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In the 1490s DR, the Church of Umberlee remains chaotic in the sense that ranks, titles, and vestments vary from temple to temple across Toril.
However, the list of titles you cite is in rough rank order, so yes, a Wavemistress or a Wavelord would head a temple.
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@TheEdVerse I'm on the Forgotten Realms Wiki bc I have a priestess of Umberlee and she's by no means a novice and I was wondering if the titles listed here were in order of rank or if they're all equal bc we have a Wavelord and he's the head of the temple
Jul 12, 2023 · 1:47 AM UTC
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Here's a rank order followed in many temples of Umberlee on the Sword Coast, lowest to highest: Untaken (novices, no rank)/Tide Rider (accepted into the clergy, lowest-ranked of priests; "Rider" in short)/Breaking Wave ("Wave")/Flood Tide ("Tide")/Dark Breaker...
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... ("Breaker" in colloquial shortform)/Puissant Undertow ("Under" and also marking the highest church rank considered "underpriests," with all higher rank being "senior clergy")/Wave of Fury ("Varrwave")/Savage Seawind ("Wind")/Wavemistress and Wavelord (never...
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...shortened, and equal in rank to each other).
In SOME temples, a novice is a 1st level cleric, a Rider is a 2nd, a Wave is 3rd, a Tide is 4th, a Breaker is 5th, an Under is 6th, a Varrwave is 7th, a Wind is 8th, and the temple head can be any level above that.
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The "level gap" between 9th level and whatever level the Wavelord or Wavemistress (and there are more of the latter than the former, in this faith) is filled with specialized temple rank titles (in ascending rank order: infirmarer, cellarer, steward, and prior...
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... [who's also head of temple security/internal discipline within the clergy]), plus several others between cellarer and steward, if the temple is large enough.
However, it's unwise to think that this rank structure is followed clearly at every temple of Umberlee.
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"Varrwave" is derived from a long-ago Wavemistress, Varra Himril, who ordered her temple that way and named the rank after herself (with the typical humility of this priesthood [=sarcasm]).
If you see "Dread" in front of a church title, it means the holder is a...
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...Waveservant or True Servant of the Wave (specialty priest subclasses who have their own personal pledges and oaths to the goddess, who can possess their bodies at will and work or speak directly through them).
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