Page 31 - D&D - Player's Handbook

their folds gears, locks, hooks, and bits of steel, tin, and addressed directly with their requests, but they consider
wood that might prove useful in a pinch. They also wear Gwaeron Windstrom to be one of them and thus under-
belts of large, linked metal medallions and enormous standing of their needs.
sun hats. A traveling priest of Gond offers services to Gwaeron has no temples, but shrines dedicated to
distant villages as a tinker, a carpenter, and a civil engi- him can be found in many places that serve wilderness
neer rolled into one, ready to help build a better paddock wanderers as trail markers. Each one is denoted by a
gate, dig a new well, or mend pots or furniture that carving of Gwaeron's symbol, a paw print with a star on
might otherwise go to waste. All priests of Gond keep the palm, on a prominent tree or stone.
journals in which they record ideas, inventions, and in-
novations discovered in their travels, and take great de- HELM
light in meeting fellow priests and sharing their finds. In
The Watcher, He of the Unsleeping Eyes, the Vigilant
large cities, the Gondar construct temples that serve as
One
great workshops and inventors' labs. Wandering priests
The god of vigilance and protection, Helm is seen as the
turn their journals over to the resident scribes at such
epitome of the guardian, the watcher, and the guard. He
temples, who then record the priests' observations for
is venerated by those who need to remain watchful for
posterity and the benefit of all.
Most who favor G9nd practice time-honored crafting enemies or danger. Helm is a favorite deity of people
who make a living by protecting someone or something,
professions: they are smiths and engineers, architects
such as bodyguards, members of the city watch, and the
and weavers, leatherworkers and jewelers. Even so, this
guards of a treasury vault.
faith has a well-earned reputation as a haven for crack-
Helm embodies the spirit of watchfulness without
pot inventors and visionaries.
regard to good or evil. In legends, he is honorable and
The center of Gond's worship on the Sword Coast lies
in Baldur's Gate, where the faithful have erected two keeps his word to a fault, such as when he guarded
huge structures in honor of the Wonderbringer: a tem- the celestial stairways during the Time of Troubles,
ple called the High House of Wonders and a museum preventing the gods from ascending them and continu-
of craft and design called the Hall of Wonders. Lantan ing the chaos of that period, until the Tablets of Fate
were found.
had been the preeminent place of Gond's worship in the
world until a century ago, when the island nation dis- Although his faith has known dark days, worship of
appeared, and since its return the few Lantanese mer- Helm never truly faded away. Most of his followers be-
chants seen in Sword Coast ports have said little about lieve that the Watcher can never be vanquished utterly,
the present state of their homeland. and recent events have borne out that assertion.
Helm's priests teach that one must be ever vigilant,
GWAERON WINDSTROM ever aware, ever prepared for one's enemies. Patience,
clear thought, and careful planning will always defeat
The Mouth of Mielikki, the Master Tracker, the Tracker
rushed actions in the end. Those who favor Helm strive
ever Led Astray
to be alert, clear-headed, and true to their word. These
Few aside from rangers of the North pray to Gwaeron traits don't necessarily make them nice people, however,
Windstrom. Said to have been a mortal man elevated to and as such many consider the faithful of Helm to be
godhood by Mielikki, Gwaeron serves rangers as their inflexible and merciless.
intercessor with Mielikki. He is seen as a master ranger,
the perfect tracker, a peerless animal handler, and a HOAR
dedicated foe of rapacious creatures such as trolls and The Doombringer, Poet of justice
ores. He is said to look like an old man with a long white
Hoar, known in the lands along the Inner Sea as Assu-
beard who is still hale and mighty, and he is believed to
ran, is a god of revenge and retribution. He isn't typically
take rest and sleep in a stand of trees near Triboar.
worshiped habitually, but his name is invoked by those
Rangers pray to Gwaeron because he represents
who seek vengeance. When a guilty party falls prey to
much of the work they do, and because he can speak
fate- such as when a murderer escapes prosecution,
to Mielikki on their behalf. In the North, most rangers
but is then accidentally slain himself- the hand of Hoar
view Mielikki as too mysterious, holy, and wild to be
SYMBOL OF" 11oAR

SYMBOL OF" 11ELM

SYMBOL OF GoND
CHAPTER I I WELCOME TO THE REALMS