Page 38 - D&D - Player's Handbook

faith are individual temples or small networks of allied men and women sometimes attempt to divine the names
temples, much in the manner of other faiths. of their future spouses by saying a rhyming chant that
calls upon Savras while gazing in a mirror.
THE RED KNIGHT Savras has no currently active temples in Faerun, and
his shrines are few and far between, tucked away in the
The Lady of Strategy, the Crimson General, the
corners of libraries and scriptoria. Despite this lack of
Grandmaster of the Lanceboard
prominence, certain folk pay regular homage to Savras,
The Red Knight is the goddess of planning and strategy.
including investigators, diviners, judges, and others
Those who favor her call themselves the Red Fellow-
who have a need to uncover the truth. Such individuals
ship. They believe wars are won by the best planning,
can sometimes be identified by the elaborate staffs they
strategy, and tactics. The worship of the Red Knight is
carry in homage to Savras. According to legend, Savras
fi lled with doctrine about strategy, such as: "Every war
was trapped in Azuth's staff for ages. Azuth eventually
is a series of battles. Losing one doesn't mean losing
freed Savras so long as Savras swore fealty, and today
the war." "In war, plan for peace. In peace, plan for war."
the staff is a potent symbol for those who revere Savras.
"Seek allies among your enemy's enemies."
Devout worshipers take great pains to decorate and em-
Worship of the Red Knight arose among a hero-ven-
bellish their staffs, each hoping that Savras might find it
erating monastic order of Tempus in Tethyr shortly
a welcoming place to stop for a time.
after the Time of Troubles. The Red Knight has since
grown in popularity because of what her followers call SELUNE
the Great Stratagem: for decades, her priests have been
Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden, the Night White Lady
traveling to places of warfare to educate generals and
kings in the arts of strategy and battlefield tactics. Many Selune is thought to be among the most ancient of
of the leaders they approached turned them away at Faerun's deities. Most humans in Faerun consider the
first, but it soon became apparent that those who ac- moon in the sky to literally be the goddess gazing down
cepted the counsel of the Crimson General's followers on the world, and the trailing motes of light behind it her
gained a distinct benefit. Grateful victors built temples to tears. She is also a goddess of stars and navigation as
the Lady of Strategy, and gradually her faith spread. well as motherhood and reproductive cycles. She is seen
Today, followers of the Red Knight can be found in as a calm power, frequently venerated by female humans
nearly any land that has seen warfare in the past cen- as well as by a mix of other folk: navigators and sailors,
tury. Worshipers of the Red Knight are rare in the gen- those who work honestly at night, those seeking protec-
eral population, but those who revere her can frequently tion in the dark, the lost, and the questing.
be found among high-ranking commanders of armies, There are many legends about Selune, chief among
instructors in colleges of war, quartermasters, and the them being the tale of the battle at the beginning of
authors of tomes of strategy. Each temple to the Red time between Selune and her sister, Shar. The Tears of
Knight includes an altar dedicated to Tempus, and so Selune, the cluster of starry lights that follow the moon
such a place is likely to be frequented by mercenaries around the sky, are thought to be brought about by the
and soldiers. A temple is surrounded by a vast pavilion goddess's joy, sorrow, or both.
and courtyard, which can be rented by companies of Milk, a symbol of motherhood, is used in many rites
soldiers and mercenaries for practice and training. Her performed by the worshipers of Selune, as are trances
priests believe that drilling one's troops in a temple and meditation. Those who favor her typically set a bowl
courtyard is a form of propitiation that the Red Knight of milk outside on each night of the full moon.
looks upon with special favor.
SHAR
SAVRAS
The Mistress of the Night, the Dark Lady, Our Lady of
The All-Seeing, the Third Eye, Divination's Lord Loss
Savras is a god of divination and fortunetelling. Few The dark twin of Selfine, Shar is the goddess of dark-
people worship him, but many pray to him when per- ness, both in its physical form and as it exists in the
forming small rituals of foresight. For example, young minds and souls of mortals. People worship Shar as

SYM BOL OF T HE
Reo KNI GH T

CHAPTER 1 I WELCOME TO THE REALMS