Arvoreen

Arvoreen (ARE-voh-reen) is the nearest thing to a halfling war god. He is a god of stern defense and aggressive watchfulness, who is always preparing for incursions into the Shore Folk's lands and making ready to repulse hostile creatures at the first sign of trouble. Arvoreen is venerated primarily by halfling fighters, but also by fighter/thieves who prefer the former set of skills over the latter.

When a general rides to the battlefront, rarely does he count halflings among his most valuable assets. Their inherent wanderlust grants them little patience for the long marches and dull waiting between battles that characterizes most warfare. However, when invaders threaten a halfling community, residents send prayers to Arvoreen, whose worshipers follow a doctrine of guardianship, stern defense, and aggressive watchfulness. Arvoreen remains ever aware of dangers facing halfling communities, but prefers a reactive rather than proactive agenda. When an enemy strikes, his halfling servants strike back with precision and decisiveness thanks to reconnaissance missions into enemy territory and a strict, almost unhalflinglike regimen of martial training. This philosophy makes him popular with like-minded Braveheart Halflings, and while Shorefoot Halfling appreciate his protection, few rush to enter his clergy.

Though their serious outlook and intolerance for jokes and frivolity makes them unpopular in times of peace, all turn with respect to Arvoreen’s clergy when the community is threatened. They believe that most of the problems faced by the community are the result of courting enemies by mixing with other cultures (particularly humans). granting them allies among the few isolationist halflings. Clerics spend their days constructing fortifications, signaling systems, beacons and traps that further protect halfling enclaves. They patrol the community, sniffing out possible threats from within, as well as without. Many organize local militias and instruct young halflings in bladecraft (particularly as related to the short sword). Arvoreen’s temples usually resemble easily defensible keeps or redoubts, and serve as a final fall-back position if enemies breech the community’s outer defenses.

Clerics of the Wary Sword pray for spells at dawn. usually before patrolling the enclave’s perimeter in search of nighttime enemy encursions. If time permits, the faithful gather at a makeshift field altar prior to an important battle to ask for the blessings of Arvoreen and intone the sacred melody of the Battle Hymn of the Keepers, a living oral record of halfling triumphs in recent centuries. The Celebration of Singmere brings with it another ceremony important to Arvoreen’s faith – the Ceremony of Remembrance. On this holy day, Arvoreen’s followers gather to remember the names of fallen comrades who gave their lives to protect the community. Most of Arvoreen’s clerics multiclass as fighter, with those who protect rural communities commonly multiclassing as rangers. An elite order of Arvoreen’s followers known as Trueswords travel from community to community spreading word on the movements of local enemies and passing on advancements in the defensive arts.

### History/Relationships

Of the halfling gods, Arvoreen is most closely aligned with Yondalla, Cyrrollalee, and Urogalan. He disapproves of the more capricious members of the pantheon, such as Brandobaris. Evil deities, especially the patrons of goblinoids, incite Arvoereen to great wrath.

## The Church

**Clergy**:

Arvoreen is not exactly a popular power among most halflings and his priests are often perceived as overly serious and “grumpy as dwarves” by the Small Folk. However, the Defender and his clergy are respected and revered for their teachings and their role in protecting the halfling way of life.

Temples of Arvoreen are usually small fortified redoubts built partially above and partially below ground in strategic locations in regions inhabited by large numbers of halflings. The Defender’s houses of worship serve their communities as armories, training grounds for the local militia, and as sanctuaries of last resort if the region they guard is ever overrun. Although the defensive fortifications of such temples vary widely so as to best suit their location, most are characterized by a maze of narrow, low hallways large enough only for a halfling or gnome to fight comfortably, cellars filled with weapons, supplies, and other stores, and large numbers of subterranean tunnels exiting far from the central structure through which halfling guerrilla fighters can launch lightning raids behind the lines of any besieger.

Novices of Arvoreen are known as Shieldbearers. Full priests of the Defender are known as Arvoreen’s Marshals. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Arvoreenan priests are Warder, Guardian, Defender, Protector, Magistrate, Sheriff, Marshal, and High Marshal. High-ranking priests have unique individual titles. Specialty priests are known as trueswords. Males slightly outnumber females.

**Dogma:**

Keep the community’s burrows secure, and always be prepared for threats and attacks. Prepare an active defense, drill continuously, and leave nothing to chance. Put down danger before it even rears its head. Seek out allies, no matter how unorthodox. Those who give aid against a mutual foe are friends to be rewarded and trusted. Stealing from other halflings and allies is never acceptable, but thieving is not necessarily dishonorable, as long as it is employed against enemies to better the odds in combat later.

Vigilance against attack protects the community. Prepare an active defense, drill continuously, and leave nothing to chance. Seek out allies, no matter how unorthodox. Stealing from other halflings or allies is never acceptable, but thieving is not dishonorable when employed against enemies to better the odds in later combat.

**Day-to-Day Activities:**

Arvoreen’s priests are the protectors and defenders of halfling communities. They spend their days constructing defensive barriers, signaling systems, beacons, and traps, and reviewing defenses already in place. Priests of the Defender regularly patrol their communities, always investigating the slightest hint of a threat. Many priests organize the local militia, procure weapons for volunteers, and train every able-bodied halfling in the use of weapons and other defense strategies or at least in how to best seek safety. Many of Arvoreen’s Marshals regularly adventure to gain magical weapons and defensive items of all kinds.

**Holy Days/Important Ceremonies:**

If time permits, Arvoreen’s priests and lay followers come together prior to every battle (either in a temple or at a makeshift altar in the field) to ask for the blessings of the Defender. After a brief, inspirational sermon and a period of private prayer, the Battle Hymn of the Keepers is sung in unison and silvered weapons—at most one per worshiper—are sacrificed to the god by placing them on the altar. If Arvoreen is pleased with the diligence of his followers’ preparations, the Defender receives the silver plating from the sacrificed arms, leaving behind the actual weapons.

The Ceremony of Remembrance is celebrated annually on Singmere. During this holy day, Arvoreen’s followers gather in his temples and on battlefields where their comrades have fallen to remember the names of those who gave their lives in defense of the community. Close friends and relatives often report a brief, wordless encounter with the spirit of a fallen loved one during Ceremonies of Remembrance, but no evidence of such, aside from the statements of individuals who report such spiritual visitations, has ever been found.