The Archipelagos (Campaign Builder's Handbook official setting)

[Gnomemaster]

Hello everyone. a while ago i began works on a Campaign Builder's Handbook. it's a series of essays and articles that will be compiled into a PDF. I began working on making a small setting that would be appropriate for 30+ games. I began with a small outline of things i wanted done differently in my setting then in others.

1. The major overlying theme belongs to the Demon Prince Dagon (see Fiendish Codex I). Long ago the Continent was happy go lucky until Dagon was released upon the world and left nothing but islands that are now known as the Archipelagos.

2. I made a small pantheon of 7 gods and goddesses, mainly because i didn't want to spend forever working on it and really wanted to get on to the rest of the handbook. should i make some more gods? i'll post their stats soon.

3. I like the idea of church sects, small organizations the players could join. so this way Stonefather, god of earth, metal, smithing, and dwarves has two groups, a mostly dwarven church who worship him as their patron, and mostly rock lovers (like earth Genasi) who worship him mostly for his creation of the soil.

4. I wanted wild elves and shifters to worship Forests, like the actual trees. They speak to them, and worship follow a huge Elm named Sunleaf.

5. I wanted Psionics to be prevalent. It's like the third type of magic, you have Divine, Arcane, and Psionics.

6. I donâ,¬,,¢t like orcs how they stand. Dull witted, brutish, and barbaric does not appeal to me. However, what does nock my arrow are the orcs from the Eberron Campaign setting. If you look at the picture of the orc on page 155 you can see how he almost looks like a samurai. I want to kick that up a notch, I want an island of Orcs who are smarter, bound by honor, and made up of Samurai, Wu Jen, Shugenja, and ninjas.

so anyways. in this thread im going to try to post my campaign setting information as well as i can so that you can critique me. for starters, here's my Pantheon. if you want to see more read through my Campaign Builder's Handbook thread.

Dagon, Prince of the Depths
Lesser God
Symbol: six tentacles rapped around a fanged mouth
Portfolio: Sea Serpents, the Ocean, Sea Demons, Tidal Waves, Destruction   
Domains: Chaos, Entropy, Evil, Water, Madness, Ocean, Abyss
Alignment: CE
Cleric Alignment: CE, NE, N
Favored Weapon: Dagonâ,¬,,¢s Caress (+1 Scourge)

Dagon was once a demon prince of the Abyss until his cultists brought him to the material plane where he tore apart the world, leaving the once great continent of Geraldi a series of broken islands. Dagon was subdued and greatly weakened by his enemies and now is trapped deep beneath the sea, but his cultists still labor to bring him back.

Stonefather, Master of the Earth
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Mountain made of mithril or some other precious metal
Portfolio: Metal, Earth, Blacksmiths, Dwarves, Strongholds
Domains: Law, Good, Cavern, Craft, Dwarf, Earth, Metal
Alignment: LG
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG
Favored Weapon: Stonefatherâ,¬,,¢s Hammer (+1 Maul)

Stonefather created the dwarves from droplets of Mithril that flowed from his mountain home in the outer planes. He protects them and every craftsman thanks Stonefather for giving him the strength and ability to create beautiful arts. The god of Earth greatly opposes Geraldianna, the goddess of elves.

Geraldianna, Mistress of the Arts
Intermediate Goddess
Symbol: A mithril flame
Portfolio: The Arcane Arts, Elves, Elitists, The Moons
Domains: Chaos, Magic, Elf, Balance, Charm, Lust, Moon
Alignment: CN
Cleric Alignments: CN, CG, CE
Favored Weapon: Geraldiannaâ,¬,,¢s Edge (+1 Longsword)

Geraldianna is the patron goddess of the High Elves. She teaches them to ignore the lesser races and to focus on the greatness of Elvenkind. Her priestesses are beautiful and lustful especially since so many of Geraldiannaâ,¬,,¢s rites involve sex. Some believe that Stonefather and Geraldianna were lovers in ancient times but broke each otherâ,¬,,¢s hearts. So the mistress of the arts tries to cover her pain, while the master of earth tries to fix his. Both churches deny these claims.

Derianna, Mistress of the Psionic Arts
Lesser Goddess
Symbol: A Psi Crystal
Portfolio: Psionics, Xeph, Oracles, the Mind
Domains: Chaos, Good, Mentalism, Illusion, Oracle
Alignment: CG
Cleric ALingments: CG, NG, LG
Favored Weapon: Deriannaâ,¬,,¢s Staff (+1 Quarterstaff)

Derianna is the sister of Geraldianna. She connects with the Xeph who love her for her creation of Psionics. She bids her priests to find all those who can learn the ways of the mind and to train them further. She is also a minor goddess to the Giths of the astral plane.

Relic, the Warmaster
Intermediate God
Symbol: A bloody sword
Portfolio: War, Warforged, Battle, Slaughter, Valor
Domains: Destruction, Protection, War, Strength, Balance
Alignment: N
Cleric Alignments: CN, N, LN
Favored Weapon: Relicâ,¬,,¢s Arm (+1 Greatsword)

Relic is the creator of the warforged, although no one but the gods knows it. Relic is a bipolar god, in that he represents both the destructive force and the protective force of war. He usually appears as a warforged with beautifully gilded skin. He waits for the day when he will step up from simply being worshipped by warforged to being accepted as their father.

Darolnol, the Tyrant
Intermediate God
Symbol: A black, mailed fist
Portfolio: Tyranny, Murder, Spite, Torture
Domains: Destruction, Law, Evil, Envy, Strength, Madness, Tyranny
Alignment: LE
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Favored Weapon: Darolnolâ,¬,,¢s Iron Grasp (+1 spiked gauntlet)

Darolnol is the master of pain. He was one of the beings who brought Dagon from the abyss to wreak havoc across the world. He fought to keep his role as Tyrant god from others who wished to usurp him after Dagon was imprisoned, but needless to say he won that battle. Darolnol enjoys using chaos to strengthen Law, because he knows without one there can not be the other.

Merinala, Lady Death
Intermediate Goddess
Symbol: A skull
Portfolio: Death, Undeath, Liches, the Damned
Domains: Death, Undeath, Evil, Balance, Time, Wrath, Abyss
Alignment: NE
Cleric Alignments: NE, LE, CE
Favored Weapon: The Headsmanâ,¬,,¢s Axe (+1 Great Axe)

Merinala is the mistress of death. She is the only deity who lairs in the Abyss, she trapped the demon prince Pazuzu eons ago and took his layer as her own. The death of Pazuzu cowed the other princes; she also keeps her enemies at bay with her gifts. When someone dies, if he is found worthy, he goes to the afterlife on the realm of his god or goddess. Those that are found unworthy are sent to Merinala. She is too busy to torture the souls herself, so she gives them to the demon princes to play with.