Suffering Hearts

Shallyan doctrine is suspicious of personal pleasure in a world filled with so much suffering. The Suffering Hearts take this suspicion to an extreme. They are followers of Karin the Pure, a priestess who lived in Nuln a little over two centuries ago, and believed Priestesses of Shallya had to purify themselves of the taint of pleasure and luxury before they could properly minister to the suffering.

Attempting to do so while impure was, she claimed, blasphemous. While Karin was, eventually, cast out by the cult for denouncing the entire hierarchy as blasphemers against Shallya, her followers remain in mainstream temples, and keep their places by moderating their strictures against others. This also gives them more time to inflict suffering on themselves. Minimal food, little sleep, and inadequate protection from the elements are the basic elements of the life of a Suffering Heart. Most believe deliberately inflicting injuries on oneself is an affront to Shallya, so instead they take on hard and dangerous tasks, such as carrying heavy stones up to the top of the temple buildings, and then back down again.

The Suffering Hearts do nothing to relieve the pain of others, because they follow Karin’s belief that it would be blasphemous to do so before they have been purified. Some Suffering Hearts do see visions that they take to be signs from the Goddess that they have been purified, and these individuals start to help. The proportion of miracle-workers among them, while not high, is higher than among other priestesses. Others, however, never feel pure enough, and as a result the cult hierarchy tries to discourage these beliefs.

The Goddess of Mercy, however, cannot condone harsh measures against people who are merely misguided followers. The Suffering Hearts are not a sect, as they have no internal organisation, and their interpretations of Karin’s beliefs can vary a great deal. Indeed, this sort of belief has been present in the Shallyan faith for centuries, and Karin’s particular version has little sway outside the Empire.

Source
pg. 106
 * Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd ED -- Tome of Salvation