Religious classes introduction

The most important question for clerics and paladins is which god that they serve. Why they serve can have many answers, from genuine dedication to desperation to being forced, but their deity is always central to them. It has to be for them to exist the way they do. Of course, other people have religious beliefs too and so might benefit from looking over this list, but for someone who serves a god - reading more is a must. Druids might get off the hook a bit easier.

Druids and nature spirits

Nature itself has an incredible force tied to it and can be called upon for impressive feats of magic for those who know how to. It's theorized that Mielikki and Chauntea both contribute from this energy and draw from it in a symbiotic relatinship. But there is much more to it. There are sevveral fey and other spirits that get their energy from this, and some who hunt specifically to feed it. Some druids and clerics of Mielliki specifically make sure that decay and bringing everything back to nature remains part of the cycle of life. The force that is nature is greater than just living matter. It includes the very ground, the air, and the basics of elemental forces. To those who aim to master this craft they need to find a focus for their efforts, which for druids typically means a druidic circle. And for the most part, they seek out like-minded who dedicate themselves to their craft. This means they are often found in tribes or settlements outside to most of civilisation.

Deities

Major deities

Selûne

Goddess of the Moon. One of the two creators of the planes. She represents guiding others for better, navigation, and destiny.

Shar

Goddess of Darkness. One of the two creators of the planes. She is the one who hides in shadow and who cloud judgement. She leads people towards their destructive fate.

Amaunator

God of the Sun. Bursts in righteousness, defender of life, upholder of the law. His worldview is sometimes lacking in nuance enough that it becomes hard to tell what's right and what's wrong, ironically.

Ariel

Goddess of Wind and Rain. She oversees all weather and is vital to any agricultural area, to ships at sea, and to most others in the world. Her mood is fickle and so a lot of effort is put into convincing her to care for those living in an area.

Asmodeus

God of the Damned, ruler of the Nine Hells. While not always seen as a god, Asmodeus is technically created by Shar and has the power of any major deity. He uses these to make sure that souls who should end up in the Hells do so, and to tempt even more souls to come to that way.

Garl Glittergold

God of Gems, Tricks, and the Gnomes. The trickster god Garl was fairly weak until he made the gnome race from gemstones. Now he's quite powerful on account of his faithful.

Gruumsh

God of Slaughter, Father of the Orcs. While Gruumsh encourages all forms of brutality, his primary focus is on his creation: the orcs.

Mercantor

God of Trade and Wealth. Worshipped by merchants, traders and anyone who ither wants to protect their wealth or gain some.

Mielikki

Goddess of Nature. For the most part, Mielikki represents the bounty and goodness of nature, such as game and freshwater. But get on her bad side and she also represents predators and treacherous vegetation. She is much revered amongst farmers, hunters, and fishers.

Moradin

God of Mountains and Metals, Creator of the Dwarves. Any form of building, mining, or crafting is supported by Moradin. He's most proud of his own people, the dwarves, as they most embody this ideal.

Oghma

God of Knowledge. At first, created to help the gods understand the world they were making, Oghma has taken on the role of collecting all knowledge and put it in the hands of those who need it.

The Onyx Knight

Goddess of Battle and Fighting. She is worshipped by soldiers, mercenaries, and generals alike. Her domain covers that of tactics and strategy as well a proficient use of weapons. She has very little in common with the barbaric tactics of Gruumsh.

Raven Queen

Goddess of Death. A mortal who stepped up to the position of looking after souls from death to being sent to their appropriate afterlife. She maintains a neutral position except insisting that all have a destiny that must be fulfilled, and no one should live (or "live") on after that.

Sune

Goddess of Love. Hers is beauty and joy as she tries to find everyone's desire and fulfil it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

From outside

These gods came with other forms of beings during the First Breaking.

Bahamut

God of Metallic Dragons. Generally perceived as the good dragon god, Tiamat sees the rest of the world as a resource to take care of and wants to defend it against those who threaten its peace.

Tiamat

Goddess of Chromatic Dragons. More cunning than angry, Tiamat would still want to see the world burn one day and everyone would be subjects of their dragon kin.

Corellon

The creator of the elves is very distant and rarely talks to their creations ever since they first turned away from them to seek power elsewhere. Most elves now strive to return and on occasion, Corellon gives glimpses of their beauty and wisdom.

Llolth

Originally created by Corellon, Lloth is in a way a dark reflection. She's the power-hungry goddess of the Drow.

Minor Deities

These gods were created by the major deities to take extra care of a specific part of the greater one's domains so that they could focus on other things. They are true gods, but much less powerful than the greater deities.

Enneas

God of Desires. Created by Sune to watch over more carnal pleasures and desires and help mortals indulge safely and respecting consent.

Gond

God of Invention. Created by Oghma and greatly encouraged by Garl Glittergold, Gond is there to make every mortal try to see beyond what is and into what they could make out of it.

Laduguer

Originally created by Moradin to guard dwarves against the corruption of the Underdark. But due to the influence of Shar and the Illithid kidnapping a large clan of dwarves, those dwarves were changed and became the Duergar. When these dwarves were shunned by the rest of dwarf society, Laduguer took them under their wing and is by many seen as the evil dwarf god.

Wallan

God of Storytelling. Created by Sune and Oghma jointly, Wallan is the protector of storytellers, bards, historians, and more. Wherever there's a story to tell, he is there to encourage imagination.

Primordials

These beings are not true gods and instead of drawing power from worshippers and being able to guide their areas of a domain, they are born from those domains. They are, in a sense, like elementals much more powerful. They might be seen as the embodiments of what they represent rather than representations for it.

Akadi

Ruler of the Elemental Plane of Air, but she also has a lot of influence on the material plane, creating storms and strong winds. For this reason, many at sea or in the desert pray for her mercy.

Grumbar

The earth primordial is theoretically the ruler of the Elemental Plane of Earth, but he has a very hands-off apprach. He can also be seen wandering almost any caverns on any plane.

Istishia

The water primordial who rules the Elemental Plane of Water is not technically mean-spirited and is mostly very calm. But sometimes she acts out, and sometimes that is bad for sailors on the material plane.

Kossuth

Fire primordial who lives, predictably, on the Elemental Plane of Fire and rules it.

Primus

The ruler of Mechanus, primus is the emodiment of order and law, and always an objective arbitrer.

Tyche

The luck primordial represents both good and bad fortune and is often asked for aid by gamblers and other risk-takers, but also by many commoners who merely wish their lives were a bit more simple.