The Adama was a spiritual belief held by almost all Durpari.[1]
After Mulhorand invaded Durpar and wiped out the barbarian clans, a simple trader emerged to lead the remnants of his people. His name was Satama and he claimed to have experienced a divine revelation, which he turned into the philosophy of the Adama.[2]
Tenets[]
Sovial, a hand of the Adama
The core principle of the Adama was that everything is the Adama. The gods, the world and everything in it were just aspects of the Adama.[3]
To become one with the Adama, a person must have been born many times. As each reincarnation of that person was believed to reflect their previous life, believers in the Adama strove to improve themselves and their lives.[3] Crime was as dangerous to oneself as it was to the victim as it grievously jeopardized a person's chance of being reincarnated as anything better than an animal.[3] Therefore, not only did followers of the Adama make very hard workers at whatever they chose to do,[4] but crime levels were low over the Shining Lands.[5]
Killing was frowned upon, even in self-defense. Therefore, most Durparians who used arcane magic specialized in illusions since, for one to die from magic from that school, one must have believed in the illusion. This was seen as fate killing the aggressor and thus a lesser offense against the Adama.[3]
Believers viewed the Adama as a unifying world-spirit and worshiped its aspects, the gods, rather than the spirit itself. Therefore, no temples to the Adama were built.[3] This led to massive religious diversity in the Shining Lands.[3] Only gods who demanded human sacrifice had their faiths suppressed along with Mask, the god of thieves, for obvious reasons.[3] Gods most associated with the Adama were Zionil (Gond), Curna (Oghma), Lucha (Selûne), Torm, and Waukeen.[1]
Just like the gods were aspects of the Adama, so too were the various species of the world. No follower of the Adama would turn away anyone based on their race alone.[6]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 116. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ Tom Prusa (1993). The Shining South. (TSR, Inc), p. 54. ISBN 1-56076-595-X.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Tom Prusa (1993). The Shining South. (TSR, Inc), p. 59. ISBN 1-56076-595-X.
- ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 8. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 115. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ Tom Prusa (1993). The Shining South. (TSR, Inc), p. 57. ISBN 1-56076-595-X.