Boccob

Boccob

Title(s)
The Uncaring, Lord of All Magics, Archmage of the Deities
Symbol
Eye inside a pentagram
Alignment
Neutral
Portfolio
Magic, Arcane Knowledge, Balance
Favored weapon
Quarterstaff

Boccob (BOK-ob) is usually portrayed as a middle-aged man with white hair wearing purple robes decorated with golden runes. He carries the very first staff of the magi with him at all times. In addition, the Lord of All Magics knows every spell ever created and can travel to any time and dimension. He is the possessor of the only magical library that contains a copy of every potion, spell, and magic item in existence.

Dogma

Boccob teaches that magic is the most important force in the cosmos, and that balance between Law and Chaos, and between Good and Evil, should be preserved. Magic, according to Boccobite dogma, is an energy source of finite extant, and may eventually wane. Boccob promotes the research and creation of new spells and magical items, under the theory that this increases the amount of magic available to everyone.

Clergy

Boccob's clerics are usually neutral, though a small minority are chaotic neutral. Some are lawful neutral, neutral evil, or neutral good. The church does not actively encourage others to study magic, but neither does it discourage them; its primarily concern is balance.

Vestments

Ceremonial garments are purple, enhanced with gold, and decorated with intricate patterns and esoteric symbols. In some temples, the difficulty of deciphering the runes embroidered on a robe is indicative of the level of the priest. The more obscure the runic language, the more important the priest in the temple.

Temples

Official temples (called the Bastions of Knowledge) are rare and are almost all found in only the largest cities. In fact, most places of worship come down to small altars in libraries, schools of magic, or in the home of a worshiper. All Abjura Dolana lodges contain at least a shrine to Boccob, open to all who want to worship. Some priests erect their homes away from civilization, in places difficult to access. However, young priests travel a lot, moving from city to city, from place of knowledge to place of magic, and then celebrate worship on altars more or less improvised.

Boccob favors tall, round towers for his temples and almost all are magically protected from outside interference. Many have colleges for the study of both divine and arcane magic, and visitors are as likely to meet wizards as well as clerics inside.

Visitors to a temple of Boccob usually get a cool greeting at best and are never truly welcomed unless they have some unusual magic item to offer for examination or money to spend on spells, magic items, or information. Most Boccob temples provide magic item identification and a number of divinations to the public.

Beljovac

Boccob's following is large in Haza, most of the worshipers are not able to cast even a cantrip. But the people here believe in the power of magic and know what role it played in the history of their country. The House of Spells can't be missed, it being a large ziggurat built at the edge of town.

The High Administrator is a woman who was born under the shadow of the building, Naj Tajtik. She is in her seventies now but still going strong, with a mind like a steel trap.

Ide Volcar

The Hall of the All-Seeing Eye is a large building in the classical style that can be found opposite the Mausoleum of Grobnica. Boccob worship is very popular in Ide Volcar and people are coming and going from the building at all hours. The wizards and priests here are said to be heavily involved in fundamental research.

Nifan Drabek, a gnome man with a large collection of feather tokens and fondness for picking locks, is the High Administrator.

GICOM

The Cathedral of Magic Arts consists of three massive interconnected towers on the grounds of Summerset College, it is the largest temple to Boccob in the world. One tower is dedicated to teaching and contains many classrooms, labs, workshops, and the like. Another tower is mostly for worship and is where the priests and wizards who live here are housed. The third tower is much speculated about; some think it holds the largest storeroom of magic items within the world, others contend that it is a prison for spellcasters that have become a danger to the world.

A new High Administrator was recently appointed; Agamand Brylleglian, a dwarven man of advanced years. He has had a storied career, starting out as an adventurer, then becoming a mayor in Loveria, before joining Abjura Dolana. After making it to Magister he handed in his staff and spent the next few decades as a farmer in rural Mifora. Only after all that, he joined the church.