Dogs in the Vineyard

Authority of Three
Preserve the Faith and the Faithful

An introduction to the authority of the Dogs

Brother Zachary is the worst thing in Brother Joseph’s world. It’s not just that he’s a sinner, it’s that he’s
unteachable, unreformable. Too mean and too proud.
Brother Zachary is single-handedly destroying Brother Joseph’s branch. But when Brother Joseph goes to
the King of Life for guidance, it’s all: see to his needs, call him to repentance, cultivate him, serve him,
help him, show him compassion. That, after all, is Brother Joseph’s job: look after each person in his
care. The King of Life tells Brother Joseph what’s best for Brother Zachary. Brother Joseph has invested
more time and care and worry in Brother Zachary than in any other single thing in his life.
Your character comes to town. The branch has a septic wound. A thousand resentments, sins waiting to
burst free. If you leave it as it is it’ll tear itself to pieces. Brother Joseph’s doing his very best by
everyone, but it’s stone clear: Brother Zachary will become too much for him to carry. Brother Joseph
will do something terrible, with lots of people caught up in it, and it’ll be bloodshed, sorcery, and
damnation.
Your character doesn’t care what’s best for Brother Zachary, he cares what’s best for the branch. You
have him drag Brother Zachary out of his house and shoot him in the street.
Brother Joseph comes in a rage. “All my work, all my time, all my investment in Brother Zachary’s
salvation! And for what, you kill him!”
“Your job is to heal the wound,” your character says. “My job is to save the body.”

Conscience and Role-Play

Does this mean that your character can’t sin?

No. But it does mean that no one’s in a position to judge your character’s actions but you yourself. Your
character might be a remorseless monster or a destroying angel— I the author of the game can’t tell the
difference, your GM and your fellow players can’t tell the difference, only you can.

The Town Harout’s Rebirth

Something’s Wrong A Territorial Authority soldier Samuel Henry Jacob was wounded in his tour across
the West. His unit stopped through Harout’s Rebirth as his wound began to worsen. The local doctor
Brother Archibald could do naught to help. The Steward Brother Cuthbert sat with Samuel and spoke on
the Faith with him, though Samuel insisted he wouldn’t join the Faith. When Samuel became
unresponsive, the doctor and Steward informed Samuel’s unit that it would be best if they moved on.
The unit commander gave the Steward a letter for Samuel’s family in the overwhelmingly likely case he
died. Steward Cuthbert and Doctor Brother Archibald kept young Samuel comfortable and spoke words
of the King of Life over him, hoping to ease him into the Reward.
Samuel has since miraculously recovered, after being cared for by Sister Anastasia, and he has taken on
many of the more worldly habits of the Faithful. The Faithful have taken to trying to convert him and get
him to marry Sister Florence, Steward Cuthbert’s daughter.

Pride – Stewardship, Women, Marriage

Sister Anastasia believed that she knew better on how to care for Samuel better than Doctor Brother
Archibald and Steward Cuthbert.
Steward Cuthbert has taken a back seat in his Stewardship of his daughter – he is not standing firmly in
the path of her proposed marriage to a Faithless, nor when pressured by Brother Theophilus, whom he
does not believe in the virtue of.
Brother Theophilus believes he is owed the position of Steward when Brother Cuthbert goes to his
Reward or retires, though no one has received such guidance from the King of Life.
The community believes that Brother Cuthbert’s teaching of the Faith is insufficient to protect them
from starvation and tools of the Adversary.
Sister Anastasia believes she is entitled to act as a doctor to men outside of her family, even one who is
Faithless. She also believes she is worthy of the title of Steward.
Some community members believe Sister Anastasia has been provided her usurpations by the King of
Life. Many of the same believe Samuel is a new Prophet of the Faith.
Brother Theophilus believes Sister Florence would be a good match for him as the Steward’s daughter,
to cement his position and the community’s faith in him, but not for love.
The community is pushing Sister Florence to marry a Faithless.
Though Sister Florence does not believe in marrying one who is Faithless, she is not resolutely standing
against it.

Injustice – Role, Righteousness

Brother Cuthbert cannot reach the hearts and minds of many members of his Branch. Sister Anastasia
leads the congregation in hymns and prayer in secret and performs ceremonies of healing, exorcism,
and consecration.
Brother Theophilus cannot court Sister Florence because Samuel has her attention. Brother Theophilus
is facing competition as the Branch’s future leadership from one who is Faithless.
Sister Florence cannot moderate (reject?) the advances of Samuel in good faith because the community
pushes her to marry him and in so doing make him find the Light of the King of Life, and her father does
not instruct her as he is supposed to.
Brother Cuthbert must choose between excommunicating a large part of his Branch, killing Sister
Anastasia and Samuel, or risking the souls of the King of Life’s Faithful.
Brother Theophilus must choose between killing Samuel or losing his courtship with Sister Florence.
Sister Florence must choose between the practice of the Faith or preserving the unity of her Branch.
The community must choose between spiritualism and heresy being taught by Samuel and Sister
Anastasia or the Faith to save them from illness.

Sin –Disunity, Apostasy, Worldliness, Faithlessness

Sister Anastasia is prepared to use the death of Samuel in one form or another to galvanize faith in her
False Doctrine. Though she makes no direct designs herself, she continues to press at the Faithful in
negligent hope that one will act.
Sister Anastasia teaches those in the community who will listen that Samuel is an unwitting and
unwilling tool of the King of Life, a Prophet of such humility he can never observe his purpose. She
spreads spiritualism of the Mountain People as shared with her by Samuel to the community in the guise
of new revelations of the King of Life. She teaches wrongful exceptions to Doctrine she claims have been
made by the King of Life.
Many members of the community have begun to follow Sister Anastasia’s False Doctrine and look to
Samuel as a Prophet.
Sister Anastasia slept in the same room as Samuel and worked many a time reserved for worship when
tending to his wounds. She has shown herself to be quite comfortable with Samuel’s lack of belief.
Sister Florence has shown a lot of comfort in Samuel’s lack of modesty.
Brother Cuthbert has ceased trying to end Sister Anastasia’s and his Branch’s sin.

Demonic Attacks – Faith Pains, Indwelling, Drought (and Burning Bushes), Snakes
The Faithful among the Branch have started experiencing acute, stabbing pains in their heart. (Cardiac
ischemia)
Samuel Henry Jacob has been possessed by a demon, though he and Sister Anastasia do not know it.
The area has experienced a highly localized drought and is subject to wildfires.
Venomous snakes are plaguing the town.

False Doctrine –
“The King of Life Cares Not Who Performs the Works of Faith, Only That One Has the Strength to Do
Them,”
“Brother Cuthbert is not the True Branch Steward,”
“The Spirits of the King of Life are Present in All Things, and They Demand Tribute,”
“All is Forgiven in Service of the Prophets,”
“All is Forgiven in the Name of a Stronger Faith.”
Only the act of burning sage, smudging and chanting in their homes can dispel their Faith Pains and the
Snakes (true, short of exorcism performed by a Faithful servant of the King of Life)
Only following the edicts of their Stewardess and Prophet, bringing sacrifice of flesh and bone, can bring
rain and life back to the fields

False Priesthood – Sister Anastasia, Samuel Henry Jacob (unwilling), five members of the Branch
Samuel will be driven to attack the Dogs if Sister Anastasia believes they are relentless in removing her
and her doctrine. She will cite their lack of belief in the efficacy of womenfolk, their uncompromising
position, that they are likely to murder countless of those who follow her False Doctrine.

What Do They Want From the Dogs?

Sister Anastasia wants the Dogs to legitimize her as a Stewardess, remove Brother Cuthbert as Steward,
ratify her False Doctrine as Law, canonize Samuel as a Prophet, convince Sister Florence to marry
Samuel, to convert Samuel to the Faith, to leave affairs as they are now, or to die if all else fails.
Samuel Henry Jacob wants the Dogs to convince Sister Florence to marry him, convince the Branch to
stop trying to convert him, and to deliver his letters to his family. When possessed, he wants the Dogs to
die or to kill him and tell his family he died in battle with the Authority’s enemies.
Brother Cuthbert wants the Dogs to remove Sister Anastasia from her threatening position, to convince
the Branch that the King of Life accepts no heresy, to convert Samuel to the Faith, or to remove Samuel
from the community.
Brother Archibald wants the Dogs to forgive him for giving up on Samuel’s life and leading Sister
Anastasia to her ruin. He hopes beyond hope that they can restore peace to the Branch.
Sister Florence wants the Dogs to convince everyone to give up on forcing her hand, to tell her to marry
Samuel, to tell her to marry Brother Theophilus, or to tell her not to marry anyone.
Brother Theophilus wants the Dogs to remove Samuel from his threatening position, to remove Sister
Anastasia from her threatening position, and to leave him in a position to lead the Branch to
righteousness.
The demons want the Branch to fall into ruin, False Doctrine to spread throughout the Deseret, Brother
Theophilus to murder Samuel, and for the Branch to burn.
The demons want the Dogs to legitimize Sister Anastasia, ratify her Doctrine, canonize Samuel as a
Prophet, convince Sister Florence to marry Samuel, not to convert Samuel, to kill Brother Cuthbert or
reaffirm him in his weakness as Steward, to kill Brother Archibald, to kill Samuel, to leave affairs as they
are now, or to die if all else fails.
If the Dogs never came, Sister Anastasia’s False Priesthood would expand to a full heretical sect that
would separate itself from the Branch and drive out those of the Faith. In desperation, Brother
Theophilus would murder Samuel, and in retaliation he and Brother Cuthbert would be attacked and
Brother Theophilus would die. Sister Florence, shamed by her own inaction, would give herself to the
elements and die of exposure.

Sister Anastasia, a middle-aged unmarried woman, has had plenty of practice tending to the wounds of
her family’s men. She tended to the wounds of young Samuel Henry Jacob after Brother Cuthbert and
Brother Archibald declared him a lost cause. She practiced the arts honed by years of her womanly
duties and performed ceremonies of the Faith over him for days on end, even sleeping in the same room
as him and working during times of service. Little did she know, she invited a demon into the young man
and has been corrupted by it.

Samuel Henry Jacob is an enlisted soldier in the Territorial Authority and has taken part in many raids in
the lands of the Mountain People. In more peaceful encounters, he learned of the Mountain People’s
reverence for the spirits living in all things and how they would pay respect to them. He also learned of
the cleansing properties of sage. He is a strong, good-looking young man and has a respectful demeanor,
if a bit casual. Having received schooling from Back East before joining the military, Samuel is aware that
the heart pains plaguing the Faithful can be explained by the sparse nutrition of their diet and their
constant proximity and exposure to the smoke from the burning vegetation. The snakes retreating into
the town are the result of the burning fields and a lack of food in them. As for the terrible dreams he’s
been having, he’s sure he is experiencing survivor’s guilt, PTSD, or anxiety about abandoning his post.
But as far as he’s concerned, his service ended when the military decided he was dead. The same goes
for this strange obsession he feels for Sister Florence (though she is such a sweet, charming girl), his
compulsion to remain in the Branch, and the strange spells of extreme emotion he’s been experiencing.

Brother Cuthbert is a large man, firmly grounded in the Faith. He was elevated to Stewardship on
account of his uncompromising character and the strength of his Faith in All Things Reborn in the King of
Life. Though he was not a lettered man prior to the Regional Steward’s decision, he undertook learning
to sermonize as faithfully as he did all other duties. A common man of the fields by birth and upbringing,
Cuthbert has an easy and patient way about him. He has taken to the performance of the routine
ceremonies with great enthusiasm, but has faltered in his application of the ceremonies dealing with the
Adversary and any demons. He does not believe in his own capacity to stand against the spiritual
enemies of the Faith as much as he believes he can lead his Branch in love of the King of Life.

Brother Archibald is a small, grey man with thick spectacles and a slight paunch. Though he was
educated Back East, he is and always has been a devout follower of the Faith. Matters are spiritual first,
and then can be met in their material manifestations.
Brother Theophilus, a young Faithful of Harout’s Rebirth, has been training since childhood to be the
Branch’s Steward. He is the son of Brother Archibald and has likewise been educated Back East, but
immersed himself in theology rather than medicine. He believes that his awareness of other world
religions has prepared him to lead a Branch, as he has calculated counter-arguments to many
theological pursuits and lines of inquiry in his quest to please the King of Life and the Faithful.

Sister Florence is Brother Cuthbert’s daughter. A raven-haired, demure, lovely portrait of a Faithful
unmarried woman. She attends to the needs of her station, loves her family, and wants only to keep to
the purest expression of the Faith. She does tend to defer to the judgment of those above her in
authority, and prays nightly for the King of Life to give her the strength and Faith to be able to make
such judgments herself.

NPC Dice Pools

Ac He Bo Wi

4 3 2 4 Brother Archibald Traits 1, 2, 3, 8 Relation 3, 9

The Faith resides behind all material things 2d4 My son, Theophilus 1d6
My eyesight has been corrected 1d4 My former patients 3d6
I have saved more lives than I can remember 1d6
Education has opened many doors for me 2d10

4 4 3 2 Sister Florence Traits 2, 3, 5, 7 Relation 3, 8

Propriety is the very essence of Faith 1d4 That Samuel 1d6
My father taught me the words of our Faith 1d6 My father 2d10
My heart can weather the fires of perdition 1d10
Kindness will preserve the Faithful 2d8

4 3 2 3 Brother Theophilus Traits 2, 3, 5, 7 Relation 6, 8

I have earned my place in our Faith 1d4 My father 2d6
I will confound the efforts of the Adversary 1d6 Stewardship 2d10
Knowing the face of the Adversary arms Us 1d10
No man has the right to what is mine 2d8

2 3 5 4 Brother Cuthbert Traits 1, 4, 7, 7 Relation 3, 5

This matter of demons is beyond me 2d4 The Branch 1d6
The King of Life provides all answers 1d8 My dear daughter 1d10
I can do this all day, boy 2d8
I will do what the Faith needs of me 2d8

5 4 3 4 Sister Anastasia Traits 1, 6, 8, 8 Relation 8, 0

I May Be the Only One Who Can Make This Right2d4 My faithful 2d10
Words Are Power… 2d6 Samuel Henry Jacob 3d8
… But Belief Can Move Mountains… 2d10
I Can Master My Own Reality 2d10
4 3 5 6 Samuel Henry Jacob Traits 2, 5, 6, 8 Relation 2, 4
These People Saved My Life, I Owe Them All 1d4 Sister Anastasia 1d4
I Have Seen Worse Than You 1d10 Baalebolg (demon) 1d8
Someone Told Me About This, Once… 2d6
They Tell Me I’m a Natural 2d8
Possession Traits Change in Eyes, Possession Powers Viciousness
On the Faith policing its own

The Town Shrike’s Song

Something’s Wrong
The Dogs are stopped outside of town by soldiers of the Territorial Authority. The soldiers warn that the
Branch of Shrike’s Song has been cut off due to a rash of violence. The Faithful have begun enacting
vigilante religious justice on one another. When they learn that the newcomers are Dogs, the soldiers
will let them pass with the request that they drop off their mail, take new mail on, and try to get the
Faithful to peacefully leave the Branch.
In the Branch, the Faithful greet the Dogs with weariness and great relief. Those without Faith in the
Branch are a mixed bag of apprehension and urgency. The Sheriff is a man of the Faith and is barely
holding the tension in town together.

Pride Stewardship

Injustice Role, Righteousness

Sin Violence, Disunity, Worldliness, Faithlessness

Demonic Attacks Isolate the Community, Endanger the Community’s Survival, Oppress the Community’s
Faithful
On denying the Plan of the King

The Town Colombine Run

Something’s Wrong
As the Dogs arrive, several farmers can be seen out in their fields marking cattle for slaughter. The cattle
are good breeding, milking, or working stock, and as such the farmers are having a hard time selecting
those to be slaughtered.

Pride Stewardship, Money

Injustice Money, Role, Righteousness

Sin Violence, Disunity, Apostasy, Worldliness, Faithlessness

Demonic Attacks Isolate the Community, Endanger the Community’s Survival, Exacerbate the
Community’s Injustices, Prosper the Community’s Sinners, Oppress the Community’s Faithful
On

The Town

Something’s Wrong

Pride

Injustice

Sin

Demonic Attacks