Morr

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Morr is the fictional god of death, sleep, and dreams in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. His brother is Khaine, the evil lord of murder. Morr is similar in some respects to the real world Greek gods Thanatos and Hypnos.

Morr is worshiped throughout the Old World as the god of death and there are shrines or temples to him in almost every town and city in the Empire in his role as the god of death. There are few references or shrines to him with regards to his aspect as god of sleep and dreams.

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[edit] Appearance

Morr's appearance is described as a brooding gentleman, whose role is to guide the dead to his realm. His cult considers him to be a caring god who protects the sleeping and the dead.

Morr's symbols include the black rose, the raven, and a stone post-and-lintel doorway.

[edit] Beliefs

Morr is believed to reside in a shadow realm or underworld where the spirits of the dead rest in harmony and peace. When a human dies their soul is guided into Morr’s realm and judged. If they were a loyal and worthy follower to another god the soul is then escorted to a special smaller part of the shadow realm to live with that god and its other followers under some sort of luxury provided by their god as thanks for there faithful service in life . Priests of Sigmar believe that they will be with him in the afterlife, while many followers of Ulric believe that they will be taken to a forest of eternal winter to fight and die in berserker fury forever. Many other gods promise special afterlife’s for there followers as well.

Some who die have problems in reaching the kingdom of Morr to find rest. Some are simply hindered by necromancy and must therefore stay in the mortal world until they are freed from this evil magic by a priest of Morr. Others are instead consumed by the dark gods or one of their daemons, these unfortunate souls are lost forever, their existence are put to a brutal end and it is as if they never were.

But most who die are neither taken to live with another god after death nor eaten by daemons instead most simply find rest in Morr’s serene kingdom.

[edit] Allies and Enemies

Morr's principle enemies are Khaine, the lord of murder, and anyone who prevents him from receiving souls that are rightfully his, e.g. those who practice Necromancy.

Morr is presented as the husband of Verena, the goddess of justice, and in some stories of the setting, father of Myrmidia, goddess of war. He is also father of Shallya, goddess of healing.

[edit] Organised Worship and Orders

Although the cult of Morr is an established religion in the Old World, most people pay homage to Morr during funerals and avoid his cult the rest of the time. Many worship Morr but few do so as their primary deity. The cult is not centrally organized, and each local temple/funerary house is independent. The most senior temple is located in Luccini, Tilea, where a convocation is held every ten years and matters of doctrine are discussed.

The cult of Morr does have a number of priests, and at least two orders, the Order of the Shroud, which tends to Morr's funerary rites, and the Augurs, which tends to Morr's function as a source of divination and oracle.

The cult of Morr also include the Black Guard, dedicated knights and templars who act as the military wing of the cult, charged with assisting the cult in its duties. This involve protecting shrines and churches and escorting traveling priests. The most important role of the Black Guard is hunting down and destroying those who would disturb the work of Morr, such as necromancers and the living dead, especially vampires.

An unofficial group working in Morr's name is the Fellowship of the Shroud, which is dedicated to actively destroying undead creatures and necromancers. This group, which is organized as a monastic order, is at odds with the less vigorous mainstream cult of Morr, and there is some friction between the two, within the setting.

[edit] Sources

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition, Black Industries, 2005: Heirs to Sigmar, Black Industries, 2006: Warhammer Fantasy Battle Rule Book all Editions, Black Industries, 1986-2006: Witch Killer by C.L. Werner, Black Industries, 2006

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