Hello friends!

We know that settlements in Torchbearer often have temples and shrines to various Immortals—they’re among the locations you can visit  during the town phase. But the temples and shrines are generic. It’s left to the GM to fill in the details. By default, people in Torchbearer give devotion to many Immortals. Most are simply worshipped collectively as the “Lords.” But it is not uncommon for settlements to pay special attention to a Young Lord: say Yngve the Lord of Sowing, an incarnation of the Lords of Plenty.

These rules are intended to give individual settlements a bit more character by giving you tools to determine which Young Lord a settlement especially reveres. You can also determine which Chaos Immortal (Jotunn) the settlement especially fears and propitiates. These rules are intended to replace the Temples and Shrines section of the Town chapter in Torchbearer.

Use these details to color your settlements and give them character. If you’re making use of the cult rules from Middarmark¹See Sworn to the Young Lords, p. 75, these results can help you determine if a particular cult operates in a settlement. And obviously you don’t need to roll on the Immortal Patrons table if you already know a particular Young Lord holds sway in a settlement: Freydis, Lady of Reaping, is the patron of Sunnås in Middarmark, so there’s no need to roll.

The ‘Age’ category is meant to give a rough idea of how widespread a particular Immortal’s worship is: People throughout Middarmark and beyond (e.g., Gottland, Holmsea and Svanland) often recognize ancient immortals, though it is unusual for them to have truly devoted cults; they are frequently worshipped collectively with the Lords rather than as individuals. The worship of old Immortals is widespread and often more organized—though different peoples often have different names for them. Young Immortals are recently ascended—within the past several hundred years. Their adherents tend to be devoted and vigorous in the pursuit of their patron’s goals.

Temples and Shrines

Temples and shrines in towns gladly offer prayers for weary travelers—for a small donation, of course.

Immortal Patrons

Most settlements have small shrines to various immortals, but most also have one particular patron whom they favor with spells and sacrifice. The GM may choose a settlement’s Immortal Patron or roll 3d6 on the following table:

Roll (3d6)	Immortal Patron	Age	Symbols	Spheres of Influence
3	Lord of the Wild Hunt	Ancient	Hunting horn made of deer antlers and brambles	Terror, fear, hunting, the lost
4	The Shining One	Ancient	A youthful girl, hair not yet plaited in adult braids, adorned with a crown of wildflowers	Youth, health, song, spring
5	Lady of the Winter Hunt	Young	A woman carrying a bundle of skis, spear and bow over her shoulder	Winter travel, storms, winter, death
6	Lord of Strength	Young	A young man seated upon a throne with a naked sword across his knees	Nobility, youth, warriors
7	Lord of Winds and Sailors	Old	A sailor with a cloak made of feathers; wind-blown waves; a mountain wreathed in cloud	Weather, luck, sailors, journeys by sea
8	Lady of Battles	Young	A woman armored and helmed, her great sword held point down before her	Conquest and war, courage, order, protection
9	Lady of Reaping	Ancient	A young woman with a basket overflowing with food; a grim-visaged warrior brandishing a spear	Harvest, death, war, fertility, sex, autumn
10	Lord of Sowing	Ancient	A boar or a naked man with pronounced genitalia	Sowing, plowing fertility, sex
11	Lord of Victory	Ancient	A richly dressed noble figure on a throne with a sheathed sword across his knees	Battle, victory, rulership
12	Hearthmistress, Protector of the Hall	Old	A queen seated upon her throne, a spear and shield at her side; a loom	Hearth, marriage children, weaving, cooking, defense of hearth and home
13	Lord of Forges	Old	Hammer and tongs; a forge; a thickly bearded face	Craft and crafters, swordsmiths, cunning
14	The Huntress	Ancient	Two boar spears crossed; a bare-chested woman crouched; a she-wolf stalking	Hunting, wild beasts, pursuit in love, luck
15	The Dragonslayer	Young	A man painted black and carrying a spear	Heroes, lost causes, valiant death
16	Lord of Mercy	Old	Twin idol with his sister, Lady of Valor; they stand side-by-side. He is a man bearing a drinking horn	Health, healing, recovery, mercy, justice, drinking
17	Lady of Valor	Old	Twin idol with her brother, Lord of Mercy; they stand side-by-side. She is a warrior with a sword and shield	Courage, bravery, fortitude, sharp swords, strong shields, valiant death
18	The Daystar	Ancient	An ouroboros around the sun	Seasons, sunlight, time, summer

Propitiate Immortals

Not all Immortals are beneficent. There are dark powers who seek the destruction of civilization. To keep them at bay, folk make constant sacrifice, hoping to satisfy the dark immortals’ carnal lusts so they do not visit calamity on a settlement.

To determine to whom the folk of this settlement sacrifice—or to determine which cults secretly lurk in the hearts of the guilds and rulers of this place, roll 2d6 on the following table:

Roll (2d6)	Propitiate Immortal	Age	Symbols	Spheres of Influence
2-3	Captain of the Dead Ship	Eternal (Jotunn)	A desiccated hand from which the fingernails have been torn; a ship made of fingernails	Death, undeath, funerals, sailing in storms, curses
4-5	The Stalking Beast	Eternal (Jotunn)	A great black wolf; a shadow in darkness; a giant hand covering the moon	Hunting, wild beasts, eclipse, nightmares, ravening hunger
6-7	Lady of Enervation	Eternal (Jotunn)	A spilled cup; a bent, lamed woman; a giant hand clutching a warrior woman	Servants and thralls, gossip, laziness, time, cold wet weather, curses
8-9	Lord of Whispers	Eternal (Jotunn)	A knife tipped with a drop of blood, a hand over the mouth; a coin stamped with a skull	Politics, trade, succession, assassination, corruption
10-12	Lord of Slaughter	Eternal (Jotunn)	A raven; a dead man; a shattered shield; a giant crushing a powerful warrior	Ravens, ambush, battlefields, battle madness, murder

Pray at the Shrine

A traveler may pray at the shrine of the Immortal Patron or propitiated Chaos Immortal of this place.

Make Sacrifices

You may entreat the priests of this settlement to make sacrifices on your behalf. You may sacrifice to the Immortal patron or you may sacrifice to a Jotunn Immortal to try to ward off bad luck.

• Increase lifestyle cost by 1 to represent the sacrifice and roll 3d6 on the Immortal Omens table below.
• Before rolling on the table, you may test Theologian to call upon the proper Immortals. If successful, you may choose to keep the result that you roll or the next higher result. If you fail, subtract your margin of failure from your result.
• You may leave a substantial offering—something magical, something worth at least 3D of cash or something unique to the Immortal—and gain +1 to the roll.
• You may make a propitiate offering to the Chaos Immortal who holds sway over your fate: +1 to the Immortal Omens Table roll; increase lifestyle cost by 1.

Immortal Omens Table (3d6)

2	Immortal Darkness: You have angered the combined council of Chaos Immortals and they curse your prayers to the abyss. You may not pray to the Immortals at the temple or anywhere (including clerics!) until this curse is lifted.
3	Hyrm’s Notice: The shade of someone or something you killed but failed to put to rest stalks you. It acts as a barrow wight, disturbed spirit or draugr and grows closer with each town phase, waiting for you in the darkness.
4	Slaughterer’s Boast: The Lord of Slaughter sings of your deeds. Add one opponent to each kill conflict until the next town phase.
5	Whispers: The Lord of Whispers stains your reputation. +1 Ob to all Circles, Manipulator, Persuader and Orator tests until the next town phase.
6	The Stalking Beast spurns you: No game or fowl to be hunted while you are in the wilderness until the next town phase. Not even a mouse. Any attempt to hunt advances the grind and automatically results in a twist.
7	Curse of Slow Blood: The Lady of Enervation mocks you. You gain the exhausted condition.
8	Death Omen: You see an item, symbol or spell you will soon encounter. Take the angry or afraid condition.
9	Baying of the Wild Hunt: Dogs bark and fight outside the temple, drowning out the prayers of the priests within. All invocations fail during this town phase and automatically result in a twist.
10	The Immortals are deaf to your pleas.
11	Wind’s Laughter: The weather suddenly changes. Roll for new weather.
12	Swan of Blood: A raven lands on your sacrifice and pecks away a piece before flying off.
13	Glory of Elves: You are visited with a vision of events to come. You see a flash of a place or person you will soon encounter. You may remove the angry or afraid condition once any time before the encounter comes to pass.
14	The Huntress’s Wisdom: +1 to camp events while outdoors until the next town phase.
15	Hearthmistress’s Favor: +1 to town events and +1D to requests for hospitality until of your current adventure.
16	Favor of the Lord of Forges: +1D to craft skills until the end of your current adventure.
17	Gift of the Shining One: Any conditions you suffer are cured and you become fresh.
18+	Immortal Boon: Add +1D to all tests for class skills during your current adventure.

Sacrifice Lifestyle Cost: 1 plus 1 if making a propitiate offering.