Sigil: The City of Doors

Believers of the Source (Godsmen)



The Believers in the Source, often called Godsmen, believe that all beings are being tested, ascending or descending in an eternal cycle of reincarnation, until they become like gods. They include mystics, hardened adventurers, those who’ve overcome great tragedy, and beings of every race imaginable. Some Godsmen seek out the greatest challenges they can to test themselves, while others prefer to shepherd others thru the tests that life invariably throws. In Sigil they are based in the Great Foundry, while on the planes they are welcomed in many villages and call the Fading Palace in the Ethereal Plane their headquarters.

Philosophy: Everyone is tested and reincarnated until they become a supreme being. When everyone has ascended, the multiverse ends. Godsmen spend a lot of time in the Ethereal Plane studying.

Plane of Influence: The Ethereal Plane.

Headquarters: The Great Foundry.

Allies: The Athar and the Doomguard.

Enemies: The Bleak Cabal and the Dustmen.

Factol Ambar Vergrove: Courteous and kind, beloved by all.

Rising in the Ranks:
To become a factotum, you must have a mentor. When the mentor thinks you are ready, you must go before a factor and go through tests, puzzles and challenges tailored to your fears and weaknesses.
To become a factor, you go through a secret test in the Deep Ethereal.

Lore:

• Source Tokens: Some factotums have these magical stones that allow you to enter the Ethereal Plane at will from anywhere in the multiverse. It's a consumable item, so each one only works once. Source tokens are made in a secret forge in the Great Foundry and are usually given to factotums who are on specific missions. They can manifest aspects of a past life. Each pouch has 12 tokens. When you break one, a creature materializes. It could be a tree, a horse, an owlbear, an ogre, or lots of other amusing creatures. The creature obeys you. It's a materialized form of one of your unconscious memories.

Background:

• Skill Proficiencies: History, Survival
• Tool Proficiencies: Smith's tools, one musical instrument
• Equipment: Smith’s tools, a musical instrument you are proficient in, a set of common clothes including a faction badge sewn into them, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp.
• Feature: Foundry Apprentice. Members of the Believers are well-disposed to you and you may be able to persuade them to hole you up or loan you a uncommon item. You have access to Ambar's Palace on the Ethereal Plane where the factol often gives performances and invites allies. You know of a portal there, and have a key to that portal, as well.
• Suggested Characteristics: Godsmen are optimistic people, hard-working, dedicated, and occasionally a bit reckless in their challenge-seeking. Their bravery and boldness is sometimes their undoing, and their trust of others can be problematic.
• Godsmen Membership:It is generally common for Believers to choose classes that are very physical in focus. Front-line melee classes like fighters and barbarians who take a lot of hits give the Godsmen plenty of opportunity to try and learn from their mistakes and errors, while more fragile classes like wizards and sorcerers have less room for error. To a Believer, failure is a learning experience, so being able to fail without wasting your resources is important. Believers are also attracted to nature-oriented classes such as druids and rangers, as the emphasis of the equality of all things extends to the beasts of the world, and the patterns of natural selection provide a proving ground for the ever-greater perfection they feel is going on in themselves and others as well - a druid Godsmen might be transforming into their past lives, and a ranger Godsmen may have a beast companion that they believe to have the soul of a respected mentor or family member.

Renown Godsmen Restriction: Raise dead and resurrection do not work on you, though reincarnation does. Accepting aid during your personal tests is seen as beneath a true Godsman, and doing so prevents you from gaining Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction’s cause. Death is seen as merely a personal test, so accepting a raise dead would prevent you from gaining Inspiration, though reincarnation would not.
Lessons Learnt You have a mentor to assist you along the path to become a supreme being. This mentor will grant you the ability to use his wisdom to aid you along your path. When making a Intelligence-based skill check, you may choose to have advantage on the roll, recalling something your mentor has taught you. This ability may be regained after a short rest. In addition, when working on a mission for the Godsmen, they will provide you with additional items upon request (within reason)
Past Lives. You can spend Inspiration to recall a bit from one of your past lives, gaining proficiency in a language or tool of your choice for the next hour.
Well Received. Godsmen are usually well-received on the planes, and initial reactions toward you are generally helpful.
Sense Divinity. As an action, you can sense the divine spark in a creature that you can see. You learn if the creature is an avatar, cleric, demigod, petitioner, proxy, or even a disguised god itself! While you do get a sense which of these categories (if any) the creature falls into, you don’t learn which god it is associated with.
Ethereal Hustle. Godsmen are familiar with the nature of the Ethereal Plane and know how to traverse it. Anyone traveling with a Godsman in the Ethereal Plane may move x2 faster to their destination.
Reincarnation. When you die, a reincarnate spell automatically affects you after 1d4 days.