Atep
As the only god to walk the land, Atep asserts that he is the true god of the sun, moon, and the embodiment of true rule of law, and few have the courage to publicly dispute his claim. Atep teaches honesty, discipline, justice, and acceptance and satisfaction with one's station. Followers are expected to work hard in all aspects of life, whether toiling in the field, aiding the deserving less fortunate, or spreading the word of Atep to those who cannot see his glory for themselves. Clerics are tasked with seeking out and destroying any evidence of wizardry or the unbound dead.
Atep appears as a human pharaoh with an animal head corresponding to the aspect he wishes to display. Members of the priesthood wear white robes, shave their heads if male, and wear their hair straight and shoulder length if female.
Temples of Atep are highly structured and filled with columns covered with depictions of various religious and historical events. Very few differences exist from one temple to the next aside from size.
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, LE
Domains: All priests of Atep may choose domains from the list corresponding to the aspect of Atep they worship, and any may choose the Law domain if they wish.
Aspects of Atep
Atep-re
Ram-headed Atep-re, symbolized with a lunar disk surrounded by solar disk,
champions rulership and law. Clerics may choose the Nobility, Strength,
and Sun domains and favor the flail as their weapon of choice.
Those who choose the Sun domain may not be evil. The Atep-re aspect is
most commonly depicted when referring to Atep in general.
Atep-hat
The patron of families, mothers, and the harvest, Atep-hat appears as
a cow, and is Atep's only aspect not taking the form of a man with an
animal head. The all-female clergy carry cow symbols with a lunar disk
between its horns, and have access to the Community, Luck, and
Plant domains. Priests of Atep-hat prefer the short sword in
battle and may not be evil.
Atep-hor
Fierce falcon-headed Atep-hor, represented by the head of a falcon surrounded
by a solar disk, is the god of light and vengeance. The Retribution,
Sun, and War domains are available to his priests, who commonly
wield the khopesh, the weapon favored by their god. Those who choose the
Sun domain may not be evil.
Atep-met
Atep-met has the head of a lion, and a lion head topped with the solar
disk is his most holy icon. Exercising dominion over cats, healing, protection,
and punishment Atep-met grants his priests access to the Healing,
Protection, and Destruction domains. Clerics of Atep-met
often employ the heavy mace in combat.
Atep-toth
God of learning, wisdom, and magic, Atep-toth serenely surveys the Theocracy
with his ibis head. His followers wear the sign of an ibis surrounded
by a lunar disk and may choose between the Knowledge, Magic,
and Moon domains. Many prefer to wield a simple staff when a
weapon is required. Priests of Atep-toth, particularly those with the
Moon domain, seek out and destroy lycanthropes in all forms, preaching
that only the divine servants of Atep may possess the combined forms of
man and beast.
Atep-sobek
Bearing the head of the resourceful and dangerous Nen crocodile, Atep-sobek
holds sway over the areas of judgment and the cycle of life, from birth
to death and the journey thereafter. Priests carry an ankh as the primary
symbol of their faith and are granted access to the Fate, Repose,
and Water domains. Atep-sobek's favored weapon is the spear due
to the similarity between a spear's thrust and the lunge of a crocodile
from the river to capture its prey.
Eresetu
The legends say Eresetu was the first of Ma'at's creations, raised from the primordial water even before the gods themselves. Regarding the land the legend ends almost before it begins, but some insist Eresetu received a portion of the essence of Ma'at just as gods and their servants did in the final act of creation. These few worship the land as a god, protecting it and receiving its blessing in turn.
The druidic worshippers of Eresetu carry no symbols and wear no vestments of their faith, instead looking to the natural wonders around them for inspiration. "The earth is its own temple," say the druids, who hold ceremonies outdoors near or within naturally occurring shrines or groves.
Druid Alignments: NG, NE, CN, LN, N
TopHrefna
Hrefna, Keeper of the Forge Under the Mountain, watches over her dwarven children and exemplifies the principles of courage and valor in her never ending standoff with Vaprak the Destroyer. Since the War of Gods and Mortals and the destruction of the rest of the dwarven pantheon, Hrefna has dutifully assumed responsibility over all aspects of the lives of her people. Her faithful, who seek to define themselves by overcoming challenges of any type, distrust sorcerous magic in most forms and harbor a deep seated hatred of the giant races.
Clergy display their holy symbols proudly and often emulate their goddess in appearance, wearing metal armor and braiding hair or beards depending on their sex. Temples dedicated to Hrefna regularly double as fortifications, and contain one or more statues and a large anvil suspended from two iron bars arranged in a triangular shape over a floor-set fire pit.
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG
Holy Symbol: forge within a snowcapped mountain
Domains: Artifice, Community, Earth, Good, Healing, Protection, Strength, War, Weather
Favored Weapon: Warhammer
TopThe Solatheri
During the War of Gods and Mortals a select group of peaceful deities, including many of the elven gods, chose to sacrifice themselves to preserve their wisdom and knowledge rather than join the struggle for divine dominance and risk their knowledge falling into the wrong hands. While Faralon Toraniel battled the hosts of heaven and hell, those he defended crafted a sacred pool deep within the elven wood to contain their collective knowledge. Faralon was overcome, but not before the pool was filled and warded against all who would defile its sacred waters. Now, over one thousand years removed from the War of Gods and Mortals, select priests receive and interpret the wisdom of their lost gods for the elven people, hoping one day to restore their secret knowledge to all races.
Worshippers of The Solatheri preserve the memories of their dead gods through art, music, dance, and poetry. Despite tensions between nations, elven bards are highly in demand almost everywhere for their superbly skillful interpretations of works lost to other races.
The priesthood is divided into three sects. Keepers of the Order of Hope open themselves to the wisdom of the pool and adorn themselves with robes patterned after the wings of the Monarch Butterfly. The Order of Truth focuses on the study and preservation of ancient lore, wearing robes resembling the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. Charged with the defense of the elven homeland and people, the Order of Justice remembers the sacrifice of Faralon the Lost and awaits the day when his death may be avenged. Those seeking to recognize a member of the Order of Justice need only look at their robes or cloaks, fashioned after the Mourning Cloak Butterfly.
Differing widely in shape and form, temples of The Solatheri always contain a facsimile of the sacred pool and may or may not contain libraries, music halls, or sculptures in various forms. The elves revere a number of sacred sites across the land, and make pilgrimages when seeking clarity or guidance.
Keeper Alignments- Order of Hope: CG, NG, CN, N
- Order of Truth: LG, NG, LN, N
- Order of Justice: CG, NG, CN
- Order of Hope: gold butterfly within an azure circle
- Order of Truth: gold butterfly backed by a silver open book
- Order of Justice: gold butterfly backed by a silver sword
- Order of Hope: Chaos, Community, Healing, Plant
- Order of Truth: Knowledge
- Order of Justice: Animal, Chaos, Liberation, War
- Order of Hope: Elven shortbow
- Order of Truth: Quarterstaff
- Order of Justice: Leafblade
Within the past fifty years a faction has formed within the Order of Justice dedicated to restoring the elven lands to what they were in the days before the War of Gods and Mortals and its aftermath. Calling itself Faralon's Hand, the cult follows a harsher, more militant interpretation of the message of the sacred pool. Faralon's Hand represents a rising discontent many younger elves feel regarding what they feel is a passive attitude held by their leadership, and though the faction is small its numbers are increasing rapidly. Members wear the same attire as the Order of Justice but fasten their cloaks or robes with brooches shaped in the form of an elven hand.
TopMa'at
The essence of wisdom and balance, creator of all things, Ma'at formed the sun, moon, earth, sky, and even the gods, and then divided itself between them all. Though Ma'at has no worshippers in the conventional sense, most races refer to Ma'at as a universal truth and the embodiment of natural order. For example, the humans of the Theocracy of Atep believe their god weighs the souls of the dead against the feather of Ma'at. Those possessing hearts heavy with wicked deeds are cast into the icy prison of Sitamun, there to suffer frozen torment for all eternity.
TopVaprak
Vaprak the Destroyer, scourge of the dwarven race, rules the giants of Eresetu with an iron fist. Denizens of southern realms know him as Bisu, and to all he appears as a disfigured giant with a leering expression. Scholars believe Vaprak shares a common heritage with Hrefna despite their mutual animosity, as both have gifted their worshippers with remarkably similar cultures and artistic inspiration.
TopKukucan
A vain and vengeful god, Kukucan pits his lizardfolk followers against each other to gain his favor through the ritualistic sacrifice of the conquered. Kukucan and his Ulmec people find themselves at odds with the Theocracy of Atep due to wildly differing philosophies, but difficult mountainous terrain prevents much actual contact. Citizens of Atepesh refer to Kukucan as Sutekh, who takes the form of a reptilian humanoid with a forked tail in both mythologies.
TopApophis
In the panicked mutterings of the lost and the ravings of the insane Apophis reigns, sewing the seeds of madness however he may. This giant fiery serpent with heads at both ends of his body commands the weird, unnatural creatures of the world and lurks at the corner of every mind, always ready to twist and subtly gain control of those who fail to guard against his advances.
TopSitamun / Hel / Levistis
In times long past, Sitamun's reach encompassed the vast reaches of the Twelve Hours of Night. Now, locked in a frozen and forgotten prison, she clings to her last scrap of power, luring damned souls to her icy cage to suffer eternally with her. Known by the names Hel and Levistis to the dwarven and elven peoples, the goddess of death receives mention today mainly in the morality tales told by parents to their children.
TopThe Keldari Circle of Divinity
Halflings worship all of the gods, revering each for particular notable qualities, such as the lawfulness of Atep or the destructive nature of Vaprak. Most venerate the positive traits of the gods, but some appreciate their darker elements. The Keldari hold fewer religious services than those of other faiths, instead taking pilgrimages to various holy sites across Eresetu as they are able. Temples dedicated to the Circle of Divinity take many forms, most rather modest or even movable, and no temple appears exactly the same as another.
Every ten years, halflings everywhere meet at the sacred obelisk at Almatra to begin a half-year trek to the most holy sites in the land, including the Sun Temple at Hwt-ka-Atep, the Sacred Pool at Tel Imeth, and Vaprak's Rage, a great cleft in the Frostspine Mountains said to have been created by the fist of the god. All halflings in good health are expected to complete this pilgrimage, called the Realization of the Circle, at least once during their lives.
Cleric Alignments: Any
Holy Symbol: hollow disc fixed with 8 gemstones, each of a different variety
Domains: Chaos, Community, Destruction, Evil, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Protection, Strength, Trickery
A cleric may not choose both the Good and Evil domains or the Chaos and Law domains, and those choosing any of these domains must have the matching alignment component.
Favored Weapon: Sling
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