Aventyr Campaign Setting – Deities Chart
| Deity | Alignment | Area of Influence; Worshippers | Domains/Subdomains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancestor Spirit | NG | Ancestor, nature, wilderness, wisdom; Vikmordere | Animal, Community, Plant/Ancestors, Seasons, Souls |
| Arnut | LN | Cold, purity, judgment, winter; Arctic natives | Protection, Water, Weather/Ice, Seasons, Purity |
| The Axiomatic General | LN | Battlefield tactics, decision-making, leadership; Military officers, monks, sages | Law, Nobility, Strength, War/Inevitable, Leadership, Resolve, Tactics |
| Balir | LN | Craftsmanship, honor, dweorg, dwarves | Artifice, Glory, Law/Construct, Toil, Metal, Honor |
| The Current | CN | Insanity, mysticism, seas, Underworld waters | Madness (Nightmare), Magic (Arcane), Void (Dark Tapestry), Water (Oceans) |
| Eureum | LN | Autumn, death, rebirth; Undertakers, executioners, druids | Death, Healing, Repose/Decay, Growth, Loss, Resurrection |
| Flaesuros | LG | Honesty, life, light, youth | Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Sun |
| Hado | LN | Judgment, observance, community, summer | Community, Law, Nobility/Ancestors, Family, Resolve, Seasons |
| Hivaka | CG | Drow, freedom, justice, Underground | Chaos, Darkness, Liberation, Travel |
| Leacim | CN | Chance, guile, illusion, misfortune | Chaos, Entropy, Deception, Luck, Trickery |
| Musta’Vohi | NE | Birth, health, motherhood, lust, pregnancy | Charm, Darkness, Healing, Protection |
| Naneth | N | Elves, forest, agriculture, combat | Fireside, Healing, Knowledge, Provider, Protection, Sun, War |
| Naraneus | NE | Darkness, drow, evil, forbidden knowledge, spiders, venom | Destruction, Drow, Evil, Knowledge |
| Nearru | CN | Darkness, death, madness, secrets, moon | Chaos, Darkness, Madness, Repose, Trickery |
| Onael | LE | Evil, forest, order, tyranny, war | Evil, Law, Nobility, Strength, War |
| Perenna | NG | Dance, fashion, flowers, rain, spring | Charm, Earth, Plants/Day, Growth, Seasons |
| Storjeger | NG | Community, forest, hunting, survival | Ancestor, Animal, Community, Luck, Provider, Weather |
| Vasi | NG | Freshwater, lakes, pools, oases, grottos, springs, peace, life, wisdom | Water |
| Zagnexis | CE | Control, insects, poison, procreation, vermin | Community (Family), Destruction (Catastrophe), Travel (Exploration), War (Blood) |
Ancestor Spirit
Titles Breath of Life, Life Spirit
Home positive energy plane
Alignment NG
Portfolio ancestor, nature, wilderness, wisdom
Worshippers Vikmordere
Domains Animal, Community, Plant
Subdomains Ancestors, Seasons, Souls
Favored Weapon wooden staff
The Ancestor Spirit venerates reconnection with nature, and exploration of one’s inner being without the scourge of individual financial gain.
The pure energy which forms this deity is comprised of the souls of the original ancient settlers of the Klavek Empire/Vikmordere region. The knowledge and wisdom of an entire people are contained within this deity, giving her a very unique connection and insight into human-kind.
History
Nature’s history runs deep, evolving as the omnipresent energy of the universe and bound as one with all matter, living and non-living.
Appearance
The Ancestor Spirit has no visible appearance but can appear to mortals through nature in a myriad of ways, even beyond that of the humanoid imagination.
Church
There is no organized religion, all is one and one is all.
Worshippers & Clergy
Those bound to the ancestor spirit do not consider themselves worshippers nor clergy, they are one with the Universe and it is one with them. They seek only to prevent the destruction of nature and continue the evolution of the natural world through unity, harmony, and wisdom.
Holy Text
The Ancestor Spirit teaches the value of respecting nature and cultivating a sense of community. Those who revere this spirit find beauty in all things, even in their enemies, for there is something of oneself within all living beings.
Spirit of Life
The Ancestor Spirit is stringently anti-undead.
Arnut
Lesser Deity
Titles The White Lady, Snow Queen, The North Wind
Home elemental plane of water
Alignment LN
Portfolio cold, purity, judgment, winter
Worshippers arctic natives
Domains Protection, Water, Weather
Subdomains Ice, Seasons, Purity
Favored Weapon longspear
Considered a minor goddess across most of the land, paid service only as winter approaches, Arnut is a popular patron in the Klavek Empire for her ties to the frozen landscape and to winter itself.
History
Arnut has existed as long as winter itself, born as the world began turning. Her and her three siblings divided up the seasons of the year amongst themselves, taking the cold and unforgiving realm of winter for herself.
Appearance
Arnut most often appears as tall, hairless woman with pale blue skin, wearing a white robe that falls down into a swirling cloud of snow about her feet. She also appears as a cloud of snowflakes carried on the wind, whispering into the ears of passersby.
Church of Arnut
Arnut’s worship is strongest in the Klavek Empire, though shrines for her and her siblings appear across the continent, worshipped in passing as the seasons change.
Worshippers and Clergy
Arnut’s clergy are primarily female, those who tend the homestead and shelter the family from the cold. They usually dress in white robes, and carry lanterns with them hanging from long spears to help guide others through the snow.
Holy Text
Winterfall: This book describes not only the practices of Arnut’s clergy, but also how to celebrate her holy days. It typically also features additional documents detailing both the signs for changing seasons, as well as what must be done to prepare for winter.
The Axiomatic General
Titles Overseer of War, Lord of All Wars, Iron Soul, The True Balance, Wise Tactician, All-Knowing Upholder, The Redoubtable Warrior, The Inevitable Victor, The Warwise
Home Not known (currently active in Klavek Empire)
Symbol Decorated iron rod (sacred color: white)
Alignment LN
Portfolio Battlefield Tactics, Informed Decision-Making, Leadership, Military Campaigns, Victory
Domains Law, Nobility, Strength, War
Subdomains Inevitable, Leadership, Resolve, Tactics
Favored Weapon Light mace
Favored Animal Heavy warhorse
Introduction
The Axiomatic General is the god of those who use the self-evident and unquestionable power of law to further a cause. Most frequently this is during war, where neither the unhelpful morality of good and evil nor the confusion and disorder of chaos allow for clear decisions to be made and victory achieved. The Axiomatic General appears wherever clear-thinking, considered tactics, and balanced plans are being prepared or followed. While the field of war is the usual site for these activities, the Axiomatic General has been known to appear during complicated but emotionless court cases, and sometimes even when the cold, detached clarity of true monkish enlightenment is reached.
The Axiomatic General is neither male nor female, instead being a creature devoid of physically distracting bias. It can appear as a female or male of any humanoid species, whichever form is most likely to aid with clarity of decision making.
Dogma
The Axiomatic General and its followers aim to bring clarity to places in turmoil and demonstrate law’s axiomatic nature in war, legal frameworks, and personal actions. They expect believers to create and enforce meaningful laws while exposing and amending ludicrous ones. The Overseer of War abhors unfair advantages, such as emotional blackmail or personal power abuse, and encourages long-term, ordered “wars” over short-term fights. By carefully considering options, testing theories, and following well-conceived plans, one can achieve victory in an ordered manner. Clear intentions ensure fair actions, allowing trade, prosperity, courts, and societal growth to continue during conflicts.
The Lord of All Wars promotes careful consideration and self-evident truths for actions. Haste, guesswork, and self-indulgence lead to emotional and uncontrolled actions. It disapproves of blind trust in government or religious institutions that foster unprovable beliefs. Sound judgment, mental discipline, and grasp of sensible laws can overcome emotional and chaotic masses’ inauthentic evidence and invalid arguments.
History
Once a mortal humanoid, the Axiomatic General ascended to deification. Its origins are unclear, as virtually all races have a legendary warrior deity who rose from the mortal ranks after following a great warrior path. The Overseer of War became more powerful than the original deity and judged it at the end of a long conflict. The Lord of All War’s final verdict and victory granted the warrior godhood.
The Axiomatic General appears in history as a simple warrior when the race’s pre-eminent lawful deity wars against multiple non-lawful foes, good, evil, or chaotic. It has the ability to make clear, concise, and accurate decisions in combat. Tales often involve the Overseer of War upholding another deity’s followers when the god or goddess is weak and fallible. Then, the Axiomatic General saves the worshipers, judges the god, and finds it wanting. Afterward, it leads those who follow its words to victory through conflict, disagreement, and dispute.
Relationships
The Overseer of War dismisses deities that don’t embrace lawful beliefs. It tolerates lawful good and lawful evil gods as long as their lawfulness is prominent, and may support a lawfully-minded archon against an evil devil. Ultimately, the balance of law is crucial.
The Axiomatic General opposes personal choice, uncontrolled actions, and “belief.” It conflicts with deities that support bards, barbarians, and wild sorcerers. Due to its association with conclusive truth, it sometimes sides with sages, experts, philosophers, and academics seeking lost truths in military, legal, commercial, or magical fields.
Appearance
The Axiomatic General, a healthy, vibrant member of its race, can be male, female, or neither. Its practical clothing instills confidence and is always bright white. The decorated iron rod symbol, sewn above the heart and mimicked by its weapon, is the god’s symbol. The Overseer of War carries an axiomatic brilliant energy light mace, whose appearance and effect align with the senior cleric’s domain.
Legends dictate that the Axiomatic General occasionally appears as a fully advanced, adamantine-coated marut, but the last occasion this was recorded was many generations ago.
Providence
Followers of the Lord of All Wars know that clarity, understanding, and insight come from careful thought and consideration. The Oversee of War values those who consider options before acting decisively and follow through with long-term plans. Any sign of failure, confusion, or misunderstanding indicates displeasure and the need for greater discipline and forethought.
Servants
The Axiomatic General rewards those who organize well and follow agreed plans, even if it takes many generations. Servants must sacrifice the immediate for the long term, understand that they may lose loved ones for the betterment of a lawful population, and recognize that the needs of a lawful future outweigh current considerations.
The Overseer of War favors those who constantly uphold the law. Inevitables are esteemed alongside formians and other hive-minded creatures. Followers who dedicate their lives to achieving a long-term lawful aim often receive divine insight and clarity. Humanoids who gain significant insight into a particular path or quickly judge the features and benefits of multiple possibilities often receive divine hints.
The Church of the Axiomatic General
Dedicated to ensuring correct decisions for indisputable truth, serves various sizes of worship spaces, from simple sand tablets to grand cathedral libraries. These churches, designed to remove mental distractions, effectively spread the Overseer of War’s axioms and tenets.
Worship is often silent, allowing followers to consider practical and long-term issues. Serious but enjoyable debates ensue, focusing on reaching the truest solution without the concept of “victory or defeat.” Churches provide neutral meeting points between warring factions, with experienced clergy mediating. The Axiomatic General emphasizes the importance of collective action to overcome chaos before resolving philosophical and personal lawful differences through contemplation and debate.
The clergy of the Overseer of War organizes themselves hierarchically, similar to modern militaries, businesses, or courtrooms. Religious and educational centers following the Axiomatic General have a clear structure showing those who best understand the god’s aims. Churches are defined by grasping unequivocal truths, unimpeachable laws, unbeatable tactics, and unquestionable enlightenment. Those with knowledge over belief and undeniable evidence have the greatest standing, regardless of size. Worshipers rise based on irrefutable knowledge and information, with greater responsibilities given to those with it. Mistakes aren’t considered failures if individuals show they tried to clarify and find answers. They recognize that further investigation provides better knowledge and avoid repeating mistakes. The Lord of All Wars allows for long-term planning, and errors that can be rectified have little consequence. Churches worshiping the Axiomatic General are found in lawful societies and near those without a preference for law or chaos, but are absent from chaotic cultures. The Overseer of War prefers his followers to surround such cultures and gradually move inward until chaos is eliminated, ensuring no worshiper is tricked into joining chaos from within. Services to the Axiomatic General are organized affairs, either contemplation of truth or respectful presentation of findings influencing decisions. Everyone can speak, but followers recognize the need to act swiftly during war and develop a concise style of presenting findings.
Worshipers
The Axiomatic General is primarily worshiped by military officers but also draws in judges, lawyers, barristers, sages, monks, and those who would advance society in an ordered and structured way. Those who indulge in chaotic thoughts and acts are ignored at all times.
Clergy
The clergy of the Overseer of War aren’t necessarily clerics, but if they aren’t, they can only represent the god within their expertise. Clerics must lead a service, even if the content is decided by the senior expert. The most experienced cleric leads, with assistance from others.
The Axiomatic General doesn’t support paladins, despite their martial outlook. Their tendency towards good leads them to overlook balanced lawful life needs, resulting in questionable judgments in some situations.
Temples and Shrines
Buildings dedicated to the Lord of All Wars are functional, unadorned, and designed to serve all aspects of the god’s tenets, with a clear focus on one domain. Four temples, one for each aspect of devotion, are often found next to each other.
All sites of worship have a magical lead box with an amazing lock, holding a copy of the four holy texts of the Axiomatic General and one additional book on the congregation’s expertise. These boxes are identical, as adornment is forbidden to avoid distractions. They are always at the center of worship and decision-making. The text in each book is updated by divine intervention if a more accurate version is discovered or new facts are uncovered.
Each place of worship also contains the thoughts and evidence of anyone who has uncovered indisputable truths. Work-in-progress materials for new truth-seekers are stored here.
Holy Texts
The Four Planes of Certain Truth, confirmed by the Axiomatic General, are stored in a magical box that updates daily via divine intervention. No decision is made without it, even if unused. Clerics of the Overseer of War receive notifications during meditation; all clerics and service leaders should learn the texts by heart.
Each book has a simple cover, binding, and decoration. Other documents have these symbols, author’s initials, and publication date. When superseded, the date of relegation is stamped on the cover and the original symbols scored through.
Axioms of War
This contains the latest approved plans for war as a whole, as well as tactics for individual fights. The core content—when consulted prior to a battle—confers both a confidence-boosting and calming effect as it confirms how its actions bring eventual victory in the war (with that day’s battle an important part of it). Chapters detail the stages of engagement and explain the surest way forward at each point. They describe how a lawful plan can be overcome by the sheer weight of chaos, but also how to learn from that experience and counter it in the next battle.
Axioms of Law
This text contains the latest approved plans for passing legal judgment, including tactics for individual cases and methods for ensuring correct judgment. It also details stages of ascertaining truth from evidence and methods for considering it impartially.
Axioms of Decisions
This guide provides effective meditation methods, research techniques, and expert advice for investigations. It emphasizes the importance of focus, avoiding distractions, and making informed decisions to achieve accurate results.
Axioms of Enlightenment
This guide offers pathways to understanding the world and one’s role in it, as well as how to achieve the best of life through order. Before meditating, it promotes open-mindedness, ensuring the proper path to enlightenment is followed. Chapters provide details on pre-, during-, and post-meditation practices, as well as how to recognize enlightenment and overcome distractions caused by others.
Holidays
The Axiomatic General isn’t celebrated at specific festivals. When the law prevails in the god’s areas of interest, followers offer a prayer of thanks within 30 minutes. If gratitude is shown later, it means the follower was distracted and acted chaotic to fit it in. Better to acknowledge the Overseer of War with your body and mind than distract yourself and make two situations chaotic.
Balir
Titles Master of the First Forge, The Burning Hero
Home The Plane of Earth
Alignment Lawful Neutral
Portfolio Craftsmanship, Honor, Dweorg, Dwarves
Worshippers Dwarves, Craftsmen
Domains Artifice, Glory, Law
Subdomains Construct, Toil, Metal, Honor
Favored Weapon Warhammer
Balir is considered to be first among dwarves, yet least among gods – a mortal hero granted divinity through his great actions and heroic sacrifices.
History
Balir, a dweorg, a remnant of the once-great dwarven race, sought to reclaim his people’s lost glory. He mastered metalworking, defended his homeland against the Underworld, and crafted an unbreakable armor. Inside, he became unstoppable, reclaiming thousands of miles of lost lands. However, his peace offering to the drow led to a curse of burning within his armor, sealing him forever.
The gods, recognizing Balir as a martyr, granted him divinity. He awoke as a god within his tomb, departing the mortal realm. As a god, Balir faced repeated challenges, proving his worth to the divine. His feats, though beyond human comprehension, were as formidable as his mortal ones. From one of these divine toils, he claimed his mighty hammer, Soul Forger, from a creature much larger than himself.
Balir kept his destroyed mortal form as a penance, constructing a metal body without the flaw of mercy that destroyed him. Though his scarred face remained dwarven, his body was a machine of white mithral and black iron. Even with his drow-cursed armor destroyed, he burned with murderous fire, carrying a spark from which the sun was born. When not in his divine form, Balir assumed the guise of a young dwarf, bearing scars from flame.
Churches, Clergy, and Worshippers
Churches dedicated to Balir are simple and practical, reflecting dwarven life. They stand near places of work and creation, guided by Balir’s ancient knowledge. The clergy, mostly dwarven, dress in mithral and crimson, while poorer members wear white and yellow. Worshippers often offer constructed items or money to newly-qualified crafters or promising apprentices.
Holy Text
The Life of Balir, unlike standard holy teachings, is a three-thousand-page dwarven self-help book detailing Balir’s thousand trials. Some versions include additional opinionated volumes about Balir’s actions. The original text remains unchanged from Balir’s son’s penning after Balir’s ascension to godhood.
The Current
Alignment CN
Portfolio Insanity, Mysticism, Seas, Underworld Waters, the Unknown
Domains Madness (Nightmare), Magic (Arcane), Void (Dark Tapestry), Water (Oceans)
Favored Weapons Tentacle (whips, spiked chains)
Favored Animals Octopus, Squid
Very little is known about the Current, save that it is the only god of the vestraadi. The blind men of the Underworld once had an entire pantheon that matched the grandeur of their ocean-bed civilizations, but the Current appeared from the depths of the cosmos as suddenly as a gigantic aquatic predator and consumed them all.
History
The other deities of Aventyr are forever vigilant for even the slightest brush of the Current’s tentacles in their plans or near their essence, keeping a respectful distance from the maddening god. Its motives are totally unpredictable, though it strikes swiftly and without warning when it is suited to do so. The affairs of the gods don’t seem to bear any interest to the Current, however, and it is thought to be slumbering, like the massive beasts that lay in the ruins of the vestraadi’s ancient civilizations. Indeed, some believe that these enormous predators are somehow related to the maddening god and not without good reason; they appeared not long after the Current came to Aventyr.
Appearance
Records of The Current’s appearance are extremely vague by necessity; those that look upon it are driven utterly mad. The few reliable accounts claim that it is a floating, slithering or pulsating mass of writhing tentacles, the end of each covered in barbs of colors for which there is no shade or name.
Churches of the Maddening God
These revered houses of worship completely encompass those within them, covered in sculptures of tentacles that extend throughout the structure. The holiest of these churches are actually made from the recovered limbs of enormous squids and octopuses—the architecture within them drives any non-followers of the Current to madness, afflicting any creature within with a form of insanity should they fail a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw.
Holy Text
No books exist for the religion of the maddening god; instead, the vestraadi keep song strings. When wound or unwound underwater, these magical cords play hymns of the Current’s religion (in a tongue those that hear them can understand). The holiest and most valuable of these song strings are said to relate the true origins of the aquatic deity, but are said to drive those that hear them mad with the voice of the Current, cursed to forever live with its echo in their mind.
Eureum
Titles Eureum, The East Wind, He who Renews, The Sad Death
Home elemental plane of earth
Alignment LN
Portfolio autumn, death, rebirth
Worshippers undertakers, executioners, druids
Domains Death, Healing, Repose
Subdomains Decay, Growth, Loss, Resurrection
Favored Weapon scythe
Eureum is commonly portrayed as an unfeeling god, who cares little for the world so long as nothing interrupts the cycle of life to death. However, this view of him is false, for more important to him is the return again to life, and the continuance of the cycle of life.
Often, this message is confused by his followers and those who encounter them, fanatics who see in him little more than another aspect of death. Only a few of his followers are true believers, often those who live within nature and see the true nature of the cycle of life and death.
History
Eureum, along with the other three seasons, came into being as the world began to turn. The others chose their domains carefully, but Eureum took his from necessity. For, there must be balance in life as there must be balance in death. He feels it is job to keep the other seasons in check, and it was he who proposed dividing the world into the four seasons we know it as today.
Appearance
Eureum often appears as a faceless figure, male or female, draped in a robe made of dried leaves and carrying a scythe in one skeletal hand, and a shovel in the other. It is said, that beneath the cowl, he perpetually weeps.
When he does not appear in a humanoid form, he appears as a collection of dry autumn leaves blowing in the wind.
Church of Eureum
Much to his dismay, most of Eureum’s churches are misguided, focusing only on one aspect – either death, or rebirth – and are often fanatical in their beliefs. He considers only a few shrines to him, often deep within forests and away from civilization, to be true churches.
Worshippers and Clergy
Eureum’s followers are more often fanatics than they are proper clergy, focusing either on bringing either death or life wherever they go instead of maintaining the cycle of life and death.
His true followers dress in dirty brown robes, often matted with dried leaves and crawling with tiny insects.
Holy Text
On Death: This book details the cycle of death, and life, and how all life depends on the death for sustenance as much as death depends on life – for one is impossible without the other. It also decries undead as abominations – for their death does not breed more life – only more death.
Flaesuros
Titles Brightest, Light of Life, Morning Star, The Never Shadowed
Home The Sun
Symbol A five-pointed star with a ring wrapped around the center
Alignment LG
Portfolio: Honesty, Life, Light, Youth
Domains: Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Sun
Favored Weapon: Morningstar
Flaesuros (FLAY sur oss) is blindingly beautiful, with very pale skin, shoulder length, curly light brown hair, and eyes the color of jade. He is short and broad-shouldered and generally has a blissful expression. He usually wears scant clothing, dyed red-orange.
Unlike other deities of the sun, Flaesuros is an easy-going kind of god. He places more emphasis on doing good for others and the community, as opposed to oppressing people with laws. He does, however, understand and teach that laws are important and that all good people should follow them, until such time as they interfere with the good of the land.
He is often worshipped by women, as he is the God of Life. His large numbers of followers can be primarily distinguished by an ashes star worn on the back of the right hand. There are widespread temples to him on islands. There are many myths involving his daring adventures with certain mortals. He is the father of Nearru.
Hado
Titles Hado The Great and Terrible, The South Wind, The Withering Gaze
Home elemental plane of fire
Alignment LN
Portfolio judgment, observance, community, summer
Worshippers community leaders, scouts, desert natives
Domains Community, Law, Nobility
Subdomains Ancestors, Family, Resolve, Seasons
Favored Weapon warhammer
Hado is a stoic sentinel among the gods, watching over the land with his intense gaze. His intensity matches the sun, with which he is often associated despite being a guardian of families, communities, and social order.
Hado is known in many parts of the world, though rarely worshipped due to his extremely strict set of rules he forces his followers to endure.
History
Hado is the oldest of the four winds, who came into being as the world began to turn. His three siblings knew the similarities between him and the scorching sun of midsummer and granted him the least yielding of seasons as his domain.
Appearance
Hado appears most often as a storm giant with a golden shield, whose eyes blaze with the intensity of the sun. However, he often also appears as dried grass blowing in the wind.
Church of Hado
The church of Hado is a judicial system who watches and judges the communities they are part of. Often, they number amongst the lawyers and judges of the city’s standard legal system as well, granting it divine legitimacy with the grace of their god.
Worshippers and Clergy
Hado’s followers are typically men, often those who already have authority and power through their families or community position. They are also often involved in the legal systems of their communities, from clerks to judges. They wear green clothing with golden accents.
Holy Text
Overwatch: This thick book goes into extreme details on rules for people to follow, and facets on which people are judged by the gods. It is often found even in other churches, for many of its tenants explain the laws of gods who are vaguer in their decrees.
Hivaka
Demi-Goddess
Titles: Leader out of Darkness, Savior of the Masses
Home: Nhilolin (NYE low lin)
Symbol: A broken chain
Alignment: CG
Portfolio: Drow, Freedom, Justice, Underground
Domains: Chaos, Darkness, Liberation, Travel
Favored Weapon: warhammer
History
Hivaka was the last daughter of five children born to a minor drow house, House Ruim, in the city of Xdot. Her mother, Laelstra, was the Matron’s personal seeress. Hivaka possessed only the slightest of her mother’s magical abilities, mastering cantrips at an early age, but progressing no further. Being the youngest daughter, barely older than her only brother, and her sisters already being groomed for succession to various positions within the House, Hivaka found herself being used as leverage but almost everyone around her.
Hivaka’s father, Elkerd, was first son of House Kilduis, allies of House Ruim. Among Elkerd’s vices was gambling—he never minded losing, as long as fun was had by all. The problems began when he started using House Kildius’ assets to cover his wagers. When he was financially cut off from House Kilduis, he took the step of offering his youngest daughter, Hivaka, to the winner of a game of orbben. When Elkerd lost to Imfein of House Rilyntyl, rival of House Kilduis, Hivaka was taken from her home by force. Laelstra protested, but there were too many reliable witnesses to the wager for her challenges to hold sway over her Matron. Thus, Hivaka was taken into slavery by House Rilyntyl. Laelstra attempted to buy Hivaka from Imfein, but was rebuffed, as having a bargaining chip against House Kilduis’ ally was was worth much more than gold.
Aside from the hard labor she and many others were forced to endure, Hivaka was treated well—as well as a slave could be treated, anyway. She took her enforced servitude in stride, seeing as how she had almost never held any power of significance in her life. However, she harbored a hatred for her father, not understanding how a parent could blithely hand over their child’s life to another simply to cover a bet.
The guards from House Imfein did not treat her any better or any worse than any of the other slaves. Neither did they prohibit her mother from visiting her occasionally during the evening, as long as no escape attempts were made. They did, however, restrain her from braining her father with her work hammer the one and only time he approached her during a shift of breaking up rocks. If not for the guards, Elkerd would have died violently, but possibly not quickly.
Hivaka was a slave of House Imfein for almost a full year before Laelstra recruited a large following and put a plan into action that would free Hivak: she and her cohort would attack the Imfein guards at the slave pens during the night and Hivak would escape in the confusion while wearing the battle-dress of a House Imfein sorceress.
The assault appeared to be a success as chaos reigned in the slave pens, however, Laelstra had not anticipated two things: first, there were more guards than anticipated, causing longer holdups and more casualties as the attacking mob progressed. More guards also meant that an alarm could be sounded, bringing reinforcements, which compounded the existing issues with the rescue.
The second issue was that Hivaka had determined that no matter where she was in drow society, she would be enslaved. Either to another house or within her own, where she would be used as a pawn in countless numbers of schemes by her Matron and her own family. As the youngest daughter, she held the lowest standing. Because of this, she was determined not to return to her home.
Once in possession of the Imfein battle dress, Hivaka pulled the attached hood over her head and began leading slaves away, using her implied authority, along with some well placed and spectacular looking cantrips, to move them without interference. She had nearly one hundred slaves with her when they left the Xdot border.
Leading them on through the night, Hivaka found a narrow cave entrance that led into a larger cavern inside. Using the last of her available magicks, Hivaka attempted to cover the mouth of the cave with an illusion showing solid rock. The image was far more effective than Hivak knew because she and her group had attracted the attention of Leacim, the only known male drow deity.
A trickster among the more serious drow goddesses, Leacim took this opportunity to thumb his nose as his sisters and to have fun, watching at the drow patrols searched the area over and over, never seeing past his illusions.
The rescued slaves began worshipping Hivaka as a savior. She resisted their praise, saying that she was simply another slave, like them. Leacim—knowing that these slaves needed someone to look up to, invested a small amount of his power in Hivaka, raising her above the mortals, but not so high as the divine: he made her a demigoddess.
Those under her protection turned their new home into a town, called Nhlilolin, which has become a haven for the outcasts of the Underworld.
Appearance
Hivaka is short, for a drow, but heavily muscled from her time as a slave. Her light gray hair is kept short for a drow female, the ends reaching her jawline. Her eyes are blue, relatively rare in the Underworld, and if you look into them, you will find nothing but a steely resolve.
Hivaka keeps her clothes simple, preferring pants and shirts that have pockets. The more pockets, the better. She is never anywhere without the hammer that she used to break the chains of the other slaves before leading them off into the night. Every morning or after any combat, she repairs the wooden handle with the mending cantrip.
Church of Hivaka
Hivaka, as a very recent demigoddess does not have a church, but those that were rescued from imprisonment literally sing her praises every day. She downplays her role as a savior or someone to be worshipped. She does have her devoted followers and, thanks to Leacim, she is able to grant them a small number of spells. She has not gained any paladins, though.
Worshippers and Clergy
Those who escaped with Hivaka are her greatest worshippers, but any who have escaped bondage freely speak her name with reverence. There is no set clery in Nhilolin, but some apostles go out into the Underworld (and a few to the Upperworld) and speak against slavery, striving to free those that are held down, if only through word if not deed.
Some of these preachers will gather the like-minded with them and attempt to free those taken by slavers. These zealots do not care if they live or die, as long as those imprisoned go free.
Holy Text
The Journey: The only text that Hivaka doesn’t simply shake her head at is The Journey. This collection of parchments is the story of not only Hivaka leading the slaves of House Imfein to freedom, but every person who has escaped from an overlord is welcome to add their story to The Journey. So far, almost three hundred stories have been put into the collection.
A second “holy text” has begun circulating throughout Nhilolin and the Underworld, speaking of Hivaka in the holiest of languages, greatly exaggerating her abilities, and almost, but not quite, painting her as the goddess who will eventually overthrow the mightiest of slavers, Naraneus herself. Hivaka has tried to explain that the book, The Light of Hivaka and the Way Forward, brings attention to her and the town, which is mentioned by name in the book, and could lead to them all being recaptured. This explanation has failed, so far.
Ja Qua
Titles Mother, Jaguar Queen, Heart of the Jungle, She Behind the Leaves
Home The Fey Jungle
Alignment LN
Portfolio Strength, The Hunt, Family
Worshippers Actively worshipped by many natives of NairaCull
Domains Strength, Animal, Law, Protection
Subdomains Ferocity, Fur, Resolve
Favored Weapon Natural Claws, Maquahuitl
Considered by a vast majority of the native peoples of NairaCull to be she who controls the balance of life within their lands, the worship of Ja Qua is the dominant faith within the dark nation.
History
Ja Qua herself predates most written language, and her own followers have spent their entire lives passing down the tales told to them from previous generations, leaving her history entirely in the hands of those who revere her. Little is known to her followers of her true origins, only that she has proven to be an active and loyal spiritual force within the lives of those who never looked away from the older forms of worship.
Ja Qua exists within a sub-dimension connected to the mainlands of the Seelie Court, and has fostered a deep relationship with the fey of her lands, looking upon them with the same love and care as her human followers. In turn, the fey have come to view her as one of their own and a revered person of power amongst their courts, and will not hesitate to interact on her behalf within her lands.
Appearance
Ja Qua appears in one of two forms when she chooses to appear at all. The first being that of a monstrously large and physically powerful jaguar, golden tawny in color with spots that appear to shift and move before one’s eyes. Crowned with a rim of bony protrusions across her brow and snout, there is no mistaking Ja Qua in her feline form as the self-appointed Queen of her lands. Her second form is one of far more subtlety, one of an attractive woman, typically still keeping the tawny color of her pelt within her long hair. The color of her eyes in human form is said to be indescribable, as no true color exists within nature to compare them to, and her voice will both seduce and petrify you with fear in the same instant.
Church of Ja Qua
Ja Qua’s worship is strongest within the lands of NaeraCull, though there is the random shrine amongst a few forgotten uncivilized locations, where the march of progress has not severed all of humanities connection to the Seelie Court yet.
Worshippers and Clergy
Those tribal warriors deemed worthy are put through a ritualistic challenge to earn Ja Qua’s Blessing, the gift of lycanthropy. Those who survive the process of transformation, and are not driven mad by the ritualistic pain they must go through to prove their worth find themselves in a position of honor amongst the tribes and temples, utilized as guardians and hunters, protecting both the faith and an ancient way of life. Dressed in only a loincloth these warriors tend to embrace the custom of adorning themselves with colorful trinkets and baubles to mark victories over adversaries, or glorious hunts.
Those of great enough faith, but not physical stamina to serve the tribes as warriors tend the temples and altars of Ja Qua as her loyal clerics. Over time those of the deepest devotion begin to acquire certain feline traits, though they never achieve the full embrace of Ja Qua as the temple warriors do.
Holy Text
Scattered throughout the jungle are many lost ruins of forgotten tribes, within which are wall carvings and bas-reliefs depicting the teachings of various points in the history of the church of Ja Qua. Most of the written language of the people of NairaCull is pictographic and has never been compiled into text or bound format, although it is rumored that a man travels the jungle seeking to do just that.
The Dralman Documents
The renowned skald, Theo Dralman, was tasked by the Grand University of Mohkba with delving into the dark jungle to study the spirits worshipped by the native people and how the Klavek Empire could exploit this knowledge. Years later, legends among the tribes suggest his goals have shifted, and his quest for knowledge has become personal. Many tales describe a man with numerous scars, as if he’d been mauled to death but spared and guided. Rare copies of his incomplete work, known as the Dralman Documents, have been smuggled to coastal towns and safari camps. Public possession within Klavekian lands is considered treason, punishable by property and goods confiscation and imprisonment.
Leacim
Titles: The Clever Shadow
Symbol: Spinning 8-faceted gem
Alignment: CN
Portfolio: Chance, Guile, Illusion, Misfortune, Self-Determination, Thieves
Domains: Chaos, Entropy, Deception, Luck, Trickery
Favored Weapons: Scimitar, Shortbow, Throwing Knife
Favored Animals Any beast with camouflage or mimicry (such as a chameleon, stick bug, etc)
History
The forgotten god Leacim, once a cunning and wise deity, was left deranged and without an identity after staring into the void. He roamed the universe, driven by his growing insanity.
During the Forging of the Dvergr, Leacim was drawn to the world’s rise and fall. He was particularly interested in the elven deities, subtly infiltrating their pantheon and species. He appeared among the elves, adopting the drow form and gathering followers before and after their exodus from Edhellond.
Hivak, the Savior of the Masses, was one of his most famous followers. Leacim transformed her into a demigoddess when she and her fellow slaves escaped from Xdot.
Leacim continues to influence the drow’s existence. He travels through the Underworld, touching the souls of dark elves and changing their alignments. The lone raider D’thul, a cannibalistic sorcerer-barbarian, is one of these drow. The surface world often sees the trickster god’s influence, leading them to dubious roles and unexpected rewards.
Appearance
The trickster god has numerous guises but he most commonly appears as an affably dressed male half-drow with an alluring grin or a blonde human girl, regardless of form, both have piercing blue eyes. Leacim’s clothing is generally fashionable and appropriate for the environment, though it is sometimes slightly tattered and seemingly in a state of disrepair. He casually saunters seemingly without a care in the world, a scimitar on his side and black-lacquered shortbow across his back, in female form he carries only a single knife as a weapon which always returns to him when thrown.
Shrines to the Trickster
Leacim doesn’t have proper churches—effigies and the like are hidden in plain sight or are places of secret pilgrimage. These shrines are often made to look like they belong to other deities, and only show their true forms when the correct prayers are uttered. Followers that fail a DC 28 Knowledge (religion) check find their god distempered with them after praying at one of these shrines, though they remain unsure as to why (regardless of any divination spells they cast).
Holy Text
Leacim’s Lexicon is a treasured tome among thieves’ guilds, hidden drow enclaves and the trickster god’s followers. These books appear as unremarkable journals of unremarkable lives to followers of other deities (DC 26 Wisdom saving throw to negate) but in the hands of a devoted acolyte, provides a means to learn any rogue trick, illusion spell, or access to knowledge of prestige classes that require sneak attack as a prerequisite.
Musta’Vohi
Titles: God Mother, Heavenly Concubine
Home: Everywhere
Symbol: A goat’s head painted black
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Birth, Health, Motherhood, Lust, Pregnancy
Domains: Charm, Darkness, Healing, Protection
Favored Weapon: spiked chain
History
According to the Yerek, Musta’Vohi created the universe from the sheer will to reproduce. Once she made the universe, she created light and dark, warm and cold, up and down, and every planet, person, animal, and plant. They say that she birthed the other gods as well. Even now, she continues to produce new lifeforms.
Appearance
Musta’Vohi appears as a stout matronly woman with graying blonde hair who always appears slightly tired, but her eyes are always filled with lust. She wears a simple brown shawl over a simple brown cloak that has the hood pulled back. Her feet are bare and her hands are always opening and closing, as if trying to grasp something.
Church
There is no physical church of Musta’Vohi. Any place where a man and woman couple together is considered a holy place during the actual coupling, but loses this status when the pair separate.
Worshippers and Clergy
All of the Yerek worship Musta’Vohi, but only women are considered “clergy” because of their ability to become pregnant. A young woman is inducted into the clergy when she can bear children and earns the title “Daughter.” Women who have already given birth have the title “Mother.” Women who are no longer able to give birth are called “Matron,” and the oldest woman in the tribe has the title “Grandmother.”
During each new moon, the newest Daughter is anointed in purified oils and sacrifices the most recently born male child to Musta’Vohi. After this ceremony, all Daughters are taken to the Grandmother to learn the ways of pregnancy and motherhood.
Holy Text
None. All of Musta’Vohl’s teachings are passed down verbally from Grandmother to the Matrons.
Naneth
Titles Leaf Mother, Warrior Mother
Home Edheltaure (Elven Forest)
Symbol A leaf pierced with an arrow
Alignment TN
Portfolio Elves, forest, agriculture, combat
Worshippers Elves of Edhellond
Cleric Alignments LN, TN, CN, NG
Domains Fireside, Healing, Knowledge, Provider, Protection, Sun, War
Favored Weapon spear
History
According to the elves, from the beginning, during the Prime Event that created the cosmos, there has been light. This light both warmed the cosmos and struck out against the darkness that also appeared. This light, both protective and aggressive is embodied in Naneth. She is both Leaf Mother and Warrior Mother.
Naneth (NAH neth), her sister Naraneus, and their brother Onael created the first elves. Naneth comforted and warmed the elves, but she also taught them to defend themselves. She showed them to care for each other and themselves, but they only had each other to rely on. As the elves evolved, she became more of a mothering figure to them, offsetting the chaotic presence of Naraneus, while Onael drifted away from the family.
Eventually, Naraneus became jealous of Naneth’s mothering ways and began a feud between the two that would last for ages and eventually encompass the elves as well, two groups choosing a deity to follow. Naraneus lost and the elves that followed her were banished from Edhellond.
Once the war was over, Naneth reflected on Naraneus’s deceit. She decided that if she could not trust her own sister, her children couldn’t trust anyone else. She instructed the Matriarch to retreat completely within Edhellond, the Silent Forest.
Trade relations with the other races suddenly ceased and there was no response from envoys sent to the elves. The entire elven society retreated into Edhellond, turning entirely to hunting, agriculture, and magic; forsaking any trade or relations with other races.
Naneth taught the elves that they were to rely only on themselves for everything. There would be no trade, no exchanges of information, no envoys allowed inside Edhellond and only those on secret missions benefiting elvish society were allowed to venture out from Edhellond.
Appearance
Naneth appears in two forms, befitting her dual nature. In her Asaya Naneth (Leaf Mother) form, she appears as a motherly female Elf, with long golden hair that reaches the ground and she always carries a basket of bright blue flowers. In her Maethor Naneth (Warrior Mother) guise, she appears as a tall, stout elf, dressed in leather armor and a small cap keeping her jet black hair out of the way. Regardless of how she dresses, she has a pin of her symbol at the neck of her garment. She always carries a shield that is designed to look like her symbol.
She can change between the two forms in the blink of an eye.
Church of Naneth
Naneth’s “church” is more of an outdoor shrine at the largest maple tree in the Silent Forest, Tal. Edhellond is a theocracy, led by the current Matriarch or Patriarch, who also leads the services to Naneth.
Worshippers and Clergy
All surface elves worship Naneth in either of her two forms and worship of both is the norm. Clergy outside of the Matriarch/Patriarch and the Cleric of Naneth selected by the ruler are treated equally regardless of power level or ability. The motto of the clergy is “We only have ourselves” so they do not discriminate in any way.
Holy Text
The Triploid Text: This tome is separated into sections of three, with each section beginning with a parable of Asaya Naneth, ending with a parable of Maethon Naneth, and the middle section being descriptions of the war between the elves and between Naneth and Naraneus.
The cover of the copy that belongs to the Matriarch or Patriarch is created from several massive maple leaves. The pages are made from a branch that supposedly fell from the maple tree that makes up Naneth’s shrine.
Naraneus
Titles: Queen of Venom; She Who Weaves Darkness
Home: The Demiplane of Venom
Alignment: NE
Symbol: A spider with a stylized face on the back or an 8-fingered hand
Portfolio: Darkness, Drow, Evil, Forbidden Knowledge, Spiders, Venom
Domains: Destruction, Drow, Evil, Knowledge
Favored Weapon: Scorpion Whip, poisoned
History
From the beginning, during the Prime Event that created the cosmos, there has been light. However, where there is light, there is also shadow and darkness with primeval being who dwell in that darkness. Known on numerous planes by a myriad of names, she is known in this realm by a name whispered by the drow, Naraneus.
Appearance
Naraneus (Nare an AY us) only appears to her worshippers in her true form. The bottom half is a giant venomous hunting spider while the top half is a drow female with her face painted white. Her hair is also white and made of tiny spiders constantly moving in a crawling and disorienting fashion. She wears an apron made of surface elf skin.
Worshippers and Clergy
All drow worship Naraneus. Males can attain very limited rank in the theological hierarchy (one level of Cleric), whereas females are unlimited.
Every morning each drow drinks a tiny dose of poison then turns to face the Spider Temple or to a symbol of the Queen of Venom and prays to Naraneus for forgiveness and guidance. There are no formal services unless the Matriarch requires it.
Holy Text
The Silken Dissertation relates the tale of the Surface War and why the drow chose the Underground as their home. The text speaks of how the drow long to see the surface again, to live with their elven brethren in the forest again, but they can not, because the surfacers are greedy.
Copies of the text are available to those who want one, but they are simple black-covered affairs, where the cover of the original is a book woven of monstrous spider silk that has a purple sheen to it. The severed hand of a surface elf that has been altered to have eight fingers holds the original book closed.
The Natural Force
Alignment NG
Portfolio Earth, Growth, Health, Nature, Prosperity
Domains Earth (Caves), Good, Healing (Resurrection), Plant (Mushroom)
Favored Weapons Slam (greatclub)
Favored Animals Any animal with the Fungal Template, Vegepygmy
History
The Natural Force is a deity that has existed and will always exist; some scholars (mostly druids) believe it to be the very soul of the world, made manifest over time as Aventyr shaped itself. Others claim it is the essence of the Honningsop Mushroom, the oldest living thing on the planet, elevated to godhood from the residual divine energies wrought throughout history. Its awakening may not have been caused by the pantheon’s doings, but its emergence seems to coincide with The Grand Sculpting and the Great Schism.
As the endless caves of the Underworld expanded, vast chambers filled with moisture risen from tunnels hundreds of miles away, creating damp caverns of moist earth. The Natural Force seeded the subterranean breezes with its spores, creating the mushroom jungles and fungal forests of Aventyr. More than that, some of these spores carried the very children of the deity—intelligent, benevolent plant humanoids known as funglets.
The divine beings of Aventyr generally regard the great nature deity of the Underworld with a measure of respect, if they acknowledge it at all. It answers the calls of its followers but is remarkably slow to act openly, playing the great game of the gods with a level of detachment and planning that no other deity can fathom.
Appearance
When the Natural Force does appear (which is extremely rare), it does so as a funglet of enormous height, colored in a kaleidoscopic mixture of all the different subtypes and carrying a gigantic club made from a fantafungi. Every patch of earth the Natural Force touches erupts with a random assortment of mushrooms immediately after he breaks contact with it, and all naturally grown barriers part their way for it and take no damage from its passing.
Church of the Natural Force
Any monument or sculpture of a mushroom serves as a shrine to the Natural Force, though acolytes of the nature deity pray to fungus of large size or greater if they are able to. Sites of particular religious significance always bear an importance to the number three, though none are sure why (save the Natural Force and its wisest adherents, though they have never revealed it).
Holy Text
The Libre Boletus is a tome crafted from boletann pages. Anyone that casually skims the book sees nothing but simple gardening tips to encourage the growth of mushrooms, but should they read it fully through, the pages transform to explain the tenets of the Natural Force’s faith. Carefully absorbing the contents of the tome (requiring 24 hours of reading) teaches the reader the rituals necessary to work and craft boletann.
Nearru
Titles Dark Governess, Shadowed Maiden
Home The Moon
Symbol An eye with part of the iris is a crescent moon
Alignment CN
Portfolio: Darkness, Death, Madness, Secrets
Domains: Chaos, Darkness, Madness, Repose, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Scythe
Nearru (NEER oo) is an exotic beauty, with ashen skin, waist-length pale red hair, and eyes the color of shining silver. She is surprisingly short and willowy, and generally appears mischievous. She usually wears a cloak dyed grey. She is the daughter of Flaesuros with a mortal Gnome female named Harmony Ghosthonor.
As the Goddess of the Moon, she is also loosely associated with the sun. She considers herself a reflection of her father; the same, but reversed. She is often worshipped by men. Her followers can be primarily distinguished by the dark colored clothing they wear. There are more than a few offerings to her on lonely roads. There are many myths involving her many misadventures with a Klavek hero named Jazoh. She is known to pose riddles to mortal magic-users.
Onael
Onael is an elf-only deity
Titles: The Last; The Lost Brother, The Unseen; Forest Lord
Home: The Forgotten Forest
Symbol: A leaf wrapped in a chain on a black swirled background
Alignment: LE
Portfolio: Edheliant, Evil, Forest, Order, Tyranny, War
Domains: Evil, Law, Nobility, Strength, War
Favored Weapon: Greatsword
History
Onael (Oh NALE) is the third of the original elven deities. Together, they created the beings that would become knows at elves. Naneth provided the loving and mothering aspect. She showed them how to care for and protect each other, teaching them skills they needed to survive. Naraneus provided the chaos that seemed to pervade this new world and taught the elves about death and destruction and how to kill for food. Onael provided the controlling aspect, teaching the elves that in order to succeed, in spite of the chaos, there needed to be order and control. He taught them leadership and command and that of all the newly formed races, the elves were the greatest of them all.
Eventually, over the millennia, the elves evolved away from the controlled savagery and into the form that is more common today. As the world became more ordered, they needed their aggression less and opened themselves up more to the life and magic that surrounded them. Without as much violence, they began to live longer and grew smaller, as their muscles were not needed as much for combat. They understood that they did not need to conquer and control to live in the modern world and accepted their place, arriving in Edhellond, the Elven land that would become known as the Silent Forest.
Onael did not understand. He thought he had taught them correctly. Seeing that the elves had turned their back on him, he took what he considered his “children,” the Edheliast, and retreated from the world to the Forgotten Forest, a demiplane that he considered his home.
In the Forgotten Forest, the Edheliast continue to fight for survival, growing bigger, stronger, faster, and more cunning. They fight against animals, magical beasts, and even the souls of dead elves and drow that Onael claims before Naneth or Naraneus can.
Recently, Onael has begun work to reclaim the elves as his own. He has many Edheliast to fight for him and he has created a new beast that will surely be a surprise to the elves.
Appearance
Onael appears as an Elf of immense size. He stands close to fifteen feet tall and is very heavily muscled. His dark hair is close cropped and shows off a widow’s peak. He is dressed conservatively, wearing only a black tunic with his symbol on the left breast, black pants, and black boots. On his left hip rest his longsword Coiasan.
Images of Naneth, Naraneus, and Onael show that there is a sibling similarity between the three, but Onael claims that he has no sisters.
Church
There is no church of Onael. There are no services or high priests, only combat. The Edheliant serve Onael by fighting and honing their skills.
Worshippers and Clergy
Every Edheliant worships Onael in trials by combat. The Edheliant dedicate every battle they participate in to Onael’s glory and ask for him to fill their bodies with power to crush their enemies.
There is no church hierarchy. Those that Onael graces with the merest fraction of his power use the spells granted to them to enhance the combat abilities of their comrades and themselves. Onael’s clerics call themselves “Sword Arms” and mostly use spells that increase Strength or Constitution but will also make liberal use of Cure spells and Channeling Energy (if Neutral) to make sure they and their comrades can continue fighting.
Holy Text
None, although any manual that teaches someone a new fighting technique or improves on an existing technique are considered sacred and are kept in a “library” in the middle of the Forgotten Forest.
This library is really just many piles of books collected from different planes and realms and every book in the collection deals with some sort of combat. Despite the different languages the texts are written in, as long as they are read inside the library, the reader is affected by comprehend languages.
Perenna
Titles The Floral Cloak, The West Wind, The Eternal Dance
Home elemental plane of earth
Alignment NG
Portfolio dance, fashion, flowers, rain, spring
Worshippers fashionistas, gardeners, upper class
Domains Charm, Earth, Plants
Subdomains Day, Growth, Seasons
Favored Weapon quarterstaff
While Perenna is a minor god, and paid little service outside the beginning of farming season or the trailing end of a long winter, he is often paid service in large cities where fashion is constantly evolving and growing as much a living thing as those that wear it.
History
Perenna was born with the first spring, not long after the world began turning. The vainest of his four siblings, he chose first when dividing the seasons and took the most forgiving and the most beautiful time of year.
Appearance
Perenna usually appears as a male elf with warm green skin and brown hair, wearing a cloak made of ten thousand living flowers. He also often appears as a cloud of flower petals flowing on the breeze, dancing in the wind.
Church of Perenna
Worship of Perenna is rarely organized in large groups, instead usually operating as parts of larger congregations to more powerful deities. Like the other seasons, he is worshipped in passing by many for part of each year.
Worshippers and Clergy
Perenna’s clergy are usually as vain and flighty as the god himself, though always still kind. They never dress the same, but are recognized instead by the floral arrangements they always make a point to wear on their cloaks or lapels.
Holy Text
Florals and Botanicals: Though an archaic text discussing how to grow and care for all sorts of flowering plants, it also includes rituals for Perenna’s worship on the last several pages.
Storjeger
Titles: Great Hunter, The Slender Lord, Tree Walker
Home: Woodshome
Symbol: A stag’s skull with horns wrapped in vines
Alignment: NG (Neutral Good)
Portfolio: Community, Forest, Hunting, Survival
Domains: Ancestor, Animal, Community, Luck, Provider, Weather
Favored Weapon: Javelin
History
Storjeger was once the greatest hunter of the Vikmordere Skykosh tribe. After the Sun Lord brought warmth to the land, Storjeger led numerous successful hunts, harvesting many animals. In the prosperity that followed, the tribe unknowingly over-hunted, disrupting the natural balance. When the Sun Lord passed and the land began to cool once more, the tribe faced a harsh winter with dwindling game and scarce resources.
As starvation threatened his people, Storjeger — now as thin and frail as the rest of his tribe — ventured into the forest alone in search of food. After hours of fruitless searching, he finally spotted a large stag with an impressive rack of horns. Trembling from hunger, he threw his javelin — but the shot missed.
Instead of fleeing, the stag turned and locked eyes with Storjeger before slowly walking deeper into the woods. Storjeger followed the stag, eventually arriving at a hidden glade where he discovered a herd of deer with numerous calves. He readied his javelin, but the stag once again locked eyes with him — then knelt down, laying its head upon the earth. Three does joined the stag, each kneeling in turn, offering themselves as a sacrifice.
Storjeger, deeply moved, drew his knife and offered thanks to the animals for their sacrifice. He took only a small portion of meat for himself, enough to sustain his return journey, and bundled the three does into a sack tied to his belt. As a final act of reverence, Storjeger lifted the stag’s body onto his shoulders, bearing its weight as a symbol of respect.
Weeping with gratitude and sorrow, Storjeger returned to the Skykosh tribe, bringing food that would sustain them through the winter. There, he recounted what had happened, sharing the lesson the stag had taught him — that his people must live in balance with the forest and its creatures. Acknowledging his role in the earlier over-hunting, Storjeger vowed to become the protector of that balance.
To solidify this vow, Storjeger crafted a mask from the stag’s skull and a cloak from its hide. Without another word, he walked out of the village and into the realm of the gods, ascending to become the God of the Hunt.
Appearance
Storjeger most commonly appears as a majestic giant elk, its antlers twisted with vines and moss. In some instances, he manifests as a thin warrior of medium height, clad in a cloak of stag hide, his face replaced by a stag’s skull with antlers.
He carries multiple javelins on his back, each wrapped in leather bindings etched with runes of survival and balance. His bow, said to be carved from the roots of Yggdrasil, is ancient and gnarled yet radiates primal power. Storjeger’s three enchanted arrows — each distinct and powerful — are symbols of his divine will.
Worshippers and Clergy
Storjeger was originally worshipped exclusively by the Vikmordere, revered for his lessons in survival and balance. However, before war erupted between the Klavekians and Vikmordere, some Klavs encountered the tale of Storjeger. Disillusioned with the God of War, they embraced Storjeger’s teachings and founded the town of Torrent, a settlement dedicated to the philosophy of balance and self-reliance.
Storjeger’s followers reject rigid hierarchies. Instead, devotion is expressed through acts of survival, resourcefulness, and respect for nature. Hunters, rangers, and those who rely on the wilderness often offer thanks to Storjeger before departing on journeys.
Church of Storjeger
There is no formalized church structure dedicated to Storjeger. His followers gather in small groups or worship privately in the heart of the wilderness. Sacred shrines are often simple — a stag’s skull adorned with vines, resting atop a stone cairn or tree stump.
Holy Text
While Storjeger’s followers do not adhere to a traditional holy text, manuals dedicated to survival techniques, hunting strategies, and wilderness wisdom are often treated as sacred texts in his honor. The “Library of Torrent” — a chaotic collection of such tomes gathered from across planes and realms — is considered the closest thing to a central archive of his teachings.
Despite the various languages these texts are written in, anyone reading them within the library finds themselves under the influence of Comprehend Languages, a divine gift from Storjeger to ensure knowledge is accessible to all who seek it.
Vasi
Symbol: A glistening teardrop
Alignment: Neutral Good
Suggested Cleric Domain: Water
Titles: Lady of the Lake, Mother of the Ocean, Pearls of the Mist, Tears of the Eternal Bath
Realm: The Plane of Water
Portfolio: lakes, pools, oases, grottos, springs, streams, rivers, balance, wisdom, renewal
History
At the dawn of the world, when the elements collided to create Aventyr, the cosmos shed a single tear that such pain and strife was necessary for Creation. Whether Vasi is the cosmos or the tear—the creator or the healer—her faithful cannot say. She sees the necessity of balance in all thigs, but she is also the balm against struggle, want, and ruin. Vasi watched the Shard of the Sun scorch its path across the earth. She saw the burning fields and forests and she sent the soothing rains. As gods war and the world bleeds, Vasi teaches mercy to the strong and brings strength to the weak.
Clergy
Vasi’s faithful are often loners dedicated to uplifting those who struggle for survival, especially those in harsh, bereft environments. A caretaker of a desert oasis, the guardian of a river’s spring, or a greenthumb in the deep rainforest are all followers of Vasi, whether they know it or not. Shrines and temples built to Vasi are found in places where desolation has been tamed, or amid barren wastelands awaiting the arrival of a blessed cultivator.
Vasi’s shrines and temples are found near deep grottos and remote mountain lakes, anywhere there is a clean source of freshwater, a small shrine is found nearby. Worshippers are many and their influence spread far and wide in Aventyr, for all need water to survive.
At one time, 92 high priests of Vasi were caretakers of 92 holy shrines throughout Aventyr. These shrines served not only as temples to Vasi, but as stabilizing beacons of balance in chaotic regions, where those who were suffering could find solace. Today just one high priest of Vasi remains. Mother May’al is an enigmatic traveler, but she is never found on the road, instead appearing in or near places that are sacred to Vasi: a hidden mountain spring or fledgling desert oasis.
The Mi’unin and the Great Flood
The Mi’unin is a tome penned during the lost empire era, when Grekia ruled a vast swath of Aventyr. When 92 high priests of Vasi recite the litany found within the pages of the Mi’unin, chanting in unison for 92 days and nights in their 92 shrines, the Great Flood is unleashed upon the world. No complete copy of this book is known to exist. Was this “Great Flood” the calamity that brought low the Grekian Empire? Only Vasi knows.
Zagnexis
Alignment CE
Portfolio Control, Insects, Poison, Procreation, Vermin
Domains Community (Family), Destruction (Catastrophe), Travel (Exploration), War (Blood)
Favored Weapons Unarmed Strike
Favored Animals Vermin
History
This otherworldly god is much like the hoyrall once were—a massive hive mind. More than a physical being, as the insectoids came to dominate the planet of the alien god’s origin, Zagnexis manifested as the congealed consciousness of their dead. While the other intelligent lifeforms on that world fought valiantly, with a deific being directing the racial hive mind of the hoyrall, they quickly came to rule over all that the insect god could perceive.
Until the Great Schism. The progenitors, cast down from their once mythic forms into the lowly race now known as the draaki, made a desperate cry to the cosmos and it was Zagnexis that answered their plea. Mustering the unimaginable power granted from the complete devotion of an entire race of creatures, the insect god transported his entire physical for into Aventyr—Zagn, along with tens of thousands of hoyrall—directly across the universe and into the Dracoprime’s skull, killing the draconic monstrosity instantly.
For some generations, Exis continued to direct its children on Aventyr, growing a massive army within the fortress-hives of the hoyrall in preparation for an all-out assault to conquer both the surface and the Underworld. Were it not for the intervention of the colloid during The Confluence, it surely would have succeeded. The other alien entity seized upon Exis conduit to its children, breaking the hive mind of the hoyrall and sending its physical counterpart, Zagn, careening into the oceans of Aventyr to wreck havoc upon everything it meets.
Since then, Exis has retained what connections it can to Aventyr, granting powers to its clerics and oracles but little more. The alien god wants nothing more than to expand and procreate, increasing its deific power by generating a second world of followers. Exis is avaricious and without regard for the general balance of natural powers; it will stop at nothing to re-establish its hold over both Zagn and the hoyrall before consuming all of Aventyr.
Appearance
Exis is a spectral insect composed of dozens of different arthropods, its countless limbs, heads, eyes and antennae constantly morphing into new shapes or variations. Zagn is an enormous, multi-headed (and multi-mouthed) segmented worm with thousands upon thousands of legs that span a body measured by miles.
Church of Zagnexis
Temples, churches and shrines devoted to the alien god are commonly found throughout the fortress-hives of the hoyrall and honeycombed into Upperworld mountains, but most are in terrible states of disrepair. The unrest following The Confluence led to the dissolution of hoyrall society, and the sites of worship to the god that once bound them all together were quickly targeted by dissenters and ne’er-do-wells. New churches to Zagnexis are well-appointed and carefully kept, tiled with the carapace of insects in exquisite mosaics that depict the journey of the hoyrall.
Holy Text
There is no written or oral tradition to the worship of Zagnexis; lesser followers are taught the rites of worship through nonverbal communication (through limbs or antennae), and acolytes meld their minds with greater priests in ritual-driven meldings of the minds. Only this devout form of communication is fit for the transmission of the holiest information known to the worshippers of the insect god.