Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Players Meet World

In an effort to exploit a source of ready-made content, I'll be posting information about my (mostly) original campaign setting.

This first post will cover the immortal beings that run around my universe. Most of them have been loving lifted from someone or something. Names have been (barely) changed more to represent changes in language over the passing of eons than anything else.


The Gods

Irevar – Lawful Good god of law and good. Personified as the chivalrous knight. He is the god of protection, justice, mercy, forgiveness, retribution, etc. Goodness and Lawfulness. He is seen as the protector of mankind, his sign is a white kite shield bordered in blue with a diagonal stripe running left to right. The faithful make the sign of Irevar by touching their left shoulder and dragging their finger tips diagonally across the body to the right hip. The Irevarian Church dominates human political structures on Skovorod. There are two separate sects, The Order of Saint Cuthbert and The Aesthetics of Saint Alain. The Order focuses on martial pursuits, the Aesthetics focus on acquiring sacred knowledge.

Setis – Neutral Evil god of the unseen. Patron of thieves and treasure hunters, or anyone or anything that wants to remain hidden or uncover anything that is hidden. Also trolls. Before the First Age, Setis was at war with Irevar. Towards the beginning of First Age, Setis was knocked the fuck out and slumbered underneath the sea until sometime in the Third Age when a group of adventurers awoke him. When Setis was cast down, his cult was forced out of Viroof (now Myralon). The cult founded the City of Setis in the Trollwash which slowly fell into ruin and is only now being repopulated. Setis' worshipers typically mob about in black leathers or robes and white wooden masks, with each other, that is. Outwardly, there are no signs or signals or sigils that Setis and his followers use to identify themselves.

Kali – Chaotic Neutral. Kali is death. Period. She is rumored to have cults scattered throughout Skovorod, but none of them operate openly. Her worshipers revere her as death in an elemental sense, without rhyme or reason. All her cult members are assassins and healers dealing and staving off death as their mistress demands. Paladins devoted to Kali, known as Death Dealers, will sometimes operate openly and are given a wide berth. Her sign is a bleached white skull.

The Windweaver – Chaotic Good. God of travelers and, of course, the fucking wind. The Windweaver started as the faith of the hobbits but soon gained a following where ever those sawed-off little runts roamed (and they roam fucking everywhere). The sky is the dominion of the Windweaver and so all things in the sky are typically under his sway. From weather, to birds, to songs, Windweaver gots it. Good times, good cheer, good travels, and good love'n are typically associated with the Windweaver, many invoke his name for good luck. His sign is the feather.

The All-Father – Lawful Neutral. Dwarven god. Chiefly concerned with order and industry. His sign is the hammer. Typically depicted as a giant dwarf. Laziness is seen as a mortal sin in the All-Father's eyes. Hard work, thriftiness, patience and endurance are the qualities that the All-Father advocates. To worshipers, suffering is good for the soul, and many a devotee will go about blacksmithing without gloves and fry bacon with their shirt off. This attitude tends to color the magic of dwarven clerics. A healing spell may involve "beating the wound away".

The Valor – Group of elven demi-gods that are worshiped together. There is at least one demi-god for almost every aspect of elven life. There are literally hundreds of the fuckers. Most elves have a few favorites that most directly influence their lives, in this way, each elf has a "private pantheon" of sorts.

Carpas – Warrior god of Gnomes. Has been mostly replaced by weird-ass gnomish machine cult. Priests of Carpas are few and far between. Those gnomes who still worship Carpas are usually of the lowest caste and seen as somewhat backwards by their peers. Legends hold that Carpas was once a living gnome who proved himself in combat and devoted his life to protecting his people. After his death, he was raised to godhood in order to continue watching over the gnomes.

The Old Faith – nature worship, usually practiced by humans. A hold over from the very beginning of mankind. More common than you might think, but most followers don't shout about it. Worshipers vary in alignment and all alignments except evil ones are welcomed. Most worshipers view nature it self as genderless, emotionless, neither fair nor fickle, completely neutral and seemingly random. Worshipers seek to understand nature and curry its favor, though some claim that such a thing is not possible. Priests of the Old Faith are the druids presented in the PHB.

 Murglork - True Neutral. Orcish god. In a sense, Murglork is the god of orcish superiority. It has no defined gender, and is simply seen as Orc Incarnate. Murglork's primary goal is the advancement of the oricsh race. Little is known about the god outside of the orcish shamans who perform Murglork's rights, and many suspect that the shamans themselves are acting on instinct.

There are many other divine/infernal beings that populate Orin. Most notably are Daemons. The term Daemon covers a wide variety of Bad Things that wish nothing but ill will to everything. From actual demonic creatures to forgotten Old Gods, Daemons are Bad Shit and want rip your tongue out through your ass.
In truth, the difference between "gods" and "daemons" is largely a somatic one. "Gods" are immortal beings who have an interest in mortals. "Daemons" may use mortals, but their ultimate goals do not include them.

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