Torm, the True

character portrait by giby joseph, header by michael c. hayes

Torm is the Faerûnian patron deity of paladins and the god of duty, loyalty, righteousness, obedience and, after the Spellplague, law. By the late 15th century DR, Torm became  the war god of courage and self-sacrifice.

“Men call me Torm the True because I value loyalty above all else. They call me Torm the Brave because I will face any danger to prove my respect of duty. Any who would call himself my follower must do the same.” — Torm

Description 

Torm could appear as a 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall man in ancient, helmless plate mail stained dusky purple. Sometimes his form is that of a blond, handsome young man, while at others he becomes an aging warrior with grey-white hair, though he often shapeshifted into a lion-headed man when entering combat. No matter his form, he seems stern in voice and manner, with dauntless courage set in his square jaw and righteous light flashing from his striking, deep blue eyes. 

Perceived Personality 

Torm's apparent demeanor seems slightly different based on his current persona. In his younger form he has incredible charisma and self-confidence combined with quiet enthusiasm, while his older one seems to have endured uncountable evils without being broken. In any case he is possessed of an eternal calm, and all his avatars were completely fearless.

Symbols

The symbol of the Loyal Fury, a right-hand gauntlet held upright with palm forward, is known as the Hand Resolute among his followers. It symbolizes not only that Torm is the good right hand of Tyr, representing the God of Justice's missing sword hand, but also the principle of forebearance, that the true and just have to pause and consider their actions first so as to ensure their intent would uphold the chivalric ideals Torm exemplifies. Another symbol of the Loyal Fury is a silver or gray metal shield bearing the Hand Resolute with three black arrows embedded in the shield. By 1489 DR, the symbol became a white right gauntlet.  
Wandering groups of Torm's Faithful often take personal symbols that most often contain the Hand Resolute holding an object that symbolises the group itself. 

The Triad 

Torm is one of the three deities of similar interests known as the Triad, along with Ilmater and Tyr. It is often said by common folk that Torm is the weakest of the three in his subservient role, but the role he plays is of true importance: he acts as the nexus that holds the three together. Torm tempers Tyr's zeal for justice with his gifts of mercy and humility. After the death of Tyr, Torm became the new leader of the Triad when he took the seat of the master of Celestia. In this "new" Triad, Bahamut took the role of the god of justice in place of Tyr, while Ilmater became the god of mercy, and Torm the god of law, acting as a point of balance between the other two gods. 

Worship 

Known as the Tormtari, Torm's worshipers consist mainly of humans who favour the causes of both good and law. Righteousness, honesty, loyalty and truth are their primary pursuits. After the Time of Troubles, the number of dwarven and elvish members has been increasing, as well as half-orcish followers. In the post-Spellplague world, which was more dangerous and darker than ever, Torm's followers shone as beacons of hope and courage. To atone for their failings and sins during the Time of Troubles, the Tormtari had to undertake various obligations and responsibilities called the Penance of Duty. To fulfill the Debt of Persecution, they have to aid the faithful of good gods whom they'd persecuted, such as by guarding their temples or helping them become re-established. In addition, they had to fulfill the Debt of Dereliction by expending every resource possible to eliminate cults of Cyric and Bane, and the Debt of Destruction, by locating and recording areas of dead and wild magic and repairing the Weave

Torm requires the following:

Respect and enforce the law, and honor your traditions.

Demonstrate truthfulness, loyalty, and steadfast devotion to a rightful cause.

Do not flinch in the execution of your duty, no matter what the consequence.

History 

The origins of Torm are a mystery, although it was known he was once a mortal hero during the time of the fall of Netheril, who eventually became a demigod. Many scholars believe that the mortal Torm lived in a nation on the Border Kingdoms known as Chalsembyr. In life, Torm was the most faithful of warriors and obeyed all the commands of his king regardless of personal danger. At some point before the Year of Fortunes Fair, −238 DR, Torm joined the forces of the god Tyr, who at the time was carrying over his Procession of Justice, as his war leader. Eventually, the alliance of Torm, Tyr, and Ilmater, another ally of Tyr, became known as the Triad. Torm gained considerable attention and praise during the Time of Troubles, when his faithful helped keep one of the missing Tablets of Fate safe, and his own avatar battled and completely destroyed the avatar of Bane outside Tantras on Eleasis 13 in the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, seemingly killing the god who had already been weakened by Mystra and her servant Elminster. Torm knew he did not have enough power to defeat Bane, so he chose to absorb the souls of his worshipers in Tantras knowing that they would be instantly killed. The transferring of souls was done voluntarily and took thousands of lives, but Torm chose to spare children aged 14 and below. These individuals became known as the Martyr's Progeny.
Torm died in that battle, but because of his loyalty to his portfolio, Lord Ao resurrected Torm shortly after the end of the Time of Troubles and Tyr raised him to the status of lesser deity. In response to his misguided followers' failing, Torm dictated their "debts" of Persecution, Dereliction and Destruction. These "debts" are known as the Penance of Duty.
In the Year of Three Streams Blooded, 1384 DR, the dark god Cyric manipulated Tyr to battle Helm, god of guardians, over a misunderstanding. Tyr won, and Helm died. This divided the Triad, as Ilmater chose to leave their shared plane, the House of the Triad, to live with the goddess Sune in Brightwater. Crushed by grief and shame, Tyr abdicated his godhood and granted Torm all his divine power. Tyr counseled all of his followers to offer their allegiance to Torm.
In the Year of Blue Fire, 1385 DR, after the Spellplague had wreaked havoc in the planes, a group of demons led by the balor lord Axithar invaded the House of the Triad, and when Tyr and Torm sent calls for help, the dragon god Bahamut answered by sending his legions to aid in destroying the demons. However, Tyr died while defending the celestial planes during the ensuing battle.
Afterwards, Torm became the chief deity of the Triad and promoted Bahamut to the same position he once occupied while serving Tyr, and Ilmater joined his fellow god once again. The three gods moved to the plane of Celestia and re-purposed the role of the Triad in the Realms.
Tyr managed to return to life during the event known as the Second Sundering, in the 1480s DR. With his revival, Torm seemingly returned to his position as Tyr's right hand. 

Holy days and rituals: 

Torm's followers offer a specific litany of prayers to their god at dawn, noon, dusk, and finally at midnight. They would make additional prayers as warranted, such as in the case of great personal need or crisis. Clerics specifically pray for their spells at dawn. Clergy members carry out several different rituals, one on a recurring basis, and the others on special occasions. Three special rituals are the minimal requirements for the priesthood. The ritual of Torm's Table involves offering a bountiful meal to someone in need once every two months, to be enjoyed while the offering priest fast. Whenever a layperson becomes a full-fledged priest they complete the ritual of Investiture, and then fulfill the Holy Vigil whenever they ascend in rank within the church's hierarchy.  
The church of Torm celebrates a few different holidays that are marked on the Calendar of Harptos.

• Eleasis 13 marks the Divine Death, honoring Torm's epic and ultimately fatal battle between Bane during the Avatar Crisis.
• Marpenoth 15 is gleefully celebrated as the True Resurrection, when Torm is restored to the Faerûnian pantheon following the death of his avatar.
• Tormish followers celebrate Shieldmeet every four years by reaffirming their oaths of service and solidifying other commitments for others.

The symbol of the Order of the Gauntlet

”As a sword has two edges, so does the law have two sides -see, understand, and judge fairly.”

— Kel Moorwalker, Lord of Everlund, Paladin of Torm
“On Law and Justice,” published 1476 DR

Known Tormtari 

Hulda Sternstuff

Order of the Gauntlet, Knights of Polaris

ser Mizar Elyan 
ser Alcor Sedgewinter 
ser Alioth Tristan 
ser Megrez Maleagant 
ser Phecda Cynur 
ser Merak Dinádan 
ser Dubhe Gawain
ser Alkaïd Malory

Religions

• Order of the Gauntlet