The Lost Pantheon

**Origin tales:**

1. Once there were Keepers that told the people they were Gods. They sent their slaves forward to meet with the humans and take them. Some broke Free and they killed the others. Tiamat then freed 12 more of her kind and declared them to be new Gods and gave them the key to Fate. And the people worshipped them and they fought off the Gentry.
2. In the beginning, the True Fae made deals with all things and kept them separate from humans. They took humans like livestock and never allowed their slaves any freedom. One did manage to escape but knew he would need to make deals with all the forces the True Fae had kept from humans. So before he fled, he krept to Fire and said “Make bargain with me and I will grant you to the humans on Earth who will love you. Serve them and they will help you grow.” The Fire replied. “This bargain I like. Bring me to them and I will serve. And so Prothean brought fire to Earth and ever since then the dark night has been safer for mortals. Never entirely safe, for Fire knew its oaths to the Gentry, but safer.

**Legends:**

1. They’ve had a hand in creating every other Entitlement, or every other entitlement was modeled after them in a fashion. Each entitlement, taking a fragment of the Pantheon’s power in order to exist. Pantheon scholars theorize that the Pantheon was far more powerful before this great sundering.
2. The army came through the Hedge. The Ogre stood strong against them for he knew he was a God. His fists stained red from the sacrifice earlier, he pounded them against the ground. Once, twice, thrice, he struck the ground and the Hedge began to shape to his will. A great fissure opened beneath their feet and many fell in. The sky rent asunder as lightning fell upon the remaining forces. Then, as they charged, his third blow rang out like the sound of church bell and with that death knell, the army was no more.

**What We Do in the Shadows:**

At the dawn of humanity, powerful spirits walked the borders between the earthly and the supernatural. The eldest artworks of Neolithic times depict beings too fanciful to be man, beast, or any other wholly terrestrial thing. Perhaps these entities were the Others, their images captured in ochre and charcoal on the innermost walls of ancient caverns, but some Lost believe that these crude drawings are, instead, images of their own kind -- admired, feared, and even worshipped by primitive mortals. They think back to a more primal and mysterious age, an age during which it seems that the otherworldly walked side-by-side with the mundane, and a balance existed between gods and men. These changelings have resolved to be those very gods in a jaded modern world.

This eldritch order is an old one; older, perhaps, than the very notion of "noble title," and aligned with powers that predate such things as agriculture, walled settlements, and the written word. While many of the outsiders that know of the Lost Pantheon doubt its claim to such extreme antiquity, few deny the primordial energies that are harnessed within each changeling who takes up its banner. Of course, the feudal, almost pseudo-medieval society of the Lost does not necessarily react well to the emergence of one or more primitive would-be gods whose beliefs are in keeping with an epoch that knew nothing of civilization, let alone kings and queens, knights and barons. Friction often exists between the status quo and the fae of the Lost Pantheon, due to mutual unfamiliarity, if nothing else, though the raw power and faded Clarity (and often somewhat skewed morality inherent to both) common to changelings sworn to this entitlement often makes their presence a matter of uncomfortable coexistence, rather than something to be actively driven out.

**Mask & Mein:**

Ancients of the Lost Pantheon often eschew modern trappings, though this tendency is not universal and some few strike a balance between primordial practices and contemporary existence. Far more common, however, are those that deal almost exclusively with the mortals of their cults, and otherwise keep to the company of the Lost and other beings that dwell beyond the purview of the mundane world. Hedge-spun garments are common to the Ancients, as are clothes made from traditional materials, such as pelts and skins, plant fibers, and the like. Simple jewelry, tattoos and even scarification may adorn a given Ancient's body, and many of them have great difficulty passing among modern mortals.

No single specific change develops in the mien of a member of the Lost Pantheon. Rather, such fae tend simply to become more of what they are, forsaking human appearance for that of their faerie selves: An Elemental of flame transforms into a living conflagration, while a pallid and vaguely necrotic Gravewight comes to look the part of a mummified lich-lord, and a vaguely equine Beast takes on hooves and a windswept mane and seems forever in motion, even when standing still. As Wyrd increases, these changes become increasingly pronounced; particularly potent Ancients actually appear, in many ways, to outside observers like the earthly gods that they believe themselves to be. At the greatest heights of Wyrd, such changelings begin to bend the manifestations of their Mantles, compelling even the blessings of the seasons to conform to their "godly attributes." Thus, a Winter Darkling whose divine aspect is one of hidden places might find a frozen fog envelops her at all times, or a Summer Ogre embodying primal hunger might manifest licking flames within his mouth that occasionally drop embers to consume random small flammable objects, such as papers, dry leaves, and the like.

**Bequeathal:**

As informal as this eldritch order is, it should be no surprise that there is no one single initiation into the Lost Pantheon. In fact, it's rare that one Ancient initiates another. Most feel the call in their dreams, guided by the power of their own Wyrd onto a path that was first trod long ago.

**Token: Crown of Glory [1-5]**

A crown of the player's choice appears over their head. To mortals it might be a silver circlet or golden crown but to Fae eyes it is a circlet of ice or a crown of lava. This crown stands out on some level announcing to all that you are an avowed enemy of the Gentry. You gain a bonus to all mundane rolls to attack, defy, or otherwise engage in either aggression or resistance against the Gentry, their powers, or their minions (such as loyalists, many hobgoblins, some fetches, and the like) equal to the rating of this token for a scene.
**Catch:** You run a ritual in which you sacrifice a follower up to 24 hours before you use this token.
**Drawback:** Gain the Delusional Condition (I AM A GOD/GODDESS) for two scenes or two hours whichever is longer
**Blessings**

* [1] This blessing lets the changeling regain 1 Glamour whenever she regains Willpower through her Needle in direct pursuit of her role. She may spend the Glamour immediately on anything she likes or store it in her heraldry token for later use. The token can store up to her Wyrd in Glamour. If she can neither spend nor store it, it’s lost. All stored Glamour empties at the end of the story.
* [1] Choose one of the following specialties: Occult (Mythology, Rituals), Intimidation (Goblins, “New Gods”), Academics (Mythology): The chosen speciality also gains exceptional on three successes instead of five.
* [1] Additional Thread.
* [1] Method to the Madness: Clarity? You see the world perfectly fine. When you would normally suffer a penalty to perception due to Clarity damage, you instead gain that penalty as a bonus. Further, you never risk death from Severe clarity damage as the Wyrd will sustain you.
* [1] Worship: You are a God among mankind and Wyrd responds. You have the ability to draw glamour through the act of a mortal worshipping you. This usually takes the form of a mortal sacrificing an object at a sacred space. You must be present when they give the sacrifice. Treat it like a standard glamour harvesting roll with Wyrd/2 (Rounded down) extra dice. (Conditional)

**Touchstone:** A Historian with expertise specifically in ancient mythology

**Clarity Curse:** Clarity attacks suffered while treating suspected mortals as your equal add damage dice equal to ranks invested in this Merit.

**WP:** Once per scene, gain a Willpower when you take social damage for members of your Cult.