The Old Gods

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Gameplay:

Followers of The Old Gods have the most diverse set of beliefs and gods on the Sword Coast. As such all religious classes (clerics, paladins, and druids) are open to them. Listed below, in order of importance, are the most important deities in the pantheon, but there are too many to list. You may choose one of them as your character’s deity, or you may design your character’s deity and religion. If you wish to play as a follower of The Old Gods, work with your DM to design your character’s beliefs and the nature of the religion and the god(s) she serves.   A Note to Players: There is a lot of room for players to develop their characters' religious beliefs and to expand on the brief summaries of each deity presented below. Players are invited to help expand or amend what is written below with...

• new gods
• different interpretations of the gods
• new religions or sects
• descriptions of places of worship
• development of doctrines and holy texts
• descriptions of ceremonies and religious practices

  Work with your DM to build and develop your character's and the world's religious detail.  

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Known as: Followers of the Old Gods,

Insulted As: Pagans

The Old Ways encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology that before the rise of younger faiths (The Way of Chantrel and Unity) were common to all the lands of The Sword Coast. These beliefs were shared in some form by all most all humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings on The Sword Coast, but are now on the decline due to the spread of these younger faiths. These beliefs constitute not one distinct religion, but a set of religions with overlapping beliefs, practices, and mythologies.

Although, The Way of Chantrel and Unity have displaced The Old Ways in many realms, they live on. Often converted peoples will hold to these traditional beliefs and practices despite admonitions from clergy of the younger faiths. Also, many have incorporated aspects of The Old Ways into their worship of Chantrel or The Great Father.

The Old Ways are polytheistic, with a pantheon of many gods and goddesses, as well as a range of lesser beings of various types. Some deities have dominion over certain aspects of nature such as the sky or the seas while others represent certain abstract concepts such as justice or inspiration. Most deities are characterized in the form of a mortal being. Most of these are shown as being of the race of the worshippers. So, human worshippers of Sarak, Lord of Justice, depict him as human, while dwarves depict him as a dwarf. Some, known as “The Dragon Gods” are depicted as dragons, by all races.

The names of these gods, who exactly they are, and what they do, varies considerably from place to place, race to race, and culture to culture. For example, in colder climes the sun goddess, Amaterasu, is characterized as a warm and loving mother who brings life to the land. However, in desert regions, she is known as Amata, and is characterized as a hateful old crone bent of punishing the world for its sins.

Dieties will often have a rival who represents the opposite concept, such as love vs. hate, with whom they are locked in eternal struggle. Others will have counterparts that participate with them in natural cycles, such as the sun and the moon.

While being immortal, the gods are certainly not all-good nor all-powerful. The gods act like mortals and have mortal vices. They interact with mortals, sometimes even spawning children with them.

A Declining Power 

Worshippers of The Old Gods have no central organization. Each city and village has erected independent temples to the deities of their choosing. Once mighty political powers in their own right dating back to The Imperium of Man, the power of these temples has been declining for centuries due to the spread of The Holy Universal Church of Chantrel and Unity. In many places, these temples have been demolished and replaced by Holy Universal temples or Houses of the Father. In others, they remain standing, but have been converted to Holy Universal temples or Houses of the Father, and in others they remain along side these places of worship in uneasy coexistence.

These temples derive what political power they can from the numbers of worshippers that come to them, and their ties to history and identity of the people that live around them. For example, a city might be fully converted to The Teachings of Chantrel, but the Temple of Bane, God of War, might hold significant power because priests of Bane are considered local heroes by leading the city's defense against the its mortal enemies.

Temples dedicated to The Old Gods are usually ancient, grand, stone structures in the heart of ancient cities. These monuments to the greatness of The Old Gods and those who follow them, are symbols of the history and tradition of their cities. They vary in form depending on the era in which they were built and by which race and culture built them. Many claim to have been built before the fall of The Imperium of Man, but those claims are difficult to verify.

The worship of The Old Gods involves prayers to the individual gods concerned, asking for blessings, favors, or signs to guide worshippers in making important decisions. Often ritual chanting and the sacrifice of crops or live stock is involved. When live stock are sacrificed, they then are usually roasted and used as the center peace of a feast where the priests and priestesses of the temple eat them in place of the gods.  Also, many followers of The Old Gods will have small altars dedicated to individual gods in their homes that they pray to.

Even, in areas converted to The Teachings of Chantrel or Unity, many of the festivals and holy days remain. Victuals and revelry on these days are important occasions from many communities.

Followers of The Old Gods are remarkably open to many other faiths. Being polytheistic, the idea that many gods exist and that certain gods might pertain to certain lands, is not a shocking idea. In fact, many have incorporated Chantrel and The Great Father into the traditional pantheon of deities. Also, they share many gods and beliefs with followers of The Way of the Spirits and share belief in the Dragon Gods with the dragonborn who practice dragon religion. However, due to the pressure to convert to the “one true faith” put on them by the Disciples of Chantrel and the Children of The Great Father, many followers of The Old Gods have come to resent and fear these faiths.