Talk:Maria Angelica

The Philadelphia Concordia Society / The Temple of Blessed Concord

 The myth behind the Goddess Concordia dates back to Rome and Greece. In her more austere of Roman incarnations, she is a Goddess of civic virtue. Of the plenty that comes with peace. The clasping hands of the government and its people. Cults to Concord exist throughout the world, typically entreating the Goddess for the peace and comity of her presence. No less so here in Philadelphia, where a cult has sprung up to help facilitate the dealings of the Supernaturals within the city.

 Members meet to share information, spread necessary news, and resolve the differences of their various groups with diplomacy and reason. So that it need not spill out onto the streets in other ways. The first three tiers of membership form the religious core of the temple, while the leadership ranks are populated more by acclaim than religious conviction. They are chosen because they are good at their jobs, not because they are zealous adherents to Blessed Concord. Which is how Blessed Concord likes it.

 : Persuasion (Mediation) - The Novitiate. During one's Novitiate in the Cult of Blessed Concord, one participates in ritualized role-play where different novices take different sides of an issue while a third attempts to find the middle ground. Often the roles switch or reverse during the course of the debate. Novices soon find themselves trained to see both sides of every situation, and with a pavlovian interest in mediating issues they see.

 : Interdisciplinary Discipline: Persuasion (Mediation) - Acolyte. Acolytes of Concord assist the Celebrants in ritual duties about the temple. Having practiced the ritual debates of Concord to the point of rote, they learn how to apply the principles of mediation and diplomacy to all aspects of life. The other's reason may be wedged in all sorts of unexpected ways, and creativity is the only limit.

 : Unseen Sense or Aura Reading - Celebrant. The Clerics of Concord have attained a new level of understanding where middle ground is concerned. Either through the repeated exposure of their diplomatic forays among other powers, or their continued and unending empathy the Clerics find themselves far more aware of the moods and motions of those around them than those untouched by the Goddess.

 : Laying on of Hands or Dream - The Blessed Bishopric. The Bishopric are the proven peacemakers and problem solvers of the temple. Religious leaders? Perhaps. Exemplars of the Concordian principles of civic order and harmony? Absolutely. Celebrants exist for the day to day ritual of the cult. These people have more important matters, such as the needs of the city, to attend to. Their Concordian mercy now expands. Sometimes in the form of visions, sometimes through the capacity to heal with a touch.

 : Concord's Peace (Game Effect) - Cardinale Concordia. The Cardinal of the order is often a rotational position, formed from a majority consent of the Bishopric in the event of an emergency, or the majority assent of the order's Acolyte's and Celebrants in more humdrum moments. No great power accrues to the title of Cardinal, no further esteem or plaudits will decorate their names. What will come is the peace of blessed concord. Blessing by +3 all actions to further civic harmony directly. (ST discretion.). It also penalizes the efforts of those around you to cause such disharmony. Attacks, threats, even supernatural effects intended to disturb the proceedings around a Cardinal of Concord will find their efforts hampered.

When not in active use by the Cardinale, the peace of Blessed Concord resides in her statue within the temple of Concord in Philadelphia. Its effects emanate from there.

Members: