Grace and Love International wasn't always the second largest church in Texas. In fact, it started from humble origins in a high school gym in 1989, as the Fellowship of Las Colinas. A satellite church of the First Baptist Church of Irvine, it would probably have remained that way had Charles Goodfellow not arrived.
Mr. Goodfellow, who'd just graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary, had just so happened to catch the attention of Pastor Greg Lucado, the original founder of the church. After hearing nothing but good things about the young Goodfellow, Lucado took a chance on the young pastor, hoping to mentor him and build on his natural speaking ability to become a successful minister for Christ.
What Pastor Lucado didn't realize was that Goodfellow's aspirations was to be a successful minister for his bank account. Nor did he realize just how much natural charisma Charles had, being able to smoothly talk his way into power, wallets, and panties like few others. Not until he found himself on the wrong end of a power grab by Goodfellow in May of '96…
Soon enough, Grace and Love would grow, eventually becoming the second largest church in Texas, with the now-Reverend in charge. Thanks to Charles' charismatic preaching style, the ever-growing cash flow of donations from wealthier members, and a growing media ministry that made sure everyone knew who he was, the church would be successful enough to negotiate a split from First Baptist in '01. From there, the sky was the limit for Goodfellow and the newly christened Grace and Love…
Of course, the larger the church grew, the more like-minded people he was able to pull away from other groups. A worship leader from Hillsong here, a junior pastor from Lakewood Church there, and soon enough he had an All-Star cast at his side to help grow the ministry and hide his ever-growing vices from the public.
Of course, it went both ways. When a former deacon was found to be molesting college undergrads in '22, it was Charles who reminded those victimized that it'd bring more harm to the cause of Christ then would be helped by revealing the scandal. Besides, he was honestly sorry. And the Bible says you have to forgive anyone who asks for forgiveness. You'd go to Hell otherwise!
Anyone who spoke out was silenced. Shunned. Spoken out against. Anyone who disagreed but did not want to deal with the mobs the Reverend could whip up, such as Pastor Jeremy McLean, simply left…
You have been laying on the bed for the last thirty minutes, trying to digest all of the information you've read.
While you were still angry with what Reverend Goodfellow did, there was still a small part of you hoping he'd just made a horrible mistake. Fissures to other universes would be the perfect excuse to make lapses in judgment, right? At the very least, he could have seen the error of his way and tried to make amends.
But nope. Apparently he was never a true Christian at all. He was exactly the worst sort of person that the Bible warned against. There were
special parts of Hell just for the kind of false leadership that Goodfellow was. How many people did he lead astray?
How many lives has he destroyed?
And you want to wish this wasn't true. That Codex has simply gotten it wrong…
(History Check (Advantage): 17, 18. 18 + 3 (History) + 2 (Guidance) = 23. DC: 15, 25. DC 15 Passed.)
But if you're being honest, you have overheard
whispers from some former members of the congregation. Rumors of wrongdoing by certain leadership of the church. But nothing ever truly came of those rumors.
Of course, you defended the leadership from the slanderous gossip. The Reverend surely wouldn't have let anyone under him actually stay on staff if there was even the hint of impropriety. At bare minimum, they would place the person on leave while they investigated. Every member of staff knew that.
Except now you know better. And even if the gossip was proven wrong, and Codex was getting information from another timeline's Charles Goodfellow, the fact that he has
personally betrayed your trust and destroyed your life feels like proof enough to accept the claims.
What you needed was a guiding hand at a very traumatizing time. What you got was a man who said one thing, then did another. He said it was just an attack from the Devil, but immediately called people to brand you a heretic. Claimed this was a test of faith, but never even let you take that test. You wonder if he even mentioned the portal to anyone.
Wait, did he ever report those two people dead? You didn't know who they were. Which was not a surprise, in a church of over 20,000. Wait, is he going to try and pin this on you?
Then you remember the Stat Block of Goodfellow that Codex showed you.
—
The Reverend Charles Goodfellow
Medium Humanoid, Lawful Evil
Stat | Value | Mod | Save |
Strength | 8 | -1 | -1 |
Dexterity | 14 | +2 | +2 |
Constitution | 16 | +3 | +3 |
Intelligence | 20 | +5 | +8 |
Wisdom | 10 | +0 | +0 |
Charisma | 22 | +6 | +9 |
Skills: Persuasion: +15, Deception: +12, Intimidation +12, Performance: +12, Sleight of Hand: +9
Languages: English, Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, Arameic, Celestial
Traits
Trustworthy Charm - Those affected by the Reverend spells that inflict the Charmed condition do not realize they have been Charmed
Legendary Reaction (2 / Day) If the Reverend would fail a Save, it can choose to instead succeed.
Otherworldly Touched - [Resisted]
Actions
Multiattack: The Reverend may make two Smiting Fist attacks. He may replace one of his Smiting Fists with one of his Spells (at-will only)
Smiting Fist: Melee Attack Roll: +2. Hit: 1D8 - 1 Bludgeoning Damage, plus 1D8 Radiant Damage
Spellcasting: The Reverend casts one of the following spells requires no material components, using Charisma as their Spellcasting Ability (DC 17)
At Will: Charm Person (3rd Level), Create Food And Water (3rd), Command (2nd Level), Detect Magic (1st Level), Detect Otherworld (1st Level), Thaumaturgy (Cantrip), Prestidigitation (Cantrip), Acid Spray (Cantrip, Level 5)
3 * Day - Banishment (4th Level), Guiding Bolt (3rd Level), Cure Wounds (3rd Level)
1 * Day - Modify Memory (5th Level)
Legendary Reactions - [Resisted]
—
You may not know the exact details of the spell Charm Person, but you can guess what it does. Which means he possibly
could try and pin this on you. In fact, that might be how he turned the church against you so quickly!
The only good news was that Codex assured you that he had no Objects or Entities - of which Codex was both - on him. At least, as far as they could tell. But that means he was right near the Microfissure himself. Which makes sense, as he got to you rather quickly.
But dealing with the fact that your church was corrupt up and down the chain, and that your former pastor now can just mind whammy people at will, is a bit more than you could handle. So you laid down for a bit. Try and relax yourself. Plan your next move. Wishing you had bought more ice cream last night.
But then the Codex Gygax opens and the pages turn. You look over at it to see what your new… friend? Entity? Info gatherer? They are trying to tell you something.
A new Faction is being written in. Please Stand By…
You pause as the new factions' names appear on a new page.
Faction Recorded: North-East Texas Aryan Brotherhood. Gang-Level. No other information is known. Do you know who they are?
THUMP!
"Ублюдки!"
"Ha! Not so tough now, are you ya old bitch?"
You immediately start heading to the door the moment you heard the thump. It sounds like someone needs your help. And for all that you're going through, you are still a
Monk of Mercy...
–
Vote: Are You Wearing The Mask?
[] Yes
[] No
–
(QM's Notes: Prepare for Combat. You will have an ally (Angry Grandma) in this combat against the Aryan Brotherhood, though she starts bloodied and prone…)