Church of Karamekios

Most of those of Thyatian descent in Karameikos are members of the Church of Karameikos; approximately half those of mixed descent are; and many of Traladaran descent have been converted by the Church;'s compelling philosophy of the "unstained spirit." In all, about 25% of the population of Karameikos now belong to the Church of Karameikos, and this segment of the population includes most of the landed nobles and many other powerful political figures.

Many of the members of the Church, especially converts, don't truly understand the intent of the church's philosophy. This philosophy is that no sin committed in the mortal world is so great that it cannot be purified from the spirit by great acts of self-sacrifice. Many converts, however, consider it a game with rules to be bent - that the church philosophy means that they can do anything so long as they subject themselves to the deeds of purification recommend by their leaders after the fact.

A lesser sin - telling a lie, for instance - may require a ceremony of purification no greater than the saying of a few prayers. A moderate sin - beating someone who did not deserve it, for instance - might require a day's vigil and fasting under the watchful eye of a Church cleric. A greater sin - for instance, murder - may require that the character not only suffer secular punishment (i.e. punishment handed down by the courts) but also perform some great ceremony of purification, such as the character risking his life and fortune in an adventure which the Church thinks would benefit his spirit.

The Church of Karameikos can every great influence over its devout believers. The common church member has a terror of separation from the Church, because it would mean that his spirit grows so stained that he will suffer perpetual grief in the afterlife. Though manipulative clerics are not common, those few who exist can demand some heavy and unusual ceremonies of purification from their followers and often get away with great abuse in this fashion.

## Beliefs

These are the beliefs of the Church of Karameikos.

1. The acts of assault, abuse, murder, theft, lying, adultery, and living together without the sanctity of matrimony are sins; that these sins stain the spirit of the doer; and that the sins require acts or ceremonies of purification (of severity appropriate to the sin) to cleanse from the spirit;
2. That an unwillingness on the part of the sinner to purify himself of a sin is itself a sin, punishable by separation from the Church, the eventual result of which is the sinner's spirit becoming too stained to ever be redeemed;
3. That the individual's role in the afterlife will be determined by the amount of stain his spirit bears at the time of his death;
4. That it is the responsibility of members of the Church to bring the benefits of Church philosophy to the unbeliever, and to remain present even in hostile lands, so that the benefits of the Church be denied to no one who desires them; and
5. That magic ritual with no confirmed basis in formal magic use or clerical ritual constitutes ignorant superstition, and therefore the use of lucky charms, tea-readings, palm-readings, card-readings, and so forth are all valueless wastes of time and effort.

## Domain

Clerics of the Church of Karameikos have access to the Life or Light domain.