The Gods of Theros
A pantheon of fifteen gods guides religious life on Theros. From the sun and agriculture to death and passage into the Underworld, the gods oversee the forces of nature and the most important aspects of mortal life. These gods are quite real to the people of Theros, who see them moving across the sky at night and sometimes encounter them face to face. Thus, most people perform rituals and devotions that honor various gods, hoping to win their favor and stave off their wrath. They tell and retell the stories of the gods’ deeds—even as they watch those stories continue to play out in the vastness of the night sky.
Not every mortal serves or acknowledges the gods, though. Some philosophers in the schools of Meletis teach that the gods of the pantheon are subordinate to a higher reality, perhaps Nyx itself. And other people, particularly leonin, believe that the gods are undeserving of mortal reverence.
Structure
Priests and Acolytes of Temples of the Deities dot the entire continent. While many believe in all the Gods as a whole it isn't uncommon to tend toward a particular Deity in an area at large or for a person.
Culture
The worship of the Gods of Theros is a staple throughout the world and this belief of centuries have given the Gods their powers and divinity.
Mythology & Lore
Divine Characteristics
The gods of Theros are far more active than the deities of most D&D worlds. But that doesn’t mean they are ordinary creatures—they aren’t mere mortals, nor are they monsters that can be fought. Not until your characters amass great power at the least. During this Twilight of the Gods, their power is dwindling and based on character actions they can become weaker and some may be destroyed by the rejection of their power. Further, the gods of Theros aren’t omnipotent. Although they are physically and magically powerful, ageless, and all but indestructible, their actions are bound by the decrees of Klothys. They can tangle the threads of destiny to a point, but they are forbidden from overstepping their assigned places in the pantheon. The god Kruphix is able to confine them to Nyx, preventing any direct interaction between the gods and the mortal world. Likewise, the gods aren’t omniscient, though they see and hear everything that occurs inside their temples and before their altars. They have perfect recall of everything they experience. Certain liminal spaces—cave mouths, shorelines, crossroads, forest edges, and so on—enable mortal voices to reach the gods as well, though most gods have little reason to pay attention to what is spoken there. Gods can speak directly to their oracles. They can appear in the dreams of mortals or manipulate natural phenomena to create omens. They can also create Nyxborn creatures to serve as messengers or emissaries. Gods grant their clerics the ability to cast spells, and they can effortlessly duplicate the effect of any spell they could grant (any spell on the cleric spell list, as well as any domain spell from their domains). They also have broad influence over aspects of the world associated with their portfolios, beyond what can be defined by spell effects. For example, Purphoros can make a volcano erupt, and Thassa can call up a tidal wave. Gods can bestow supernatural blessings on mortals, and they can lay terrible curses (such as when Mogis turned a herd of cattle into catoblepases). The gods can assume any form they choose. They most commonly appear as humanoids—the form in which the people of Theros most easily imagine them—but on an enormous scale. They often seem to be walking across the dome of the sky, with their feet disappearing just below the horizon. Any part of a god’s body that isn’t directly lit takes on the appearance of the starry night sky of Nyx. The gods sometimes also appear as animals or magical creatures, or they manifest in insubstantial forms like sunlight or wind. When physically present in the mortal world, a god is capable of devastating physical attacks. Heliod’s spear striking the polis of Olantin caused it to sink forever into the sea and an errant blow from Purphoros’s hammer was responsible for shaping the mountains. The power of the gods exceeds that of any mortal being. Even so, a god killing another god—let alone a mortal attempting the task—is virtually inconceivable. Any kind of direct confrontation against a god by mortals would require the assistance of at least one other god, and ideally more than one, to have any hope of success. A group of adventurers might try to convince a group of gods to lend their aid against a god who has become a threat to the mortal world, hoping to get the gods to band together to restrain or punish the offender. Kruphix or Klothys might be able to force a god into a physical form that doesn’t fill the sky (perhaps something similar to an empyrean or the tarrasque), which could enable adventurers to battle the god, especially if they have access to a divine weapon. But defeating the god in that form would merely weaken the deity, allowing other members of the pantheon to capture, bind, or punish them. This type of confrontation is what lies at the end of the campaign. The players must work with Klothys or less likely Kruphix to force the Gods into mortal forms and defeat each one's physical form to weaken them enough to be bound by a Klothys gifted binding spell. Once bound the Gods will be completely unable to affect the mortal world and disbelief in them is sure to follow. This, after centuries of inaction, will cause the people to stop believing entirely and the God will cease to exist. The players will need several divine weapons and the ancient remains of the long-dead Titans in order to stand a chance and to perform the binding spell.Divine Relationships
The pantheon of Theros is a family—a large, often dysfunctional family riven with petty jealousies and rivalries but also held together by genuine affection, admiration, and cooperation. It is easiest, after all, for mortals to conceive of gods that are very much like themselves, and the gods of Theros are very humanlike in their foibles and their exploits. The pantheon of Theros has expanded through four generations of divine evolution. Some tales describe these as actual generations, suggesting (for example) that the storm god, Keranos, is the literal son of Thassa, god of the sea, and Purphoros, god of the forge. Others describe the generations in metaphorical terms, suggesting that Keranos represents the combination of Purphoros’s creative energy and Thassa’s deep knowledge, resulting in lightning-like flashes of inspiration (as well as the fury of a physical storm). In all their various forms, though, the myths agree on the basic structure of the pantheon’s development. The time of the first generation precedes the presence of what are commonly understood to be “gods.” Before mortals dreamed the gods into being, before they could even imagine beings as noble as the gods, the malleable dream-substance of Nyx gave shape to their fears in the form of the Titans. The titans were beings of utter chaos, representing everything that stands against order in the mortal world, never worshiped but sometimes appeased. Myths recount how the gods battled and imprisoned the titans, sealing them in a prison beneath the Underworld. Now the titans are all but forgotten in mortal imagination. Scant mention of their names and epithets appears in the oldest tales, hinting at the nightmares that birthed them. Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger, embodied the terror of death—and its insatiable gluttony for new creatures to consume. Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath, might be seen as a direct predecessor of Keranos and Thassa, but it was the incarnation of natural disaster, having none of the creativity and thoughtfulness of those gods. Phlage, Titan of Burning Wind, was an all-consuming whirlwind of fire, and Skotha, Titan of Eternal Dark, was the utter darkness of the starless night. There are remnants of these Titans scattered across Theros and the players will need to seek out two of the four Titan's remnants are ingredients/components to the binding spell. There is a scythe of Kroxa trapped in the Underworld, a crown of thorns from Uro in the faewild or its equivalent, a flaming greatsword of Phlage buried in the heart of a volcano where their ancient resting place sat at the base of the mountain, and cloak of utter blackness at the edge of world where it meets Nyx that remains of Skotha. The oldest of the gods, often imagined as siblings or as some kind of offshoot of the titans, are Kruphix and Klothys. The origin of this second divine generation is mysterious. Perhaps Klothys arose from a sense of inevitability, a notion that the world was unfolding as it must, and thus the actions of mortals made little difference. Kruphix might have been born from a sense of mystery, supporting the idea that the workings of the universe are simply incomprehensible to mortal minds. It’s also possible that Kruphix and Klothys are a different order of beings from either the titans or the other gods, and Klothys at least has existed for unknown ages despite being all but forgotten among mortal folk. Klothys and Kruphix are different from the Gods and were present before them and represent that sense of destiny and the physical embodiment of the horizon of the universe. They are technically one being, alternating appearance and form between the two- a male and female visage- as the moment deems the need for it. Klothys being more tied to destiny and the change that's coming is likely to be the face that the players meet. As they travel to the Fates to destroy the Loom or save it, Klothys will be possible to meet and speak with. Klothys will agree to watch over the Fates and help them guide, but not control, the mortals if the Loom is destroyed. They have seen it coming. If the Fates are chained and the Loom left to tangle Klothys will do the work of untangling destinies so that the world does not spin into chaos. If the players allow this to happen Klothys will not be as willing to help and they will likely need to call upon Kruphix to hear them out and reestablish trust. Once mortals could imagine a world beyond the horizon and a course of destiny that left behind the trials of life, they could formulate the notions of principles, order, and natural law. Out of those ideas, the third generation of deities was born: sun-crowned Heliod, deep-dwelling Thassa, bleak-hearted Erebos, bronze-blooded Purphoros, and keen-eyed Nylea. These gods are known to refer to each other as “brother” and “sister,” though they never speak of parents and almost certainly don’t imagine Kruphix and Klothys in that role. The other eight deities, the fourth generation, represent the application of abstract principles to the reality of mortal life. For example, while Heliod stands for universal moral precepts, Ephara is the god of laws, the rules, and structures that govern mortal societies. Nylea is the god of wild nature, predatory animals, and the change of seasons, and at the same time, Karametra is the god of nature tamed for human use—agriculture and domestication—and of the natural cycles involved in human life, especially childbirth. These gods recognize the previous generation as their elders but only occasionally as parents. Iroas and Mogis are widely considered to be brothers, but few myths describe their parentage and those that do contradict each other—in keeping with the nature of these eternally warring gods.Myths and Deeds
Countless tales tell the history, deeds, and nature of the gods. Sometimes these stories play out among the constellations in the night sky. They are chanted in hymns during the gods’ festivals, inscribed in temple walls, told around campfires and hearths, and collected on scrolls. Some are simple fables meant to illustrate a single facet of a god’s character or of moral behavior. Others are monumental epics, most notably The Cosmogony, a poem by an unnamed Meletian sage that includes several (sometimes conflicting) tales of the creation of the world and beyond. The people of Theros don’t balk at contradictory myths. Is Keranos the literal child of Thassa and Purphoros? Did he spring unbidden from Thassa’s heart when her rage grew too great for her to control? Or did he come into being when Purphoros tried to steal the secrets of Kruphix? To the people of Theros, it doesn’t matter whether these tales describe historical facts, and each of them is true in its own way. Each tale about Keranos expresses a truth about the god, about inspiration and storms and secrets. Studying each one can lead Keranos’s worshipers to a deeper understanding of and a closer relationship with their god. Various writings, usually organized around a central theme, collect myths about the gods. The Origin of Monsters is one such collection, notable as an attempt to find commonality in a number of different tales about the birth of dragons. It also describes how Pharika hid secrets in the blood of basilisks, how the spirits of great warriors are reincarnated in the form of manticores, and dozens of other tales. The epic poem called The Theriad is another such collection. It describes the exploits of various champions of Heliod, all of whom are simply called “the Champion,” as if they were a single individual. Because the identities of the heroes aren’t mentioned, the tales have more to say about the character of Heliod than about any champion’s mortal deeds. The Callapheia, by contrast, is about the exploits of a single mortal hero, Callaphe the Mariner, who snuck into Mount Velus and stole Purphoros’s tears, hid behind Phenax and wrote down his secrets, and raced Thassa at the edge of the world before sailing into Nyx. Tales of this sort highlight the gods’ pettiness and vanity and promote the somewhat blasphemous notion that a mere mortal can outwit the divine. The Callapheia also serves as something of a gazetteer of Theros, describing its various lands and their inhabitants, at least as they existed some centuries ago. Finally, the deeds of the gods are sung in paeans during their festivals. Naturally, these hymns portray the gods in the most favorable light, as benevolent (or at least indifferent) and all-powerful.Divine Origins
Centuries and centuries and centuries ago the Gods were brought into being by the belief of mortals who collectively saw them as the figures that controlled these various aspects of reality. The belief gave and continues to give the Gods their powers.
Worship
The idea of the existence of gods, as it grew in popularity among the mortals of Theros, didn’t bring the gods into being by itself. Mortal reverence and worship turned universal ideas into deities. It wasn’t until mortals trusted the gods to act on their behalf, in response to sacrifices and prayers, that the gods took shape from the dream-substance of Nyx. Worship remains crucial to the power of the gods, though mortals are generally not aware of their influence. Were a god to cease being worshiped, their might would dwindle.
The most prevalent form of expressing reverence is the practice of libation, pouring out a splash of wine or water in honor of the gods. Pious people perform a simple rite of prayer and libation every morning and evening at a household altar or hearth, while the less devoted might still pour out a splash of wine before drinking the rest.
The defining feature of a Theran temple is a statue of a god—which the actual god can occupy and animate at any time. Worshipers kneel before it, touch and kiss it, drape it in garlands and fine cloth, and leave offerings before it. These acts are sometimes spontaneous outpourings of love or gratitude, and sometimes petitions, imploring the god to cure an illness, send rain for crops, guarantee a safe journey, or perform any other favor related to the god’s sphere of influence.
Most people aren’t devoted to a single god, though many prefer some gods over others. Someone might ask Pharika to spare a loved one from disease, then later offer prayers to Karametra for a bountiful harvest or to Thassa for safety on a sea journey.
Priesthood
Clerics and Champions
It’s far more common for a hero to be devoted to an individual god than it is for an ordinary mortal. A cleric almost always worships a single god of the pantheon and chooses a domain appropriate to that deity for their Divine Domain feature. Often, heroes choose to devote themselves to particular gods either out of piety or self-interest. Sometimes, though, the gods choose champions who might not be entirely willing. Heliod, for example, takes pride in selecting only the best mortals to be his champions. He doesn’t care how the mortals feel about being chosen, and his demands won’t be refused. Most heroes in a Theros campaign, and all clerics, are assumed to devote themselves to a god’s cause, acting as that god’s champion. All the characters in a party might serve the same god, but more likely, they represent the interests of different gods as they face the dangers of the world together.Granted Divine Powers
Piety
Being a god’s champion carries no benefits in and of itself. Each god’s description in this chapter paints a picture of the god’s typical champion, including ideas for how a player character might end up in that position and provides ideals that represent the god’s interests. The gods do reward the devotion of their champions, though. The strength of your devotion to your god is measured by your piety score. As you increase that score, you gain blessings from your god. Piety has nothing to do with faith or belief, except insofar as a person’s thoughts and ideals drive them to action in a god’s service. Your piety score reflects the actions you have taken in your god’s service—actions that the god richly rewards. When you choose a god to worship as a beginning character, your piety score related to that god is 1. Your piety score increases by 1 when you do something to advance the god’s interests or behave in accordance with the god’s ideals. The gods expect great deeds from their champions, so your piety score typically increases only when you accomplish a significant goal (such as the completion of an adventure), make a significant sacrifice of your own self-interest, or otherwise when the DM sees fit. Each god’s description in this chapter includes a discussion of the god’s goals and ideals, which your DM uses to judge whether you earn an increase in your piety score. As a general rule, you can expect to increase your piety by 1 during most sessions of play, assuming that you are following your god’s tenets. The DM decides the amount of any increase or decrease, but a single deed typically changes your piety score by only 1 point in either direction unless your action is very significant.Benefits of Piety
The gods bestow favors on those who prove their devotion. When your piety score crosses certain thresholds—3, 10, 25, and 50—you gain a benefit detailed in the sections describing the gods’ champions throughout this chapter. If your piety score exceeds and then falls below one of those thresholds, you lose the benefit you gained at the higher tier. If you choose the Oracle supernatural gift, you gain different rewards for your piety score, instead of the ones normally granted by your god. This gift and its benefits are described in chapter 1.Inspiration and Piety
To some extent, piety is its own reward. Behaving in accordance with your god’s dictates and ideals inspires you and might enable you to succeed where you might otherwise fail. At your DM’s discretion, whenever you increase your piety score, you might also gain inspiration, reflecting the improvement in the harmony between you and your god.Impiety
Not every hero chooses the life of a divine champion. Leonin, in particular, are known for rejecting the worship of gods. If you don’t devote yourself to a god, you don’t have a piety score and you gain no rewards for piety, but you don’t suffer any negative consequences. The Iconoclast supernatural gift (described in chapter 1) offers a way for characters to gain benefits similar to rewards for piety without being devoted to a god.Changing Gods
If events in your character’s adventuring career warrant doing so, you can abandon the service of one god and turn to a different one. Once you abandon a god’s service, you can rarely go back without performing some act of contrition. Your DM decides whether your new god will accept you as a champion and what you might have to do to prove your commitment. When you change gods, you lose all the benefits granted by your old one, including rewards for piety and any other divine blessings. You no longer have a piety score to your old god, and your piety score to your new god starts at 1.Worship the Gods for They Created All
Maps
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Temple at the Edge of the World
Type
Religious, Pantheon
Location
Controlled Territories
Manufactured Items
Related Items
Related Plots
