Divinity and Deities

## Overview

In the Sundered Realms, divinity is a dangerous thing, at least for mortals. Mortals gaining divinity caused the Gods' War, resulting in the near-destruction of the Material Plane and it being closed off from the other planes with the creation of the Veil. Now, the influence of deities is felt sparingly on the Material Plane, if at all. Still, the power of the gods and the Fates are far from gone, and their worship had never waned even as the names of the New Gods have been lost to memory.

## The Fates

These three deities are the progenitors of the universe, the planes, and the gods themselves. Though technically more powerful than any of the Old Gods, they are known to avoid--usually--interacting directly in matters, leaving that to their creations. While knowledge of the Fates is common, their direct worship is rare as they are usually seen more as representations of universal laws--entropy, structure, and discovery--than beings with aims that mortals might help them achieve. Still, there are those who either give honor to the Fates or seek out their favor. Those who manage it are rare indeed, and those who keep it even rarer.

**The Fate of Whims -** The first being to exist, the Whimsical Fate created the universe so they might have something to do. The ate of Whims represents unpredictability, self indulgence, and a pursuit of novelty. They have few direct followers, as the erratic and unstable lifestyle they promote can be difficult to follow. Those that do tend to be adventurers, travelers, and thrill seekers, always searching for something new.

**The Fate of Order -** Along with the Fate of Knowledge, the second being to exist. The Lawful Fate brought order to the confused mess of a universe the Whimsical Fate created, and in doing so created the planes of existence. The Fate of Order represents inevitability, symmetry, the natural order, and inescapable truth. Most who might follow them instead follow the Old God Bahamut, however those who uphold the law, and those who study natural laws, such as scientists, often follow the Lawful Fate.

**The Fate of Knowledge-** Along with the Fate of Order, the second being to exist. The Knowledgeable Fate looked out at the ordered, empty planes created by the Lawful Fate and thought to populate them. In so doing, they created the Old Gods. The Fate of Knowledge represents the quest for knowledge, finding greater understanding, and the observation and recording of events. The Fate of Knowledge tends to have more followers than the other two Fates, as anyone who works in recording, understanding, or teaching knowledge tends to pay them homage. Teachers, librarians, scientists, orators, and others like them often follow this fate.

## The Old Gods

**Bahamut - The Platinum Dragon -** Along with Tiamat, he is the creator of the dragons, although metallics are the ones who tend to pay him special homage. Bahamut encourages order and stability, the idea that the strong are made strong so they might protect the weak, ideals of duty and honor, and is often associated with the sun. In Argent his followers are many, with most Halurans worshipping him to some degree. In Immortuos however his worship is far rarer due to a dearth of his artifacts. Any who believe in the goodness of law and order tend to follow Bahamut, as do just leaders. When seen negatively, Bahamut is known as a strict and dispassionate god, more worried about the idea of law and order than its actual impact. With society being seen as so positive by him, the individual is often seen as unimportant so long as society benefits on the whole.

**Beshaba - The Mistress of Misfortune -** The twin of Tymora, Beshaba is the goddess of bad fortune, loss, deception, and tragedy. Many view Beshaba as inherently evil, delighting in her horrible acts. Followers of her, however, instead view the goddess as a force of nature. For every positive Tymora places in the world, Beshaba is there to create an equal negative; after all, there are people deserving of ill-luck just as there are those who deserve good fortune. Obviously, few follow such an unsettling goddess, but those who do tend to be very devout. Outside those zealous few, however, many people do pay homage to her. Not to gain her favor, but in hopes she will place her misfortune on someone more deserving. It is common to give sacrifices to Beshaba in hopes of appeasing her, and many settlements larger than a town have altars where people can leave offerings to the Goddess. Alongside Tymora, Beshaba was once a part of Tyche.

**Chemosh - The Bringer of Undeath -** The god of the dead and undeath. Many flock to him hoping to avoid death and learn the secrets of everlasting life. Of the gods, he is said to be the only one who ever grants such gifts. As such, he is a rival to The Raven Queen, as she detests undeath and her followers try to destroy it wherever possible. Few follow Chemosh openly, and The Raven Queen tends to be honored at funerals and the like over him. However, those who do follow him tend to be extremely powerful, as their god has shared with them the secrets of necromancy.

**Corellon Larethian - The Creator of Cosmos -** The deity of magic. Corellon is known as the creator of the elves and the heavenly bodies. They are usually represented in dual forms, one male, one female, and are referred to interchangeably as they, she, or he. Corellon is the patron of the elves and the fey, as well as most magic users. They encourage the proliferation of magic, as well as the recovery of lost elven knowledge. Outside elves, fey, and magic users, their followers tend to be those who revel in the night sky, thus many nocturnal races worship them, as well as astronomers and astrologers.

**Lolth - The Webspinner -** The goddess of secrets, mysteries, and sacrifice. Lolth is the patron to the drow, that race of elves who forsook Corellon’s sky to plumb the mysteries of the Underdark. She is associated with risk and the unknown. She encourages reaching forward and leaving one’s safe zone. Striving for more, even if success is unsure, is seen as one of the best things for a follower of Lolth to do. However, she is also the goddess of secrets, as only with things unknown can there be risk. This makes her a rival to The Fate of Knowledge, and she delights in annoying her creator at every opportunity. Drow are her most common followers. Outside them, it is often seen as gauche to openly follow her given the duplicity she encourages. Still, those who deal in information and mystery follow her. In Argent, her worship is encouraged among the Wasteland Elves, and is not unusual among citizens of the Timeless Union. In Immortuos, her worship is more widespread though her followers are rarely open about their allegiance out of respect for their goddess' nature.

**Moradin - The Light of Invention -** The god of industry and creation. Moradin is the creator of the dwarves. He and Lolth are sometimes seen as different sides of the same coin, as while she encourages risk for reward, he encourages steady hard work for the same outcome. He is associated with invention and innovation, as well as general commerce and industry. His followers include the dwarves, however most merchants also pay him mind unless they follow Tymora. In Argent he is often worshiping withing and Sundering Cities and the Kingdom of Frostreach. In Immortuos, he is followed by many, especially in the City-state of Stormstricken.

**The Raven Queen - The Wayfarer of Souls -** The goddess of death and winter, the Raven Queen is the wayfarer of souls. She does not rule over the dead but is the goddess of death, the ending of life. She is associated with the need for endings. In Argent, Few actively follow her, but honoring The Raven Queen is common. She is often called on during funerals, winter festivals, and graduations, and is seen as someone who protects those traveling from one place to another. Her followers are varied, however those that care for the dead are her most common adherents, as are druids and those who wish to destroy undead creatures. In Immortuos, her rivalry with Chemosh and hatred for undead and all they represent makes her one of the most followed and beloved of the Old Gods.

**Sargonnas - The Father of Flame -** The god of honor, duty, broken oaths, and vengeance. Sargonnas is the patron of the wronged and the wretched. He empowers those who have been harmed to take vengeance and seeks to bring low those who gain power through trickery and deception. His symbol is the phoenix, to represent rebirth from prior trauma. Those who follow him seek to find the ones who wronged them and bring them to justice--or have their revenge. Sargonnas is often seen negatively, as he does not encourage his followers to be ethical in their pursuits. However, those who take their vengeance too far and instead become what they set out to destroy are especially reviled by Sargonnas and are hunted down to face their god’s wrath for perverting his gifts.

**Silvanus - The Arbiter of Nature -** The god of untamed nature. Silvanus is the progenitor of natural magic like that used by rangers and druids. He has little interest in the affairs of humanoids outside what they can do to preserve nature from destruction. His followers are nature’s guardians, and rarely have much interaction with the affairs of states. Despite this, he is often honored and sacrificed to, as nature itself is his creation. Those that wish fair winds or rich harvests pay homage to Silvanus in hopes he will turn a positive eye to them.

**Tempus - Strifemaker -** The god of war and violence. Tempus is the patron of the bloodthirsty and battle-hungry. He encourages strife, thinking that is when beings become their strongest self, seeing stability as useless because it encourages stagnation. He is associated with decay and discord, the degradation that comes to all things. His followers are those wishing to find power from conflict and military strength, and he is often prayed to by soldiers who wish his strength to survive.

**Tiamat - The Mother of Dragons -** Along with Bahamut, she is the creator of dragons, although the chromatics were her favored children. Tiamat seeks for the individual to triumph, great power leading to the power to do whatever one wishes. She detests law and order, finding it an unneeded and unnatural limitation of freedom that has little positive benefit. While not inherently evil, she is an unsettling and uncontrollable goddess, as harsh and unrelenting as Bahamut in pursuit of her goals. Few openly follow her, and her worship is outlawed in Halura. However, those that do tend to be her children and their underlings. In Immortuos her worship is likewise rare due--like Bahamut--to a scarcity in her artifacts. Still, while her champions are few and far between, all of them are powerful in their own right.

**Tymora - Lady Luck -** The twin of Beshaba, Tymora is the goddess of good fortune and successful endeavors. More personable than her evil twin, Tymora tries to protect those Beshaba has visited most frequently. She represents good luck and positive outcomes. Her followers are as eclectic as she, though merchants, travelers, and adventurers are her most common adherents. She is called upon as often as her sister, though in her case it is by people hoping she will turn her attention to them. Her worship is especially common in the Sundering Cities, where she is second only to Moradin in popularity. Alongside Beshaba, Tymora was once a part of Tyche.

## Former

**Tyche - The Lady Who Smiles -** It is impossible to truly kill a god. That is why the Gods' War ended as it did. However, Tyche's fate is likely the closest the Sundered Realms will ever see to the death of divinity. A creation of the Knowledgeable Fate, she was the goddess of luck, chance, probability, and happenstance. Randomness was her domain, and granting good or ill luck—as well as creating creatures who might do the same—was how she affected the world. The exact method of her rivening is unknown, other than the fact that it was caused by one of her champions, known to time only as "Tyche's Champion.