Abbot

"My vow of poverty has made me rich, my vow of obedience has made me a lord. My vow of chastity? Ah..."

- Anonymous Abbot

The eldest and wisest of monks eventually rise to become the leaders of their monasteries. Worshippers sometimes seek these abbots out to gain their advice on matters of faith or to gain greater understanding about the religious world, while priests and initiates answer to them in all things. Most abbots choose to remain secluded in their monasteries until death takes them, but some venture out into the wider world once again. Few abbots deign to get involved in temple politics, preferring the solitude of their own world or their journeys to the machinations of their cult. For this reason an abbot is rarely the head of a mendicant order, leaving the organisation and politicking to a high priest.

Little Known Facts
Technically, abbots are legally answerable only to the head of their order, the head of their cult, and the Emperor himself. This legal privilege dates back centuries, and although most abbots know about it, very few take advantage of it on a day-to-day basis. Still, an abbot can legally tell an Elector Count to mind his own business, and one with the full backing of his cult might even get away with it.

There are two kinds of abbots: those promoted from within the abbey through a closely guarded internal process, and those appointed by high priests or prelates from the outside. Insiders are often more popular with the monks, but outsiders are normally more enthusiastic about reforms. Sometimes the monks are so split that an outsider is the only way to avoid the fragmentation of the abbey, and sometimes the abbey is so remote that only an insider would take the post.

A handful of remote fortresses in the Empire are garrisoned by orders of warrior priests or monks, most often Sigmarites. These fortresses come under frequent attack, and the abbots are often men with military experience. Since religious experience is also necessary, most of them are promoted internally. In recognition of their dual role, they are known formally as castellans.

Revered Father Steffron Kurdtz
Steffron Kurdtz is the abbot of a Sigmarite monastery in the Imperial heartlands. He is respected and loved by the monks, and his reputation for wisdom has spread as far as Altdorf and Middenheim. He has been abbot for many years, but is still vigorous despite his age. He talks of retiring, but none of the monks will hear of it.

Steffron took a circuitous route to his current station of abbot. In fact, a life of faith and service was the furthest thing from his mind as a youth ranging through the forests of Talabecland. Steffron earned his living as a hunter and guide, and paid more heed to Taal and Rhya than the patron god of the Empire. One day, he guided a pilgrimage of Sigmarites to a holy site deep within the forests. They were attacked by beastmen, and Steffron was inspired by the Sigmarite’s unflappable faith and resolve in the face of danger.

After fending off the beastmen, Steffron joined the pilgrimage, learning about the faith from those whom he had fought with side-by-side. After completing the journey, Steffron officially joined the Cult of Sigmar as an initiate and worked tirelessly to test his faith, uncover truths and challenge unbelievers. Over the decades, he has shared his personal story of struggle and deliverance countless times, converting many people to the faith.

Adventure Seeds

 * Troubling News: A new monk joins the monastery, and he is clearly deeply troubled by something. At length he tells the story to the abbot, who is shocked. The terrible experience is connected to an abandoned shrine the abbot had visited before he entered the monastery, a shrine corrupted by Nurgle cultists. The monk asserts the shrine has reverted to its corrupt status, and needs to be cleansed.


 * A Golden Secret: The ancient abbey was very wealthy in the past. Recently it has fallen on harder times, and many buildings are scarcely used. The new abbot is more energetic than his predecessors, and sends the monks to repair and clean the old buildings. One comes to him secretly, showing him a symbol of Chaos he found in one of the buildings. It is made of gold, and they cannot detrmine how long it has been there. The abbot must avoid scandal, while making sure that the Dark Gods do not have a foothold in his abbey.

Source
Abad
 * Career Compendium pg 6.