Gods

**Pantheons**

A 'pantheon' is a group of gods worshiped together as a religion. Some pantheons overlap, sharing worship of the same deity - a fact that has in the past created both benevolent religious unity and bitter feuds of dogma. The gods are not always grouped in these patheons, or in pantheons at all - religions are diverse, and the nature of the gods a mystery.

**Aspects & Alignment**

A religion's priests and sects are typically no more than one alignment step away from their deity. Worshippers and faiths that deviate from their god's 'primary' alignment are instead likely to worship an 'aspect'of that deity. Aspects are often understood by philosophers and wise men as being in some way a facet of a god's total being.

For example, while the Lord God is lawful neutral, a priest of his could be lawful evil and serve the 'the scepter' (see **the** **monocostic faith** below).

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The following lists the gods of the Realm by the pantheons they might typically be worshiped under, as well as the various aspects of those gods.

The **capitalized letters** after a deity's name stands for their alignment (or at least as they are understood by Realm theologians). G is good, N is neutral, etc. *Italicized* text indicates a deity or aspect's favoured domain.

## **The Monocostic Faith**

It is a sin for a Monocostic human to pray to a god other than God. However, the faith accepts the presence of 'patron deities' in Bretonheim, and it is accepted that non-humans will practice their ancestral religions - the kith have their gods, and all's well with The Realm.

Worship of Tor is also accepted for some northern border communities. Some theologians believe that Tør worship is in fact a cult of the Lord God, once lost to the greater fold of humanity and returning now to it's embrace. Not all share this welcoming view.

In far-off realms, the Lord God is worshiped as a deity named Helm. Helm's cults, however, have little in common with the Monocostic faith.

**The Lord God** - LN. The god who is called God, righteous one, father of humanity, god of cloth and plate, king of heaven. *Favoured Domain:* ***Protection**.*

 Aspects ('columns'):

* LN - **The Crown** - wisdom without judgment, the highest aspect of The Lord.
* LG - **The Shield** - His promise to humanity for their unwavering faith - tireless protection, vigil without end.
* LE - **The Scepter** - His holy right to command, and to smite those who would oppose his will.

**Good & Evil:** The Monocost has an atypical philosophy of good and evil - their is the Evil that serves Good, and the Evil that serves Evil. The former is understood as a cruel necessity of righteousness, typified in the purgation of witches, bloody crusades, and the public execution of the wicked. At it's most extreme, the temptations of Asmodai, the unwilling servant, serve as harsh lessons to humanity against straying from the faith.

**Archangels of the Court of Heaven** (His favoured servants):

* **Tebet** (the wisdom of heaven) - ***Knowledge**.* Revered by templars & wizards, typically cloistered scholars or seekers of divine truth. Tebet is wisdom in it's more pure form, and her mysteries are not easily revealed. *Guidance* calls the wisdom of Tebet.
* **Melkeshra** (the angel of Steel, our lady of the plate, the armoured angel) - ***Forge, Protection**.* Clerics, fighters & paladins revere the armoured Angel, she who is said to be the being to have first bought dwarven peoples into the kingdom. She calls on humanity to prosper, and build towards their own protection. *Shield of Faith* calls Melkeshra's blessing.
* **Jeberahon** (the angel of mercy, the arch-martyr, our lady of the cloth) - ***Life, Protection**.* Revered by clerics, templars & paladins. The Arch-martyr weeps blood tears for the pains of humanity, and her suffering is the suffering of the meek. Kindnesses she extended to the elven people are said to have brought them into the fold of Bretonheim. *Spare the dying* calls upon Jeberahon's grace.
* **Sadatra** (the angel of purity, the wheel of fire) - ***Light***. Clerics, templars, paladins & 'sevenbound' sorcerers revere Sadatra, and through witchhunters, exorcists and purifiers (those who destroy undead) the Wheel of Fire brings searing light to the world's dark corners, purifying humanity and burning away the evils that lurk in shadow. *Sacred flame* calls upon the searing light of Sadatra.
* **Akeldama** (the angel of death) - ***Grave**.* Paladins, clerics and templars - and typically evil ones - revere Akeldama, he who brings ruination and blight to the mortal enemies of The Lord, then seals their graves against return. Akeldama is the Lord God's bringer and keeper of darkness. *Toll the dead* calls the death knell of Akeldama.
* Lastly, **Asmodai** (the fallen one, the devil, the archdevil, master of hell, the unwilling servant) - The faithful do not revere Asmodai, and his place is not with the other Archangels. Rather, due to an ancient transgression he was cast into Hell, where he now reigns. His sole purpose now is to eternally test the faith of humanity. The fallen one has many names, one of which is Asmodai, or Asmodeus. The true nature of his servitude is a theological mystery. If he where to be associated with a domain, it would be *trickery*.

## **The Pagan Pantheon**

The worship of these deities is waning in Bretonheim, are their worship predates the presence of humanity in the new world. Wood elves tend to worship this pantheon and include veneration of Corellon, and human worshipers often include reverence of Tor (though in a manner quite distinct to his northern warrior cults). The Hag Queen, an aspect of Morgahn, is associated with this pantheon, though not the Lady of Threes herself.

**Swaye** - NG*.* the green woman, the goddess reborn, the goddess in the hollow, restorer. ***Nature, Tempest*** (*tempest priests of Swaye are non-good*)

* NG - the mother ***Life***
* N - oroborous, the world serpent ***Light***
* NE - wrath ***Tempest***

**Capra** - CN*.* the goat, reveler, the wanderer, bachus, ***Trickery, Nature***

* CG - the prince of joy ***Nature***
* CE - the king of desire, master of baphomet ***Trickery***

**Lupris** - N. the huntress, she-wolf, moonhawk. ***Nature, Strength** (clerics of Lupris gain proficiency with martial weapons, rather than with heavy armour, from these domains)*

* CN - lady of the bow ***Strength***
* NE - the night stalker ***Nature***

**Sol** - NG - shining one, light of the world, heavenly sun, pelor. ***Light, Life***

* N - the eternal fire (an aspect particularly similar to the archangel Sadatra) ***Light***
* NE - the swallower of worlds ***Death***

**Ohm** - N. the unknowing, the deep god, that which sleeps, eternal one, ao. ***Tempest, Light***

* NG - the first spark ***Life***
* NE - the primordial destroyer ***Tempest***
* In addition, Ohm has one aspect for each of the primordial elements - air, earth, fire & water - whose alignments are neutral.

## **The Dragon Gods**

Worship of these deities is uncommon in Bretonheim. Aside from a few knightly orders (that would still rather keep their worship a private matter), for a human of Bretonheim to serve the dragon gods is a grave sin. It was their strife, after all, that caused the vast desolation now known as *The Waste of Tiamat*.

**Bahamut** - LG - the celestial wyrm, heironeous, the king in gold, god of metallic dragons. ***Light, Strength***

**Tiamat** - CE - the tyrant wyrm, mother of monsters, god of chromatic dragons. ***Tempest, Strength***

## **The** **Elven Pantheon**

Their is only one elven god - but in this god, there are multitudes. Perhaps more than in any other New World faith, the multifaceted nature of the elven deity is key to a divine understanding of her. Corellon and her practices are mysterious and often self-revelatory, such as the mystic practice of 'personal incarnation', aka. 'the divine invocation'.

Though Corellon is the primary god(s, goddesses) of elfkind, elven faith is as individualistic and shifting as they are:

* **Wood elf** tribes are likely to pay homage to certain gods of the pagan pantheon at certain times of year, or by the needs of their tribe. Their group religious rites often involve one member 'incarnating' an aspect of their deity.
* **High elves** often adopt a new god of worship, or aspect of Corellon, with each defining moment of their long lives in a practice called *Ehlosa*. Some even take a new name, or even a new personality. Many will at one point revere within the *trinity of invention* pantheon.

**Corellon** - CG - corellon larethian, the many, the thousand faced one, the muse, stardancer, goddess of the silver moon, the mythril crescent. ***Life,*** ***Arcana***

* CG - astara ***Arcana***
* CG - the young prince ***Strength***
* NG - the artisan ***Knowledge***
* CN - queen of the court of leaves ***Nature***
* NG - the maiden ***Life***
* CN - masque ***Trickery***
* N - furion, blade & warrior ***War***
* NE - the faceless one ***Trickery***
* NG - the revenant returned ***Grave***
* Corellon has many, many other aspects.

## **The Dwarven Pantheon**

The dwarven gods lack aspects - they are what they are, and their mysteries are few.

* **Mountain dwarves** cling most fiercely to the worship of their gods and ancestors, often distrustful of gods outside their holds.
* **Hill dwarves** have tend to have more cosmopolitan faiths, often incorporating worship the trinity of invention

**Moradin** - LG - stonefather, the first dwarf, the maker. ***Forge, Protection, Strength***

**Dornarla -** NG - goddess of the table, the earthmother, the matron, wife of Moradin. ***Protection,*** ***Life,*** Strength

**Thøcri** - LN - the warrior, he who sharpens axes, he whose brow is furrowed. ***War, Strength*** (Thøcri bears many similarities with Tør).

**Cogril -** CN - the mad, keeper of the mushroom, the wise fool. ***Trickery, Knowledge*** (in most traditions Cogril is distrusted by the other dwarven gods, but it is said that for every hundred lies she tells a single perfect truth. Her priests are few and generally pariahs, but where there is a cult of mushroom-eating berserkers a priest of Cogril will almost certainly be at the helm).

* This pantheon has other deities not yet included.

## **The Trinity of the Divine City**

The trinity are worshiped most often in Mercia & the city-states of northern Shaara, though these gods of civilization are as likely to be worshiped apart and amongst other pantheons as together. The divine words of their endless debates, and even arguments, are said by the Trinity's priesthood to manifest as the poetry, inventions and essays of the inspired.

It has been said that Erathis makes the law, Oera bends it, and Calibos breaks it.

Corellon, Moradin and The Lord God (often in the form of Helm) are commonly worshiped alongside this pantheon.

Note: the *City* domain needs some work to fit into a fantasy game.

**Erathis** - LN - goddess of civilization & contracts. ***City****, Protection, Knowledge***

**Oera** - N - goddess of coin & trade. ***City, Ambition, Knowledge***

**Calibos** - CN - god of invention, the divine alchemist, the changer of ways. ***Knowledge, Forge, Tempest*** (*insect plague* cast by priests of Calibos conjures iron locusts).

## **The Gods of Ruin**

It is said that over every battlefield, Maron & Phobos fight to control the tides of carnage - Maron into ever tighter control & formation, Phobos into ever more crazed acts of bloodshed and wildness.

**Maron** - LE - the god of war & conquest, the chariot, hextor, lord of swords, master of blackguards. ***War***

* LN - the eternal soldier. ***Strength***

* NE - king carrion crow. ***Death***

**Phobos** - CE - the god of terror & slaughter, erythnul. ***Zeal, War***

**Hecatomb** - NE - the god of death & sacrifice, old sorrow, nerull. ***Death***

* LN - the gatekeeper. ***Grave***

## **Other Deities**

**Tør** - LN - the warrior god, well-blooded one. ***War, Strength** (gains proficiency in martial weapons rather than heavy armour)*

* CN - hrúndil the barbarian ***Zeal***
* LE - arnjúng the uncontested ***War,*** ***Strength***

The dwarven warrior god Thøcri bears curious resemblance to the human deity Tør. This gives dwarven theologans, tending to dislike divine mystery, a headache.

**Morgahn** - LN - ritual eternal, witchmother, lady of threes, maze, mystra, wee jas, the three eyed goddess, ***Arcana, Knowledge***

* N - the sisters three, the fates ***Knowledge***
* NE - the hag queen ***Arcana, Death***

Worship of Morgahn is utterly banned in Bretonheim, following the arcane purges.