You have entered the temple of Inari, in her capacity as the Goddess of Foxes.
You walk down an elegant white gravel pathway between full-grown pines. Stone lanterns provide a pure white light to the path, while casting elegant shadows among the trees.
At the end of the pathway, a bright red gate stands. A large fox carved from white alabaster gleams at each side of the gate. As you pass between the foxes and through the gate, you feel the presence of the goddess. Gentle and caring, but mischievous and lighthearted, you are never quite certain what will happen.
Past the exquisite formal gardens, you finally step into the pagoda itself. There, at the end of chamber is a raised dais. There rests a statue of a beautiful vulpine woman, flanked by two snow-white celestial foxes. Offerings of rice and incense stand before the statue.
In a niche off to the right side of the door sits a Fox-Cola vending machine. Next to the coin slot, the sign reads "10 cp".
To the left side of the door is a magic mirror. This mirror is actually a portal to Trog's Tavern.
Profile for Inari
Spoiler
Show
Alignment Chaotic Good
Primary Domains Good, Plant, Chaos, Healing
Secondary Domains Magic, Sun, Animal, Trickery, Knowledge, Water
Forbidden Domains Evil, Law, War, Death, Destruction
Priest Granted Powers
Rice Paddy Once per day. As <i>Entangle</i>, but the ground changes to knee-deep mud, and instead of creepers, mature rice plants twist and writhe to grapple anything in the area.
Sushi Bar Once per day. You create rice, fish, and sake. You can create enough to feed one medium sized creature for each two caster levels.
Summon Celestial Fox Special. You summon an image of Myobi (if you are a priestess) or Myobu (if you are a priest). The fox has HD equal to your level plus your wisdom bonus. In combat, the fox fights the same as a normal fox, but with appropriate bonuses for HD.
Inari is the goddess of rice: The plant itself. The cultivation of it. The products made from it. She has countless billions of worshipers spread across the various planes of existence. Foxes are her children. Inari created foxes to watch over the grain and eat the birds and rodents that would destroy the sacred plant. Kitsune are her especial messengers: sacred foxes endowed with the ability to take on human or elvish form. Inari is an agricultural and racial goddess. She is concerned predominantly with nurturing and growth. She is good, but it is the quiet good of the countryside rather than the formalized good of high society. We don't go on crusades. We don't try to win converts or convince people to change their beliefs. We don't really feel a conflict with "evil" beings at all, unless they threaten us directly. Finally, since rice is a critical component in many economies across the multiverse, she is revered as a goddess of wealth and prosperity as well.
The worship of Inari is mostly personal. The sanctuary is open for prayer and meditation as you feel led. There is a small ceremony at dawn every day, where the main sacred fires are lit. There is a celebration at the full of the moon each month, and a quiet time of prayer at the dark of the moon. There are major ceremonies and holidays at the times of rice planting, transplanting, and harvest. The fox festival is held at the time when the wild cousins give birth. We feed them a special treat made with rice wrapped in fried bean curds. Otherwise, the temple does not hold regular formal services.
Inari is not overly fond of ceremony: for it is not ceremony that will lead you to enlightenment.
All things have a spirit, and the spirit is in all things. But this perception is dulled by the impurities of physical life, and you fail to reach your true potential due to this. It is therefore in your best interest that you seek for purity in your emotions and your mind; for through that purity, your spirit may shine through. Ceremony is of limited value because the quest for purity begins and ends with your inner self. This is why the main altar generally houses a mirror, not a statue, on the altar.
The state of purity is difficult to explain, because it does not mean the same thing to everyone. Only by meditating on your spiritual state can you learn what things hinder you personally. An earnest, honest, open heart is needed for this. The goddess, who can read your very being, can help with this: but it is a private matter between you and her. Therefore we provide a quiet setting: a peaceful sanctuary free from distracting clutter, a quiet garden where you can relax your mind, a serene place where it is easier to distance your true self from your physical self and focus on what needs to be. One more thing: purity is not merely a matter of eliminating that which is "bad". It is also a task of strengthening which is "good". Your task may be to grow in an area of yourself that you have neglected, or imperfectly developed. Regardless of the details, when you know what needs to be done we provide the support, council, and assistance to help you do it.
Profile for Tamamo
Spoiler
Show
Alignment Chaotic Good
Primary Domains Good, Plant, Chaos, Healing, Darkness
Secondary Domains Magic, Sun, Animal, Trickery, Knowledge, Water
Forbidden Domains Evil, Law, War, Death, Destruction
Priest Granted Powers
Darkness Once per day.
Speak with Shadows You can speak with creatures from the Plane of Shadows
Sushi Bar Once per day. You create rice, fish, and sake. You can create enough to feed one medium sized creature for each two caster levels.
Summon Celestial Fox Special. You summon an image of one of the Ninetails. The fox has HD equal to your level plus your wisdom bonus. In combat, the fox fights the same as a normal fox, but with appropriate bonuses for HD.
<Work in Progress... please stand by>
Temple Facilities
Map
Interior wide-angle shot
Everything but the Sanctuary and Garden has Dimensional Lock. The entire facility is Hallowed as per the spell with the Bless effect. A permanent Flame Quench (the reversed form of the 2nd edition Fire Storm spell) is on in a quiescent form on all the buildings. It can be triggered by any full priest.
- Sanctuary: the main sanctuary has the altar. This is where you must pray to speak to the goddess directly. There is a general magic circle in the center of the room.
- Meditation Gardens: accessed through a door at the far end of the sanctuary. This is a standard zen garden with raked gravle, shady nooks, picturesque pines, stone lanterns, and small intricate bridges. An artifical stream hosts large koi, and a grand cherry tree resides on a picturesque island in the middle of a good sized pond.
- Priest's Quarters: accessed by going down the stairs "halfway down the sanctuary, to the right"
Priestly Ranks
Spoiler
Show
The relative power and abilities of priests are driven by their talent, learning, experience, and gifts. The rank of a priest can be recognized most quickly by looking at their robes: the combination of main color and trim uniquely identifies each rank. The following chart summarizes the 7 current ranks and their rough mapping to RPG "levels":
Current Staff
Caroline Primerra (Fenric)
Steven Linde Primerra (LordDeathkeeper)
Helen Avery (firedaemon33)
Arlem Mersienne (Recaiden)
Bloom (Arlem)
Genji Ikari (deleteman900)
Urias Starsailor (Baeleck)
Foxside: The Temple of Inari 55 - So many ships, you'd think it was on the ocean
Reply With Quote