Post by DM Quietus on Jun 12, 2010 20:32:15 GMT -5
I'd like to reduce the number of deities involved in Vethedar, fairly drastically, from the typical number produced in the PHB - namely, one for each "extreme" alignment, and one for true neutral. Under each of these, I'll look at creating sects, cults, holy orders.. essentially, different facets of the god in question, so that someone who worships the undead-hating aspect of Saros, despite potentially having a wildly different viewpoint than one following his honor-and-law aspect, is no less valid a worshipper.
Arctus Suluna : LE, and believes the ends always justify the means. Victory over one's enemies is more important than a period of suffering in order to fuel the battle, and the suffering of those who have broken the laws of the land is a message to any others who would consider doing such things; No one is above the law. Tolerates the creation of undead, so long as they are strictly controlled and not allowed to bring harm to anyone, and accepts slavery, typically under the veil of punishment for one's crimes.
Amia Suluna : CG, she is first and foremost concerned with the well-being of her followers. She oversees the harvest, medical treatment, and protection, and charges those who have the ability to do what they can to protect the weak or innocent. She provides guidelines, rather than strict rules, and reserves the harshest punishments for only those who truly have earned them.
Saros : LG, and often seen as a powerful, righteous god. Teaches his followers that honor, truth, and justice as standards to which all should strive for, and carries a deep-seated hatred of undead, seeing them as corruptions of all that is good and holy, and an offense against the living just for existing. Saros asks his faithful to stand against any evil they encounter, and not to brook any excuse made, although he doesn't want to see innocents hurt in the crossfire.
Ergoth : CE, best described as utterly insane. He himself is represented as a ghost, visible only from the torso up, his legs trailing off into a chilling grey mist. It is said that he was cursed to undeath, and the eons he has spent in this form have twisted him into demanding that all the world be made like him, either killed or destroyed, and corrupted into undeath if possible. To this end, he promises power to any who prove willing to expand his influence, and will even at times step in when someone is doing so, regardless of whether they give him fealty or not - he cares not for whether an individual respects him personally, only for the destruction and mayhem they are capable of bringing to the table.
Nemus and the Three : A collection of individuals serving as one deity, Nemus and the Three collectively represent the world, and the cycle of birth, life, and death. Nemus himself is represented as a great oak tree with hundreds of thousands of leaves, each representing a living being. The Three - Navita, Fatima, and Moira - care for this tree, each having a role in its maintenance. Their clergy often preside over funerals, as they function to sort souls to their appropriate afterlives. Nemus also serves as a conduit between the humans that worship him and the natural world, and so often has Druidic followers, though not all druids revere him.
Other powers : Strong powers, particularly the elements, have their own divine following, particularly in places where that element holds particular sway. There are also those who follow other powers from outer planes - demon worshipers, holy orders devoted to powerful celestials, thralls to the archdukes of hell. Sometimes, the followers of these powers are granted divine abilities, and sometimes not - it is always difficult to tell whether someone worshiping one of these other powers will be granted the gift of divine inspiration or not, and sometimes other deities will step in and grant the power themselves, if their goals intertwine with the worshiper's.
Arctus Suluna : LE, and believes the ends always justify the means. Victory over one's enemies is more important than a period of suffering in order to fuel the battle, and the suffering of those who have broken the laws of the land is a message to any others who would consider doing such things; No one is above the law. Tolerates the creation of undead, so long as they are strictly controlled and not allowed to bring harm to anyone, and accepts slavery, typically under the veil of punishment for one's crimes.
Amia Suluna : CG, she is first and foremost concerned with the well-being of her followers. She oversees the harvest, medical treatment, and protection, and charges those who have the ability to do what they can to protect the weak or innocent. She provides guidelines, rather than strict rules, and reserves the harshest punishments for only those who truly have earned them.
Saros : LG, and often seen as a powerful, righteous god. Teaches his followers that honor, truth, and justice as standards to which all should strive for, and carries a deep-seated hatred of undead, seeing them as corruptions of all that is good and holy, and an offense against the living just for existing. Saros asks his faithful to stand against any evil they encounter, and not to brook any excuse made, although he doesn't want to see innocents hurt in the crossfire.
Ergoth : CE, best described as utterly insane. He himself is represented as a ghost, visible only from the torso up, his legs trailing off into a chilling grey mist. It is said that he was cursed to undeath, and the eons he has spent in this form have twisted him into demanding that all the world be made like him, either killed or destroyed, and corrupted into undeath if possible. To this end, he promises power to any who prove willing to expand his influence, and will even at times step in when someone is doing so, regardless of whether they give him fealty or not - he cares not for whether an individual respects him personally, only for the destruction and mayhem they are capable of bringing to the table.
Nemus and the Three : A collection of individuals serving as one deity, Nemus and the Three collectively represent the world, and the cycle of birth, life, and death. Nemus himself is represented as a great oak tree with hundreds of thousands of leaves, each representing a living being. The Three - Navita, Fatima, and Moira - care for this tree, each having a role in its maintenance. Their clergy often preside over funerals, as they function to sort souls to their appropriate afterlives. Nemus also serves as a conduit between the humans that worship him and the natural world, and so often has Druidic followers, though not all druids revere him.
Other powers : Strong powers, particularly the elements, have their own divine following, particularly in places where that element holds particular sway. There are also those who follow other powers from outer planes - demon worshipers, holy orders devoted to powerful celestials, thralls to the archdukes of hell. Sometimes, the followers of these powers are granted divine abilities, and sometimes not - it is always difficult to tell whether someone worshiping one of these other powers will be granted the gift of divine inspiration or not, and sometimes other deities will step in and grant the power themselves, if their goals intertwine with the worshiper's.
