Scavver Religions and Rites



Scavver Faith

Whether an individual Scavver or even a whole Caravan is religious or not is dependent on their own preferences and upbringing. Some Caravans, such as the Tommys, the Owls and the Rainbirds, worship the Whispers of the Wild. Other Caravans might find succor in the faiths of the other Free Tribes or even the other Archfactions. Most Caravans tend to be unkindled to a particular religion, with individual Scavvers making that personal decision for themselves. 

Most of the Scavver Caravans do not subscribe to any specific faith beyond trusting in themselves and their families. Those who have enkindled piety in their hearts and build shrines to divinities subscribe to the Whispers of the Wild. The Owl Caravan, the Rainbird Caravan, and the Tommy Caravans are examples of Scavvers that follow a Wildling Whisper. 



  • OVERVIEW: The Laughing Spider is a teller of stories, a prankster, and a defender of humanity. Many of his tales involve him performing some kind of scheme over other divinities or natural spirits. Some of these fail gloriously.

    SHRINE TYPES: Ancestral, Deep, and Storm

    SYMBOL: A spider within a golden ring

    — Tenet 1: Create beauty and inspire emotion - Evoke passion and feelings from everyone around you. Pranks can inspire laughter or anger, but music and artwork can motivate others toward greater things or push the reluctant against the status quo.

    — Tenet 2: Be bold and drink deep from the cup of life - Safety is stagnancy. Risks must be taken and opportunities grasped. At the same time, triumphs must be celebrated and vices indulged. Carouse after incredible victories or attempt dangerous gambles.

    SIN: Mundanity -- it is taboo to live in fear of change and danger.

    WORSHIPERS: Tommy Caravan and related Caravans.

    CLERGY: Laughing Shamans serve as repositories for stories, myths, and legends. They are teachers and caretakers, as well as collectors of news and knowledge. Some even make their trade in secrets.

  • OVERVIEW: The Nightseer takes the shape of a ghostly owl in whose shadow the stars can be seen. It is a fortune teller and a guide to souls.

    SHRINE TYPES: Ancestral, Deep, and Primal

    SYMBOL: An owl in flight

    — Tenet 1: Keep the memory of the dead: Many Death Takers are performers of funeral rites, ensuring that the deceased are remembered and celebrated (or cursed, if they were wrongdoers). Be respectful to every creature that is slain, both friend and foe.

    — Tenet 2: Prepare for your death: Live a life of virtue and piety. This also means never acting in haste, unless the time is right for such things. Life is to be lived, not rushed through.

    SIN: Obstruction -- Engaging in Necrotheurgic magics or becoming an Eldritch Abomination is taboo for the Nightseer’s followers.

    WORSHIPERS: The Owl Caravan and related Caravans.

    CLERGY: Owl Shamans preside over funerals and births. They may also serve as healers to delay death from the faithful and lorekeepers, recording the lives and deaths of their people.

  • OVERVIEW: The Rainbringers are not one bird, but many smaller brightly colored birds that herald times of plenty and verdancy. They are not only carriers of seeds but clouds of bountiful rain also follow in their wake.

    SHRINE TYPES: Ancestral, Storm, and Verdant

    SYMBOL: A small bird beneath a broad leaf.

    — Tenet 1: Mercy and Compassion - Just as the Rainbringers show mercy, so too must the followers of these Whispers show kindness and compassion to others, even those outside of their community or faith. Food and medicine are offered to those in need.

    — Tenet 2: Filial Devotion - Respect of parental and other filial figures is a core responsibility for these Whispers’ followers. Such is the sanctity of the familial unit that these faiths require that all be set aside to ensure the happiness and health of one’s family.

    SIN: Disrespect - Befouling the land with vile magics or allowing such afflictions to continue is taboo for the Rainbringers.

    WORSHIPERS: The Rainbird Caravan and related Caravans

    CLERGY: Rain Shamans are ritual leaders and spiritual guides but also healers, midwives, and similarly respected herbalists that are sought after for their curative abilities with spell and/or herb.

Scavver Tenets

  • Covey and Caravan First: In a world of horrors and hazards, a Scavver is expected to be able to lean on their Caravan in times of trouble. Thus, helping a fellow Cove is often prioritized over strangers and outsiders. Only one’s family and one’s self takes greater precedence over the welfare of the Caravan. Unfortunately, this tenet does not rectify the disparity of wealth within the community, though the gap between Fringers and Covey is not utterly impassable.

  • The Laws of Picking: (1) Only the living can have possessions. Therefore, looting the dead is permissible. (2) Your family/Caravan have secondary ownership to your items when you die. A virtuous Scavver may do their best to bring recovered possessions to a dead person’s family. (3) You own something if you pick it up unless it belonged to someone else first - except for Components which belong to anyone that has them.

  • The Pilot’s Word: Just as the Caravan is important to each of its members, Scavver society expects its people to follow the edicts of the Caravan’s Pilot. These folk are raised up from their peers for their wisdom and their guidance, as well as their influence. Adherence to these edicts and following these commands may mean the difference between a Caravan’s doom and their survival. 

    This reverence goes both ways of course, a Pilot that consistently abuses their power and refuses to relinquish their office may find themselves in the midst of a mutiny. This is especially true for those Pilots that don’t have control over their Grackles/Wagon-Watchers. 



Life Rites


Birth

A Scavver Caravan is usually on the move, but they stop for the birth of one of their own. Whether Pilot, Cove or Fringer, all newcomers to the Caravan are welcomed with a small feast. More religious communities typically perform a rite or invoke their divine patron.

Depending on the condition of the mother, packing up the camp is performed on the next day or after a few days if the birth was a troubled one. Regardless of their social status, mothers and children are allowed to ride a wagon or a pack animal for the next few weeks. Younger children are always allowed to ride on wagons, so the Caravan is not slowed down on its travel. As soon as a child is able to perform chores, they are tasked with menial tasks to prepare them for Caravan life. 

Adulthood

For the Scavver Caravans, becoming a fully fledged adult is awarded at 17-19 years of age. At this point, the child has accrued enough knowledge and experience to perform the necessary maintenance and gathering that is a daily part of being a Cove. At that point, they are permitted to go on scavenging trips on their own or continue training under one of the Caravan’s craftsfolk. One’s family may celebrate this achievement alongside the Pilot or one of their Proxies. A clergyperson may also be included to commemorate this occasion, if the family has the will and capacity to have such a rite performed.

Marriage

Like many other Scavver rites, their marriages are private and small affairs. These usually involve the close associates and families of the would-be spouses -- the Pilot is invited to officiate or bless the wedding, though his presence is not required. More spiritual families have a clergyperson officiate the ceremony. 

Wealth

The true mark of wealth for a Cove is the creation of one’s own Wagon. The cost of doing so and the upkeep this requires is a major hurdle for those of insufficient standing and wealth. Those who do not have a wagon of their own or a family’s wagon to call their own become Fringers. 

Funeral

For the nomadic Scavvers, their dead are mourned. For many Caravans, the body of the fallen is cremated, their bones buried, and their ashes taken by their family (or hoarded by a Junk-Taker). Some Caravans simply bury the body and take a token to represent the deceased. In all cases, a short, commemorative rite is performed -- the deeds of the fallen are celebrated and their loss is mourned. Typically, the Pilot or the resident Shaman (if any) is responsible for mediating and organizing the ceremony. 



View of the Afterlife

Some Scavvers believe that the world is accursed and they must reincarnate into it over and over. Others believe that they join their ancestors and families in death. More than a few believe that death precedes utter oblivion, a peaceful nothingness without pain. 



Those that believe in the Whispers of the Wild believe that their afterlives are intertwined with that Whisper, especially those that serve a Death Taker. For example, the Owl Caravan has faith that the Nightseer will take their spirits away to a distant haven. On the other hand, the Rainbirds and the Tommys claim that their souls will be joined to their Whispers and give it strength enough to help protect their descendants and families. 

View of Magic

Unless dictated by their beliefs, Scavvers have a very utilitarian view of magic. They will use whatever works well. The Dirtdozers and other technologically focused Caravans are an exception to this and do not have as many resources for magical training as their fellows. Generally speaking, the Scavvers tend to have more Talismongers than any other Tradition, though Animancers are a close second with more spiritual Caravans such as the Owls and the Rainbirds.

Though Necrotheurgy and Xenotheurgy have bad reputations, the Scavvers take to these if they are drawn to them. Provided that the Arcanists and Channelers involved do not go mad with power, the rest of the Caravan treats them normally as their kin. They even lend these spell users their much needed support and healing for when the magic becomes a burden. For these folk, the unity of the Caravan trumps the differences between its people.