Fermus

Details for clerics and worshippers

Also known as the Magefather, Fermus is a greater god of the Ozir "family".

Symbol: Pentacle inscribed in a decagon.

Colors: Black, gold and silver.

Sacred Animals: The hare and the lion.

Sacred Items: Wand, chalice.

Order(s) of Knighthood: None.

Dogma: Magic is vital to civilization. It should not be misused. The ability to learn magic, rather than use it instinctively, is the hallmark of a souled creature. All who have magery should be encouraged to fulfill their gift.

Scriptures: "The Book of Fermus" (Divinely inspired) -- a short, simple volume that outlines the doctrines and duties of the church and its members. "The Rulings" (Mortal commentary) -- a thick body of precedents in deciding what constitutes misuse of magic and what doesn't.

Holy Days: High Sun, Low Sun, The Feast of the Hare (Floweretide 20), The Feast of Hindoui (Leaffall 7), Shieldmeet.

Holy Places: Very High Mana zones, places where legendary works of magic were performed (such as the Wheelstones of Imre's Wall in the Sylvan Confederation).

Sanctuary Design: A black marble cylinder, its height and diameter equal, sitting on a circular platform of black marble measuring a foot (32 cm) high and twice the diameter of the temple proper. The roof is a stained-glass window, often an abstract design, but just as often representative of some event in the tales of the god. A simple cube of black marble forms a central altar.

Levels of Investiture: As per Characters.

Spells:
Consecrate
Desecrate
Final Rest
Lead Worship
Oath

Bless
Curse

Detect Divine Power (as Detect Magic, for clerical magic)
Planar Visit (Godsland, Lesser Plane, or Home Plane)
Plane Shift (Godsland, Lesser Plane, or Home Plane)
Create Gate (Godsland, Lesser Plane, or Home Plane)

Detect Magic
Seek Magic
Conceal Magic
Identify Magic
Analyze Magic
Mage Sight
Mage Sense
Counterspell
Dispel Magic
Suspend Magic
Suspend Magery
Drain Magery
Drain Mana
Restore Mana
Suspend Mana

Ward
Great Ward
Reflect
Reflex
Catch Spell

Scry Guard
Scry Wall

Magic Resistance
Spell Shield
Spell Wall
Pentagram

Character Requirements: There are no additional advantages, disadvantages or quirks a cleric of Fermus is required to take.

Special Abilities of Clerics: Fermus's clerics have a simple magical sense not unlike that provided by Magery, requiring a roll against IQ + Power Investure. They can also detect spells as they are being cast, on a roll against IQ + Power Investiture. Their levels of Power Investiture also act as an equal number of levels of Magical Resistance when hostile magic is cast on or at them. And like mages, they can use powerstones.

Special Duties of Clerics: Fermus's clerics serve two special functions in their communities. One, they seek to identify children who are born with the magegift, and encourage their parents to apprentice them to mages. Two, they are alert for the misuse of magic and are charged with tracking down and punishing those who offend, whether they are worshippers of Fermus or not. However, they are forbidden to assault clerics of other gods.

Notes: The Fermian dogma that magic use is the hallmark of a souled creature is not to be applied to individuals; rather, it means that if a race has members who can learn to use magic, then all members of that race have "true" souls. Obviously sentient races who have no ability to learn magic are considered to have "lesser" souls, but are not (usually) stigmatized for this reason.

"Misuse of magic", in the eyes of Fermus and his clerics, is anything that employs magic to exploit or unnecessarily harm others, with the exception of self-defense and use of magic in war. Also, the use of magic to damage the ecosphere of Narth is misuse. However, in many cases a "greater good" consideration is employed -- if the caster was doing something that would benefit many but inconvenience only one or a few, it is not considered misuse. (Fermus is quite pragmatic in this regard.) Also, the mage's intent is usually factored in. A magical accident or "backfire" is rarely punished, unless the mage was careless or negligent.

The definition of "others" for these purposes is usually limited to those races Fermus' church considers "souled". Animals are expressly exempted from this consideration, except where environmental damage is being caused.

This may sound like a very precise set of restrictions, but in day-to-day operation, a Fermian cleric has a great deal of latitude. Only in the case of a serious miscall will Fermus or one of his servitors overrule the cleric. However, many centuries of precedents in such matters have been written down for the guidance of the cleric, in the "Book of Rulings".

The punishment for misuse of magic ranges from a temporary suspension of the user's magical ability, to a permanent loss of magery, to death for very extreme cases.

Fermus exempts clerical magic from his sphere, as it is powered by divine energy. By long-standing agreement with the other gods, too, Fermus' clerics may not assault or punish the actions of other gods' clerics, even when those clerics are also mages.


This page was created on October 20, 1997.
Last modified March 12, 2011.