teh bunneh

Re: A Circle Of Rings

From non-traditional sources, of course, there are the rings of power from Tolkein.

Pop culture gives us the two halves of the ring of Shazzan. (I loved that show).

The Green Lantern has one.

Then there's the magical ring worn by the Burger King, one twist of which can transport you to Burger King.

If we're using non-traditional sources, then how can we forget the awful 70's saturday morning cartoon, "The Thing" (based *very* loosely off Marvel Comics' Thing, from the Fantastic Four)? Who here remembers the famous battlecry -- "Thing Ring, do your thing!"

Bill.

(Showing my age (but not my wisdom) with this reference...)

Re: A Circle Of Rings

There's also a Russian fairy tale about a boy and a magic ring. It's got a lot in common with Aladin, a lot in common with Jack & the Beanstock, and a lot in common with some Norse myths.

http://russian-crafts.com/tales/mag_ring.html

Bill.

Re: A Circle Of Rings

Don't forget the Ring of the Nibelung, immortalized in Wagnar's opera, which may or may not have been the same thing as Draupnir (depending on which version of the myth you listen to)...

Re: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the HEROic Unbeliever

I was a huge fan of TCtU when I was a kid, way back (mumble) years ago, and even tried to make up a game to play in the Land. Those notes are now long gone, and would probably be pretty useless in a Hero conversion. Still, HERO Unbeliever would be pretty cool, since the world was so rich and amazing. I'd love to see the Bloodguard in Hero stats...

The Oath: LS: No Need to Breathe, No Need to Sleep, Longevity (Immortality)

A kickass Martial Arts package...

I have no idea how you would do magic (especially the magic of the Lords), but there would be a wealth of character types to play -- Lords and Bloodguard, masters of Stonelore and Woodlore, soldiers of Revelstone (studied the Lore of the Sword), Giants... -- and tons of adventure/places to explore (imagine questing to find the Third Lore of Kevin).

If you decide to do it, keep us posted!

Bill.

Re: Mythologies -- FH Storytime

Mostly just far less powerful and less commonly worshipped, but still gods. A few go down to the status of "mythic hero" but most are technically gods.

[...]

Probably more information than you wanted.

If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't keep asking.

Here's some more details about the Trinity...

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The Coming of the Undead

There are no real myths in the Trinity religion regarding the coming of the Undead. It is widely believed by most scholars who follow the Trinity that the Undead are the creation of human hearts, minds, and hands. Human beings, corrupted by greed, fear, lust, or hatred, are solely responsible for the desecration of life that the Undead represent. Indeed, scholars and religious authorities can point to (sketchy) historical references that indicate the Undead did not appear on this world until the great Liche-King Grenwode created them. Whether this is more or less true than other religions’ explanations is not known.

The Yuletide

Most folks who worship the Trinity follow the Druidic traditions when the Yule comes around.

Crow’s Head Mountain

Near the center of the Platinum Hills is a very tall peak known as Crow’s Head Mountain. It is here that, roughly 400 years after Durom’s death, explorers uncovered a system of caves. In the caves were found the trappings and accoutrements of Durom’s life and, in a great cathedral- like chamber, the bones of what is believed to be the great hero himself.

Crow’s Head Mountain was immediately declared a holy site, and a temple was built to guard the entrance of the sacred caves. Pilgrims still flock to the caves, undertaking the dangerous journey in order to partake in some small part in Durom’s legend.

The crow is a symbol of good luck in Demoria, where it is widely believed that crows escort the spirits of the dead to the promised land.

The Death Knights

Two years after the discovery of Durom’s tomb, twelve mysterious men dressed in ancient armor the color of soot were spotted in the Platinum Hills. These strangers were soon dubbed "the Death Knights," for ill fortune and death followed wherever they traveled. When storms rage across the hills, folk say that the Death Knights are on the ride. In tales told by firelight, these black knights hunger for human blood and for the souls of the unfaithful.

The steeds are black, enormous, and have eyes the color of flame, and to catch sight of them is to sicken and die within the year. The Knights usually, but not always, ride together as a unit, and folks are always wary of strangers who travel in groups of twelve.

There is the story of a farmer walking home from a late night at the local tavern. He saw a hunter astride a mighty stallion, glowing eerily in the mist. Drawing on his courage, the farmer asked the man if he'd had good sport that day. The hunter laughed and threw the farmer a bundle, making a gift of the kill. The farmer shuddered and hurried home, the stranger's gift under his arm. When he reached his door, he unwrapped the bundle and found his own child, dead.

There are stories of brave warriors challenging the Death Knights, but none of these stories ever end well for the would-be hero. The Death Knights are immortal and unkillable, according to legend. Luckily, the Death Knights will retreat if faced with the symbol of the downturned sword of the god Durom. Other simple folk remedies keep them away as well – a horseshoe hung upside down over a doorway, a sprinkling of salt over the mantle, and so on.

Most folk believe that the Death Knights are the souls of Durom’s bodyguards, trapped by the power of the devils and damned to roam the earth forever, committing evil deeds. That their loyalty and bravery would be so rewarded is one of the greatest tragedies in history.

The Holy Avenger

Durom’s holy sword, the Avenger, is the subject of many legends. It was created by Neomal the Archmage, a powerful priest and wizard, during the War of the Swords. Little is known of Neomal, but it appears that he was probably a follower of the Trinity. He is known today as the "Holy Mage." The sword was lost for centuries after the great battle with Kas and his sword Fleshripper and then found by Durom in his darkest hour.

The sword was again lost for over 300 years after Durom’s death. Durom’s descendent Dom (Durom X) found it and claimed to have received it in a vision of his ancestor. It has remained in the Demorian royal family ever since, passed from father to son in an unbroken line.

The sword is a beautiful hand-and-a-half blade with an extra long hilt. The guard is a strange golden metal which has been cast to look like the wings of an angel and is decorated with precious gems that gleam even in darkness. The blade shines like silver and is sharp enough to split a hair and strong enough to hew a boulder in half. The sword is lightweight and perfectly balanced and can be wielded in two hands or in one. It is said that even a novice swordsman wielding the Avenger can defeat a dozen expert warriors.

The Avenger has other powers as well. When held by a paladin of the Trinity, it projects a field that protects the wielder from hostile magic. The owner can see into the hearts of others to know when they are lying or harboring hostile intent. Against demons and other truly evil creatures, it cuts through their flesh and bone as if they were made of paper, and it shines so brightly that they cannot bear to look upon it. The rightful heir, when he holds the sword, can command the respect and loyalty of legions, and even the most grievous wounds he suffers will heal within a day.

All of these powers and more are unlocked only by the rightful owner of the sword. It is said that if an evil man so much as touches the hilt of the weapon, they will be burned with terrible bright fire, but if a good man touches it, the gems in the hilt will flash like the stars on a clear night.

Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis...

I got a couple of those $3 - $5 mini-modules for free in the convention bag they gave out at a Con here in Jersey. I wanted my money back.

Yeah, you're probably right now that I think about it. I remember I went through a stack of 'em as high as my leg before I found 3 or 4 that I liked. It's a cool concept, but I guess quality control is an issue. :/

Bill.

Re: Thanks!

Also' date=' most of my gods tend to be monogamous, except for the rare occasion when they produce a demigod by a mortal lover. Nool, goddess of the moon, for example, has several demigod children, each representing some aspect of the moon: crescent moon, gibbous moon, eclipses, the reddish harvest moon, moonlight seen through trees, etc. These are fairly obscure deities, often only known in small local areas. I haven't bothered naming all of them, and I won't, unless they come up in play. Likewise Olo, god of the sun, has several demigod children, as do a few other gods.[/quote']

 

Demigod like "less powerful and/or widespread, but still a god," or demigod like Perseus/Theseus/Herakles/etc. from the Greeks ("not really a god, not really worshipped, but still figures highly in some very important myths")?

The Trinity

This is the fourth religion, known as the Trinity. They're sort of a "new kid" on the block, since they've only been important to the world for about 1000 years (compared with 3500+ for the Druidic faith).

As always, comments/questions/criticisms welcome!

The Trinity

The gods of the Trinity are worshipped primarily in the West, but their temples may be found virtually anyplace. They are mainly a human pantheon — very few nonhumans (except Hobbits) follow the gods of the Trinity. The followers of the Trinity were instrumental in destroying the forces of the Demon Morianis nearly one thousand years ago, and these gods are universally recognized as beneficial and good-hearted.

There are three greater gods in the Trinity — Durom, Mitra, and Wynnessa, who represent the mind, body, and spirit respectively. The other gods in the Trinity are subordinate to these three, created to rule over specific aspects of human life.

Churches of the gods of the Trinity are generally very strict and hierarchical. The gods and their followers value law and order and believe these to be the best ways to achieve goodness and peace. A priest or paladin of one god may freely worship at any temple of the Trinity, even if it is devoted to another god. Most large temples have shrines to the other gods of the Trinity. The great cathedrals for Durom and Mitra are in the city of Drache, the great cathedral of Wynnessa is in Godonsa.

The Lesser Gods

Technically, there are only three gods in the Trinity – Durom, Mitra, and Wynnessa. However, there are a number of “lesser†gods, who are subordinate to the Trinity. Each of these lesser gods represents some aspect of the Trinity. For example, Jowk is the god of craftsmen. He represents the part of Mitra that stands supreme over the creation of beautiful and functional items. He also represents that aspect of Wynnessa that governs the laws of free trade and fair dealing. And he represents the aspect of Durom that emphasizes hard, honest labor.

The lesser gods all have followers and priests, just as the members of the Trinity itself do. They tend to worship in the same temples as the followers of the greater gods – this is not seen as inappropriate, since they are all but aspects or facets or reflections of the chiefs of the pantheon.

The Mythology of the Trinity

Most of the myths associated with the Trinity revolve around their earthly avatar, Durom, the first king of Demoria and the greatest hero of all ages. As a historical fact, before the Demon came the Trinity was a minor, obscure cult, greatly overshadowed by many other pantheons (most of which now exist only in scattered form, gathered loosely together as the Old Gods). Nonetheless, followers of the Trinity fully believe that the gods of their pantheon created the Universe and everything in it, and were content to “lay low†– not needing a large base of followers and accepting only the most worthy of believers – until the coming of Morianis.

The Creation

In the beginning there was nothing, and from that nothing there arose Three. The Three saw that all was blackness, and this displeased them, so they created the stars to illuminate the darkness. They saw that the light was good and were pleased. Then they created the sun, the moon, and the earth, and set upon the earth every living creature – those that grew in the ground, and those that walked and crawled and swam and flew. They saw that the life they had created was good, and were pleased.

Then it was that they created mankind to live on the planet, to make it his own and to rule over it. And they gave mankind three great gifts – a strong body, which would support him; an inquisitive mind, which would educate him, and a great soul, which would nurture him.

Then, their job complete, the Three withdrew from the world, content to watch their creation from a distance. And all was well, until the arrival of the Demon.

The Birth of the Hero

Durom’s birth is shrouded in mystery and more than a little myth. Though he himself was a prolific writer in his later life, he had little to say about his own birth, childhood, and family beyond a few clouded references.

It is known that he was raised as a simple peasant child on a farm somewhere in central Demoria, near the Platinum Hills. Some say his mother raised him alone, that his father died or disappeared before his birth, though this has never been confirmed. Most people believe that his mother was a follower of the Trinity, keeping a tiny shrine in their honor hidden

under the house. His parents were both dead before the war against the Demon. He had one brother and one sister; his sister died during the war, his brother became one of his lieutenants.

There are romantics and dreamers who claim that the stars quaked and fell from the sky on the night Durom was born. Others are not so prosaic, suggesting that such an event would have attracted the attention of the Demon.

The Beginning of the Rebellion

It is widely thought that he became a common soldier in a local minor warlord’s forces, where he received training as a warrior and, eventually, as an officer. It was many years before his sense of outrage at the Demon’s crimes grew so strong that he left his post, taking with him a number of his bravest soldiers, and began a small-scale rebellion.

The rebellion was tiny at first – hitting small, soft targets like supply lines, remote patrols, and secluded outposts. But Durom’s reputation grew, and people began flocking to his banner. His attacks became bolder, his successes greater, until he finally attracted the personal attention of the Demon himself. Morianis sent huge armies to root out this annoyance, but Durom’s forces simply faded into the woods, to reappear and attack elsewhere. He refused to engage the Demon in a stand-up fight (which his meager forces would be certain to lose); instead, he staged a guerilla war that attacked where the Demon was weakest and whittled down the opposition through careful attrition. But it was not destined to last. Durom’s small, ragtag army was surprisingly effective against the Demon, but Morianis had virtually unlimited resources and unbelievable power. After some sixteen years of revolution, the Demon launched a surprise attack on the main part of Durom’s army, which was wintering in a valley near the Demon’s northernmost border. Durom did not predict this – he thought that the weather was too harsh for the Demon to move troops this far north, but he was mistaken.

It was a gambit that paid off. Durom’s army was scattered, several of his generals killed, and he himself disappeared. For weeks, the remnants of the army waited to hear from their leader. Their hopes faded; they knew that without their brilliant, charismatic leader they would never stand a chance, and many of them were on the verge of giving up their dream of freedom. Then, one month after the Battle of the Snow-Covered Plain, Durom came back.

The Paladin

Their leader had returned, but he was different. No longer was here merely General Durom, commander of the Rebellion – now he was the Paladin, son of the gods. It is said that everything about him had changed – his demeanor, his confidence, his power. He seemed to glow with a sort of inner radiance; those around him were filled with confidence and courage in equal measure.

More than that, he now wielded a sword of great magical power, a sword which could kill even the immortal, invulnerable Morianis. People once again flocked to him. Even those who had previously remained neutral – the Dwarves of Retor and the Druids of Kalon – now rallied to his banner. In three years, Durom’s armies marched across the length of the land, bringing destruction upon the forces of the Demon, until finally they stood at the gates of Morianis’ capital city. The great siege lasted nearly 17 weeks, but the huge bronze portal finally fell to the Paladin’s relentless attack.

The Duel

Durom led the charge to the Demon’s palace. Single-handedly he hacked down the demonic bodyguards with which Morianis had surrounded himself, until the two of them stood face to face. The Demon would not admit defeat, and there was an epic clash of titans.

For three days they fought, neither of them yielding an inch. The earth quaked with the power of their battle; the entire city crumbled around them. Durom’s army retreated from the remains of the city and surrounded it, waiting to see who would emerge from the smoke and the rubble.

When at last the battle was over, it was Durom who walked from the ashes, clutching in his hand the severed head of the Demon. The long reign of terror was finally over.

The Aftermath

Though the Demon was destroyed, his armies still roamed the earth. Durom and his people spent the better part of a decade hunting down rogue demons and destroying them. The final battle came when Durom’s armies chased a huge force of demons up into the Uruk Mountains. The Battle of the Shattered Hills destroyed and scattered what was left of the demons and officially ended the extra-planar occupation of our world.

After the war was finally over, Durom married Zaltani, a Morjiim princess who had been taken from her home by demonic slavers, and who Durom had rescued years before. She had been a general in his army, and one of his closest advisors and friends. Durom worked hard to rebuild the land, shattered by centuries of war and oppression, and he was mostly successful. He wrote a great many treatises on religion, tactics, and leadership – all of which are considered canonical by priests, scholars, and generals to this very day.

Durom’s Death and Ascension

Seventy five years after he killed the Demon, Durom was given a quest by the gods. Though he was well over 100 years old by this time, Durom was still as hale and hardy as a man one third his age. He and his bodyguards – twelve men, hand-picked for their loyalty, reverence, and courage – disappeared from this world.

It is said that they went to the Nine Hells of the Inferno. Some say they went to free souls imprisoned unjustly. Others say it was to recover an artifact of great value, stolen long ago. Still others say it was to kill the Diabolic Prince Infernus, who was entertaining notions of picking up where Morianis had left off.

Regardless of the reason, Durom’s ultimate fate is well chronicled. An army of fiends met Durom and his men just inside the gates of Hell. There was a fierce battle as wave after wave of devils rose up to stop his mission. Durom, it is said, turned to look away from the battle and when he turned back, it was gone – the devils, his bodyguards, even the monsters which he had slain had all disappeared.

Instead, he now stood face-to-face with Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon. It is said that Tiamat once had seven heads; she now has only five. But Durom was defeated; the Paladin laid low, his mission had failed. But the story does not end there. Before Tiamat could take the Paladin’s soul, it burst forth from his body in a great ray of light, which stunned the Diabolic

Dragon. Durom’s body sublimated into air and his spirit ascended to heaven, where it became one with the Trinity forevermore.

Many homes in Demoria keep a small shrine devoted to King Durom I. Though this is not encouraged by the clergy (and is in fact actively discouraged), many simple folk view him as a demigod, deserving of worship in his own right and not simply as an avatar of the Trinity.

The Cold Gods

These are the Cold Gods... Comments welcome!

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Borri "The Gray Man"

Symbol: A black circle

Portfolio: War, night, the moon, patience, stoicism

Favored Weapon: "Gray Spear" (spear)

Description: Borri (BOOR-ee) is known the Gray Man, and he is usually depicted as a large warrior wearing dark gray clothing and a horned helmet. He is present at all major battles and it is he who ushers dead warriors into the afterlife. Borri is a melancholy god who takes no interest in festivals, though he encourages his followers to feast before a battle in order to prepare themselves for the next world. He is always accompanied by a company of Skolds, beautiful winged warrior women. Borri rewards bravery and perseverance and punishes cowardice.

Borri’s priests are warriors who lead their tribes into battle. They pray for their spells at night, under the light of the moon. Borri holds holy the nights of the full moon, and counts days of battle as sacred. Borri’s followers are often in conflict with the followers of the other Cold Gods.

Dogma: The courageous are rewarded while the cowardly are to be punished harshly. Fight with vigor and with honor in order to be the last man standing when the battle is over. Defend your people and your way of life against any who would encroach on it.

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Crom "The Berzerker"

Symbol: An axe over a red circle

Portfolio: War, chance, berserkers, strength

Favored Weapon: “Red Haze†(battle axe)

Description: Crom (KROM) is a wild and ferocious god who is worshipped by berserkers and barbarians. He is depicted as a huge, loincloth-clad warrior holding a gory axe. He sits on a throne made from the bones and skulls of his enemies. Crom revels in war and rewards the most bloodthirsty of his followers. The people of the Uruks have a saying — “When a man is born, Crom gives him the strength to wield a sword. After that, it is up to the man to survive.â€

Crom’s church is even more fractured than most of the Cold Gods’. Crom’s followers frequently war amongst one another over slight differences of opinion. The Berzerker encourages this, as it keeps his worshippers strong and constantly prepared for battle. Crom has few dealings with the other Cold Gods.

Dogma: Magic is for the weak. Strength is more important than honor — when a fight is over, what counts is who is left alive, not who was more noble or more honorable. Kill your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of their women. Everything in life is determined by chance. Do not pray to Crom for favors. Rely on your own strength and skill.

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Infernus "The Witch-God"

Symbol: A skull surrounded by flames

Portfolio: Death, fear, magic, fire, volcanos

Favored Weapon: "Death’s Touch" (quarterstaff)

Description: Infernus (in-FER-nuhs) is depicted as a wizened old man with a skull-like face, wrapped in heavy robes that seem to whip and billow in a nonexistent wind. He clutches a twisted, knobby staff with hands that are as black as the night. He is a dark god, an evil god who revels in needless death and who encourages his followers to enslave or kill those who will not convert to his worship.

Infernus’ church is known as the Cult of the Black Hand, and is headquartered in the nation of Yaronista. The Cult is led by a high priestess known as the Witch-Queen, and her power is absolute. She is served by the Witch-Daughters of Infernus, a powerful group of priestesses, and by a secret order of warriors and assassins known as the White Hands of Infernus. The Cult of the Black Hand are tyrannical rulers, and their influence has spread to their neighboring states.

The Cult was pivotal in the Second War of the Swords, just a few years ago. The Cult of the Black Hand is very evangelical, attempting to spread the word of Infernus throughout the world.

Infernus is a jealous god. He considers the use of arcane magic to be akin to blasphemy, because magic is reserved for him and him alone. If a girl is born who demonstrates a talent for magic, she is immediately taken into the Cult of the Black Hand and trained as one of the Witch-Daughters of Infernus. If a boy shows magical leanings, he is given a series of harsh, brutal tests to determine if he is worthy. If he survives these tests, he is brought into the Cult and is trained as a Son of Infernus. Usually there is only one Son of Infernus in a generation.

Infernus is hated by the other Cold Gods, and because of his evangelical nature he is also despised by most gods of the other pantheons as well.

Dogma: Kill any wizard who will not bow down before Infernus, and burn their spellbooks and writings. Spread the worship of Infernus throughout the lands, but do it secretly as there are many who would see us destroyed. All gods but Infernus are false pretenders; kill their followers to prove them wrong. Spread fear throughout the lands; strike secretly and quietly and leave no trace of your passage. People fear the unknown, so never give them a chance to get their bearings. Obey the Witch-Queen’s every desire, for she is the voice of Infernus on this earth.

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Kupula

Symbol: A waterfall

Portfolio: Water, the earth, plants, agriculture

Favored Weapon: "Waterfall" (short bow)

Description: Kupula (KOO-poo-lah) is the goddess of water, the earth, agriculture, and herbal lore. Kupula personifies the magical and spiritual power inherent in water, and Kupula's priests worship her with ritual baths and offerings of flowers cast upon water. Since fire as well as water has powers of purification, on holy days her worshipers dance around and leap over huge bonfires. Frequently her effigy is burned or cast into pools of water. Kupula's priests are noted healers,

and they preserve an extensive lore of magical and medicinal plants and herbs. Kupula is pictured as a matronly goddess clothed in robes of green, brown, and blue. Her hair is often wet, as if she just stepped out of the bath. She is round and plump and generally filled with cheer – but like a mother, her mood can darken when her children disappoint her. Kupula considers it sacrilege for a hoe to touch the earth before the spring equinox.

Kupula is worshipped at dawn, when the sun rises into the sky, and she holds most holy the summer solstice, known as Kupula's Day in some parts of the Uruks.

Dogma: Water and Earth are sacred, from whence all life flows. Bathe in the sacred water to purify yourself, body and soul. Use water wisely and honor it. Life is like a river – you cannot grasp it in your hands, you can merely allow it to flow over you. Practice the arts of horticulture, for it pleases the goddess when life is brought forth from the Earth.

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Lamsisho "Creator of Good"

Symbol: A unicorn

Portfolio: The sky, the sun, weather, mercy, succor, loyalty

Favored Weapon: "Unicorn's Horn" (longsword)

Description: It is said that after the creation of the world, Lamsisho (lam-SEE-show) looked down from heaven, saw evil monsters wreaking havok on the good people of the earth, and wept. Where his tears fell, creatures of good were born. Lamsisho is said to have created the Unicorns, the Ki-ren, the Coatl, the Lammasu, and other monstrous creatures who are good and beneficent to mankind. Lamsisho himself is usually depicted in the form of one of these creatures.

Lamsisho’s worshippers can be found throughout the world, from the Asgard mountains of the north to the jungles of Kish far to the south, and even in the far east, where he is known as the Dragon Lord. But his main body of worshippers is found in the Uruk Mountains. Even though Lamsisho is Moral, he does not count any paladins among his followers. Lamsisho’s church is less concerned with hierarchy than it is with helping people, so its structure is very loose and relaxed.

Lamsisho is very different from the other Cold Gods, but most of them (and indeed, most gods of other pantheons as well) regard him with friendship — or at the very least, neutrality. The exception to this is Infernus, who hates Lamsisho dearly.

Dogma: Provide aid to the needy. Feed those who hunger. Comfort those who mourn. Make peace between those who are at war. Show mercy to those who repent their crimes. Cast down all that is evil and cruel, and elevate that which is beautiful and kind. Remain pure of heart and resolute in action, even against terrible odds. Befriend creatures of good heart.

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Mokysha "The Spinner"

Symbol: A black and white circle

Portfolio: Hard work, fertility, marriage, fortune, women

Favored Weapon: "Needle's Point" (longsword)

Description: Mokysha (moh-KEE-shah) is a fickle goddess who both gives life and takes it away. She witnesses every birth and is present at every death. She is a spinner who turns the wheel of life, bringing both good fortune (when times are hard) and bad (when things are going well). Mokysha is often pictured as an ancient, stern, hard-faced woman, much

seasoned by time and travails. She wears robes of black and white, representing her dual nature as the giver of good and bad fortune. She has little patience for those unwilling to work hard, and none at all for those who complain or whine about their lot in life. Mokysha is the patroness of spinning, hard work, fertility, marriage, fortune (both good and ill), and women. The is also the protector of maidens and defender of virtue.

Mokysha is worshipped both at sunup and sundown. Her most holy day is the autumnal equinox.

Dogma: Do not complain about the hardships of life. Either face them head on with a stoic heart, or work hard to change them; there is no middle ground. Good fortune follows hard times, so bear your burdens with a light heart. Bad fortunes come after good times, so always prepare for the worst the future can bring. Respect women, for it is from their strength that all new life comes.

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The Tribune "Law, Justice, and Order"

Symbol: Pair of scales

Portfolio: Justice, law, order

Favored Weapon: "The Scales of Justice" (long sword)

Description: The Tribune is not one god, but rather three who are inseparable in their duties. Each represents one aspect of law, justice, and order. The Tribune are the judges of the world, weighing each act and deed carefully on their scales. Like many of the Druidic Pantheon, they believe in the balance of good and evil, right and wrong, but they believe that law is the fulcrum point of that balance. The Tribune’s church is small, but has a disproportionate amount of power because its priests dictate the law to the various tribes. It is a very ordered and hierarchical church, and young priests receive many years of training before they are sent out into the world. Paladins from the Uruks follow the Tribune. They are tireless seekers of justice and fight to impose law and order on the world. The other gods of the Cold Pantheon usually follow the Tribune’s advice, and woe be the deity that disobeys the laws as laid down by the three-fold god!

Dogma: The law is the only truth. Study the law so that you are better prepared to mete it out. Show wisdom and prudence in your judgments, but when a judgment is made do not hesitate to carry it out fully and with all your strength. Punish those who commit crimes, and chase down those who flee from the power of the law. Travel to lawless places and show the true power of order to the people who live there.

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Weles "Cattle God"

Symbol: A bull

Portfolio: Music, celebrations, cattle, wealth, commerce

Favored Weapon: "Bull's Horns" (axe)

Description: Weles (VEHL-ehs) is the god of agriculture, animal husbandry, death and the underworld, music, sorcery, cattle, wealth, and commerce. Weles is a bull-headed god who is literally pictured as having the horns and hind legs of a bull. He lives deep in the forests, where he often plays tricks on those who encroach on his territory. He is quite greedy, and taught mankind the value of gold and silver. He is also known to love parties, beer, and the sound of music.

At festivals in his honor, drums and horns – both of which he loves – are sounded loudly. Weles protects cattle from predators, and the sound of his horn is said to warn herdsmen and shepherds when danger approaches.

His most holy days are the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Like Mokysha, he is worshipped at both sunup and sundown.

Dogma: Wealth is the indicator of how good your life is. Gather it to you and hoard it, but never talk about how much you have, for that will inspire greed in others. Celebrate life’s pleasures with dance, drinking, and music – but never forget to honor the gods, or your good fortune will evaporate like spilled milk. Death comes to all men. The best meet it head on and without fear; the worst cringe from the inevitable.

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Zoria "The Bright Maiden"

Symbol: A white flower

Portfolio: beauty, spring, morning, brides, marriage

Favored Weapon: "Flower Petal" (quarterstaff)

Description: Zoria (ZOHR-ee-ah) is the heavenly bride, goddess of beauty and morning. At dawn her worshipers greet her as the bright maiden, pure, sublime, and honorable. Zoria is pictured as a young, beautiful bride, her long hair braided behind her, dressed in white robes and clothed in gold and silver. Wherever she walks, flowers bloom, even on rocks. She is the most beautiful and the gentlest of all the gods, and it is said that all of creation loves her – except Infernus, who loathes her beauty and innocence and would strip it away from her if he could.

Dogma: Greet each day with a gentle smile in your heart. There are few things to take joy in, so take great joy in what there is – family, marriage, music, laughter, celebrations. Never lose hope. The light of the sun will banish the darkness, no matter how long the night lasts; the warmth of spring will banish the cold, regardless of how deep the winter snows are.

Thanks!

I find it interesting that in the Elven pantheon the deity of the sun is female and the deity of the moon is male. This is the opposite of how it is in many RW mythologies' date=' though like RW mythologies, they are brother and sister.[/quote']

 

In most of my mythologies, the sun god is a man while the moon is a woman, just as in the RW. I changed the Druidic gods around deliberately (and made the moon god crazier 'n an outhouse rat, to boot!). There's no reason why the moon has to be female, after all.

 

One thing you might want to add: While you include the story of the creation of mankind or whatever people/society believes in that particular myth' date=' you haven't included the origins of the other peoples of the world. How do the Druids think the elves came to be? How do the elves think humans came to be? Dwarves? etc.?[/quote']

 

That's a good question. For the most part, the gods in my campaign are not particularly evangelical or intolerant of the other gods -- when every pantheon's priests can heal with equal efficacy, that's proof enough to everybody that all the gods are real. So for the most part, religious scholars just assume that humans were created by the human gods, Elves by the Elf gods, and so forth (the *Truth* is, of course, a little more complicated than that, but no need to get into that with my players). I do have some stories about the gods first meeting one another (Hekatos of the Elves and Istar of the Old Gods, for instance)... usually babies result (my gods are a randy bunch, I guess).

 

Where the mythologies contradict one another (who's creation myth is the "right" one? Which people came first?), you can get some conflicts.

 

For my own campaign' date=' I just have one huge pantheon, ~50 gods. About a dozen central ones are known to practically everyone, though their names and forms of worship may differ between cultures. Some are known only among certain types of societies, Moriwed, the god of the sea, is relatively unknown in inland areas; likewise Randoni, goddess of forrests is very popular among elves, but not nearly as much among other races. A few gods are virtually unknown or worshipped only in secret. These are usually evil gods, but some evil gods, such as Najakzag, god of thieves, deception, and betrayal, is well-known to almost all good societies, though they don't worship him.[/quote']

 

One thing I've noticed in many "single pantheon" games -- there's only ever one god of the ocean, one god of forests, one god of merchants and so forth. The gods jealously defend their territory (Forgotten Realms takes this to an extreme -- the gods all try to "poach" followers from each other and are sometimes even in armed conflict). This can add some interesting dramatic tension to a game, especially when you've got more than one priest in a party. Is this how you do it?

 

I came up with a few individual myths about some of the gods' date=' but I never came up with a good, overall creation story like yours. (But don't let your head get too big. I recognize where many of your ideas came from.)[/quote']

 

Yeah, I make no bones about the fact that the Elf gods are the Greeks and the Cold gods are the Slavs with the serial numbers filed off. When I get to the Northman gods you'll see a whole lot of familiar stuff, too. The Druids are mostly my own (I've stolen a few names and a couple of concepts from Irish/Gaullic myth); same with the Old Gods (some borrowing from Persian concepts). The Trinity is all mine, but I'm not creative enough to come up with 7 full-blown pantheons all by myself.

 

Thnx for the comments!

 

Bill.

Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis...

1. A lot of those early modules were really short. I wish it was still possible to make money publishing 8- to 24-page products!

Somebody -- I forget who -- puts out little 12-16 page adventure "pamphlets" for d20. They're really small (maybe 5.5x8"), B&W with a 4-color glossy cardstock cover, staple bound. I bought a bunch of 'em for the plot seeds and maps. They're only $3-5 apiece, so it wasn't a huge investment. They couldn't have cost much to print, but OTOH I can't imagine there's much margin in them.

I'd love to see Hero put out something like that, though -- one-off short adventures with a map, a bad guy, and a couple of plot seeds...

Bill.

(Until then, it may be time to put something else together for DH or the downloads page...)

Re: Mythologies -- FH Storytime

More myths/stories about the Cold Gods... As always, comments and questions are welcome!

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The Coming of the Undead

Infernus was still angry at the other gods for refusing to bow before him, and he was always looking for ways to increase his power over them. One day, a woman came to him and offered him a mighty gift – the ability to raise the dead and force them to do his bidding.

Infernus learned this new magic from the woman and delighted in it. He used his newfound power to animate many corpses, to spread misery throughout the earth. But soon he realized that something was terribly wrong. The creatures he brought back were no longer obeying his commands; they seemed to be working on some hidden agenda that even he could not discern.

Infernus, angry, went back to the witchwoman who taught him this trick and demanded an explanation. The woman laughed. "I merely used your power to gain what I wanted," she told him. "Those Undead which you raised are mine, and you have no control over them."

Infernus was enraged and vowed to destroy the woman, but she vanished, not to be seen again. To this day, the most powerful of Infernus' followers have the power to wake the dead, but they must be careful, for they know that the dead are never truly under their control.

Borri and the Moon

Borri, the Grey Man, is the protector of the Moon. It is said that during the great battle between Enochei and Esolentsei, the whole earth was devastated. The lands to the south were stomped flat, while new mountains were pushed up in the north. A great crack opened up in the middle of the land and filled with water from the ocean, becoming what we now know of as the Sylvan Gulf.

At the height of his power, as he was winning the battle, Enochei threatened to pluck the moon from the sky and hurl it at his brother. To prevent the horrible devastation that this would cause, Esolentsei hid the moon under his cloak for three days. The battle continued to rage, but this time Esolentsei had the upper hand. The harshest part of the winter was over, and spring would soon be upon the land once again.

In memory and honor of the victory which Esolentsei gained, each year Borri takes the moon and hides it under his cloak for three days. This is a time of celebration, for the people know that this is a sign of Esolentsei's coming victory over the power of the icy darkness of winter.

Major Holidays

The Equinoxes are the major Uruk and Masubian holidays, for they are a reminder of the battle between the White God (Esolentsei) and the Black God (Enochei). The people believe that the White God wins in the Spring, and the Black God in the Fall. Rations are short for the Spring Equinox, but people celebrate the coming warmth and begin their preparations for planting. There is more food in the Fall, but the Black God's victory is a warning of the hard times to come.

This is the cycle of Uruk and Masubian life: Times are hard, but will eventually get better; times are good, but will soon get worse. Because of their beliefs, these are a stoic people much given to bearing life's hardships and celebrating its milestones.

Re: Mythologies -- FH Storytime

Quick question: Are folks reading/enjoying/getting something out of these? Should I continue posting? Is it too much info to digest? Some feedback, please?

Bill.

The Cold Gods

These are the myths of the Cold Gods, worshipped extensively in the area of my world that closely resembles late-medieval Russia...

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The Cold Gods

The Cold Gods are worshipped through the Uruk Mountains. They are generally seen as barbaric, warlike gods who encourage their worshippers to be strong and self-reliant. Many tribes and villages follow minor gods who are seen as the protector of a specific place or people. Of all the Cold Gods, only the Tribune counts paladins among its worshippers.

Churches of the Cold Gods are strictly nonhierarchical, and worship is generally left up to the individual priests. Two exceptions to this are the worship of Infernus, who has a large organized cult in Yaronista, and the Tribune, who follow a strict hierarchy.

The First God

Once, the universe was empty but for a great egg. The egg sat alone in the cold silence for too long to tell, but then a crack appeared. The crack split, and widened, and opened, and from the egg was born the first god, who is known as Esolentsei, the White God.

The fragments of the egg splintered across the universe, forming the stars, the sun, the moon, and the earth, and thus did creation come into being. Even today, the people of Masube and the Uruks remember the birth of the universe each spring, by painting elaborately decorated eggs which represent not just the birth of the universe, but also the rebirth of the world after each long, hard, cold winter.

Taming the Winds

The world was once a howling wilderness of jagged rock and blistering wind. Esolentsei flew over the face of the earth and was lonely. Longing for someone to keep him company, he noticed his shadow flitting across the rocks below him. He named his shadow Enochei, the Black God, and rejoiced – he now had a brother.

"Let us remake the world," Esolentsei said, and Enochei agreed. "But how will we tame the wind?" Enochei asked.

Esolentsei raised his hands and said, "By Enochei's power and mine, let the wind be tamed." At that moment, the wind ceased its incessant blowing. Enochei then asked, "How will we smooth out all these jagged rocks?"

Esolentsei raised his hands and said, "By Enochei's power and mine, let the rocks all be piled up in one place." All the rocks obediently moved and piled themselves up in one place, forming the mountains. Enochei then asked, "Where will we find water?"

But this time, Esolentsei did not have an answer, so Enochei spat upon the ground. Where he spat, the oceans began to form, growing and covering the whole of the earth.

Esolentsei worried that the ocean would grow too great, so he asked Enochei to stop it, but Enochei was jealous that Esolentsei had tamed both earth and sky, and so refused. Esolentsei was greatly concerned that soon the ocean would cover the entire world, so he disguised himself and went to Enochei, bringing along with him a jug of beer.

The two sat together and drank, and soon Enochei was drunk. Esolenstei, in disguise, asked what Enochei thought of his brother. "My brother is stupid," Enochei said. "He doesn't even know that all he has to do is take a stick, make a cross to the four directions and say 'That is enough water.' Instead he wonders what to do."

Enochei immediately grabbed a stick and did as his brother said, and sure enough the oceans stopped growing. This greatly angered Enochei, who stood and said, "Everything that you have done, all that you created, will someday come to ruin. The wind will break from its chains and once again come roaring across the world. The rocks you so neatly piled up will spill forth across the land, and the oceans will dry up and disappear forever. This I swear."

Esolentsei could not stand to hear such a thing, even from his own brother, so he jumped to his feet and grabbed Enochei. The two of them wrestled and fought across the length and breadth of the earth. Sometimes one of them would gain the upper hand, and sometimes the other, until finally in one cataclysmic clash, they tore each other into shreds.

The old gods were no more, but where each shred fell, a new god was born. Infernus came from Enochei's black and shriveled heart, while Lamsisho was born of Esolentsei's kind and generous heart. Crom came from Enochei's hands, and Borri was of Esolentsei's hands. Zoria was Esolentsei's beautiful face, Weles was Enochei's. Kupola came from Esolentsei's legs, and Mokysha was from Enochei's. Where the twin gods' bodies fell, the Tribune arose. Together, these gods form the pantheon known today as the Cold Gods. No one worships Esolentsei or Enochei any longer for they are dead and gone; only their progeny remain.

The Birth of Mankind

The gods came together to create mankind. They carefully sculpted humans out of clay, then each of them gave a gift so that man would prosper on the earth. Lamsisho gave humans the ability to feel and to love. Crom gave them the strength to fight and prevail. Borri gave them the ability to be stoic, patient, and perseverant. Zoria gave man beauty and Mokysha gave them power over their own fates. Kupola taught humans the secrets of fire and water, and Weles gave them the wealth of the earth. The Tribune taught them the arts of civilization and law.

Then Infernus promised to give mankind the greatest gift of all – the power to control the universe itself. But before he would give such a precious and valuable gift, he demanded that the other gods recognize his power and bow before him. The other gods refused to do so, and Infernus grew angry. He vowed that he would give this great power only to those mortals who bowed down before him. From this day forward, Infernus has hated the other gods of his pantheon and has worked to usurp their power. He jealously guards his gifts, granting them only to those that he believes are worthy and destroying any who would try to take them as their own.

The Origin of Magic

Long ago, when the world was still new, a young woman ventured into the woods to pick mushrooms. In no time at all, the skies opened up upon her. Narrowly escaping the rain, she ran beneath a tree, removed all of her clothing, and bundled them up in her bag so they would not get wet. The storm was fierce and soaked the whole world, but the woman's clothing remained dry.

After some time, the rain stopped and the woman put her clothing back on and resumed her mushroom harvest. Weles happened upon her. Seeing no shelter nearby, he asked her what great power she had in order to have kept dry during the storm. "If you show me the secret to your magic, I will show you how I kept dry," she said. Being easily tempted by a pretty face, Weles proceeded to teach her his magical secrets. After he was done, she told him how she had removed her clothing and hid under a tree.

Knowing that he had been tricked, Weles became enraged and cursed the woman, saying, "Let your trickery stand forever on your head, that all may know that you are untrustworthy." From that day forward, women with magical talent, or who have the ability to shape-change, or who are under some curse, are known by their red hair.

Worship of the Earth, Sun, and Moon

According to Cold God mythology, the Sun, Moon, Earth, and stars are the remaining fragments of the great egg from which Esolentsei hatched. They are not gods in themselves, but are nonetheless honored for their part in the creation. Borri is the protector of the Moon, Lamsisho guards the Sun, and Kupula is the defender of the Earth.

The End of the World

Unlike most of the other pantheons in Temoris, the Cold Gods are an apocalyptic faith. Because Enochei cursed the earth before he died, followers of the Cold Gods believe that the end of the world is inevitable – the winds will break loose and rip the surface of the world to bits, then the mountains will tumble down and crush anything that remains, and finally, the oceans will dry up and vanish forever. When this is going to happen, no one can say, but in bad times of harsh weather, many people of the Uruks and Masube will (resolutely and stoically) complain that "the End Times have finally come."

Household Gods

Each household and each village is host to its own protector spirit, which are known as Domovoi (doe-moe-VOE-aye). A home's Domovoe (doe-moe- VOE-ee) (singular) dwells behind the oven, and must be properly honored or he may bring bad luck, or worse, abandon the house entirely. Domovoi protect not only the human inhabitants of the house but their herds and household animals as well. These minor gods (even the important ones who are the guardians of large cities or great valleys) are not listed here, for they are legion.

The Elvish Gods

Here are the Elvish gods...

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Aides Aedoneus "The Unseen One"

Symbol: A scythe

Portfolio: Death, darkness, the earth

Favored Weapon: "Reaper" (scythe)

Description: Aides Aedoneus (AY-dees ay-DOHNee-uhs) is pictured as a tall, majestic Dark Elf, with black skin, red eyes, and no hair on his body. He dresses all in white — the color of death. He has no left hand; instead, he has a shining steel scythe or hook with which he gathers up the souls of the departed. Though not evil per se, he is greatly feared by the Elves, for his realm is a dark place bereft of laughter and song. Elves never mention his name, instead referring to him as "The Unseen One." Aides is a gloomy and miserable god who longs for love but cannot find it. He is jealous of the other gods' love of life, for he cannot share in their joy. He hates the Undead because of Hel's betrayal, and he guards his charges closely that they never escape his realm. Priest of Aides are dark and gloomy. They pray for their spells in the dark of night and hold the Festival of the Stars as their most holy day.

Dogma: Death is the lot of all, even the immortal Elves. Grieve for those lost to the dark realms, for their memory is the only thing left of them. Laughter and joy are fleeting; only death is eternal. Destroy the Undead, for they are an abomination.

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Aristaios Argeos "The Hunter"

Symbol: A running deer

Portfolio: Wildlife and domestic animals

Favored Weapon: "Stag's Horns" (longspear)

Description: Aristaios Argeos (air-ihs-TAY-ohs ARgee-ohs) is the god of animals. He is generally depicted as a Brown Elf, tall and dark-skinned, dressed in raw animal skins. He is a wild god, primitive and uninterested in the doings of his siblings and cousins, preferring to remain deep in the woods where he might hunt in peace. He believes that his brothers and sisters are far too "civilized," and that they have rejected the ways of old. His followers tend to be barbaric Green Elf and Brown Elf tribes. Priests of Aristaios pray for their spells at dusk. He has no use for such things as holy days.

Dogma: Shun civilization, for there is nothing worthwhile it can teach you. Practice the skills of the woodland, they will serve you well. Guard against those who would intrude upon the wild lands, and drive them away.

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Charity Antaia

Symbol: An open hand

Portfolio: Mercy, benevolence, clear skies and fair weather

Favored Weapon: "Gentle Touch" (quarterstaff)

Description: Charity Antaia (an-TAY-uh) is the goddess of mercy. She is the younger twin sister of Nemesis, daughter of Pallas and Klytotekhnes. She is pictured as a tall, fair-skinned White Elf with beautiful features, long, black hair, and mighty white wings protruding from her back. Like her sister, she is part of the process of justice. She is called upon in all legal cases, to grant forgiveness to all those involved. Charity is worshipped at dawn. She does not hold any day as particularly sacred, but is invoked any time there is a legal issue to be discussed.

Dogma: Mercy is the hallmark of justice. Be prepared to stand in judgment whenever called upon. Let your decisions be informed by truth and tempered with kindness.

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Cytherea Cypros "Heavenly One"

Symbol: Heart

Portfolio: Love, romance, beauty, enchantments, artistry and artists

Favored Weapon: "Shining Heart" (dagger)

Description: Cytherea Cypros (sai-thair-EE-uh SAIpros) is the goddess of love, beauty, and romance. She is a fickle goddess who inspires jealousy and lust in all who see her, and who has had many lovers. Cytherea can be pictured as any type of Elf — White, Gray, Blue, Brown, Green, or Black — but she is always incredibly beautiful. She generally has long, flowing hair, and is usually naked. Priestesses of Cytherea worship her at sundown, and her most holy day is Faerieluck.

Dogma: Love is the highest ideal to which mortals can aspire. Life is fleeting and beauty moreso, so revel in your time. Take whatever joy, passion, and freedom life can offer you. Do not allow society to squelch your freedom, creativity, and passion. You will never be as beautiful as you are this day — celebrate this beauty. Be fickle in who you choose as your

lovers; grant your favors only to those who are most worthy.

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Diana Moonbow "Silent One, The Virgin"

Symbol: A full moon

Portfolio: Mysticism, secrets, childbirth, the moon, the stars, the heavens, gray elves

Favored Weapon: "Moonshaft" (quarterstaff)

Description: Diana Moonbow (die-AHN-uh) is Hekatos' elder twin sister. She helped deliver her brother, and is thus the goddess of mothers, who helps ease the pain of birth. She is pictured as a tall, perfect Elf with blue-gray skin and blond-white hair. She dresses only in loose shifts and often goes naked. Diana is the goddess of mysteries; she never talks because she holds so many secrets that she fears they will slip from her lips if she speaks. She knows things that even the other gods do not know. Unlike most of the other Elvish Gods, she is a virgin and refuses to take any lovers. However, she is known to be quite jealous of her brother's many lovers, and sometimes extracts revenge on them. Diana, like Hekatos, loves to race and she pursues her brother in her chariot across the sky. Sometimes, she overtakes him (these are the days of the full moon); other times, he overtakes her (the new moon). She grants fortune to those who start new endeavors on the full moon. Diana's priestesses pray for spells at night. She holds the Festival of Moongazing as her most sacred time.

Dogma: Practice the art of hunting, but hunt only what you need, never for sport. Protect the wilderness. Guard women, especially those who are pregnant, and assist in childbirth. Maintain your purity and do not give your heart away. Keep all secrets with which you are entrusted; hide them away within your heart and never let another see them.

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Eleusinia Ceres "Fruit-Bearer"

Symbol: A Sheaf of Wheat

Portfolio: Agriculture

Favored Weapon: "Good Harvest" (scythe)

Description: Eleusinia (el-oo-SEE-nee-ah SEER-ees) is the goddess of agriculture, food (in particular the staples of bread and wheat), law, and order. However, because the Elves do not place much importance on agriculture, she does not hold a position in the Apyllonian Council. She is pictured as a tall Gray Elf, draped in robes the color of vegetation — lush green in the spring, deep green in the summer, gold in the autumn, and brown in winter. Priests of Eleusinia perform their rites in the early morning. She holds the Festival of the Lights and the Festival of Mangreeting as most holy.

Dogma: Treat the earth with care and respect, for she is mother to all. Observe the change of seasons in order to ensure a bountiful harvest. Practice intelligent farming. Bless the fields and orchards and ensure the safety and well-being of all peoples. Planting and Harvest are both holy times, give thanks when the year is bountiful.

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Enagonios Dolios "The Swift-Footed"

Symbol: A dove in flight

Portfolio: Mischief, change, rogues, travel, messengers, trade

Favored Weapon: "Quickstrike" (short sword)

Description: Enagonios Dolios (ehn-ah-GOHN-eeohs DOHL-ee-ohs) is the trickster-god of markets, travel, trade, heralds, messengers, and rogues. He is pictured as a thin, handsome, rakish Brown Elf wearing well-worn sandals and loose-fitting clothes. Enagonios is the speediest of the gods, and can fly around the entire world in the blink of an eye. His priests are usually messengers who bring news of faraway places to the Elvish homelands. Enagonios holds holy the sunset. His most important day is the Festival of Mangreeting, when travelers return home with news of the world.

Dogma: Be dependable and prompt, but never be tedious or predictable. Never be idle — if one cannot do anything useful, one must travel and gain new experiences. Value fair play; settle disputes when they arise. Wit and daring are important. Never steal from those who cannot afford the loss.

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Enyalios Androphonios "Manslayer"

Symbol: A spear and shield

Portfolio: War, strife, chaos

Favored Weapon: "Heartseeker" (longspear)

Description: Enyalios Androphonios (ehn-ee-AHL-eeohs an-droh-FOH-nee-ohs) is the god of war and strife. He is usually depicted as a Black Elf with a horrible scar on his face. He is the personification of the savage side of war. Fond of strife, he is filled with anger and jealousy. He is crude, crass, and easily offended, and has few worshippers among the Elves and few friends among the gods. He was granted a position on the Apyllonian Council because of his skill at arms, which is matchless. Enyalios is worshipped at sunset and has no holy days.

Dogma: The world is a cruel place where one must fight to find happiness. Answer every insult, cheat when necessary, and covet that which is not yours. Search for battle, for it is only here that one can acquire glory and fame.

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Eris Bellona "The Kind Lady"

Symbol: A tangled thicket

Portfolio: Outcasts, scapegoats, isolation, green elves

Favored Weapon: "Thornbite" (short sword)

Description: Eris Bellona (AIR-ihs bell-OH-nah) is said to have once been a surpassingly beautiful White Elf, but when she was rejected by the Apyllonian council, her hair turned red and she dyed her skin green. She is the patron of outcasts, especially the Green Elves, and she despises rules and regulations. She is a great huntress — easily the equal of Hekatos and Diana, and is said to have created many of the monsters that plague the woods, in order to give her people something to hunt. She is the youngest child of Aides and Lolthe, sister of Enyalios and Phantasos. Eris is worshipped in the dark of night and does not have any particular holy days.

Dogma: Rules and restrictions are for other people. Practice and perfect your skills — especially your skills at hunting, for many are your enemies. Attack when least expected and fade into the woods before your enemy gets the chance to strike back. You are strongest alone; you need no others.

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Gaia Pantôn

Symbol: Three inward pointing arrows

Portfolio: The earth

Favored Weapon: "Earthstaff" (quarter staff)

Description: Gaia Panton (GIA-uh PAN-tohn) is the goddess of the earth. Daughter of Phytia and Sable, she went against her father's wishes and gave birth to the twins Diana and Hekatos, who shortly thereafter killed their tyrannous grandfather. Gaia is bountiful and merciful in all things, and hates strife and violence. Gaia has few worshippers among the Elves. Her cult is sometimes combined with the Druid's Mother. Her followers pray for their spells at dawn, when the first rays of the sun touch upon their goddess. Her holy days fall upon the Festivals of Light, the Trees, Mangreeting, and the Stars.

Dogma: The earth is a gift and a boon. Elves must live in harmony with and protect nature. Kill only when necessary, and heal whenever possible. All creatures are children of the earth, strive to make peace between them.

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Hekatos Oulios "Far-Shooter"

Symbol: The sun

Portfolio: Magic, the sun, music, art, poetry, healing, war, white elves

Favored Weapon: "Sun's Shaft" (longspear)

Description: Hekatos Oulios (HEK-ah-tose OOH-leeohs) is the god of the sun, the most powerful of the Elvish Pantheon. He is a White Elf, tall, strong, with black hair and white skin that shines like the light of the sun. Hekatos has had many lovers, both mortal and divine, and is said to have been the father of a great many Elvish heroes, including Tanesia Fleetfoot and Alcides Lionslayer, who won a great war against the people of Kidbod thousands of years ago. He is also father of the Muses, and is sometimes referred to as Musagetes because of this. Hekatos planted many healing herbs around the world, and is thus the patron of medicine. He considers the Mirenna plant to be particularly sacred. Hekatos is famed for his great skill with the bow, and he is the god who taught the art of charioteering to the Elves. He loves to ride his sunchariot across the sky each day, and races with his sister Diana. Though he is the chief of the Elvish gods, Hekatos has few worshippers. He is quick to anger, but is also quick to forgive. Hekatos' priests pray for their spells each day at sunup. He holds holy the Festival of the Trees.

Dogma: Heal those who are injured. Wounds can be left on the spirit as well as the body, so work for peace, justice, and forgiveness. Tell no lies; stand up against evil; be bold and relentless, but remember compassion and forgiveness. Do not back away from war, but ensure that the cause is just before taking up arms. Take the time to appreciate the finer things in life — music, poetry, art, and love.

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Klytotekhnes Amphiguêeis "Lame-in-both-Legs"

Symbol: A volcano

Portfolio: Fire, craft, knowledge

Favored Weapon: "Hammer of Creation" (hammer)

Description: Klytotekhnes (kly-toh-TEK-nees am-fih-GYOO-ee-ihs) is the god of fire, volcanic activity smiths and craftsmen. He is famed for his many inventions. With his sister Pallas, he taught crafts to the Elves. He is lame because of a fight he got into with Enyalios. Klytotekhnes lives apart from the other Elvish gods, in part because of that fight. Priests of Klytotekhnes pray for spells at night. They have their temples in places of craft — forges, mills, and ironworks. Klytotekhnes holds the Festival of the Lights as holy.

Dogma: There is much value in hard labor, honesty, and dependability. Train the young in craftwork and work hard to perfect your own skills. Be vigorous and persistent in solving problems — like the smith hammering raw metal into useful tools. Fight for what is yours and do not let others cheat you of your dues.

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Krysopteron Aellopos "Golden-Wings"

Symbol: Rainbow

Portfolio: Air, weather, birds, rain, fertility, messengers

Favored Weapon: "Thunderbolt" (quarterstaff)

Description: Krysopteron Aellopos (krys-OHP-tare-on Ae-ELL-oh-pohs) is the winged goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the gods. She is depicted as a lovely White Elf with golden wings and a herald's rod in her hand. Krysopteron is Tabiti's twin sister. It is Krysopteron who brings life-giving rain to the earth. The rainbow is said to be her reminder of the bond between heaven and earth, between the gods and their people. Krysopteron is worshipped at mid-day. She has no holy days, but her name is invoked whenever a rainshower comes down to nourish the earth.

Dogma: Deliver all messages quickly and truly. Encourage growth in yourself and in others — just as plants grow to increase the bounty of the earth, so too do people grow to increase the bounty of society. Watch the weather closely, for it can foretell the future.

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Lysios Anthion "Lord of Vines"

Symbol: A jug of wine

Portfolio: Wine, festivities, travel, wanderlust, good cheer

Favored Weapon: "Vine's Kiss" (shortspear)

Description: Lysios Anthion (LIE-see-ohs AN-theeon) is the god of wine, festivals, revelry and parties, and the theatre. He is the youngest of Gaia's children, and is well-loved by all the gods — not least because he invented the art of winemaking. He is pictured as a young Brown Elf dressed in rustic clothes. Often he is seen as wrapped in grape vines and carrying a staff or spear of gnarled, twisted wood. Lysios is worshipped at sundown, the time when festivities start, and he holds holy all of the festival days.

Dogma: Live a life of whimsy and abandon, free from the fetters of custom, law, and inhibition. Travel the world to see its wonders, and be of good cheer at all times. Oppose those who would take away the freedom of others, and work to cure the world of wickedness and evil.

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The Muses

Symbol: Varies, but usually a musical instrument of some sort

Portfolio: Splendor, mirth, laughter, song, dance, poetry, thought, memory, history

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

Description: The nine Muses are goddesses of music, song, and dance and are the source of inspiration to poets. As the patrons of literature they are also the goddesses of knowledge and are said to know of all things that come to pass. They are depicted as beautiful young Elf or human women holding various musical instruments. Each of the nine has her own attributes. The nine Muses are Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), Thalia (Laughter), Aoede (Song), Terpsichore (Dance), Calliope (Poetry), Melete (Thought), Mneme (Memory), and Clio (History). The muses have no priests and are not worshipped, but their names are invoked at all celebrations, and whenever poets or songsmiths work their craft.

Dogma: Practice the arts — poetry, song, dance, theater, comedy — and remember the past that you may do better in the future. The act of creation is the greatest gift of mortals; honor those who hone their skills to a fine art.

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Nemesis Adrêsteia "The Inescapable"

Symbol: A teardrop

Portfolio: Justice, retribution

Favored Weapon: "The Black Blade" (longsword)

Description: Nemesis Adrêsteia (NEHM-ah-sis ahd-reh-STAY-uh) is the goddess of indignation and retribution for evil deeds or undeserved good fortune. She represents the resentment aroused by those who have committed crimes with apparent impunity, or who have inordinate good fortune. Her name means 'she who distributes or deals out'. Nemesis directs mortal affairs in such a way as to maintain equilibrium. Nemesis checks the extravagant favors granted by her twin sister Charity, and is an avenging divinity. Nemesis appears as a winged White Elf. In her left hand she holds a lash, sword, or balance. Followers of Nemesis worship their goddess in the dark of night. She has no holy days, but like her sister she is invoked whenever justice is demanded.

Dogma: Justice demands retribution. Be prepared to stand in judgment whenever called upon. Let your decisions be informed by truth and tempered with justice. Let no one escape her rightful punishment.

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Oupis Hekaerge "The Lucky"

Symbol: Silver arrowhead

Portfolio: Archery, hunting, luck

Favored Weapon: "Longshot" (longbow)

Description: Oupis Hekaerge (OOH-pis hek-AIR-geh) is the greatest archer of the Elvish gods. He presides over the three skills of archery — aim, trajectory and distancing. He is the son of Enagonious and Krysopteron. He is also the patron of good fortune. Oupis is worshipped at nightfall and holds holy the Festival of Faerieluck.

Dogma: Rely on luck, for at your darkest moment it will pull you through. Practice your skills, for when luck fails, your own ability will make all the difference.

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Pallas Areia "The Victorious, The Councilor"

Symbol: An owl

Portfolio: Craftwork, defense, wisdom, victory, foresight

Favored Weapon: "Duskshaft" (spear)

Description: Pallas Areia (PAL-as ahr-REE-ah) is a tall, perfectly formed White Elf wearing armor and carrying a spear. She holds her helmet under her arm, representing the belief that foresight should come before war, and an owl stands on her shoulder, whispering words of wisdom in her ear. Though Pallas is a fearsome warrior, she prefers to use diplomacy to stave off trouble before it starts. It is Pallas who taught patience to the Elves. She also taught many of the arts to Elfkind, and she tamed horses for the use of her people. Pallas is very proud but also clever and crafty, and she rewards those who use their brains. Pallas holds holy the dawn and the festival of Mangreeting, when the different peoples come together in peace.

Dogma: Uphold the virtues of wisdom and reason. Fight only in defense of your home and your people; defend against enemies who would take what is yours. Practice the skills of both war and peace, do not make enemies unnecessarily, and find friends and allies wherever they may be. Practice arts and crafts, for they set the civilized apart from the uncivilized.

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Phantasos Ikelos "Dream King"

Symbol: Willow tree

Portfolio: Time, longevity, history, choice, dreams, omens

Favored Weapon: "Timestave" (quarterstaff)

Description: Phantasos Ikelos (fan-TAH-sohs ih-KELohs) is the middle son of Aides and Lolthe. He appears as a Dark Elf with long, silver hair and eyes that glow like the stars. He lives under a huge dark willow tree at the gates of Aides' realm, from whence he measures out the fates of all mortals. It is he who granted the gift of immortality to the Elves. He is a mysterious god who sometimes sends omens to his priests in the form of dreams. Phantasos is worshipped in the darkest part of the night, and holds holy the Festival of the Stars. His temples are always well-hidden, often located in the depths of dark, haunted forests.

Dogma: Keep a close eye on the time, for it passes quickly and without pause. Dreams are the source of knowledge; one can foretell the future by them. Stories are the history of a people, they can teach you much by simply listening, so always listen closely to what they have to say.

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Phaunos Agrotas "The Rustic"

Symbol: Oak tree

Portfolio: Woodlands, nature

Favored Weapon: "Oakstaff" (quarterstaff)

Description: Phaunos Agrotas (FAWN-ohs ah-GROH-tahs) is the god of woodlands and forests who wanders the hills and mountains, playing his panpipes and accompanied by deer and elk. He is depicted as a Brown Elf, usually naked. Sometimes he has the horns of a goat or the antlers of a deer and frequently he is pictured with the legs and lower body of a fawn. Many Brown Elves pay him homage, for it is he who taught them to live in the forests. He is close friends with Lysios, who recognizes a kindred spirit. Phaunos is worshipped at sunset and holds the Festival of the Trees as his most holy day.

Dogma: Live a carefree life; dance through the world and take in all that it has to offer. Freedom is the highest calling. Sing, dance, and play music. Follow the examples of the animals, who toil not for their food but simply exist.

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Sashelas Deepwater "Sea-Father"

Symbol: A conch shell

Portfolio: Oceans, creation, knowledge, blue elves

Favored Weapon: "Trifork of the Deeps" (trident)

Description: Sashelas Deepwater (SAH-shell-ahs) is the king of the sea. He appears as a Blue Elf, tall and handsome, carrying a golden trident and wearing a necklace of seashells. He is a temperamental god, sometimes granting life and sometimes taking it away. He has the power of creation, and is said to have formed the first horses out of seafoam and waves. He appreciates sacrifices and often grants mercy on those who give up valuable objects for him. Sashelas is worshipped at daybreak and holds holy the Festival of Moongazing and the Festival of the Stars.

Dogma: Respect the ocean, for it is father to all things. It is dangerous and unpredictable, so do not try to understand it — simply live in awe of its power and majesty. Make sacrifices of valuable things in order to attract favor. Speak softly and do not let your power show until such time as it can overwhelm your enemies. Be like the sea — calm and tranquil but capable of great violence and impressive shows of power.

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Tabiti Hestiê "Hearth-Tender"

Symbol: A glowing candle

Portfolio: Civilization, earthquakes

Favored Weapon: "Firebrand" (longsword)

Description: Tabiti Hestiê (tah-BEET-tee HES-tee-ay) is the gentle goddess of the hearth, the home, the family, and the community. It is she who taught the arts of civilization to Elves, and she is greatly beloved for her sacrifice. Of all the gods, she is the most loved. Tabiti is the twin sister of Krysopteron. Tabiti is worshipped at dusk and at dawn, before the lighting of any fire, and at all celebrations.

Dogma: The home is a blessing. Take pleasure in the gifts of life as they come, giving thanks to the gods for every earthly blessing. Food and rest, labor and family are simple pleasures, but they are the best. Do not get involved in quarrels and politics, for they are beneath you.

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Trimorphos Lolthe "Lurker Below"

Symbol: A black spider

Portfolio: Death, darkness, murder, hunger, desire

Favored Weapon: "Spiderbite" (longsword)

Description: Trimorphos Lolthe (try-MORF-ohs LOHL-thee) is a dark goddess, created by Aides from a spider when he was lonely for a wife. She betrayed him and was cast into the darkness for her crime. She is the goddess of death, blackness, betrayal, and murder. She appears, variously, as a giant black spider with red eyes and glistening fangs, or as a beautiful, shapely Dark Elf with long silver hair and pale blue eyes. There are many Dark Elf cults devoted to her worship, but they act in secrecy and silence so as not to attract the attention of the authorities. Lolthe is worshipped in the darkest part of the night. She has no festivals.

Dogma: Cull out the weak to make the Elves strong. Do not engage in open warfare, but rather commit well-planned, swift, and overwhelming attacks. Be shrewd, calculating, and aware of the dangers and opportunities around you. There is no place in this world for sentiment, weakness, or love.

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Comments are, as always, welcome!

More Elvish Myths

Here are some stories about the individual Elvish gods. Next, I think Ill have the write-ups of the Elvish gods themselves...

Comments are welcome. Enjoy!

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The Coming of the Undead

Aides was lonely in his dark realm, until one day a beautiful goddess whom he'd never seen before arrived. She professed her desire for him, and the two of them made love. When Aides fell asleep, the dark goddess snuck into his realm and stole many souls, setting them free upon the world.

Hekatos, from his chariot in the sky, saw the dead walking the earth and grew angry. He stormed into Aides' realm, waking him, and demanded to know what happened. Aides was at a loss until he saw the gates of his realm gaping wide open and his mysterious lover gone.

Hekatos told Aides that if any of the dead escaped his realm again, the sun-god would hunt them down and destroy them utterly. Aides, furious at the betrayal by his lover, agreed to these terms and swore to hunt the one who tricked him — who today is known as the goddess Hel, Queen of the Undead.

The Elves Gain Longevity

Phantasos is the god of fate, who measures out the lifespan of all people. Lysios looked down upon the Elves and saw them fading out at an alarming rate — they were not a fertile race, and with lifespans as short as those of the other races, they would soon be gone from this world.

To correct this error, Lysios went into the underrealm to visit his cousin, bringing along a jug of his finest wine. The two gods sat and drank, and Lysios asked Phantasos to show him how to measure out the strands of life. Phantasos, feeling a little drunk, agreed and showed his cousin how all mortal races got roughly the same amount of life. Lysios then asked if Elves could have just a tiny bit more, to give them an advantage over the other people. Phantasos asked his cousin how much he intended and Lysios stretched out a strand just a little bit longer than average.

Phantasos agreed to grant Elves that much extra life, but he didn't realize that Lysios had doubled and then doubled again the length of the strand, granting elves many times the lifespan of the other peoples.

Lysios felt guilty about tricking his cousin, so he admitted to what he had done. But instead of being angry, Phantasos was impressed at Lysios's cleverness and he allowed the bargain to stand. And so it has been to this very day that Elves live many hundreds of years, while the other races wither and die after only a few decades.

The Elves Gain Civilization

The goddess Tabiti loved the Elves greatly, and she wanted to see them prosper. She went to Hekatos and asked him to allow her to teach them the arts of civilization. Hekatos refused, saying that the Elves were not yet ready for such responsibility.

Tabiti was saddened by this, and decided to take matters into her own hands. She snuck into her brother's chamber at night and stole a tiny piece of his radiance in the form of fire, then took it down to the Elves and showed them its secrets.

When Hekatos awoke, he realized that a part of his essence had been stolen. He grew angry and confronted Tabiti, who admitted her wrongdoing. Furious that she had not only stolen from him, but had also gone against his wishes, he chained her to the top of a high mountain as punishment. She cried so hard that the mountains themselves shook and cracked.

The other gods went to Hekatos and begged him to set her free, but he was still angry and refused to do so. But the next day, as he passed overhead in his chariot, he looked down and saw his sister weeping, and his heart broke. He immediately unchained her and allowed her to teach all the arts of civilization to their people, and so it is that Tabiti, of all the gods, is the most beloved by Elves.

The Elvish Gods Meet the Gods of Man

Hekatos was hunting in the woods when he came upon a strange maiden of surpassing beauty. He was immediately smitten, and asked who she was. "I am Istar," she answered. "I am a goddess. And who are you, stranger?"

"I am Hekatos, chief of the Elvish Gods," he answered. "And I love you, for you are unlike anyone I have ever seen before."

Istar found Hekatos as beautiful as he found her, and the two of them made love. She bore him nine children, who are known as the Muses — Aglaia, Euphrosyne, Thalia, Aoede, Terpsichore, Calliope, Melete, Mneme, and Clio. Because they were born from gods of both men and Elves, the Muses are honored throughout all realms, though they are seldom worshipped.

Agriculture and Hunting

Phaunos and Eleusinia decided to hold a contest to see which of them could bring the most pleasing gift to the Apyllonian Council. Phaunos hunted deep in the forest for the best game he could find, while Eleusinia dug in the soil to bring forth a rich harvest. When they were both complete, they showed the fruits of their labors to the other gods. The gods judged and were most pleased with Phaunos' gift.

And so it is that the Elves do not toil in the earth, but rather hunt in the forests to bring forth their bounty.

Cytherea and Enyalios

Cytherea is the goddess of love and beauty. Both Enyalios and Klytotekhnes wished to be her lover, but she had many suitors and could afford to be choosy, so she told them that the one who could most impress her would lie with her.

Klytotekhnes knew he couldn't compete with his cousin in a physical contest, so he set out to create a beautiful artifact. He pulled down the starlight and used it to create a mirror — the only surface in the world perfect enough to reflect Cytherea's beauty.

Tired from his labors, he slept, but while he was sleeping, Enyalios snuck into his room and stole the mirror. The god of war presented the mirror to Cytherea, who was impressed and agreed to make love with him. She bore him two sons — Diemos (Panic) and Phobos (Fear), both of whom accompany their father when he marches to war.

When Klytotekhnes woke, he discovered what happened and grew angry. Grabbing the nearest weapon, he rushed into Cytherea's bedchamber. Finding his cousin there, he smote Enyalios in the face, scarring him terribly. Enyalios jumped to his feet, grabbed Klytotekhnes, and threw him from the top of the mountain. Klytotekhnes broke both his legs as he fell, thus earning his nickname, "Lame in Both Legs."

Cytherea, mortified at this behavior, threw Enyalios out and swore never to lay eyes on either of them again. Since this time, these three gods have despised one another and will have nothing to do with each other.

Enagonios and the Griffon

Enagonios is a much-loved god, and many are the stories told about him. Once, he wanted to play a trick on his older brother Hekatos. The rogue-god crept into Hekatos' stables one night and stole his chariot and horses, riding them into the sky and around the world.

But Enagonios wasn't strong enough to control the horses, and soon found himself on a wild ride, plunging too close to the earth or far into the depths of the outer darkness. Hekatos heard his brother's cries for help and went to see what was wrong. He knew that if he didn't stop the chariot, the whole world would suffer, but he couldn't bring himself to shoot his own brother. Instead, he shot both of his beloved horses dead.

The chariot crashed into the lands of the south (burning all the trees away and making it into a great desert). Hekatos was very angry with his brother's trick and demanded that Enagalios replace his prized horses.

Enagonios went to his cousin Klytotekhnes and begged for his help. Klytotekhnes told Enagonious to go into the forest and hunt the strongest, fiercest creatures he could find. Enagonious found and killed a mated pair of lions and a mated pair of eagles and brought their carcasses back to Klytotekhnes, who cut up the bodies and sewed them back together. Enagonio breathed life into the two creatures, and presented them to his brother.

Hekatos was impressed with his brother's gift, and forgave him for his transgression. To this day, the chariot of the sun is pulled by a mated pair of golden griffons.

Enagonios and Krysopteron

Enagonios fell in love with his beautiful sister Krysopteron and, in order to win her heart, he challenged her to a race. With the other gods officiating, the two of them raced around the world, flickering like lightning through the skies. As they approached the finish line, Krysopteron was ahead, but she stepped on a loose stone and stumbled.

Enagonios surged ahead and won the race. The two of them had one son, Oupis (Aim), whom his father nicknamed "The Lucky One" in honor of the good fortune of his win.

Luminatus

Most folk have a myth or a story that explains where the moon goes during the three-day festival, or, as the Elves call it, Luminatus. But Elvish mythology does not have anything to say on the matter. Diana Moonbow has many secrets, of which neither god nor man is privy. The disappearance of the moon is merely one of them, and though people may surmise on its meaning, no one really knows why it should be so.

Re: Mythologies -- FH Storytime

Thanks for the compliments! Glad someone's reading.

tabascojunkie: More about the Undead will be coming up. Each faith has their own version of where these beasties come from -- they're the "big bad guy" in my world, and everyone hates 'em (including my players!).

tgaptte: I don't mind at all (so long as you give me credit). I hope you can use some of it -- that's why I posted it.

Bill.

The Gods of the Elves

Today I start a new pantheon -- the gods of the Elves. I'm going to start with the creation/history of the universe as the Elves see it. Next, I'll put up descriptions of the gods themselves...

Please let me know what y'all think.

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The Elvish Pantheon

Most Elves worship the gods of the Elvish Pantheon. All Elvish clerics may use the longbow in addition to their deity’s favored weapon.

The Dawn of Creation

Two gods were born from the chaos of creation — Phytia (Light) and Sable (Darkness). Phytia and Sable made love and gave birth to three children — Aides (Death), Gaia (Earth), and Sashelas (Sea). Sable feared that if his children had children, they would grow more powerful than he was, so he forbade them from bearing sons and daughters of their own. But Gaia desperately wanted children, so secretly, she became pregnant.

Fearing Sable's wrath, she begged Aides to hide her in a safe place. Though he felt she was making a great mistake, Aides agreed and took her deep under the earth and hid her far from Sable's sight. In the darkness, Gaia gave birth to her daughter Diana, who shone with a silver light. Diana then assisted her mother in delivering Hekatos, who glowed brightly, like gold.

But Sable grew suspicious of his daughter's absence and went looking for her. When he found her, deep under the earth, he knew immediately what had happened and became enraged. He demanded she give up her children.

Gaia, fearing more for her children than for herself, took a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes and gave it to her father. He immediately devoured it. Then Gaia gave him a fire, also wrapped in swaddling clothes, and he devoured that as well.

The stone and the fire in his belly caused Sable great pain, and while he was distracted, Diana and Hekatos sprang from their hiding place killed him, and cast his body deep into the recesses of the outer darkness.

The Coming of Winter

Though free now from Sable's tyranny, the young gods had another problem. Phytia mourned the death of her husband and withdrew from the world. In her absence and her grief, the whole world grew cold and dark. The gods went to her and begged her to return, but she refused. They offered to make her queen of them all if she would come back, but still she refused. Then Gaia went to her and told her that the world was dying in her absence.

Phytia agreed to return, but only for half the year — the other half of the year, she would return to mourning her husband. The world would grow cold and dark in that time, in memory of Sable; the rest of the year would be a celebration of life.

The Division of the World

The three children of Phytia and Sable decided to draw lots to divide up the world. Aides drew the shortest lot, so to him was given the underworld, the land of darkness and death. Sashelas got the next draw, and he was given dominion over the sea and all the waters of the world. Gaia got the best lot, and she was given the earth and the sky. Overwhelmed at such a responsibility, she gave the sky to her two children, who split their responsibility into day (Hekatos) and night (Diana).

Then the gods divided up their people. Sashelas became patron of the Blue Elves, Aides gained the Black Elves as followers, Gaia was made queen of the Brown Elves, Diana became the Gray Elves' patron goddess, and Hekatos gained the White Elves.

The Third Generation of Gods

Gaia then gave birth to the rest of her children — Phaunos (Plants), Eleusinia (Agriculture), Aristaios (Animals), Enagonios (Mischief), Tabiti (The Home) and her twin sister Krysopteron (Weather), and Lysios (Wine).

Sashelas wanted children of his own, but he lacked the ability to give birth. So instead, he swam to the bottom of the ocean and collected clay, from which he fashioned his son Klytotekhnes. Klytotekhnes, made of earth and mud, was quite ugly but also amazingly brilliant. Together, father and son worked to create the most beautiful of all the gods — Cytherea.

Exhausted from his labors, Sashelas slept, and while he slept he dreamt of a goddess that would be the strongest, wisest, and greatest of them all. When he woke, he told his son of this dream. Klytotekhnes took his hammer and smote Sashelas' head, and out sprang Pallas, fully formed from the power of her father's dream.

Aides sat in his dark realm and was lonely. He wished to have children as well, but lacked the ability. As he sat, he saw a large, beautiful spider, with long silky white fur and a beautiful segmented black body, with eyes that glimmered red and blue. He picked up the spider and stroked it. As he stroked it, the spider grew larger, its fur grew longer, its legs and body reshaped themselves, and soon the spider had transformed into a tall, lovely elf-maiden, with a cascade of white hair, black skin, and eyes that changed from deep red to palest blue. Aides named this woman Trimorphos Lolthe (Blackness), and swore to make her his bride.

However, Lolthe was coy and she asked Aides what he would give to her in exchange for her hand in marriage. He promised to make her queen of the dark places, but this was not enough for her. He promised to give her many strong children, but this too was not enough. Finally, he asked what she wanted — she said that she wanted to never be hungry again. This he promised with all his heart, and the two of them lay together. She bore him three children — Enyalios, Phantasos, and Eris.

Then, tired from their lovemaking, Aides rested. When he awoke, he found himself bound in thick, ropey webs. His wife stood before him and told him that it was time to fulfill his promise, and she began to devour him, starting with his left hand. Enraged at this betrayal, Aides broke free from his bounds, overpowered Lolthe, and cast her into the darkness, where she waits still, hoping to devour any Elf luckless enough to fall into her web.

Aides, now sadder but wiser, went to his nephew Klytotekhnes, who fashioned a metal scythe to replace the hand which Lolthe had eaten.

The Apyllonian Council

All the gods came together to see which of them would be chief among them. Among them all, Hekatos was most beautiful, strongest, and most skilled, and he won the contest handily.

He then allowed the other gods to compete for positions among his council. Diana, Phaunos, Klytotekhnes, Cytherea, Pallas, Aides, Enyalios, Sashelas, and Krysopteron all won favored positions, and thus became what are known as the nine Apyllonians — leaders of the gods.

The Birth of the Green Elves

Eris, the youngest daughter of Aides, was a goddess of stunning beauty — a White Elf with lustrous black hair and pale white skin. She wished to join the council as well, but the other gods wouldn't let her. They disliked her brother Enyalios and feared that she would be as disruptive as he was.

At this dismissal, Eris grew so angry that her black hair turned as red as fire. She ran into the woods, where she swore she would become an even greater hunter than Hekatos or Diana. She tracked and killed three animals — a giant snake, a raging lion, and a huge goat. But she found this hunt much too easy, so the took parts from the three animals, glued them together with clay, breathed life into this new monster, and named it Chimera. Pleased with her handiwork, she began creating more and more creatures to hunt, and soon the woods were filled with fierce beasts.

The beasts took to raiding the Elves, who prayed to Hekatos for deliverance. Hekatos came to save his people, but the monsters were so strong that even he couldn't kill them. He tracked them back to their source and found his cousin. He begged her to stop the monsters, but she refused. He then offered her a position on the council, but again she refused. Finally, he offered her anything she desired. She told him that she wanted a people of her own, and to be free from his rules and laws forever. "So long as you promise to never rise up against me," Hekatos answered, "What you ask shall be yours."

Eris claimed half of Hekatos' people and took them into the deepest part of the wood. She showed them how to dye their skin green to help them hide in the foliage, and she taught them the secrets of the hunt — and thus were born the Green Elves. And to this day, there are so few White Elves because Hekatos gave half of his people away in order to save them.

The Changing of the Apyllonians

Klytotekhnes was in love with his sister Cytherea, but she didn't return his affections because he was too ugly. He went to his other sister Pallas and begged her to help him win Cytherea's hand, and Pallas agreed. But unknown to Klytotekhnes, Pallas was secretly in love with him. One night, she disguised herself as her sister and came to him. She gave birth to two children — Nemesis (Vengeance) and Charity (Mercy).

However, Klytotekhnes soon found out about this deceit. He was so angry that he quit the council of gods and fled into the mountains, where he established a workshop, far away from his brothers and sisters. The Apyllonian Council was now short one member, so an election was held and Enagonios was granted Klytotekhnes' seat.

Lysios was Gaia's youngest son, and he too wished to join the council. However, he knew that he had to perform some great task or deliver some mighty gift to have a chance. He wandered the entire world, searching high and low for something amazing and wonderful to present to the council.

One day, he found a tiny vine. Something about this plant tickled his fancy, so he plucked it from the ground and re-planted it in the only thing he had handy — the hollow legbone of a bird. As he traveled on, the vine began to grow rapidly, and soon outgrew the tiny bird leg. He cast around for something else to plant it in, and he found a lion's legbone. But even that proved inadequate as the vine kept growing, so Lysios replanted it once again into the legbone of a donkey. Finally, he arrived home, where he planted the vine in his garden. The vine blossomed and bore fruit, which Lysios crushed and fermented and turned into wine.

Lysios brought this gift to his siblings and cousins on the council. They enjoyed it so much that they granted him a position among them. Krysopteron stepped down from her seat, reasoning that only one messenger god was necessary.

And it is said to this day that a little bit of wine will make the drinker sing like a bird; a little bit more and she will roar like a lion; and if she drinks too much, she'll act like a jackass.

The Apyllonian Council today consists of Diana, Pallas, Phaunos, Cytherea, Aides, Enyalios, Sashelas, Enagonios, and Lysios, and they are considered the chiefs of the Elvish Pantheon, equal in power and glory and second only to Hekatos himself.

Re: Mythologies -- FH Storytime

These are some of the legends/myths/stories about the great hero/demigod Adrom, patron of rangers and guardian of the wild places.

As always, any comments, criticisms, and questions are welcome!

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Adrom and the Dragon

There was a great dragon who lived deep in the forest. Its breath was so poisonous that it scorched and killed all the plants for miles around. It ate everything, messily devouring its prey when it was hungry, and destroying everything it caught trespassing on its lands. This dragon was called Noxious, and all things hated and feared it.

Adrom set out to slay this monster. Long he hunted through the deep woods, asking each bird and animal where the monster could be found. Most of the animals were too frightened of the dragon to talk to Adrom, but soon he came upon a stag. The stag bravely volunteered to show Adrom where the dragon lived, and carried him through the forest and across the mountains, until they came to a place where the earth was blasted and raw, where nothing grew and where toxic vapor filled the air - the dragon's hunting grounds.

Adrom readied himself for a battle, and it was not long in coming. Noxious, surveying its lands, spotted an interloper and attacked. The battle raged for nine days, with neither gaining the upper hand. The dragon was strong, its scales were harder than iron and its poisonous breath could kill a chimera; but Adrom was also strong, and skilled, and afraid of nothing. In the end, the great ranger buried his mighty axe deep in the dragon's skull, killing it.

But it was not over yet. While the dragon's body lay cooling in the dust, its blood flowed down into a nearby creek. When the blood poured into the river, the water boiled and steamed and turned to poison. Adrom knew if he allowed the dragon's blood to pollute this river, soon all the waters of the world would be poisoned. He cupped his hands under the dragon's wound and caught the blood before it could touch the sacred earth. But the dragon bled profusely and soon filled Adrom's cupped hands.

Rather than letting the blood spill, Adrom drank it - knowing that he'd rather die than see the earth profaned any further. Though stronger than any normal man, Adrom was still mortal and the poison ate at his insides. The ranger collapsed and would have died if not for his friend, the stag. Upon seeing Adrom's sacrifice, the deer stepped forward and revealed its true nature - it was really Carrom, Lord of the Beasts, who disguised himself to observe Adrom on his quest. "You've done well, little brother," the god said, "And it is not yet your time to go."

Carrom called upon the powers of nature to heal Adrom, and Shorrik (King of the Green) responded by growing an herb, known as Borage, which can purge any poison. Adrom recovered and was welcomed into the family by Mother's first children, Carrom and Shorrik.

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Adrom and the Leviathan

Leviathan was terrorizing the seas. It was so large that it was in danger of eating every fish in the ocean. Its tail caused tidal waves that inundated the shore, and each flip of its fins caused the currents to change. Every time it opened its mouth, it swallowed one twentieth of the entire ocean, and it grew larger every day while the oceans themselves dwindled. The earth itself would die if no one acted.

Adrom set out to stop this monster, as he had done with the dragon before. He built a ship and set sail to the deepest part of the ocean, far from the sight of land, and there he waited. Day and night he watched without sleep, until finally he spotted the shadow of the beast beneath his ship. Girding himself with spear and axe, he dove into the sea and swam directly into Leviathan's path. Leviathan opened its mouth wider than the gulfs of space and swallowed the ranger whole.

Adrom found himself inside the belly of the beast, which was so large the wrecks of entire ships could be found within. He knew Leviathan was too great for even a warrior of his caliber to kill, so he came up with a scheme.

He prepared two ships. In one of them, he planned make his escape. On the deck of the other, he piled all the wood that he could find, tearing apart the other ships as he needed. He stacked the wood high and lit a huge bonfire, then settled in his other ship and waited. As the damp wood burned, the monster's belly filled with smoke. Leviathan gagged, then coughed, then, to be rid of the pain in its belly, vomited. The entire contents of its stomach poured out, re-filling the oceans. Adrom clutched his ship tightly as he rode out the wave. When the sea finally settled, he saw that his mission was accomplished... except he didn't realize Leviathan was not yet dead.

Though diminished in size and power, it was still a beast of great strength, and it was filled with anger at what this tiny man had done. Leviathan attacked Adrom on his boat, and they fought for three days until Adrom finally grabbed the broken spar from his ship and plunged it deep into Leviathan, piercing its heart and killing it.

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Adrom and the Moon

Ysron, the god of the Moon, was sad. Though he was a beautiful god, he had nowhere near his sister the Sun's radiance. Eastay didn't want to see her brother sad, so she took a piece of herself and created a beautiful necklace made of pure, shining diamonds. She gave these diamonds to Ysron so that he would shine as brightly as she does.

And the story would end there, except that there was a great thief who called himself Footpad the Rogue. Footpad bragged that he could steal anything, and to prove it, he vowed to steal Ysron's diamonds. It's not easy to steal from a god, and Footpad spent years planning this, the most daring theft ever. When he finally stole the diamonds, his plan went off without a hitch. He disappeared and would never have been seen again, except he had the greatest hunter the world has ever known tracking him.

Adrom followed Footpad across oceans, over mountains, through deserts, swamps, and forests, always just one step behind. Footpad tried every trick to lose his hunter, but Adrom was dogged and tireless and would not fail in his mission.

Finally, Adrom caught Footpad at the very top of Hawkfriend Peak, the highest of the Mystic Mountains. Adrom took the gems from Footpad, but the thief just laughed. "You can take them back," he said, "But I'm the greatest thief in the world. You can't stop me from stealing them again someday."

"You can't steal them," Adrom answered, "If you can't reach them." And with that he flung the diamonds up into the night sky, where they scattered across the velvet blackness and became the stars, sparkling like tiny suns, forever out of reach of the thief.

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Adrom and the Fomorians

The lands of man were being terrorized by giants - huge, misshapen monsters who ate the flesh of humans. These giants called themselves the Formorians, and they were unstoppable - until Adrom heard about their depredations and came to put a stop to them.

There was a huge battle, so violent that the earth itself shook from the force. Adrom stood alone against an army of monsters, but at the end of the fight, it was he who was victorious. The army of giants was decimated, and soon the only monster that was still standing was the king of the Fomorians, big enough to blot out the entire sky, wielding a club the size of a treetrunk, screaming a challenge so loud that the heavens themselves quaked.

Adrom was not impressed. He leapt into the air, bounced off the giant king's weapon, and grabbed the monster by the hair. The giant was taken off balance and fell to the ground with a thud. Adrom kicked the club out of the monster's hand and then took the king by the throat. "Take what is left of your people and leave these lands," Adrom demanded. "Swear to me that you will never return, and I will let you live."

The giant king had no choice, and swore to never come back again. His people retreated to the mountains, and have been seen only seldom since.

For showing mercy to a defeated enemy, Adrom earned the contempt and rivalry of Bodikkia, goddess of war; however, he also earned the love and trust of Latis, who is the goddess of mercy.

Adrom embodies all the best traits of the ranger, which all rangers strive to emulate. He is self-sacrificing, merciful, courageous, loyal, trustworthy, courteous, and above all, beneficent - and the stories of his life serve to highlight these qualities.

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What do you think, sirs?

I'd like to use the Imparing/Disabling rules in my FH campaign, but I'm a little confused as to how it works. I'm trying to figure out what would happen in the following example:

Brutus attacks Slick with a sword and hits. Brutus rolls hit location and gets lucky -- a head shot. Brutus does 5 points of killing damage.

Slick has 10 BODY. He is wearing a leather helmet (2 rPD). Brutus' damage is doubled (head shot x2) to 10 BODY. Slick's helmet soaks 2 points, Slick takes 8 points. Ouch.

1. Is this an Imparing shot (greater than 1/2 Slick's BODY after armor), or a Disabling shot (equal to Slick's BODY before armor)?

Second example:

After Slick gets all healed up, he goes after Brutus for another round. Brutus hits Slick, this time on the arm. Brutus does 8 points of Killing damage.

Slick still has 10 BODY and is still wearing his trusty leather armor (2 rPD). Slick's armor soaks 2 points, Slick takes 6 points divided by 2 (arm shot x1/2) for 3 points.

2. Is this an Imparing shot (greater than 1/2 Slick's BODY before hit location divisor), or just an ordinary shot (less than 1/2 Slick's BODY after hit location divisor)?

Thanx!

Bill.

Re: Mythologies -- FH Storytime

36 views and no comments... hopefully, that's a good sign.

Here is a list of the Druidic Gods. Comments, questions, and criticisms all welcome.

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Adrom "The Axe"

Symbol: An axe with green leaves growing from its haft

Portfolio: Rangers, woodlands, hunting, forestry

Favored Weapon: "Green Axe" (Battle or hand axe)

Description: Adrom (AY-drom) is the protector of mortals who live and work in the forests. He is the patron of woodsmen, settlers, woodcutters, explorers, and rangers. His followers preach that mortals can live in harmony with the forests, and they practice the doctrine of what they call "wise use" — taking only what is needed and replacing it if necessary. Adrom appears as a burly, bearded man wearing a cloak of leaves and carrying a huge axe. As the patron of rangers, he exemplifies everything that they strive to be — he can follow any trail, no matter the terrain or weather; he cannot be seen or heard unless he wishes to be; he can speak with animals and plants, and is a fearsome foe to those who would bring harm to the woodlands.

Adrom's followers pray for spells in the morning. His church is headquartered in Nekia, where a large temple stands just outside the capital city. The Axe is a very popular god among the independent-minded people of that land. Worship is considered a personal thing, and there is little structure to Adrom's church. Adrom is the only member of the Druidic pantheon who is not a child of the Mother. He was adopted into the pantheon eons ago, though he is accepted by his adopted family. He gets along best with Javalina, and least with Bodikkia.

Dogma: Protect the woodlands and those who travel, work, and live in them. Always practice the doctrine of wise use — take from the land only what you need, and replace it when possible. Bravery is the hallmark of a man. Perfect the skills of the woodlands. Oppose evil-doers and those who would destroy the wild parts of the world. Explore new places and share what you learn.

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Aerten

Symbol: A spinning wheel

Portfolio: Fate, justice, magic

Favored Weapon: "Spindle" (spear)

Description: Aerten (AIR-tin) is the goddess of fate, who judges all and presides over the outcome of every event. She is also the patron of magic, particularly thaumic magic. Aerten is always scrupulously fair in all dealings, and druids who follow her are often called upon to act as judges in civil and criminal cases.

Aerten's worshippers pray for spells at dawn, the beginning of a new day. They hold holy the first day of the new year. Aerten is Mother's third child, the twin sister of Thantus. She gets along well with Noyogh, but dislikes the unpredictability of her younger brother Ysron.

Dogma: When called upon to judge, ensure your judgments are fair and equitable to all. Be consistent in all your dealings, and work to ensure that others are, too. Learn and practice magic — both thaumic and theologic — for within these arts hide the secrets of the world.

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Bodikkia "The Bitch"

Symbol: A scimitar crossed against a green leaf

Portfolio: War, anger, ravens

Favored Weapon: Scimitar

Description: Bodikkia (bod-ik-KEE-uh) is the bloodthirsty warrior-goddess of the Druidic Pantheon. She rages against the destruction of forests and natural places, and preaches retribution against those who would despoil her Mother. She is depicted as a tall, lithe woman with black skin and blazing eyes. It is said that Bodikkia hovers over all battlefields in the

form of a raven. She is often worshipped by barbarians, and her followers tend to be humorless and angry.

Priests of Bodikkia pray for their spells at first light, and she expects her worshippers to hold holy the dates of great battles. Bodikkia is Latis' twin sister, the second-youngest of Mother’s children. She does not get along well with most of her family, since she is cruel and bloodthirsty. She is closest to Mother, and gets along least well with Adrom.

Dogma: Kill those who would despoil the wilderness, whether by fire or axe. War is necessary to preserve the balance. Fight with fierceness and abandon, and show no fear in the face of your enemies.

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Carrom "Master of Beasts"

Symbol: A stag’s head

Portfolio: Animals

Favored Weapon: Spear

Description: Carrom (KAIR-om) is a playful god who loves and cares for all animals, especially those who make their homes in the forest. He is often pictured as a stag, or a tall man with the horns of a stag. His church consists primarily of the creatures that make their homes as part of the natural world — including Centaurs, Green Elves, and sprites and fairies of all sorts.

Carrom’s priests pray for their spells in the morning, and he holds sacred the summer and winter solstices. Carrom is the (younger) twin brother of Shorrik and second-born of Mother. As such, he gets along best with these two.

Dogma: Fight against the destruction of the natural world. Heal those who are injured. Protect animals and those who make their natural homes in the wild places. Kill only when necessary, and give thanks to nature for her bounty. Disdain cities and those who live within them.

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Eastay "The Lady from the East"

Symbol: A golden circle surrounded by flames

Portfolio: The sky, the sun, storms

Favored Weapon: "Sunbeam" (longbow)

Description: Eastay (EES-tay) is the light-bringer who grants no favors and holds no grudges. She is equally kind and harsh, sending droughts or life-giving rain, floods or warmth. Eastay is the eye in the sky, the day-star who watches over all the earth with a disinterested gaze. Her followers are those druids who believe in the balance of nature over all.

Priests of Eastay pray for their spells at noon, when the sun is highest in the sky. Her holy days fall upon the summer and winter solstices. Eastay gets along best with her twin brother Ysron.

Dogma: Hold your distance and take in the total situation. All is in a cycle, deftly and beautifully balanced. It is the duty of the devout to understand this cycle and the sacred balance as clearly as possible. Make others see the balance and work against those who would disturb it. The sun is the great eye in the sky that sees and knows everything. Watch, anticipate, and quietly manipulate. Resort to open confrontation only when pressured by time or hostile action.

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Javalana "The Contender"

Symbol: Javelin

Portfolio: Hunting, skill, craftsmanship, sports

Favored Weapon: Javelin

Description: Javalana (jah-vuh-LAIN-uh) is the goddess who taught the art of hunting to mortals. She kills only to feed herself and others, never for mere sport — though she believes that sport is important to keep one’s skills at their peak. She is also the patroness of such crafts as spinning, weaving, pottery, sculpture, and architecture. Javalana’s church is diverse, made up of woodsmen and city-dwellers alike. She does not generally encourage organized worship, instead demanding that her followers give thanks whenever a hunt is successful or an undertaking is completed.

Javalana's priests pray for their spells in the morning. Once every three years, a great celebration is held high in the Mystic Mountains in honor of the Huntress. These games are known as the Olympics, for they are held near a holy site called Mount Olympia, and athletes from around the world come to participate in the games. It is said that if anyone harms

an athlete who is competing in the sacred games, Javalana will strike the aggressor down.

Javalana gets along best with Adrom, who is also a hunter, and her twin brother Noyogh. She dislikes her sister Bodikkia and often bests her in contests of skill.

Dogma: Strive to be the best in all you do. Competition brings strength. Kill only when necessary. Learn new crafts, and teach your skills to others that they may improve on them. Sports are to be played in the spirit of good-natured competition — to strive with honor, to win with dignity, and to lose with grace and try again tomorrow.

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Latis "Beauty"

Symbol: A horse

Portfolio: Love, horses, freedom, rivers, mead

Favored Weapon: "Horse's Hooves" (club)

Description: Latis (LAH-tis) is the goddess of freedom, joy, laughter, and love. She holds horses to be especially sacred, and is said to be the one who forged the bond between man and horse. Latis is pictured as either a lovely young girl dressed in ragged leather, or as a powerful and beautiful white mare. Either way, anyone who looks upon her will fall instantly in love with her. She is a trickster goddess who loves to play pranks — though her practical jokes seldom cause any permanent harm. She loves honey (which is often given as a sacrifice to her), and taught humans the art of making mead.

Latis' worshippers pray for their spells at the start of the day. She holds no days as particularly holy. Latis is loved by all her brothers and sisters, and has no enemies or rivals within the pantheon.

Dogma: Rush through life like a river. See everything, enjoy all that the world has to offer. Do not stay bound to any one place, thing, or idea. Love, laughter, and joy are the only things worth clinging to. Carry them along with you, for they are an easy burden; give them away freely, for the more you part with them, the more they are yours to keep.

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Marinus "Sea-king"

Symbol: A leaping dolphin

Portfolio: Oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, wetlands, waterways

Favored Weapon: Spear

Description: Marinus (MAIR-ihn-uhs) is the lord of the seas and all waters, including lakes and rivers. He is also the protector of wetlands, such as swamps and marshes. He can be seen as either frightening and cruel, or pleasant and peaceful, depending on his mood — which can change with alarming speed, just like the weather. He is depicted as a young, strong man with the tail of a fish instead of legs, and he is frequently worshipped by the mer-folk.

Druids who favor Marinus pray for their spells at either sunset or sunrise. Most followers of Marinus live on or near the sea, or at the very least near a major inland body of water, where his rituals take place. Priests of Marinus have no particular high holydays.

Marinus gets on well with all of his brothers and sisters, even though his realm is separate from theirs. Marinus is the only one of the Druidic Pantheon who does not have a twin brother or sister.

Dogma: Protect the oceans and waterways, for it is from them that all life springs. The oceans are dangerous places, tread them with care. Mortals must respect the power of water and the oceans. Water is the softest thing, but it can destroy the tallest mountain over time. Patience and persistence can overcome any obstacle.

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Mother "Life-Giver"

Symbol: A blue-green sphere

Portfolio: The earth, fertility

Favored Weapon: "Mother’s Touch" (quarterstaff)

Description: Mother is the gentle kiss of rainfall in the spring, the invigorating bite of a brisk winter wind, the warmth of the sun, and the changing of the seasons. She is the life-giver who cradles the entire earth in her bosom, and is chief god of the Druidic Pantheon. Mother is seen as a beautiful, impossibly tall woman with long hair. She is often portrayed naked, and her eyes reflect the world. She counts among her followers some few paladins.

Followers of the Mother pray for their spells at dawn, when the first rays of the sun touch upon their goddess. Her holy days fall upon the summer and winter solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes. Mother is the head of the Druidic Pantheon, and the other gods in this pantheon pay homage to her. She is, in fact, the literal mother of the other Druidic gods. She loves her first and second-born sons Shorrik and Carrom most of all, but her cruel daughter Bodikkia often disappoints her.

Dogma: The earth is a gift and a boon. Mankind can and must live in harmony with nature. Protect nature. Practice good husbandry. Kill only when necessary, and heal whenever possible. All creatures are children of the Mother, strive to make peace between them.

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Noyogh "The Librarian"

Symbol: An unfurled scroll

Portfolio: Knowledge, wisdom, inspiration

Favored Weapon: Sickle

Description: Noyogh (NO-yoog) is the keeper of knowledge, the one who remembers all, the seeker of wisdom. He is cheerful and wise, always excited about new ideas and new sources of knowledge. Noyogh's church is the keeper of the druidic calendar, and they have a great library in the city of Tarnesia. Noyogh is worshipped in libraries and repositories of

knowledge; he is one of the few Druidic gods who is not commonly worshipped out of doors. Noyogh's priests pray for their spells in the morning, when the day is fresh and young. He holds the first day of the new year, the turning of the calendar, as holy.

Noyogh is generally a loner in the Druidic pantheon, as his portfolio is furthest from nature. He gets along best with his twin sister Javalana and with Adrom, who are also gods of civilization.

Dogma: Knowledge is power and must be used with care, but hiding it away is a terrible thing. Stifle no new ideas, no matter how false or crazed they seem; rather, let them be heard and considered. Curb and deny falsehoods, rumor, and deceitful tales whenever you encounter them. Write or copy lore of great value, and protect books. Sponsor and teach bards, scribes, and record-keepers. Spread truth and knowledge to all folk. Never deliver a message falsely or incompletely. Teach reading and writing to those who ask.

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Shorrik "The Green Lord"

Symbol: A green living oak leaf

Portfolio: Plants, growing things, forest fires

Favored Weapon: "Oak Leaf" (Spear)

Description: Shorrik (SHOR-ik) is the king of the forests, the lord of growing things. He is a seriousminded deity who is often seen as grim and unforgiving. He hates the mindless destruction of the forests and works to prevent mortals from expanding their empires into his domains. Shorrik’s church consists primarily of treants and forest spirits, and has very

little contact with those who live outside the wilderness. Priests of Shorrik pray for their spells in the morning, and he holds holy the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Shorrik is the (older) twin brother of Carrom and first-born of Mother. As such, he gets along best with these two. He does not understand Noyogh’s love of the city and learning.

Dogma: Fight against the felling of forests, banish disease wherever you find it, defend the trees, and plant new flora wherever possible. Kill only when needful. Fire is not always a bad thing, for it clears away the old to make way for the new. Use it carefully and mindfully. Disdain cities and those who live within them.

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Thantus "The Hidden One"

Symbol: Skull surrounded by green leaves

Portfolio: Death, caves, hidden things

Favored Weapon: "Harvester" (Sickle)

Description: Thantus (THAN-tuhs) is the second youngest of Mother’s children, and it is given to him to protect the spirits of the departed as well as caves and hidden places. He is a serious god, but does not take on death’s frightening aspect — his followers see death as a natural process, not to be feared or hated. Thantus is a foe of the Undead, whose presence disrupts the natural order.

Druids who follow Thantus pray for their spells in the dark of night, and hold holy the day and night of the Winter Solstice. Thantus' sacred places are most often found in natural caves, deep under the ground. Thantus gets along well with his twin sister Aerten, and his younger sister, Bodikkia.

Dogma: Death is a natural process that comes to all in their time, from the mightiest and most ancient tree to the briefest of mortal lives. Perform burial rites in order to give back to nature what was once a part of her. Do not cremate the dead — bury them in the earth. Oppose those who would slaughter indiscriminately, and fight tirelessly against the abomination of the Undead, for they are not part of the natural order. Some things are to remain hidden; keep them secret and safe in the bosom of the earth. Caves are sacred places; protect their ecologies and do not disturb their precious and fragile balance.

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Ysron "Night-eye, The Changing One, The Lord from the East"

Symbol: A silver circle

Portfolio: The moon, the stars, storms, lycanthropes

Favored Weapon: "Moonbeam" (longbow)

Description: Ysron (IS-ron) is the ever-changing eye of the night; it is he who guards the places of the world when they are hidden in shadow. Ysron is not worshipped extensively. It is said that his birth was difficult, and this accounts for his chaotic and unpredictable nature. Though chaotic, he is not evil, for he takes his role as guardian in the night quite sincerely. He also represents storms which take place at night. His followers are the least likely of the druids to care about the hierarchy of the Druidic church.

Followers of Ysron pray for their spells at midnight. His holy days fall on the nights of the full moon.

Ysron is Estay's (younger) twin brother, and gets along best with his sister, who understands his chaotic ways better than the other gods of the Druidic Pantheon.

Dogma: The world is in constant change; embrace this change for it too is a part of the balance. Oppose those who would impose order on the world. The moon is the eye in the darkness of night; it sees that which is hidden. Watch, anticipate, and quietly manipulate. Resort to open confrontation only when pressured by time or hostile action.

Hola!

I’m writing up my fantasy world (called "Temoris"), and currently I'm working on the mythology/religions of the various peoples. I'm pretty happy with what I’ve got so far. I’m pulling from a variety of sources – real-world, fictional, and my own head – to make all of them "seem" realistic and internally consistent. I'm coming up with seven distinct pantheons, each with their own mythology to explain the world to their followers (no one ever accused me of thinking small!) They are: The Druidic Gods, the Old Gods, the Cold Gods, the Elvish Gods, the Dwarvish Gods, the Aesir, and the Trinity.

To help inspire me to keep going, I'm going to start posting things as they are finished. I welcome comments, questions, and even criticism (as long as it's constructive, of course!)

First up, the Druidic Gods...

The Druidic Pantheon

The Druidic Pantheon is worshipped over the entire world, from the frigid mountains of the north to the steaming jungles of the south, and everywhere in between. The druids are the oldest organized religion in Temoris, and are respected in nearly every nation and among nearly every people. The Druidic Pantheon is concerned with the preservation of the natural world, though the different deities may take widely differing views on how best to pursue this goal.

The Druidic church is hierarchical, led by the Great Druid, the three Archdruids, and the nine Druids. Druids do not usually worship in temples, but instead pray to their gods and goddesses in deep groves or wide-open plains. There are several druidic holy sites found around the world, most notably the Grove of the Great Druid located in southern Kalon. These are tended by druids and other guardians set in place by the gods.

The Beginning of the World

In the beginning, the Mother of All Things opened her eyes to the void and saw a great, barren expanse, devoid of all life. She reached out and cupped her hands around creation, warming it against her bosom, whispering life into it with her breath, and watering that life with her kisses. When she was pleased with what she had created, she set loose her child – the world – into the void, where it could grow and flourish.

Birth of the Gods

Though capable of life, the world was still devoid of living things. Mother wandered the earth and was lonesome for company. Tired, she lay down in a hollow and slept. She dreamed of life spreading out over the whole world, and when she awoke, she found that she was pregnant.

She continued to wander the earth while carrying her children to term, and she found that wherever she went, her path was carpeted in soft, green grass. When she slept, she woke to find trees shading her resting place with strong bowers. When she walked, birdsong delighted and comforted her ears and animals emerged from the new forests to tend to her needs. She knew, somehow, that this new life was the work of her children, yet unborn, and she was glad.

Soon, she was in labor. She gave birth first to Shorrik, Lord of the Green, and then to Carrom, Master of Beasts. At their birth, all the flowers in the world bloomed, and all the animals fell down to their knees in celebration and worship.

Mother nursed her two children to adulthood, where they took their rightful places as the kings of nature. The world had grown fecund, but all was still quiet, immutable, unchangeable. One day was like the rest; the world’s fate was yet unknown and unknowable. Mother again laid down to rest in a hollow, and again she became big with child.

Fate & Death

As happened before, when she became pregnant, the world began to change. Magic became a real force, transforming the world in hitherto unseen ways. And things began to reach the ends of their allotted lifespans, and death entered the world. Mother gave birth to her third child, a daughter named Aerten, who presides over the fate of all creatures great and small, and then her forth, Thantus, known as the Hidden One, lord of death.

The Sun, the Moon, and the Yuletide

The world at this time was still a dark place, shrouded in a sort of gray twilight that was neither light nor dark. When Mother became pregnant again, time split itself into day and night. Eastay was born and true daylight entered the world for the first time; then her brother Ysron was born – but his birth was difficult for Mother, who was in labor with her son for 28 days. When finally he was born, he was not breathing and he would not open his eyes — death had taken him.

Mother was desperate to save the life of her son, and she clutched his tiny body to her breast, pouring her life and her power into him. Meanwhile, her other children went to Thantus to find their missing brother and bring him back. Thantus, in his realm under the earth, was keeping Ysron’s spirit safe, and he returned it to his younger brother… but in the three days that had passed, there was no moon in the sky. From that time forth, once per year, Ysron leaves his duties to go into his brother’s realm for three days; in that time, no moon shines forth to brighten the night sky.

Mankind spends this day in celebration, honoring the devotion of Mother, the generosity of Thantus, and the re-birth of Ysron.

The Filling of the Seas

In the time that she held her dead infant son, Mother had wept uncontrollably. The world was filled with the salt of her tears, which ran down to the hollow places of the earth and filled them. Mother felt, once again, the quickening within her, and soon she gave birth to her seventh child, Marinus, the King of the Seas.

Birth of Humankind

The world teemed with life, but as Mother wandered through the wild places, still she felt lonely. The woods teamed with living animals, the seas leapt with fish, the skies were filled with the sounds of calling birds, and yet something still seemed to be missing.

Mother couldn’t determine what it was that the world lacked, but once again she laid down to rest, and when she woke, she was again with child. Before long, the woods were home to a new creature. This beast lacked fur, or sharp teeth, or rending claws, but somehow it still attracted Mother’s attention. She admired these creatures, these humans. They overcame their weaknesses and somehow managed to prosper in the world, despite their handicaps. Mother gave birth to two more children – Noyogh, who took humans under his tutelidge and instructed them in the arts and sciences, and Javalina, who showed mankind how to hunt, fish, sport, and create.

Mankind proved a capable student, but all was not well. Many humans were greedy, or filled with anger, and these flaws spilled out as violence against one another and against nature. Man’s propensity to fight and kill hurt Mother, who loved all the children of the earth, and she fell to the earth and wept. Again, she found herself with child, and soon gave birth to Bodikkia, the patroness of war, and her twin sister Latis, the goddess of love and freedom. Though Mother loved Bodikkia dearly, her daughter’s violent ways saddened her. But Latis was a goddess of laughter and delight, and her birth demonstrated that mankind can be filled with good as well as evil.

Adrom the Axe

Once, when Mother was wandering through her beloved forests, she came upon a tiny infant, a baby boy. Of his true parents there was no sign. Mother gazed at the boy and could foresee great things in his future, if he survived, and her heart swelled with love for the child. Mother was amazed by the boy’s strength and will to live, so she took the baby and nursed him with her own milk.

The child was filled with Mother’s divine essence. Within a day, he was walking and talking on his own. In less than a week, he had fashioned for himself an axe and a bow, and was hunting in the forests, learning the secret ways of bird, tree, and animal. After a month had passed, he was already full-grown – tall, tanned, strong, and wise. He was a hunter without equal, a friend to the flora and fauna, and a mighty warrior besides.

Adrom, as Mother named him, was a great hero but was not yet a god. In order to be accepted into the pantheon, he had to prove himself to each of the others. He set out on a great quest to demonstrate his worth and his loyalty to his new family.

Adrom was the first ranger, and he represents the epitome of what all rangers aspire to. Many stories are told of Adrom, not just of his quest to join the pantheon, but of all the other lessons which he teaches those who follow in his footsteps.

Coming of the Undead

It has long been a tradition among the druids, on the night of the Autumnal Equinox (which they call Fallhallow), spirits of the dead may come back to earth in order to visit loved ones or put to right past wrongs. Thantus, god of the dead, unlocks the gates of the earth and allows those spirits with unfinished business to return to the land of the living for one night.

Because of this, the druidic people have a tradition of lighting fires and offering candies, fruit, or bowls of sweet cream to anyone who knocks on their door that night – an offering to placate and comfort the dead.

One night, thousands of years ago, on the eve of Fallhallow, Thantus received a visitor at his gates. As is tradition, he let the stranger in and offered her a refreshment. "Please," the woman begged. "I have unfinished business with one of the souls in your realm. Will you not allow me entrance?" Thantus, as tradition dictates, turned to allow the strange woman

access to his realm and asked, "With which spirit do you have business?"

"All of them," the woman laughed. Thantus found himself wrapped in coils of blackness, trapping him. "All that is yours is now mine." The woman, exhibiting impossible strength, tore the iron gates of Thantus’ realm from their hinges and began scooping souls from their rightful resting place. Thantus struggled helplessly against the woman’s trap, but could not break free. The woman laughed gleefully as she desecrated the most holy of places.

But at that moment, she was interrupted by the sound of the cock crowing. Ysron, god of the moon, had witnessed the whole thing and told his sister Eastay what was happening, and she rose from the east clothed in splendor and glory, ready to do battle against her brother’s enemy. The power of Eastay’s light shredded the blackness which held Thantus, and the god of the dead sprang to his feet. In a flash, he grabbed the thief and cast her out of his realm, repairing and barring the gates behind her so that she never could return.

But although the gods had stopped the evil woman, the damage was already done. Many souls were torn from their resting place, now free to roam the earth until such time as they could be returned to their rightful home; worse still, the gates to Thantus’ realm were damaged and could not be fully restored. Sometimes, with proper motivation or by dark rituals, souls could escape to haunt the earth. It is for this reason that priests of Thantus, often assisted by followers of Ysron and Eastay, hunt the Undead – to bring them back to their proper home.

Fallhallow is still seen as a sacred time in which the spirits of the departed are honored; however, those who are wise are always careful on this night because one never knows what may be lurking in the shadows just beyond the light of the fire.

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So what do you think, sirs?

Bill.

(Next, I think I'm going to post some stories about the great hero/god Adrom).

Just FYI: Pyramid (http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid) has a mostly-positive review of Alien Wars this week (June 18 2004). A few quotes (from a considerably longer writeup):

"Physically Alien Wars is a solidly done softback, well written and profusely illustrated. Unfortunately, it is these illustrations that let the supplement down. Some of them are too clean for the setting's gritty feel, while the maps are often too small and too dark to use with ease. Worse still, the setting's equipment is under-illustrated, and when it is depicted, the illustrations are all-too-frequently placed away from the actual write-ups."

"If there is one thing that a bug hunting military Science Fiction game is going to stand or fall on, it is the nature of its enemy. ... the Xenovores in Alien Wars play up to the expectations of the sub-genre -- the implacable faceless foe, their vile acts, the indomitable spirit of mankind being the key to victory, and so on."

"Apart from the woeful use of its illustrations, Alien Wars presents everything needed to run a military science-fiction campaign across the whole of the 24th century."

Bill.

Re: Spell Circle

This is a powerful' date=' and potentially unbalancing rule. Personally, I'd either make all wizards buy the Aid as part of their Multipower (and waive the maximum effect, but the Aid only gets one roll, similar to Healing), or Plot Device it to say that the wizards granting power to their circle leader lose that much magic until their leader uses it. That will cut down on wizards running around granting ultimate power to each other left and right (sure it requires a complex ritual to do it, but the effects lasts for up to a week). Imagine of a group of six wizards all took an afternoon off to take turn being circle leader...[/quote']

 

I don't think it will work this way. I'm putting Extra Time (6 hours), Concentrate (0 DCV throughout), and Ritual (3 participants minimum) limitations on it, just to begin with... so it's not something that a couple of guys can say, "we're going out exploring in an hour, let's use a Spell Circle to juice ourselves up." In my campaign, the Spell Circle is used to power-up before particularly arduous ritual castings or magic item creation.

 

Also, my gaming group is made up of a great group of role-players... all of whom know I'll slap 'em silly if they try that kind of crud.

 

But thanx for the advice! It's good to keep these things in perspective.

 

Bill.

For my fantasy game, I'm trying to come up with a mechanic for a "Spell Circle." In a Spell Circle, a group of wizards stand in a circle around a "Circle Leader" (generally the mightiest of them). Each wizard casts his most powerful spell, but the spell does not actually take effect -- instead, the energy of the spell goes to make the Circle Leader more powerful for a short period of time (typically 1 day to 1 week).

In my campaign, spells are purchased individually as part of a Multipower. All spells have the Gestures, Incantations, Focus, and Skill Roll limitations. All wizards can participate in a Spell Circle; no one has to pay points to do so.

My thought is to make the Spell Circle an Aid to the Circle Leader's Multipower, with a delayed fade rate. That's pretty straightforward. But the Spell Circle is most effective if it's made up of skilled wizards casting their most powerful spells, rather than barely-competent apprentices casting cantrips; so how do y'all recommend I represent this in game terms?

Some thoughts would be appreciated!

Bill.