World domination through coins, How the Masks play Politics

Long-term Plan, Eliminate barter

  The primary followers of the god Phidas are nicknamed "Phidas' Masks" or simply the Masks believe that the best way the best way to increase Phidas' power and influence is to eliminate all barter, or at least eliminate barter as much as possible. They want all taxes to be paid for in coins, all labor to be paid for in coins, and all goods be paid for in coins.     The Masks believe that Phidas gets a tiny bit of power every time coins change hands. As long as every good or service has a measurable price attached, Phidas has a degree of influence over those things.   As a side benefit, the more coins change hand, the more power and influence falls onto banks., and the Masks control most of Scarterra's banks.   On Earth, most of the medieval world had strict anti-usury laws requiring medieval banks to use legalize and technicalities to charge interest without looking like they are charging interest. Scarterra doesn't have this issue. Because of the influence of Phidas, very few Scarterran nations have anti-usury laws, so the Masks (and others) can lend money and collect interest openly.   In general, the Masks are not well-liked. Even though it's perfectly legal, most princes and peasants will only turn to the Masks for a loan as last resort. The Masks hope if there was less barter, loans and deposits would be more normalized giving them more secular power while feeding their god more divine power.  

Short Term Goal: Stay alive

  The Masks are concerned that the fact that 1) they are generally unpopular and 2) they are known to have stores of coins means they are likely to be robbed...or worse.   At the very least they want to be a porcupine. A porcupine might not be able to defeat a predator, but anyone who slays a porcupine is going to suffer horrible injuries, so most predators leave porcupines alone.     The Masks are well-known for fighting with cloak and dagger tactics, but they are not wholly opposed to fighting with swords and lances from time to time.   Most Mask temples make it a point to finance and train a small cadre of elite holy warriors collectively called the Order of Phidas' Shield.   The Masks don't expect to be able to dominate their rivals with brute force. Their goal is to make sure that if order breaks down, Phidas' temples do not look like easy targets. They want to project just enough strength that in the event of a military crisis they can buy some time to assess the situation. Then they will pledge their warriors towards whichever faction seems most likely to win. They won't hesitate to switch sides if they need to.   The Masks' fighting men and women represent a big stick to deter would-be attackers. The Masks also wield a big carrot.  

by me with Midjourney

"The Masks love to give coins and food to help the downtrodden...as long as lots of people are looking at them and praising Phidas' name. No skin off my nose, I'll praise any of the Nine if their servants are giving me stuff."   -Havro the peasant farmer

    Very few people believe that the Masks are motivated by pure altruism, but they will still take the free food, free clothing, or free entertainment. In this way, the Masks hope that even if the general populace doesn't trust them, at the very least they won't attack Phidas temples with torches and pitchforks.  

Medium Term Goal: Win over the local rulers

  If the Masks have the support of high level nobles, they can nudge the rulers to impose policies which discourage barter and if the Masks are on the side of the local powers that be, it's a lot more difficult for people to attack and rob them. Win-win.     There are a lot apocryphal stories (vaguely based on historical events) depicting kings and queens falling into debt traps they cannot get out of and end up being the Masks' puppet.   If the Masks can't get in the good graces of the local king or queen, they will work on the king's courtiers or vassals. This approach frequently works. The Masks enjoy disproportionate influence over mid-level lords relative to the rest of the Nonagon. It only takes one duke or duchess on their side to get their foot in the door for national politics.   The Masks won't admit it publicly, but some of their members will engage in direct espionage from time to time. It's rare for the Masks to engineer a coup, but if they come across a coup started by someone else, they might slip in among the conspirators iand to try to make sure a more Phidas-friendly ruler emerges when the dust settles. The only rule is don't get caught.