Church of the Almighty Dollar

A cult known only to the Divided States, the church of the almighty dollar arose in the post-Division era, after Washington D.C. had been destroyed and civil order disintegrated. The church of the almighty dollar bills itself as a religion of prosperity and stability, but is really but another mask for the naked greed and self-serving nature of the Banks of the Divided States. Sadly, as there are people who genuinely believe in the cult, its message and its symbol, there are people in the Demiplane of Dread who derive genuine spellcasting power from it.

Background

The Banks of the Divided States survived the Division as an institution by a two-pronged strategy.

• 1: While people still used the dollars in circulation, the Banks hired every thug and mercenary willing to work for pay, organized them into "rolling gangs" and private armies, and rented them out to nascent tyrants and local bullies, thereby attaining influence. Once they had influence, they used their thugs to collect on debts and loans, even though the social order in which these had been created no longer existed. Anyone who failed to pay in full became subject to slavery, with the Banks running the slave trade of the Divided States. They also use these thugs to 'discourage' anyone who would shift to a barter system or create new coins and bills to replace the dollar.
• 2: The Banks capitalized on the fact that the dollar is a rare constant in current society and is seen as a symbol of the glory days of the past to amass spiritual capital by reinforcing its semi-mythical reputation. People who laughed at the idea of an actual 'church of the almighty dollar' soon stopped laughing after the hired thugs paid them a visit.

Creed

Money is not just a way to acquire all the good things of the world, it is the very source of all good things. Acquiring money is its own reward and its own motivation, and no method for doing so is to be forbidden or denounced, save for forgery. Investing money in order to make more money is the greatest of virtues, because it keeps money moving; amassing wealth and keeping it locked away from all others is also laudable, but slightly less virtuous.

Iconography

The main symbol of the church of the almighty dollar is, predictably, a dollar bill. Its unholy symbol is an American eagle, clutching a dollar bill in its talons. This symbol is found tattooed or branded onto the back of all slaves in the Divided States.

Statistics

• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Cleric alignments: Chaotic Evil, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, True Neutral
• Portfolio: Wealth, investment, avarice
• Domains: Greed, Metal, Wealth
• Favored weapon: Revolver

• Prayers: Members of the cult pray at midnight, when they can best hide their wealth.
• Temples: The only temples of the church of the almighty dollar are the offices of the Banks and the official Mint, now located in New Detroit. It is common for priests to bless or desecrate a random site for the purposes of rituals, then abandon it when they move on to their next venture.
• Holy Book: The Great Account reads as a combination history book and economics manual, praising the influence of money as an abstract concept, with the almighty dollar as its supposedly perfected form. Buried among dry summaries of numbers with rambling praise of cold, hard cash are subtle barbs aimed at such 'foolishness' as charity and community.
• Rites: Believers of the cult gather whenever a priest believes it's time to remind people of the church's message. When the faithful gather, it is to hear priests speak of the value of the dollar and the stabilizing influence of money. Lay followers are encouraged to speak of their financial successes and the folly of those they know not to have honored the dollar. Rites end with the presiding priest paying those who have spoken (a minimum of one dollar) and all lay followers present paying the priest for his blessing of their financial ventures and fortunes (a minimum of two dollars). Afterward, the congregation shares alcoholic drinks, often cheap beer. The church only holds rituals at night, owing to the adage that darkness allows one to hide one's wealth more easily. Nights when the moon is waning or new are considered more holy than those when the moon is waxing or full, as the increased light would expose the believers' wealth.

• Taboos: Counterfeiting is the greatest taboo of the church, with attempts to create new coin independent of the Banks, use of foreign coin or even barter just barely behind it. Charity is held as a cardinal sin as well.

Conflict

In the Divided States, there is a measure of strife between the church of the almighty dollar and the church of Marius Albius, because the latter's ritual tithes require gold coins or blood, and will not accept dollars.