Heimdall

Heimdall () was an interloper deity of guardianship, loyalty, and light from the Norse pantheon. There was no direct evidence that this deity was widely worshiped in the Realms proper, though more than a few on Toril either knew of him or heard of him, such as the planeswalker and worshipper Rowan Darkwood.
==Description==
Heimdall's true form was that of a strapping warrior, standing tall.
==Abilities==
Heimdall was gifted with an exceptional sense of touch, sight, and hearing. Some claimed that his hearing was so sensitive, that it could pick up the sound of grass growing on a Prime Material world and that his eyesight was like that of the clairvoyance spell, but unlimited in its range and duration. Others downplayed this, claiming that his avatar could only feel and smell things from as far as away and see or hear things from a distance of . Some claimed he also sensed fifteen weeks in advanced any attempts to reach Asgard.
He could also perceive anything within of his worshipers, holy sites, associated objects, or wherever his name or one of his titles had been spoken in the prior hour. He could extend his senses to ten different locations at once and block the sensing powers of intermediate or lower deities from two locations for a period of 15 hours. Befitting his exceptional senses, Heimdall was capable of creating magical armor, weapons, or items that would enhance their user's perceptions. Such items never exceeded 200,000 gold pieces in value.
Heimdall had a wide variety of spell-like abilities that his avatar form could cast. These included the following:
: aid, blade barrier, calm emotions, dictum, dispel chaos, dispel evil, divine power, flame strike, hold monster, holy aura, holy smite, holy word, magic circle against chaos, magic circle against evil, magic vestment, magic weapon, order's wrath, plane shift at will, power word, blind, power word, kill, power word, stun, protection from chaos', protection from evil' ,shield of law, spiritual weapon, summon monster IX, and teleport without error at will.
==Possessions==
An enchanted sword known as Hofud was taken by Heimdall everywhere he went. It was a vorpal, but also carried an enchantment that made it especially effective at fighting frost giants. He garbed himself in a shining suit of white armor that carried a +3 enchantment and an effect similar to gems of brightness. Other sources spoke of his sword being a +5 longsword with the weapon qualities bane, geared towards evil outsiders, and keen.
The most notable belonging of Heimdall's was the legendary gjallarhorn, a signal horn that he was destined to one day blow to announce the long anticipated arrival of Ragnarok, a prophesied final battle for the Norse pantheon against various monsters and giants.
==Activities==
The primary duty that Heimdall was bound to was guardianship of the Bifrost, the interplanar Rainbow Bridge that connected Asgard to the rest of Ysgard and worlds on the Prime Material. He held a near constant vigil, to the point that it seemed to some as though he didn't sleep. Some claimed he wouldn't allow anybody to cross it unless they had the express permission of Odin, while according to others, anyone that didn't worship the Norse pantheon couldn't physically set foot on the Bifrost to begin with due to magical defenses. Regardless, Heimdall would sound his gjallarhorn whenever anyone approached, whether they were friend or foe.
==History==
Heimdall was born simultaneously from nine giantesses sisters, known as the Wave Maidens, daughters of the Norse powers Aegir and Ran. According to some, he was born from a union of the Wave Maidens and Odin.
In the kingdom of Bakar, a survivor state of the Imaskar Empire, deities from a wide variety of pantheons were worshiped by inhabitants of its mighty city Medinat Muskawoon. This included the Norse pantheon, with the deity Balder being particularly popular.
Fifty years after Medinat Muskawoon had fallen into ruin, in approximately the , an efreet Pasha by the name of Khalitharius arrived to Toril and settled in the ruined city. There he raised an army of undead, the Malatath, and terrorized settlements far and wide across the Raurin Desert. In response, a powerful Raurin archmage by the name of Martek departed from the city of Zindalankh in the Hordelands with a caravan and headed for the ruined city. After an extended battle, Martek emerged victorious, having bound the efreet into a lead box, though their battle unleashed energies that set the desert for tens of miles around on fire for a score years, creating the Skysea. This magical fire came about from Martek invoking the cleansing flames of Heimdall, Apollo, and Ra.
Over a thousand years later, in the , a group of adventurers from the city of Ravens Bluff journeyed to the plane of Ysgard in the Great Wheel cosmology in search of the legendary Well of Mimir, having been instructed by the city's Ministry of Art to do so in order to learn how a powerful githyanki artifact known only as the Great Machine could be destroyed. While on the layer of Ysgard they met one of Heimdall's proxies, Reglin.
==Realm==
Heimdall was notably one of the few members of the Aesir to have a divine realm outside of Asgard. Known as Himinborg, his town sat on the lushly green Plain of Vigrid, directly outside the gates and solid stone walls of Asgard, where the Bifrost was permanently anchored on the Ysgard layer.With but one exception, all sources agree that Himinborg is located next to one of the two entryways of the Bifrost, though sources are in disagreement over which side it was. Dragon #90's article Plane facts on Gladsheim (1984) states that Himinborg is on the side of the Bifrost that enters into Gladsheim (Ysgard), thus situating it on the Plain of Ida. In the Manual of the Planes (1987) for 1 edition, Himinbjorg is confusingly stated to be located "where that bridge ends upon the plains of lda and Vigrid." Legends & Lore (1990) contradicts all sources, placing Himinbjorg "atop the bridge" itself. In the Planes of Chaos boxed set's Book of Chaos (1994), it is stated that Himinborg stood at the center of the Plain of Ida (p.112), but also that it was "just outside Asgard's walls" (p.115). On Hallowed Ground (1996) defers to the latter, stating it was "outside the wall of Asgard" (p.146) and depicting it as being on the Plain of Vigrid in the book's map of Asgard (p.144). Anyone that wanted to enter Asgard or the Prime Material through the Rainbow Bridge first had to pass through Heimdall's town. Because of this, the town was the hub of travel and trade in Ysgard, in addition to being the first line of defense against giants and other creatures that would attempt to attack Asgard. However, due to Heimdall's commitment to guarding the Bifrost he rarely acted as his own town's ruler.
Himinborg's watchtowers rose high above the land, manned by ever-vigilant einheriar that strove to emulate Heimdall's own sense of duty, as well as a number of other dutiful petitioners, planar warriors, criminals who volunteered to be sentries in place of being exiled or fined, and priests of Heimdall clad in mirrored steel plate mail. Its warriors were considered to be among the finest in Ysgard. Patrols were always active, watching for raiders and keeping track of the movements of hostiles forces close to Asgard. The town was also well known for its finely crafted drinking horns and hunting horns. These were carved from the horns of either bulls, rams, or oxen and typically decorated with imagery of either Heimdall or Odin.
==Relationships==
Heimdall and the Norse trickster god Loki considered each other to be sworn enemies. He held Loki in complete contempt, catching him in various plans and often exposing his schemes. Whilst the trickster god mocked him and his unswerving commitment as a sentry, frustrated by his self-righteousness. It was not uncommon for Heimdall to send his avatar to aid mortals that were caught up in one of Loki's schemes. According to some prophecies, in the battle of Ragnarok he was destined to have his personal sword stolen from Loki, to later kill him, and then die from his own wounds.
By contrast, all other members of the Norse pantheon generally felt that Heimdall was quite charming and witty.
==Worshipers==
The priests of his faith typically wielded spears or swords as weapons. They wore war helmets and a white plate mail as part of their priestly vestments. In addition to being clerics, his clergy were often fighters, rangers, paladins, and more rarely monks. They had access to spells from the spheres of all, combat, divination, guardian, protection, summoning, and sun. Higher ranking clerics notably had the power to see clearly as far as , without of the time of day or weather conditions, and to hear any sound within .
Heimdall's priests typically served as guards of rulers or other powerful individuals, though the faith also attracted nobility and officials that believed in strong defense. The clergy taught of authority, responsibility, and self-discipline. Thus guards were expected to be unswerving in their duty, never allowing someone to pass their post unless they had their master's permission. To emulate Heimdall's perceptiveness, temples conducted careful examinations of visitors. The clergy also held bridges to be sacred and would try to avenge the destruction of any that were destroyed.
===Temples===
On the worlds where he was worshiped, temples to Heimdall were generally built as part of a community's defenses. These temples included a single watchtower at the minimum, had arrow slits for windows, all doors were designed to be easily barred, and they had a sort of "war room" filled with defensive plans and maps. Emblematic of Asgardian culture, temples of Heimdall offered patrons a great deal of feasting, drinking, and drunken revelry. However, they tended to limit such activities to certain times of the day or night, as the clergy were careful on making sure they were fit for their duties.
===Notable Worshipers===
Of the planar philosophical factions, Heimdall had worshipers among some members of the Harmonium.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===External Links===
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===References===
===Connections===
Category:Norse pantheon
Category:Lawful good deities
Category:Lawful neutral deities
Category:Good domain deities
Category:Law domain deities
Category:Light domain deities
Category:War domain deities
Category:Inhabitants of masculine gender
Category:Inhabitants of Asgard
Category:Inhabitants of Ysgard (layer)
Category:Inhabitants of Ysgard
Category:Inhabitants of the Great Wheel planes