The Knight/The Beast

## The knight

The knight is the god of heroes and noble legends, as well as a god of cavalry and war in general.

### History

The exact details of the knight’s story are unknown, having been warped by time and word of mouth, but some details remain constant. The knight was once a mere mortal hero. A loyal knight of his king, and one of the greatest warriors of his time, he was still unsatisfied. He felt there could be more he could do for his country than merely be a soldier. With his lord’s permission, he traveled the land, performing great deeds and slaying great beasts, all the while his legend spread. Soon, his name had traveled further than that of his nation itself.

One day, he came across an old man in need of help, and immediately volunteered himself. In exchange for his assistance, the elderly man claimed to be a great and powerful mage willing to grant a boon of the knight’s choice. The wording of his request was lost to time, but the world knows it’s consequence. For the old man was no mere mortal mage. He was The Fool, come to pull a cruel and twisted trick.

The Knight found that he was stronger and faster than ever before, with senses no human had ever compared to. He found that not even the mightiest of man or beasts could stand against him. But, he had heard rumor of a new foe, something neither man nor beast, but somewhere in between. He hunted the monster for days, traveling the land, always seeming to be a step behind. He came to believe the creature was mocking him, striking nearby towns while he slept, no matter how long or late he stayed up waiting for it to strike. One fateful night, he filled an entire forest with traps to capture his foe, only to find in the morning that he had a broken snare wrapped around his ankle in the morning. Only then did he realize, only then did he allow himself to accept, that he himself was the monster he was hunting.

### Relationships

His relationships with the other good deities are predominantly positive, but as a war god, his methodology and teaching often clash with more peaceful gods. He permits no wickedness, and has no mercy for evil gods and their servants. Due to it’s sheer existence being an affront to his honor, it is likely that if he were able, he would choose to slay The Beast at the cost of his own life. Due to his involvement in The Beast’s creation, The Knight and The Fool are not on good terms.

### Worshipers

Clerics of The Knight are distinct and prominent. They tend to wear battleworn gold and red armor and roam the countryside on horseback, helping commonfolk and slaying monsters and bandits that happen across their path. Roads in areas with a large percentage of his worshipers are often noticeably safer than other places.

### Appearance

The knight is known for his burnished gold armor, his face rarely seen but rumored to be covered in battle scars. He rides into combat on his trusty steed Trofast, a grey Slepnir.

### Symbols

The holy symbol of the Knight is a lance, piercing the heart of a snarling wolf from above. items associated with him typically are decorated in red and gold, with symbols of horses being common.

### Mechanics

#### Obedience

Spend an hour maintaining your equipment while reminiscing about past adventures to whoever or whatever will listen. Gain +4 on Ride checks

#### Divine Gift

The character treats any and all weapons they hold as if it’s enhancement bonus was two points higher, ignoring the usual limit of five.

#### For Followers of the knight

##### Feats

Disciple of the Lance - replace all mentions of longswords with lances

Divine Dignity

##### Prestige Classes

Heritor Knight -replace all mentions of longswords with lances

##### Traits

Ancestor’s blade -must be a lance

Divine Warrior

Knight’s valor

#### Unique Spell Rules

##### Cleric/Warpriest

*Mount* can be prepared as a 1st level spell

*Phantom Steed* can be prepared as a third level spell

##### Druid

*Mount* can be prepared as a 1st level spell

*Phantom Steed* can be prepared as a third level spell

##### Paladin

*Mount* can be prepared as a 1st level spell

##### Ranger

*Mount* can be prepared as a 1st level spell

#### Unique Summon Rules

* Summon monster VIII

Celestial Terra-cotta horseman LG (extraplanar)

## The Beast

### History

When a foolish knight made a wish to a trickster god, the first of the manbeasts was born. Whenever the knight slept, the beast would awaken and wreak havoc on the nearby countryside, slaughtering any it came across, and cursing the unlucky few who survived it’s attacks with a lesser form of it’s own twisted madness.

### Relationships

Few beings have a positive relationship with The Beast, due to his all consuming hatred, although it is clear his hatred is more all consuming towards some than others. He has a particular loathing towards his mirror, The Knight, and would likely have already killed him were they not both immortal and the same being.

### Worshipers

Worshipers of The Beast fall into three categories. Open worshipers, secret worshipers, and those who pay homage to him as a progenitor deity. Open worshipers are rare, and usually stick to the fringes of society, either shunned for their violent ways or willingly choosing isolation over the trappings of society. Secret worshipers are a bit more common, but take a surprising amount of care to hide their allegiance in most cases. Lycanthropes are usually his most nuanced and interesting followers, ranging from merely wishing to thank him for the lifts he has given, to somewhat misguidedly believing devotion could help them control their curse.

### Appearance

The Beast appears as a massive werewolf, larger than any could naturally be. His fur is consistently matted and bloodsoaked as if he had recently fed. His eyes are full of rage and madness, seeming to register nothing but his next kill.

### Symbols

An open mawed wolf with a broken snare around it’s foot is commonly used as the unholy symbol of The Beast, although a maw full of fangs is sometimes used in cases where detailed work is impossible

### Mechanics

#### Obedience

Hunt and kill a living creature of at least small size, then cover yourself in it's blood for at least an hour. You gain a +1 profane bonus to attack and damage rolls against bleeding targets

Particularly devoted worshipers will sometimes hunt down much larger and more powerful prey than is strictly necessary. Dire animals, dragons, and giants are common choices.

#### Divine Gift

The character becomes an afflicted lycanthrope of a kind of their choice, or if they were already an afflicted lycanthrope, becomes a natural lycanthrope of the same kind they were previously.

#### For Followers of the Beast

##### Feats

Channel Hate

Beast’s Mark

##### Traits

Bestial Wrath

Strength of the Wolf -remove goblin race requirement

Wolf Blood -remove goblin race requirement

Ancestral pride: some choose to focus on The Beast’s role as the ancestor deity of Were-kin. You may treat The Beast as if he were a chaotic neutral deity for the purposes of determining your own alignment as a cleric, inquisitor, or other divine spellcaster.

#### Unique Spell Rules

##### Cleric/Warpriest

*Rage* can be prepared as a 3rd level spell

##### Druid

*Rage* can be prepared as a 3rd level spell

##### Antipaladin

*Rage* can be prepared as a 2nd level spell

##### Ranger

*Rage* can be prepared as a 2nd level spell

#### Unique Summon Rules

* Summon monster/summon nature’s ally III

Lycanthrope, werewolf

 Alucard 109