THE MINISTRY OF INQUIRY
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THE MINISTRY OF INQUIRY |
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| Project: | The Ministry of Inquiry |
| Name: | The Ministry of Inquiry (The Church of Ferris) |
| Designers: | Jeff Wilson (Jeff_Wilson63@bigfoot.com) |
| Member Clusters: | The Dark Sphere, no others approved |
| Baseline: | A religious organization which supports the ideas of progress and discovery. |
| Worlds: | Active in well over 1,000 worlds, the Ministry can travel between dimensions in many different ways. While the Ministry is particularly active in the Dark Sphere cluster, it is also involved in many other worlds where belief in progress and discovery is present. The Ministry is incapable of operating in worlds under the personal rule of a god other than Ferris. |
| Administration: | The Ministry is
organized as a religious hierarchy with three branches: Administration
(Anradan), Sanctity (Espiri), and Guardian (Rohain). Individuals within
each branch are responsible for congregationswhich are groups
of people typically organized around socio-political factors. Within
each branch are five different administrative levels. Above the five
ranks of the different branches are four more ranks which most mortals
will never deal with. However, the Ministry grants near-complete
independence to the highest ranking mortals.
The total membership of the Ministry of Inquiry is easily in the millions. the number that a mortal needs to be concerned about depends on the strength of the organization in a particular area. If the Ministry is newly introduced, there might be only one priest on the entire continent. If the Ministry is old and established, a person might have to be concerned with everyone in the area! |
| Goals: | The Ministry wishes to progress and improve. They apply this goal to both themselves and their environment. Towards this end they sponsor research, teaching, exploration, and investigation of all sorts. They teach that people should try to improve themselves and others, and operate as an organized religion. In the short term they want you to learn about the god Ferris and worship him. In the long term, they want everything to progress to as close to perfection as it can get. |
| Relations: | No particulars are currently available on relations with any other groups. |
| Technology: | In general, the Ministry is required to work with the technology of their area. Often they are slightly advanced because of the emphasis they place on progress, but seldom enough to be noticed. |
| Magic: | Once again, usually the same as their general area. Possibly slightly advanced in a few areas. |
| Psionics: | On any world where psionics are possible, the Ministry uses them. These abilities are universal among the Rohain, and sought among the other branches. Where possible, psionic knowledge is advanced over what is generally known in the area. |
| Financial & Physical: | As each branch of the Ministry is independent, a general accounting of their assets would be meaningless. Suffice it to say that some local organizations operate on a shoestring, while others are extremely rich. |
| Personnel: | All members of the Ministry are worshipers of the god/saint/power Ferris and the principles he stands for. They consider themselves to be priests of the faith of the Ministry. They are generally recruited from the congregations serving/served by the Ministry, and are educated about the Ministry and their local area to the best of their understanding. They then serve a short apprenticeship before being made priests. What happens to these priests when they wish to leave the Ministry depends on the needs and resources of the local organization. |
The Ministry of Inquiry is an Interdimensional religion following certain ideals. It's three-branch organization permits checks and balances which (usually) prevent it from becoming corrupt or decadent. For most campaigns, the immortal aspects of the Ministry should remain in the background, but they supply the goals and drive behind the Ministry.
The Ministry can be used in a variety of ways. They can act as patron to explorers or investigators. In decadent areas they can be a vocal minority, or even a source for revolution. They could also be a powerful organization to rebel against. They could be a minority religion, trying to compete with a variety of established religions, or a powerful group setting the established order on its ear. Their emphasis on progress makes them suitable in SF settings where research and exploration are themes.
While the mortal hierarchy is under the restrictions listed under RESOURCES, the immortal hierarchy doesn't have them. If they feel it is necessary, they can produce TL/15 devices suitable for the world at hand, every possible form of magic, world-shaking psionics, and anything else that is possiblein a world. However, the immortal organization feels that it is necessary for people to get into the habit of solving their own problems, and would only do something like this in dire need (like the entire population of a dimension was at stake).
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