Church of Gond

The Church of Gond, also known as Gondarism, was the primary religious organization dedicated to the worship and service of Gond, the Wonderbringer and Holy Maker of All Things. Members of the Church were originally known as Gondar, but became known as Gondsmen following the Spellplague.

Dogma
In the Gondar faith it was actions that mattered above all else, including intentions and thought, for those who serve Gond do. When faced with the unknown, one was to always challenge and question it with new inventions. To this end it was the duty of all Gondsmen to become skilled in one or more fields of creation &mdash; such as casting, forging, or tempering for example. Beyond honing one's skills in a craft, Gondsmen had to regularly practice experimentation and innovation,  including in the ways they made tools and implemented processes. And they had to practice various means of joining and fastening things.

By fulfilling these duties Gondsmen not only became fit to bring new wonders into the world, they became prepared to make things that could suit any situation or space they were confronted with. But the duties of Gondsmen did not stop with improving themselves, for the faith called on them to encourage these virtues in others. Either through direct aid, diplomatic support, or sponsorship.

In summation, Gondarism revolved around the act of creation, bringing new wonders into the world, as well as the expanding of knowledge, both scientific and arcane. However, it was considered important for inventions to display both a utility and an elegance.

Attitudes
The Church allowed membership to people of all alignments,  so long as they were interested in crafting and craftmanship.

Beliefs
Among a number of the faith's gnome members, who referred to Gond as either Nebelun or Gond Wonderbringer, it was believed that the god was gnomish in form rather than human.

The Church did not view technology as being in opposition to arcane magic, with it being said Gond viewed magic as but another means of creating new devices. In general Gondsmen were fine with it being utilized, with priests on the island of Lantan even using arcane magic for propulsion and rust proofing, but a secret subsect of the Church held the opposite view.

Secret Creed of the 15 century
During the Spellplague Era, a subsect of the Church of Gond emerged that subscribed to a secret creed of secular aims. This secret creed urged Gondsmen to influence or control rulers so that the works of Gond would be either embraced by everyone or have forced upon them if need be. Individuals and guilds who did not champions the works of Gond were to be smashed.

This creed also encouraged Gondsmen to avenge mechanical work and inventors who were destroyed by arcane magic users. It also called for spellcasters who openly derided, hated, or feared inventions and mechanics to be eliminated. This was perferred this be done covertly, if possible.

Above all, this secret subsect of the Church took the mercantile activities of the clergy a step further, becoming obsessed with amassing fortunes and power.

Organization
Prior to the Spellplague, the Church of Gond was loosely organized into three major branches. In the neighboring isles of Lantan and Suj, the High Artificer reigned supreme. Beneath them was the Lantar, Lantan's chief envoy, who presented the words of the High Artificer. Both carried great authority among Lantanna expatriates. The third major branch of the Church was the largely independant Gondsmen of mainland Faerûn. They nominally knew and acknowledged the High Artificer, but few paid great heed to their edicts.

Titles
The Church of Gond had a very ordered religious hierarchy, one where obedience to a superior was unquestioning.
 * High Artificer, the highest position within the church hierarchy. In theory, their authority extended over all of Faerûn.
 * Artificer, the title of a priest who has been personally rewarded and named by Gond for special service.
 * Master, the title of a priest of tends a holy site or leads a religious community.
 * High Seeker, the title held by all senior members of the clergy.
 * Seeker of the, a title ranging from Twelfth to First Order.
 * Greater Seeker.
 * Seeker after Small Things, the title of a confirmed priest.
 * Seeker Postulant, the title for a priest in training.
 * Wonderer, the title of a novice priest within the church.

Classes
Outside of Lantan, the Church was primarily made up of itinerant clerics. This faith's clerics were called "Krii" in the Lantanese language, a word that meant disadvantaged, and were also formally styled as "Wonderbringers." Clerics also referred to themselves as the "Consecrated of Gond", addressing their fellow priests as "fellow Consecrates," "Fellow Artificer," "Brother Artificer," or "Sister Artificer."

The specialty priests of this faith included Gondsmen and holy builders. Unlike the specialty priests of some faiths, these could neither command nor turn undead. The majority of the former were Lantanna in origin and often had jobs as merchants. Prior to the Spellplague, on the island nation of Lantan there was about 20 Gondsmen specialty priests for every cleric, but throughout most of Faerun the proportion of clerics to Gondsmen was 15 to 1. These presumably disappeared following the Spellplague, as all members of the faith began to be known as Gondsmen.

These specialty priests were succeeded in the latter half of the 14 century DR by techsmiths, men and women who were devoted to the development of new inventions to the point of extreme eccentricity. They were particularly skilled in the construction and destruction of constructs.

The artificers of Gond, a rare kind of arcane spellcaster who treated arcane magic in the same manner as a mason might see a chisel as a tool for the creation of marvels, gradually emerged during the Spellplague as priests of the Artificer rank sought to reinvent themselves and reclaim what the Church had lost during that catastrophy. They embraced arcane magic as means of improving their designs and often performed tasks that the average priest could not, utilizing their keen expertise in arcana and history..

Some artificers were also clerics, acting as devout priests of Gond. But most artificers were not priests, instead being agents of the Church who worked to acquire artifacts and knowledge, especially from the Church's rivals. Such artificers were known as procurers of Gond and they were skilled in the arts of secrecy and stealth.

Orders
The Church of Gond had no affiliated knightly orders, though it did have a great deal of honory orders and societies. These groups were sponsored by the Church itself and most of the Gondar clergy were members of one or more. Such groups were usually founded to recognize the works of Gond within particular fields and ease the exchange of ideas among the members of said fields, whilst also preventing any church or trade secrets from becoming public knowledge. These groups included the following:
 * Armorers of the Wonderbringer
 * The Holy Order of the Most Skilled Architects and Bridgemakers
 * The Industrious Brothers and Sisters of Carpentry, Cabinetry, Puppetry, and Toymaking
 * Order of Puissant Stonemasons and Stonecarvers
 * The Most Arcane Order of Gearmakers, Clockmakers, and Automationists
 * The Society of Creative Castle Design and Construction

Creation
When it came to the creations of its members, the Church was widely known for clockwork and golemwork. These included such creations as an imitation of the bore worm, small golems tasked with taking care of unsightly municipal duties, the mechanical bodyguard assistants known as gondsmen, and some warforged.

Gondar priests were also responsible for some major public works in the Realms. In the city of Baldur's Gate, they were responsible for the city's refurbished sewers, as well as the design and construction of their dock's system of cargo railcarts, scoops, and massive cranes.

Itinerant
The clergy of Gond were itinerant, meanings clerics typically traveled all across Faerûn to spread their faith, share their creations, and discover new inventions. While traveling it was a Gondsmen's duty to observe, acquire (often by buying ), and safely store samples of new inventions by others for later exhibition to other priests of the faith. Though in some cases they sought ancient relics and would hire adventuring companies to retrieve them if they were in particularly dangerous places. If the item was magical in nature, then an artificer was often called upon.

Clergy also assisted inventors and innovators, including those who sell new mechanical creations or tools, regardless of whether or not they worshiped Gond. If others sought to capture or harm such inventors and selling for the purpose of seizing or destroying their work, then a Gondar was obligated to intervene. Either by defending them, freeing them, or liberating their work. And they were expected to regularly file reports with the nearest Master ranked priest by means of messengers of the faith.

Due to the nomadic nature of Gondar clergy, it was frowned upon for clerics to settle in one place. Though superiors would allow this if a priest were to show that the locale was a place where innovation occured and therefore required the watchful eyes of the Church. Such areas in the past have included Athkatla, Suzail, Waterdeep, and Zhentil Keep.

Knowledge
Throughout their lives Gondsmen kept meticulous records of their ideas, their attempts at invention, and their progress towards creations. All this was to ensure that when the day came that they died, others could continue their work. They also kept journals of ideas, innovations, and inventions they discovered along their travels that they would turn over to the resident scribes of major temples, who in turn recorded their observations for posterity.

Gondsmen sought to spread to others outside the faith the knowledge and understanding of new tools, new ways doing things, and improved means of crafting or utilizing existing tools. They also discussed and spread their own ideas to others, in hopes that they may see the light of the Wonderbringer. And Gondsmen were encouraged to demonstrate to the public simple machines and tools like the cog, gear, lever, pulley, and swivel joint in order to show that there were means of accomplishing great things without arcane and divine magic.

Mercantile
Gondsmen were encouraged by their Church to make a living for themselves,  Doing so not only demonstrated the rewards of following the Way of Gond. This included establishing alliances, caches of goods, and investments as they traveled. These investments they made were typically promising craftmen. Finding employment as builders, crafters, engineers, and smiths.

Many Gondar supported themselves by selling various high-quality manufactured wares. This included buckles, small brass bells, mortars and pestles, monocles, clocks, books, lanterns, worked leather, skillfully cut lenses, wonderous inventions, and the substances that were closely guarded secrets of the Church.

In the late 14 century DR, the wares peddled by Gondsmen included bullets and smokepowder. Non-adventuring techsmiths were also known to create and sell smokepowder weapons and bombs. The more unscrupulous of such techsmiths sought out conflicts where they could profit from supplying both sides.

Members of the Church's secret subsect took this mercantile aspect of their faith a step further, using their money to buy up the buildings and land of those ruined by competition over their unique wares. Establishing hidden caches of weapons, transport vehicles, and their wealth and creating devices to entrap intruders.

Beyond the activities of clerics, the Church of Gond notably had its own hard currency, known as gond bells. Throughout most of Faerûn these were valued at 10 gold pieces, but within a temple of Gond they were worth 20 gp.

Temple Secrets
There were a number of inventions by the Church whose methods of creation were closely guarded secrets, what they referred to as "temple secrets" or "holy secrets of Gond." These included the methods for creating screws and threaded bolts, as well as the formulas for various cleansers, lubricants, sealers, and the substance smokepowder. Gondar would never make such substances in front of outsiders or discuss their making with them. Only they knew the precise proportions for their ingredients and how to mix them. Though Gondsmen had their own special tricks for making smokepowder, which they often expedited with spells. One was a way of getting three dry ingredients to bond and another was a method of ensuring the final mixture stayed bonded.

The Church took whatever means were necessary to keep these "temple secrets" proprietory, eliminating rival makers by means of diplomacy, financial influence, or sabotage. This was done covertly, when possible. This was especially the case with smokepowder, as leaving that dangerous substance unchecked could endanger their faith's standing in many regions.

Rituals
Gondsmen followed a daily routine of reciting prayers in the morning (often while getting dressed) for their spells before their morning meal. This was followed by a longer prayer of thanks during their main meal, and the reciting of prayers as they retired for the night (often while disrobing). Before commencing any work on a new project, one was supposed to recite a special prayer of thanks and dedication.

Whenever a new tool or machine was either made or seen by a Gondar, they were charged to make two copies of the item, if it was possible to do so. One of these copies would be hidden away in a temple,  hidden from thieves and vandals to await later display to their fellow Gondar. while the other would be smashed (or more preferably, burned),  while a prayer of offering known as "Sacred Unmaking" was chanted. Altogether this ceremony was meant to reinforce the idea that Gond had dominion over not only cosntructive engineering, but destructive as well.

Holidays

 * Ippensheir, the sole calendar-based religious festival of the Gondar faith.

Temples & Monasteries
Main article: Category:Temples to Gond

The temples of this faith were typically built within large cities. They were imposing, boxy structures of stone encircled by stout-pillared porticos. Inside they were scarce on decorations, aside from sprawling displays of the inventions of its clergy members that were either their latest or of historical importance. The central altar of temples was great machine, consisting of a massive anvil surrounded by cogs that spun endlessly.

Most temples to Gond were not just ordinary places of worship, as their backrooms served as workshops or inventors' labs, full of ongoing or abandoned projects. In some cases they displayed the rare machinery known as internal combustion engines. Other temples sold things, such as expensive little clockwork toys and the vehicles known as gondrollers.

The major defensible holy houses of the faith were linked by a network of portals maintained by the priesthood. Though some claimed that all of the faith's temples were connected by such a network, allowing Gondsmen to easily share materials and information.

Regions
Gondarism was prominent on the island nation of Lantan, where it was the state religion. There many clerics held senior positions within the faith and priests were at the top of the nation's class system.

North of Lantan, the Church of Gond was largely tolerated throughout the rest of Faerûn. Being found in many human-ruled lands, both those that were considered bastions of good and those of evil, as well as an increasing number of gnome communities.

Both regular Gondsmen and those of the Church's secret subsect could be found within the cities of Athkatla, Baldur's Gate, Saerloon, Selgaunt, and Waterdeep. Baldur's Gate in particular was considered to be the center of Gond worship on the Sword Coast. Regular Gondsmen could also be found in Suzail, Zhentil Keep, and Mulhorand.

Notable Locations

 * Candlekeep held shrines to Gond, within a building known as the Hearth.
 * Hall of Wonders, a major Gond museum of craft and design in the city of Baldur's Gate.
 * High Holy Crafthouse of Inspiration, the central temple of the Gondar faith prior to the Spellplague. It was a large walled monastery, located in the city of Illul on Lantan, and was home to the highest ranking member of the Church hierarchy.
 * Crafthouse of Inspiration, the central temple of the Gondar faith following the loss of Lantan. It was located in the East Rift, east of Eartheart.
 * High House of Wonders, the major temple of Baldur's Gate.
 * House of Gond, a temple in the town of Essembra.
 * House of the Wonderbringer, the major temple of Tilverton and the faith's most prominent temple in the Heartlands until its destruction in the late 14 century DR.

Tactics
Initiates within this faith were always taught how open locks and disable devices. When it came to dangerous situations, Gondsmen often preferred being backed up by a large group.

Dress
Members of this church's clergy, regardless of sex, often wore saffron vestments with enormous sun hats, large belts of linked together metal medallions,  and a crimson collar and scarf. Over either one of their shoulders would be draped a leather sash ending a large pouch. These sashes would be adorned with various tools and equipment that could prove useful to a Gondsmen,   such as small metal tools, buckles, cords, hasps, wires,  gears, hooks, locks, and bits of steel, tin, or wood. Specialty priests often included lockpicks on theirs. Clergy members were also known to wear the holy symbol of Gond as a pendant, fashioned from either bone, brass, bronze, or ivory.

Adventuring Gondsmen generally preferred practical clothing, hung about with baldrics and pouches full of supplies, but in dangerous situations would resort to wearing armor along with their leather sash.

Equipment
In terms of weaponry a Gondsman typically wore bulky rings that functioned like knuckledusters, carried a sap, and three to four knives of various sorts. A particular favorite of theirs were knives that were removable from the heel of a boot.

Following the Time of Troubles, many Gondsmen carried a small metal flask of smokepowder, for use as either ammunition or an explosive. In the late 15 century DR, some Gondsmen traveled with a newly developed combat aid known as a fist of Gond.

Spells
During the Spellplague Era, those who channeled Gond were able to temporarily gain a greater understanding of their magic items.

In terms of spells, clerics of Gond had access to those from the divine domains of Craft, Earth, Fire, Knowledge, Metal, and Planning.

Among the unique spells of this faith were fantastic machine, probing arm, wieldskill, and understand device. The first three were once known only to specialty priests but by the late 14 century DR the spells fantastic machine and wieldskill had become widely known to all Gondsmen clerics.

Relics

 * The Argyr, a sacred tome of spell. Among its spells were three unique to the faith, but these were extremely rare even among Gondsmen &mdash; divine purpose, fist of Gond, and repair.
 * Forgehammer of Gond, a rare variety of enchanted hammers that were sometimes gifted by Gond to skilled craftsmen.
 * Pouch of black essence, magical pouches that were created by Gond and gifted upon his Lantanna worshipers, who went on to make duplicates of them.

Relationships
Merchants often tried to cultivate relations with their local Gondar clergy, hopeful that they would be able to acquire and sell their latest inventions. But at times Gondar have created things that inadvertently upset existing markets and quickly earn them hostility from other faiths.

Some members of the Church of Mystra opposed Gondarism, as they believed he held technology as being above magic. And in the case of the Church's secret subsect, they were right. That subsect also viewed the Church of Waukeen as an enemy and sought to one day subsume it, believing that Gond would one day force Waukeen into marrying him.

During the Spellplague Era, the Church of Gond's rivals included the artificers of High Imaskar, the Red Crafters of Thay, and artificers who acted as procurers for the Church of Oghma.

Time of Troubles
In the year 1358 DR, the mortal gnome avatar form of Gond washed up on the shores of Lantan. His nature was quickly discovered by the Lantanna, who sheltered and worshiped him until the Avatar Crisis had passed. Later that year, in gratitude for the sanctuary they provided him and confident that they would not misuse his gift, Gond revealed the secrets of smokepowder to the Lantanna. As well as how to make reasonably safe and accurate firearms that utilized the substance. From that year onwards, the Lantanna priests of Gond (for a time, mainly the specialty priests) would work to spread the use of firearms, shipping them to Western ports.

Post-Time of Troubles
Interest in and worship of Gond was on the rise following the Time of Troubles, including among gnomes. As many young gnomes viewed the fact that Gond's avatar took the form of a gnome as a sign that it was time for their race to invent a new way of life. In this early period many gnomish communities frowned upon becoming a priest of Gond, but over time it gained greater acceptance.

But alongside this rise in interest was a rise in attacks upon the clergy by rival faiths and those who feared their inventions. Rival makers of Lantan's special glass jars slowly emerged in the nations of Calimshan and Tashalar, while elsewhere there emerged rival makers of firearms, though they were inferior to that of the Gondar.

By, the Church had made firearms available all throughout Faerûn. But in turn they had earned the ire of many rulers, who saw the weapons as a threat to their authority. Around that same time, Gondsmen in Mulhorand aided that land in reviving their degradading system of irrigation pumps.

In 1373 DR, missionaries traveled from Lantan to the continent of Maztica. On Tarsakh 18 they established a temple on the largest island of the Green Sisters archipelago, which proceeded to name St. Ippen.

Spellplague Era
In the, the Spellplague erupted, causing a sudden shifting of continental bodies that sent tsunamis all along Lantan and the coastal regions of Faerûn, devastating them all. Before the waves reached the island, all the smokepowder and magical reagents on Lantan exploded simultaneously, causing great chaos. When the waves reached the coastline, most of Lantan was engulfed by the Spellplague and sent to the world of Abeir. What remained of Lantan on Toril was entirely flooded, killing the remaining inhabitants and washing away their advanced technology.

With the loss of Lantan and the faith's central temple left crumbled beneath the sea, the Church of Gond was severely crippled. And it wasn't long before the Church became split into two ideological camps. Those seeking to push ever onwards with new inventions and those who sought to reclaim and duplicate the lost marvels of Lantan. Though a third, lesser known ideological camp also developed, one that was obsessed with amassing fortune and power.

Many worshipers embraced the itinerant lifestyle, seeking to design and rebuild temples in major cities, such as Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep. Others combed Toril in search of designs and inventions that were believed to be lost. The greatest concentration of Gondar occured in the East Rift, where High Artificer Cavandro was permitted by the Deep Lords of Eartheart to build a new central temple for their faith, the Crafthouse of Inspiration. This building began construction in 1469 DR and finished in 1470 DR.

The remaining artificers of the faith would gradually reinvent themselves as arcane spellcasters and took on many roles. Some became archaeologists, devoted to recovering the remnants of Lantan. Some became teachers, recruiting and teaching others of their ways. But most devoted their time to relearning some facet of Lantan crafting, with only legends and stories to guide them, viewing that island's crafters as infallible masters. A few even turned away from the Gondar faith, becoming patrons of Moradin or Oghma.

Eventually, the artificers of Gond did reclaim much of what had been lost, even creating new wonders that rivalled those of Lantan. With the work done by the artificers, the Church of Gond's future became much brighter.

Post-Spellplague Era
In 1487 DR, the parts of Lantan that had gone to Abeir were returned to Toril as part of the Second Sundering. Lantanna ships began to travel once more to the Sword Coast, but their merchants would say little about the state of their homeland.