Sean K. Reynolds – Gods

The following is a list of Open Game Content Gods by Sean K. Reynolds.

Chalavar (Lesser God)

“The Glutton”

Symbol: A knife on an empty plate

Alignment: N

Portfolio: Food, feasting, prosperity

Domains: Animal, Knowledge, Plant

Favored Weapon: Dagger

The Faithful Worshiper: Ilith

A happy and boastful god, Chalavar (CHAL-uh-var) is a welcome visitor to any meal or business gathering, as he makes the food safe and incredibly tasty and the dealings profitable for all involved.Worshiped by people who work with food or conduct trade, Chalavar is a popular deity despite having few actual clerics. He is shown as a round, pleasant-faced man wearing expensive rings, necklaces, and a jeweled cylindrical hat. He knows the best use for any animal, from the work it is suited for to the other food it complements.

He also knows the medicinal and culinary use for every plant. His rare temples are popular among adventurers, as Chalavar’s clerics love examining the carcasses of strange monsters to see what good can be made of them— for they study the art of cooking with as much ardor as their god. Chalavar is technically a nature deity and can be worshipped by druids and rangers, but his druids are even rarer than his clerics.

Chalavar’s clerics, druids, and rangers prepare their spells before breakfast. They have many holidays, including the birthdays of famous clerics or local nobles, seasonal occurrences, and historical events. These holidays always involve feasting.Worshipers even throw feasts on the holy days of other faiths, knowing that Chalavar gets his thanks whenever someone enjoys a good meal. It is considered bad form to not throw a feast on your own birthday, and wealthier clerics of Chalavar show off their prosperity and generosity by holding great birth-feasts with hundreds of guests. Common folk praise Chalavar’s name whenever a meal is extra good or a business deal turns out particularly well.

Enoran (Demigod)

“The Old Spirit”

Symbol: Sun setting behind a leafless tree

Alignment: N

Portfolio: Death, the ending of things, mourning

Domains: Knowledge, Travel

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

The Faithful Worshiper: Wellihan

Enoran (EN-or-an) is a god spoken of only rarely among the elves, for he represents the rarity of elven death from age, as well as the aging and decay of the world over time. He also comforts those who have suffered loss, whether the loss of a family member or the death of a treasured tree. A minor aspect of his faith involves the enactment of vengeance, although he has emphasized this less and less over the centuries.

He is a sad, quiet deity, weary from carrying on his shoulders the weight of generations of sorrow and death, especially the countless numbers lost in the elven wars. He is depicted as an impossibly old elf with gray hair and a wrinkled face, although he is rarely shown alone and usually appears only in the background of pictures of the elven pantheon. Enoran is said to keep a book of names of all the elven dead, written in his own blood.

Enoran’s faith has no true holidays, though worshipers sing songs of joy every time an elf comes back from the dead. Each day they light black candles in the name of elves who died on that day. They fast for the last three days of the year, breaking their fast on the first sunrise of the new year.

Common elves rarely speak of Enoran except at funerals and in the wake of battles.

Halgrin (Demigod)

“The Screaming Lord”

Symbol: A screaming face

Alignment: CE

Portfolio: Terror, torture, screams

Domains: Chaos, Death, Evil

Favored Weapon: Morningstar

The Faithful Worshiper: Erun Tegraath

Born of an incestuous union of the godlings of hate and pain, Halgrin (HAL-grin) is a monstrous being, living only to inflict suffering on others and nurtured by the prayers of his faithful and the sounds of creatures in agony. Halgrin has no allies among the other gods, as he would likely turn on any creature that came near him. He wanders from place to place and plane to plane, leaving when there are no easy torture victims within reach. Halgrin appears as a huge misshapen head with an unnaturally large fanged mouth, carried about by a dozen spindly clawed arms that grow from his neck, some carrying weapons and other carrying still-living pieces of his most recent victims.

Halgrin’s clerics prepare their spells just after nightfall. They care little for holy days, celebrating every misery they inflict and planning ahead to capture especially choice creatures for torture. The one ritual they routinely practice is the Heralding of Howls, performed on the last night of the year. On this night, they torture many creatures and try to make them scream as loud as possible, bridging the old year and the new with a discordant chant to their foul god. Common folk never invoke his name, even to stave off pain, as it is thought to merely attract his attention.

Korven (Lesser God)

“The Defending Blade”

Symbol: A well-notched short sword

Alignment: LG

Portfolio: Defensive tactics, protection, vigilance, Halfling soldiers

Domains: Good, Law, Protection,War

Favored Weapon: Short sword

The Faithful Worshiper: Fintus Talltree

A serious-minded halfling deity, Korven (KOR-ven) protects all halflings and inspires them to defend their homes and families when beset by hostile creatures. He and his followers take a more reactive than proactive stance; if Halflings are not threatened, he seems content to remain quiet and fortify, but when halflings are in danger he is ready to lead them to victory. His followers study traps and fortifications as well as applications of direct force. Under their tutelage even a simple caravan wagon can become a mobile fortress.

He is rarely depicted, but when he is it is always as a fullymailed halfling warrior with a battered short sword and metal shield, eyes showing determination from within an open-faced helmet.

Korven is actually the fourth deity to hold this office in the halfling pantheon. When the original halfling war god was killed in a great battle with fiends, his divine essence transferred to the body of Halori, his most faithful follower, elevating her to godhood. She died in combat with the followers of a dark elf lich-goddess, and the divine power went to Jarvor, her most devout servant. Jarvor fell to Tasrisaak, Mother of Bebiliths, and so Korven—her greatest champion— assumed the mantle of godhood in her place. The cycle of death and renewal for this office gives its current holder an acceptance of death and a tendency toward martyrdom, as he knows his legacy and duties will carry on.

Korven’s clerics and paladins pray for spells at the first light of dawn. They celebrate (in somber fashion) the anniversaries of great battles where halflings emerged victorious, and they light candles for halfling heroes lost in battle while defending others. Common halflings pray to him for protection at the start of a journey and before retiring for the evening, asking for safe travel and safe rest.

Larhoon (Lesser God)

“The Bloodhunger”

Symbol: Bloody-topped skull

Alignment: NE

Portfolio: Killing, murder

Domains: Death, Evil, Trickery

Favored Weapon: Club

The Faithful Worshiper: Jarm

Larhoon (lar-HOON) is an unrelenting, violent deity, said to have sprung from the corpse of the just-murdered god of death, bristling with teeth and horns. He loves death in all its forms, from slow torture to quick disintegration. It is said that Larhoon never sleeps, that he will never rest as long as one creature still remains alive. Larhoon is no fan of the undead, either, and relishes destroying them nearly as much as he does living creatures. He is depicted as a gray-skinned muscular humanoid creature with spines and horns protruding in all places; his only raiment is a belt made of bloody skulls.

Larhoon sometimes serves as the lackey of the gods of war, and sometimes as the consort of the goddess of death, but he spends much of his time alone, searching for new things to kill. He welcomes challenges to his power and has drunk the blood of many godlings and great heroes who thought to slay him.

Larhoon’s clerics prepare their spells at dusk. They celebrate whenever there is a public death (such as an execution), feast on the anniversaries of battles in which many fell, and sacrifice animals to honor the names of famous assassins, murderers, and warlords. His faith consists of many small cults with no central hierarchy. Several evil humanoid tribes venerate him, as do some particularly bloodthirsty clans of human barbarians. Larhoon’s name has become a curse among the common folk. In less-than-civilized places, criminals are sacrificed to him in hopes of keeping his attention away from others in the community.

Kurzana (Lesser Goddess)

“The Builder”

Symbol: Carpenter’s hammer with a spider symbol

Alignment: LN

Portfolio: Construction, building, weaving, engineering

Domains: Earth, Knowledge, Law

Favored Weapon: Hammer

The Faithful Worshiper: Morine

Kurzana (kur-ZAH-nuh) is an old deity that has changed over time as the people of the world developed their knowledge of building. Originally a goddess of caverns, she took on the mantle of shelters when intelligent creatures began building homes for themselves, and eventually reached her current state, watching over all kinds of building, whether homes, temples, or other structures in a community. She opposes deities of destruction and those that dislike or harm civilization (such as gods of plague). She is depicted as a woman with stony skin, wearing a simple gown and bearing a hammer with a spider on it. Her faith considers killing normal spiders, her chosen animal, bad luck; monstrous spiders that actually constitute a threat are an exception. The building styles of all civilized creatures intrigue her, and she allies with likeminded dwarven, elven, and gnome deities. Although willing to talk endlessly about engineering, Kurzana remains otherwise a distant deity, having no close friendships with deities who do not share her specialized interests.

Kurzana’s clerics prepare their spells in the morning. They have few holidays, although they do note the dates on which the construction of great buildings began or ended. Although not a particularly martial faith, her clerics often move to small communities to establish temples that double as sturdy fortresses, which they open to the entire community when the settlement is threatened. Her clerics tend to be scholars in one building style, and sensible folk consult with a member of the church before planning any construction expected to last more than a year. Common folk pray to Kurzana during storms to keep their homes safe and at the groundbreaking of new buildings to bless those within.

Kain (Intermediate God)

“The Black Lord”

Symbol: Horizontal mailed fist

Alignment: LE

Portfolio: Tyranny, rulership

Domains: Law, Evil

Favored Weapon: Spear

The Faithful References: Zoff and Nan Dur

Kain (KAYN) is a megalomaniacal deity who believes that only the strong are fit to rule, and that he is destined to rule the world and all of the other gods. He makes elaborate plans and spends years watching them unfold, becoming frustrated when the actions of chaotic beings and other meddlers interfere with his plots. His brother is Vogg, a deity of random destruction and one of his frequent opponents, although the two cannot perceive each other directly or be affected by each others’ direct actions. While he hates the forces of good that interfere with his works, he saves his greatest wrath for chaotic fiends, who give no regard to his orders and (in his words) “give evil a bad name.” He is shown as a man with midnightblack skin and glowing eyes, wearing a noble’s clothing of simple cut and dark colors. His left arm is encased in black metallic armor, from which he can pull an iron spear as often as he likes. He sponsors several orders of blackguards to protect his churches and enforce his dictates in evil lands. At least one guild of assassins works in his name, eliminating troublesome opponents and rabble-rousers.

Kain’s clerics prepare their spells when it becomes dark in the evening. His church celebrates the anniversaries of great clerics’ and tyrants’ birthdays, the first day of every month, and every new moon. These celebrations are more an affirmation of faith in and loyalty to the Black Lord than episodes of revelry. The sacrifice of dissidents or enemies of the church accompanies the rites whenever possible. Few common folk worship Kain, although in places where he holds much political power he is respected for his ability to keep bandits and raiding monsters away. His rule is otherwise harsh.

Luna (Lesser Goddess)

Symbol: Three crescent moons arranged in a line

Alignment: CG

Portfolio: The moon, feminine power, non-evil lycanthropes

Domains: Chaos, Good, Protection

Favored Weapon: Chakram

The Faithful Worshiper: Quillan

A very old goddess, Luna predates current civilizations. A powerful force for the protection and power of women, her strength has waxed and waned over the centuries. Where the sun is hot and aggressive in its light, the moon remains cool and gentle. She prefers peace to war, and kind words to loud speech, but when someone threatens her charges, she can tear apart her foes with the ferocity of a she-bear defending her cubs. She is also the patron goddess of non-evil lycanthropes, and her faith teaches that her light blesses good lycanthropes. Conversely, Luna teaches that evil lycanthropes are corruptions of her gifts to mortals; her followers hunt them down to either cure or kill. She is always shown as a woman with white eyes, dark hair, and a crescent symbol on her forehead, although other details vary. Dogs, wolves, and owls are her sacred animals.

Luna’s church holds a small ceremony on the first day of each new, full, and quarter moon. Lunar eclipses always call for prayer vigils until the moon appears again, while solar eclipses are sacred events to be celebrated publicly, enjoying the night during the day. Women hold most positions of power in her church, and a disproportionate number of her clerics are female, but her church neither shuns nor marginalizes men. Common folk invoke Luna’s name at weddings to bless the bride and keep her safe in her husband’s house, at childbirth to guard the expectant mother’s health, and at any time when journeys must be made at night.

Shehaan (Demigoddess)

“Goddess of the Mists, the Mist Goddess”

Symbol: A moon (crescent or full) behind a cloud of mist

Alignment: N

Portfolio: Mist, isolation, concealment

Domains: Luck, Trickery,Water

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

The Faithful Worshiper: Hilarrin

Shehaan (shay-HON) is a reclusive goddess, almost forgotten by non-elves and worshiped only by hermit elves and a few secluded elven communities. Although this should mean her power is dwindling, she draws strength from her great solitude and uses it to protect her faithful. She avoids direct confrontation, preferring to redirect an opponent’s attention, confuse the minds of her enemies, and retreat when victory is not certain. She is shown as an elven woman with wet hair and pale skin, dressed in a gossamer robe or a concealing elven cloak. Shehaan is a nature deity and can be worshiped by druids and rangers.

Shehaan is a neutral deity, but like the moon she changes. On nights when the moon is new she becomes rather wild, willing to take risks and even reveal her presence when she normally would remain hidden. This change does not affect the abilities of her worshipers, although they, too, seem more willing to take risks on these days.

Shehaan’s clerics pray for their spells at sundown or moonrise, whichever comes later in the day. Solar eclipses are holy days to the faithful, when her followers given up to the goddess unusual plants and fruits as sacrifices. They go into hiding whenever a lunar eclipse occurs; during these times, which they call the “Night of Madness,” they lose all spellcasting ability, as their goddess goes truly mad and forgets her worshipers entirely. Shehaan always regrets these lapses and apologetically pays closer attention to her followers in the weeks following such an event.

Where she is worshiped, the common folk pray to her to keep them hidden from the eyes of their enemies and to bring needed rain.

Thalander (Lesser God)

“Quickheart, Many-Father”

Symbol: White cat surrounded by a red glow

Alignment: NG

Portfolio: Vitality, fertility, strength

Domains: Animal, Good, Plant, Strength

Favored Weapon: Longsword

The Faithful Worshiper: Kress

The boisterous and extroverted Thalander (tha-LANder) embodies the principles of life, survival, and perpetuation of life. Where he walks, plants sprout and animals spring up out of nothing. When he laughs, the air is filled with beautiful birds and insects. Thalander, the greatest foe of the undead, is often depicted blasting them out of existence with great beams of life energy from his hands. Like the cat of his symbol, Thalander has a roving eye and woos many females, whether deity, celestial, or mortal. He has many offspring, some of whom carry his divine blood more strongly than others. Thalander himself is a fair-skinned, redheaded man with a lean but strong build; he is usually shown barefoot, wearing cloth breeches and little else. In some of the more decadent cities his temples double as palaces devoted to the flesh, for his faith teaches that passion and childbirth are needed for a race to remain vital and alive; this openness ensures he has few paladins, for their lawful codes usually frown on such behavior. Thalander is a nature deity and can be worshiped by druids and rangers.

Thalander’s clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers pray for spells at dawn, preferably in the light of the sun. The spring equinox is a day of great celebration, marking the height of Thalander’s power, and worshippers hold weekly feasts throughout the entire spring season. The autumn equinox is their only somber holiday, a remembrance of people met and lives shared in the past growing season, ending on a high note as they look forward to the breaking of winter. Common folk pray to Thalander to bring healthy crops and bless marriages with an abundance of children. They invoke his name at the presentation of a new child to the community, in hopes of ensuring a long and healthy life.

Thoin (Lesser God)

“The Keeper, the Silent Pick”

Symbol: A gem within a mountain

Alignment: N

Portfolio: Mines, secrets under the earth

Domains: Earth,War

Favored Weapon: Pick

The Faithful Worshiper: Regrin

Thoin (THOH-in) the Keeper is a silent deity of the rewards waiting underground for hard-working dwarves. Not content to dig and sift for treasures, Thoin feels that the only way for dwarves to retain their birthright is to eliminate all hostile underground races so their lesser hands will not profane the treasures with unskilled workmanship. Some extreme cults take his teachings to mean that even gnomes, humans, and other dwarven allies that mine the earth should be eliminated as well, but this is not part of his official doctrine; Thoin’s concerns are the barbaric humanoids and goblinoids, as well as metal- and gem-eating monsters such as rust monsters, xorn, and metal-addicted delvers.

Thoin is shown as a long-bearded dwarf made of stone, bearing a great pick or pickaxe, eyes and mouth glowing like sparkling gems or fresh lava. He never speaks, but seems amenable to the company of other dwarven and earth deities who respect his dogma. His faithful take particular vengeance against thieves, burning them to death with spellheated molten rock.

Followers of Thoin celebrate upon finding a vein of new ore, especially if that ore is mithral or adamantine. They hold weeklong wakes whenever a king or high priest dies and, unlike most dwarves, his followers never bury their dead with treasures—they see that as a waste of good metal and an affront to the dwarf, as it presumes the deceased incapable of looking for new treasures in the afterlife. Thoin’s churches display their wealth openly as a display of the god’s power and generosity. A temple of Thoin doubles as an armory and fortress, as followers use it as a launching point for attacks on humanoid miners and for defense against raiders. Common dwarves pray to Thoin after hard work to find rewards and before battles waged to gain or protect valuable objects.

Vaath (Demigoddess)

“The Laugher”

Symbol: A laughing mouth within a wavy circle

Alignment: CN

Portfolio: Humor, irony

Domains: Chaos, Luck, Trickery

Favored Weapon: Rapier

The Faithful Worshiper: Laal Torrevask

Vaath (VOTH) is a well-traveled deity, always on the run from her last escapade. She represents the ability to laugh at frightening or impossible situations as well as the more traditional aspects of humor and irony. She dislikes older, staid deities, preferring to shake things up a bit and see what laughter there is to discover in the world. Depictions of her vary, but she is usually shown as a humanoid woman with a large grin and bright teeth (although she is sometimes shown as a fox or even a male). She trained herself to run faster than the wind, hold her breath for nine days, and speak out of both sides of her mouth; three skills she needed to pull off an elaborate joke on the gods of storms, fire, and cities. She loves recruiting worshipers (especially clerics) from serious or wrathful deities just to see the reaction of her divine opponents.

Vaath’s clerics pray for spells on a different schedule from month to month, chosen by the deity and revealed at the last minute. Her followers are great fans of All Fool’s Day, where they make up almost unbelievable stories and try to get as many people as possible to fall for them. They honor the birthdays of local nobles with roasts and caricatures, and often celebrate somber holidays of other faiths with loud songs, indecent jokes, and extravagant pranks. Because of these habits, many clerics of Vaath use aliases when going about the goddess’ work or use disguises or magic to pretend to worship other deities in order to prevent retaliation. Common people invoke her name in times of good cheer and when things go wrong, in hopes of seeing a more positive side—such as the church’s fable of the plowman’s ox that hurt its leg on a stone, under which lay a nugget of gold.

Valkon (Lesser God)

“The Sky Lord”

Symbol: Cloud with a lightning bolt

Alignment: LN

Portfolio: Air, wind, clouds, ordered nature of the heavens

Domains: Air, Animal^*, Law,War

Favored Weapon: Longbow

The Faithful Worshiper: Andu

^* Spells from the Animal domain that would affect animals do so when cast by clerics of Valkon only if the animal is a bird, bat, or other winged type.

Valkon (VAL-kahn) is the master of the air and heavens, from the stars to coastal breezes and everything in between. An active and aggressive deity, he loathes chaos, unpredictability, and ancient magical weapons of war that promote those things. This puts him at odds with most other weather deities, who tend to be more carefree and capricious. His celestial messengers are birds, and his temples often use birds to carry messages or spy on their enemies. Valkon is a nature deity and may be worshiped by druids and rangers. He enjoys archery and believes it to be a superior form of war-craft to melee fighting. In artwork he is depicted as a tall winged man, lithe but strong, bearing a longbow and having close-cropped fair hair.

Valkon’s clerics, druids, and rangers pray for spells at the change of the wind in the morning or the evening (choosing one and holding to that choice ever after). They celebrate the equinoxes and solstices as holy days, as well as the first rainfall in spring and the first snowfall in autumn or winter. Common folk pray to him to bring needed rains or fend off approaching storms, which are always considered to be the work of rival weather gods.

Vogg (Demigod)

“The Firelord”

Symbol: An eye surrounded by flame

Alignment: CE

Portfolio: Wildfire, destruction, randomness

Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fire

Favored Weapon: Mace

The Faithful Worshiper: Zoff

Vogg (VOG) is the embodiment of random destruction without intellect to direct it. Although he is as intelligent as his brother Kain, he only uses his mind to think up ways to break things faster, louder, and hotter. He is more than content to run about covered in flames of his own creation, setting afire anything he touches or even gazes at for too long.

He is shown as a humanoid (the type varies by artist and cult) with his skin blackened by great heat, hair of flame, and carrying a mace made of solid fire. Vogg doesn’t really hate anything as much as he is curious about how well and how quickly he can destroy it. He becomes angry when someone places in his way obstacles that he cannot harm, and he becomes livid when someone quenches a fire he sets or dares to try calming him. Vogg would be a more powerful deity if he didn’t have the habit of answering some invocations with blasts of violent fire, which tends to reduce his number of worshipers. He is a friend to fire elementals and tolerates efreet and other fiery creatures.

Vogg’s clerics pray for their spells at noon, the apex of the burning sun. They care little for scheduled holidays, but revel in the presence of any great fire, whether naturally occurring or deliberately set. They’re not above setting a fire for the excuse to celebrate. Though most of his followers are too simpleminded to appreciate the destruction of particularly valuable things (such as sacred elven groves, historic buildings, and so on), they do like watching temples to protective or water deities burn to ash. On the hottest day of the year, members of the church summon as many fire elementals as possible and send them running about, burning whatever they see. In idle times, cult cells are likely to self-destruct, as rival clerics set each other on fire as fanatical offerings to their obsessive deity.

Yaheine (Demigoddess)

“The Sword Maiden”

Symbol: Kite shield with a sunburst

Alignment: LG

Portfolio: Protection, valor, honor

Domains: Good, Law, Protection,War

Favored Weapon: Bastard sword

The Faithful Worshiper: Bath Raav, Tonath, Vond Cloven, and Yistobel

Daughter of the sun god, Yaheine (ya-HEEN) is the faithful guardian, protector of the innocent, and champion of good. Channeling the power of her father, Yaheine strikes out at all evil in her path, making places safe for decent folk. She cannot abide fiends or the undead, and hunts necromancers and demonologists without mercy. She is shown as a tall woman bearing a flashing bastard sword and clad in shining metal armor, her gold hair unbound in a storm about her face like solar flames. When age catches up with her clerics and paladins, they usually take up a leadership role in a community, administering fair law and keeping the peace, ready to bear arms whenever evil raises its head. Her followers respect those who worship the sun god, and the two closely allied churches often share space in the same temple.

Yaheine’s clerics and paladins pray for their spells at dawn when the leading edge of the sun first becomes visible. Their holy days are the summer solstice and midwinter— said to be the time of year when the sun god’s clerics received word that his daughter had been born and would become a champion for all good in the world. Common folk pray to her for fairness in all things, as well as protection in unsafe places. Her name is used to seal oaths as a promise of good intent.