Believers of the Source

"We are all one--gods, mortals, even fiends come from the same source.

Who knows? Maybe next time you'll be a larva."

--Factol Ambar of the Godsmen

Also known as:

Godsmen, Reincarnates

Factol: Ambar Vergrove

Home Field: Ethereal demiplanes

Sigil HQ: Great Foundry (Lower Ward)

Allies: Athar, Doomguard (temporary ally)

Enemies: Bleak Cabal, Dustmen

Philosophy

To the Godsmen, all things can ascend to greater glory. The creatures of the planes just represent different steps on the path to true ascension. Patience and perseverance are all it takes to become a god according to them. Living out here on the planes is so hard because it is a test and all things--from planars to powers--are being tested. Succeed and you get closer to true greatness. Fail, and well, you can always be reincarnated and try again.

The Godsmen don't claim to understand which of life's events are true tests, and which of those is more important than the next. To them, all of life's events must be understood and learned from. Endure suffering because it brings out your best qualities and teaches you about yourself. Spread joy because that increases its value and allows it to reach its prime. These berks even believe that godhood is not the top of the ascension stairway. Something, they say, lies beyond that, something that even the powers are trying to reach.

To these Reincarnates, the whole meaning behind The Multiverse is that it is a big test, a forge in which we are tempered and strengthened. Eventually, all the beings in creation will ascend to the top, and The Multiverse will close up shop, having completed its task. Until then, the Believers wish to help each and every person temper themselves.

Influence

The Believers find a special attachment to the Ethereal Plane, and that plane can be found spotted with the demiplanar creations of many a Godsmen. The Godsmen believe that the formation of demiplanes from the Ethereal mists are an analogy for their own strengthening and building. In Sigil, the Believers claim the Foundry as their headquarters, using it to test its own members and strengthen them as they work at the forges. And though they are not granted any official job in the Sigil government, the Believers use their sway over the crafted goods of Sigil to try to keep the peace between warring factions. Afterall, one can not make swords if they do not have the steel.

Politics

Because the Believers see people as being as capable as gods, they are often seen in alliance with the Athar, both working to make individuals stronger than organizations. Also, once in a great while the Godsmen find themselves allied with the Doomguard, who finds a common thread in their belief that eventually The Multiverse will shut down. However, these alliances hardly ever last long; eventually the Doomguard takes offence to the Godsmen building things up rather than breaking them down. The Bleak Cabal with their apathetic nihilism and the Dustmen with their belief that we are all already dead, often find themselves at odds with the Believers of the Source, and are often considered foes of the faction's goals.

Eligibility

The Believers think that all sods can ascend, so anyone is welcome. However, priests of specific deities sometimes avoid the Godsmen because they have been known to suffer problems with their spellcasting because of either a lack of total faith in their power or an arrogance in knowing that they too could be as powerful.

Considering their extroverted natures, it’s no surprise most Godsmen join the faction to help others “evolve” and see their own potential. (A few ruthless bashers join assuming they can easily get ahead in the ranks within such a swarm of well-meaners.) Believers hate it when berks act apathetic or resigned towards The Multiverse – they’ll tolerate bashers who become selfish and wicked, but not those who lack interest in self-improvement.

Alignment

Having what looks like a compassionate outlook doesn’t mean a believer has to espouse the principles of goodness. Many Godsmen are evil (wanting to inhibit others’ progress toward godhood) or neutral (professing that non-interference in others’ lives allows The Multiverse to do its best work).

Lawful Godsmen view regulations as essential in the process of evolving toward divinity. “Follow the rules, and a body’ll pass all the tests The Multiverse offers up,” they insist. Chaotic Godsmen evaluate all situations case by case. After all, giving one beggar a free dinner might give him the energy to play a pennywhistle for the entertainment (and coins) of passerby. Feeding another might just convince him to put off doing anything for himself yet one more day. Sometimes killing a sod is the best thing a body can do for him. Neutral Godsmen fall somewhere in between.

Class

A Godsman has two preoccupations: his own progress up the chain of evolution and the progress of the rest of the bashers in The Multiverse. ‘Course, no two will express these concerns quite the same way – it depends on a body’s area of expertise. Fighters think battle teaches a basher life’s lesson., so they press conflict on others to help them grow. Godsman paladins believe they evolve by helping others and expect those they aid to offer succour too. Rangers, biased toward beasts, frequently see their animal friends’ potential unmatched in sentient races.

Godsman priests seek to emulate the divine evolution of their deities, yet they know that power leads to the Source. Druids trusting in the cycles of the natural world, believe these cycles will bring into a body’s life the appropriate level of testing and illumination. Believer wizards, frequently arrogant, believe magic is the key to evolution and pity those who don’t dabble in this art. Godsmen thieves think secrets’re best stolen and love forbidden knowledge. Bards know they can spark inspiration: After a heroic ballad, they want listeners to emulate the song’s hero.

Race

Due to belief in the divine potential of every being, Believers of the Source welcome a diverse membership. Wemics, pixies, satyrs, bariaur, tieflings, dwarves, and half-elves mingle with one another and the odd erinyes, lammasu, githyanki, slaad or moon dog.

Benefits/Penalties

Godsmen look every challenge in the eye and hardly every turn one down, feeling that all of them are tests on the path to perfection. This stubborn perseverance enables them to hold their ground more often than most. As such, a Godsmen receives a +2 on all Fortitude and Will savings throws. However, because Godsmen willingly embrace reincarnation to the next step in their ascendancy, no Godsmen can be raised or resurrected after death. It is said, however, that they can almost always be reincarnated into a player character race.

Sigil - Planar Legends:
Members of the Believers of the Source can cast Eagle's Splendor 1/day.

Believers of the Source Membership

Believers want to drill into members that life is a forge, shaping personalities and spirits. Therefore, to join the faction, bashers have to take their turn at the forge. A body tells the guards at the Great Foundry’s main gate that he’s interested, and before he knows it, he’s sweating rivers in the wire-works or one of the others. If the Back-breaking labour doesn’t send them running, these namers can seek greater involvement in the faction by asking a more experienced member to sponsor them.

Namers serve informal apprenticeships with these mentors, learning the rigors of Believers philosophy. But different mentors provide very different experiences: Some virtually ignore their charges, while others insist on daily lessons reinforced by assigned tasks. When a mentor considers his protégé ready for a Factotum’s responsibility – to seek the inherent worth of all – he presents the namer to a Factor for evaluation.

The candidate then undergoes a series of tests: unusual puzzles or challenging tasks, specifically tailored to probe his fears and limitations. ‘Course, the factors don’t measure prospects against perfection. They just try to gauge the malleability of a namer in the multiversal forge. A similar test is administered at Ambar’s Palace to factotums chosen to advance to factor rank.