Bralm

The Flying Queen, Hive Goddess, The Toiling Lady

Insects, Industriousness

Lesser Goddess of Acheron, Neutral (Lawful Neutral/Lawful Evil)

Aliases: None
Domain Name: Avalas/The Hive Fortress
Superior: None
Origin: Suloise
Allies: None
Enemies: Joramy, Pyremius, Trithereon
Symbol: Wasp on a field of insects
Worshippers Alignment: Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral

Bralm is the goddess representing the world of insects and the idea of working with others toward a common goal. Images of her are an ordinary looking human female of middle age with dark blonde hair; occasionally she is shown with insect wings sprouting from her back.
Most of her worshippers revere her industrious aspect; those seeking order through toil and rewards through hard work — such as laborers, farmers, and slavedrivers — look to the winged goddess for inspiration and hope. Even some slaves follow this goddess, praying that following her path in this world will earn them a better position in the afterlife. Her role as the goddess of insects is more commonly emphasized in the hotter climates and especially in swamps and jungles, where various insect cults spread the faith of the hive queen.
Bralm gets along with most other members of the Suel pantheon but has no close friendships due to her unusual ideas about hierarchies and control; she evaluates those she interacts with and places them where she sees fit in the chain of command according to their abilities relevant to the task at hand. This sometimes results in more powerful gods being beneath weaker ones with more appropriate knowledge. She hates those who disturb her idea of perfect cohesion, and Trithereon has earned Bralm's permanent enmity for repeated slights in the past. Her dislike of fire puts her on bad terms with Joramy and Pyremius.

Manifestations

Bralm's most common manifestation on Oerth is a swarm or carpet of normal insects; as a group they may move to form shapes or create a buzzing speech. She has also manifested as a giant wasp, an ankheg and a giant scorpion. When she is extremely angry she has been known to send a creeping doom to consume the offender. The most unusual manifestation she has been known to make was when a group of more than one hundred slaves stopped their labors and spoke in one voice against the negligent priest directing them.

The Church

Clergy: Clerics, specialty priests
Clergy's Alignment: Neutral, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil
Turn Undead: Clerics: No, Specialty Priests: No
Command Undead: Clerics: No, Specialty Priests: No
Prohibited Spells: Fire based spells
Although her clergy has no druids, her clerics and specialty priests may pray for druid spells, choosing up to one spell per character level from the druid spell lists. (Druidic spheres)
Temples to Bralm are large convoluted affairs spread over a wide area. They rarely have internal doors (instead of locked entryways, guards are posted) and clergy of all levels and status may enter any part of the temple except individual personal quarters, which are normally very sparse. Built of rough stone, wood, mud and other common materials, they are easily repaired if damaged. The walls and rooms are arranged in repeating patterns that tend to confuse visitors. The larger temples often have semi-intelligent insects as pets, holy animals or guards; these insects have been trained not to attack members of the clergy, whom they recognize by scent.
Bralm's worshippers are called "Bralmi." Priests of 5th level and lower are called drones, those of 6th - 9th level are called directors, and those of 10th level and above are taskmasters.
At least 75% of Bralm's worshippers are human, with the remainder being humanoid slaves and possibly intelligent insects. The human slaves who worship Bralm are of any and all races, while the free members of her congregation are almost entirely Suel (90%). 70% of her clergy are clerics and 30% are priests; females outnumber males 3 to 1.

Dogma

Cohesion. Everyone has a part to play. Understand your role whether or not you see how it fits in with the overall goal. Obey those who know more than you. Observe the hive and learn. Work hard, and be satisfied in your work.

Day-to-Day Activities

Bralm's followers make good foremen, military captains and any other role where they supervise large numbers of people or when work needs to be made more efficient. They act as overseers for farms, controllers for mines and directors for slave or criminal work forces. Farmers ask them to intercede when insects threaten crops or are needed to produce goods such as silk and honey.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies

Twilight and dawn — intervals between work and rest, when insects tend to be more active — are times to pray. The hottest day of Goodmonth is the holiest day of the year; clerics and priests anoint themselves with sacred perfumes, build strange structures out of mud and sticks and release small swarms of captured bees and wasps that cling to the scented worshippers but do not sting.

Major Centers of Worship

Hesuel Ilshar, Suel enclaves

Affliated Orders

A splinter group of specialty priests calling themselves the Temple of the Bee have built a shrine in the Tilva jungle. These priests fanatically worship Bralm's insectoid nature, and are rumored to have a giant queen bee in their temple which they regard as a sacred animal. These cultists have been sending back jars of rarefied honey to Hesuel Ilshar; this honey is extremely flavorful and apparently has curative properties.
There are also reports of worshippers of Bralm living in the Sea of Dust, most likely survivors of the Rain of Colorless fire.

Priestly Vestments

Priests of Bralm wear brown or yellow robes, speckled with insect designs and embroidered in gold, green and black thread. Jewelry of gold, green and black metal is very common. During all ceremonies, the high priest wears a heavy gold pectoral with delicate crystal wings sprouting from the back.

Adventuring Garb

Adventuring priests wear simple clothing of neutral colors, with a long shirt or jerkin of brown or yellow decorated with insect symbols.

Specialty Priests (Nesh)

Requirements: Constitution 14, Wisdom 9
Prime Requisite: Wisdom
Alignment: Neutral, Lawful Evil, Lawful Neutral
Weapons: club, flail, hand axe, sickle. scythe, sling, staff
Armor: Any up to chain
Major Spheres: All, Charm, Combat, Healing, Law, Protection, Wards
Minor Spheres: Divination, Guardian, Necromantic, Summoning, Weather
Magical Items: As clerics
Required Proficiencies: Reading/writing, weather sense
Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies (Cleric & Specialty Priests): Agriculture, Animal Lore (insects)

• Nesh are able to pray for any priest spell involving the summoning, repelling or control of insects, whether or not they have access to that spell's sphere.
• Like all clerics of Bralm, Nesh may pray for spells from the druid spheres as part of their daily selection, up to one such spell per experience level.
• They can never use fire-based spells.
• They have a +1 bonus on all non-weapon proficiency checks.
• At 3rd level. any wooden weapon in the hands of a Nesh is considered a +1 weapon for the purpose of attacking, damage and determining what creatures it can hit.
• At 5th level, a Nesh becomes immune to any poison derived from insects. They also gain to saving throws vs. wands. staves and rods.
• 7th-level Nesh gain +1 to their armor class. Furthermore, their minds and bodies are so focused that they may continue to function normally if they are exhausted (as if they had the endurance proficiency and an 18 Constitution) or reduced to negative hit points. though if brought to —10 or below, the priest dies.
• 10th-level Nesh may use Mass Suggestion once a week affecting double the normal number of targets. When the Nesh enters combat, her allies act as if under the effects of a Bless spell (up to one creature per level of the Nesh). Outside of combat, a like number of people working with the Nesh on a common project are +1 on all proficiency checks related to that project.
• At 13th level, normal or giant-sized insects of any type will not attack a Nesh unless magically forced to do so. All spells cast by the Nesh operate as if the Nesh were 1 level higher.
• At 15th level, a Nesh may draw a Symbol {Priest Spell} of persuasion once per day.
• If the Nesh takes a 5% experience point penalty at 9th level or later, Nesh gain a limited shapechange ability. once per week for up to one hour, the priest retains her Intelligence, THACO and hit points, but gains the attacks and other abilities of the new form. The priest may shapechange into an aspis at 9th level, giant warrior ant at 11th level, a giant wasp at 14th level, or an ankheg of largest size at 16th level. The priest may change form only once per week, regardless of how many forms are available to her. If a Nesh gives up the experience point penalty, this ability is lost until the penalty has been paid for one month.

[Adapted from The Scarlet Brotherhood by Sean Reynolds]