Church of Siamorphe

The church of Siamorphe, also known as the church of Divine Right, was the collection of followers and clergy that venerated Siamorphe, the patron deity of nobility. They were considered one of the wealthier churches of the Realms, albeit one of the least numerous.

"With the divine right to rule comes great responsibility, and great rulers support by great nobility can lift a realm so that its citizens high and low enjoy better lives. See that this happens often and wherever possible."

- Excerpt from the credo of Siamorphe's church.

Organization
While small, the church maintained a disciplined order among its members.

Titles
Individual members of the church were known as Scions, a name originating from the fact they all descended from one of the god(dess)'s mortal incarnations. Thus in theory, any member of her clergy could become a vessel for the divine being's next reincarnation.

Titles included (in descending order): High Lord/Lady Scion, Duke/Duchess Scion, Marquis/Marquise Scion, Count/Countess Scion, Viscount/Viscountess Scion, Baron/Baroness Scion, and Lord/Lady Scion.

Activities
Siamorphe's clergy sought to further increase the wealth of nobles that patronized the church. Many of them served as royal advisers, viziers, sages, and religious advisors, while some others acted as matchmakers for unwed nobles (when those duties were not carried out by clergy of Lathander).

On some occasions, Scions served as personal bodyguards and would even take a ruler's place when their court came under threat or a possible assassination seemed iminent.

Siamorphe's servants instructed Faerûnian nobility on how to best conduct themselves and make wise decisions, for the betterment of their subjects and the Realms overall. They offered loyal support to nobles during times of crisis or self-doubt and obstructed acts that could lead to ruin or revolt. When needed, they routed out corrupt members of royal court and ensured their patron received true and right advisement.

Rituals
Priests of Siamorphe prayed for their spells at noon, under the warmth and light of the Chalice of Siamorphe.

Regular priestly services were congregations during which specifics of rule and governance were discussed among local nobility. Many of the faith's older rituals and observances had been lost to time, but were later recovered.

Celebrations
Priests of Siamorphe presided over the induction of noble-born babes into the faith. These specific rites cost upwards of 10,000 gp, to which many nobles were more than happy to pay.

The Divine Pageantry was a celebration held during summer months in the city of Waterdeep and involved nobles dressing in anachronistic costumes and distributing copper and silver coins to the city's commoners.

The Canticle of the Silver Chalice was a hymn that honored the goddess of nobility.

Regions
Siamorphe's faith could be found across the breadth of Faerûn, including regions like the North, including Waterdeep, the Western and Eastern Heartlands, Calimshan,  and Tethyr in the Lands of Intrigue, and the realms along the Chultan Peninsula along the Shining Sea.

Temples
Shrines and temples to Siamorphe were often built as small marble–and–mahogany chapels attached to the grand manor-houses of noble families. They were often extravagantly built, to the extent of being considered distasteful. The crests of noble families were often a prominent piece of any Siamorphan altar.

The most notable of Siamorphe was the Chapel and Chalice of the Divine Right, built within Assumbar Villa in the Sea Ward of Waterdeep on the Sword Coast North.

Shrines to Siamorphe were found in numerous manors of Patriar families in Baldur's Gate, the kingdom of Cormyr, the royal palace of Fearntarn in the Crown Lands, and Waterdeep.

Equipment, Spells, and Relics
The holy symbol of Siamorphe was a silver chalice emblazoned with a golden sun, referred to as the Golden Cup or cup of bounty.

Dress
Priests of Siamorphe wore filigreed silk robes of deep purple. At all times they either wore a silver circlet adorned with Siamorphe's holy symbol or carried with them a silver goblet, often filled with holy water.

Weapons and Arms
Adventuring Scions guarded themselves in only the finest armor available to them, never settling for anything less protective than chain mail. They preferred weapons that were often associated with rulership or royalty, such as maces, rods, or scepters.

Spells
Spells associated with or unique to worshipers of Siamorphe included divine bloodline, Unquestioning obedience, loyal vassal, and divine investiture.

Dogma
Members of the church believed their collective actions helped provide the most stable and just forms of government across the Realms.

Beliefs
Siamorphe's followers were taught that nobles had the right to rule over others, so long as they did so ably and responsibly. They were obliged to provide the best possible leadership to their subjects, regardless of their personal interests. Church leadership believed that nobles' public personas were far more important than any errors or mistakes they made in private.

They subscribed to the belief that nobles inherited the better personal qualities along with the material wealth of their ancestors in order to provide best possible rulership. They maintained these strict rulers of financial inheritance in order to prevent squabbling between rival family members.

Orders
The Order of the Silver Chalice was a group of Tethyrian noble warriors that fought in support of the throne during the mid–14 century DR.

Classes
The church of Siamorphe primarily comprised clerics and specialty priests, known as Highborns, but also included wizards, paladins, and fighters. Some of Siamorphe's clerics took on additional responsibilities as loremasters.

History
Worship of Siamorphe was prominent in Baldur's Gate during the city's early history, before his temple was razed during an uprising. It was seen as more of a local cult rather than an officially-recognized religion, and diminished as the city's Baldurian nobility devolved over the course of several centuries. That iteration of Siamorphe nearly died from lack of worship.

When Siamorphe finally did die, during a riot during the mid–13 century DR, he appointed a Waterdhavian noblewoman to succeed him as Lady Siamorphe. She garnered great influence in Waterdeep following the city's Guild Wars and emerged as the patron of its noble class.

For the next hundred years, worship of Siamorphe was limited to within the City of Splendors. However by the, her faith had garnered a small following in the southern realm of Tethyr.

Members of Siamorphe's church greatly shaped the political landscapes of realms in the decades that followed, well into the 15 century DR. They accomplished this feat despite the goddess' relegation as exarch of Waukeen some time during the Era of Upheaval.

Siamorphe's exact status during the time of the Second Sundering was not entirely clear. She was not counted among the members of the Faerûnian pantheon as of the, but was still known as a demipower worshipped by the Waterdhavian Cassalanter family around that same time.

Members
Clergy of Siamorphe's church were often nobles and royal courtiers themselves.

Notable Members

 * Marquise Scion Aalangama Gulderhorn, a member of the Order of the Silver Chalice in Waterdeep and Countess of Morninggold.
 * Arietta Seasilver, Siamorphe's chosen during the era of the Second Sundering.
 * Darlynd Immur, the former High Vizier of Tashluta and adviser to the noble Rowanmantle family of Tilverton in Cormyr.
 * Ilmurra Tarlhawk, a thespian and escort that worked in Palace of Waterdeep.
 * Zaranda Star, the queen of Tethyr that converted to the faith following her ascension as monarch.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus • Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
 * Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus • Waterdeep: Dragon Heist