The Temple of Dunes

Symbol: The symbol of the Temple of Dunes is a copper disc, representing the churches headquarters in Sil.

The cleric of Ravis struggled against the chains that bound him under the copper dome of sands. Dune Born Erilins approached the weakened cleric with a solemn gaze. Copper dagger gripped with both bronzed hands. The broken servant of Ravis begged “please… please let me free, I forsake Ravis. The Sand God, yes Sendar, he.. He is the true god! “Erilins only smiles, his step steady and his will bent. The eyes of the restrained bulged as his eminent doom approached. “You speak of this false god, this Ravis among the folk of Sil. Now you see the penalty of falsehoods and you balk. For shame “ Erilins raised the chin of the trembling cleric. “ Now, when you pass from this world you will see the error of your convictions. The Sand God is all.” With no more than a moments pause Erilins plunged the dagger into the exposed throat of the condemned.

Background, Goals, and Dreams: The church of the Sand God is much older than the nation of Pax Thallos and played a critical role in forging the nation. The church was founded by Utoli Terriam in 244 CM. A desert elf shaman from a small tribe who was bestowed a vision by a great being that called itself Sendar, the Sand God. This entity told Utoli that the people outside of this holy land did not understand the nature of divinity. And that the true path was to pay homage to him, through sacrifice and reverence, that those who worshiped him would find eternal power in the afterlife. Utoli was so convinced by this vision that he labored over the next several years to erect six copper domes in a barren region of the Kalsar Dunes. Utoli’s teachings eventually brought about a massive following, for the powers he had been bestowed were terrible to behold. Through time the church grew, and around that church the city of Sil formed. From a small spark the nation of Pax Thallos was born. The church as it is today is run by Sand King Ramses II (CN Human Male, Cleric).

Enemies: The Sand Clerics not being subject to the Bond of the Divine is a matter of much debate among the scholars in the Halls of the Four Fold Path. Although no branch in the House of Five is particularly at odds with the Temple of Dunes they are often considered to be in a theological cold war. In fact to practice religion in Pax Thallos other than that of the Sand God is punishable by beating, imprisonment, or worse. The Temple of Dunes has openly outlawed the Black Iron Company and seeks to uproot their agents whenever possible.

Members: The church draws most of the Thallan populace into its arms, but is otherwise nonexistent outside of the borders of Pax Thallos. The Temple of Dunes and its highest ranking members comprise the governing body of Pax Thallos. Clerics of the Five sometimes abandon their previous faith in favor of the Sand God, but this is very rare. The Temple of Dunes is not an alignment based organization, and its doors are open to anyone.

Holidays: Fast: The Temple of Dunes has several days of the year that they proclaim as fasting days. During this time all that the faithful will consume is water. This is a very holy time for the members of this organization as it symbolizes the thanks that they owe the Sand God for the gifts of the desert.

Type: Religious Faction, Governing Body of Pax Thallos

Affiliation Score Criteria: Membership within the church is easy to obtain, you must go to the Temple of Dunes in the city of Sil and be blessed with the sacred oils of the Sand God. After that you can advance within the organization. To be promoted to the next rank you must return to the Temple of Dunes and speak with a senior cleric of your deeds, if your advancement of the churches edicts are acceptable you are promoted in a ceremony that requires 12 hours at the Temple of Dunes.

Criterion: (One Time)	Affiliation Score Modifier
Character level	+1/2 character levels
Has at least one class level in the cleric class	+1
Can speak Ingan	+1
Is a desert elf or halfblood with desert elf lineage	+1
Have at least 5 ranks in knowledge religion	+1
Have at least 10 ranks in knowledge religion	+2
Owns an item of sustenance	+2
Converts from another religion	+4
Was born outside of Pax Thallos	-1
Lacks the ability to cast divine spells	-2
Charisma 8 or lower	-2
Casts arcane spells	-5

Criteria: (Multiple Times)	Affiliation Score Modifier
Converts a new member	+1
Donates gold to the church	+1/per 2,000 GP donated, limit of once per count.
Converts a new member from another church	+2
Dispels or counters a divine spell cast by a cleric from the House of the Five	+1
Completes a mission assigned by the church	+2
Destroys an item considered to be a threat to the church	+2
Makes a pilgrimage to another kingdom and preaches the words of the Sand God for at least a count	+4
Fails in combat against another divine caster	-2
Associates with those affiliated with another church	-4
Lives outside of Sil	-2

Titles, Benefits, and Duties: The Copper Domes of the Temple of Dunes is a dominating structure in the heart of Sil. Government and social offices are held in some of the smaller structures surrounding the holy site. Each member of the church is expected to observe the days of fast and to provide service at the Domes to their best ability. A Cleric of the Sand God that does not observe the fast holiday loses all benefits of association until an atonement spell is cast on them at the Temple of Dunes. The primary duty of each member is to spread the faith, and to report any information they discover about the House of Five. Depending on the nature of the individual they may be assigned various tasks within the organization.

Affiliation Score	Title: Benefits and Duties
3 or lower	Lost: No affiliation
4-10	Ordained: You are awarded a grey cape of office. You are expected to expend spells and perform tasks as instructed while in the Temple of Dunes with no compensation by your superiors. You gain a +2 bonus on all charisma related ability and skill checks while in Pax Thallos and wearing your cape of office.
11-15	Enlightened: You are awarded a yellow cape of office. You are expected to report to the Temple of Dunes at least once a month. Your bonus on charisma related ability and skill checks is increased to +4 while in Pax Thallos and wearing your cape of office.
16-22	Dune Born: You are awarded a red cape of office. Choose an ability score, while wearing your cape of office the chosen ability score gains a +2 sacred bonus.
23-29	Seer: You are awarded a white cape of office. You can channel your positive or negative energy uses into a melee attack as a standard action. For every 1 channel energy use you expend in this manner you gain +1 to hit and add 1D6 damage. This is a supernatural ability that counts as a sacred bonus to hit and damage. Regardless of if your attack is successful the channel energy uses are expended immediately upon your attach. If you cannot channel energy you gain no benefit at this rank.
30 or Higher	Over Seer: You are awarded a copper cape of office. Each day when you normally are preparing spells you are allowed to swap out one domain that you have access to for any other domain granted by the Sand God. You gain access to that domain’s powers, special abilities or feats and have access to that domains spells as normal.