Archeillus

God of Rightful Rule; Protector of the Nobility

Lesser God

**Alignment:** Lawful Good

**Domains**: Diplomacy (see below), Healing, Law, Nobility, Protection

**Symbol**: A lion’s head or mask, usually crowned

**Garb**: Nobles’ finery, formal robes of office, royal vestments and regalia including crown, scepter, signet ring, coat-of-arms, chalice, royal seal, and sovereign orb

**Favored Weapon:** Longsword

**Form of Worship and Holidays:** Lavish ceremonies held on High Holy Days. Regional and local festivals held according to the traditions and customs of individual noble families

**Typical Worshippers:** Many nobles, Foerdewaith traditionalists, some magistrates and judges in remote provincial areas of the Kingdoms of Foere

Archeillus once stood below only Thyr himself in the pantheon of the ancient Kingdoms of Foere. Though the first overking, Macobert, claimed familial descent from the sea god Quell, it was by virtue of the laws and customs of Archeillus that he claimed rightful rule over all the kingdoms and their client states. Despite these once heady heights of influence across the whole of Akados, with the decline of Foere, so too has the worship of Archeillus seen its decline. This has arguably been furthered by the slow increase of support for the foreign deity Mitra as the divine patron of the Foerdewaith sovereignty, a trend whose beginnings can be traced back to the time of Osbert II, the great, great grandson of Macobert, some seven centuries ago.

Still an important god of the Foerdewaith, his religion is now often seen as old-fashioned or outdated, though he remains revered among many of the old noble families, especially in the more backwater areas. This devotion often even includes noble families that are not of Foerdewaith descent or rulers of lands outside Foere’s sphere of influence. This is in large part because veneration of Archeillus is traditionally seen as a support of the current ruling class and serves to justify maintenance of the status quo of power among adherents. As a result of this common understanding, despite the fact that Archeillus is inherently a god of law and good, his religion is used by many a less-benign tyrant as means to consolidate and hold power with a veneer of legitimacy. The established church of Archeillus officially finds this practice repellant but also finds it prudent to not try to identify those who should or should not rule because of the inherent risk of opposing a true believer who has merely been mischaracterized by his subjects or, even worse, finding themselves forced to choose sides and ending up on the losing end of a political power struggle.

With its loss in influence over the last few centuries and the inevitable reduction in the number of followers, the clergy of Archeillus has learned to step carefully and walk a fine line between clearly upholding the morality and rule of just law represented by Archeillus and stepping cautiously to avoid upsetting the apple cart of local politics that could result in them being completely removed from the halls of power and spheres of influence altogether. Many priests of Archeillus take comfort in the oft-quoted axiom, “he that rules does so but by the will of Archeillus,” allowing responsibility for the issue of rightful rulership to fall squarely upon the shoulders of the god himself. They trust that Archeillus’ wisdom will sort out the details rather than muddying the waters by the machinations and inevitable disasters wrought by imperfect mortals, which is perhaps what the god has intended all along.

**Diplomacy Domain**

**Granted Powers:** Your mannerisms are engaging and your words compelling. Folk high and low look to you for words of wisdom and advice. You gain a +2 competence bonus to Diplomacy checks and Perform (oratory) as a class skill.

*Touch of Wisdom* (Sp): With your touch, you imbue a target with a +2 bonus to Wisdom that stacks with other bonuses such as owl’s wisdom. Unbeknownst to the target of the touch, you receive a +4 bonus to Charisma yourself in regards to dealing with the touch’s target. This bonus likewise stacks with other bonuses. The effects of this spell last for 1 round per cleric level you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your wisdom modifier.

*Silver Tongue* (Su): At 8th level you can use your voice to speak with the effects of the bardic performance ability. This ability functions as a bard of the same level as your cleric levels. Unlike the bardic performance ability, you can use this ability only for a number of rounds per day equal to 1/2 your cleric level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

**Domain Spells**: 1st—charm person, 2nd—calm emotions, 3rd—tongues, 4th—charm monster, 5th—dominate person, 6th— symbol of persuasion, 7th—veil, 8th—mass charm monster, 9th— dominate monster.