures dedicated to a single deity. They are presided over by Wottens or Arch Priests (of at least 15th level).

There are 9 High Temples in the kingdom: three to D’Aad, two to Oohm and Razim, and one each to Arawn and Qidra.

The druidic spiritual home in Duskwood can be considered a High Temple (for ecclesiastical purposes), but druids do not follow the standard theological structures, so this equivalence is speculative at best.

Temple

There are 90 temples throughout Kalderesh. Each temple is overseen by a Captal or High Priest (of at least 9th level), and is supported by at least three clerics of similar rank. It tithes to its overseeing High Temple and receives a tithe from all fanes, chapels, chantries, and shrines in its spiritual see.

Temples are found in 30 settlements, with Camfor hosting 8 and Coth-Rom hosting 6. The smallest settlement to have a Temple is Freybourne in Barban.

Fane

A fane is the smallest stand-alone religious structure in the kingdom. It is a large chapel, dedicated to a deity, and is overseen by an Officiant Priest or a Priest (of at least 7th level), supported by at least two lesser clergy.

Fanes are often the communal centre of a settlement. It tithes to its overseeing Temple, and is supported by the community.

There are 160 fanes across Kalderesh.

Chapel

Chapels are part of a larger building, dedicated to a specific deity, and usually built by a patron. It is presided over by an Officiant Priest or Priest (of at least 7th level). There are about 400 chapels across Kalderesh.

Chantry

Chantries are the smallest worship spaces, and are built as part of a large structure, or are repurposed from an existing location. These small places of worship were originally used for devotional singing and meditation, but gradually became regular community gathering points. A chantry is overseen by a Prior, Abbot, or Novice (of at least 3rd level). Older chantries are appended to abbies and priories. There are over 1,500 in Kalderesh.

Shrine

A shrine is the most private, least visible, place of public worship. It is sometimes a sacred space within a building, a niche in a wall, or as simple as a cairn of stones. It is maintained by a cleric of any rank.

All-Gods

Unlike the structures discussed above, an All-Gods, as the name suggests, is not dedicated to a single God. Instead, all the Gods are represented and worshipped here. These structures are usually modest in size, although in larger (typically older) settlements, can rival Temples in size and splendour.

An All-Gods may have resident clerics; in smaller settlements the clerics have to lodge elsewhere. Sometimes the staff is temporary, provided by surrounding churches on a rotation basis, while other All-Gods have permanent overseers to see to its maintenance and operation. An All-Gods will have individual worship areas for each deity as well as a communal altar.

Monasteries and priories

These special-purpose places of worship are free-standing buildings, and are always isolated from their immediate surroundings (either by remoteness or walls/barriers).

Monasteries have additional functions other than worship: accommodation, food production, additional training, scriptoria, libraries, etc. From a few dozen up to several hundreds of people can be housed, usually on a semi-permanent basis. Monasteries are overseen by Officiant Priest, of at least 7th level.

The oldest monastery in Kalderesh is the Valemead Monastery of Oohm, established in 4264. The newest is the Monastery of Razim in Greenbarrow (4479).

A priory is similarly isolated but is smaller, has no training function and no scriptorium or significant library. It is overseen by an Officiant Priest of at least 5th level.

Table: Monastic and priory holy sites in Kalderesh

Name	Duchy	year
Valemead Monastery of Oohm	Toreen	4264
Beachmarsh Monastery of Salaah	Krethes	4265
Edgecliff Monastery of Saar	Barban	4282
Draccrest Monastery of Oohm	Kirvan	4300
Harden Monastery of D’Aad	Barban	4306
Staven Monastery of Razim	Barban	4384
Linwall Monastery of D’Aad	Daern	4390
Dorbeach Monastery of Arawn	Barban	4412
Bilbery Monastery of Qidra	Toreen	4446
Greenbarrow Monastery of Razim	Toreen	4479
Lightfield Priory of the Light (All-Gods)	Toreen	4512