[Urbis] Deities

[Jürgen Hubert]

Well, as long as Urbis is still listed as the Campaign Showcase, let's put another Urbis-related thread here.

This time, I'll go a bit into religion and the deities of the setting...


Deities
  The precise nature of gods is a controversial topic among the scholars of Rothea. The most common definition of a "god" is "a powerful extraplanar entity or force which is able to grant spellcasting abilities to its worshippers", though even this definition is often contended. What is known, however, is that gods can change over time, and perhaps turn into something different entirely.

The Creation of a God
  Most of the more secular scholars believe that the majority of the known gods haven't been around since the beginning of time. While several religions claims that their deity had a hand in the creation of the world, or even the universe, these tales are often mutually contradictory and thus dismissed out of hand by anyone who is not a follower of these religions. Besides, ever since the exploration and settlement of other planets started in earnest, belief that Rothea is somehow an unique creation by sapient beings has waned considerably.

  It is apparently possible for mortals to turn into deities, though the precise process on how a deity springs into existence is unknown, which is perhaps fortunate - or else everyone would try to do it. Several religions that acknowledge that their deity was one a mortal have apocryphal stories of an entity called the "Guardian of the Threshold". Allegedly, it is possible to summon this entity and then engage it in some sort of battle (sometimes physical, sometimes a struggle of will, and sometimes a battle of wits, depending on the story). If the challenger wins, he is elevated to godhood. If he loses, he is utterly annihilated. Other religions tell of massive magical rituals, legendary deeds, or sponsorship by an existing deity that allowed their patron to become a god, but for obvious reasons it is hard to separate truth from fiction here.

  Entities that already have a strong connection to the Astral or Outer Planes, such as ghosts and spirits, seem to have an "easier" time of it - some stories seem to imply that all they have to do is gather a large number of worshippers. But like the other tales, these are hard to verify for obvious reasons, and most scholars speculate that there must be something more to the process.

Lesser Gods
  In general, scholars classify thos gods as "lesser gods" who haven't been a god for a long time yet (generally, not much more than a millenium, though this time span can vary considerably), or those who don't have a large number of worshippers, or both. These gods also share a number of other characteristics. They usually have a realm in Astral Space, a small, independent plane that can be visited by travelers with the plane shift spell and similar powers (though whether or not such travelers are welcome in these realms depends on both the deity and the visitor...), and where the souls of the worshippers reside after their deaths. They also have a discernible personality and agenda for the material plane; they send visions, portents, and even avatars to the material plane when necessary (though the last one is rarely done, as it seems to cost them a lot of power), and rites, rituals, and the names they choose to identify with are usually (though not always) consistent from region to region.

  Lesser Gods are usually also fairly picky about the ethical stance of their clerics (in game terms, this means that such clerics must usually adhere to the standard alignment restrictions). Curiously, faith in the religion does not always seem to be a requirement for becoming a cleric of a Lesser God - there are several well-documented cases where the clerics cynically see their supernatural powers as nothing more than a way to gain more power, and their patron deity nevertheless continues to grant them spells in exchange for certain regular services in the world of mortals.

Many Lesser Gods seem to be obsessed with gaining more power, which usually seems to involve getting more worshippers. It is also noteworthy that the designs of many temples have subtle similarities to the mystical architecture of Nexus Towers... However, not all Lesser Gods are inclined this way - for example, Ouneiros, the God-King of the city-state of Ouneirotur, seems to have been content with the status of "Lesser God" for the last several millenia, and apparently has no desire to expand worship of him to other cities.

Greater Gods
At some point, Lesser Gods change into something else, and grow more distant from the mortal world - this seems to happen when they reach a certain level of power and gain a very large number of worshippers, though the exact mechanics for this are, again, unclear. This has several implications:

  First, the god's realm vanishes from the Astral Plane and becomes inaccessible to the living. The spirits of the dead still presumably go somewhere - and spells like raise dead can still bring them back under the usual conditions - but no one knows how to actually reach these places without dying (and those who are brought back do not remember their stay there).
  Second, the god does not seem to pursue an active agenda in the material world anymore. No visions or avatars appear, unless actively summoned by clerical magic. And the vision summoned by clerics (such as the effects of the commune spell) tend to reflect the cleric's own prejudices and beliefs - there are documented cases when several commune spells cast by clerics of the same faith produce different results, with each cleric proclaiming that the spell confirms his beliefs about religious doctrines (this of course assumes that the clerics' statements regarding the results of the spells can be trusted...)
  Over time, the faiths of Greater Gods display divergent tendencies, as disputes over doctrine and regional variations create different interpretations of the faith without the active management of the deity. In fact, even the common name of the god seems to undergo linguistic drift over time, and in different regions, the same deity may in fact be worshipped under completely different names (though it is often hard to tell whether these are just different names, or entirely different deities, the common use of certain spells provides some hints for scholars of theological matters...)!
  Third, just about anyone can become a cleric of any Greater God, regardless of personal ethics (in other words, there are no alignment restrictions for clerics of Greater Gods). All that is required is a true and deep faith into the god and its commandments - or at least, the cleric's personal interpretation of these commandments, which can vary a lot from person to person. Anyone who looses faith in his god will also loose his powers. This also means that there are no "pact clerics" like those some Lesser Gods create - no cleric of a Greater God is able to see his spellcasting abilities as nothing more as a tool to gain more power, for that would mean the loss of these powers...

  There are many different theories about just what happens when a Lesser God turns into a Greater God. Some of the most popular are:

Divine Apotheosis: The god ceases to be an entity with a personality understandable by mortals, and becomes a true cosmic force. The god now has less attention to spare on mortal matters, and stops paying attention to the day-to-day affairs of its worshipers (while it is presumably busy fighting a cosmic war somewhere...), and thus spells like commune only receive the minimum required attention from the deity, with most of the information coming from the cleric's subconscious.
Divine bureaucracy: The deity is busy with ordering the cosmos, so instead of answering the questions of its followers personally, it has appointed numerous celestial servants to deal with these matters. This theory is popular within the faith of Thenos, as that faiths has numerous saints who allegedly serve as intermediaries between the faithful and the deity.
Undead Gods: This theory, which is very unpopular with the followers of most religions, hold that deities only have a limited lifespan - after they absorb too much power, they die! What answers the clerics' prayers is not actually the living deity, but its unliving mockery. Just as skeletons, zombies, and other non-sapient undead can go through some of the motions of living people without actually being living and thinking creatures, so these "undead gods" can go through the motions of granting spells and powers without any conscious thought behind them. In effect, they have become nothing more than mindless conduits for divine power.
Divine Imposter: The most disturbing theory of all is that the gods have died - but not of anything resembling "natural causes". Instead, they have been slain by some powerful and alien entity which now steals the faith from that religion's worshipers, just as a Nexus Tower leeches life force from all who live nearby. It keeps granting spells to the clerics merely to keep the illusion going that the god is still alive, but it lacks the sophistication (or maybe the patience) to act as if the god was still fully active.
  Among proponents of this theory, there is considerable discussion about the true nature of this entity. The most likely suspect for this "Slayer of Gods" is the Guardian of the Threshold, though some only consider him to be a servant of a greater evil still...
  A variant of this theory claims that these gods aren't dead - but "merely" have been taken prisoner (which is still a very frightening concept) - supposedly, the "godnapper" keeps them locked up so that he can leach away their powers, just as some vampires keep a "larder" of humans to ensue a steady supply of blood. Perhaps it would be possible to free the gods and return them to their former state, though again this merely remains an unproven theory.



Argannon
Greater God
  Lord of Warfare, Supreme Strategist, The Last Victor
Symbol: A white rook above a red and black chessboard.
Portfolio: Warfare, Strategy, Victory
Domains: Knowledge, Law, Trickery, War
Favored Weapon: Halberd


  While Argannon is the god of war, his portfolio doesn't include mindless slaughter. It is not the deaths that are important in war, but the battle of wits between the commanders. Whether the victor of a conflict sent countless soldiers to their deaths, or succeeds by ruses, feints, and sabotages that preserve his strengths, it matters not to the Supreme Stategist - all he wants to see are brilliant tactical moves that make the victory a deserving one.
  In general, believers of this faith keep to any customary "rules of warfare" in their region - succeeding despite restrictions is the sign of an able commander, and often breaking these rules invites more trouble from one's peers than it is worth. Still, Argannon is nothing if not pragmatic, and someone who breaks all the rules to emerge victorious and gets away with it can earn his favor as well - to the victor go the spoils.
  Perhaps surprisingly, the faith has in recent times gathered no small following among the merchant classes, particularily among the larger merchant houses - they see the constant competition between their houses as just another form of warfare, one that is often fought with the same methods as outright war, if on a less obvious level. Some parts of the clergy decry this as heresy, but others give this their blessing - and perhaps one day soon Argannon will add Trade to his portfolio.
  It has often been claimed that Argannon invented the chess game, especially by his clergy. Whether true or not, his followers play this game passionately, and organize chess tournaments on major holidays of their faith that are open ot the public. It is customary that the winner of such a tournament can ask for a book from the highest-ranking cleric of the temple.


Bucatar
Lesser God
The Civilizer, The Trailblazer, He Who Tames The Beasts
Symbol: A dark humanoid silhouette holding up a scimitar and a torch, with cowering animals at his feet
Alignment: N
Portfolio: Exploring and taming the wilderness, monster hunters, pioneers, rangers
Domains: Animal, Fire, Travel
Favored Weapon: Scimitar

Poets might wax philosophically about the beauty of the pristine wilderness, but those who have actually been there knows that the wilderness is a harsh environment, full of savage creatures and innumerable dangers that will kill the unwary. To protect and expand civilization, then, this wilderness must be fought and tamed, measured and opened up to development. This is not an easy task, but judging by their record, the followers of Bucatar have been up to it.
The cult of Bucatar has never been large - it is filled with hardy people who can thrive in the dangers of the wild without succumbing to its lures, and this is a style of living attractive only to a select few. But few city folk appreciate just how much these people have done to protect them from the savage creatures roaming the remote parts of the world. Trolls, ogres, giants and much, much worse - without strong protection, human civilization wouldn't have lasted for long. The followers of Bucatar are this protection, and they stand at the very edge between civilization and the wild. They have done their part to make sure that this edge has mostly been expanding outwards in the last few centuries, and they are always ready to move on to new challenges. As of late, quite a few have turned their attention to the other planets newly explored and settled by a few humans, for a more hostile environment - and a greater challenge - is hard to imagine.
The rivalry between the priests of Bucatar and the druids is legendary, and has often escalated into all-out war and mutual atrocities. But the cult of Bucatar has the whole of civilization at its back - and so far, this has been more than enough.


Dahla
Lesser God
  The Caregiver, The Provider, Our Lady of Mercy
Symbol: An open palm, spread downwards
Alignment: NG
Portfolio: Altruism, Favors, Random Acts of Kindness
Domains: Good, Healing, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Unarmed

There have been many self-proclaimed benefactors throughout history - people who have given large gifts to other people in need. However, often their motivation was not genuine altruism, but merely to hear others praise their generosity, or worse, keep those they "helped" in a debt, if not of money, then one of favors owed.
This is not as it should be, as the priests of Dahla says. People should do good deeds not because they expect anything in return, but because it is the right thing to do. And the followers of Dahla try to live by this by helping others in need without taking credit for it personally. Often, the one being aided doesn't even know who has helped him. Usually, he will get a message that he is being helped "in Dahla's name", with the implication that once he has gotten out of his current predicament and able to help others, he should do so in the same manner - also in Dahla's name, so that the original deed can spread around the world. It has also become standard practice to list anonymous donations to a charitable cause as "in Dahla's name" when a list of donors is compiled.
Priests of Dahla often lead a double life - they have a "day job" in which they earn money, but when they work as priests (like when they give to the needy), they wear concealing robes with veils in front of their face. These robes have the same designs for all priests of Dahla so that it is hard to identify the particular person between the cloth. Often some minor illusions are added to conceal the voice and stature of the priest. When a particular priest is "exposed" - i.e., his identity becomes widely known in any given locale - he will often move away to another place where no one knows of him. Thus, most people try not too hard to find out just who hides behind the veils, and various superstitions have sprung up detailing the bad luck that is sure to haunt someone who will take a peek behind the veils.


Gebral
Greater God
  The World Architect, The First Scientist, Idiot God of Progress
Symbol: Three cogwheels
Portfolio: Invention, Machines, Progress
Domains: Chaos, Knowledge, Law
Favored Weapon: Hammer

  Gebral represents the spirit of these modern times like few other deities. He is the embodyment of progress in all its form. In his positive aspects, this means using logic and innovation to make the world a better place for everyone. In his negative aspects, this means tearing down old structures that have proven their worth over many years with new ones of dubious utility - novelty for novelty's sake.
His worshipers include architects and city planners, engineers, and many gnomes. His followers often rise to prominence in the city councils - whenever the rulers of a city announce plans to raze entire neighborhoods and replace them with something grander (a frequent occurence), it is a safe bet that a follower of Gebral is involved somewhere in the planning process.


Hatramo
Greater God
  The Survivor, The Deliverer from Pain, Last Hope of the Hopeless
Symbol: A pillar of stones
Portfolio: Passing through tribulations, Survival
Domains: Luck, Protection, Travel
Favored Weapon: Unarmed

  There are those who claim to make their own luck. That their own skills and plans will give them whatever it is they desire. But other people, possibly the majority, believe that no matter how competent you are and how good your plans might be, blind chance can lay you low and destroy everything you hold dear. And every time these people come into a situation when their plans and wits are at an end and they realize that their fate is up to chance, they pray to Hatramo for deliverance.
  Said to be the older brother of Jorunnos, Hatramo's faith is an odd one. No grand temples are build in his name, for his priests travel from place to place, going wherever they are needed or whereever the winds of fate may carry them.. These priests do believe in preparing themselves for any situation they might encounter, but they realize that this is never going to be enough, and they do not have any long-term plans of their own, instead trusting in Hatramo to guide their path.
  Hatramo's name is on the breath of soldiers on the battlefield just before combat starts, on adventurers facing impossible odds in desolate catacombs, on peasants struggling to make it through yet another winter, and on the urban poor every morning as they try to get enough food or money to make it through yet another day. As a result, the faith might not be politically powerful, but few dare deny it its dues. Its most common rite is the creation of stone pillars - along many roads, people have erected crude pillars made out of small stones, and those who have reason to be grateful to Hatromo, or those seeking his favor, will not pass one of these pillars without adding one stone to it, thus gradually increasing its size. It is said that those who deliberately or accidentally knock it over will suffer bad luck in the same amount as the good luck those who added stones to it have recieved - thus balancing the cosmic scales of good and bad luck.


Jorunnos
Greater God
  The Seeker, The Quester, Lord of New Beginnings
Symbol: A cup shooting rays of light out of the top.
Portfolio: Questing
Domains: Knowledge, Luck, Travel
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

  It is said that Jorunnos was once a mortal scholar. He wanted to learn everything there is to know, but was frustrated by the limitations of the libraries he frequented. Then he learned of an ancient artifact, a magical cup that would grant the person who drinks from it any wish. Jorunnos diligently followed any lead to this cup, searched in every library, fought vicious monsters who got in his way, and in short had incredible adventures until he finally found the object of his desire. He filled it with water, drank from it, wished for all the knowledge in the world to be his - and ascended to god hood.
  The followers of Jorunnos are all united in that they wish to achieve something. Whether becoming the ruler of a city, finding and winning one's True Love, or destroying one's greatest enemy, they all believe that if their will is strong enough and Jorunnos is willing to come to their aid, they will realize their goals. Other people often describe them as "obsessed", but the Jorunnites reply that these people just don't have the necessary determination to make anything out of their lives.
  A common quest among them is the search for Jorunnos' Cup. Almost all fail to find it, and many of those who set out to find it don't come back, but their tales provide plenty of material for the songs of bards.


Kortus
Greater God
  Lord of Grain, Lord of Bounty, the Reaper
Symbol: A scythe crossed with grain stalks
Portfolio: Agriculture, farmers, food, the cycle of
  nature, death
Domains: Death, Earth, Plant
Favored Weapon: Scythe

  Kortus is the deity of agriculture and all plants that human hands cause to grow. He is not a god of nature as a whole - the kind of well ordered and large-scale agriculture practiced by most cities doesn't mix well with the wilderness that most people associate with "nature". As a result, few druids worship Kortus.
  However, the cycle of nature as represented by seeding the plants, watching them grow, and bringing in the harvest is a recurrent theme in his faith, and the links to the human life cycle is emphasized. Death, as represented by the harvest, is something inevitable, and should not be fought when the time comes.
  A deity of agriculture might seem an odd candidate for the status of a Greater Deity. Yet millions of people pray to him to deliver them food. While the slum dwellers of the cities are divorced from the tilling of the fields, they know that the difference between a bumper crop and crop failure can mean the difference between life and death to him.
  In rural areas, his clerics tend to be the foremost experts on agriculture, and it is them who traditionally bless the fields with their magic to ensure a bountiful harvest. In urban areas, they operate soup kitchens that make sure that even the poorest people have something to eat.
  Wandering clerics of Kortus usually fight bandits, monsters, and other beings who disturb the farms and the transport of grains to their intended targets. Others specialize in hunting undead, who are abominations in the eye of Kortus. All clerics of Kortus, regardless of alignment, turn undead.


Mara
Lesser God
  The Dream-Giver, She Who Is Bliss, Our Lady of Dreams
Symbol: A surreal landscape wrapped inside a sphere
Portfolio: Dreams, Drugs, Sleep
Domains: Chaos, Knowledge, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Scimitar

  Mara holds sway over both the dreams and nightmares that all humans have to face every time they go to sleep. Many people plagued by nightmares or insomnia direct prayers to her in the hopes of peaceful, untroubled sleep. Many of her most ardent followers, including much of her clergy, use a variety of drugs to reach a state of dreaming even in the Waking World. As a result, her faith does not have much in the way of an organisation, and even less political influence.
  The plane she calls her own is home to a large number of ever-shifting dreamscapes. Her followers claim (though there is no way to prove it) that all dreams of thinking beings take place there. Mara allows free access to all beings to her home, but does nothing to protect them from the dangers of the dreamscapes.


Norol
Lesser God
  Lord of the Vine, Lord of the Wild, He Who Comes In Music
Symbol: Pan Flutes
Alignment: CN
Portfolio: Ecstasy, Music, Passion, Wine
Domains: Air, Chaos, Strength
Favored Weapon: Spear

  As bards throughout the ages have known, music has power. It can inspire courage, bring the deepest despair, and inflame passions that the listeners never thought they had in them. And the deity that is Norol lurks within all those emotions. Not all bards revere Norol, but all respect his power.
  But Norol is not only the lord of unbridled music, but of all passions unrestrained. He is called the Lord of the Wild not because of any great affinity of nature (though his worshippers do tend to gather in remote places where they can hold their baccanalian revels without disturbance), but because "wildness" is his very nature. There is no restraining his emotions, whatever the outcome of his actions. It is said that he sometimes takes the form of a large satyr and participates in the revels of his worshippers who have particularly pleased him.
  Alas, life in modern cities is rarely conductive to a life of inhibited passions, and those priests of Norol who have to live there have learned to be calm and cautious for much of the time. But from time to time, usually at least once a month but more often if possible, they must engage in some activity where they can let their passions flow over. Whether it is playing a music instrument for hours at an end, going on a drinking binge, holding an orgy in a brothel or similar activity is more or less irrelevant to Norol - all that matters is that the passions are strong and unrestrained.
  Some priests have greater trouble adapting to this kind of dual lifestyle, and begin to develop split personalities of sorts. In the more harmless cases, some personality trait might change under certain circumstances - for example, a normally shy and reclusive person might become confident, boistrous, and even lecherous when wearing a special costume. In the more extreme cases, one personality is completely unaware of the other, and there have been cases of apparently harmless, upstanding citizens becoming avengers of the poor at nights when the moon is full - or the most sadistic serial killers imaginable.


Nyros
Lesser God
  Lord of Disease, Culler of the Herd, He Who Elevates The Deserving
Symbol: A towering golden man standing on top of a heap of small, dark humanoids lying on top of each other
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Disease, Jealousy, Feelings of Superiority
Domains: Death, Evil, Luck
Favored Weapon: Whip

  Nyros represents an interesting case study in the evolution of the portfolio of a deity. In the early years of the Atalan Empire, the cult of Nyros was mostly focused on plagues and the undead, and its members were busy spreading disease and unliving monstrosities to all lands they could reach.
  But over time, the priests of Nyros became more discriminating in whom they infected - many priests made it known that they were willing to see important civic figures to come to a very gruesome end as long as the right price was paid. While this practice didn't make them any more popular with the population at large, it did win them converts with the rich, powerful, and depraved, which was an apt description of much of the Atalan nobility in the Empire's final days - in fact, more than one Emperor died from an "incurable disease", and the cult might be at least partially responsible for the final disintegration of the Empire.
  As the centuries went by, the cult became firmly established among those who saw themselves as being denied "their rightful place in society" - at the top, naturally - or those who were already at the top, and saw their place threatened by outsiders. Racists, supremacists, or just people who will use any method, no matter how foul, have come to worship Nyros. Many pogroms throughout the ages have, if not been started, then at least been egged on by his priests. That the various culists often would see each other as "inferior" once they became aware of each other doesn't seem to stop the cult - there is no central church hierarchy, and each cell operates on its own, with its own ideas on whom they consider superior and inferior. The cult is illegal in many places, but its priests are notorious for their luck in evading detection.


Ouneiros
Lesser God
  The Lawgiver, The Just Lord, Ruler of All He Surveys
Symbol: A hammer
Alignment: LN
Portfolio: Law, Rulership, Stasis, the city of Ouneirotur
Domains: Law, Protection, Strength
Favored Weapon: Warhammer

  Ouneiros claims the city of Ouneirotur as his domain, and has ruled it personally for many millennia. He promises his worshipers peace, stability, and enough to eat if they bow to his will, and so far, he has delivered. Worship of other deities, on the other hand, is punishable by death, and anyone who isn't content with his lot in life can expect brutal punishment if he tries to do something about it. Those who remained faithful and obedient to Ouneiros during their lives will join him in his palace, a massive ziggurat at the center of the city, where they will presumably serve him for all eternity.
  His priests mostly serve as administrators who keep his domain running. A select few, however, are sent into the outside world, where they pursue various missions (usually, but not always revolving around the gathering of information) that can last for years or decades. When they return to Ouneirotur, they have to undergo lengthy purification ceremonies for several months before they are allowed back into the city proper - this is supposed to clean them of any outside influences they might bring with them.


Palias
Lesser God
The Sunracer, The Eternal Nomad, He Who Soars
Symbol: A pegasus with wings of flame
Alignment: N
Portfolio: Nomads, flight, wanderers
Domains: Air, Sun, Travel
Favored Weapon: Spear

Many creatures travel large distances over the course of their lives. From tiny birds who fly across the whole world during the changing of the seasons to vast herds of animals following the changing growths of the plants they feed upon. The same is true of people - from lone individuals to vast tribes on the search for a new place to live in, humans have also sought out the vistas of different lands. And among those who have been struck by Wanderlust, many count themselves as followers of Palias, a deity who constantly moves not because he is searching for a grand goal near the end of his travels, but because he simply does not know how to stand still.
In older times, his worship was most common among nomadic tribes of all kinds (and indeed, the nomads remaining in the world today still pay him respect). But in modern times, his cult has shifted to include explorers, gypsies travelling between towns and regions, and even migrant wanderers and bums who stow away on trains to travel between the cities to see the world. He also has a small but devoted following among people capable of magical flight, who often soar among the clouds whenever they get the opportunity.


Sarush
Greater God
  Lord of Snakes, Master of Secrets, Keeper of Hidden Knowledge
Symbol: A snake head
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Deception, psionics, secrets, surathi
Domains: Knowledge, Magic, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Dagger

  Sarush is the snake god of all things hidden. He promises his followers secrets that will make them powerful - if they are willing to pay the price. It is said that he created the surathi to be his loyal servants, who are to infiltrate other societies until the entire world falls to him - but members of most thinking races can be found among his worshipers.
  Sarush was once a mortal, a rare human with psychic talent. He pursued the archetype of the Serpent, and ascended to god hood when he perfected it and defeated the Guardian of the Threshold.
  His worshipers are mostly preoccupied with ferreting out secrets - of ancient wisdom, magic, or other people - and using them to their best advantage. His priests often are the most often sought after information brokers in the cities, although few of them reveal that they are clerics of Sarush - after all, revealing anything without a price is not in Sarush's nature. Many also participate in the surathi cults that prosper in the bowels of the cities and keep their existence hidden as long as possible.


Shaprat
Unknown
  The Last City, the End of All Things, the Lost
Symbol: varies
Alignment: NE (?)
Portfolio: Unknown, possibly including entropy
Domains: Destruction, Evil, Travel, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Net

  Little is known about this strange entity. It lives on the demiplane of the same name, a realm full of slowly decaying buildings and mostly devoid of people. Or possibly it is the demiplane as a whole. What is known is that Shaprat seems to feed on cities existing in the real world. Its worshipers hold strange rituals and ceremonies in various locales of a city, and their purpose seems to be to allow Shaprat access to this world. It then draws material - people, buildings, entire city blocks - into itself, making the demiplane of Shaprat ever larger. Few people who visit Shaprat ever return, and the adults simply seem to vanish into its urban wastes after a time. Those who don't vanish invariably become insane and begin to utter strange words with a prophetic quality to them. Children seem to be able to resist this, and even survive for many years there, but once they are turning into adults, they too seem to slowly fade away...
  So far, all the recorded appearances of Shaprat on the Material Plane have been in cities with nexus towers, leading some to speculate that the rituals of its worshipers are designed to draw power from them (the really paranoid wonder just where the Atalan mages got the idea for the nexus towers from...). Yet some of those who have visited Shaprat and come back report buildings built in styles that predate the Atalan Empire...
  Its cults scuttle in the corners of the city. Few of Shaprat's clerics seem to be fully aware of they are doing - there are even good-aligned clerics of Shaprat who believe that the rituals are some kind of blessing. Many clerics are completely insane, and delight in sowing chaos and confusion.


Tekel
Greater God
  The Hidden Terror, Most Feared One, He Who Stalks The Night
Symbol: Two red eyes above a fanged mouth
Portfolio: Fear, terror
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Trickery
Favored Weapon: Sickle

  Some scholars have noted that fear is one of the oldest and most primal emotions of humans. Given this, it is not surprising that the god of fear is one of the oldest and most powerful of deities.
  The faith of Tekel is not organized - most clerics are lone individuals who suffered from great fears and axieties, and pray to Tekel for release. By inflicting greater terror on other people they are, in turn, relieved of their suffering by their patron. Most are more than a little insane, and many are almost completely unable to function in normal society. But some of the greatest and most dangerous priests of Tekel can keep their covers intact for many years.
  There are almost as many ways of inflicting terror as there are clerics of Tekel. Some stalk their victims one at a time, while others create large organisations whose members terrorize outsiders - and each other. But usually, clerics of Tekel will stop just short of killing their victims - the dead have nothing left to fear, while a insane person who has to be confined to prevent him from clawing his eyes out will please Tekel for many years.


Thenos
Greater God
  Creator of the World, Lord of All, The Light that Guides
Symbol: A lit lantern
Portfolio: Fear, terror
Domains: Healing, Law, Stength, Sun, War
Favored Weapon: Longsword

  The faith of Thenos is unusual in that it is a monotheistic one - the Church of Thenos holds that Thenos is the only true deity, and that the other beings worshiped by humans are powerful spirits at best, or deceitful demons at worst. The faith has a lot of strictures that its followers are supposed to follow, which generally revolve around living a life free of deceit, following the orders and dictates of one's religious superiors, helping other members of the faith, and spreading the word of Thenos until every thinking being can be counted among his followers.
  The faith originated as a minor underground sect in the Eastern Atalan Empire, but it only came into its own as the church became organized and unified the region now known as Thenares. There are several recorded instances of divine interventions by Thenos during the unification campaign, but these ended shortly after the campaign ended (some scholars claim that this marks the progression of Thenos from "Lesser God" to "Greater God"), leaving the church hierarchy to rule over the newly established theocracy.
  While the armies of Thenares are still strong, they are for now kept inside the borders. This doesn't mean that the faith has ceased expanding, however - instead, the country has financed aggressive missionary activities in other regions. Where they manage to stay on friendly terms with the local authorities, they tend to build large cathedrals and admonish the flock to support their rulers as the temporal authority. Where they are persecuted, they stay underground and encourage rebellions against the current power structure. In either case, they frequently support soup kitchens and run hospices for those too poor to afford professional medical care, which tends to make them popular with the urban poor.


Ungol
Greater God
  Keeper of Secrets, Guardian of the Black Ocean, Lord of the Wave
Symbol: A black wave
Portfolio: Oceans, space, the Unknown
Domains: Protection, Travel, Water
Favored Weapon: Net

  Live is a journey into the Unknown. Except for those who stay in the village they were born in in their whole life - and in these times of social upwheal, this is increasingly rare - most people will have to venture to new and (to them) unknown places, deal with unknown people, social customs, and possibly hostile surroundings. In these situations, many people pray to Ungol for succor and protection, for it is said that he will protect those in the grasp of the Unkown until they have reached a safe place, or until they have made their new surroundings safe and known.
  Sailors have always understood this, as their long journeys often bring them to new and strange places where they have no one to rely on other than themselves and their prayers, and as a result there are large temples to Ungol in most port cities, and it is customary for them to make a donation before they embark on a new journey. But in these times where large numbers of people move to the cities in search of economic success, the Unknown can lurk everywhere - thanks to the increased alienation of the city dwellers from each other, the Unknown might begin only a few city blocks away - or even on a different floor of the same apartment building! To help themselves with their feelings of estrangement from their fellow humans, the urban masses turn to Ungol in ever greater numbers, and the faith grows.
  The faith has also a growing number of adherents among the Astromantic Society and other explorers of the reaches of space - which they often call the "Black Ocean". While the younger explorers are often enthusiastic about visiting new and strange places, more experienced ones know of the dangers that lurk on and between distant worlds, and often find themselves praying to Ungol for deliverance.


Ygreb
Greater God
  Lord of Divinations, Whisperer of Truths
Symbol: Ten floating eyeballs
Alignment: N
Portfolio: Divinations, "terrible" truths
Domains: Knowledge, Luck, Magic, Travel
Favored Weapon: Club

  Seers, prophets, visionaries - all of these can be counted among the followers of Ygreb. His greatest clerics are said to have accurate glimpses into the far future (Durgoth of Byblos was said to be one of them), but they frequently have problems communicating their revelations with others. Many cloak their knowledge in cryptic verses, while others tell of the future in wild ramblings that can hardly be distinguished from those of a madman. It seems to be true that most of those who become too close to Ygreb tend to become utterly mad, though their frequent consumption of drugs in pursuit of visions might be at least partially to blame for this. Even those who remain somewhat coherent usually speak only to warn of disaster, which is why clerics of Ygreb tend to be unpopular in most places.

[Jürgen Hubert]

As others have already mentioned, there's still an imbalance between the number of Greater and Lesser Gods - I'm trying to come up with more of the latter. I'm currently reading through the Deities section of the Malleus Monstrorum  (the German version of the Call of Cthulhu Creature Companion) for inspiration, but if anyone here can come up with some good deity concepts as well, I'd like to hear them.

One thing I want to maintain for the deities is that they should all be somewhat ambiguous - even if a deity is downright evil (such as Nyros), there should be more than one way of looking at the deitiy. I firmly hold that once you can nail down the parameters of existence of a god, it will seem less, well, divine to the players.

And apart from that issue, what do you think of this section?

[Lmns Crn]

I've nothing new to say on this section, but I did comment heavily on it last week, and consider it one of the strongest pantheons I've seen. I did list a few sample deities in that last post that may serve you well as inspiration; were you successful in tracking any of them down?

[Jürgen Hubert]

Unfortunately, it can be a bit hard to track down English-language fantasy books such as the ones you suggested in the local book stores, and truth to be told, I have neither the money nor the time to justify buying new fantasy novels (certainly not when my "to read" pile of books is close to reaching critical mass and forming an event horizon...). But maybe I'll find some good online descriptions somewhere - I'll look into it.

[Numinous]

Finally, someone with Gods!  I think your use of various theories about divinity without actually confirming anything is genius, and the constant use f ambiguity really adds to the setting.

I must say, you do have quite a few gods there, and it'll take me a while to read them, but your ideas behind them seem solid.  Good Job!

[Túrin]

I like the idea(s) behind your pantheon. Ambiguity serves a topic such as this very well. In keeping with the vague nature of especially the greater gods, shouldn't they grant all domains, depending on the commandments held dear by the individual cleric?
;) Túrin

[Ishmayl-Retired]

I think your deities are very well done; they all seem to make sense in context with one another.

[Jürgen Hubert]

I like the idea(s) behind your pantheon. Ambiguity serves a topic such as this very well. In keeping with the vague nature of especially the greater gods, shouldn't they grant all domains, depending on the commandments held dear by the individual cleric?
;) Túrin

No, I think that would go too far. I want people in the setting to believe that there are distinct Greater Gods, and that there is some way of telling them apart - if by the domains they grant, if nothing else. And the idea that "whatever you believe in is true and capable of giving you power" would be a bit too Mage the Ascension-ish for my tastes...   ;)

[Jürgen Hubert]

Finally, someone with Gods!

Well, a pantheon with multiple deities is one of those clichés of D&D settings, so naturally I had to include it in Urbis...   ;)

I think your use of various theories about divinity without actually confirming anything is genius, and the constant use f ambiguity really adds to the setting.

I think that having some big mysteries in the setting are useful for the DM when creating his adventures and campaigns - especially since the true answers to them don't have much of an impact on day-to-day life in the world. The people of Urbis should wonder about these things, but as of yet, the definite truth eludes them, no matter how much philosophers and theologists might argue about these things...

[Tybalt]

This is quite well done, and very intersting. Usually when I read a campaign book I kind of roll my eyes at the deities section, and that might be why that is a weak area in my campaign. However you've done a good job of creating a unique and intriguing pantheon, with internal conflicts that are beyond the 'good vs. evil' and actually about differeing views on how the world should be. I like in particular that you have a god aiming at monotheism and a goddess of sleep and dreams.

[Jürgen Hubert]

For Urbis, I see deities not as all-powerful entities that created the universe out of raw chaos, but spiritual entities that growed and evolved over time. Sure, they are still extremely powerful entities (if they indeed exist - as it is a matter of debate concerning the Greater Gods), but they are as mutable as what their followers believe over them.

In part, this was done to reflect the evolution of real-world religions over time - to do this, I couln't have all-knowing entities constantly looking over the shoulders of their worshippers and telling them the instant they did something Wrong. Besides, it's more fun for the players, too - I think it's more interesting if clerics (and other PCs, for that matter) try to figure out for themselves what exactly constitutes "Right" and "Wrong" instead of having it forced down their throats by dogma handed down by the very gods themselves.

Thus, among the followers of the Greater Gods (and quite a few of the Lesser Gods as well), you will always be able to find religious doctrines that flat-out contradict each other. And solving these conflicts is not done by the deities, but by people.

People like the PCs. And thus, they are a ready-made source of adventures.

[Jürgen Hubert]

I've added another deity - Dahla.

Since I wanted to include all domains from the SRD, I also needed to come up with a deity that could truly represent the "Good" domain. But too often, such deities are either near-total pacifists (boring for adventuring PCs) or tend to have a clergy with tendencies towards being authoritan jerks (which I wanted to avoid, since then their "goodness" could be doubted). Thus, I came up with Dahla, a deity whose followers can be clearly seen as good (for few people who aren't good would be interested in following her in the first place), and which (hopefully) is still interesting to play a follower of.

Your thoughts?

[Jürgen Hubert]

Oh, and I still haven't covered the "Animal" and "Fire" domains. Any good ideas for those? (Hint: A "God of Animals" and "A God of Fire" are not sufficient...)

[Túrin]

Perhaps you could combine them? Fire and animals aren't usually best friends so if you could try to create a deity for both that might be interesting.

An interesting take on a god of animals might be one that looks at animals from the perspective of humans. Deities of animals are often either tree-hugging types or themselves half-animal. Yours might be more like "look people, we have a world with animals, thus...".

Combining the above, a god of animals and fire that looks at things from the human perspective might be a god of fear. Fear from nature, more precisely: animals and fire are two fine examples of the dreadful and deadly things one can find in nature.

Just brainstorming here. Let me know if you think I hit on something interesting.

Cheers!
Túrin

[CYMRO]

Oh, and I still haven't covered the "Animal" and "Fire" domains. Any good ideas for those? (Hint: A "God of Animals" and "A God of Fire" are not sufficient...)

On the fly:

Bucatar
Lesser God
Lord of the Hearth and the Hunt, God of Husbandry
Symbol: A black cauldron surmounted by a silver huntsman's knife
Alignment: N
Portfolio: The Hunt, farms, fire, the home
Domains: Animals, Fire
Favored Weapon: Dagger/hunting knife


Bucatar the Butcher is an oft overlooked deity in the great cities, save in the marketplace.  But in the countryside and the cots, he is central to every man's life.  He guides the arrow of the hungry hunter, he fills the pot of the worried housewife.  With his blessing, the meat is always unspoilt and feeds everyone's needs.  Neglect him, and his careless nature can engulf a home in flames, or spoil the kill.