Torag

**Torag** (pronounced TORR-rag) is a stoic and serious god who values honor, planning, and any form of craft work but especially well-made steel. He is an often distant deity, lending magical power to his clerics, but leaving his followers to make their own way through life, knowing that this will make them strong and determined. Torag condemns suicide and the souls of his worshippers who take their own lives are considered damned, whereas those who die for a cause or to save someone or thing from destruction are honoured. Damaging beyond repair items that have been crafted is considered an act against Torag and his will and is an insult to those who worship Torag.

Torag appears as a powerful and cunning dwarf, busy at his forge, hammering out a weapon or shield. He is the consummate planner with a contingency for nearly every situation. Art depicts him as a stereotypical dwarf wearing intricate armor and carrying his godly warhammer, *Kaglemros* (Dwarven for '"forger of many weapons"). Occasionally, he will appear alongside an Armadillo as they are considered to be his holy animal.

## History

Many dwarves believe that Torag created the world at his great forge, striking it again and again with his hammer to get the shape he desired. As rocks tumbled and the sparks flew, the dwarves were born, made of stone with bellies full of fire. This belief is strongly quelled within Duthgar and areas where the teaching of the Seen and Unseen gods religion is taught, as this belief teaches that the Elder god created the world and the races.

## Relationships

Torag, a god of protection and creation, is opposed to destructive and aggressive deities. He and his followers have battled Rovagug and other destructive forces since the dawn of time. Despite their mutual opposition to Rovagug, the followers of Sarenrae and Torag are rarely close, following different codes of belief. Dwarves do not understand the worship of the sun and see Sarenrae's willingness to forgive as folly and a sign of weakness. Torag respects Iomedae and Erastil, even though their realms of worship differ so much, since they both value community and family.

Torag is the head of the dwarven pantheon. Of all these gods, only the bitter Droskar, a former student of Torag but now the duergar god of toil and slavery, holds no allegiance to Torag. The two deities are engaged in a slow-burning cold war that has continued for centuries.

## Providence

The Father of Creation sometimes sends messages that appear etched in stone to those he favors, while earthquakes are seen as the ultimate sign of his anger. Those who survive an earthquake are thought to be blessed, and those who create great or amazing objects of craft are considered inspired by him.

## Servants

Torag is known to take the souls of master craftsmen or particularly pious Dwarves and take them to The godly Plane where they are allowed to try crafting a new body from the divine material, remaking themselves as one of the Reconstructed of Torag. The process of reconstruction is said to take many centuries, during which the soul is unable to return to the material plane. Thus, it is understood that all that is of their old life will have been forgotten by the time they're able to return. As a Reconstructed, they continue to serve Torag, crafting weapons and supplies for the gods.

### Unique servants

Ambassador Zurin Gemhammer - this Reconstructed used to be a cunning dwarven noble. He is dispatched to handle the subtler matters requiring Torag's attention.

The Grand Defender is a huge, iron-like Reconstructed construct, taking the shape of a humanoid with a hammer and shield. If it is defeated, it simply sloughs off its outer layer of armour, able to then continue to fight in a slightly smaller form.

Hrilga Shield-Maiden is one of the few Reconstructed that have a history which is well-known to those on the material plane. She was a dwarven worrier who was also known for her fine woodcraft.

Stoneriver is a bulette who swims the molten rivers of the earth's depths as readily as the cold earth nearer the surface.

## Temples to Torag

Temples tend to be circular, built around a large central and fully-functional forge and satellite anvils used for even mundane tasks, for every act of smelting and smithing is considered a prayer to Torag. In outdoor settlements, the temple is usually built into the defensive wall, as this keeps the noise away from the other residences and makes it easier for the priests to monitor the defences.

There are large temples to Torag in each of the kingdoms of the Drazia Dynasty, all competing to be known as the largest or the one that crafts the most items, but since travel between the kingdoms and invitations within them are both quite rare, the comparison is mostly based on rumours and hearsay, which is all exaggerated. Beyond the borders of the Dynasty, the largest temples would be the Ever Burning Forge of Old Vashton and the Great Anvil of Tarcheck. The Great Anvil used to be the larger of the two, but it is slowly diminishing, and the Ever Burning Forge has taken over as the most productive of these temples.

The Overhammer

The Ever Burning Forge

The Great Anvil - Tarcheck

### Clergy

Tradition is a focus for knights who follow Torag, while many of them also work on their crafting ability, often practicing blacksmithing in order to repair or craft their own weapons and armour. Action, rather than ceremony, is what these knights crave. They can be counted on to protect their communities without hesitation.

Nearly half of Torag's clerics are dwarves, although many humans have taken up his call as well. Among dwarves, almost all of his priests are clerics, with maybe ten percent being paladins or followers of another kind. Many of his followers are architects, artisans of all stripes, or factory managers. He is also popular among guards and city watchmen, who pray to him for protection, though this is less of a form of worship than just a hope that their weapons and armour will protect them.

As befits a deity so closely associated with the anvil and bellows, the vestments of Torag's clergy are a long, well-used smithing apron and a hammer. Rings of various sorts (whether worn on the hands, in the ear, or woven into the hair or beard) are also common, symbolising friendship, debt, or allegiance. Some priests attach badges, rivets, or plates to their raiment that commemorate important life events such as the birth of a child, marriage, or their first forging of a complete set of plate mail.

### Titles

The Faith leaders = The Hammer of Torag = The Hammer ...

High Priest = Artisan ...

Head Priest = Master Smith ...

Priest = Smith ...

Acolyte = Craftsman ...

### Holy sites

On the northeastern plains of Carthorka lies the settlement of Azurestone, named after a giant blue rock that towers 100 feet over the town. Many of Torag's followers believe that it is the spearhead of one of Torag's spears used before The Emergence. When possible, his followers make a pilgrimage there, though the geopolitical tensions of Carthorka make it difficult for many.

### Holy texts

Torag's texts tend to be sturdily bound tomes, able to survive whatever hardships its owner may face.

Hammer and Tongs: The Forging of Metal and Other Good Works
This tome is usually bound in metal with lacquered leather interior pages.