Kruphix, god of horizons

Kruphix is the enigmatic god of mysteries, horizons, and the passage of time. His followers claim that he knows not only everything that is known at present, but everything that has ever been known by anyone.
Quiet surrounds Kruphix like a shroud. Standing apart from the other gods, he speaks rarely, even to his most favored followers. When he does communicate, it is often as a barely audible whisper. Kruphix can speak with a booming voice directly into the minds of all the other gods simultaneously, though, doing so only when something threatens the cosmic order.
Kruphix’s true form is more abstract than that of any of the other gods. He appears only in star-filled silhouette, usually as a hooded, four-armed figure of indeterminate species and gender. Two of the stars in his “body” often shine brightly, suggesting eyes. Kruphix’s starry silhouette sometimes takes the form of a bird or a whale.

Divine Relationships

Kruphix strives to hold himself above the disputes of the gods, but like any other god, he has both rivals and allies. Chief among the former is the sun god Heliod, whom Kruphix sees as an arrogant, dangerous threat to the balance of power among the gods. He seldom acts against Heliod openly, preferring to warn others about the sun god’s efforts to seize power at their expense.
Since every mortal soul must eventually pass beyond the horizon and into death, Kruphix respects both Erebos and Athreos. He sees Erebos as a necessary check on Heliod’s power, and he even allowed Athreos to continue his vital work on the fringes of the mortal world when he bound all the other gods within the fabric of Nyx. Erebos and Kruphix blame one another for Klothys’s recent emergence from the Underworld, a situation neither seems able to control.
This darker aspect of Klothys is also all too familiar with secrets as his sister is fond of them. Kruphix is aware also of the Twilight of the Gods and as a part of the shadows has seen the treachery that Erebos is conducting behind Klothys's back. Kruphix is who finally tells Klothys of this deception and stands as her silent guard, protecting her from the prying eyes of the other Gods, especially Erebos.
Purphoros loathes Kruphix for temporarily hobbling his mind following an attack against Heliod, but Kruphix holds no grudge against Purphoros. That particular punishment upset the balance too far in the other direction, and Kruphix is more likely to side with Purphoros than Heliod in the future.
Of all the gods, only Klothys truly concerns Kruphix. He hoped that she would remain secret and secluded in the Underworld, and he doesn’t know what her emergence portends. She is the only other god whose existence predates mortal belief, and though he is unlikely to draw her ire by manipulating destiny, he doesn’t know how her return will affect the pantheon.
Until they speak. Once Klothys takes Kruphix back into their shared form and they are able to comprehend each other's aspects, thoughts, and potents once again, he understands the time is needed for the Twilight of the Gods.

Divine Domains

Kruphix’s Influence

Kruphix holds dominion over everything unseen or unknown. He is associated with the horizon—the brink of the unknown—and with navigation. His followers include scholars, sages, and a handful of sailors who have an inclination toward the mystical.
Perfect understanding is like the horizon: easy to move toward, but impossible to reach. Kruphix knows everything that has ever been known on Theros, so he and only he decides which secrets should be loosed upon the world, and which must be kept forever hidden. He has existed since before mortals occupied Theros and numbers among the few who understand the role of mortal belief in shaping the younger gods—a concept even most gods don’t fully comprehend.
Kruphix is the only being who has the ability to seal the borders between the mortal realm and Nyx. He uses this power to safeguard the mortal world from reckless divine meddling and enforce the balance of power among the gods and their faithful.
Because of his lack of followers, many mortals consider Kruphix a minor god, even obscure. To the other gods, however, he is a force within the pantheon, worthy of both respect and wariness.
This ability to create the barriers between the mortal realm and Nyx will be called upon during the binding ritual. One of the components for the binding spell will be a bit of Kruphix himself- a starry, black gem that resembles his silhouette of the night sky called Kruphix's Gem.

Holy Books & Codes

MYTHS OF KRUPHIX

Kruphix appears in stories in an ancillary role, often as the impartial judge who ends a conflict between gods. Initiates in Kruphix’s mystery cult know other stories in which he plays a more active role, including special versions of well-known legends, but they seldom share these tales with others.
The First Nyxborn. According to one tale, it was Kruphix, not Purphoros, who was the first to fashion living Nyxborn creatures from the fabric of Nyx. Kruphix created the divine artisan Nykthos and ordered him to build altars to the gods. Nykthos’s story isn’t widely known among mortals, but the Shrine to Nyx is still called Nykthos in his honor.
Kruphix’s Warning. When Purphoros attacked Heliod in a destructive rage, Heliod demanded that Kruphix intervene. Kruphix constrained the forge-god’s mind and memory in punishment for his attack. He warned all the gods that if they threatened the mortal realm with their disruptive quarrels, he would bind them to Nyx for as long as he saw fit. As of yet, no god has dared to test Kruphix’s threat, but there are certainly those among them who might try if they could see a way to retain their own powers.
The Silence. When the squabbling of the gods threatened the world once more despite Kruphix’s warning, he etched all their names—including his own—in the bark of his great tree at the edge of the world. Immediately, the gods’ oracles could no longer hear them, their blessings faded, and the night sky held only unmoving stars. The great Silence of the gods serves as the backdrop for numerous tales of heroism and sacrifice. Many alive today witnessed the sky go dark and the temples grow quiet. Most consider the Silence a terrible mistake that led to the rise of the usurper god Xenagos, but followers of Kruphix know that it was a grim necessity to prevent far worse calamity.
Because they sought to gain power and Xenagos had learned of the path to Godhood, Kruphix in agreement with this sister Klothys instigated this time of Silence until the threat, Xenagos and the power-hungry nature of the Gods, could be dealt with. However, the gods have grown to power-hungry yet again and the mortal world is threatened once more. Understanding that their might now serves only themselves and the mortals whom they are supposed to care for have become a means to an end to the gods, Kruphix is once again working with his sister Klothys to bring about the Twilight of the Gods. Sealing and eventual abolishment of the Gods is a necessity. They cannot be controlled and that quest for power will never be sated. The mortals will be better off without them according to Kruphix.
Theophilian Mysteries. Some of Kruphix’s worshipers don’t identify with their inscrutable deity, but with Theophilia, a legendary naiad who entered Nyx and whose transcendent encounter with Kruphix each initiate strives to duplicate. The naiad’s journey is celebrated in hushed chants as blindfolded initiates are led across a boundary—often stepping into a river or over a low stone wall, an act that symbolizes crossing the horizon. Then the blindfolds are removed as the faithful intone a paean to Kruphix. The hope is that Kruphix will choose to reveal himself at the climax of the ritual, whether by the appearance of some omen or in a personal epiphany. Such a revelation isn’t always positive, though, as Kruphix often imparts a glimpse of cosmic truths for which mortals have no possible context.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Eight-pointed star

Tenets of Faith

Worshiping Kruphix

Many pray to Kruphix when they need to find something lost, but few dedicate themselves to his worship. Cults devoted to Kruphix fiercely guard their secrets, and their initiates refrain from drawing attention to themselves. Some followers and champions of Kruphix travel the world in secret, searching for hidden truths. Many use secret signals to enable them to find safe lodging with other worshipers nearly anywhere.
Rituals honoring Kruphix are usually performed at boundaries, both temporal and spatial: shorelines, riverbanks, equinoxes, and sunsets.

Earning and Losing Piety

You increase your piety score to Kruphix when you expand the god’s influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:

• Keeping a dangerous secret despite personal cost
• Revealing a critical truth at an important moment
• Mediating a major dispute or conflict
• Aiding the weak or impeding the strong

Your piety score to Kruphix decreases if you diminish Kruphix’s influence in the world, upset the balance of power, or make him look biased or petty through acts such as these:

• Revealing a secret that should remain unknown
• Selfishly refusing to share information
• Showing favoritism toward any other god or group
• Furthering the aims of another god in defiance of Kruphix’s will

Kruphix doesn’t care about the righteousness of a cause, only about upholding impartiality in both appearance and action. This sometimes means that his followers stay out of situations that seem morally straightforward, such as refusing to help a squad of hoplites finish off a band of vicious raiders.

Kruphix’s Devotee

Piety 3+ Kruphix trait
As a devotee of Kruphix, you have proven yourself a devotee of reality’s mysteries and laws. You can cast detect magic with this trait a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
In addition, you know the mage hand cantrip. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Kruphix’s Votary

Piety 10+ Kruphix trait
You can cast detect thoughts with this trait, requiring no material components. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.

Kruphix’s Disciple

Piety 25+ Kruphix trait
As a true champion of Kruphix, you can use your mage hand cantrip to protect yourself. While your spectral hand is within 5 feet of you, you gain a +2 bonus to your AC against ranged attacks.

Champion of Horizons

Piety 50+ Kruphix trait
You can increase your Constitution or Intelligence score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.

Holidays

One of the god’s greatest festivals is the Agrypnion (“the Watching”), which marks the end of winter and the close of the year.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Kruphix’s Goals

More than any other god, Kruphix simply is. He seeks nothing but to oversee the acquisition of knowledge, maintain the cycles of time, and uphold the divine order. He views his fellow gods as petty and vengeful, and he opposes anyone who tries to obtain power that would upset the delicate balance of the pantheon.
Kruphix is the eldest of the gods, tied with his sister Klothys, and sees it as his responsibility to rein in the excesses of his younger siblings. Unlike Heliod, Kruphix knows that he isn’t powerful enough to impose his will unilaterally. Instead, he serves as a mediator in their endless disputes. He takes care to ensure that the other gods view him as impartial, which he considers essential to maintaining the balance of the universe.

Divine Classification

Eternal Being

Religions

• Meletis

Current Location

Nyx

Realm

Nyx

Church/Cult

Kruphix's Mystery Cult

Ruled Locations

• Temple at the Edge of the World