Deities

"Don't you see? Don't you UNDERSTAND? The gods are dead! DEAD! The HARVESTER came for them! And soon he will come for ALL of us!"
- Ephram Manguil, former priest of Jorunnos and now an inmate of the Dartmouth Asylum for the Insane


The precise nature of gods is a controversial topic among the scholars of Rothea. The most common definition of a "god" is "a powerful extraplanar entity or force which is able to grant spellcasting abilities to its worshippers", though even this definition is often contended. What is known, however, is that gods can change over time, and perhaps turn into something different entirely.

The Creation of a God

Most of the more secular scholars believe that the majority of the known gods haven't been around since the beginning of time. While several religions claims that their deity had a hand in the creation of the world, or even the universe, these tales are often mutually contradictory and thus dismissed out of hand by anyone who is not a follower of these religions. Besides, ever since the exploration and settlement of other planets started in earnest, belief that Rothea is somehow an unique creation by sapient beings has waned considerably.

It is apparently possible for mortals to turn into deities, though the precise process on how a deity springs into existence is unknown, which is perhaps fortunate - or else everyone would try to do it. Several religions that acknowledge that their deity was one a mortal have apocryphal stories of an entity called the "Guardian of the Threshold". Allegedly, it is possible to summon this entity and then engage it in some sort of battle (sometimes physical, sometimes a struggle of will, and sometimes a battle of wits, depending on the story). If the challenger wins, he is elevated to godhood. If he loses, he is utterly annihilated. Other religions tell of massive magical rituals, legendary deeds, or sponsorship by an existing deity that allowed their patron to become a god, but for obvious reasons it is hard to separate truth from fiction here.

Entities that already have a strong connection to the Astral or Outer Planes, such as ghosts and spirits, seem to have an "easier" time of it - some stories seem to imply that all they have to do is gather a large number of worshippers. But like the other tales, these are hard to verify for obvious reasons, and most scholars speculate that there must be something more to the process.

Lesser Gods

In general, scholars classify thos gods as "lesser gods" who haven't been a god for a long time yet (generally, not much more than a millenium, though this time span can vary considerably), or those who don't have a large number of worshippers, or both. These gods also share a number of other characteristics. They usually have a realm in Astral Space, a small, independent plane that can be visited by travelers with the plane shift spell and similar powers (though whether or not such travelers are welcome in these realms depends on both the deity and the visitor...), and where the souls of the worshippers reside after their deaths. They also have a discernible personality and agenda for the material plane; they send visions, portents, and even avatars to the material plane when necessary (though the last one is rarely done, as it seems to cost them a lot of power), and rites, rituals, and the names they choose to identify with are usually (though not always) consistent from region to region.

Lesser Gods are usually also fairly picky about the ethical stance of their clerics (in game terms, this means that such clerics must usually adhere to the standard alignment restrictions). Curiously, faith in the religion does not always seem to be a requirement for becoming a cleric of a Lesser God - there are several well-documented cases where the clerics cynically see their supernatural powers as nothing more than a way to gain more power, and their patron deity nevertheless continues to grant them spells in exchange for certain regular services in the world of mortals.

Many Lesser Gods seem to be obsessed with gaining more power, which usually seems to involve getting more worshippers. It is also noteworthy that the designs of many temples have subtle similarities to the mystical architecture of Nexus Towers... However, not all Lesser Gods are inclined this way - for example, Ouneiros, the God-King of the city-state of Ouneirotur, seems to have been content with the status of "Lesser God" for the last several millenia, and apparently has no desire to expand worship of him to other cities.

Greater Gods

At some point, Lesser Gods change into something else, and grow more distant from the mortal world - this seems to happen when they reach a certain level of power and gain a very large number of worshippers, though the exact mechanics for this are, again, unclear. This has several implications:

First, the god's realm vanishes from the Astral Plane and becomes inaccessible to the living. The spirits of the dead still presumably go somewhere - and spells like raise dead can still bring them back under the usual conditions - but no one knows how to actually reach these places without dying (and those who are brought back do not remember their stay there).
Second, the god does not seem to pursue an active agenda in the material world anymore. No visions or avatars appear, unless actively summoned by clerical magic. And the vision summoned by clerics (such as the effects of the commune spell) tend to reflect the cleric's own prejudices and beliefs - there are documented cases when several commune spells cast by clerics of the same faith produce different results, with each cleric proclaiming that the spell confirms his beliefs about religious doctrines (this of course assumes that the clerics' statements regarding the results of the spells can be trusted...)
Over time, the faiths of Greater Gods display divergent tendencies, as disputes over doctrine and regional variations create different interpretations of the faith without the active management of the deity. In fact, even the common name of the god seems to undergo linguistic drift over time, and in different regions, the same deity may in fact be worshipped under completely different names (though it is often hard to tell whether these are just different names, or entirely different deities, the common use of certain spells provides some hints for scholars of theological matters...)!
Third, just about anyone can become a cleric of any Greater God, regardless of personal ethics (in other words, there are no alignment restrictions for clerics of Greater Gods). All that is required is a true and deep faith into the god and its commandments - or at least, the cleric's personal interpretation of these commandments, which can vary a lot from person to person. Anyone who looses faith in his god will also loose his powers. This also means that there are no "pact clerics" like those some Lesser Gods create - no cleric of a Greater God is able to see his spellcasting abilities as nothing more as a tool to gain more power, for that would mean the loss of these powers...

There are many different theories about just what happens when a Lesser God turns into a Greater God. Some of the most popular are:

• Divine Apotheosis: The god ceases to be an entity with a personality understandable by mortals, and becomes a true cosmic force. The god now has less attention to spare on mortal matters, and stops paying attention to the day-to-day affairs of its worshipers (while it is presumably busy fighting a cosmic war somewhere...), and thus spells like commune only receive the minimum required attention from the deity, with most of the information coming from the cleric's subconscious.
• Divine bureaucracy: The deity is busy with ordering the cosmos, so instead of answering the questions of its followers personally, it has appointed numerous celestial servants to deal with these matters. This theory is popular within the faith of Thenos, as that faiths has numerous saints who allegedly serve as intermediaries between the faithful and the deity.
• Undead Gods: This theory, which is very unpopular with the followers of most religions, hold that deities only have a limited lifespan - after they absorb too much power, they die! What answers the clerics' prayers is not actually the living deity, but its unliving mockery. Just as skeletons, zombies, and other non-sapient undead can go through some of the motions of living people without actually being living and thinking creatures, so these "undead gods" can go through the motions of granting spells and powers without any conscious thought behind them. In effect, they have become nothing more than mindless conduits for divine power.
• Divine Imposter: The most disturbing theory of all is that the gods have died - but not of anything resembling "natural causes". Instead, they have been slain by some powerful and alien entity which now steals the faith from that religion's worshipers, just as a Nexus Tower leeches life force from all who live nearby. It keeps granting spells to the clerics merely to keep the illusion going that the god is still alive, but it lacks the sophistication (or maybe the patience) to act as if the god was still fully active.
  Among proponents of this theory, there is considerable discussion about the true nature of this entity. The most likely suspect for this "Slayer of Gods" is the Guardian of the Threshold, though some only consider him to be a servant of a greater evil still...
  A variant of this theory claims that these gods aren't dead - but "merely" have been taken prisoner (which is still a very frightening concept) - supposedly, the "godnapper" keeps them locked up so that he can leach away their powers, just as some vampires keep a "larder" of humans to ensue a steady supply of blood. Perhaps it would be possible to free the gods and return them to their former state, though again this merely remains an unproven theory.
  

While Argannon is the god of war, his portfolio doesn't include mindless slaughter. It is not the deaths that are important in war, but the battle of wits between the commanders. Whether the victor of a conflict sent countless soldiers to their deaths, or succeeds by ruses, feints, and sabotages that preserve his strengths, it matters not to the Supreme Stategist - all he wants to see are brilliant tactical moves that make the victory a deserving one.
In general, believers of this faith keep to any customary "rules of warfare" in their region - succeeding despite restrictions is the sign of an able commander, and often breaking these rules invites more trouble from one's peers than it is worth. Still, Argannon is nothing if not pragmatic, and someone who breaks all the rules to emerge victorious and gets away with it can earn his favor as well - to the victor go the spoils.
Perhaps surprisingly, the faith has in recent times gathered no small following among the merchant classes, particularily among the larger merchant houses - they see the constant competition between their houses as just another form of warfare, one that is often fought with the same methods as outright war, if on a less obvious level. Some parts of the clergy decry this as heresy, but others give this their blessing - and perhaps one day soon Argannon will add Trade to his portfolio.
It has often been claimed that Argannon invented the chess game, especially by his clergy. Whether true or not, his followers play this game passionately, and organize chess tournaments on major holidays of their faith that are open ot the public. It is customary that the winner of such a tournament can ask for a book from the highest-ranking cleric of the temple.

Poets might wax philosophically about the beauty of the pristine wilderness, but those who have actually been there knows that the wilderness is a harsh environment, full of savage creatures and innumerable dangers that will kill the unwary. To protect and expand civilization, then, this wilderness must be fought and tamed, measured and opened up to development. This is not an easy task, but judging by their record, the followers of Bucatar have been up to it.
The cult of Bucatar has never been large - it is filled with hardy people who can thrive in the dangers of the wild without succumbing to its lures, and this is a style of living attractive only to a select few. But few city folk appreciate just how much these people have done to protect them from the savage creatures roaming the remote parts of the world. Trolls, ogres, giants and much, much worse - without strong protection, human civilization wouldn't have lasted for long. The followers of Bucatar are this protection, and they stand at the very edge between civilization and the wild. They have done their part to make sure that this edge has mostly been expanding outwards in the last few centuries, and they are always ready to move on to new challenges. As of late, quite a few have turned their attention to the other planets newly explored and settled by a few humans, for a more hostile environment - and a greater challenge - is hard to imagine.
The rivalry between the priests of Bucatar and the druids is legendary, and has often escalated into all-out war and mutual atrocities. But the cult of Bucatar has the whole of civilization at its back - and so far, this has been more than enough.


An ancient mystery cult that spread far and wide during the time of the Atalan Empire, the Cult of Cryelis offers continued existence after death - not in a remote home plane of the deity like other gods, but in a dimension just lurking below and parallel to the physical world. This is the Underworld, and while it is unknown if Cryelis created this dimension, her rule of it is unquestioned.
Her followers become full-fledged ghosts after death, and are thus able to enter and exit the Underworld at will - and meddle in the affairs of the material plane. Their main task while still alive is to spread the extent of the Underworld through ritual sacrifices - their status among ghosts upon their deaths depends on how much they have spread this domain. As ghosts, they compete for status and attempt to manipulate events in both the world of the living and the dead to prepare for the prophesized day when the Underworld has covered the whole world and the dead rule the living.


There have been many self-proclaimed benefactors throughout history - people who have given large gifts to other people in need. However, often their motivation was not genuine altruism, but merely to hear others praise their generosity, or worse, keep those they "helped" in a debt, if not of money, then one of favors owed.
This is not as it should be, as the priests of Dahla says. People should do good deeds not because they expect anything in return, but because it is the right thing to do. And the followers of Dahla try to live by this by helping others in need without taking credit for it personally. Often, the one being aided doesn't even know who has helped him. Usually, he will get a message that he is being helped "in Dahla's name", with the implication that once he has gotten out of his current predicament and able to help others, he should do so in the same manner - also in Dahla's name, so that the original deed can spread around the world. It has also become standard practice to list anonymous donations to a charitable cause as "in Dahla's name" when a list of donors is compiled.
Priests of Dahla often lead a double life - they have a "day job" in which they earn money, but when they work as priests (like when they give to the needy), they wear concealing robes with veils in front of their face. These robes have the same designs for all priests of Dahla so that it is hard to identify the particular person between the cloth. Often some minor illusions are added to conceal the voice and stature of the priest. When a particular priest is "exposed" - i.e., his identity becomes widely known in any given locale - he will often move away to another place where no one knows of him. Thus, most people try not too hard to find out just who hides behind the veils, and various superstitions have sprung up detailing the bad luck that is sure to haunt someone who will take a peek behind the veils.


Gebral represents the spirit of these modern times like few other deities. He is the embodyment of progress in all its form. In his positive aspects, this means using logic and innovation to make the world a better place for everyone. In his negative aspects, this means tearing down old structures that have proven their worth over many years with new ones of dubious utility - novelty for novelty's sake.
His worshipers include architects and city planners, engineers, and many gnomes. His followers often rise to prominence in the city councils - whenever the rulers of a city announce plans to raze entire neighborhoods and replace them with something grander (a frequent occurence), it is a safe bet that a follower of Gebral is involved somewhere in the planning process.


There are those who claim to make their own luck. That their own skills and plans will give them whatever it is they desire. But other people, possibly the majority, believe that no matter how competent you are and how good your plans might be, blind chance can lay you low and destroy everything you hold dear. And every time these people come into a situation when their plans and wits are at an end and they realize that their fate is up to chance, they pray to Hatramo for deliverance.
Said to be the older brother of Jorunnos, Hatramo's faith is an odd one. No grand temples are build in his name, for his priests travel from place to place, going wherever they are needed or whereever the winds of fate may carry them.. These priests do believe in preparing themselves for any situation they might encounter, but they realize that this is never going to be enough, and they do not have any long-term plans of their own, instead trusting in Hatramo to guide their path.
Hatramo's name is on the breath of soldiers on the battlefield just before combat starts, on adventurers facing impossible odds in desolate catacombs, on peasants struggling to make it through yet another winter, and on the urban poor every morning as they try to get enough food or money to make it through yet another day. As a result, the faith might not be politically powerful, but few dare deny it its dues. Its most common rite is the creation of stone pillars - along many roads, people have erected crude pillars made out of small stones, and those who have reason to be grateful to Hatromo, or those seeking his favor, will not pass one of these pillars without adding one stone to it, thus gradually increasing its size. It is said that those who deliberately or accidentally knock it over will suffer bad luck in the same amount as the good luck those who added stones to it have recieved - thus balancing the cosmic scales of good and bad luck.


It is said that Jorunnos was once a mortal scholar. He wanted to learn everything there is to know, but was frustrated by the limitations of the libraries he frequented. Then he learned of an ancient artifact, a magical cup that would grant the person who drinks from it any wish. Jorunnos diligently followed any lead to this cup, searched in every library, fought vicious monsters who got in his way, and in short had incredible adventures until he finally found the object of his desire. He filled it with water, drank from it, wished for all the knowledge in the world to be his - and ascended to god hood.
The followers of Jorunnos are all united in that they wish to achieve something. Whether becoming the ruler of a city, finding and winning one's True Love, or destroying one's greatest enemy, they all believe that if their will is strong enough and Jorunnos is willing to come to their aid, they will realize their goals. Other people often describe them as "obsessed", but the Jorunnites reply that these people just don't have the necessary determination to make anything out of their lives.
A common quest among them is the search for Jorunnos' Cup. Almost all fail to find it, and many of those who set out to find it don't come back, but their tales provide plenty of material for the songs of bards.


Kortus is the deity of agriculture and all plants that human hands cause to grow. He is not a god of nature as a whole - the kind of well ordered and large-scale agriculture practiced by most cities doesn't mix well with the wilderness that most people associate with "nature". As a result, few druids worship Kortus.
However, the cycle of nature as represented by seeding the plants, watching them grow, and bringing in the harvest is a recurrent theme in his faith, and the links to the human life cycle is emphasized. Death, as represented by the harvest, is something inevitable, and should not be fought when the time comes.
A deity of agriculture might seem an odd candidate for the status of a Greater Deity. Yet millions of people pray to him to deliver them food. While the slum dwellers of the cities are divorced from the tilling of the fields, they know that the difference between a bumper crop and crop failure can mean the difference between life and death to him.
In rural areas, his clerics tend to be the foremost experts on agriculture, and it is them who traditionally bless the fields with their magic to ensure a bountiful harvest. In urban areas, they operate soup kitchens that make sure that even the poorest people have something to eat.
Wandering clerics of Kortus usually fight bandits, monsters, and other beings who disturb the farms and the transport of grains to their intended targets. Others specialize in hunting undead, who are abominations in the eye of Kortus. All clerics of Kortus, regardless of alignment, turn undead.


Mara holds sway over both the dreams and nightmares that all humans have to face every time they go to sleep. Many people plagued by nightmares or insomnia direct prayers to her in the hopes of peaceful, untroubled sleep. Many of her most ardent followers, including much of her clergy, use a variety of drugs to reach a state of dreaming even in the Waking World. As a result, her faith does not have much in the way of an organisation, and even less political influence.
The plane she calls her own is home to a large number of ever-shifting dreamscapes. Her followers claim (though there is no way to prove it) that all dreams of thinking beings take place there. Mara allows free access to all beings to her home, but does nothing to protect them from the dangers of the dreamscapes.

Norol

Lesser God
Lord of the Vine, Lord of the Wild, He Who Comes In Music
Symbol: Pan Flutes
Alignment: CN
Portfolio: Ecstasy, Music, Passion, Wine
Domains: Air, Chaos, Strength
Favored Weapon: Spear

Ouneiros

Lesser God
The Lawgiver, The Just Lord, Ruler of All He Surveys
Symbol: A hammer
Alignment: LN
Portfolio: Law, Rulership, Stasis, the city of Ouneirotur
Domains: Law, Protection, Strength
Favored Weapon: Warhammer

Palias

Lesser God
The Sunracer, The Eternal Nomad, He Who Soars
Symbol: A pegasus with wings of flame
Alignment: N
Portfolio: Nomads, flight, wanderers
Domains: Air, Sun, Travel
Favored Weapon: Spear

Sarush

Greater God
Lord of Snakes, Master of Secrets, Keeper of Hidden Knowledge
Symbol: A snake head
Portfolio: Deception, psionics, secrets, surathi
Domains: Knowledge, Magic, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Dagger

Shaprat

Unknown
The Last City, the End of All Things, the Lost
Symbol: varies
Alignment: NE (?)
Portfolio: Unknown, possibly including entropy
Domains: Destruction, Evil, Travel, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Net

Tekel

Greater God
The Hidden Terror, Most Feared One, He Who Stalks The Night
Symbol: Two red eyes above a fanged mouth
Portfolio: Fear, terror
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Sickle

Thenos

Greater God
Creator of the World, Lord of All, The Light that Guides
Symbol: A lit lantern
Portfolio: Everything, but especially right social order and justice
Domains: Healing, Law, Stength, Sun, War
Favored Weapon: Longsword

Ungol

Greater God
Keeper of Secrets, Guardian of the Black Ocean, Lord of the Wave
Symbol: A black wave
Portfolio: Oceans, space, the Unknown
Domains: Protection, Travel, Water
Favored Weapon: Net

Ygreb

Greater God
Lord of Divinations, Whisperer of Truths
Symbol: Ten floating eyeballs
Alignment: N
Portfolio: Divinations, "terrible" truths
Domains: Knowledge, Luck, Magic, Travel
Favored Weapon: Club

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