Church of Similius

(This is a slightly extended version of what was posted on my Tumblr a couple weeks ago)

Yes, I have a church in my game, but it’s not a typical religion. The green plumbob happens to be their logo as they simply praise the green bars - at least officially… I had them in TS3, and now they are back to help forming the community structure. They claimed to be treated on the level of high nobility, highly respected and of course with what privileges that might bring them, but with slightly different rules and traditions :)

First picture shows Hippotanius Dipperwell, the 1st Priest in my region after their new church was built in Year 102. He is seen as the founder. There used to exist a much older cathedral in Windenburg, but that was used in the era of the Jacobian faith (cathedral damaged during the big war, now part of the ancient ruins).

The Dipperwell household resides at Rivercrest in Newcrest. Their home is humble, but with a certain standard just to signalize their power. There are many rumors about them, as hardly anyone were invited inside, except their servant who had access to only 4 rooms (and who probably was the source of some of those rumors...). These days they have no servant, it works just fine when the females of the house take on those duties. The Priest's wife serves both the Church of Similius' gift shop as well as the café (only in Summer), but other than that she lives a filthy and not so happy life. It's seen as an honor though, serving the Priest, and she normally accepts her faith from the day she marries him.

They have many children in order to secure the position, but there are many rules that must be met in order to keep the Priest in the family. Only males can have this position (no idea why, as females do have green bars, too), the man must not yet be married, must not have any children, and must come from one of the Monasteries of Similius. And finally - the hardest requirement: He must have green eyes! The most local Monastery is located on Isle of Windenburg, and I'll show you that place in a later post.

The church was built in Gloom Garden (the huge park in Willow Creek) year 101-102. It serves the community with weddings and funerals (mostly the nobility though, as the fees are insane!). They also arrange the Green Bars Festival, and as mentioned, there is a gift shop and a café.

This photo was taken recently, when Trompador Dipperwell (Hippotanius’ son) stepped back and his son again, Antonius, was ordained as Priest of Similius. The new Priest looks a bit worried, or? As seen, old Trompador was a knight of the Order of the Golden Lion, honored by the King in Year 169 for Trompador’s work with the church. (can't link to the residents registry because this household is not included until next update (end of Y223).

Antonius Dipperwell is the current Priest, but as he had no sons (yet), it seems like he will be the last Priest descending directly from Hippotanius. He is still young though (his wife being much older), so he might last for as long as I need a Priest for my game, LOL. Because his eyes are brown he can never become the church's High Priest.

Their robe and hat are quite unique, note the hat and nose are both pointing forwards. The funny hair is actually a wig, but each Priest will get a new matching his true hair color. That nose is a typical genetic thing for the House of Dipperwell. I played them for 3-4 generations, and the nose is still hanging in. Sons who do not become Priest are sent to the Monastery on Windenburg’s Isle when 15, especially if they have green eyes, and seeing all those forward pointing noses in the Monastery garden makes me smile :)

The  church has a ceremonial bow with photo of the plumbob on green or black silk. It's mainly worn for church ceremonies, and has nothing to do with House of Dipperwell. They normally won't attend gala dinners, but the Priest might wear the Similius bow at some formal receptions. His wife will not, as she and the children are not allowed to wear anything that is not strictly needed. No jewelry, no socks, no stash whatsoever. Unless it's freezing cold they won't even wear shoes!

I think I will need to make another blog post later with more details on this family. There are rules even for the kids.