Obad-Hai
Obad-Hai is an ancient nature deity, whose worship had spread throughout many of the wilder places. He is a lover of wilderness and nature, a patron of druids, and a friend to those who live in harmony with their natural surroundings. Because of his neutrality, there is friction between him and several of the gods which champ[ion civilisation and crafting. He is most revered by druids who live in very wild places: those of the barbarians and other underpopulated lands. He is also said to be the father of the treants. Obad-Hai is represented as a lean, weathered man of considerable age, as if a hermit, pilgrim, or simple rustic. He can also appear as a gnome, dwarf, or halfling, and has his worshipers among those folk as well as the elven and fey races; he is also represented in the form of woodland animals of diverse kind. Shrines of Obad-Hai are usually wooden structures found in rustic settings. Services to him involve the consecration of living flowers, earth, water, and fire. Obad-Hai carries a hornwood staff called the Shalmstaff, which allows the bearer swift and easy passage through floral and faunal hazards, and the woodwind instrument from which he takes his title. He shown as a lean and weathered man of indeterminately old age, dressed in brown or russet and looking like a hermit, although nonhuman communities show him as one of their own race. His symbol is an oak leaf and acorn. Obad-hai is sometimes depicted as the husband of Chauntea, or her son. Either or none could be true. He represents the masculine side of nature, living in balance with all life, As Chauntea, Obad-hai advocates hunting for need, but not for sport. For him and his followers, the living live life then dies, returning to the Great Cycle at the end of their journey.
Divine Domains
Nature
Tenets of Faith
According to the ancient traditions of the Old Faith, Obad-Hai is reborn every spring, hatching in the form of a young boy from the fruit of a sapling that grows from his own grave. By summer Obad-Hai takes the form of a strong young man, the Stag King, leading the Wild Hunt against those who would defile Nature. By autumn he has grown into the weathered old man of his standard depictions. When winter begins he is slain by Nerull, who hangs his corpse on the Summer Tree. After seven days, Pelor cuts him down and buries him in the earth, where Chauntea's tears cause a new sapling to grow, which drops the fruit that hatches into the young Obad-Hai once again in the spring.
One should live in harmony with nature in all of its variety. Those who destroy or otherwise harm nature deserve swift vengeance in an appropriate manner. Those who are one with nature have little to fear, although the well-meaning but foolish are sometimes brought down by a danger they could not avoid or divert. The wilds can be ugly, dangerous, or terrible, but these things are a part of nature and should be respected as much as those that are beautiful, harmless, or wonderful.
Divine Classification
God
Religions
Realm
Church/Cult
Siblings
Children
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