Unexplored Worlds: The Holy Order of Nama Wiggert, The Assassin

• In AE 134, an argument over religious doctrine caused a schism in the Cathbrechtian Church. The argument related to the gender of the church's patron, Terry Cathbrecht. The Orthodox Cathbrechtians maintained that their deity was male, as per tradition. The Wiggertian faction, named for their leader, Nama Wiggert, insisted that the church had suppressed the fact that Cathbrecht was in fact a woman who disguised herself as a man to avoid gender discrimination that ran rampant in her time. The church's eighty-seven members quickly divided between the two factions, with the women largely supporting Nama Wiggert and the men supporting the Cathbrechtian Lector.


• The two factions operated as separate churches for some time until Terry Cathbrecht, angered over the divide among the faithful, appeared before both congregations to reveal that he was a man. Although Cathbrecht intended for this to end the schism, it instead drove the Wiggertians further into denial. Nama Wiggert accused the Orthodox Cathbrechtians of treachery and assassinated the Lector, a pair of priests, the lector's valet, a groundskeeper, the groundskeeper's horse, and a three legged dog.


• As is the norm in the Land Of The Ten Thousand, Nama Wiggert ascended to immortality and the Wiggertians began worshiping their former leader instead. The Holy Order of St. Wiggert became the de facto Assassin's Guild in the Land Of The Ten Thousand as murder is one of their sacraments. Over the years, the church has grown to include congregations in each major city-state in the region.


• According to the sacraments, a perspective employer is required to make a substatial donation to the order to hire a Wiggertian assassin and must do so in person at one of the church houses. However the restriction has been eased as the order has grown so that a representative can make payments in the employer's stead and negotiate the price for frequent patrons. Assassinations are frequently bloody and entail several bystanders, much like Wiggert's original killings. However, some individual Wiggertians can be convinced (monetarily) to perform their sacraments in a much lower profile.


• The hierarchy of the Holy Order is dominated by older women, but the congregation is open to all ages and genders. Although tradition holds that Nama Wiggert was a woman, some men within the order have come to believe that Nama was an ancient title, not a name, that Wiggert was instead a charismatic male with uncommonly long hair and fine features. Although the belief is spreading, it has not yet grown to such an extent to cause a schism of its own.


• Unexplored Worlds is my attempt to design an RPG campaign in the open. Since I have not rolled a d20 in anger in many years, this is my way to keep playing without actually playing. All posts are written to be system-agnostic, so please use whatever keeps your interest in your own games. Just let me know how it goes!

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© 2011 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.