The source of all gods came from Gradon and Ravos. The tight pantheon that formed from those progenitors became known as The Divine Bureaucracy. These are the most powerful of the gods and are charged with making all of creation run smoothly. It is led by Primus. Ravossa is part of this group, but as an aberrant god.
The Great Church is the foremost place to worship the gods of this pantheon. (Although Ravossa and her thralls are not so much worshipped as acknowledged.) The gods are not worshipped on an individual basis much in Gradallia, but there are a few clergy who venerate a certain deity over the others.
Primites are often called upon to act as mediators and judges. Most courts give a quick blessing to him before proceeding with each case.
Jesarans are known for giving sanctuary for anyone. Her clergy are often called upon to defend people in trials. As such, many lawyers worship her.
Luthunians are best known as record keepers, maintaining the histories of everything.
The enemy of the bureaucracy.
Sivites are the merchants that keep the economy going. Many of the priests who venerate her work as moneychangers and moneylenders. They are well known for the Letters of Credit.
Followers of the Knight are the warriors of the Divine Bureaucracy.
| Symbol: | A balance |
|---|---|
| Alignment: | Lawful Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Judgment, nobility |
| Worshippers: | Judges |
| Cleric Alignment: | Any lawful |
| Domains: | Law, Knowledge, Nobility, Planning, Retribution |
| Favored Weapon: | Gavel (warhammer) |
Primus is normally depicted as a masked man towering over his worshippers. He is a stern, vengeful deity, credited by most humans with the creation of humanity and the world of Kire. He is responsible for judgment.
Historically, Primus' enemy has been Ravossa, the Devourer Wurm, the beast of Chaos, and its barbaric minions.
Primus is the first son of Gradon.
At one point in the distant past, he and Ravossa were lovers. Together they had a daughter, Luthune. Since then, their differences have reasserted themselves.
The Canon of the True Law serves as the holy text of the Primite faith. This large collection of dictates and holy decrees has been compiled by a host of Primus' followers. Early passages of the Canon comprise some of the first examples of human writing; most of which were preserved on stone long before they were transcribed to paper. It is generally accepted as the first holy writings of any faith–and is quite possibly the first written record of any kind
At the core of the Canon are the fundamental principles of the True Law, passed down directly from Primus in the first days of mankind. These are the absolute commandments of the faith.
The patrons of Primus are divine entities that sometimes manifest to the devout in times of crisis or turmoil. These patrons serve Primus as intermediaries between the god and his faithful, and occasionally intervene directly in mortal affairs, though they prefer to provide indirect inspiration.
| Symbol: | A toothed cog with four spokes. |
|---|---|
| Portfolio: | Planning |
| Domains: | Artifice, Craft, Gnome, Planning |
Ankra is the son of Jesara and Sirtay.
He is often seen working with clockwork creations, usually automatons. He considers the goddess of Luck to be his opposite. i.e. They don't get along.
| Symbol: | A square inset into another square. |
|---|---|
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Wine, Prophecy. Not commonly known: Time |
| Cleric Alignment: | Lawful Neutral, Neutral, Chaotic Neutral |
| Domains: | Divination, Fate, Renewal, Repose, Time |
Luthune is normally seen as a woman of indeterminate age wearing plain robes. She is a quiet patron and considers herself above the petty machinations of ambition. Some consider her aloof, and she rarely intervenes on Kire. She is responsible for record keeping.
She is the Princess of Time and Master of Tedium. Her concerns are the greater schemes of time and the universe. She has very few worshippers — mainly sages, old men, recordkeepers and others who seldom influence the world at large.
Her priesthood ties itself to endless rituals, meticulous formalities and careful observations of the long-term effects of actions. They consider themselves superior to other priests and expect respect from their inferiors. People look to her clergy for record-keeping and the priests of Luthune maintain the histories of all.
This goddess is the daughter of Primus and Ravossa.
She is not known to have any enemies, and considers herself above the petty machinations of the other gods. Her one enemy was a “Not True” god that she defeated long ago. In fact she seems to have a distinct lack of ambition which has been reflected on the people who patronize her; There is no formal head among her followers. Where other clergy might look up to a pope, this one has none.
| Portfolio: | Trade, money, wealth |
|---|---|
| Worshippers: | Merchants, traders, the wealthy, rogues (those who learn the thiefly art in order to fight thieves) |
| Domains: | Knowledge, Law, Protection, Travel, Trade |
This patron gained great power when one of her followers was able to convince a gang of bandits to become his bodyguards. His churches are called banks.
| Symbol: | White knight chess piece |
|---|---|
| Alignment: | Lawful Evil |
| Portfolio: | Strategy, planning, tactics |
| Worshippers: | Fighters, gamesters, monks, strategists, tacticians |
| Cleric Alignment: | LN, LE, NE, N |
| Domains: | Law, Nobility, Planning, War |
The White Knight is the patron of war. She is portrayed as if she was a white alabaster statue. She wears silver armor that has been shined to perfection.
| Home Plane: | Edge of Reality |
|---|---|
| Alignment: | Chaotic Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Magic |
| Worshippers: | Sorcerers, … |
| Cleric Alignment: | Any chaotic |
| Domains: | Chaos, Magic |
Religious art depicts Ravossa as a white sphere outlined in magical purple flames or a beautiful woman with long, raven-black hair dress in swirling black garb. In this guise, her haunting purple eyes have coal black pupils that reflect the primeval void.
Although she is often portrayed as repulsive and violent, she is not truly evil. A force or raw natural chaos, the Great Beast is revered in the wild places by those who have forsaken civilization, frequently invoking her name as simply "Ravage". It is the restless spirit of dark forests, the harsh indifference of hostile landscapes, the feral violence of wild animals, and the raw fury of barbarian berserkers.
As a religion closely associated with rapacious barbarians and savages, followers of Ravossa have few friends and many enemies.
The Temple of Primus is, of course, dedicated to eliminating the Ravossan cults with extreme prejudice, for they are unwashed heathens and animals. The Church of Sirtay, however, regards her cultists as misguided souls; missionaries sometimes attempt to bring them into Sirtay, but this does not always work out in favor of the well meaning Sirtayan.
Ravossa is the daughter of Ravos. She claims to have created all magic. The children of Gradon all despise her and have been trying to destroy her for some time. She has been said to be responsible for all sorcerers by getting them to sell their souls to her. No sorcerer has ever claimed this to be true.
Barbarians, no matter what race they might be, are considered the foremost adherents of Ravossa and make up what passes for her "organized religion". Naturally, they view all non-cultists as weak creatures, put on this world to be victimized and raped by the forces of chaos, forces to which they delightfully belong.
The Scions of Ravossa are divine entities that serve her. These beings serve Ravossa as intermediaries between the god and his faithful, and occasionally intervene directly in mortal affairs, though they prefer to provide indirect inspiration.
| Alignment: | Chaotic Evil |
|---|---|
| Portfolio: | War, skill-at-arms, destruction, plunder |
| Worshippers: | Barbarians, fighters, rangers, soldiers, spies, warriors |
| Cleric Alignment: | CE, CN, NE, N |
| Domains: | Chaos, Destruction, Strength, War |
The goal of every worshipper of the Black Reaver is to be covered in their enemy’s blood. He is a being of idiot rage, a violent whirlwind of carnage that seems to exist only to destroy.
Peace is for weak fools. War makes all participants stong, and only in head-to-head conflict is honor satisifed. Only cowards avoid battle. Any who strike down a foe from ambush or from behind demonstrate cowardice. Retreat is never an option, even in the face of a greater foe, for if a warrior’s heart is focused on the Reaver, the deity will provide strength enough to conquer any enemy.
| Alignment: | Chaotic Evil |
|---|---|
| Portfolio: | Random mischief, misfortune, bad luck, accidents |
| Worshippers: | Assassins, auspicians, capricious individuals, gamblers, rogues, sadists. |
| Cleric Alignment: | CE, CN, NE |
| Domains: | Chaos, Evil, Fate, Luck, Trickery |
| Favored Weapon: | Kukris |
This goddess is closely tied to Ankra, as the other side of the coin. She has been the cause of many of the problems that the Bureaucracy has had.
| Symbol: | Laughing mask |
|---|---|
| Alignment: | Chaotic Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Music, revelry, wine, humor, tricks |
| Worshippers: | Bards, actors, vintners |
| Cleric Alignment: | CN, CG, CE |
| Domains: | Chaos, Luck, Trickery |
| Favored Weapon: | Rapier |
Where Sivis is devoted to making profit honestly, Oberd is devoted to skipping that unnecesary middleman.
| Alignment: | Lawful Good |
|---|---|
| Portfolio: | Judgment, nobility |
| Cleric Alignment: | Any good or lawful neutral |
| Domains: | Law, Good, Nobility, Retribution |
He is the god of justice and his clergy are responsible for hunting down and punishing people who have done wrong. Do not go to them for sanctuary if you are at all guilty. He is portrayed as a muscled silver humanoid with no facial features.
Worshippers of Sirtay seek freedom from the bonds and limitations of this world and the liberation of mind, body, and soul.
Sirtay is the second son of Gradon.He is the brother to Jesara.
| Alignment: | Lawful Evil |
|---|---|
| Portfolio: | Sanctuary |
| Cleric Alignment: | And evil or lawful neutral |
| Domains: | Law, Evil, Community |
Jesara is portrayed as a woman with glossy black skin. She is also shown as either covering her eyes, or having none at all.
Jesara is the only daughter of Gradon. She is the sister to Sirtay.
| Symbol: | A dragon |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Kire |
| Alignment: | Chaotic Evil |
| Portfolio: | Dragons, evil reptiles, greed |
| Worshippers: | People of Cryx, conquerors |
| Cleric Alignment: | Chaotic evil or neutral evil |
| Domains: | Evil, Chaos, Death, Destruction |
| Favored Weapon: | Serrated falchion (though Toruk’s clerics on the mainland will carry a less obvious weapon). |
| Symbol: | Yin-yang |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Mechanus |
| Alignment: | Lawful Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Death |
| Cleric Alignment: | Any lawful |
| Domains: | Law, Repose |
“Death is sacred. Obey my command: Seek out those who violate that sanctity and destroy them.”
Zaard is more of a hero god than a deity. He still has worshippers and monasteries. He is also known as the hunter of the dead, and always walks surely and implacably towards his foes, never resting. He has many paladins under him who tirelessly destroy undead. They have a tradition to always remove the head of any that they have killed. Zaard is portrayed as having a face with a yin-yang symbol on it. The more elevated clergy tattoo the same image on themselves; the more devoted ones doing it on their face. In iconography he is portrayed with black skin and wearing golden armor.
When he ascended to godhood, he took over the portfolio of death from Luthune.
These deities are nominally part of the Divine Bureaucracy, but they also exist within their own separate pantheon.
Each of the deities has two aspects. One that celebrates the pure element, and the other which devotes more to the civilizations of the world
The pale reflection of Imix.
| Symbol: | A twining red flame |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Elemental Plane of Fire |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Elemental Fire, purification through fire, rebirth, home and hearth |
| Worshippers: | Druids, elemental archons, fire creatures |
Imix is the most powerful of the elementals.
There are two aspects to Imix, that of the Home, Hearth and Servants. The other is that of the destructive power of fire. Each is equally valid.
Imix is the god of the hearth, the home, housewives, servants, peasants, and small folk of all variety. He is associated with comfort, contentedness and the warm happiness of a good life, whether wealth or low.
They prepare their spells directly following a meal — either morning or evening. They must have bread, wine, and a candle for this meal and without them may not prepare spells.
| Symbol: | A triangle which represents a mountain |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Elemental Plane of Earth |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Elemental earth, solidity, changelessness, oaths |
| Worshippers: | Elemental archons, fighters, monks, rangers |
| Cleric Alignment: | |
| Domains: | Cavern, Earth, Metal, Time |
| Favored Weapon: | A stony fist (warhammer) |
Earth is good.
| Symbol: | Cresting wave |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Elemental Plane of Water |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Elemental air, purification |
| Worshippers: | Bards, elemental archons, sailors, travelers |
| Cleric Alignment: | |
| Domains: | Destruction, Ocean, Storm, Travel, Water |
| Favored Weapon: | A wave (warhammer) |
Water is good.
| Symbol: | White cloud on blue background |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Elemental Plane of Air |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Elemental air, movement, speed, flying creatures |
| Worshippers: | Animal breeders, elemental archons, rangers, rogues, sailors |
| Cleric Alignment: | |
| Domains: | Air, Illusion, Travel, Trickery |
| Favored Weapon: | A whirlwind (heavy flail) |
Air is good.
The “pantheon” that comprises the Archdukes of Hell are collectively known as the Disciples of Darkness. For the demons of the Abyss, they are referred to as the Thralls. The Book of Vile Darkness has more information about this.
There are many demons, and many of the princes and princesses of the Abyss have worshippers. However there is only one who has become powerful enough to actually ascend to godhood, Molag Bel
| Symbol: | Three-eyed jackal head |
|---|---|
| Alignment: | Chaotic Evil |
| Portfolio: | Madness, monsters, nightmares |
| Worshippers: | Monsters |
| Cleric Alignment: | CN, CE, NE |
| Domains: | Chaos, Evil, Madness, Strength, Trickery, Healing |
| Favored Weapon: | Falchion (kukri) |
Molag Bel is, for all intents and purposes, a demon. He/she is obsessed with transmutation and not usually in a good way. He tries to upset the bloodlines of houses and otherwise ruin the gene pool. It is claimed by many monstrous humanoid races that she was their first progenitor and creator.
Molag Bel's church operates on the outskirts of civilization. Her worship typically occurs atop flat, bloodstained rocks or within rings of stones, trees, or logs carved with his image. Some use a deep hole in the ground or some sort of chasm representing an entrance to the goddesses's underworld realm. Hidden cathedrals and temples to Molag Bel are unsettingly common, both in the wilds and below the streets of urban centres.
There are a number of gods that are not part of the Divine Bureaucracy. Not all gods have been listed here. There are other deities, but those are the important ones. If any player would like any god described in any D&D book to exist, ask me and I’ll probably allow it. If you do choose to worship a god, I will be asking you to describe the religion in more detail for me. (Yes, I am passing off work to the players.)
It's not so much that Druids don't believe in the Gods, it's just they don't think the Gods actually have much if any interaction with mortals. Certainly this business of deities granting magical powers to their clerics is patently nonsense! This immediately begs the question of where Druids' spells come from. Druids believe that all users of magic, arcane or divine, are simply manipulating the ‘stuff’ that is magical power in different ways. However, if one does wish to believe that one's spells are the special gifts of a higher power, most Druids will not object (Druids tend not to be terribly dogmatic about such things).
People often think of Druids as nature-worshippers, but this is not strictly correct. Druids see nature (AKA ‘Gaia’) as a vast, impersonal force, and thus have a hard time seeing the point of worshipping it, although they certainly acknowledge its power. A Druid's role is more that of mediator between Gaia and the intelligent species it alternately nourishes and threatens.
The druidic view of gods is as follows; nobody really needs to worry about how many gods there are, or what they stand for, because nature (or Gaia) is the overarching, all-ruling force that stands above everything else. Nature is not personified, for it merely exists. Nature nourishes, shelters, provides for, and frequently assassinates its subjects (namely every living thing). In return, those same subjects nourish, shelter, provide for, and frequently attempt to assassinate nature. The druidic role is almost that of mediator — attempting to promote and sustain the nourishing aspects on both sides of the nature-subject equation, while recognizing that that very nourishing occasionally requires violence between the two parties. The main enemy of the Druid is wanton destruction and waste, actions that nature is theoretically incapable of (hey, if nature destroys something, what’s left? More nature! Yay!).
| Symbol: | A fairy ring. |
|---|---|
| Home Plane: | Realm of Faeries |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Faeries |
| Worshippers: | Faeries |
| Cleric Alignment: | LN, NG, CN, NE |
| Domains: | Beastmaster, Illusion, Luck, Moon, Renewal |
Rhiannon is an indescribably beautiful elven creature with a pair of gossamer wings. She is adorned with wreaths of holly and floral garnishing, and her most striking feature is her long, flowing hair. It is auburn, but there are two different locks, one blue and one purple.
She has a daughter, Edain.