Benekander
by Aleksei Andrievski(Defender of Mortals, The Old and the Young)
Demipower of the Prime Material,
NG/Initiate of Energy, L
PORTFOLIO: Restraint of Immortal excesses
ALIASES: Rheddrian, Gareth?
DOMAIN: Prime Material/Mystara
DATE OF ASCENSION: 4000 BC; unable to join the ranks of the
Immortals until 1003 AC
SPONSOR: None; Benekander somehow became Immortal in the implosion
of his starship
ALLIES: None as yet
FOES: Hel; also any Immortals who encourage forcible conversion to
their faith.
SYMBOL: A beagle in a jumpsuit, wearing a hardhat, carrying a big
adjustable wrench
WAL: Any
Rheddrian Benekander was First Assistant Engineer on the Beagle, a
spaceship that explored the galaxy. The ship crashed on Mystara,
and its crew was placed in suspended animation. Rheddrian awoke to
find native people of Blackmoor scavenging the ship's parts. This
caused an implosion of the ship, in which Rheddrian's body
perished. His mind somehow survived and was trapped in a mirror-like
disk for thousands of years. In 1003 AC, Benekander was freed by a
party of adventurers and to his surprise became an Immortal. He
soon recruited the adventurers to find the causes of the great war
known as Wrath of the Immortals, and at its end revealed his
Immortality and formally joined the other Immortals. Note:
Benekander has never been to other planes, so his home plane at the
moment is the Prime (he spends his time there in a mortal identity
so as not to violate the rules of Immortal non-interference). It is
likely that he will move to another plane very soon, though he has
come to love Mystara and enjoys having a mortal identity
there.
The Church
CLERGY: Priests (Shelterers), paladins. There are few priests and
almost no paladins as yet.
CAL: LG, NG, CG, LN, N
WEAPONS: Any bludgeoning
ARMOUR: Any
MAJOR SPHERES: All, Astral, Charm, Creation, Divination, Guardian,
Healing, Protection, Travellers, Wards
MINOR SPHERES: Numbers, Thought, Time
GRANTED POWERS: Turn Undead, Infravision
BONUS PROFS: Local History
DOGMA: Benekander's philosophy is to let mortals govern their own
life. While Immortals can be worshipped, their interference in
their worshippers' lives should be minimal. He maintains that
mortals are capable of great achievements by themselves, and should
be given a chance to make those achievements. Benekander
steadfastly opposes conversion "by the sword", as to him it
represents the ultimate way of Immortal interference on the Prime.
Related to this, he also opposes slavery and other forms of
bondage.
DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES: True to his dogma, Benekander does not
require anything major of his priests. They merely spread his word
in a peaceful manner and attempt to prevent any disturbances caused
by excessive Immortal influence.
IMPORTANT CEREMONIES/HOLY DAYS: Likewise, Benekander does not have
any major ceremonies. His only holy day is the 28th of Kaldmont,
the Day of Dread, that marks his formal ascension to the ranks of
Immortals.
MAJOR CENTRES OF WORSHIP: Benekander does not have any major
centres of worship yet. He has small groups of followers in
Darokin, Karameikos, Thyatis, and Ierendi. Some Immortals think
that he is masquerading as Gareth (though Benekander himself has
not commented on the matter), in which case he also has an active
group of worshippers in Sind.
AFFILIATED ORDERS: None as yet.
PRIESTLY VESTMENTS: Benekander's priesthood is quite young and not
yet greatly organised, so no single formal garb has been
established yet. As the priesthood becomes more organised, it is
likely that the priests' vestments will include a pleasant light
green colour.
ADVENTURING GARB: Any.
Benekandrite Spells
Clear Reasoning (Enchantment/Charm)
Level: 3
Sphere: Charm
Range: 30'
Components: V, S
Duration: 1r/lvl
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: One creature
Saving Throw: Neg.
This spell is cast on a person or creature whose way of thinking is
influenced by his religion. The spell forces the target to rethink
one thing specified by the caster in a way free of religious
influences. Thus for example, a priest of Vanya wishing to start a
war only to glorify his Immortal would think of his actions in
terms of what other effects they would cause (suffering,
destruction, etc.). The target gets a saving throw vs. spell, with
a +4 to -4 modifier depending on his religious fervour. Thus a
fanatic would get a +4 bonus while one with weak faith would get a
-4 penalty. If the saving throw succeeds, the target will know that
the caster tried to influence him somehow, but won't necessarily
know that it was a spell. If the saving throw fails, the target
will think that he has the 'non-religious' thoughts himself, and
depending on his normal degree of faith might be confused or get a
feeling of having sinned.