Sulterio

[hellspawn]

•Aliases: Adamantine One, The Brooding One
•Race: Deep Dwarf
•Worshippers: Mostly deep dwarves, although a few other savage races occasionally also worship the Adamantine One.
•Governs: Darkness, Evil, Mining, Poisons
•Mantras: Belligerent, Ordered, Technological, Vengeful

Uncover the riches of the world below and the riches of the soul. Work the dark adamantium ore and the even darker deep dwarf soul. Mine deep in the earth and deep in your body to achieve true strength. Cultivate the poison that is the blood of all deep dwarves. Be loyal to your clan and your faith. Weakness and failure shall not be tolerated.

[hellspawn]

The favored weapon of all the clergy is the adamantium maul or hammer. They never wield axes. They wear adamantium armors, heavily plated and always of a grayish/blackish color so that they blend in with the rocks. They wear a mushroom-shaped talisman around their necks. When not wearing armor, they wear dark, hueless garbs.

[hellspawn]

Sulterio's church is divided into three pillars: the Deep Smiths, the Adamantine Brotherhood, and the Chosen Ones. Each sect has a leader, and the three leaders dictate the actions and paths for the church to follow. The church is headquartered on the Deep dwarf city of Twar Shal, a large port on the edge of the Sea of Oblivion.


Elections and Organizations

Deep Smiths
The forges of the Sulterio clergy, the Smiths work the black adamantium and other ores into weapons and armor. They also guard the knowledge and culture of the church, which is inscribed in immense adamantine tablets. This sect is formed by many clerics and a few scholars. They rarely face battlefields themselves, but their weapons have crushed countless skulls who dared oppose Sulterio's might. The Deep Smiths have a simple yet effective hierarchy, dividing their members by skill in their crafts or amount of knowledge. They can be initiates, artisans, or masters, and there's a special rank for the scholars of the clergy, the keepers. Each member shows their rank by intricate designs on their left arm. These special tattoos are created by burning the skin with molten adamantium, in a painful ritual known only to the Deep Smiths. The other sects have similar markings, also created by the Smiths. The Smiths hold annual meetings to discuss new mining lore and show their masterpieces. It's rare for a Deep dwarf to trust other clans. However, at these meetings, many clans and cities come together peacefully and often end up creating temporary alliances for mining or research.
Deep Smith Boltr Anvilsmasher is the highest ranking Deep Smith in Twar Shal and hence of the faith. He refuses to wear anything else but his smith's outfit, even in the presence of his king and is always seen with his flaming hammer, waving it around as if it weighed nothing.

Master Thodak Aral is a specialist on siege weapons. In the Deep caves, siege weapons are much harder to operate and some can't be used at all. Thodak designed several short-range ballistas and battering rams, and many cities were conquered thanks to his inventions.

Adamantine Brotherhood
With fists as heavy as adamantium mauls, the Brotherhood is the most philosophic of the three sects. They adopt Sulterio's dogma as a way of life and focus on obtaining greater command of themselves. Most members of this sect are monks with a few fighters and clerics as well. The Brotherhood is divided into two branches: the Order of Strength and the Order of Wisdom. Both study the same unarmed fighting styles, but differ on how they use it. The Order of Strength focuses on powerful punches and kicks as well as enduring damage with a strong body, while the Order of Wisdom relies more on senses and dodging, using pressure points to disable and defeat their enemies. Both divisions use the same hierarchy method. Members can be initiates, brothers, masters, or grandmasters, with the leader having the title of Aztazlazrka'l Thur'n (Adamantium Soul). The hard training of the Brotherhood includes several rituals common to both its orders. Initiates often start their training by wearing heavy iron bracelets to augment their strength and blindfolds to develop other senses. When basic training is complete, a Brother must find and mine an unknown adamantium vein alone, using only his fists and skill.

Aztazlazrka'l Thur'n Rokru Ironbender -- Grandmaster of the Adamantine Brotherhood, Rokru Ironbender's fists are legendary. Reputed to be able to smash a nugget of adamantium into pieces with a bare fist, he is respected by many and feared by all.

Initiate Falvar Thrduum -- When still a child, this Deep dwarf monk murdered his parents when they refused to let him join the Brotherhood. Rokru trained him personally, and since then, Falvar's skills have grown immensely. Some Brothers say Rokru has chosen him as his successor, but both Falvar and the Aztazlazrka'l Thur'n deny the rumor.

The Chosen
The soldiers of Sulterio's church, the Chosen, are battle-hardened clerics and the only ones that pray regularly to the Adamantine One. Trained for war since their youth, they often led the Deep armies, sometimes acting as mercenaries. While their price can be hefty, they never abandon a battle and never betray their contracts. Most stay in the Deep, protecting communities or waging war on other races. Some, however, leave the caves and seek to prove themselves worthy of their god's favor on the surface. Rumors tell of Chosen clerics leading soldiers during the war with Blood under Milara's command. The Chosen care little about hierarchies because many of them operate individually. They are led by the most experienced member who also commands the temple of Twar Shal.

Geirr Gravesmiter -- The head of the Chosen of Sulterio, Geirr is an undefeated warrior and a master of strategy. Under his leadership, the Chosen of Twar Shal defended the city from countless invasions of other Deep races.

[hellspawn]

Next to the three pillars, other orders and specializations exist within the faith of Sulterio, including warriors, slavers, and even traders. But since the Deep dwarves of different clans oftentimes mistrust each other (though never quite so much as they mistrust other races), the clerical hierarchy is usually based on a clan level. The sect's leader is chosen quite simply through a trial of single combat. The cleric who defeats all challengers becomes the leader and guides his faction in faith and war.

[hellspawn]

Sulterio’s temples and shrines cover a large part of the Deep, and some of the deepest caves on the surface also hold shrines of the Adamantine One. His temples are built of rock and often have fortifications built of adamantium. The altars are always made of the purest black metal and forged into a rectangular block. The altar only would be enough to attract thieves and adventurers, but the few who dared attack a temple of Sulterio discovered it to be an impenetrable fortress and were driven away by the Chosen or the Adamantine Brotherhood. Deep dwarf communities feature at least a small temple with a few Chosen as guards and several Deep Smiths. Each temple has one high priest and at least one scholar, both of whom are responsible for rituals and knowledge. The Adamantine Brotherhood has three monasteries built near large adamantium veins; their main monastery being the one in Twar Shal.
Temples and shrines to Sulterio are rare on the surface world, the most known one being in Prantz. The few that exist are generally deep within mountains to reflect the world of the Deep. The temples are usually little more than fortresses of stone, though they are often adorned with adamantium ore. Altars are invariably also made of the most perfect deposits of adamantium.

[hellspawn]

Prayers
With the exception of the Chosen of Sulterio, it is rare for any caste to pray regularly except for guidance before extreme trial. To ask for help (even from one's own god), is considered a sign of weakness by Sulterio's faithful. Instead, followers of Sulterio worship him more in name and deeds than in words. Followers of Sulterio pray when they craft or when they fight and rarely at any other time.
The Chosen, however, pray each day upon rising so that Sulterio will better know the sound of their voice, lest their prayers go unanswered in the heat of battle because Sulterio did not hear them over the uproar.

"Adamantine One, I am yours to forge with.
Make me your weapon, your armor.
Forge my body into something stronger, and I will wage war in your name.
The maul shall triumph over the axe."

Holy Days
Once a year, during the summer, the Chosen of Twar Shal cast a powerful spell that turns the cave ceiling into a large starry sky. Sulterio's constellation is said to shine brightly a few times both on the surface and on the cavern sky. It's the only time Sulterio's adepts pray regularly to their god, and it usually lasts three or four days. Most deep dwarves travel to Twar Shal for this event, but some just pray at the closest temple.

[hellspawn]

•Allied:

◦The Brooding One has no allies.

•Friendly:

◦Corath
◦Pyrtechon
◦Shadon

•Neutral:

◦Aragen
◦Branderback
◦Dorand
◦Grannoch
◦Katia
◦Rofirein
◦Shindaleria

•Unfriendly:

◦Aeridin
◦Baraeon Ca'Duz
◦Beryl
◦Folian S'pae
◦Goran
◦Lucinda
◦Vierdri'ira

•Enemy:

◦Az'atta
◦Deliar
◦Grand
◦Ilsare
◦Kithairien
◦Mist
◦Prunilla
◦Toran
◦Vorax
◦Xeen

[hellspawn]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Sulterio
Clergy Attire - Hierarchy - Sects - Temples - Prayers and Holy Days - Constellation - Allies and Enemies
NWN/D&D Alignments, Domains, and Notes


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Reliquary

•Scrolls of the Void
Originally created by a powerful dwarf wizard, these scrolls contain arcane secrets that can drive an unprepared mind insane. They were found in a deep dwarf raid and sealed in the Deep Smiths' vaults. Their arcane teachings go against Sulterio's dogma, so no follower may ever see its words.


•Darkweave
While mithril is the strongest material known to surface people, the Deep Smiths created a special adamantine fabric made of magic-enhanced strands of the black metal that rivals the weight and resistance of mithril. This material is incredibly strong and as light as normal clothing. Armors created from Darkweave are treasures of the church and are worn only by high-ranking officials in very rare occasions. Rumors say Boltr Anvilsmasher's clothes are reinforced with Darkweave.


Relationship with Other Churches
Sulterio's church--just like their deity with other deities--is very distant from other gods. The Adamantine One's church has no true allies and few commercial relations with followers of Corath, Pyrtechon, and Shadon. His clerics respect other disciplined churches such as Rofirein's, and they detest Vorax and his allies. The dark elf deities are often considered enemies, though a few Chosen mercenaries work for dark elves at times.

Legends
The most famous legend of Sulterio speaks of his brotherhood with the dwarven god Vorax. It is said that Sulterio was born with different skin and an evil soul and that he and Vorax waged war before their ascensions. In the last battle, Vorax's axe and Sulterio's hammer collided and created an incredible shockwave, clearing their armies and severely wounding the two generals. The surface dwellers claimed Vorax as victorious, and Sulterio retreated to the Deep, plotting his revenge. Both churches take any assumption of brotherhood as a direct offense, and scholars of both sides dismiss this legend.

[hellspawn]

•Alignment:
◦Lawful Evil



•Cleric Alignments:
◦Lawful Evil
◦Neutral Evil
◦Lawful Neutral



•Domains:
◦Death
◦Earth
◦Evil
◦Knowledge



•Notes:
◦Nearly all clerics have the Earth domain.