Morndinsammen

The Morndinsamman (Dwarven: "shield brothers on high" or "high dwarves") is the collective name of the fourteen deities that form the Dwarven pantheon. Led by Moradin , the Morndinsammen watch over and guide the Dwarves in the world.

History

Moradin.

The dwarven gods are said to have sprung from stone and earth, beginning with Moradin. Berronar is universally held to be Moradin's wife, and many dwarven theologians hold that all the other dwarven powers are their descendants, although the exact ordering and ancestry vary from myth to myth. After Moradin and Berronar, the oldest dwarven powers are thought to be Dumathoin, Abbathor, Laduguer, Clangeddin, Sharindlar, and the twins Diinkarazan and Diirinka. The next group of dwarven gods commonly worshiped in the Realms includes Thard Harr, Gorm Gulthyn, Marthammor Duin, and Dugmaren Brightmantle. Recent additions to the dwarven pantheon, said to be the grandchildren of Moradin and Berronar, have included Haela Brightaxe and Deep Duerra.
Moradin is the chief deity of the dwarven pantheon, Morndinsammen(Shield brothers on high, or high dwarves). He is said to have created all dwarves, forging them from metals and gems in the fires that lie at the "heart of the world," and breathing life-the first dwarven souls-into the cooling forms. All dwarves appease Moradin, even if they do not wholeheartedly support him. Lawful good dwarves support and work openly to serve the Soul Forger, even if they also worship another deity. His name is invoked by dwarves involved in smithwork or craftsmanship of any sort, and they give him homage by doing their best work and seeking to emulate his stonework and craftsmanship. Moradin is said to inspire dwarven inventions and seeks constantly to improve the race-increasing dwarven good nature, intelligence, and ability to exist in harmony with other living things. At the same time, he battles the pride and isolationist tendencies that occur naturally in his elite creations.
Moradin loathes Gruumsh, Maglubiyet, and the other goblinkin deities (those of the ores, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, kobolds, and urds), and he detests the evil giant deities as well. His gruff and uncompromising nature wins him few friends outside the dwarven pantheon, but he is said to be close with some of the gods of other races and enjoys a strategic alliance with Yondalla(creator of the halfling race) and Corellon Larethian(leader of the Seldarine, the Elven pantheon). Moradin has little patience for the elven powers, but he has worked effectively with them in the past when it was necessary.

Dwarves.

Having watched the Seldarine create the elves, beings that paraded around the world showing off their greatness, Moradin grew jealous and created people in his image, this creating the Dwarven race.

Wars

Dwarven folk are a lot like their gods. Stubborn in their beliefs and principles, unmoving like the sturdiest rocks. This nature of theirs may aggravate others and has been the cause of many battles as people have tried, and failed, to take on the dwarven people. Although they may not always be the ones to start the wars, the Morndinsammen will always be amidst the war. The Morndinsammen are a very lawful group, so they will not stand for evil and corruption to occur if they have a say in it. When the Dark Seldarine called for the Drows to rise up and strike in the War of the Spiders, the Morndinsammen assisted the Seldarin in subduing the Drows, the Tsuchigumo and the Drow Goddess Lolth. The dwarven people were a large part of the ending of the Orc Wars, battling on the front lines. Whether fighting on the front or healing injured comrades as clerics, the dwarven people, much like the Morndinsammen, excel on the battlefield, and are, therefore, always present when war and battle is occuring.

Mythology & Lore

Metrus

As the dwarves began to create tunnels beneath the poisonous landscape, branching both out and further down underground, Moradin was approached by four powerful beings. They warned Moradin that his people were digging their way closer to a powerful entity that can not, under any circumstances, be released. And if the dwarves were to get near it, it could spout trouble for the race. Taking heed of the warning, Moradin decided that he wanted to reside close to his people in case they needed him or were in trouble, and also to prevent anyone getting too close to the ancient being. So he worked together with Dumathoin to help the dwarves build their tunnels. While also creating a secret series of passageways where Moradin and his wife reside, while simultaneously blocking the route to the ancient being. Dumathoin protects the entrance, manipulating the passageways, changing them so that people don’t get to close. He will occasionally lead those he deems as worthy to treasure and rare artifacts, but he also believes in a pure balance as the guardian of death, so it is difficult to be seen as worthy in his eyes.

Exiled

Although the term Morndinsamman is commonly used to refer to all acknowledged dwarven gods, formal membership in the pantheon is determined by Moradin. The good and neutral dwarven gods, including Moradin, Berronar, Clangeddin, Dugmaren, Dumathoin, Gorm, Haela, Marthammor, Sharindlar, Thard, and Vergadain, have always been members in good standing. Abbathor is still a member, as his treachery has ever been proven, although most of his fellows detest him. Laduguer was banished by the All-Father long ago, and Deep Duerra was exiled immediately following her apotheosis and ascension, but both are considered members-in-exile. Diirinka and his mad brother, Diinkarazan, are the only dwarven powers who are truly no longer members of the Morndinsamman.
Abbathor is venerated by most evil dwarves and nearly all evil dwarven thieves. He represents the worst aspect and major weakness of dwarven character. Many dwarves and even non-dwarves consumed with treasure lust and greed, or those who seek to steal valuables, make offerings to him. The Great Master of Greed was once interested purely in the natural beauty of gems and metals, but became embittered when Moradin appointed Dumathoin the protector of mountain dwarves - a position Abbathor felt should be his. From that day onward, Abbathor has become ever more devious and self-serving, continually trying to wreak revenge on the other dwarven gods by establishing greed, especially evil greed, as the driving force in the lives of all dwarves.
The Trove Lord maintains an uneasy truce with the god Vergadain, but he is otherwise estranged from the dwarven pantheon. Abbathor particularly hates Dumathoin and Moradin for denying him his rightful place in the pantheon, and he secretly works against both. He hates Clangeddin for Clangeddin's self-righteous noble stance and certain past insult, and Clangeddin returns the favor. Berronar loathes Abbathor's deceitfulness, and Dumathoin shields treasures from the Great Master of Greed, to Abbathor's unending frustration and fury. Unlike Laduguer, however, Abbathor is tolerated by the other dwarven gods, although none trust him. Despite the fact that he embodies everything they teach their followers to avoid, he has sided with them in epic battles of the past and is still a valued member of the group.

Deep Duerra is venerated by gray dwarves skilled in the Invisible Art as well as duergar warriors who seek to conquer much of the Underdark and chafe at the defensive mindset of Laduguer's priests. A few rare surface dwellers with wild talents have begun to call on the Queen of the Invisible Art as well for aid in understanding (and more importantly, concealing) their powers, which are viewed with suspicion and fear by most of the populace.
The legends of the duergar tell of the gray dwarves' greatest queen, a warrior queen named Duerra, who led her grim troops to numerous victories against the surface dwarves, the drow, the illithids, and other Underdark races. During her centuries long reign, the empire of the gray dwarves expanded to include vast reaches of the Underdark, bringing the duergar to the pinnacle of their power. Tales of dubious authenticity also relate how Deep Duerra overran a city of mind flayers and wrested from them numerous powers of the mind. Supposedly Duerra's victory allowed the duergar to gain their current ability in psionics and enabled them to hold their own against the spells of the drow and the psionics of the illithids. Although much of Deep Duerra's empire has since fragmented and contracted, the gray dwarves still revere her uncompromising drive to expand duergar power throughout the Underdark.
Duerra has been estranged from the Morndinsamman since her ascension, and notwithstanding her immediate banishment by Moradin after her apotheosis, she has no interest in ending her supposed exile. Duerra's only ally is Laduguer, who is said to be her father. While she obeys and respects her patron, at least for now, Duerra secretly chafes at Laduguer's bitterness and resentment. She feels that for centuries he has squandered every opportunity to help the gray dwarves conquer the endless tunnels of the Underdark that are their patrimony. In truth, the Queen of the Invisible Art sees the duergar as a unique race with a manifest destiny to conquer the Underdark, and she feels that the gray dwarves' distant kinship with shield, gold, and wild dwarves is irrelevant and best forgotten. The actions of Duerra and her worshipers, like those of Laduguer and his followers, have fostered bitter rivalries with the other races of the Underdark and their gods. The enmity between Duerra and the illithid gods is particularly fierce, as she is rumored to have stolen many secrets of the Invisible Art from Ilsensine, the Great Brain of the illithids.
Laduguer has long been estranged from the other members of the Morndinsamman, and he regards them as lazy, indolent, and feckless. The reasons behind the Gray Protector's exile vary according to the perspective of the speaker: The Morndinsamman, as well as most gold and shield dwarves, hold that Laduguer was banished by Moradin for his crimes, while Laduguer, as well as most gray dwarves, asserts that he took a stand on principle against the other dwarven gods, and that his exile is self-imposed. The Exile particularly loathes Moradin, his nominal superior, and the personal animosity between the two accounts for much of Laduguer's enmity against the rest of the dwarven pantheon. In fact, Laduguer's only ally is Deep Duerra, a once-mortal demipower he elevated to the rank of divinity.
The withdrawal of Laduguer's followers to the Underdark and their subsequent territorial conflicts with races such as aboleth, beholders, derro, drow, illithids, ixzan, kuo-toa, myconids, svirfneblin, and troglodytes has created a great deal of strife and enmity between the Exile and other powers with an interest in the Night Below. Although he once managed to win hegemony over the giant tarantulas known as steeders during a brief alliance with Lolth, the Spider Queen and the Gray Protector have long feuded as their followers battled. Likewise Ilsensine, the Great Brain of the illithid race, has long sought revenge against Laduguer for some ancient slight.

Members of the Morndinsammen

• Abbathor, god of greed (Trickery)

• Berronar Truesliver, goddess of safety, honesty, home, healing, the dwarven family, records, marriage, faithfulness, loyalty, oaths (Life, Light)

• Clanggedin Silverbeard, god of battle, war, valor, bravery, honor in battle (War)

• Deep Duerra, goddess of psionics, conquest and expansion (Trickery, War)

• Dugmaren Brightmantle, god of scholarship, invention, discovery (Knowledge)

• Dumathoin "Keeper of the Secrets Under the Mountains", god of buried wealth, ores, gems, mining, exploration, shield dwarves, guardian of the dead (Death, Knowledge)

• Gorm Gulthyn, god of guardian of all dwarves, defense, watchfulness. (War)

• Haela Brightaxe, goddess of luck in battle, joy of battle, dwarven fighters. (War)

• Laduguer, god of duergar, magic weapon creation, artisans, magic. (Arcana, Death)

• Marthammor Duin, god of guides, explorers, expatriates, travelers, lightning (Nature, Trickery)

• Moradin, god of dwarves, creation, smithing, protection, metalcraft, stonework (Forge, Knowledge)

• Sharindlar, also known as the Lady of Life and Mercy, is the dwarven deity of healing and mercy. (Life)

• Thard Harr, god of wild dwarves, jungle survival, hunting (Nature)

• Vergadain, god of wealth, luck, chance, nonevil thieves, suspicion, trickery, negotiation, sly cleverness (Trickery)

Worship

The Morndinsamman are intimately involved with the lives of their worshipers, and the Stout Folk as a whole are an unusually devout race. Faced with the slow decline of dwarves across Heliodarna, the dwarven powers have become increasingly active as they seek to reverse that trend. Correspondingly, dwarven religion has assumed an increasingly important role in dwarven culture and society. The dwarven pantheon is predominantly male, reflecting the population imbalance between the two genders. Unlike the elven pantheon, the members of the Morndinsamman are scattered across the Outer Planes. This may be symbolic and reflective of the dwarven desire for territory and living space; just as mortal dwarves are ever exploring new territory below the surface world, the deities themselves live apart as well. It is believed that Moradin and Beronnar live hidden in Metrus among the Mountain Dwarves.
One is struck, in a study of dwarven theology, by the relationship between procreation and metalcraft; perhaps more than one dwarven smith has looked upon a finished piece of work and felt as if she or he had breathed life into the metal and given it a soul of sorts, as Moradin did long ago. Moradin taught the first dwarves the skills of smithing and metalworking, enabling them to exploit the riches of their homes in the mountains and craft items to allow further exploration. These early dwarves also learned toolmaking and weaponcrafting from Moradin, who watches over these activities still. No dwarven deity has a sacred or totem animal, and the holy symbols used to represent them are invariably not living objects. This derives in large part from some of the teachings of Moradin, who ruled that the dwarves must hold no other race above them; having an animal as a symbol would imply that animal was better than the dwarves. Likewise, Moradin said that the dwarves should not ever worship each other, so no dwarf or part of one is ever used as a holy symbol.

Type

Religious, Pantheon