Balador

Balador, also known as the Lord of Werebears and referred to as Father Bear by his petitioners, was the patron deity of werebears and a protector-god who watched over the forests and woodlands.Balador's inclusion on this wiki is due to him being referred to in the Realms sourcebook Powers & Pantheons as being an ally of Nobanion. The same passage in that sourcebook refers to him as the "lord of werebears," but whether or not that meant werebears in general or the werebears of Toril (as this is a Realms-centric book) is unclear.
==Description==
Balador usually appeared as a bear, and preferred this and his hybrid form over the human one. Whenever he did take on manifest a human avatar, he was always a handsome male ranger with a tall, tanned, hairy body.
==Personality==
Balador was not smart or swift of mind, and nor was he bold or outgoing, but he compensated in many other ways. He was wise, thoughtful, patient, tolerant, kindly and gentle, fortunate traits given that he was also strong, and powerful when roused to anger. He embraced his lycanthropy as a blessing, one that allowed him, through his half-man half-beast nature, the perspective to see the foolhardy intolerance of many races when faced with those different from themselves. His concern for forests, woodlands, and sylvan lands of both the Prime Material plane and the Beastlands was virtually unsurpassed.
==Powers==
Avatars of Balador were powerful and fast. They are possessed of immunity to diseases, poison, paralyzation, illusion and phantasm spells, and non-magical weapons. In terms of magic, they could cast druidic spells, as well as those from the protection and sun spheres.
In ursine form, Balador gained further abilities, including a ferocious bite, deadly claws, and a crushing bear hug. While in his ursine form, his avatar's licks could cure disease or cure critical wounds three times per day each, and could instill fear once per day by roaring.
==Possessions==
In his ranger form, Balador's avatar wielded a +3 longsword that severely harmed evil lycanthropes and goblinoids.
==Realm==
Balador's divine realm known as Ursis was located on Brux, the 2 layer of the Beastlands home to an eternal evening. Ursis was the name of both Balador's village and the small mountain valley it usually resided in, although the town was only semi-permanent and could be relocated. Nested in the idyllic, alpine valley's heights, usually near the source of a stream or river, it was from Ursis that Father Bear watched over his share of the plane.
Befitting the realm of the werebear-god, Ursis was more of a tribal village than anything else. It was a tiny realm akin to a quaint, comfortable campsite, made up entirely of a few scores of portable structures. Brightly painted tents, comfortable tepees and sturdy wigwams could be heard blowing and snapping in the perpetual breeze, as could the laughter that filled them and songs from scores of hale and hearty voices. Warm, smoky, aromas, such as that of pipeweed, arose from the small, carefully attended cooking fires, and the petitioners arrayed themselves around a central cooking fire.
Given Balador's foes, no evil lycanthrope could enter Ursis, and assuming they were not already evil, anyone infected with lycanthropy but not yet morally or ethically changed by it could seek a cure for the condition in Ursis. Remedying such a condition was the province of Brother Berrypaw the Black, Balador's proxy and most devout follower, otherwise noteworthy for his rumbling, basso voice and smallish black bear form that retained thumbs. Such a service was free, and it was in Balador's interests to deprive his enemies a worshiper.
Besides this, there was little Ursis had to offer besides a simply, heart meal and shelter by the fire, the price for which was usually a good story. The simple joys of good food and well-spun story were mainstays of Ursis, and the taller the tale the better. The petitioners were particularly big on fish, with one of their favorite activities being to assume bear form and fish for the large trout and river salmon off the Beastlands' waterways. They also enjoyed honeyed mead, and often asked for it when their wise counsel regarding protecting the natural world was requested. Known for their sagacity almost as much as their power, they seemed to know more of the idea that the plane of the Beastlands was alive than others and hinted they knew more than they were willing to say.
==Activities==
While wandering the Beastlands, Balador took food from its rivers and lakes; like his petitioners, fishing in bear form was one of his favorite activities. While on the Prime Material plane, his avatars wandered the deep forests to hunt and engage in playful activities with werebears, especially those who were young. He also would send out his avatar in order to oppose those avatars of evil lycanthropic deities.
==Relationships==
Balador had good friends among the sylvan and elven deities, as well as human deities of nature who knew the value of werebears to forested ecologies. Many of his fellow non-evil sylvan powers on the Upper Planes sought his advice and counsel due to his ecological commitments. He was specifically known to be on good terms with Nobanion, a bestial demipower of the Faerûnian pantheon. Sometimes persuaded his fellow deities to brew him the honeyed mead he so dearly enjoyed.
In terms of familial relations, Balador was the sibling of Ferrix, the patron goddess of weretigers. The two were linked through their complementary natures; he was the exact opposite of his sister, possessing the depth of wisdom she lacked, while she in turn had an intelligence and reactiveness unfound in her brother. As for rivals, Balador's only true enemies were the evil-aligned lycanthropic deities.
Some myths said that Balador and Ferrix were themselves complementary to the evil lycanthrope siblings, Daragor of the werewolves and Eshebala of the werefoxes. This link might bear mythological significance, to the point that their collective fates were inextricably interwoven, either doomed to fight or embrace in the end. In any case, all of them were mostly chaotic and willful, such that if that were true, they would rather continue with their own plans and purposes than be informed of their destiny. 
==Worshipers==
Although revered by nearly all werebears, no formal priesthood or religious hierarchy supported Balador, limiting his personal power. More to the point, no clerics gained spells from Father Bear at all. Despite these facts, werebear clerics did exist and revere Balador, it was just that they were priests before they were blessed (in their opinion) with lycanthropy.
Such reverence was born from that fact that it was Balador's petitioning that allowed werebear priests to continue their old faiths; he interceded with their gods on their behalf, petitioning they retain their powers, and his entreaties were usually heard. The gods to whom he appealed were almost universally a chaotic good or neutral good deity, or sometimes a neutral-aligned nature or sylvan god. This also assumed that the werebear transformation had not sufficiently changed the cleric's outlook such that keeping up their previous religion was still tenable.
Balador encouraged his worshipers to share their community and living spaces through good relations with druids, rangers, and sylvan creatures.
==History, Rumors and Legends==
In mythology, Balador was Father Bear, and often a servitor to a great nature or druidic deity who rewarded him with freedom from his loyal, loving service. Yet Balador would not accept his freedom, not while Ferrix, Mother Tigress, was still bound. Balador plead for her freedom from his master-mentor, and so his soft-hearted deity agreed despite Ferrix's own lacking reliability.
Meetings with Father Bear were the subject of many werebear tales.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===References===
===Connections===
Category:Chaotic good deities
Category:Lesser deities
Category:Inhabitants of Ursis
Category:Inhabitants of Brux
Category:Inhabitants of the Beastlands (plane)
Category:Inhabitants of the Outer Planes
Category:Inhabitants of the Great Wheel planes
Category:Year of Miracles
Category:Lycanthrope pantheon