Can a Death Goddess be “Good” Aligned?
In the previous article I discussed the dominant world religion, the Unholy Church of Ergalon the Destroyer. Today I’ll give you my thoughts on the religion that players are most likely to identify with, the Counter Revolutionary Sisters of the Apostate.
Why I Created the Counter-Revolutionary Sisters of the Apostate
One thing almost never happens in roleplaying campaigns: the good guys have to hide their faith. In Ossara, a paladin of Eriskagal can’t just run around being holier-than-thou. The Sisters have to be careful about whom they trust and what they say, or they’ll be hunted.
In my previous article, I discussed the dominant religion in Ossara, the Unholy Church of Ergalon the Destroyer. Today I want to talk about the faith players are most likely to identify with: the Counter-Revolutionary Sisters of the Apostate, sometimes called the Cult of Eriskagal.
I created them because I wanted the religions in Ossara to have context and backstory, so players could get into them and understand what “Good” and “Evil” mean in the campaign. Ergalon’s rule is built around undeath. His church is responsible for carrying out his mandate: the Death Collectors take the bodies of the recently dead to the capital, where they are made undead. Eriskagal, Ergalon’s legendary spouse and the goddess of eternal rest, opposes the creation of undead.
The Sisters are not an ordinary church. They have no churches. They meet in hiding, in sacred places, caves, and hideouts, and work to resist Ergalon’s rule. They want to help people whose lives have been damaged by his death economy. They also believe Eriskagal is not dead, and will return to restore Ossara to paradise.
Their mission gives players concrete ways to act on that faith. Clerics destroy dead and undead bodies by fire, and arrange clandestine cremations—even for people who weren’t believers. Paladins seek out the undead and counter the influence of the Death Collectors. Both can help people suffering under Ergalon and try to protect others from undeath.
But they have to do all this while hiding. A paladin who advertises their beliefs may be hunted. That means the choices aren’t just about what a good person believes; they’re also about what they dare to say, whom they trust, and how much danger they’ll take on to help someone.