Paideia

Goddess of Cities and Wisdom

Domains: Knowledge, Unity
Weapons: Shield, Chakram; Psychic, Lightning
Symbol: An aspi (a round Grecian shield) with gilt edges, bearing the image of a honeycomb; the constellation Myrmekes
Dominion: Cities, Walls, Hearth, Protection, Organization, Diplomacy, Cooperation, Knowledge, Education, Iteration, Wisdom, Greater Good, Hive Insects, Civic Officials, Thinkers
Paideia is the goddess of cities, protection, cooperation, wisdom, and the concept of the greater good. She speaks through the collective will of the masses, and her voice is that of the crowd, the philosopher, and the teacher. In stoking the hearth fire at home, gathering multiple homes together, and acting together for the collective protection and betterment of the community rather than just a single family, people enact her will and bring forth peace, organization, and society to tame some of the dangerous wildness out of the world. She wraps her cloak around her flock in the form of strong walls to protect them from the dangers of the world without, and to provide a sense of communal identity to those within.
The poleis, the great city-states that dominate the culture of the Ithean and Khefiri worlds, are the ultimate expressions of Paideia's ideas in action, but she is also present in some way in almost every small community as well. Paideia watches over mortals and teaches them to organize and protect themselves. She inspires people to come together and develop the ideas and infrastructure that support the day to day life and work of a society. By working together, people can move past the harsh demands of individual families having to do everything on their own for their own sustenance, and instead can specialize into roles and become experts at those things where their true calling lies. Pooling resources and labor allows the survival of bad years and the development of structures and institutions to support the common good in other ways. All of these taken together are what permit civilization to exist and thrive, not merely loose and vulnerable tribes, and enable people to surpass their own limits.
Language and knowledge are the greatest fruits of civilization, and what Paideia prizes most; it is said she brought forth Iroa's modern languages and alphabets, improving on the more primitive Giantish tongue and allowing the conveyance of more complex topics in a lesser number of words. The accumulation of knowledge allows people to remember and improve on what has been done by those who went before them, instead of struggling to reinvent the basics with every generation. Paideia holds that there is no upper limit to what can be achieved in the world, if only people continue to contribute their collective knowledge and experiences to future generations, so that people can iterate on these lessons and build upon them, improving generation by generation. Language and knowledge can also act to save themselves, by making it clear over time just how pointless most of the world's conflicts truly are, and allowing words to resolve many crisis before they can come to blows. It is at Paideia's will that every major polis has at least some form of public education for its children; even if commoners may typically only get the equivalent of a third or fourth grade education before having to help support their families, and don't continue on to receive the in depth tutelage of the noble class, it is enough to make most people in the world literate and capable of basic math on a functional level, vastly expanding the potential of the citizenry and the pool of those who might aspire to greater things.

Paideia's Tenets

Paideia holds that acting in the collective good of society is the best way for mortals to thrive, and that the needs of the many inherently outweigh the desires of the individual. Other people have hopes and dreams just like you, so be mindful not to crush them as you pursue your own vision. People are stronger together than apart. Stand with, protect and support your community, so it may be there to do the same for you when you need it. As citizens, contribute your time and your taxes without resentment, so that your community may thrive; as leaders, do not ask more of your people than they can give, for you are their servants and not they yours. Teach those who would learn, so they can teach others in turn. Build on the works of those who have gone before you, improve them, and use them to make the world a better place and to lay the groundwork for further innovations in the future. Try to solve your problems with words rather than spears, but keep your guard up and do not be a fool; you must be ready to protect yourself and those you care about from the wiles and depredations of those who would take advantage of and abuse your civility.

Paideia's Relationships

Heliana is believed to be Paideia's mother, and they have much in common. Where Paideia gathers people into community, Heliana then establishes authority and hierarchy to organize the community. Heliana raises those of potential or charisma to positions of leadership, so that they can direct the collective energy and skill of the community and help it achieve its potential. Heliana enforces the principle of hospitality, so that one can feel safe in another's home, and demands obedience to the common good in turn, as determined by those given authority over and responsibility to the community.
Lyrium and Paideia are frequently together, as on and off lovers and partners in their work among mortals, although his inconstant and wandering heart and his draw to mortals of every kind will inevitably always let her down. Where Paideia brings together mortal communities, Lyrium gives those communities culture. Art, music, and literature enrich the lives and minds of the people of the poleis, and show what is possible when people are freed to specialize. Lyrium would also hold that his gift of Intrigue that drives people to compete with each other also drives them to better themselves, though Paideia would not necessarily always agree, and would prefer if everyone could cooperate at all times instead of devolving into the darker side effects of politics.
Aiatriu, Idaedon, and Xenoves between them represent various forms of inspiration, knowledge, science and craft. Their works enrich the lives, wealth and health of the poleis, and so these deities in turn are largely looked on favorably by Paideia. She keeps each just close enough to watch and guard against them, however, for each also has a secretive or destructive side to their natures, as bringers of plague, storm, or volcanism and earthquakes. These challenges can break a polis as surely as the gifts of medicine, invention and craft can empower it, and so Paideia teaches that people must always be watchful and not take shortcuts in what they do or they may invite disaster.
Mytrah makes agriculture possible, and this in turn makes cities possible, for rare indeed is the polis that can thrive off the yields of a hunter gatherer culture. As such, she always has a place of honor in Paideia's cities, even if it is sometimes also a place of fear and appeasement, for it also Mytrah who reaps the souls of the dead as they depart from this world. Varva and Thala, in contrast, rule the expanses of nature and consider cities a blight, for where so many people gather so too does the filth that they produce and so expands exponentially their impact on the world around them.
Embrys, Nykos and Stratia distress Paideia greatly. In their aspects as the Three Faces of War, successors to the sundered War god Polemares, they are forever a threat to Paideia's communities by their very nature. Even in their other aspects - Embrys's freedom and ambition, Nykos's sport and revels, and Stratia's commerce and contracts - things that speak to the people Paideia watches over, she sees threats that unbalance and destabilize her poleis.

Worshipping Paideia

As goddess of cities, hearth, walls and protection, Paideia receives prayers from those who seek a place to call home, those who wish to make a life for themselves in the city, those who defend their homes and communities, and those for whom only a strong wall stands between them and perdition or oblivion. As goddess of cooperation and diplomacy, she receives prayers from those who desire better relations with their neighbors or even their own family, those trying to make peace with an enemy, those trying to manage a large and complex project with many people, and, alongside Stratia, those negotiating a treaty or other important deal. As goddess of knowledge and education, she is prayed to by teachers trying to impart knowledge, by students struggling with their studies, by bards and sages preserving the past, and by those trying to innovate and improve on the works of those who have gone before.

Ptakhai

In Nubir, Paideia is known as Ptakhai. She is renowned as the wisest and most patient of the great minds of the first age, when mortals and gods were one. It is Ptakhai who taught people to speak in common tongue that they might share ideas, and gave them letters to preserve their words for the future. It is Ptakhai who gathered people from their far flung farms and tribes into clustered groups, and taught them to work together. It is Ptakhai who raised the first walls to protect these peoples, so that they might live long enough to even have the chance to pass on what they know, and who brought the power of the bonfire indoors to stoke the hearth, that people might have shelter. For these numinous accomplishments, she is called the sage of the Yahre-Nesyt, and holds court as the teacher of the Eternals as they then in turn teach mortals how to live.

Paideia's Champions

Suggested Classes: Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Monk, Paladin, Wizard
Suggested Backgrounds: Acolyte, Guild Artisan, Noble, Sage, Soldier, Urchin
Paideia's champions are the philosophers who bring forth knowledge and new ways of thinking, the defenders of civic order, the settlers who establish a new community and bring order to the wild, and the artisans who help make a town more than just a collection of crude shelters with people in them. They are held to promote the spread of knowledge and learning, to protect the community, and to thwart those who would cause chaos and mischief. This does not require them to stay in a city, however; sometimes, the best way to help a community stay safe and grow is to go forth into the wild to learn new things, to seek out new resources and allies, and to deal with threats and problems before they can come home to roost.

Paideia's Favor

What brought Paideia's path together with yours? You may roll or choose on the table below for ideas, or develop an idea of your own with the GM.
d6 / Circumstance

1. You grew up in a polis like Krypteia or Xyria, and never feel safe outside one.
2. A prior hometown was destroyed by raiders or wild beasts, and you won’t let it happen again to your next hometown.
3. You grew up in an isolated rural village, but on a trip to the city fell in love with city life and the Goddess of Cities.
4. Your family has been engaged in architecture or civil service for several generations, and faithful to Paideia.
5. You are a highly skilled poet, scholar or philosopher, and Paideia took notice of your talent.
6. You were groomed from a young age to be a civil servant or a city leader, taking an active role in the welfare of your community.

Earning and Losing Piety

You increase your piety score with Paideia when you expand or shore up her influence in a concrete way, including but not limited to:

• Defending a city from a major threat or helping it overcome some other major issue
• Defeating a tyrant who threatens a city’s freedom
• Creating a masterwork, like a beautiful building or poem
• Preserving and spreading knowledge that others would snuff out

Your piety score to Paideia decreases if you diminish her influence in the world, contradict her ideals, or make her look ridiculous or ineffectual through acts such as these:

• Betraying public trust to perform acts of corruption or tyranny
• Destroying a civic institution or sowing chaos within a city
• Willfully breaking just laws for personal gain
• Destroying knowledge or spreading false information

As a champion of unusual standing in the world, you receive benefits as your piety score rises. If you are a cleric or paladin of Paideia, you start with a piety to Paideia of 3.

Initiate (Piety 3+)

You gain Inspiration when you put down criminals and rebels or you make a meaningful difference by taking part in civic process, or you perform an act that gains you piety. You also have advantage on rolls to know about Paideia, her servants, and her works, and you know (the DM warns you) before you commit to an act that would displease Paideia.

Devotee (Piety 10+)

As a devotee of Paideia's mysteries, you gain a greater understanding of people, communication, and city life. You learn either the message cantrip or the mage hand cantrip (choose one), and learn either the comprehend languages spell or the unseen servant spell (choose one). Choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma to be your casting modifier for these spells. You can use the cantrip at will, and the spell a number of times per day equal to your casting modifier. If you are a spellcaster, treat the cantrip and spell as bonus spells known of your class that are always prepared.

Votary (Piety 20+)

Paideia's blessing fortifies and hardens your mind even as it is opened to new possibilities. You are resistant to psychic damage. You may also gain advantage on Intelligence and Charisma skill checks within or pertaining to a city or settlement, or the ruins of such, or pertaining to culture and societal structure. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to the greater of your Intelligence or Charisma modifier, and regain all uses after a long rest.

Disciple (Piety 40+)

Paideia bestows upon you the secret of Paideia’s Sanctum. This is the hallow spell, except it requires no material components, only requires a one minute casting time in which you walk the boundaries of the sanctum and pray for Paideia’s protection, and lasts for only one day. Once you produce such a sanctum, you can’t do so again until you take a long rest. The higher of Intelligence or Charisma is your spell casting ability for this spell. Additionally, you never become lost in urban environments, and you gain the Linguist feat as a bonus feat.

Champion (Piety 60+)

Paideia's surpassing favor expands your consciousness beyond that of other mortals. You are immune to psychic damage. This ability also allows you to reroll a failed Intelligence or Charisma ability or skill check or saving throw; you must take the new roll. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to the greater of your Intelligence or Charisma modifier, and regain all uses after a long rest.
Additionally, increase your Intelligence or Charisma score by 2, and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.