Gods in the FORGOTTEN REALMS
Greater Powers
Chauntea is a good-aligned deity, the farmer's goddess and the gardeners's patroness, and attracts many worshipppers from those close to land. She is the
bitter oponent of gods of natural destruction, such as Talos and Auril.
The Prince of Lies is a relative newcomer, having swallowed the powers of
three elder evil gods. A schemer and plotter, Cyric has sought to consolidate
his power among many factions and schims, but has proved to be very popular among the Red Wizards of Thay.
A very popular god with the people of the North, the Morninglord is the god of
beginnings, and his name is invoked at the start of journeys and the bindings
of contracts. His priests are both eloquent and relatively wealthy.
Mystra - Goddess of Magic
Mystra, the Lady of Mysteries, is the Goddess of magic, and one of the most
powerful entities in the magical Realms. Mystra's followers in the past decade
have become more vocal and outgoing, following changes which occured in the
goddess herself.
Oghma - God of Knowledge
Oghma the Binder is venerated by mages, sages, and bards, and all who seek
knowledge and information. Oghma is served by Deneir and Milil, and is an ally
(not always comfortably) with Gond.
Shar - Goddess of Darkness & Loss
The Mistress of the Night, the Lady of Loss, Shar is Selune's enemy, and rules
the dark places between the stars and the shadows so deep even Mask shuns
them. Her followers have been gaining power over the years, and many thieves
worship in her dark, warm shadows.
Silvanus - God of Nature
The Oak Father is particularly venerated by the druids of the North as an embodiment of nature in its original state, untouched by civilization. He is the
balancer of Chauntea and Malar, Eldath and Talos, the settled and the savage.
His high priests are druids.
Sune - Goddess of Love & Beauty
Sune Firehair is a vain goddess, and her followers follow that vanity, choosing the best-looking of their numbers as their leaders. She is a popular deity
in the cities of the North.
Talos - God of Storms & Destruction
Talos the Destroyer, the Raging One, is a fickle and vengeful god, ready to
smite his followers as well as his doubters. His priests tend to be violent,
short-tempered women and men, ready to call the curses of their god down upon
unbelievers.
Tempus - God of War
Tempus, known as the Lord of Battles, is the warrior's god, and turns his favor from one group of warriors to another as a war progresses. He rewards the
brave and valiant, and many fighters swear by him.
Tyr - God of Justice
Tyr Grimjaws is a recent god, one increasing in popularity among warriors
seeking justice. His priests wear a black right glove and a thin strip of damask over the eyes.
Intermediate Powers
Beshaba - Goddess of Bad Luck
Evil Beshaba is known by many names: the Maid of Misfortune, Black Bess, and
Lady Doom. She is the beacon of bad luck, and her name is invoked by those who
have felt her fury. Her priests delight in mischief and the misfortune of
others.
Gond - God of Artifice and Craft
The Wonderbringer is the god of discovery, of intervenrion, and of construction.
With each new creation, magical or mechanical, dedicated in his name, he grows
more powerful. His priests are now seen throughout the North, speaking of
wondrous new things.
Helm - God of Guardians
He of the Unsleeping Eyesis venerated by those who chooese to be vigilant and
watchful, and his shrines may be found near dangerous locations. Both the god
and his followers are regarded with suspicion, as their recent actions in Faerun
have brought them into conflict with many believers of other gods.
Ilmater - God of Endurance & Perseverance
Called upon by those suffering and hurt, Ilater is a peaceful god who
encourages others to endure pain and abuse, for rewards come to those who
wait. He is a populargod among the poor in the cities.
Mask - God of Thieves & Intrigue
The Lord of Shadows is venerated by thieves, rogues, spies, and other
blackguards who live in the shadows of society. His priests often work in
connection with local thieves' guilds and assassin groups.
Mielikki - Goddess of Forests and Rangers
The Lady of the Forest is a strong ally of both Eldat and Silvanus. Most of
her fervent followers are rangers, as well as those forest creatures such as
dryads who have no other deity.
Selune - Goddess of the Moon
Selune, our Lady of Silver, shares the name of the great moon of Toril, and
has come to symbolize the night sky and those who steer by it - caravan
drivers and seafarers and adventurers. She is opposed by Shar.
Tymora - Goddess of Fortune & Adventurers
The most popular deity among adventurers and heroes, Tymora is also known as
Lady Luck. She is known to be fickle but never cruel (that is the province of
Beshaba). Succesful adventurers have made her church very popular.
Umberlee - Goddess of the Ocean
Umberlee the Bitch-Queen is worshipped more out of fear than love, for she has
the power of the oceam beneath her and at her command. Those who spun her
power soon find their ships destroyed. She is most powerful in seacoast towns.
Waukeen - Goddess of Trade and Money
The goddess Waukeen disappeared during the Time of Troubles, and for several
years her priests received no spells. Now they receive them again, but most
priests are worshipping Lliira as well as Waukeen, and followers of the
Goddess of Trade are dwindling.
Lesser Powers
Auril - Goddess of Cold
Auril is the evil Mistress of Ice, the Snowmistress, the Forestmaiden. Her
domain is the cold, and she is strongest in the lands of the North,
particularly those lands, which border the Great Glacier. She is much less
powerful elsewhere, and is almost unknown in the South.
Azuth - God of Mages
Mystra's servant is Azuth the High One, the god of those who wield magic, as
opposed to the god of magic itself. There are both priests and wizards in the
clergy of Azuth. Azuth is a servant of the ultimate law, a being of order and
organization.
Deneir - God of Literature & Art
The Lord of Glyphs and Images works in service to Oghma in seeing that what is
thought is then properly rendered. The patron of artists and scribes, his
followers strive for beauty and accuracy.
Eldath - Goddess of Peace & Streams
A quiet goddess, Eldath, the Goddess of the Singing Water, attracts those
druids, rangers, and forest creatures who prefer solitude and harmony with
their world. Eldath acts in the service of the more powerful Lliira.
Leira - Goddess of Deception & Illusion
The Lady of the Mist is worshipped primarily by illusionists and rogues, and
her priesthood wears silvered masks which obscure its memebers' faces. little
has been heard of this goddess since the Time of Troubles, but her clergy are
still active.
Lliira - Goddess of Happiness & Freedom
Out Lady of Joy is a popular minor goddess, and she is becoming moreso among
people throughout the Realms. She is a goddess of revelry and festivals, and
her priests stress the advantages of a good life well lived.
Loviatar - Goddess of Pain & Injury
Loviatar is known as the Patroness of Tortures and the Maiden of Pain. Here is
a faith devoted to inflicting of agony on others. Her priests are masters of
cruelty and oppression.
Malar - God of Wild Beasts & Hunting
The Beastlord is the patron of the savage wilderness, and is worshipped by
those who delight is slaughter and the thrills of the hunt. A wild, savage
god, his priests are similarly savage and dangerous.
Milil - Gord of Song & Poetry
The Lord of All Song is particularly venerated by bards and other musicians,
and is known to provide direct support to devout followers in trouble. Milil
is particularly supportive of the Harpers.
Talona - Goddess of Disease & Poison
Talona is an ancient, withered goddess who chooses to attract followers not
through worthiness of ideas but through fear of her reprisals and plagues. She
is a foul, evil deity, and her priests are similarly unpleasent.
Torm - God of Duty & Loyalty
Torm the True is the god of the faithful servant, the protector, and the good
soldier. He is particularly venerated by paladins, and warriors oaths are
sworn in his name. he is the servant of Tyr, but his own bravery in the Time
of Troubles has brought his faith great respect.
The Power: Chauntea is the goddess of agriculture, and makes her home in the
plane of Elysium. She is of neutral good alignment, and attracts followers who
are all of neutral or good alignments.
Chauntea has two symbols - the budding flower encircled in a sunburst, and a
sheaf of golden weat on a green field. The former symbol is more frequently
used than the latter, which is still found in older churches an more orthodox
areas.
Chauntea is known as the Great Mother, and is portrayed as an affectionate woman of middle years, wise by virtue of a long life well-lived. She is on excellent terms with the other nature deities (Silvanus, Mielikki, and Eldath)
and is a devoted foe of Auril and Talos.
The Ethos: Chauntea's faith is one of nurture and growth. Agricultural sayings
and farming parables dot her teachings. Growing and reaping, the ertenal cycle, is a common thread in Chauntea's faith. Destruction for its own sake, or
leveling without rebuilding, is anathema to the church.
Chauntea is not usually an adventurer's god, but is instead widely worshipped
by farmers and gardeners. She has become more powerful with the establishment
of more settled and civilized areas in the North.
The Clergy: Chauntea's church has two wings - one of standard priest who administer to the faith in towns and cities, and a branch of druids who work in
more outlying and wild areas. With the succes of the town-priests, the druids
have been moving further and further afield. Relationships between the two
wings are cordial.
Chauntea can have large shrines and temples, but more often her sevices are
held in small caverns and temples surrounded by greenery, or even in open fields. Chauntea is not a goddess of spectacle or pageant, but rather of small
acts of faith and devotion. Chauntea's priests, both druid and standard, dress
simply and without pretension.
The Power: Cyric is the god of death, lies, tyranny, and murder, having wrested these portfolios from three dead gods. He makes his home in the plane of
Hades, in the reconstructed Bone Castle belonging to one of his predecessors.
His realm is known as the City of Strife. Cyric is evil to his very core (neutral evil), and attracts followers of a similar bent.
Cyric's cymbol is a dark sunburst with a jawless skull in its center. He has
been called the dark sun, but most commonly is known as the Prince of Lies.
Cyric is a new god, less than a decade old, born of the Time of Troubles. He
is a mortal raised to the level of godhood. He has gained the followers of many old evil gods, and now fights to retain their loyalty and worship. Cyric is
not above masquerading as another deity to gain the worship of mortals and the
power derived from that worship. However, 10 years is not enough time to indicate whether he will succed with his attempts to control his new powers and
portfolios.
The Ethos: Cyric's faith is one of control by any means necessary. Force and
deception is used in equal measure to spread his word. He (or the mask he wears) is highly venerated by those of black hearts and evil deeds, from petty
murderers to evil rulers of empires.
Cyric and his faith will be most often encountered by adventurers as foes. Cyric was a plotter in his mortal life, and now with his godly powers he attracts plotters as well.
The Clergy: Cyric has spent a decade trying to put his house in order. In some
areas this has been relatively easy: The Red Wizards of Thay, knowing which
way the wind was blowing, scraped off the icons of Bhaal from their temples
and began singing the hosannas of Cyric's wise nature. In others, it has been
a protracted religious conflict, particularly with followers of Bane in the
Moonsea area. A religious rebellion took place in Zhentil Keep in 1361 DR, in
which Bane worship was driven underground. Cyric grants the rebels their prayers and their priests their spells becuase he needs the power, but plots to
fully take over.
Cyric's most devoted followers are young evil men and women seeking to make
their way in an uncertain, gathering as much power as possible for themselves.
Cyric's powerbase is immense, and he is one of the three greater powers of evil in the Realms.
Cyric's priests favor robes of black or dark purple, trimmed with silver. They
wear silver bracelets to symbolize their enslavement to Cyric (in a symbolic
reprise of Cyric's one-time captivity).
The Power: Lathander, also called the Morninglord, is the god of the spring,
dawn, birth, and renewal, a god of beginning and hidden potential, a deity of
conception, vitality, youth, renewal, and self-perfection.
He is the Commander of Creativity. A powerful exuberant god, he is by alignment neutral neutral and good, and attracts the veneration of people of those
alignments. His native plane is Elysium, and he is on good terms with Chauntea, another deity of similar alignment.
Lathander's symbol is a simple disk of rosy pink hue. These disks are often
cut of rose quartz or similar minerals, or magically enchanted to radiate a
pink glow dimly.
Lathander is portrayed in old texts and murals as a golden-skinned youth of
exceeding beauty. More recently, that portrayal has become a mist of glowing,
rose-colored swirls, with golden eyes at the center.
The Ethos: