Church of Torm

The church of Torm was the collection of faithful followers of Torm, god of duty and the patron deity of paladins.

Collectively, Torm's clergy were dubbed the Tormtar, while his followers were known as Tormish. The faith itself was referred to as the True Faith or the Unbending Way of Torm.

Organization
Torm's church was organized into three-tiers, separated from the others by both the caliber and duration of service to the faith.

Titles
The highest ranking tier of Torm's church comprised the Tormtar, and included the following titles (and associated color robes or pigmented armor) in descending order: Champion (dusky purple), Vanguardier (amethyst), Knight (deep blue), Guardian (sky blue), Enforcer (deep green), Loyan (pale green), Watchful Venturer (yellow), Vigilant (orange), Warden (dark amber), Faithblade (rose red), Anduran (crimson), and Unproven (uncolored), the faith's novices. Other titles were bestowed upon the Tormtar that undertook specific duties, and included: Priest Inquisitor, High Priest, Templemaster, Seneschal, Doorwarden, Revered Messenger, and Patrol Captain.

The second tier of the churched encompassed the numerous knightly orders that undertook charges and quests in his name. Regardless of the order of which they were a member, these holy champions were collectively known as the Swords of Torm.

The third and lowest-in-rank tier of the church included all the laypeople that worshipped Torm as their patron deity. This group included folks from all walks of life, including soldiers or city officials. Despite not having membership within a specific Tormish clergy, they were expected to uphold the tenets of the faith and offer regular tithing to their local temple or shrine.

Activities
Clergy regularly provided aid and resources to all manner of valorous knights, dutiful protectors, and honest courtiers of the various upstanding realms across Faerûn. Similarly, they set out to overthrow corrupt officials that garnered positions of power by unscrupulous means.

Tormtar that took up the adventuring lifestyle were granted much freedom while questing, but were required to regularly report back to church officials. They were also directed to offer significant tithings, upwards of half the riches they acquired during their travels.

Followers of Torm were directed to expose corruption throughout societies and offer ethical alternatives in their place. When necessary, they were to exact lethal judgement against those that betrayed the trust of others.

Penance of Duty
Following the church's actions taken during the Time of Troubles, Torm himself directed his faithful undertake acts of penitence, in response to their collective moral failings. From that time on, all of his followers would undertake the Penance of Duty, three debts that were to regularly be repaid to the folks of the Realms.


 * Debt of Persecution: In recompense for persecuting members of other faiths, Torm's followers would regularly aid the clergies of other morally-upstanding churches.
 * Debt of Dereliction: To answer for failing to route corruptive forces, clergy members must actively take up arms against the churches of Bane, Cyric, Iyachtu Xvim, and the Zhentarim.
 * Debt of Destruction: In response to the damage inflicted upon the Weave during the Time of Troubles, all of Torm's faithful were ordered to report any areas of dead or wild magic were to be reported, and all efforts made to assist in their restoration.

Rituals
Torm's followers offered a specific litany of prayers to their god at dawn, noon, dusk, and finally at midnight. Tormish would then add additional prayers as warranted, such as in the case of great personal need or crisis.

Clergy members carried out several different rituals, one on a recurring basis, and the others on special occasions. The ritual of Torm's Table involved offering a bountiful meal to someone in need once every two months, to be enjoyed while the offering priest fasted. Whenever a layperson became a full-fledged priest they completed the ritual of Investiture, and then fulfilled the Holy Vigil whenever they ascended in rank within the church's hierarchy.

Celebrations
The church of Torm celebrated a few different holidays that were marked on the Calendar of Harptos.


 * Eleasis 13 marked the Divine Death, honoring Torm's epic and ultimately fatal battle between Bane during the Avatar Crisis.
 * Marpenoth 15 was celebrated as the True Resurrection, when Torm was restored to the Faerûnian pantheon following the same catastrophic series of events.
 * Tormish followers celebrated Shieldmeet every four years, by reaffirming their oaths of service and solidifying other commitments for others.

Temples
Temples of Torm were often constructed out of white granite, set upon the upper slops of mountains or other peaks that offered a commanding view over the surrounding landscape. These impenetrable keeps were designed to embody his stately defiance against the evils of the world. They were often decorated with statues of lions and knights in gleaming armor, adorned with mementos taken from those that fell in service to his cause.

Some of the most prominent or famous churches of Torm included:
 * Temple of Torm's Coming, the rather infamous temple in Tantras that became a site of pilgrimage for Torm's faithful.

Other temples could be found in Eagle Peak, Procampur, Weatherstone Keep,

Shrines of Torm were located in Hillsfar, Ravens Bluff, Scornubel, and Urmlaspyr.

Dress
Priests of Torm wore either clean robes complete with a breastplate and bracers or an immaculate set of plate mail armor with an elaborately decorated helm. Their robes and armor were dyed or tinted with ink to denote different ranks, and the latter were inscribed with Torm's Penance of Duty.

Weapons and Arms
Tormtar kept and used the best weapons and armor available to them. Their weapons were immaculately maintained and their armor polished at all times, save those occasions when doing so would get in the way of carrying out their duties.

Spells
Tormish clergy were granted use of the spell command to be used once per day at their discretion. Spells specifically associated with Torm and his church included Hand of Torm, bolt of glory, and swordward.

Beliefs
The Tormish church taught its clergy and followers to dutifully uphold virtuousness, maintain order throughout the Realms, and strike out against corrupt and evil forces. Serving others in these causes was the truest path to deliverance of the spirit and the best manner to honor Torm himself.

All followers of term were expected to demonstrate devotion to their faith, their family, their superiors, and all goodly beings of the Realms.

Attitudes
Followers of Torm were exceedingly grateful for his charge to serve the mortals of the Realms.

Military Orders

 * Order of the Golden Lion, a holy order of knights and paladins that focused their collective efforts on fulfilling the church's Penance of Duty.

Classes
About two out of five church's members were Torm's specialty priests, referred to as holy champions. Clerics, crusaders, and paladins composed the rest of Torm's clergy, in descending order of prevalence.

Relationships
While not allies per se, the Tormite church appreciated the efforts of the Guardians of the Weave, specifically their efforts to negate the ill-effects of wild magic areas and dead-magic zones.

Torm's church maintained a less-than-amiable rivalry with the church of Helm. This relationship became much more strained during the mid–14 century.

Time of Troubles
When the gods of the Realms were cast down to Toril during the Time of Troubles in the, Torm manifested within the city of Tantras in the Vast. Torm was forced to remain within the local church, imprisoned in a manner within his own holy house. Using the miracle of Torm's appearance, the temple's corrupt head-priest Dunn Tenwealth maneuvered himself into a greater position of power, designated the followers of other faiths as "unbelievers", and engaged in systematic oppression and torment over them. When the colossal avatar of Bane marched upon the city that same year, intent on leveling it in search of the lost Tablet of Fate, Torm took action to protect his followers in his holy city. He absorbed the life fore of all his followers—both corrupt and true-hearted alike—and transformed his avatar into that of a lion-headed, humanoid champion equal in stature to the Bane's monstrosity. Torm and Bane's avatar's mortally wounded each other in the waters beyond the city, and hundreds of devout Tormish followers remained dead. The church of Torm soared in popularity following this miraculous, yet also tragic series of events.

Notable Members

 * Gwydion "the Quick", Torm's champion that was tasked with protecting the scribe Rinda from the god Cyric.
 * Horst Atheraice, one of the chaplains of the famed Hellriders of Elturel.
 * Keldorn Firecam, a loyal knight of the Order of the Radiant Heart in Athkatla.
 * Kylsandral, a paladin that vigilantly worked against the forces of Asmodeus and his followers.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Tantras
 * Prince of Lies • Cyrinishad
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Avernus Rising(Hellfire Requiem)
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Avernus Rising(Hellfire Requiem)
 * Avernus Rising(Hellfire Requiem)