#I left out some stuff about the Baneliches and the origins of the Cult of the Dragon. but they're not important | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

y-rhywbeth2 · 9 months

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Gods & Clergy: Bane #2

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

Apparently, they are a beautiful combination of every dictatorship ever with some flavouring from the fucking mafia. They also sort-of have a Pope, and sometimes papal schisms.

Social Darwinism for everybody! And remember, Bane is always watching you - do not make him get involved, kiddies.

Can these people get any more delightful??

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"The world is made stronger by mighty and ordered rule, with the ruled made to fear their rulers and to hate common foes. Weakness and frivolity should be publicly destroyed for all to see and heed. Good is but a shelter for weakness and the whims of those who profess noble goals. Evil is the true state of nature, for winning is everything, and oppression is natural. Fight against good, and exalt evil. Tyrannize and destroy the weak, so that all in time become better and stronger, everyone knowing their place and not daring to question or foment disorder. "Be a tyrant. Make others fear and hate you, but awaken in them hatred of others. Aid tyrants and oppressors, but if they disagree with you or fellow Dark Hands (clergy of Bane) over policy, or turn back from tyranny or oppressing others, shatter them. We are the forge that tempers rulers, to make them ever harder, stronger, and more evil. Laws and rules, not wanton chaos, should reign. Eliminate lawbreakers. Kill or thwart a good creature every day (kill is better). Bring down arbitrary law keepers, and aid the brutally law-abiding. Make others fear Bane—and fear you—whenever possible." - Yet more Banite dogma

Good is evil, and Evil is good. Good is a lie, and Evil is the truth. The one thing all Banites agree on is that implementing Bane's rule is the only good option for the world.

Banite teaching is clear that a world of firm laws and an orderly society is the only acceptable world to live in. Chaos exists only as a tool to achieve this, and is otherwise sinful. This ideal lawful and regimented society will, naturally, be a surveillance state. The overabundance of divination spells and artefacts used for monitoring thought crimes, and the rank "inquisitor," don't exist in the church for nothing.

Society will be made better when the weakness is purged. By punishing the weak, one of two things will happen; they will break, and either clear the way for the strong, or they will take on the hatred and use it to make themselves stronger.

Dissenting opinion is bad, it breeds chaos and undermines order - and Banites are quite firm in their opinion that nobody else is governing their lands properly.

Under Banite rule, people suddenly "going missing" is just a fact of life. Sometimes they turn up a little worse for wear and/or with a mysterious new personality. Often they're just not coming back.

The good news is that since the death of the last High Imperceptor in recent years, the church hierarchy has apparently fallen apart again!

Banites are no longer quite so united by one long, globe-spanning chain of command and are all splintered into factions, backstabbing each other and fighting over which leader's vision and right to lead is greater than the others'. The lower ranks scheme to take the place of their hated superiors, even as they bow and scrape and dance perfectly to the tune of every command.

Bane is willing to tolerate this to a limited degree, because it keeps his higher ranked followers from abusing their authority for personal gain if the lower ranks have space to undermine them when they're unworthy. A "healthy" amount of infighting will cull the weak and ensure he only has the strongest followers.

There are limits though; start rocking the boat too much and Bane will personally smite you dead in front of everyone to make a point.

The Dark One watches his clergy, keeping an eye on those with potential rising through the ranks, and those whose behaviours are a little erratic for his liking. He's known for speaking directly into their minds, or the minds of the followers around them. Although sometimes he turns away to focus on something beyond mortal ken, which can last years, which is when the infighting tends to get really bad. Elminster likens it to unsupervised rats in a cage, gnawing on each other in frustration.

A Banite who shows signs of weakness and "wavering faith" will be demoted... if they're lucky. Other possible fates include the standard Banite fare of maiming and potential death.

Banites in favour with their deity and superiors will enjoy luxury and promotions: Having fun is allowed as a reward for being a good servant, but is not something you're allowed to take for granted. That's "frivolity" and will breed weakness.

The church mostly gets things done nowadays simply because the lowest ranks of the clergy usually attach themselves to some charismatic mid-higher rank, becoming their obedient and fawning slaves in the hopes that by helping them rise in the ranks their superior will elevate them too. Through this, teamwork is achieved and shit gets done. In the higher ranks, where everybody's too afraid of losing their hard won power, this cooperation tends to die.

The head of a region's Banites is the Inquisitor, all of whom answer to the High Inquisior, who is regarded much like the Pope is by Catholics on Earth. Sometimes the High Inquisitor isn't providing their role as arbiter of Bane's divine will on Toril right, and one or more other Banites make the case for themselves as Bane's real High Inquisitor and schisms result with all the usual drama.

When Banites of equal rank clash on something, technically the deciding factor in who gets the final say is supposed to be who has the highest levels in the cleric class (and thus their higher personal status with Bane). If it's equal, then it comes down to who has the highest influence/reputation amongst the other Banites. Ultimately though, the biggest factor is actually which of them their regional leader likes best (you're either in favour, or out).

Particularly within urban areas, Banites are usually hidden kingpins and crime bosses, working from the shadows. Those who seek power and influence may always turn to the followers of the Black Hand for aid; they are always happy to make friends and lend favours. You want to win the next guild election? You want to be governor? They can do that for you. They will employ bribery, kidnappings, blackmails, arrange assassinations, whatever it takes to get you in power. And then you will have that position you wanted, and you will owe it all to the Church of Bane, and to Bane himself, as their loyal puppet. You will obey every edict of Bane as yet another link in his chains. You will know that they did this for you, that they can do all this to you, and that everybody will know this should you go back on your end of the bargain.

The people who serve those people will also serve Bane, unknowingly. Eventually the entire city will serve, never realising who rules them, until one day the Banites' hold over the region is so ironclad that when they step forward to rule openly, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Banite infiltrations are highly organised, and are likened covert military operations, with the leaders given their tasks directly from Bane.

Through these methods, the Church takes over businesses, governments and even entire noble families.

Businesses are of particular interest, as Banites will seek to establish at least some degree of control over regional trade - especially contraband and other illegal businesses, and especially the trade of weapons and slaves. The money they make from this will go towards both the church and their own personal funds.

Few Banites are comfortable openly taking positions of power for themselves until they are certain that it is safe to do so. There's also that little drawback where your siblings in the faith will watch you carefully while holding their breath for a while, to see if you're as secure in your power as you seem to be - and then there's a target on your back because they all want your power for themselves.

Despite losing control, it seems some Banite presence lingers amongst the Zhentarim, where the divide between the cleric-based Orthodoxy and the reformist wizards lives on. The simmering tensions and would-be civil war are held in check only by the presence of beholderkin who will make an example of any idiots that try anything. Bane has no particular interest in seeing his clerics and mages fighting each other, and in most Banite circles the schism has died down. Some of them are even friends and "companions."

(Yes, even Banites have friends. Mr "frivolity should be publicly destroyed - make others fear and hate you" doesn't necessarily approve, but his followers are still only human[oid].)

"…Bane is rash, impetuous, and arrogant. He’s no patient, long-term schemer, but lives in the present moment (he wants results NOW). And his pride often makes him over-estimate his own prowess, and ignore his own faults." - Ed Greenwood

Going by some lore; Bane is also an unwitting puppet of Jergal (who is The long-term schemer), intended for one of the older deity's infinite supply of schemes - although his strings are not currently being pulled. He is the dead soul of a mortal man, imbued with divine essence and Jergal's portfolio of Tyranny. "Jergal [on his end] has no intention of treating Bane like a puppet until he has to."

Bane died long before the Three reached Jergal, and the god "stored" his soul away, recognising a similar "quenchless hunger to rule all, and be feared by all through the maliciousness and malevolent [attentiveness] of his rule."

Bane's memory of this has been removed by the Forgotten One, and he wouldn't believe you if you told him so. Whether the other two have had their memories so edited is unknown, but possible.

His original, pre-Time of Troubles holy symbol was intended to be a severed hand in a spiked black gauntlet, dripping blood from the stump (the middle droplet being the longest). The presumed reason for it not appearing in official Realms products is wariness of the Satanic Panic leading to its censorship.

#I think that's mostly it #I left out some stuff about the Baneliches and the origins of the Cult of the Dragon. but they're not important #THIS BETTER BE IT #Update: this was not all of it #the idiot three #enver gortash #long post

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