Evil Church Ideas

[TheDood]

My characters are currently involved in a campaign oriented towards evil. The church one of the players belongs to is a major influence in the region. Several minds being more disturbed than one, I request help fleshing this particular church out.

Note 1: The Honour Guard were stolen as is from Star Wars.
Note 2: Things are rough because I am stuck for ideas for this particular church.

The Church

Domains: Earth, Death, Fire, Law, Evil, Blood.
Favored Weapons: Kris (Shortsword), Kukri, Khopesh
Prestige Classes: Eunuch Warlock, Dreadmaster

Strictures:
Consuming the flesh of other sentiant beings on holy days.
Bathing in blood

Sacrifices:
Taken weekly, sacrifices commonly involve the removal of flesh from still living beings. This pound of flesh is then subject to intense flames, the ashes stored in a urn in the church's catacombs.

Temple Architecture:
Ziggurats (terraced pyramids) constructed with large amounts of stone and earth, ordained with displays of fire. The terraces each represent a caste, only someone of a greater caste may venture into the next terrace.
The terraces dont actually have any major doorways like common churchs. The way in and out is a series of twisting passages and small doors.

The Honour Guard:
The elite honour guard carry pikes and are covered in a deep blood red silk gown, with a red steel helm. They are charged with protecting high ranking members of the church.

The Eunuchs:
The castes of enunuchs was created to maintain the churchs everyday affairs, representing the accountants, taxmen and temple officals. Eunuchs are permitted greater access to areas normally forbidden to other clergymen, to prevent eunuchs using this ability to their advantage, they are forbidden from raising any higher in the churchs caste system.

Initiates:
Stolen from their homes during the temples ritualistic yearly raids. Young members of the clergy are imprisoned deep below the surface and subjected to mental and physical torture the church has perfected over the ages. This is only the beginning of their indoctrination into the religion. They are tortured until they are able to cast simple orisons displaying that they have been selected by god.

Magistrates:
Magistrates commonly handle areas to sensitive for eunuchs or control one of the supplementry temples.

The Inquisitors:
The most zealous from among the ranks of the Magistrates become Inquisitors. Considered extensions of the consuls hand and are treated accordingly. Inquisitors rarely advance from this powerful position.

Castes:
The church maintains a rigid caste system.
Low Level: Initiate, Missionary, Confessor
Mid level: Preacher, Magistrate, Inquisitors
High Level: Cardinal, Consuler

Outside the caste system, but containing their own:
Eunuchs, Honour guard

 

[LostSoul]

I suggest you find some kind of angle that this Church can present to the world to convince them that their religion is not Evil.

 

[TheDood]

Does anyone hqave any suggestions on how this religion and church present itself as not evil to the surrounding populace.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

To make this church more acceptable make it Lawfull Evil.

For the "strictures" use "criminals". (Of course anyone who opposes the church is a criminal.)

The sacrifices (the pound of flesh) are a pennance for disorder (drinking, telling lies, ect.).

At times people will accept evil if it brings order to their lives.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Well there is always the good ol' Scapegoat Routine. Play to people's fears of outside threats. Say that the current holders of power are decadent and corrupt. The church is there to provide the one true path. All outsiders are enemies and must be dealt with accordingly.

 

[TheDood]

Unfortunatly the church is the only form of structured power, Kingdoms dont exist in this part of the world. Outside of your village anybody is possibly an enemy.

The church represents a large structure body that gains tribute and slaves from the surrounding villages. It would be good however to have a facade for the church to promote its ideas as being not--so-evil.

Any other ideas or components of the church would be most welcome as well.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Well, if there are no other powers to set up as scapegoats, the church can just make something up. Have the church invent some fictional boogeyman to make the people scare to go outside or leave town. Have the church hand out "free" goods and services, hold decadent festivals to make the people dependent and complacent while secretly exploiting them. If the church cannot find any conspiracy or outside threat, they can always make some up .

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Don't have the evil cult pretending to be good or helpful. Don't even have them playing up fears of some kind of scapegoat. This isn't the Nazi party or the communist party or some new dictator in Rome. This is an evil religion that exists to bring its adherants power and its god the suffering it craves.

Instead, have it offer the city prosperity (as long as the sacrifices continue, the dark god will defeat the city's enemies. Special enemies might demand special sacrifices (the king's firstborn son or something like that) but people get used to that kind of thing).

Also, have the cult offer protection from disease. ("If we neglect our sacrifices, the dark god will strike us with a terrible disease.") Perhaps for the appropriate sacrifices (newborn children are the customary one--there's plenty of them. . . especially considering how the god is worshipped--see below)

Then have the worship of the god involve temple prostitution.

There wouldn't be any need for the priesthood or the god to pretend to be anything other than what they were. They wouldn't pretend to even be remotely interested in matters of morals. ("That kind of stuff is for philosophers and other useless busybodies.") Still, if that were the system, people would follow it. They did for thousands of years in the ancient middle east, Persia, South America, Greece, ancient Europe, etc.

 

[Darklone]

Now, now, now, that last sentence was simply:
Unnecessary

Essentially you didn't say something new, basilisk. Change the moral code of the population to fit your own and they will follow.

 

[perivas]

There is of course the classic premise for worshipping an evil religion openly. That's fear! Worshippers pray to be spared from the impending doom of the less faithful populace. Their only reward for worship is a swift death sentence to an endless void rather than the more common fate of eternal torture and pain. The God/Goddess is prophesized to appear in this region again at any moment and induce such destruction. In fact, it has happened in the exact same region in the last age of man, explaining the certainty with which the worshippers pronounce their statements. The believers are merely hoping it would happen to someone else, although even they are not sure they will be spared. How's that for an evil religion out in the open?