Power Factions: The Order of the Hammer
THE ORDER of the HAMMER
The Order of the Hammer is a fraternal order of highly industrious religious fanatics. Their goal is to carry out the vision of their architect god, The Builder, and they are the burning force of progress in the City. They represent order and orthodox religion in the world. The Hammerites believe that only through unforgiving hard labor and selflessness can one be truly deserving of the Builder’s reward. Their precepts focus on industry and labor to ultimately master one’s chosen craft. Priests seldom focus on one single vocation and most are capable of nearly any task required of them, able to craft or engineer a number of goods. A Hammerite presence is known in most major cities throughout the land, though nowhere else does the church hold the degree of control that it has in the City.
The Builder is depicted in texts and effigies as a large man in a smith’s apron, holding a large hammer on one shoulder. Images of the Builder invariably take the shape of a laborer, with large, powerful hands, broad shoulders and a massive chest. Too heavy to simply be a smith’s hammer and too small to be a true war hammer, the ambiguity of the Builder’s tool is an important part of the church’s dogma. It is this icon that summarizes the church and it is displayed prominently on all Hammerite garb. The hammer is idolized for this multifaceted nature – one strike with it may serve to construct something of need, while another may defeat an enemy.
Another staple in the Hammer teachings is self-sacrifice, though not always in a philanthropic sense. Hammerites believe that by forgoing the luxuries of this life and persevering through the hardships of their work that they will be rewarded by the Builder. Nothing they do in life is taken lightly, no matter how insignificant the act may seem to lay folk, and nothing they build is of poor quality. Anything a Hammerite Priest does, he does with the fervor of his faith and with the scrutinizing eye of his god over his shoulder. The order is wholly fraternal and all members are required to assume a number of vows. Women are not allowed anywhere in the Hammerite buildings or grounds, save for the places of worship… and even there they are a rare sight.
While stone masons dominate the Order, virtually all other crafts are represented as well, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, glassblowers, coopers, tanners, weapon smiths, engineers and even potters and weavers. It is not the material worked or the need that a finished product fills that makes it important. It is the fact that through the Builder’s guidance the priest completed his work to the best of his ability that is important. The Church is wholly self-sufficient, producing every manner of goods they require directly from raw materials. The thought of waste or wanton destruction are contrary to the Hammers tenets and the church will find use for most anything. Goods are never simply discarded, but are instead carefully dismantled and repaired or reused.
Being a religion that views the world and everything in it as constructed by their great architect god, it is no surprise that Hammer Temples and Cathedrals are some of the largest and most dramatic structures in the City. The Hammerite Church was involved in the City’s growth since very early on and the bold, heavy style of architecture the Hammers favor can be seen throughout the City. Massive stones are the foundation of most buildings, which are so stable and well-constructed that many have been expanded with additional floors as the City became more and more crowded with no structural fatigue or failure.
Church texts are written in an Old English dialect and priests will adopt the dialect of their holy texts. Speaking in their antiquated verse makes them easily recognizable, even if the speaker can not be seen. Advancement within the church is slow at best. Most priests attain a titled position only after decades of exceptional and dedicated labor. The common dress for priests is a set of coarse, woolen robes dyed bright red to represent the flame of the forge. The robes are covered by a tunic, the color and design of which designate an individual priest’s rank and responsibility within the church. All garb is boldly emblazoned with the ubiquitous hammer emblem.
Thy Tool, thy Weapon: All Hammerite Priests are skilled warriors, trained in the use of large hammers with which they punish those who trespass against them or the law of the land. There is no grey in the world of Hammerites – everyone is either guilty or innocent and the guilty are punished mercilessly. The rigorous training that each Hammerite endures to be anointed into the Order includes nearly constant martial training and exercise to hone the body into the ultimate tool of the Builder. Those who prove too weak or lacking the devotion required to suffer in the Builder’s name are outcast from the Order, but are not shunned. Many of these men remain associated with the Order in secular roles, since a cog cannot be blamed for a flaw in its casting.
Hammerite priests have recently begun assisting the City Watch in policing its streets and attempt to exert their fanatical control over everyone within reach. Their order is old and they despise the nature-worshiping Pagans and their deviously deceptive Trickster god.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:24, Tue 22 Oct 2019.
