Church of Waukeen

The Church of Waukeen was a relatively young but widespread religious organization in Faerûn. Grand temples to the Merchant's Friend could be found in many nations, including Cormyr, Erlkazar, as well as in most cities that dealt in mercantile, such as Elversult on the Dragon Coast, Innarlith on the Lake of Steam,

"Waukeen's priests are more interested in large donations than in protecting their worshiper's confidentiality."

- Flattery Wyvernspur

Clergy
"Coin kept at home is begging to be stolen."

- A Waukeenar saying.

The clergy of Waukeen called themselves Truetraders, while others called them Goldpalms and Coinspinners. The goddess has a hands-on approach to her clergy. Waukeen often guided her priests via dreams and occasionally talked to them as the "voice that shines like gold." All clerics and priests of Waukeen were expected to pay a tithe equal to twenty-five percent of their income to the church. However, this excluded wages paid by the church to its priests. The hefty tithe was applicable to adventuring loot, investments, bounties, rewards, and businesses. The money collected from worshipers to pay for the casting of divine spells while in the employ of shrines and temples belonged to the church.

During Waukeen's absence from the Realms, most church members devoted their lives to Lliira as Waukeen's godly regent. During that time, Waukeenar spells were granted to the priests by Lliira on Waukeen's behalf. Those who remained with the church of Waukeen were often called "coinspinners" by other religions. The name referred to the Church's extravagant spending of its gold in order to display the goddess's wealth to all observers and worshipers.

The clergy of Waukeen were tasked with traveling the world, staffing busy temples in merchant cities, or aiding traders, merchant firms as moneylenders, allowing the businesses to grow. They were also known to be covertly aiding fences selling stolen goods. The church's dogma directed Waukeenar clergy to invest in all businesses that had a reasonable chance of not failing, and businesses ran by worshipers of Waukeen or business owners who offered a hefty tithe to the church. On some occasions, Waukeenar were known to positively manipulate trade via unsavory activities such as rumor-mongering, buy-ups, hired border brigands, etc. However, officials shunned that practice outside the church, and Waukeen's temples took on a public stance of denouncing such practices. Although privately, the Church of Waukeen instructed its priests to proceed with such tasks with extreme caution and subtlety to avoid any connections to the church were they ever exposed. Waukeenar temples offered church-secured chambers to wealthy tithe-payers who traveled to other cities with the church's presence. Priests were encouraged to grow personal wealth but only through arms-length investments and never by breaking the law. The clergy of Waukeen were known to safe-keep contracts, bills of sale, deeds, wills of the merchants and civilians of the temple's city. This reinforced order and transparency of commerce as dictated by Waukeenar dogma.

Ranks
Unlike many other organized religions, the Church of Waukeen's hierarchy was loose. A High Priest, the Holycoin, headed each temple. The lowest rank in the church were novices – Telchar, who could ascend the hierarchy ladder after confirmation. These titles included, in ascending order, Coin, Abreeant, Counter, Trabbar, Investor, Halanthi, Lender, Syndo, Manycoins, Grand Trabbar, Spender, Grand Syndar, Overgold, and lastly, the Holycoin.

The specialty priests of the church were known as Goldeyes due to their pupils gaining a golden hue glow after being touched by Waukeen. Goldeneyes were considered to be the most successful treasure seekers and were in high demand for that particular ability.

Dogma
The main teaching of the Waukeenar faith stated that the merchants' trade was the road to prosperity. The church believed that civilization prospered through mercantilism and the affluence of all members of society. Through increased wealth came greater civilization and happiness, bringing closer the Golden Age – the goal of all Waukeenar. Worshipers and church members were strictly forbidden to destroy or damage trade goods. Their duty was not to restrict free trade and quench rumors or slander, harmful to any mercantile activities. Waukeenar were faith-bound to give money to beggars and businesses. This act served to spread the glory of Waukeen, promise prosperity to her followers, and place the free coin in everyone's hands. The church's dogma believed that if everyone had more coins, they were less likely to hide the wealth and more likely to spend money, putting coins back into the market.

Vestments
Clergy of the Church of Waukeen were the most lavishly outfitted priests and clerics, even more luxuriously adorned than members of the Church of Sune, Church of Milil, and even Church of Lathander. The priestly vestments they wore were gaudy, bright, ornate, decorated with expensive fabrics and silk underclothes. Their jackets had slashed fluted sleeves exposing more color and expensive fabric underneath. Tall boots, pince-nez, and lorgnettes were a common sight among the clergy. Silken sashes were wrapped around their wastes with silk ribbons attached, holding various useful items. Their heads were decorated with golden begemmed miters and crowns depending on standing with the church. Priests wore scarlet cloaks of gemstones and precious metals sewn into its fabric and decorated with numerous wheels, plates, clasps, and flourishes, making the garb quite heavy. Underneath the hefty cape, outfits varied. Tunics, trousers, pantyhose, leggings, or tabards of great quality were common. Clerics' hands were gloved in white and they wielded a golden gem-encrusted rod or a staff, often enchanted.

When on the road, the clergy of Waukeen were dressed similarly to wealthy merchants and armored in fancifully decorated gilded armor. Clergy's plate mail was often white-enameled and decorated with intricate images and scenes themed around their deity. Oftentimes Waukeenar used enchanted floating yet horse-driven chariots or expensively adorned palanquins.

The Church of Waukeen outfitted its ceremonial guards with blindingly-polished adamantine chainmails, covered with blue and white tabards. They were armed with halfspears and guarded private chambers of the Church's high-ranking members. Despite being ceremonial, the sentries were experienced veteran mercenaries. Standing guard the Grand Syndar's quarters was considered a great honor.

Holy Objects
Historically, members of the Church of Waukeen were outfitted with tally-sticks to account for trade goods, payments and to help resolve mercantile disputes. The earliest of the tally-sticks had numerous holes to move counting-pegs along. With trade growing, clerics started carrying two tally-sticks, one topped with gold and another with silver, joined at the ends with a chain to account for larger numbers. In times of need, these sticks had to be used as weapons. With time, the clergy of Waukeen learned to use these nunchakus in battle with effectiveness.

When Goldeneyes reached their status and performed Cleaving, they were often gifted several enchanted items by the Church of Waukeen. Some of the items included Heward's handy haversacks, girdles of many pouches, pouches of accessibility, crystal parrots, everbountiful soup kettles, furs of warmth, mist tents, Murlynd's spoons, sheets of smallness, wind fans, wands of Prime Material pocket, Reglar's gloves of freedom, Skie's locks and bolts, jewels of flawlessness, Murdock's insect wards, Nolzur's marvelous pigments, oil of slipperiness, oil of etherealness, powder of coagulation, sovereign glues, or universal solvents.


 * Waukeen's curing clasp, a powerful enchanted cloak clasp created by the clergy of Ravens Bluff during the goddess's absence. The item was fashioned after the lady's holy symbol and dispersed healing magics upon the wearer.

Abilities
Among clerics of Waukeen, the most notable were Goldeneyes, who often had access to unique Waukeenar magics, were eloquent and knew intricacies of etiquette, as well as knew several languages to aid their work. These individuals were given a gift of discerning precious metals from mundane metals and spot counterfeit coinage, as well as were masters of appraisal and gem cutting.

Magic
Like most priests, Goldeneyes had the divine ability to turn and even control undead. Lock lurkers never harmed Goldeneyes and allowed themselves to be tamed by the priests. Among more unique abilities granted to Goldeneyes was the ability to magically confuse someone about the value of an object or general concept of math and numbers, similar to the effects of a brooch of number numbing. More experienced clerics received a gift of detecting metals or minerals, shocking grasp, and later in their career – cast the know customs spell and magically boost their charisma to a grand level once per tenday. Spells of probability control, addition, and fire purge came later along with the ability to magically manifest a set of expensive finery to wear. Especially powerful Goldeneyes gained access to cloud of purification, grounding, or shrieking wall spells and the ability to create a splendorous pavilion-sized tent filled with all the conveniences of luxurious life, food, that was protected from foul weather and low temperatures. Lastly, powerful Waukeenar had the ability to bestow Waukeen's curse that brought ruin and non-profit to the wrongdoers.

Among spells granted by the goddess to her clerics were several unique to the Church of Waukeen: truemetal, summon lock lurker, doublecoin, minor wealthtwist, wealthtwist, and wealthword.

Holy Days and Rituals
Waukeenar temples, referred to as Houses of All Plenty, were built in a wide variety of architectural styles. Some were small open-air shrines, while others were grand cathedrals. All places of worship of Waukeen shared one similar trait – they were decorated to impress, with gold, gems, filigree, and ornamentations. All temples were luxuriously decorated on the inside and on the outside. A typical altar to the goddess found within temples was a simple stone block or wooden table with a single bowl on it, blessed by Waukeen's clergy. Coins, gems, and other precious trinkets were placed in the bowl as it floated up via divine enchantments. The more precious bowl's contents were – the more heavy and unmovable from the altar it became. These altars were the center stage of any rituals, spells, and blessings performed by the clergy after the offerings to the church were placed into the bowl. Nightly prayers were performed in front of such bowls, however when away from the temple, clergy prayed to a stream, a pool, or other bodies of water after tossing a coin into it.

One of the best-known rituals of the church was the bestowal of the Mark of the Lady – an oversized heavy gold coin of Waukeen that was worth 450 gp. These Marks were rewards to the priests or worshipers of the Merchant's Friend who earned distinction and great success in enriching the church or their community via mercantile means. The coin was placed on a sash and gifted to the Favored Ones while attendees and witnesses were given a small golden coin of Waukeen. Marks of the Lady were sometimes stolen from the church or recipients, but in every occasion, priests were able to magically track the items, retrieve them from the most elaborate hiding places, and thieves were slain for sacrilege.


 * Cleaving, the first holy ritual of the church performed first when neophytes join the church, and then each time a priest rose to a higher rank within the church. The ritual called for the priest to enter the temple covered in filth and approach the altar while dragging their weight in gold. The gold was placed on the altar. The altar bowl was kissed by the faithful, and they prayed to the goddess on their knees. This process was beheld by the priests of the church who sang the hymns of the faith. Then the altar part was complete; stone covers were moved away, revealing a warm bath filled with spiced wine. The supplicant submerged into wine as the altar's bowl levitated and poured gold transformed into golden-flaked holy water into the bath. As the church continued to sing hymns, the supplicant cleaned themselves. When done, the faithful emerged from the bath and was garbed in the new uniform appropriate for the new rank. The grand finale of the ritual was a grand feast.
 * Cold Counting Comfort, a festival celebrated by the faithful of Waukeen on the 15 of Hammer. The festival represented accounting that was generally done during the cold time of the year by local businesses.
 * Great Weave took place on Alturiak 20 and was a celebration of tapestry-weaving done in noble houses and textile factories in winter as well as a celebration of cloth merchants' businesses.
 * Highcoin, the festival that took place on Ches 30 was a grand celebration accompanied by accolades, fanfares, and feasts that celebrated successes and wealth. The festival of Highcoin also was used to collect gifts to be shared during the Spheres festival that followed.
 * Spheres, the next grand festival of parades, music, revelries, and feasting that took place on Tarsakh 10. During the parades, clergy of the church hurled magically-made-harmless glass spheres filled with gold, precious stones, jewelry, and other trinkets into the adoring crowd.
 * Sammardach, of Mirtul 12 was named after a rich sponsor from the early days of the Church of Waukeen whose wealth was so grand he purchased a city – Tsabran in Chessenta, gifting all profits and businesses within its walls to the church.
 * Brightbuckle took place on Kythorn 21 and celebrated the coming of good weather with a parade open to all who visited Waukeen's temples whatever deity they followed. The celebration was aimed at inspiring and attracting new worshipers through illusion magic and inspiration speeches of wealth and success.
 * Sornyn took place from Flamerule 3 to Flamerule 5 and celebrated peacemaking, deals, treaties, and receiving envoys from other countries and past enemies, encouraging international trade and replacing war with trade pacts.
 * Huldark, on Elesias 17, was a feast that celebrated the fruit of the land, good harvest, and had the worshipers of Waukeen plant fruit trees and vegetable plants.
 * Spryndalstar took place on Eleint 7 and celebrated the Art as a valuable tool of profit. During the festival, the clergy sponsored wizards and hired spellcasters to perform awe-inspiring magics for the crowds of faithful.
 * Marthoon, on Marpenoth 1, celebrated justice, vigilance, soldiers, and city guards who protected wealth and businesses. Soldiers and guards were invited to the temples to feast, celebrate, and receive gifts of gold from the priests. The church sponsored aged soldiers into retirement during the celebration, gifting them ten times their weight in gold.
 * Tehennteahan, or the Night of Hammers and Nails, took place on Uktar 10 and was celebrated through a day-long feast that celebrated common workmen such as crafters, smiths, tradesfolk, acknowledging their work that benefitted all. During the celebration, various inventions were presented to the church, and the most impressive ones were bought by the Church of Waukeen for a piece of a roof-full of gold.
 * The festival that celebrated the end of goddess's imprisonment was held on Nightal 24, the day Waukeen revealed her return to the devotees in 1370 DR.
 * Orbar, or Candle Feast, was held on Nightal 25. It was a solemn remembrance of the dark side of mercantilism. The clergy prayed for the souls consumed by avarice, individuals driven mad by greed, people killed by thieves. Temples of Waukeen invited all to pray for souls of favorite merchants and lives lost and reminded the folk that the church had magical means of tracking down and punishing anyone who wanted to steal Waukeen's bounty.

Amn
Waukeenar could be found across the merchant's nation of Amn in the Lands of Intrigue. The church had a major presence in Athkatla and Keczulla. Athkatla was considered the center of Waukeenar worship with the fortified castle-temple of Goldspires at its helm. The temple of Goldspires remained loyal to Waukeen during the decade she was presumed dead. The temple, more aptly described as a small city, was generously supported by at least seven great merchant noble houses of Amn. The leader of the temple complex was the Holycoin Voice of the Lady, aided by Five Furies – Overgold sisters, who were the next in the church's succession line.

Utter East
During the western colonization of the Utter East, five churches joined the ffolk fleet: Church of Chauntea, Church of Tempus, Church of Umberlee, Church of Tyr, and Church of Waukeen. All these religions remained widespread in the cities of the Utter East, including Eldrinpar of Doegan. However, the Church of Tyr in the Utter East fell due to the unjust acts of its members and became known as the dreaded and hated Fallen Temple. The big four churches, including Waukeen, opposed the Fallen Temple.

Vilhon Reach
The Church of Waukeen was prevalent in the region of the Vilhon Reach among the cities that thrived on trade and spawned prosperous merchant houses. Such cities as Timindar held the biggest populations of Waukeenar. The center of worship of Waukeen in Vilhon Reach was in Arrabar – a grand domed temple of numerous spires, the Temple of Waukeen. The church quickly swelled to grand numbers following Waukeen's return as the faith quickly took over the entire city. Waukeenar festivals were widely celebrated. The Spheres became a city-wide celebration of musicians, parades, and feasts. The church in Arrabar became a major power in the city, forging trade agreements with merchant houses and overseeing trade that flowed through the Dock District. The Temple of Waukeen also owned numerous shops and merchant stalls in Arrabar. Most notably, the Arrabarran branch of the church built a personal mercenary army – the Order of the Sapphire Crescent. Members of the order were sent to travel with trade ships, protecting the goods and ensuring profitability and were deployed to resolve conflicts that affected trade all across the neighboring nations.

Waterdeep
In Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, the Church of Waukeen, maintained a significant power. A ten-day-long festival of Waukeentide took place there from Tarsakh 1 to Tarsakh 10. The festival was a collection of four holidays: Caravance, Goldenight, Guildsmeet, and Leiruin. The festival of Waukeentide included gift-giving commemorating the first caravans' arrival to Waterdeep, many businesses stayed open all night offering reduced prices, new policies were announced at many guilds of the city, and guilds collected their annual membership dues. A joint festival of churches of Waukeen and Lathander – Sornyn took place in Waterdeep from Flamerule 3 through 5.

History
The Church of Waukeen suffered heavy losses, both financially and in loss of faithful following the Time of Troubles. When the gods walked Faerûn, Waukeen's avatar reportedly never witnessed my the mortal eyes. When the deities were allowed to return to the Planes, Waukeen was still missing. Her clerics did not receive spells, and many of her followers lost faith, joining other churches. In the, a prophet of Lliira announced that the goddess was dead. The prophet carried that message to all temples of Waukeen and invited the clergy to join the Church of Lliira as she was holding the Merchant's Friend's divine portfolio. Waukeen lost followers to Lliira, Tymora, Lathander, Shaundakul, and even Beshaba during that period of time.

Despite many scholars debating the faith of the missing goddess, the truth was revealed in the 1370s DR. Waukeen was kidnapped by a demon lord Graz'zt and was freed by a troupe of valiant heroes sponsored by the temple of Goldspires after one of its priests started getting torturous visions of the goddess in the Abyss. As the word of Waukeen's return spread, so did her church, quickly raising back its numbers and swelling bigger with each passing day. In Arrabar, the Temple of Waukeen was reopened, and the number of clerics almost doubled by 1373 DR, prompting its expansion. In both Sembia and Chondath, the clergy of Waukeen was routinely hired to perform speak with dead as a part of investigation into murders and other deaths.

Following Waukeen's return, not all of her priests returned to the flock. Some merchants who turned from Waukeen during her absence to Shaundakul remained with the deity, especially those who were affected by wanderlust. Another long-lasting loss came when Waukeen's portfolio was in the hands of Lliira. Some of Waukeen's worshipers rejected Lliira's dogma and showed interest in Sharess. A Mulhorandi goddess Nephthys expanded her influence into Faerûn in the void left by Waukeen's absence. By the late 15 century DR, Ubtao's withdrawal from Chult, Church of Waukeen spread its influence to the busy ports of the Chultan Peninsula, namely the city of Port Nyanzaru.

In the, Grand Trabbar Lavant of Arrabar forged a cabal with noble families of Matrell, Pharaboldi, and Talricci. The noble families, with the aid of the church, were attempting to sow chaos and war in the city while profiting from the conflict. However, the cabal was broken by the young generation of Matrells.

Notable Affiliations
During Waukeen's absence, the church had no knightly orders under its name and eagerly sponsored adventuring companies and mercenary troops who were willing to forgo twenty percent of their income to the church in exchange. Similarly, adventuring troupes and mercenary companies were often hired to guard trade routes and important goods that traveled along them, on land and on sea alike.


 * Iron Throne was rumored to have connections or hidden affiliation with some clergy of the Church of Waukeen, these claims, however, were lacking evidence.
 * Order of the Sapphire Crescent, Waukeen's private mercenary army that served under the Temple of Waukeen in Arrabar.

Notable Members of the Church of Waukeen

 * Ditch Fundi, a gnome assassin who ran the Temple of the Coin Maiden in Phandalin in the late 15 century DR.
 * Jygil Zelnathra, the exiled High Priest of House of Fair Trade in Nesmé in the 14 century DR.
 * Halleth Garke, a half-elven cleric of Waukeen who was cursed with undeath as a Revenant in Undermountain in the 15 century DR.
 * Iona Waukeenservant, one of the two leaders of a Sembian Company of Night in the 14 century DR.
 * Lauren DeVillars, High Priestess of Waukeen from Ravens Bluff who gained her status in 1338 DR.
 * Mikolo Midelli, the Grand Syndar of the Arrabarran temple in the late-14 century DR.
 * Obaya Uday, a Chultan priestess of Waukeen who sponsored expeditions to Undermountain in the late 15 century DR.
 * Phoenix Anvil, a member of Acquisitions Incorporated in the late 15 century DR.
 * Quinn Silverfinger, a halfling cleric who ran the Golden Lodge shrine in Lonelywood of the Ten Towns circa 1281 DR.
 * Sibonseni, also known as the Mother of Prosperity, was the High Priestess of the Hall of Gold in Port Nyanzaru in the late 15 century DR.
 * Tharundar Olehm, the Holycoin Voice of the Lady, who ruled over Goldspires of Amn in the late 14 century DR.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Swords of the Iron Legion &bull; For Duty & Deity &bull; Tomb of Annihilation &bull; Waterdeep: Dragon Heist &bull; Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
 * Novels
 * Whisper of Waves &bull; Lies of Light &bull; Scream of Stone &bull; The Sapphire Crescent &bull; The Ruby Guardian &bull; The Emerald Scepter &bull; Obsidian Ridge
 * Tantras &bull; The Wyvern's Spur &bull; The Nether Scroll &bull; Errand of Mercy &bull; The Howling Delve &bull; The Adversary
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn &bull; Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards
 * AD&D Trading Cards