Church of Ptah

Overview

The Temple of Ptah is one of the most widespread religions in wildspace, with adherents throughout the Known Spheres. Originally worshipped by groundling cultures who venerated the Egyptian pantheon, Ptah has been widely adopted by spacefaring cultures throughout Known Space. Ptah embodies artistic inspiration, the fire of creation, as well as the cosmos as a creative force. He is a clever, dynamic god who encourages works of art and beauty and smiles upon their creators. His priests also claim that he is the sole creator of the universe, and Ptah hasn't gone out of his way to contradict them.

Activities

Clad in their gray robes trimmed with scarlet, the priests of Ptah are among the most forceful evangelical proponents of religion in the Known Spheres, and are a common sight as they preach the superiority of their god. The priests of Ptah cherish artistic skill, not only in works of art but also in crafts like smith-work, carpentry, and pottery. Ptah's worship is very popular among skilled craftsmen, and is almost the default religion in large regions of wildspace. Ptah's clerics are scholars and artisans who are responsible for the creation of many powerful artifacts, and often travel through the void of space for the sake of the journey itself.

The church of Ptah is well-organized, with a large and efficient hierarchy, and it isn't unusual for a low ranking priest to be deployed to a temple half the universe away. Followers of Ptah can count on the assistance of his clergy, much in the same way that members of other religions can. However, because the faith of Ptah is so widespread, worshippers are assured of receiving aid wherever they may go.

Ptah is worshipped throughout wildspace, and on those worlds where the Egyptian pantheon is fully recognised. On planets where this is not the case, however, Ptah's priests are as limited as those of other faiths are in wildspace or in strange new spheres.

Rituals

Members of the Temple of Ptah must donate a small work of art to the temple upon leaving or entering a sphere. Purchasing such a work is permissible, though works made by the member's own hand are preferred. The object is usually donated during a brief ceremony in which the member says good-bye to his previous pastor and introduces himself to his latest minister. Small monthly donations are also required, but these may be waived if the member is not able to pay.

Base of Operations

The priests of Ptah believe their god is responsible for the creation of every crystal sphere, therefore they have chosen not to establish a centralized headquarters. That being said, the Temple of Ptah on the Rock of Bral is one of the latest and most influential of the deity‘s temples.

Dogma

In spheres where the Egyptian pantheon is worshipped, Ptah is revered as the god of artisans. However, most spacefaring priests of Ptah are disdainful of their groundling co-religionists, believing that they have lost sight of Ptah's true glory as the creator of the universe. Priests of Ptah are fanatical in their zeal to convert people to the faith, using the fact that they can receive their divine spells in all major spheres to prove the superiority of Ptah over other gods. Other, more cynical, observers point out that the priesthood of Ptah has been in space for a long time, and have simply been able to establish bodies of worshippers in all of these various spheres, which allows them the same access to their god as the followers of any other native deity.

When proselytizing, Ptah's priests tend to equate him with whatever ruling deity is currently dominant, reinforcing their contention that Ptah is the true ruler of the pantheon. ln Realmspace, for example, the priests of Ptah proclaim Ao, the high god of the Realms, as an avatar of their god, and in Krynnspace, they equate Ptah with Paladine. These proclamations are usually disturbing news to worshippers native to these spheres. Thus, while the worshippers of Ptah are widespread, they are not popular with the established local churches in any of the spheres.

Relationships

Allies

The faith of Ptah has few steady allies. The Seekers are in frequent contact with Ptah's priests as their access to so many spheres makes them a prime source of knowledge, but the Seekers are justifiably suspicious of the priests’ information when it turns to theological matters. The Shapers have supported the priests of Ptah in the past, and there are a number of spaceports where Shaper monopoly of arcane magic is paralleled by the Temple's monopoly of priestly magic. Both groups see themselves as bringing order to the cosmos, and taking the “wild" out of wildspace.

When the priests of Ptah turn to force as a way of converting recalcitrant people, they often employ the Trading Company, as their businesslike attitude mitigates any conflict with the priests.

Enemies

Many people find the priests of Ptah irritating, but few truly hate them. The Pragmatic Order of Thought finds the theology of the priests of Ptah stifling, and this has caused some friction over the years, even spilling over into the Pots' relationship with the Trading Company.

The Xenos hate the priests of Ptah (of course, they hate just about anyone) because the Temple of Ptah welcomes non-humans into its ranks.

The priests of Celestian tout their deity as one of the main patrons of spelljamming, and as such enjoy a bitter rivalry with the priests of Ptah. While the priests of Ptah have responded by verbally attacking the Celestians on theological grounds, the Celestians have generally ignored their protestations.

Members

Ptah's worshippers are predominantly human, though the church welcomes members from all races. Most non-human members are viewed as opportunists who joined merely to take advantage of the benefits of worshipping such a wide-ranging deity. So long as they tithe regularly, however, they are treated as any other member of the church in good standing.

The Temple of Ptah is wide ranging, with temples found throughout Known Space, with no real centralized authority. One of the more powerful and influential leaders in the hierarchy of the church of Ptah is Andaclesia, a priestess who has journeyed far and wide across the spheres and has met many influential travellers, and currently is in command of the Temple of Ptah on Bral.

Appendix

External Links

• Ptah article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

References