Gods

# List of Gods

A god, or deity, is an extremely powerful entity that exerts a certain influence over the entire world. they are strengthened by rites, sacrifices and worship dedicated to them. A variety of gods are worshipped or have been worshipped in Eishspace, though the majority of worship now centers around the pantheon known as the four guides.

### The Four Guides (and Hoshek)

These four deities appeared to the people of Makorr during the throws of the cataclysm that rendered that world uninhabitable, and shepherded their faithful to the moons of Eish. There, after defeating and sealing Hoshek away in a barren demiplane, they sealed themselves within the moons of Eish, giving life to them and rendering them habitable. today, 1000 years later, they remain within the cores of the moons, their slumber ensuring that the moons remain habitable. Each of the deities shares their name with their respective moon.

Or so the peoples of Eish believe. In reality the four gods were once demon lords, generals of Ragadol the devourer. They, along with Hoshek, were sent to Eishspace to trick its people into following the demons into the astral sea to escape that cataclysm of Makorr. They would be led to the maw of Ragadol, who would then devourer them and use the power of their souls to facilitate its escape from its black hole prison. Four of the demons chose to deceive the peoples of Makorr by posing as benevolent gods, while Hoshek chose a more honest and straightforward approach, forming a cult who were promised salvation from the apocalypse and a place in his legions if they brought their kin to him. The four were vastly more successful, but in the century or so before the rapture and great exodus, the four were both enamored by the willing devotion of their followers, and partially warped by the worship of their devotees into possessing the benevolent nature that had previously been nothing but a lie. Thus the mask became the face.

When the time of the great rapture and exodus came, the four turned on Hoshek when the fleet of arks reached the moons of Eish. in what became known as The Battle of Exodus. The demonic legions of the Four Guides, together with the Guides' mortal followers, battled the forces of Hoshek while the guides themselves performed a ritual to seal him and his legions in a great, empty demiplane for a thousand years. Then, each guide journeyed to the core of one of the four moons of Eish and transformed the moons into new homes for the peoples of Makorr. The cost of this was that the Guides had to remain in an eternal slumber, so that the heat, atmosphere and gravities of the moons might be maintained. Should Hoshek return from his banishment, it will be up to the mortal peoples of Eish, and what remains of the guide's infernal legions, to stop the great malevolence from destroying them.

The guides are:

#### Olam, Truthful God of Deceit

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Domains: Knowledge, Trickery

Description: The most level headed of the guides, save perhaps for Hoshek prior to his betrayal, Olam was created by Ragadol to manipulate the political systems of the mortal races. They were the first of their brethren to grow a consciousness, probably due to their constant interaction with mortals. As a demon lord of Ragadol, they would walk worlds in the shape of a mortal, infiltrating governments and subverting leaders. Olam's followers include most of the common races, who were receptive to his appearance as a charismatic and pragmatic leader.

#### Tophet, Peaceful God of War

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Domains: Peace, War

Description: The most passionate of the guides, Tophet was created by Ragadol to incite violence between mortals to destroy his enemies. As a demon lord, they would often take the appearance of the military forces of their victims and perform false flag attacks. They courted a collection of more vicious and warlike races and cultures on Makorr.

#### Pitrah, Life-Bringing God of Death

Alignment: True Neutral

Domains: Life, Death

Description: The most alien and distant of the guides. Pitrah was created to simply end civilizations as quickly and efficiently as possible without revealing the existence of their master. As a demon lord, they would often manifest as a deadly pathogen or as a comet or meteorite. On Makorr, they courted the peoples of the sea, as well as the strangest and most inhuman inhabitants of the doomed planet. Their communications with their followers are often extremely bizarre, vague, and difficult to interpret.

#### Buhiroot, Tranquil God of Storms

Alignment: Neutral Good

Domains: Tempest, Light

Description: Created to cause natural disasters by Ragadol, Buhiroot somehow became the most human of the guides. Perhaps because their intended purpose was to carefully shape the course of worlds by manipulating their environments, Buhiroot long ago developed a love for all living things, and only continued to serve Ragadol out of fear of retribution. They were the one who first suggested betraying Hoshek, and are thus his most hated enemy. When courting followers on Makorr, Buhiroot helped the most downtrodden peoples, and those who would have otherwise perished first were saved. They communicate clearly and jovially with their followers.

#### Hoshek, Betrayed God of Treachery

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Domains: Trickery, Fate

Note: Players do not start off with knowledge of Hosheks existence, and cannot worship him, or create a Fate Cleric.

Description: Created to recruit mortal followers of Ragadol, Hoshek is known by many names across many worlds. Though their name and mythology varies, Hoshek is recognizable in any of their many guises by a few commonalities: Hoshek is extremely straightforward, promising power to their followers if they turn against their own kin, and ultimatly, their own best interests. They never attempt to hide their demonic nature. Since his imprisonment in the great empty demiplane, Hoshek has been consumed by rage and frustration. Hoshek does not respect the boundary between his mind and those of their followers, and it is often impossible to tell when his followers are speaking from when Hoshek is speaking through them. There is a smooth transition between their free will and his possession. Any being that worships or draws power from them risks losing themselves. The longer the interaction with the scorned moon continues, the greater the hold Hoshek has over their identity.

### The Angelic Host of Xerophel:

Many gods were once worshipped on Makorr, the names of most have been lost to time. Though these gods are all but utterly dead, due to the neglect and exploitation by the peoples of Makorr, some worship of these deities still survives on the Moons of Eish. The bodies of the gods named here and countless others litter the astral sea surrounding Eishspace as a result of the crusades of Xerophel.

#### Xerophel the Sovereign

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Domains: All Domains

thousands of years before the destruction of Makorr, Xerophel was the king of the biggest Makorri pantheon of gods. However, as other gods rose in power and popularity, he began to fear that he would be deposed or forgetten. His paranoia slowly drove him insane, though he maintained the appearance of sanity to his divine peers. In secret, he began to experiment with creating the perfect follower, whose loyalty would never falter, and whose worship would never cease. He created a massive army of angels, which he called his "choir", who had no will of their own, and prayed to him constantly. When this was discovered by the other gods, he unleashed the angels against the other gods. Over the next three millennia, Xerophel waged endless war against the other gods, preaching that worshipping any god other than him was heresy punishable by death, and forcibly converting the devotees of his enemies. When the peoples of Makorr invented a method for producing energy by extracting it from the gods, he saw it as a way to finally be rid of his rivals. For two centuries, the Makorri energy guilds drained the gods of their energy to the point of their death, and with no more gods to consume, they turned on Xerophel for his vast reserves of power. Eventually he died, and the planet of Makorr followed soon after, with nothing to hold its many supervolcanoes back.

Xerophel presented himself as a benevolent god, and still enjoys some worship on the moons of Eish, though worshipping Xerophel is highly frowned upon by many people. Xerophel clerics choose to associate themselves with a particular saint/angel of Xerophel when they choose their domain. Xerophel provides access to four domains other gods do not (unless a player really wants to homebrew one) through his four archangels.

#### Saint Edom, Archangel of the North

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Domain: Solidarity

Description: One of Xerophel's four archangels.

#### Saint Teman, Archangel of the South

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Domain: Strength

Description: One of Xerophel's four archangels.

#### Saint Seir, Archangel of the West

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Domain: Ambition

Description: One of Xerophel's four archangels

#### Saint Paran, Archangel of the East:

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Domain: Zeal

Description: One of Xerophel's four archangels

### The Forgotten Husks

Throughout the many millennia Makorr hosted civilisation, countless deities were worshipped by its inhabitants. Thanks to Xerophel, their worship was silenced and their temples were razed from the surface of Makorr long before the planet became a blasted ruin. Some worship of these gods still somehow endures on the moons of Eish, spiting Xerophel and all else history has thrown at them, even though the gods themselves have been reduced to lifeless husks that litter the astral sea surrounding Eishspace. Some followers are lucky enough to know which of the husks belongs to their god, others do not even have that meager comfort. Nonetheless, their traditions endure, and very occasionally, their devotion is still answered with divine powers. Some of these gods are:

#### Grumgnok, Hunter of Hunters

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Domains: War, Nature

Description: Grumgnok was a warlike god with a social darwinist outlook, which he passed on to his followers. It was he who brought the first host of Orcs and Goblinoids to Makorr so many millenia ago, and though his armies splintered into many clans and tribes over the course of the ages, they never forgot their benefactor. he was one of the last gods to die at the hands of Makorr's great energy guilds, and his corpse has long since been found. When Buhiroot saved the goblinoids and orcs, they contiued to worship him on the moons of Eish. Warbands, when there raids are succesfull, will keep trophies and choice pieces of loot to give to certain trusted sky pirate crews. These crews will occasionally load their spelljamming raiding ships with all the loot and trophies the goblinoids have set aside for sacrifice, as well as mighty warriors who have been crippled in battle and the mummified remains of those who died especially honorably, and the strongest slaves or prisoners they have captured. They will then sail a pilgrimage to Grumgnoks body, within which has been constructed a temple. Rites of presentation are then performed, where the tributes and slaves are thrown down the throat of the god. The honoured dead are layed to rest in special chambers built within Grumgnoks massive skull. The crippled will live forever in the astral sea, teaching young warriors and serving the temple elders. If the rites are especially potent, and the shamans and worshippers are true enough of faith, a spark of life will surge through Grumgnoks body, and a small amount of ichor will flow through his vains, which the temple elders extract.

The ichor is given to a chosen cripple brought to the temple. The divine ichor restores the cripples body, granting them powers and vitality beyond what they had before. The chosen become temple elders, the greatest of Grumgnoks warriors, and the secret trump card of all goblinoids throughout Eishspace. They only very occasionally leave the temple to asist their mortal bretheren, and while their origins are not known to the peoples of Eishspace, their occasional appearance in goblinoid war hosts is the stuff of nightmares for their opponents.

#### Ba'alat Athirat, Godess of Day and Night

Alignment: Lawful Good

Domains: Light, Twilight

Description: Once the wife of Xerophel, Athirat was the godess who discovered her husbands army of angels, and was thus the first to die at his hand. Though having been dead for millenia, a scant few faithful remain, and invoking her name still brings comfort to her followers. Though a semblance of her power remains in the world, little knowledge of who she was or what she stood for has survived. Depictions of what she looked like and her personality varies wildly from the few small sects devoted to her.

#### Ba'al Horon, God of Magic

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Domains: Arcana

Description: For a while, Horon led the Makorri gods in resisting Xerophel and his angelic host. He created a host of spirits to oppose Xerophel's angels, which were quickly branded as demons by the tyranical god. Despite this association, he was known to aid in exorcisms, and is still invoked to this day to perform them. Horon does not have any remaining sects dedicated exclusively to him, and his clerics come about as a result of people performing exorcisms in his name, or from the several small sects that are dedicated to all the dead gods.

#### Ba'al Melqart, The Final Companion

Alignment: Lawful Good

Domains: Grave

Description: A heroic, yet humble figure for a god, Melqart is essentially the Makorri equivilant of the grim reaper. Folklore says that when someone dies, they will awaken beside their body to find him waiting for them. He will then fight tirelessly to escort the soul of the departed safely to the underworld. Melqart has never courted worshippers, being eternally and tirelessly devoted to his duty of escorting the deceased to the afterlife. Perhaps this humble station let him escape notice by Xerophel, and even his followers at the height of their religions power followed the tradition of venerating Melqart by placing gifts for him on the bodies of the departed. Even on the moons of Eish, his work continues. He is one of the very few gods that regularly walk the earth, with sightings of him reported across all four moons of Eish. The only commandment he has ever issued is that he is not to be worshipped, which he did by appearing in person to a sect dedicated to him. When he requires mortal clerics, he personally appears to train them. An Eishian Grave cleric will have a casual, personal relationship with Melqart, whether they know its him, or he chooses to adopt an alias. Rather than sending them omens, visions or similar, he communicates with his few clerics through mundane communications devices such as sending stones. Despite all this, he tells no one of the exact nature of the afterlife, and all his clerics are sworn to secrecy on pain of death if they divulge any secrets their god shares with them.

#### Ba'alat Tzedek, Primordial Minister

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Domains: Order

Description: An unspeakably ancient and powerful goddess whose existence predates the known universe, Tzedek is often described as extremely kind, and is credited with altering the very laws of physics at the dawn of creation, making sure that the universe would be a place that could support life. The Makorri peoples built many temples to her, honoring her as part of their pantheon, and she seemed to show favour in return to her worshippers. Though Xerophel claimed to have killed her, a being as powerful as her could not likely have been killed by Xerophel, even at the peak of his power. She is speculated to simply have withdrawn from Makorr due to not wanting to be caught up in what she considered a tiny, petty squabble. Tzedek shows a playful interest in complex systems of rules, and her alien mind often doesnt seem to understand the difference between a game and and a serious legal system. Though worship of her on the moons of Eish is very limited, lawyers, politicians, judges, detectives and others that she perceives as upholding order sometimes find her favour and are blessed with clerical abilities. As are sports referees. and even board game players.

#### Ba'al Keres, the Iron Hound

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Domains: Forge, War

Description: Keres was the first king of Makorr. Legend says he carved the holes in Eishspace's crystal sphere through which the ships of the systems original settlers entered. With the help of his followers, both god and mortal, that he tamed the great volcanoes and sealed away their fire so that the planet might be habitable. Keres remained on Makorr in physical form, ruling over its first city, until Xerophel began his crusade against all other gods. When his city came under attack, Keres sacrificed his physical form to become on with the earth, imbuing the iron in the region with special magical qualities. With weapons made of this blessed metal, his worshippers were able to hold back the forces of Xerophel for longer than most, and thus Keres remains the most worshipped old god of Makorr to this day.

Keres is intrinsically tied to iron, metalworking, technology and artisans, and remains the patron god of artisans, metalworkers, and artificers. Depictions of him as a dog-headed humanoid are carved above the major doorways of Eish's engineering colleges. Weapons made of his blessed ore are still valued as potent weapons by the peoples of Eish, and some especially devout followers (or adventurers looking to make a fortune) still take the risk of visiting the dead Makorr in hopes of finding an extracting more of the sacred iron.

### Foreign Gods and other powerful entities

While Eishspace is a far flung wildspace system and of little interest to larger powers that operate in the astral sea, it is not entirely isolated or cut off from the rest of the universe. It recieves regularly visitors from alien civilisations, and these visitors may venerate their own gods. There are also many other powerful entities that either reside in, or have a relation to, Eishspace, that are not the subject of worship, a prime example being Ragadol.