Page 24 - D&D - Player's Handbook

THE DWARVEN PANTHEON
Deity Alignment Domains Symbol
Abbathor, gad of greed NE Trickery jeweled dagger, point-down
Berronar Truesilver, goddess of hearth LG Life, Light Intertwined silver rings
and home
Clangeddin Silverbeard, god of war LG War Crossed si lver battleaxes
Deep Duerra, duergar goddess of LE Arcana, War Mind fl ayer sku ll
conquest and psionics
Dugmaren Brightmantle, god of discovery CG Knowledge Open book
Dumathoin, god of buried secrets N Death, Knowledge Mountain silhouette with a central gemstone
Gorm Gulthyn, god of vigilance LG War Bronze half-mask
H aela Brightaxe, goddess of war-luck CG War Upright sword whose blade is spiraled in flame
Laduguer, duergar god of magic and LE Arcana, Death Broken arrow
slavery
Marthammor Duin , god of wanderers NG Nature, Trickery Upright mace in front of a tall boot
Moradin, god of creation LG Knowledge Hammer and anvil
Sharindlar, goddess of healing CG Life Burni ng needle
Vergadain, god of luck and wealth N Trickery Gold coin with the face of a dwarf
Shrines tend to be unstaffed, kept up by the locals and PRIESTHOOD
visitors who use the place for prayer. A shrine might be Priesthood is a vocation like any other, with those who
as modest as a roadside well, where traveling merchants undertake it often honing their abilities through a sys-
can drop a coin to request good fortune from Waukeen, tem of apprenticeship. At a small temple, a novice or
or as grand as a statue of Amaunator surrounded by bra- an acolyte might study under the only priest available.
ziers in a pavilion in the middle of a village. Larger temples can accommodate groups of acolytes,
Traveling priests often seek out and visit these sites, each learning under the direction of one or more men-
and they act as meeting places for the faithful. When tors responsible for training them in the duties and
word gets around that a traveling priest of Elda th has skills of the priesthood.
come into town, the faithful seek her out at the holy Once acolytes complete their education, they are often
spring dedicated to the goddess at the edge of town. ordained in a ritual in which a successful candidate is
A family or business might maintain a shrine or a invested with the responsibilities of the priesthood.
chapel to its favored deity, perhaps a set of wind chimes
consecrated to Akadi hung from the high branches of CONFLICTS AND PERSECUTION
a tree in the garden, or a wooden symbol shaped like The moral and ethical values of the deities in FaerO.n
the hand of Azuth in miniature displayed on a prom- run the gamut, representing all the outlooks that their
inent wall with a space nearby to burn a candle or mortal followers demonstrate, from the principled
some incense. agents of good to the vicious proponents of evil. Most
cultures and societies aren't nearly as cosmopolitan as
COMMUNING WITH THE GODS the population of FaerO.n taken as a whole; as a result,
Though many tales are told of times past when the gods religious persecution (from the viewpoint of those who
appeared in physical form and walked the land, occa- garner the attention) is practiced in places where wor-
sions of that sort are few and far between. For the most ship of certain deities is frowned on.
part, the gods communicate with their faithful through Most governments that engage in persecution limit
signs and omens, appreciated by those able to interpret such restrictions to the establishment of formal temples,
them. Of course, some signs are more subtle- and thus priesthoods, and organized festivals. (On a practical
more open to interpretation- than others. level, it's impossible to prevent individuals from innoc-
The most common kind of communion that worship- uously or secretly worshiping whichever deities they
ers and priests find with their deities is in prayer, song, choose.) For instance, although worship of Talona- like
or meditation. Such experiences are intensely personal, that of many evil gods- is forbidden in Waterdeep, this
and it is common wisdom to keep them that way. After prohibition extends only to the creation of a temple and
all, "advice" from one's god that appears during morning the presence of her priesthood within the city. Individual
prayer and gives one a good turn to the day is worth- citizens or families who revere Talona might be viewed
while only for oneself. Let each worshiper commune in as misguided, but they aren't taken into custody or pun-
their own way, as the saying goes. ished as long as they obey the laws of the city.
Divine magic also provides a means of communing Some places take this form of persecution a step
with the gods and can be used to call upon their guid- further, for a variety of reasons. A tyrant might outlaw
ance. Divine pronouncements of this sort are often worship of Torm, lest it inspire rebellion, and an other-
personal in scope and brief, and those edicts that con- wise fair-minded mayor of a river-mill community might
cern broader matters tend to be open to interpretation demand that worshipers of Silvanus find elsewhere to
or debate.

CHAPTER 1 I WELCOME TO TH E REALMS
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