The Order of the Shrub

The Order of the Shrub is a militant earth based religion founded by three former soldiers who were required to spend an extended period of concealment within a forest. Each one had prior to being concripted into service, been a born into the same a nomadic clan who had formerly lived in this area. As the conflict increased in intensity greater damage to the surrounding life was being sustained. In response to this the three denounced their loyalty as soldiers and swore a series of oaths to protect and rebuild the waning plant life.

As the story goes they each then went thier seperate ways adopting two children each orphaned by the fighting around them. This began the standing tradition of small tactical groups consisting of one master and deciples. Education of iniciates includes not only the extensive dogma associated with the order, but foraging, natural medicine, and wild scaping. This is further complemented by ranged weapon skills, booby trapping, and various other gorilla tactics.

Individual teams rarely meet, but a code originally developed by the founders is still used for the purpose of cooridination and general comunication.

Members are not considered to be fully initiated until an understanding of the basic teachings have been developed, as well as when loyalty and conviction are proven to the satisfacion of the master instructing the individual. Upon being fully initiated a special set of symbols are passed on proving to any who encounter there messages that the author is a true follower of the Order of the Shrub.

Function: The Oaths

Function is that aspect of the religious order which defines its purpose, its goals, and its guilding principles. It is embodied by a series of oaths. Delete any oaths from the following list:

  • Oath of Visitation
    • know not to upset the balance around you, and stay near the path- our land is unsafe.
  • Friend's Oath
    • Hospitality and safety are yours only when given, it is this way with all things here
  • Oath of Initiation
    • Learn our secrets only if you will learn our ways
  • Membership Oath
    • If you would be one with the order, be certain that is your choice and it will always be.
  • Oath of Envoy
    • Let the forest speak for you, and you may speak for the order.

Order: Structure and Governance

Order is the aspect of a religious order which defines the roles of its members, its organizational structure, its leadership and how that leadership is chose, as well as its rules of conduct. Next pick the form of governance:

  • Anarchy

Form: Liturgy and Monasteries

Form is the aspect of a religious order which defines its outward identity. It can also be thought of as the physical aspect of the order, especially as its liturgical requirements are manifest in various kinds of physical plant. Pick the highest form you want your order to have:

  • Primary Forest with other local ecosystems

Statistics

Function Statistics

The primary part of the statistic of the covenant's Function is its Creed?. The secondary part is its Agenda?, which is a measure of the current activities and plans of the religious order as expressed by the upholding of members' oaths.

  • creed: 80
  • agenda: 80

see function statistics creation

Form Statistics

The primary part of the Form's statistic is its Identity. The secondary part of the statistic is its Assets? which represents the distinguishing physical assets which are considered owned or controlled by the religious order (buildings, areas, shrines, artifacts).

  • identity: 28
  • assets: 15

see form statistics creation

Order Statistic

The primary part of the Order's statistic of the Order is its Governance?. The secondary part is its Authority? which represents the degree to which the leadership structure is heeded by the entire membership, accepting the roles specified by the leaders and following rules established by the leaders.

  • governance: 5
  • authority: 5

see order statistics creation

Traits

traits for Religious Order objects are:

  • Unary traits:
    • informedness (Order)
      • defined as degree to which its history informs its decision-making process
      • 80
    • locatability (Form)
      • defined as the tendency of the covenant to own physical area including buildings, nodes, towers and land
      • 15
    • expectations (Function)
      • defined as the desired quality of the devotion the members have toward the covenant as it will affect the ability to be creative
      • 85
  • Binary traits:
    • orderliness (Order over Form)
      • defined as a measure of the influence the covenant tries to have on its individual members
      • 70
    • aesthetics (Form over Function)
      • defined as the value the covenant places on the quality as well as quantity of art and music
      • 75
    • relevance (Function over Order)
      • defined as the covenant's propensity to understand the needs and concerns of its ordinary members
      • 30
    • adaptiveness (Order over Function)
      • defined as the covenant's propensity to react to other covenants and external variables
      • 80
    • acquisitiveness (Form over Order)
      • defined as the tendency to acquire wealth and physical objects
      • 15
    • idealism (Function over Form)
      • defined as the degree to which the ideals of the covenant try to rule its form
      • 90
  • Trinary traits:
    • orthodoxy (Order over Form over Function)
      • defined as resistance to change
      • 90
    • affluence (Form over Function over Order)
      • defined as resistance to damage to the covenant due to the assets available in hard times
      • 25
    • fidelity (Function over Order over Form)
      • defined as the resistance to the mundane which derives from members' faithfulness to the oaths of the covenant
      • 80

Stories

How the "Mind" of the Order of the Shrub Thinks About Itself

The three Works of the Shrub influence how its members perceive the world. The first Work of the Shrub consists mostly of stories about the forests where the order holds sway. It is called The Story of the Wood?. The second Work of the Shrub is much longer, detailing the many times members of the order have held to their oaths. It is called The Tome of Growth?. The final "book" barely fills a single page, documenting what little there is to tell about the rare attempts of one member or another to influence the rest. It is called The Scroll of the Wind in the Trees?.

The same stories are also important for the AIs which control the NPCs who are members. Those same NPCs may react in some conversations by telling the stories if they think they are appropriate to the discussion.

See also Covenants and Religious Orders — Ennaja? - 23 Dec 2003