"Although we offer blessings upon a departing soul, that Morr may allow it passage through the realm of death, the soul is not our concern. The soul belongs to Morr. Our concern is the body. Our rituals ensure that the body remains just as it is; that it is properly sealed and sanctified, lest something enter into the cadaver's shell and corrupt it...or worse."
- —Anonymous Priest of Morr[1]
A priest of Morr[2]
A Priest of Morr is one of the foreboding priests of the Cult of Morr, the clergy of the god of the dead.
Role[]
"There is much power in death."
- —Saying of the Cult of Morr[2]
There are many religions in the Old World and many gods are worshipped as part of the Old World Pantheon. Morr, the god of the dead, is no exception. Most people within the Empire fear a Priest of Morr -- for most people fear the unknown. Death, no matter how religious the individual, is an unknown fate that none can escape and the Priests of Morr remind everyone of their own mortality, a reminder that most would sooner not have.[1]
However, despite this perceived prejudice, the Priests of Morr are indispensable in the services they render. Loved ones must be cared for properly when they die and those who are unloved must be properly taken care of. The importance of funeral rituals is acknowledged by everyone. For, more times than anyone cares to remember have the dead -- the uncared-for dead -- risen up once more to terrorise the living. And, though sword and warhammer will curtail the Undead, only a Priest of Morr can put them to rest for good.[1]
Though not true Warrior Priests, the Priests of Morr are often forced to defend themselves, though they rarely seek out combat, and are staunch opponents of the Undead. Dressed in the plain black robes of their faith, they seek to ensure the souls of those who have died safe passage into Morr's Realm and, more importantly, that the dead remain as such.[1]
As Priests of Morr rarely engage in martial activities, they are often only armed with a ritual dagger and a scythe as a weapon. Scythes are normally implements used in the fields by farmers. It is rare to see them wielded as weapons of warfare. However, the scythe also carries with it an image of death. It is the symbol of the Reaper, the representation of famine and starvation and disease through the lack of harvested food. Priests of Morr, when they need to, may carry a scythe as a weapon. They are of heavier manufacture, designed to reap warriors rather than wheat. Because the scythe is unwieldy, it must be used with two hands and cannot be used with another weapon, shield or buckler.[1]
Many of the elite Knights of Morr attach themselves to Morrian dignitaries, providing protection and adding to the priests' sinister atmosphere.[3]
Funerary Rites[]
"It is a well known fact that the Priests of Morr are not martially inclined. Their divine duties involve the dead, not the taking of life. However, there are times when a Priest of Morr will be called to engage in combat, and who would be more feared than a representative of the god of the dead?"
- —A description of the Priests of Morr[1]
Priests of Morr are not wizards by any means, however, they do have numerous funerary rites based in Divine Magic which they may perform. These rites ensure that the dead remain dead, that their body is sanctified and sealed and their soul departed to pass on to Morr's Realm.[1]
- Morr's Protection - The Priest of Morr calls out to their god when confronted by an abomination -- and asks that they be shielded from the corrupted magics of the tainted.[1]
- Death Holds No Fear - Priests of Morr must be steadfast in their resolution and as such must, above all else, have no fear of death.[1]
- Sanctity of the Fallen - Those who fall shall be sanctified and their soul freed, in the name of Morr, god of death.[1]
- Hand of Morr - By his hand, symbolic of the hand of Morr, the unliving shall become as dust and ashes. (A prayer that damages Undead.)[1]
- Do you know who I am? - Gaze upon me, abomination, for I am a Priest of Morr! (A prayer that damges the Undead.)[1]
- I am death! - I am a Priest of Morr, god of the dead! (A prayer that can be used to repel or damage the Undead.)[1]
Divine Lore of Morr[]
As the god of the dead and dreams, Morr grants his priests guidance and aid in dealing with the restless dead. By tradition, the wisdom he grants as god of dreams is associated with darkness, and his aid against the Undead with daylight, while those who choose to balance the two are associated with twilight. The Morr in Darkness list is generally taken only by augurs, while those priestly members of the Black Guard blessed with the ability to work miracles have the Morr in Daylight list.[3]
Almost all Priests of Morr learn the prayers and rituals to put a corpse to rest (Eternal Rest), and many also study the rituals to bring about prophetic dreams (Guiding Dream).[3]
Morrian Petty Spells[]
The following prayers are known only by the priests of the Cult of Morr.[3]
- Blessing of Morr - The priest's stirring words inspire someone to understand the truly pitiable state of the Undead, rendering them immune to fear or terror produced by nearby Undead creatures.[3]
- Blessing of Passage - The priest invokes the blessing of Morr to extend the god's outrage at the presence of Undead. Any weapon the target wields counts as magical for the purposes of harming Undead opponents until the effect expires.[3]
Miracles[]
- Destroy Undead - Using a wooden stake as a conduit, cause damage to an Undead target.[3]
- Dooming - Morr grants the priest a vision of one important fact about another individual's future. This is most often their manner of death, but not always. The fact is always isolated: the priest might learn that someone will be killed by Orcs, but not where or when.[3]
- Dream Message - The priest appears in the dreams of one individual and delivers a message no longer than 30 seconds long. The receiver must be someone the priest has met personally, must speak a common language, and must be asleep when the spell is cast.[3]
- Eternal Rest - The priest chants a solemn prayer over a corpse, ensuring that the soul is sent to Morr's Realm. This makes the corpse permanently immune to necromancy spells.[3]
- Glimpse Ahead - Upon casting Glimpse Ahead, the priest gains a sudden powerful insight about some future event, though the circumstances of this event are not immediately known to them.[3]
- Guiding Dream - The priest receives a dream concerning a particular course of action Morr wishes them to undertake. The dream is always clear, but never complete. It never explains why Morr wants the priest to do something. The vision generally shows the priest performing a particular action, in a particular place, at a particular time, and they somehow know the name of the place, and where it is, and exactly what date is meant, even if those would not be obvious from the things seen in the dream. The priest has no control over the contents of the dream, and there is no guarantee that they will survive to carry out the actions they see. Repeated castings of this miracle almost always yield the same dream, at least until the priest has done what was required, or the time during which they were supposed to perform the deed has passed. Failing to follow such a dream counts as violating the strictures of the Cult of Morr; if the priest has prayed for an illuminating dream, they should follow it.[3]
- Preserve Corpse - The priest temporarily stops the decomposition of one corpse, keeping it perfectly preserved.[3]
- Sign of the Raven - The priest summons a ghostly raven (the symbol of Morr) that casts the shadow of death over the field, causing the priest's opponents to feel the fear of their imminent demise.[3]
- Sleep of Death - The priest's prayers cause a group of enemies within range to slumber like the dead. This prayer is often chanted to calm the bereaved, particularly the noisy ones.[3]
- Speech of Morr - The spirit of a dead Human appears before the priest, and answers a number of questions. The priest must have the body or a portion of the body the spirit once possessed. The spirit cannot lie and must answer, but it can choose how much information to give. The spirit is limited to information it knew in life. If asked something it does not know the answer to, it says nothing, and the question counts against those the priest may ask. Since the spirit is released from the realm of the dead with Morr's permission, any corpse may only be targeted by this spell, regardless of the status of the caster, once.[3]
- Threshold Line - The priest draws up to an 8-yard long line on the ground while chanting to Morr. Any Undead creature has difficulty crossing it. The line retains its power until sunrise, and each Undead creature only gets one attempt to cross it. If the line is not a closed loop, Undead may go around the ends, so the line is normally drawn as a ring or across a doorway.[3]
- Vision of Morr - The priest prays to Morr and asks for a vision that may provide a solution to a problem they are currently experiencing.[3]