The Ruby Temple

see your blade shatter!" and "By Kord's sword!" "By the blue boots of Kord!" is another popular epithet.

Magic is the ultimate power. By mastering its secrets, you can break all the so-called laws of nature and reorder the world as you see fit. But the entirety of magic cannot be mastered in a single lifetime. Only through carefully studying the work of sages and wizards of the past can you gain a full appreciation of this power.

The fact that mortals must pass from this world does not mean that their knowledge must die with them. The church routinely uses necromancy to contact the spirits of dead masters of magic, hoping to recover lost knowledge. Thus, the Ruby Temple studies death for the purpose of further expanding its mastery of magic. Temples to the Ruby Sorceress are filled with the ancient bones of long-dead mages, as well as carefully preserved scrolls that hold the distilled knowledge and research of their lives.

The Church of Wee Jas teaches that each life is an hourglass: When the sand runs out, that person's life is over. But only the Witch Goddess knows when someone's time is truly up. A cleric of Wee Jas who attempts to raise a dead ally knows that if the soul returns, that person was not yet meant to die.

The church also teaches that the passage of a soul into its afterlife is a moment of tremendous magical power, and its members have been trying for millennia to harness that power. Thus, members like to observe death firsthand. When a creature is taking its last breath, a cleric of Wee Jas might well be nearby, taking copious notes and asking questions of the dying creature.

Despite their fascination with death, followers of Wee Jas don't sanction the creation of undead except as an academic study. They view such pursuits as attempting to circumvent the laws of life and death—and only the Ruby Sorceress has that purview. However, some members of the church believe that lichdom is an exception to this rule. A lich has selected its path of its own volition; it has not tried to extend the time allotted to another. Liches devoted to Wee Jas see their existence as an experiment in the nature of death and magic, with the clear understanding that they must destroy themselves when they have learned as much as they can from the experience. Those who do not are hunted down as heretics.

The followers of Wee Jas believe that the mind holds an undiscovered wealth of knowledge. Thus, one arm of the Ruby Temple is dedicated exclusively to the study of psionics. This branch of the church has begun collecting the bodies of dead psions, hoping to learn more of their strange and obscure powers. The church as a whole is interested in learning how the laws that govern psionics and the laws that govern magic interact, if they do at all.

Members: The Ruby Temple is based on a strict hierarchy, with rank determined by individual knowledge and magical strength. Many priests pursue both arcane and divine spellcasting classes, and some of the highest-ranking church members are mystic theurges.

Scale: 11 (multiregional).

Affiliation Score Criteria: Only a spellcaster can gain an affiliation score with the Ruby Temple. A would-be member must swear to abide by the dictums of the church, obey its superior members, and devote himself to the study of magic and the preservation of knowledge.

Criterion Affiliation Score Modifier

One-Time Character level +1/2 levels Lawful alignment +1 Knowledge (religion) or (arcana) 5-9 ranks +1 Knowledge (religion) or (arcana) 10 or more ranks +2 Aids the uneducated masses in understanding death (if character is non-evil) +1 Can cast 5th-level or higher necromancy spells +2 Can cast 3rd- or 4th-level arcane or divine spells +1 Can cast 5th-level or higher arcane or divine spells +2 Has at least one level in the mystic theurge class +1 Chaotic alignment -10 Known to be sympathetic to a religion dedicated to a deity of life or healing (such as Ehlonna or Pelor) -2

Multiple Use Converts a new member +1 Makes a new discovery about the nature of death or dying +2 Destroys a creature of the chaotic subtype +1/4 creature's CR Destroys a foe single-handedly using only magic +1/4 creature's CR Defends a bastion of magical knowledge from attack +4 Discovers a new magic item or spell +2 Discovers an artifact and donates it to the church +10 Founds a school of magic +4 Founds a school of magic dedicated to both arcane and divine magic +6 Destroys a magic item or magic-related knowledge -8 Associates with characters who hunt or persecute spellcasters -4 Breaks a law of the church -2

Titles, Benefits, and Duties: To gain a new rank and its associated benefit, a member of the Ruby Temple must spend 24 hours in one of the crypts below a temple of Wee Jas. During this time, he must commune with the dead interred there using magic such as a speak with dead spell.

Affiliation

Rank Score Title: Benefits and Duties

0 3 or lower None. 1 4-14 Crystal Novice: Gain a+2 bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks made regarding undead creatures. 2 15-22 Topaz Apprentice: Gain a+1 bonus on saves against death spells and effects. 3 23-29 Emerald Master: Increase caster level by 1 for a single school of magic (your choice). 4 30 or higher Ruby Master: Once per day, counter a spell without a readied action, and without having the same spell ready to cast, provided you succeed on a Spellcraft check to identify the spell, as normal.