Knowledge, particularly the raw knowledge of ideas, is supreme. An idea has no weight, but it can move mountains. The greatest gift of humankind, an idea outweighs anything made by mortal hands.

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So, your character has no purpose or sense of belonging? Or you just want to make a new character? (Sure you do!) And of course, you do realize the god who gave names to everything in the world is pretty cool.

Because all that applies to you, I bid you welcome to join the Orthodox Church of Oghma!

I've been playing my Oghmanyte priest Joon for some time now, and I'd like to start a small, loose faction around the faith. Things may grow in time, but for now the goals are humble: to get a bunch of people together and RP Oghmanyte stuff.

I have an idea of what the church would be like. It is all subject to change through RP, but if the following is to your tastes, please do join me in making it reality. And if it isn't to your tastes, join me anyway! This is just one man's mission statement that will change as others join and add their ideas to the mix.



Here's my vision:

* We'd be more famous than the Kelemvorites. We'd be more likable than the Sharessans. We'd be more respected than the Salandrans. We'd be cooler than the Ecclesia of Hoar. We'd be more cunning than the church of Cyric, and better learned than the Mystrans. Just a humble start.

* We would be a small church. Amia is full of temples and religious orders, and there's neither need nor room for another dominant faith. However, the Forgotten Realms is a polytheistic world, and most major faiths have small representation in most places. The Oghmanytes on Amia would be just that: a branch of the great Orthodox Church of Oghma (the largest Oghmanyte faction on Faerûn), just another faith among the others.

* We'd keep a low profile. Our eventual center of worship, if we were to get one, would be a chapel. Not a temple, not a fortress. Just a chapel. As a small part of the international church, we would not adopt high titles or form new orders of our own: the local leader of the faith would probably never become a ”high priest.” There'd be no ”Archmaster of the Divine Crusaders of Oghma” or ”Grand Loremaster Most High” on Amia. Down with with material grandeur, up with spiritual values!

* We'd get down and dirty. Certainly, Oghma's faith focuses on very abstract things, but a church exists for people. Instead of being just ”high and mighty” adventurers, saints and knights, we'd also work on the commoner's level: teaching people about all sorts of things, sponsoring research and arts, making personal connections to all kinds of factions and individuals, preaching, copying and writing documents etc.

* We'd be political players behind the scenes, rather than the obvious movers and shakers. Eventually, we might become quite influential and respected, though it's not an immediate goal.

* We'd be polytheistic, and we'd co-operate with other faiths. This means that (lay) members need not worship Oghma alone, or even as your primary patron, as long as they share interests with the church. I'm sure followers of Milil, Deneir etc. could rise to some prominence within the faction. We'd also avoid excessive theological quarrels with other churches, instead acting as mediators and friends to all the civilized faiths of Amia.



What can you expect, then?

* We'd be a casual faction with no stress, to begin with. You can join with a secondary PC, and there's no ”activity requirements.”

* There will be no OOC restrictions on Race, Alignment, Class, Build or Level. Oghma accepts all alignments and races into his clergy, but certain behaviour types (sadistic criminals etc.) and monster races might have a hard time fitting in IC. Metagaming is illegal on Amia, which means no one will treat your PC any different based on their OOC knowledge of mechanical facts. What you show IC, matters.

* There will be no OOC micromanagement. If your PC wants to behave like a bad Oghmanyte, or if his actions are harmful to the church, it will be dealt with IC. No one will tell you OOC to stop ”playing wrong.” Personally, I hope you will join with PCs who have genuine interest in supporting the church, rather than just join to mess with us, but it will not be enforced OOC.

* Contrary to the lack of OOC discipline, there will be IC hierarchy: it is a church, and every clergyman or layman of every faith has a religious superior. Likewise, the leader of the Amian parish will be your PC's superior, and some level of respect and obedience is expected IC. (Though it's not enforced OOC, and the standards are much looser than in most militant faiths.)

* PCs will be assigned ranks, titles and responsibilities personally, some of them tailored specifically to individual PCs. Advancement happens through RP. Build and level matter only insofar as they are apparent and relevant IC: a person who is unable to cast spells will probably not be responsible for arcane matters, and an old hag who can't even wield a sword isn't going to be responsible for guarding. A level 1 Fighter theologer/preacher can become a respected authority, however.

* Leadership will hopefully be dynamic. It's possible for anyone to ascend to positions of authority, even faction leadership. Joon, my PC, is going to assume leadership at first (because he already has, as the only acting Oghmanyte he knows of), but I expect others to take that responsibility eventually. And hopefully, pass it on before things stagnate. I want to create an environment where actual advancement is possible and encouraged, and nobody clings to positions of authority.

* You can also expect high standards of role-playing from your fellow Oghmanytes. I don't want to scare anyone away by appearing holier than thou, and there will be no OOC judgement of your RP ability, but it's my hope that those who join are genuinely interested in role-playing, not just the other aspects of the game.



What kind of characters can join?

It would be better to ask, what kind of characters can't join. Oghma accepts all races and alignments, so there will be no OOC restriction on that. Most any class is possible, with good justification. The church will be an evolving entity, defined by its members. If you can think of a good Oghmanyte concept, I'm sure you can find or create yourself a niche in the church. I'll give a few examples of general character concepts that have crossed my mind:

* Oghma is the god of knowledge. You could be a wizard or a scholar, focused on your research. The church offers a community of like-minded individuals who might help you in your work.

* Oghma demands that knowledge be spread to everyone. You could be a humble teacher, sage and storyteller who educates children, grown commoners and adventurers alike. Moreover, you could serve the economy: scribe work, scribing spellscrolls (via the feat), creating paper and books with the Job system, sponsoring minstrels, poets, researchers and recordkeepers, creating materials for religious mass (Joon is a candlemaker) etc.

* The typical small-town cleric (like Joon is) can preach, collect donations and perform religious ceremonies.

* The theologer could debate the deepest truths of the multiverse, and study and explain Oghma's doctrines to the faithful better. Oghma supports many monastic orders, and this role could be fit for monks. Alternately, a monk could be a beggar and charity worker among the lower-class, or the typical martial arts champion of an adventuring party.

* Oghmanytes seek to uncover secrets. One of the most interesting concepts is a character focused on this aspect: a rogue who sneaks into hidden libaries, mages' towers and warded archives to steal and reveal the information kept therein.

* Oghmanytes strive to recover lost lore. Archaeologists, tomb raiders and treasure-seekers are most welcome in the church, looking for lost artifacts, documents, historical sites and boss loot!

* Oghmanytes like to gain new information. They're not averse to espionage and diplomacy to reach that goal. An Oghmanyte could infiltrate places and social circles that wouldn't normally share their secrets freely, or openly travel to a city, faction or church to become an ambassador and diplomat of the Orthodox Church of Oghma.

* Oghma is the Patron of Bards and god of inspiration. Minstrels and other artists have good reason to venerate the Binder and join his clergy.

* Oghma also has enemies. Grim and devoted servants of Oghma might want to focus on seeking out Banites, Cyricists, Maskarrans and Talassans, extracting information in secret inquisitions, or protecting the more scholarly-oriented faithful from danger. You don't have to be a Kelemvorite or Hoarite to torture people!


----


As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Let your ideas move mountains, be a quill in Oghma's hand to write a tale of inspiration and wisdom. The Binder wants You!

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If I'm not all out of line, is your vision to be somewhat like a group of "Amia's Freemasons"? If so, I'm very interested.

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Those trees won't burn themselves down. (by Maryn)

Freemasons only accept men, methinks.

Interesting idea

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Active Chars:
Pylithien "Pie" Eriamyn: War Knight
Roxy: The Shiny One

More of what I meant was: a group that is viewed to be a sort of cabal in charge of world affairs organizing wars for profit etc, earning Ire, envy and speculation; but is really just a group with loose associations based on a deity preference.

Now that you mention it, an In-Character Misogynistic fraternal order sounds rather fun.

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Those trees won't burn themselves down. (by Maryn)

That isn't entirely true, Nekh, but it is pretty close. A lot of chapters are predominately men, but I think Scotland first established orders of the Freemason Society that were strictly women. Not all bar women, but they're still far from hegemenous. I've known Tylers (or Tilers, if you want to be classic) who politely turn women away from passing into the interior.

Anyway, this alone is the winning mission statement.

I greatly support this, except your blasphemous talk about becomming better known as the kelemvorites, thats just plain silly. But! Once everything calms down irl a tad more I will try to make my bard at least a partner and supporter of this group.

Stuff like this would make amia feel a lot more real, not so two dimensional imho, so woots!

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To err is human; to forgive divine, but VENGEANCE IS MINE!

Shouldnt all factions be like this?

As a sidenote: In the name of HOAR!/Poetic justice FTW!

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Fear is not evil… It tells you what your weakness is. And once you know your weakness, you can become stronger as well as kinder. - Gildarts Clive, Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima.

Oghmanyte? Yep!

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Preach it Chaplain!

Your Oghmanite thing is kind of neat, good luck!

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The Peacock wrote:

[GreatPigeon] is better than me.

I find your propaganda quite tasteless, Kjetil Magne! Not to mention using minions to support your point.

As for the rest of you: either you're one of the chosen who see the Light, comprehend the world of Ideas and love the Wisdom of Oghma, or you're just Kjetta's bitches. Make your choice!

_________________

As for Freemasons, I'm not awfully familiar with them. I imagined we'd be fairly open, doing charity work and education. If you want to shape it into that direction, though, feel free to jump on the band wagon and throw your weight around IC!

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Woot! It'd be definitely swell to see more followers of Oghma around. I haven't ever seen many of those on Amia.


Also, I'd like to add that:




ShamelessvisualpropagandaShamelessvisualpropaganda


You can't possibly be more cool then us!

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"All along the watchtower,
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
,bare-foot servants, too.
Outside in the distance
A wild cat did growl,
Two riders were approaching,
The wind began to howl
All along the watchtower!"

First you need to get rid of those boyish looks and grow a nice beard and a belly to look like a proper Oghmanyte. Nobody takes prettiboys for real!

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UCE THIS, YOU COW.

Ok!

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Those trees won't burn themselves down. (by Maryn)

Huh. I've always wanted to make a wizard that I actually wanted to spend time playing.

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Profiles: DakoDako & ElWacko

Characters: Currently trying my best to stick to Beridoc Brushgale

So im Kjetta's bitch, or Im IronAngels's bitch....

Kjetta has a mustache so thats out....

How hot is IronAngel (if female)

Yes Im that shallow...

Either way Im a scandinavian bitch

_________________

The Peacock wrote:

[GreatPigeon] is better than me.

So there will -finally- be soemone who needs my mains MASTER acheological expertise?

_________________
"Edwin do this, Edwin do that. Somebody get this jerk a banana!" - Edwin, BG II

Valygar 'Stonesnake' Stark -Human Ranger
Garret Smith - Archer and peddler of deity-statuettes
Dáin Saltbeard - Dwarven sailor and fencer. No, I'm not joking.

Awesome idea, buuuuuttt

Worship the Red Knight!

I'm sick of being the only active one *sob*

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I keels u with my axe!

"Do ye know where the Holy-Flamin' Frost-brand Gronk-slayin' Vorpal Hammer o' woundin' an' returnin' an' Shootin'-Lightnin'-out-yer-bum is?"

I actually have a cleric of Oghma I am leveling now (he is about lvl 13). I am framing him around the traveling cleric (not the bookish temple type) that collects knowledge and history throughout the land.

A couple of things I am planning in my build that should fit right in.
Demonlogy is one of my professions. Gather knowledge of devils and demons and passing it on to other clergy/adventures. The kinda of expert that if you are going to the abyss or have a problem with a demon you will look him up. Either a historian or archeologist as a second profession.

Scribe scroll. How else are you going pass some knowledge on to the average commoner that you come across? High lore because you have to be able to use the knowledge of who that "longsword of doom" belonged to and what it can do.

I was building my character around a kinda of Indiana Jones type with a bit more knowledge/helpful to the common man.

I will look up Joon in game some time.

No, the choice falls down to joining with the cool guys that dare to think big and attempt to fight the many evils that lurk in the deserts of Khem, or to join with the guy that probably has sexual fantasies about masturbation. I mean, Iron, you're a bookworm nerd that even in your wildest escapism fantasies flee to the internet to play the role of ...another bookworm nerd? Come on, Iron! Come on!

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To err is human; to forgive divine, but VENGEANCE IS MINE!

Oghma. . .hmmmm

Sounds alot like Thoth.

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

Well, I have the LG monk of Oghma, belonging to the order Wrestlers of Knowledge. He's a rather roly-poly wrestler who spends much of his free time studying and copying tomes as a back-up or to provide other libraries. Still working on getting his character down though.

Oh, and I have Lomir. He's kind of retired, but if this gets going, I may well bring him back. I would either keep him as a cleric or make him a wizard. We'll see. Would probably remake him however.

Otherwise, this sounds like an awesome idea Iron. I've always liked Oghma as a deity. Maybe I'm just the bookish type too.

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in my dream i am the star.
its me

This has got to be one of the best burns I've seen in a while.

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Role with the Punches...
Elan: A 10% chance is pretty unlikely, but everyone knows that a one-in-a-million chance is a sure thing!

The Kjetta prestige class gets "Favored Enemy: Iron," at level 1. At level 5 he is to be treated as if having the "Bane of Enemies" feat when confronting Iron. And at level 10 each successful attack against an Iron automatically becomes a critical hit.

_________________
"All along the watchtower,
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
,bare-foot servants, too.
Outside in the distance
A wild cat did growl,
Two riders were approaching,
The wind began to howl
All along the watchtower!"

So, do I count maybe five interested? Hurrah! PM me the names of your PCs or how you want to meet up, once/if you make/play them.

And yeah, that was pretty good, but totally uncalled for. This is how the followers of the Three Thunders reward humble charity and sincere love of scholarship. I call hypocrisy!

_________________

Anything that Kjetil opposes has my support!

<3 Iron!

You might want to post a good list of times when you'll be playing, or post a Notice about a meeting time.

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Those trees won't burn themselves down. (by Maryn)

Yarr. I'll try to set up an IC meeting for the weekend, but I'm not 100% sure of my schedule.

Weekdays, I'm pretty much available 13:00-19:00 this week. After that, I've two weeks' holiday before school, so I guess I can be around most any time desired.

But yeah: I'm personally a GMT-afternoon/early evening guy for the foreseeable future, barring weekends.

(Right now it's 19:20 GMT, which means I should've been sleeping for 20 minutes already. Those who don't know your time zone, you can see GMT here: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/ )

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Well i did call Tranny, Gabe.
I blame Zia.
Uh.
Because!



Quoted way out of context

Onto the Original Topic.

I'm not willing to make an Oghmatic chap but i'm sure the Geb feller i have in mind would suit most circumstances.

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

OK, enough spam now. I cleaned up the latest of it, because it was getting too confusing. Sorry!

To everyone interested!

What time could you make it this Sunday, if we were to have a meeting to kick this off?

Anywhere between 11 AM and 9 PM GMT works good for me. Can bend it, too.

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I have a suggestion Bro.

Open up for Gond, Milil, Denier and your Oghmatronics

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

Just remember, Shaundakul gave you those portal wands you love and covet every second of your adventuring life.

What did Oghma give you? Books? Those things do nothing and bloat your character file sizes. Shaundakul gave you the open road and the adventure. He is the quintessential DnD god.

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Davion Telemos - Monk of the Four Winds
Korthan Isharnos - Dragon Shaman of Thunder Spirit Zamasham

So what your saying is Shaundakul is nothing more than the Tom-tom of the DnD world.

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

He gives you the power to make yourself your own Tom-Tom. Why let someone else dictate where you go? Blaze your own path! (or portal there but that's less fun but he's totally god of it anyways!)

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Davion Telemos - Monk of the Four Winds
Korthan Isharnos - Dragon Shaman of Thunder Spirit Zamasham

Pff... join the Orc Horde. We actually have a goal to look forward to: *looks at Winya*

_________________
Plays:

"I'll think of something once Amia:EE drops."

A fine Riposte that. My hat off to you sir.

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I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor

Erm... I could possibly make it at 11am GMT for about an hour or so. But otherwise, Sunday GMT isn't much good for me.

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in my dream i am the star.
its me

Well, it's the church of Oghma. Servants of Gond, Milil and Deneir are welcome, but they will be subject to the authority of the ranking Oghmanyte priest. As I said in the original post, though, we'd be polytheistic. Oghma doesn't have to be your sole patron to join us, as long as he's given due reverence.

I can log on Sunday as early as possible. Are there others that could make it around, say, 9 AM GMT on Sunday the 16th?

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IC post:

http://www.amiaworld.net/phpBB2/viewtop ... 092#655092

I am very flexible when it comes to time on Sunday, really. If the time window I offered doesn't work for most of you, we can do something else.

We can just meet one-on-one or with as many people as happen to be around at the time, at any time in game. Any time we're both around, that is. Anyone interested, feel free to suggest a meeting to set up.

_________________

I can probably be there at that time on sunday, but no promises.

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"Edwin do this, Edwin do that. Somebody get this jerk a banana!" - Edwin, BG II

Valygar 'Stonesnake' Stark -Human Ranger
Garret Smith - Archer and peddler of deity-statuettes
Dáin Saltbeard - Dwarven sailor and fencer. No, I'm not joking.

That is a bit early on this side of the pond. The next week and half at work is going to take up most of my time though so I will not be able to log on much. I will follow the posts here to keep me informed on the happenings.

Well, it turns out there's a free concert with two of my favorite bands playing on Sunday afternoon. Can we make it earlier, or alternately later? I can do 7 AM GMT, or probably around 4 PM GMT.

Also, I'm happy to set up individual meetings with people who can't make it. I'll be out Tuesday and Wednesday, but otherwise I should be free all week, at most any hour.

_________________

I should be able to make 7am GMT no problem. May have to AFK to eat at some point however. I'll likely be turning up with my soon-to-be-remade cleric.

_________________
in my dream i am the star.
its me

See you all in 12 hours!

I already have a recruit, so you won't end up the only one who showed interest, no need to worry!

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I will be waiting in Cordor Library, come as soon as you are able!

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Thanks to all who've shown interested. It's been great fun so far.

There's some free material that might be interesting to Oghmanytes, as well as others who want to be part of this. We've indeed taken a turn for a Freemason-style society instead of an orthodox church.

F&P web enhancement, detailing the Leaves of Learning temple and its NPCs:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20020529a

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I wanted to come, but I was feeling really tired and it was at midnightish my time.

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Dwagin [Duh-wa-GIN] N. - 1a. Small and cute thingum, particularly fond of four legged scaled creatures of the metalic and chromatic varieties.

-Extraordinarily ordinary in the mostest of ways.

No problem. Just look any of us up (those who're part of it are free to announce themselves here, if they want to) in game whenever you see us. I think we'll have to make a dedicated IC topic for us if we grow, to keep track of eachother. For now, though, it's quite casual and freeform. Just tug Joon's sleeve and join in.

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