The Ring-Givers

Give and ithers will give to you.

- Factol Ingwe of the Ring-Givers

Sect Philosophy

The universe belongs to those who can give it up. A berk only gets as good as she gives: Whatever a great blood gives away comes back to her. If she can give her last morsel and convince other to do likewise, all the universe will be laid at her feet. barmy as this might sound to a tiefling on the streets of Sigil, in Ysgard it actually seems to work.   The lust fro material things binds a soul to the universe, keeping a berk in debt to it: poverty releases it from bondage to the world. The multiverse is a set of sticky traps to catch the greedy. A berk who ignores it can control herself and the universe.   Through poverty, a cutter gains her heart's desire: peace, power, or affinity to the gods. A great leader gives everything to her followers. A great magician spends all she has to gather knowledge, and a great priest devotes her life to a power.

Primary Plane of Influence

the Ring-givers are slowly gathering power around the Great Ring, but at the cost of seeing their beliefs interpreted differently on other planes. They are powerful in Ysgard and Limbo, and rapidly gaining followers in Pandemonium (if a basher doesn't have much, it isn't hard to give it up) and - oddly enough - among tieflings and bards in the Abyss. Abyssal Ring-givers believe the universe owes them something in exchange for their gifts. These Ring-givers can make pacts with Tanar'ri that the fiends (sometimes) honor for a time, and for this reason they are sought after as guides in the Abyss.

Allies and Enemies

Though they share the same plane, the Bargainers and the Fated hate each other. The Fated can take what they want from the Bargainers (and do), but they always seem to pay for it in the end. The Bargainers consider the Sensates depraved, willingly throwing themselves into the multiverse's traps. The Ring-givers are allied with the Ciphers: both agree that action is the key. the Ciphers just don't know that giving is the right action.

Eligibility

The Ring-givers are open to all races, classes, and alignments, though lawful and evil members are less common than chaotic and good ones. Its priests serve powers of ideas and abstraction. no Ring-giving priest serves a power of material things, like creation, wealth, or the elements.

Benefits

Anyone who accepts gifts is obliged to the Ring-giver. The Bargainer gains a +1 to +4 adjustment to their charisma skill cheks with that person, depending on the gifts value. In addition, once per level a Ring-giver can claim a favor from an NPC no more powerful than twice her own level Hit Dice. The favor depends as much on the NPC as on the Bargainer: Abyssal lords provide much smaller favors than petitioners. The DM must judge the Ring-giver's generosity and lack of material things and adjust the NPC' obligation accordingly.

Restrictions

Ring-givers never owe anything: they accept gifts and wealth but always pass them on. they share spells freely and even give magical items away to strangers after a few days. ring-givers neither buy nor sell anything - others provide food and shelter, or they make them for themselves. Evil bargainers never give gifts without claiming favors later.