Forgotten Realms Question: Cyric?

[WizarDru]

Not being very FR-knowledgable, I have a question. I was playing a NWN campaign called Shadowlands (a fairly good module, though it's not as good as Dueleez's work). During the second module, you come to a town that has two temples...one is the goody goddess, LLiiraa (or something similar) and other is temple called Fist of the Future, dedicated to Cyric. The author appears to know a good deal more about the realms than I (the first module being a conflict between the Zhents and Red Shields).

So here's the question: Cyric is a god of murder, correct? How does reach anything resembling respectable worship in a community? I can understand an evil, underground cult...but I gather that a public 'temple' to Cyric is not uncommon, or at least unknown. Why? Do you pay tribute so Cyric will ignore you? I assume it's just my lack of FR knowledge that explains how he fits in.

Oh, and I'd appreciate if we could stay on the topic, here. If you don't prefer FR as a setting, that's fine...but I don't really need an argument over the merit of settings, here. FR isn't my first choice for settings, which is part of the reason I'm asking for folks to enlighten me.

 

[MojoGM]

Hi,

Cyric is the god of muder and intrigue (I believe he has a few other domains in his portfolio, but I can't remember them offhand).

While a public temple to Cyric might be possible in a more evil society, I had always understood that Cyric temples would most likely be hidden. Especially in Shadowdale...I doubt an open temple to Cyric could really exist.

If it were me, I'd make the temple to Cyric disguised, maybe as a temple to another "lesser" god, while the Cyricists fool the locals and devise evil schemes to distablize the region.

I'm currently running a FR game in Cormyr where the characters have come to Marsember (a shifty port-city) to uncover Cyricists trying to gain a foothold. Since Cyric is the god of intrigue, I don't see them as ever playing out in the open.

Hope this helps.

~MojoGM

 

[Carnifex]

I'ev played through the Shadowlands modules and the sequel Deramcatcher modules. While I can't help out too much with FR knowledge, I will say that especially in the Dreamcatcher modules, the author does some pretty asmazing stuff!

 

[Carnifex]

Oh, and also note, that in the village with the temple of Cyric, remember that the situation with the mayor means that it'd probably be fairly easy for the Cyricists to set themselves up openly.

 

[KingOfChaos]

There are certain areas of the Forgotten Realms where worshippers of Cyric gather in communities. Until recently, Cyric had a public temple in Zhentil Keep (now replaced by a temple to Bane). If the alignment of a city leans more toward the evil side of the alignment scale, then a public temple to an evil god isn't such a uncommon occurence.

 

[WizarDru]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info, guys. I was curious. It seemed a little odd to have such a set-up, but within the context of the module, I guess it works.

 

[Skinwalker]

First of all, keep in mind that most people are Neutral. A town that leans toward good would probably still consist of a mostly Neutral populace.

Second, many of the evil gods can be worshipped by Good and Neutral people. Often, this worship comes simply from prayers aimed at preventing the wrath of evil gods.

Beshaba, the FR goddess of bad luck, would be a great example of this. A goodly town may have a temple or shrine where people come in hoping to avoid bad luck or reverse some misfortune they have suffered. Not every town has a temple of Tymora, goddess of good luck, and when you're in need of some good luck sometimes it serves just as well to pray for a little *less* bad luck.

Possibilities for a temple of Cyric:
* Portfolio - Madness. The church may take care of the insane of the community (as in an asylum).
* Portfolio - Murder. ...or they may simply "take care" of them.
* Portfolio - Murder. Every large town needs someone to execute prisoners. The local headsman could be a priest of Cyric, fulfilling his duty with government sanction. (I'm not saying executing prisoners is murder, just that this would be an easy way for this particular portfolio to be worshipped within the law of a goodly town)
* Portfolio - Lies. The local politicians could be heavy supporters of the church, hoping their campaign promises do not come back to haunt him. (*chuckle*)
* Pre-Bane, Portfolio - Strife/Suffering. Craftsmen/professionals may throw their support to the temple of Cyric with prayers that their business rivals suffer. A farmer who has suffered poor crops and sick animals may become a regular church-goer to the temple of Cyric in hopes of preventing having to suffer through another such hard year.

The possiblities go on and on...

 

[BobROE]

I think there's a town in the western heartlands that has a temple to Lliira and Cyric. The temple of cyric is accepted because the mayor of the town worships him (at the moment anyway, he switchs dieties every few years or something like that)