Helm

Overview

The god of vigilance and protection, Helm is seen as the epitome of the guardian, the watcher, and the guard. He is venerated by those who need to remain watchful for enemies or danger. Helm is a favorite deity of people who make a living by protecting someone or something, such as bodyguards, members of the city watch, and the guards of a treasury vault. Helm embodies the spirit of watchfulness without regard to good or evil. In legends, he is honorable and keeps his word to a fault, such as when he guarded the celestial stairways during the Time of Troubles, preventing the gods from ascending them and continuing the chaos of that period, until the Tablets of Fate were found.
Although his faith has known dark days, worship of Helm never truly faded away. Most of his followers believe that the Watcher can never be vanquished utterly, and recent events have borne out that assertion. Helm’s priests teach that one must be ever vigilant, ever aware, ever prepared for one’s enemies. Patience, clear thought, and careful planning will always defeat rushed actions in the end. Those who favor Helm strive to be alert, clear-headed, and true to their word. These traits don’t necessarily make them nice people, however, and as such many consider the faithful of Helm to be inflexible and merciless.

(Knights and Paladins of Helm are heavily armored warriors dedicated to the protection)

Ethos & Dogma

Prior to the Time of Troubles, Helmites were long respected and revered for their dedication and purpose, especially in the frontiers of the North. Throughout the divine crisis, and beyond, they unfailingly pledged to come to the defense of those who called for it. They wore polished full suits of armor, often enchanted as everbright, and typically wore plumed helmets. Their hierarchy was strict and militaristic, with specific groups such as the order of paladins called the Vigilant Eyes of the God, and originally also a single pontiff as head of the church—the Supreme Watcher. However, there had not been someone in that post since 992 DR.
"He also serves who stands and waits and watches carefully" and "Careful planning always defeats rushed actions in the end" are popular sayings of Helm's faithful. Novices of Helm are charged to be vigilant and to be fair and diligent in the conduct of their orders. They must protect the weak, the unpopular, the injured, and the young and not sacrifice them for others. They must anticipate attacks and be ready, know their foes, and care carefully for their weapons so that their weapons can perform their duties properly when called upon.
"Never betray your trust" is the guiding phrase for faithful of Helm. This philosophy extends to thinking about how best to guard and protect, both in terms of weapons and the deployment of guardians, and to anticipating what attacks may come and having a practiced plan ready to deal with such threats. The faithful and the priests of Helm train and exercise so as to always be able to carry out their duties as best they can.
Helmites always obey orders, provided those orders follow the dictates of Helm. Helm's wishes are often revealed to his faithful in response to on the spot prayer. He is very responsive in sending guiding vision, especially when his faithful face conflicting orders or directives, even from his senior clergy. The thought of commanding undead rather than turning them or destroying them is abhorrent to Helm, and so his clergy are not allowed to do so and would never dream of trying. This difference in philosophy is a major factor in the rivalry between his church and that of Torm.

(Scouts and couriers who must remain vigilant often offer prayers to Helm to watch over them)

Religious Orders

• Church of Helm
• More information coming soon!

History & Relationships

Far back in time, the deity Lathander caused a divine purge known as the Dawn Cataclysm in which Helm's lover, a lesser deity of pragmatism called Murdane, was a victim. Helm begrudged the Morninglord for this.However, Helm reserved his real opposition for deities whose plots threatened the people and stability of Faerûn, especially Bane, Cyric, Mask, and Shar. He was also especially at odds with the uncontrolled violence and careless destruction of the deities Garagos, Malar, and Talos.The only god who could have been considered a full ally of the Watcher was Torm, the god of paladins. Strongly held ideological differences caused a great rivalry verging on hatred between the clergy of the two gods, but the deities themselves remained close. A forbidding guardian of unknown name or nature in mithral full plate manned Everwatch, unfailingly detecting alignments and the purposes of visitors.
During the Time of Troubles in 1358 DR, when the gods walked Toril, it was reliable Helm whom Lord Ao trusted with the task of keeping the other deities from returning to their divine realms in the planes without returning the stolen Tablets of Fate. For this task, Ao left Helm with all his divine abilities, guarding the Celestial Stairway to the planes. On Midsummer, when the goddess Mystra—who had spirited away a portion of her divine power in the realms, which she then recovered once the gods were cast from the heavens—attempted to pass him without the Tablets, she was turned back by the Watcher, and when she forcibly tried to pass the Watcher, he destroyed her with a catastrophic explosion in the skies above Castle Kilgrave, north of Arabel. Following Mystra's death, Helm shed a single tear that fell to Toril, but stopped before hitting ground. Hovering over the crater of destruction left below, the teardrop appeared as a magnificent gemstone, filled with the torment and guilt that Helm felt inside.
This action had enormous repercussions for Helm. Whilst it put off any of the other earthbound deities attempting the same action, it also caused the other deities and mortals alike to hold Helm in great contempt.Surprisingly, however, Helm's following remained strong in the south. After the Time of Troubles ended and other gods were restored to their former existences, Helm himself was no longer bound to stand guard against them and much of his worship had faltered. The reputation of his clergy was made worse when the natives of recently discovered Maztica, whom the priests of Helm were subjugating in their conquest of the region, highlighted their cause.

(Helm in guard of his duty slayed Mystra causing the Weave of magic to collapse creating the Spellplague)

(The Watcher, He of the Unsleeping Eyes, the Vigilant One)

Holy Symbol

(The holy symbol of Helm)

Statistics

Titles

• He of the Unsleeping Eyes
• God of Guardians
• The Great Guard
• The Watcher
• The Vigilant
• The Vigilant One

Adjectives

• Helmite

Portfolio and Domains

• Order
• War
• Justice
• Guardians
• Protection

Common Worshipers

• Bodyguards
• Guards
• Watchers
• Explorers
• Mercenaries

Divine Classification

Intermediate Deity

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

“Keep my path in your unfettered gaze, Lord. I shall not err if you are watching.”
— A basic prayer to Helm.