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The Cinereous Basilica
🕑 Added 2024-09-13 15:38:25 +0000 UTCThe church in the heart of town has gone through many worshippers and worshippees over the ages, and still has a dark reputation (thus the name). Originally the structure was built as a temple to the Zoriszian god of mercy, of whom the priesthood allows no representations. With the fall of Zorisz, several heretical offshoots of the church appeared in the outlying regions and this unassuming basilica was home to one of the darker sects that delivered this mercy to the unwashed and the refugees of old Zorisz at the end of a blade.
Most dark faiths and the old gods of Zorisz were left behind after the fall, during the ascension of the many principalities of the region. But this small heretical cult was harder to quell, unwilling to relinquish the blade or whatever other means they chose to deliver “mercy” upon people. The faith grew again during the four plagues as mercy was sought by the suffering, and directed by those willing to go to any lengths to keep themselves from joining them.
Finally, the source of the resurgent third plague was found by the Order of Crimson, and they infiltrated the temple crypts late one night to hunt and slay the undead monstrosity that had once been a priest of the god of mercy and who was now spreading the infections through hordes of rats.
In modern days, the Basilica is maintained by a small group of worshipers of the old gods of Zorisz, with the head of the pantheon depicted in their glory in red stone at the end of the nave, and the walls decorated with images of the rest of the pantheon. The structure has angled roofing over the aisles leading to the majestic arched ceiling of the central basilica proper. Windows (between the buttresses) are placed near the top of the aisle walls, and again in the arched roof allowing light into the full structure.
Documents from the church are kept in the musty basement, and the crypts are home to the first nine high priests who worshipped the reformed pantheon from this site. (They quietly removed the original occupants of the crypts and buried them in consecrated ground beyond the town's borders). However, two secret crypts remain, and if investigated tell the story of the Order of Crimson and their desperate battle against the plague-bearer.
The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 12,000 x 9,600 pixels (40 x 32 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for the recommended 5′ squares that make sense with the design) or 140 pixels (for 10‘ squares) – so resizing the image to 2,240 x 2,800 pixels or 4,480 x 4,480 pixels, respectively.
https://dysonlogos.blog/2024/09/13/the-cinereous-basilica/
Comments
Ron Edwards
I really, really like your naturalistic work. "Here's a church." "But where are all the sudden slicing traps and explodies?" "Maybe you didn't hear me. This is a church, people come here for church things." I've been using all those seedy bars and shops for months now.
