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Liber Sodalitas: Scions of the Holy Triad

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Liber Sodalitas

Scions of the Holy Triad

Liber Sodalitas

Eschewing the idea of a fractured pantheon in

which each deity stands on its own, the Scions of

the Holy Triad, a group of warrior-priests

venerating equally the gods of War, Fortune and

Protection, seek to return to a golden age when the

gods were worshipped in unison and their strengths

combined for the betterment of the mortal realm.

Though a young group in the land, the

Scions have made an impact,

drawing to their ranks a com-

munity of like-minded

individuals bent on

uniting the worship of

the gods, as well as

the enmity of those

opposed to their

goals. And it all

stemmed from the

vision of one man,

a sibyl named

Gelon Polydorou.

time to indulge in his passion in history; by the time

of his ordination, Gelon had both read every single

historical tractate in the Temple of Apollo, and

managed to perfect the art of divining into the past.

Leaving the Temple behind, Gelon set out on a

marathon tour of the Empire, visiting every single

sizeable library, public or private, within imperial

borders, and every oracle along the

way. By the time he returned

home to the Temple ten years

later, Gelon was

undeniably regarded as

one of the most

knowledgeable sages

in the land, capable

of conversing on

virtually

every

single topic.

The thirst of

sages, however, is

not easily quenched;

declining a post at

the Temple of Apollo,

Gelon set out on a new

academic task, learning all

there was to know about the

gods, both in the upper and

mortal realms, a task, the sage would

find out, easier said than done. While

followers of some gods were certainly open with

the august sage, most were reticent to reveal

anything but the most basic facts, with some being

outright aggressive in their opposition. The patterns

were easy enough to recognize, with mortal

History

A priestly bard with

and obsessive interest in

ancient history, Gelon was

always a sage’s dream student.

Memorizing the full history of the

Empire, and more than a hundred songs

and tales by the age of ten, Gelon was enrolled at

the Temple of Apollo, god of Fate and Fortune,

where he would be able to get a full education.

While at the temple, Gelon learned the art of

divination, allowing him to probe into the mists of

This product requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons,

Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast Inc.

This product utilizes updated material from the v3.5 revision.

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affiliations mimicking the tangled web of alliances

and rivalries existing in the heavens. Frustrated

with the state of affairs, Gelon wondered if it had

always been this way, and decided to seek an

answer to his question; he secluded himself in his

laboratory, pouring over mundane and magical

tomes alike, searching for an instance of full unity

within the godly pantheon. It was all in vain, at

least in recorded history, so Gelon turned to his

divinations, determined to push his magic to see

beyond a millennium in the past. The sage

stretched his magical abilities beyond mortal

boundaries for days on end, eventually managing

to gaze five thousands years into the past.

master of fate. Little by little the godly allies, and

their mortal followers, each went their separate

way, and each and the world was lessened by the

loss.

The Gathering of the Triad

Gelon theorized that if he could bring back the

simultaneous worship of these three deities, he

would be taking a huge step towards a possible

reunification of the godly pantheon, perhaps

ending millennia of strife among the different

religions, and beginning what could only become a

new golden age of peace and prosperity for the

world, a new era in which all the religious factions

could work together towards a common purpose of

betterment in the mortal and heavenly realms. In

short, Gelon had a new purpose in life.

The experience, however, was more than his

body could handle, and Gelon was left barely alive,

little more than the animated shell of a man.

Though his mind remained sharp, his body needed

close to ten more years to fully recover. In that

time, Gelon pondered on what he had seen, and

what to do about it.

Shutting himself off in his study, Gelon put

down to writing both the tale he had seen in visions

and the ethos for the new ideal he intended to

preach, producing what he called the Tome of the

Holy Triad . Tome in hand, Gelon began the

arduous task of proselytizing his new vision. But

even with the regular numbers of false prophets

and doomsayers wandering the land, within a few

short weeks Gelon had been branded a heretic by

various churches; shortly thereafter—and only

because of his reputation as a respected sage were

more severe options not pursued—Gelon was

“politely” banished from all the major cities, along

with the growing numbers of followers he had

gathered under his banner. The move to the

desolate countryside was actually a boon for

Gelon’s cause, allowing him to expand his

movement without opposition. Yet, Gelon was a

weak and aging man, and he alone could not carry

on to fruition his self-imposed task. But the gods,

it seems, were watching over Gelon.

The Tale of the Holy Triad

Five thousand years before, while the pantheon had

existed in more or less the same way it did today, a

small group of gods—Ares, god of War, Apollo,

god of Fate, and Athena, goddess of Protection—

enjoyed a symbiotic relationship that was to the

benefit of them all, forming the most awesome

band of divine warriors: Ares held the vanguard,

sword always ready, courage running through his

veins; Athena stood guard, ever-vigilant, a bulwark

of defense; and Apollo divined the fates, guiding

Ares’s brave sword where needed, foretelling

Athena where her shield would most be required.

With their talents combined, the holy triad was

matchless in war, guiding heavenly armies with

unerring accuracy, as well as in peace, guiding

their followers towards unity and betterment. Time

passed, however, and slowly things changed.

An exceptionally out-of-season thunderstorm

brought to Gelon’s door a party of travelers

seeking refuge. Putting them up for the night,

Gelon was surprised and excited to discover the

party to consist of a priestess of Athena and her

retinue. The storm raged for five days unabated,

keeping the group in Gelon’s estate long enough

for the sage to establish a comfortable relationship

with the Athenian priestess, Kytheris Apollodoris.

The pursuit of war became an obsession for the

already-ardent Ares, turning him into a

bloodthirsty zealot; Athena eventually became a

formidable warrior in her own right, eventually

limiting her protection to only the city-state in her

name; and Apollo expanded his sphere of

influence, taking more pride as Sun god than as the

Liber Sodalitas: Scions of the Holy Triad

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Oracle, a copy of the Tome of the Holy Triad

among her possessions.

NEW DEITY

The Holy Triad

The Holy Triad is the name by which the

pantheistic worship of Athena, Apollo and Ares

is known. The cult of the Holy Triad seeks to

reunite the divine allies and restore them to the

state of grace they experienced millennia in the

past. Though the cult is relatively young, it is

growing in strength and number. Recently, the

Holy Triad have begun to answer the calls of

the devout, granting divine spells to their

spellcasting devotees. Followers see this as a

sign of divine favor in their task of eventually

achieving a truly pantheistic age.

Portfolio: Defense, Destiny and Fortune,

Strength, Honorable Warriors, Righteous War.

The Holy Triad does not have any specific

portfolio as a unified entity. Worshippers exalt

a combination of virtues from each of the

allies.

Domains: Divination, Fate, Holy, Protection,

Strength, War

Favored Weapon: Triskele

Paladin Multiclassing Ability: Cleric of the

Holy Triad, triad scion (Paladins of the Holy

Triad may take levels in these classes without

suffering the normal paladin multiclassing

penalties.)

Two years went by, years in which Gelon’s

movement solidified its identity and vision; years

in which the group grew twofold, spilling out of

the estate’s lands to include followers from nearby

villages; years in which, along with joy, tragedy

was felt as the estate became the target of repeated

raids and attacks, suspected (but never proven) to

be the work of church-contracted thugs. By the

time Kytheris showed up at the estate once again,

Gelon had amassed some two hundred followers to

his movement, including a new warrior branch led

by an ex-Aresi paladin. Her visit to the Oracle

complete, Kytheris had decided that Gelon had

found a worthy cause to espouse. Visions in her

dreams, as well as the sighting of a giant owl,

sacred animal of Athena, after leaving the Oracle,

confirmed to Kytheris that her goddess sanctioned

her feelings on the matter; the worldly restoration

of a worship of the Holy Triad could have a

tangible effect in the divine beyond, hopefully

helping to bring together the once-allied powers,

along with their mortal followers. Kytheris’

forces—not to mention her retinue and resources—

joined with Gelon’s, the two became the heads of

the movement, formally naming it the Scions of the

Holy Triad.

For close to ten years the Scions grew in size,

prestige and power under the diligent leadership of

Gelon and Kytheris. Under the Apollonian sage the

group gained religious doctrine and preparation to

set out as missionaries onto the world; under the

Athenian cleric, the group gained martial training

that combined secular force with divine devotion.

Every member of the Scions, from the humblest

farmer to the most august leaders themselves, was

educated in a combination of skills that

exemplified the synthesis of the Holy Triad. And it

seemed the havens approved: while no cleric or

paladin who had converted to the combined

worship had lost their divine powers, over time

some found things had changed, as their granted

powers shifted to embody the new aspects of the

divine allies being worshipped, instead of the old

individual aspects venerated. The worship of the

Holy Triad had acquired an identity of its own.

The Scions Are Born

Only politely interested at first, Kytheris found

herself somewhat curious about Gelon’s ideas as

the days went by. Having left her ancestral home

due to the constant conflicts between the Athenian

and Apollonian factions, conflicts that had already

claimed the lives of her father and brother,

Kytheris had decided to travel to the Great Oracle

to do some soul-searching about her faith. The

massive storm, however, had followed her retinue

since setting out on their journey, blowing the party

way off-course. Kytheris could not help but won-

der, could it all have been a ploy by Athena?

Taking her leave of her host once the storm had

died down, Kytheris set out again towards the

Liber Sodalitas: Scions of the Holy Triad

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Still, for all its successes, the Scions were a

small group beset by enemies on all sides.

Apollonian and Aresi-controlled authorities in

nearby cities used their influences to make life for

the Scions impossible, putting restrictions and

outright bans on their products and commerce. The

warrior arm of the Scions gained much experience

in a very short time fighting off an increasing

number of raids and bandits, with the benefits of

forging the group into a well-trained force with

ample opportunities to develop unique combat

techniques that supported the ideals of the worship

of the Holy Triad. Still, it was too much pressure on

such a small group, and Gelon and Kytheris opted

to keep their followers secure; the group decided to

packed up and set off deeper into the countryside,

intent on founding a new town if need be.

Scions to bring them into the fold.

The visitors slowly recovered and Gelon’s faith

was rewarded; the visitors were worshipers of Ares

indeed, but members of an outcast sect intent on

reestablishing the worship of Ares devoid of the

bloodlust so rampant in the god’s followers. Their

leader, a young priest of Ares named Odysseus

Theophilus, had led the party in a months-long trek

after having been banished from their ancestral

homes and viciously pursued by opposing Aresi

warbands. The group had managed to loose their

pursuers by escaping into the mountains, only to

fall prey to dwindling food supplies and the harsh

terrain. Exhausted and famished after a month

without food, the travelers found a navigable

mountain spring; making pathetic excuses for boats

out of whatever hide and leather they had, including

their own clothes, the sorry remnants of the

expedition—only a third of the hundred or so that

had originally set out—threw themselves at the

mercy of the waters, hoping the spring, and the

gods, would lead them eventually towards

salvation.

The Missing God

The road was hard, especially for the very young

and the old, but they trudged on, unsure of their

destination but faithful in their mission. Months

passed; the caravan trekked deep into forsaken

badlands, settling eventually in a small, secluded

valley near a tributary of a major river, an area too

obscure and hidden to be claimed by anyone. Here

the group set up a tent city around the ruins of a

crude and ancient temple, living off the bounty of

the land and river. It was in this temporary

settlement that Gelon and Kytheris united in

matrimony, much to the joy of the community. In

their isolation, the Scions had found a measure of

happiness and stability, even if they knew this

isolation would be temporary. And indeed it was.

Gelon and Kytheris spent hours in conversation

with Odysseus, explaining to him their mission to

establish the worship of the Holy Triad. Seeing as

how this new philosophy meshed so well with his

desire to reinstate a nobler cult of Ares, Odysseus

could not deny that is arrival at this tent city in the

middle of nowhere seemed to have been decreed by

his god. Gelon provided Odysseus with a copy of

the Tome of the Holy Triad, leaving him and his

followers free to choose their next move. To

Odysseus the message was very clear, and with the

backing of his followers, he joined the Scions,

becoming the third leader of the Scions; at last the

three allies were together again.

Though far removed from the conflicts of the

world, the Scions found the world suddenly

intruding into their lives: on a day like any other,

the settlement received unannounced visitors from

upriver; looking more like corpses than men,

slumped like rag dolls on their makeshift boats, the

visitors washed up at the shores of the tent city.

Through their plainclothes and gauntness, Kytheris

recognized them immediately for what they were,

devotees of Ares. At Gelon’s insistence the visitors

were taken in, their wounds treated, in spite of the

general feeling of distrust. To Gelon, however, this

was no coincidence; the Aresi had arrived at their

shores by divine decree, and it was now up to the

A New Home

Odysseus brought to the Scions a youthful and

energetic leadership that Gelon and Kytheris could

only marvel at. The riverbank site that had been

their temporary home was made permanent and

settled; with unending hours of grueling work the

ruins were refurbished and walls built to encompass

the old tent city. Farmers spread out on the valley

settling in various farmsteads; skilled workers

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resumed their traditional roles, making the

community fully self-sufficient in less than a

decade.

grew mindless and fanatical, Apollo grew detached

and worldly, and Athena grew selective and

withdrawn, all of them shadows of their former

glory. Followers of the Holy Triad seek to rectify

this situation.

Already too weak to lead on a day-to-day

basis, and desiring more time to spend with his

children, Gelon decided to set up a code of law and

a new leadership. After three full years of life in

their new home, the code of law was put into

effect, civil servants sworn in, and Gelon and

Kytheris stepped down, giving way to the first

elected leading triad. Gelon died one year later, his

mission in life accomplished, the cult he had

originated now strong and vibrant, and in capable

hands.

By reestablishing the worship of the three gods

as a unified entity, followers of the Holy Triad

hope to present a new cosmic situation that will tug

at each divine ally’s core being and bring them

together once again, away from the transmuted

creatures they became, back to the state of

perfection in which they once were. This, they

believe, can be achieved by promoting a worship

of the gods that exalts the perfect synchronicity

they achieve when working as a unified entity, as

well as highlighting the positive virtues of each

god that make this unity possible: Ares is revered

for his passionate martial devotion, Athena for her

tireless watchfulness and honor, and Apollo as the

master of Fate, the perfect oracle. No godly ally is

above the other; each one has a role to fulfill and

each one is given equal due. By this worldly

restoration, the followers of the Holy Triad seek to

bring about the beginning of the new pantheistic

age, and era in which the all the gods can come

together, along with their mortal followers, and

begin a new golden age.

Tenets

The core beliefs of the Scions and the Church of

the Triad, the given appellation for the religious

aspect of the group, lies in the complementation of

the three deities’ spheres of divine influence. The

Church of the Triad seeks to bring back the time of

the holy triad’s pinnacle, and both their religious

and mundane actions are geared towards this goal

with body, heart and soul.

The ethos of the Holy Triad can be summed up

in one word: harmony. The Scions believe that

since the separation of the divine allies, each god—

and everything associated with him or her, in the

mortal and divine realms—had been caught in a

downward spiral. While it is certain each deity

gained a host of new powers, the perfect synthesis

they once experienced was lost. As a result Ares

Organization

Commoners and tradesmen comprise the lay

worshipers. These perform a number of duties,

from farming the land and fishing, to conducting

errands to nearby villages, to specialized trades

RELIGION AND YOUR CAMPAIGN

Religion is one of those aspects of a campaign that is integral and defining, shaping a lot of

the obvious and hidden details of the game world. The Scions of the Holy Triad were written

using the Greek pantheon for a very specific reason: these deities are instantly recognizable

archetypes that everyone knows and can relate to. By using the Greek pantheon as a default,

we present to you both a fully-fleshed organization usable in a Greek-like setting , or an

organization you can easily customize for your own campaign world by replacing your own

gods of War, Protection and Fate for those given here. In fact, you should use your own cam-

paign’s gods if possible, adjusting the details as needed, as this will integrate the Scions

better into the game, thus enhancing your already-made stories, as opposed to having to

create new ones just to make the material fit.

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