The Gods of Kyrell

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Deity

Summary document of the Gods of Kyrell

The Court of Light

Solgarde (LG)

Favored Weapon: Longsword (typically paired with a shield) Domains: Light, Life, War Fighting Style (War Domain): Protection Portfolio: The sun, nobility, leadership, justice, humanity Symbol: A golden sun

King of the Gods. Solgarde created Kyrell from the corpse of Halina and fashioned humans in his own image. He is the greatest warrior in the pantheon -- his position as King is enforced not only by divine hierarchy but by the fact that virtually no other god wants to fight him. Patron to nobles and rulers who rule justly.

Conduct: Followers respect rightful nobility, are disdainful of criminals and tyrants, and are just in all things.

Vorathem (LG)

Favored Weapon: Warhammer Domains: Knowledge, War, Light Fighting Style (War Domain): Defense Portfolio: Craftsmen, dwarves, honest labor, the forge Symbol: A hammer and anvil

The greatest of the Master Smiths, and brother of Lunara. Vorathem forged the bodies of the five Spirit Dragons from gold, silver, copper, brass, and bronze. Patron of dwarves and all who work with their hands to make things that endure.

Conduct: Followers must practice some form of craftwork of their own, defend craftsmen and honest laborers, and (for non-dwarves) maintain friendship toward dwarves.

Serevain (LG)

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff Domains: Any Fighting Style (War Domain): Defense Portfolio: Arcane order, responsible magic, the good use of power Symbol: Three interlinked circles

One of the Triumvirate of Magic, chosen by the gods to help Arcanthos administer the Orders of Wizardry. She represents the lawful good element of that governing body. Her clerics function as spiritual advisors to wizards -- not always welcome, but present.

Conduct: Followers ensure that arcane magic is wielded in an orderly, non-destructive fashion for the betterment of all.

Lunara (NG)

Favored Weapon: Net Domains: Life, Light, Nature Fighting Style: None Portfolio: The moon, fertility, mothers, children, communities Symbol: A crescent moon

Wife of Solgarde, mother of Sylvara, Thundarak, Arcanthos, and Verindas. Largely pacifist by nature. Lunara prefers her clerics to nurture rather than make war.

Conduct: Followers must respect life. The most dedicated refuse to kill a humanoid or natural animal except in the most extreme circumstances. They are called to protect mothers and children above all.

Sylvara (NG)

Favored Weapon: Longbow Domains: Tempest, Light, Nature Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Archery Portfolio: Nature, wild places, both the ferocious and nurturing aspects of the natural world Symbol: A bow with a leaf for an arrowhead

Daughter of Lunara and Solgarde. Patron goddess of elves. Known for wild emotional swings that manifest in sudden storms or unexpected bounty.

Conduct: Followers lament the growth of civilization and its encroachment on wild places. They protect plants and beasts, and work to cultivate respect for the natural world.

Arcanthos (NG)

Favored Weapon: Dagger Domains: Any (almost always Knowledge) Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Dueling Portfolio: Magic, the Orders of Wizardry, arcane potential Symbol: An open book with a flame at its center

The youngest child of Solgarde and Lunara. God of magic and founder of the Orders of Wizardry. His primary goal is to see arcane magic achieve its potential: uniting free peoples and creating a world free from needless suffering. His clerics are rare outside the Orders, and function as moral guides to wizards.

Conduct: Magic should serve the greater good, not selfish ends.

Thundarak (CG)

Favored Weapon: Greatsword or Greataxe Domains: War, Tempest, Life Fighting Style (War Domain): Great Weapon Fighting Portfolio: War, righteous vengeance, thunder and lightning Symbol: A lightning bolt through a sword

Eldest child of Solgarde and Lunara. Known among dwarves as The Rumbler, and among Eastern Tribesmen as The Thunderer. The god of righteous war -- not conquest, but the application of overwhelming force in service of justice.

Conduct: Keep the body strong. Use strength to deliver justice to the weak and support righteous war. Thundarak's followers share his tendency to lose their tempers in the face of evil and injustice.

Verindas (CG)

Favored Weapon: Shortsword Domains: Trickery, Light, Knowledge Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Defense Portfolio: Joy, laughter, truth Symbol: A laughing face

Another son of Solgarde and Lunara. A relatively new religion on Kyrell despite his age. His followers seek to be sources of joy wherever they go, but the one thing held sacred above humor is truthfulness in all things, sweet or bitter.

Conduct: Be a source of joy. Above all else, be truthful.

Halveron (CG)

Favored Weapon: Any Domains: Trickery, Nature, Knowledge Fighting Style: Any Portfolio: Freedom, broken bonds, opposition to slavery Symbol: Broken chains

Patron of halflings. Appears in most imagery as a halfling. His theology on slavery is absolute and without exception.

Conduct: Fervently oppose any form of slavery wherever found. Never oppress any being. Priests and paladins of Halveron are strictly forbidden from using threats or intimidation of any kind to achieve their goals.

The Court of Shadows

The Court of Shadows is concerned with maintaining the balance between Light and Darkness.

Tethran (N)

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff Domains: Knowledge* Fighting Style: None Portfolio: Time, its measurement and recording, balance Symbol: An hourglass

Master of the Court of Shadows, responsible for maintaining balance between Light and Darkness. A passive observer. God of time, specifically its recording. His followers are historians, record keepers, and archivists.

Conduct: Maintain objectivity in all cases. Avoid emotional bonds to things of the physical world. Only knowledge lasts forever; the only ideology worth preserving is absolute truth.

\Priests of Tethran do not choose their Domain but automatically receive Knowledge. They do get to select 3 additional skills to become proficient in via the Blessings of Knowledge class feature.*

Morvaine (N)

Favored Weapon: Scythe Domains: Any Fighting Style: None Portfolio: Death, death rites, absolute opposition to undeath Symbol: A scythe over an open grave

Wife of Tethran. Goddess of death and an unwavering foe to undeath in all its forms. Morvaine teaches nothing about the afterlife -- her followers adopt whatever afterlife beliefs their culture holds. The one absolute is their vehement hatred of undead.

Conduct: Officiate the death rites of one's native culture. Oppose undeath absolutely. Any undead creature must be laid to final rest if at all possible.

Aethis (N)

Favored Weapon: Unarmed strike Domains: None -- see variant features below Fighting Style: None Portfolio: Insight, enlightenment, the path of self-knowledge Symbol: An unadorned circle

A mystery even to her fellow gods. She has many followers but very few priests. She allows those of sufficient enlightenment to draw power from her but seeks neither service nor worship.

Conduct: Seek enlightenment. The path of each priest is otherwise their own.

Variant Cleric Features (replaces both Domain choices):

Priests of Aethis receive no Domains. Instead they gain the following Monk class features, treating their Cleric level as their Monk level for all purposes:

  • 1st level: Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts
  • 2nd level: May use Channel Divinity to use Flurry of Blows (requires being unarmed and unarmored)
  • 6th level: Unarmored Movement, as a Monk 4 levels lower (i.e., at Cleric 6 this functions as Monk 2 Unarmored Movement)
  • 8th level: Ki-Empowered Strikes
  • 17th level: Diamond Soul, Timeless Body (use Channel Divinity to reroll a failed saving throw)

Valdris (LN)

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff Domains: Any Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Defense Portfolio: Order within the Orders of Wizardry, neutral arcane governance Symbol: A grey robe

The morally neutral element of the Triumvirate of Magic. Patron to the Black and Grey Robed Orders. Virtually no followers outside the Orders themselves.

Conduct: Maintain order within the Orders of Wizardry alongside the followers of Serevain and Sythren.

Quorath (LN)

Favored Weapon: Light or heavy crossbow Domains: Knowledge* Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Archery Portfolio: Research, invention, expanding what is known Symbol: An open book with a gear at its center

Patron god of gnomes. The Keeper of the Celestial Record -- the ever-growing book of all that exists. His followers are researchers, inventors, and explorers of knowledge in all forms.

Conduct: Always push the boundaries of what is known and what can be done. Do not merely collect existing knowledge -- create new knowledge.

\Priests of Quorath do not choose their Domain and automatically receive Knowledge. They do gain two additional languages from the Blessings of Knowledge class feature.*

Draeven (LN)

Favored Weapon: Longsword (used two-handed) Domains: War, Tempest, Light Fighting Style (War Domain): Great Weapon Fighting Portfolio: Balance through force, the general's art, strategic warfare Symbol: Two swords crossed

Formerly a servitor spirit, now a full god. General of the Shadow Court and chief enforcer of its mission to maintain balance between the Courts of Light and Darkness. A thinker and strategist, not merely a warrior.

Conduct: Use might and wit to fight for balance between opposing forces. Achieve parity -- prevent any single force from dominating.

Mazrath (CN)

Favored Weapon: Glaive Domains: War Fighting Style (War Domain): Great Weapon Fighting Portfolio: Madness, battle-fury, violent insanity Symbol: A broken crown

The Mad God. His only followers are the violently insane. Some tales suggest he was once a berserker in service to the Shadow Court.

Conduct: None controllable. Mazrath's followers are the violently insane.

Veska (CN)

Favored Weapon: Starknife (see below) Domains: Any* Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting Portfolio: Freedom, travel, cleverness, theft Symbol: A road disappearing over the horizon

Goddess of freedom and travel. Her "priests" are often thieves and conmen -- the reputation is well-earned. Veska favors the cleverest of her followers most highly.

Conduct: Value personal freedom. The most favored followers are the most clever.

\Priests of Veska may forego their Domain choice entirely. If they do, they gain proficiency in 2 skills and tools from the Rogue list, and double their proficiency bonus for those skills and tools. At 3rd, 6th, 8th, and 17th levels they may select one additional Rogue skill or tool kit, gaining proficiency and double proficiency bonus.*

The Starknife: A central handle with multiple blades (3-6) protruding outward, designed for melee or throwing. Uses the same statistics as a standard dagger. Veska clerics are automatically proficient. All others require Exotic Weapon Proficiency (treat as requiring a feat investment or DM approval for proficiency).

Orvantus (CN)

Favored Weapon: Any Domains: Knowledge* Fighting Style: Any Portfolio: Mad prophecy, visions, insane wisdom Symbol: A spiral

Orvantus may be more insane than Mazrath, but no one can be certain. He long ago hid himself away. His priesthood is a loose affiliation of mad visionaries who occasionally receive visits from servitor spirits claiming to be his messengers.

Conduct: None. As crazed hermits who spew prophecy and bizarre scripture, followers of Orvantus cannot maintain any particular conduct.

\Priests of Orvantus do not choose their Domain. They have many visions, some legitimately prophetic, and gain the Lucky feat as a bonus feat at 1st level. They may select the Lucky feat again when they have the opportunity to choose a feat, gaining additional Luck Points each time.*

The Court of Trials

The Court of Trials represents the difficult, necessary, and challenging aspects of existence -- the forces that test, discipline, and demand more than mortals wish to give. These are not gods of pure evil but of hard truths.

Malachar (LE)

Favored Weapon: Longsword (with shield) Domains: War, Knowledge, Life Fighting Style (War Domain): Protection Portfolio: Rulership, domination, honor among the powerful Symbol: A black crown

King of the Court of Trials, rumored to be the twin brother of Solgarde. In many ways a dark mirror of the sun god -- honorable to a fault, arguably noble -- but his honor is the honor of the strong, and his belief is that strength is the only true source of the right to rule.

Approximately forty millennia ago, Malachar acted alongside Solgarde in an unprecedented divine cooperation: the two kings, Light and Trials, jointly provided the divine power needed to seal Charoth's prison. That these two acted together -- even once -- is the kind of fact theologians quietly argue about for centuries.

Conduct: Hold honor above all else. Keep one's word to the letter. Challenge established leaders directly, without skullduggery. Respect and obey those who outrank you until your own superiority is proven.

Sythren (LE)

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff Domains: Any Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Defense Portfolio: The evil aspect of the Triumvirate of Magic, amoral arcane interests Symbol: A black robe

The evil component of the Triumvirate of Magic. Sythren preserves the Orders of Wizardry for her own purposes, protecting amorally inclined Order members -- but never advocates for actions that violate Order rules themselves.

Conduct: Protect the interests of amoral Order members. Never advocate actions against Order rules.

Vaelthis (LE)

Favored Weapon: Morningstar Domains: Knowledge, Trickery, Light Fighting Style (War Domain, if chosen): Defense Portfolio: Political philosophy, those who stand behind the throne Symbol: A throne seen from behind

If Malachar is the god of kings, Vaelthis is the god of those who stand behind the throne. Not a betrayer -- an earnest advisor. His beliefs about what makes a good leader are strictly amoral but not unethical.

Conduct: Be an advisor and instructor to the powerful. Once a contract is taken, fulfill it regardless of circumstances unless those circumstances were specified in the contract. The first test of a wise follower: selecting a good leader to follow.

Korrash (N)

Favored Weapon: Whip Domains: War, Tempest, Nature Fighting Style (War Domain): Dueling Portfolio: Righteous discipline, hardship, the strengthening power of adversity Symbol: A whip and an open hand

Korrash holds that strength comes only through challenge, and that those who have never suffered cannot understand or administer true justice. His followers practice severe personal austerity -- demanding first of themselves what they would demand of others. He is the god of hard lessons, of punishment that is meant to change rather than merely harm.

Conduct: Live by strict personal discipline. Impose hardship only in service of growth or just punishment. Never inflict suffering merely for its own sake.

Naeveth (NE)

Favored Weapon: Dagger Domains: None -- see variant features below Fighting Style: None Portfolio: Murder, assassination, secret killing Symbol: A dagger pointed downward

Note: Naeveth is a god of murder, not healing. Do not confuse with common mistranslations in Settled Lands texts.

His priests are a secretive order of ruthless assassins carrying out duties not for profit but to serve a secret pattern that only the highest ranking among them understand. Patron to many thieves' and assassins' guilds across Kyrell.

Conduct: None publicly stated. The inner doctrine is known only to senior assassin-priests.

Variant Cleric Features (replaces both Domain choices):

  • 1st level: Proficiency in Stealth. Sneak Attack as a Rogue of half Cleric level (rounded down, minimum 1).
  • 2nd level: Channel Divinity: Poison a held dagger with Basic Poison for 1 minute. Effect ends immediately if the dagger leaves your possession.
  • 6th level: Assassinate (as the Assassin Rogue subclass feature, PHB p.97).
  • 8th level: Uncanny Dodge (as the Rogue class feature, PHB p.96).
  • 17th level: Channel Divinity: Death Strike (as the Assassin Rogue subclass feature, PHB p.97).

Xaruun (NE)

Favored Weapon: Handaxe or throwing axe Domains: Nature, Knowledge, Trickery Fighting Style: None Portfolio: Monsters, nightmares, things that should not be summoned Symbol: A tentacle emerging from darkness

Wife of Malachar and Queen of the Pantheon of Darkness. Goddess of monsters and nightmares. Her followers attempt to summon and create things best left forgotten, and are frequently killed by the creatures they summon. They are usually content to be martyrs.

Conduct: Summon hidden things. Bring ancient nightmares back into reality.

Valdrun (NE)

Favored Weapon: Trident Domains: Tempest, Nature, Trickery Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting Portfolio: The sea, storms, maritime cruelty Symbol: A storm-tossed wave

Daughter of Malachar. Known for tempestuous moods and abject cruelty even toward her own followers. Pirates, storm sorcerers, and morally indifferent sailors worship her.

Conduct: Respect and fear the sea. Make sacrifices to appease it.

Velthar (CN)

Favored Weapon: Whip Domains: Trickery, Knowledge, War Fighting Style: None Portfolio: Temptation, self-deception, the confrontation of one's shadow self Symbol: A cracked mirror

Velthar holds up a mirror that shows you what you do not wish to see. His followers believe that a person's hidden desires and self-deceptions are the truest measure of their character -- and that forcing someone to face what they deny about themselves is the most transformative trial of all.

Conduct: Expose self-deception. Never lie about your own nature. Those who deceive themselves most thoroughly are Velthar's most dangerous instruments.

Vorrn (N)

Favored Weapon: Scimitar Domains: None -- see variant features below Fighting Style: None Portfolio: The honored dead, ancestor veneration, the bond between the living and those who came before Symbol: A pale skull wreathed in candlelight

A relatively new God and a rival to Morvaine. Where Morvaine insists the dead must rest, Vorrn holds that the bond between the living and their honored dead should not simply end with death. His priesthood maintains ancestral shrines, performs rites of remembrance, and communes with ancestor spirits. In their view, the greatest act of reverence is to continue walking alongside those who have passed.

Conduct: Maintain and visit ancestral shrines. Perform rites to honor the dead of one's community or chosen family. Priests raise the dead not as weapons but as companions -- or to allow a spirit one final task before rest.

Variant Cleric Features (replaces both Domain choices):

Priests of Vorrn gain the benefits of the Necromancy Wizard School features, using their Cleric level as their Wizard level: - Grim Harvest (2nd level Necromancy Wizard feature) - Undead Thralls (6th level Necromancy Wizard feature) - Inured to Undeath (10th level Necromancy Wizard feature) - Command Undead (14th level Necromancy Wizard feature)

Additionally, priests of Vorrn may prepare spells from the Necromancy school of the Wizard spell list as Cleric spells of the same level.

Other Powers

Charoth, the Corruptor

Favored Weapon: Longsword (typically unsheathed, never at rest) Domains: Trickery, Knowledge, War Fighting Style (War Domain): Great Weapon Fighting Portfolio: The corrosion of good intentions, the turning of ideals against their origins, the seduction of the principled Symbol: A golden crown slowly tarnishing to black

Charoth is not simply a god of evil. He is the god of good things going wrong -- the principled leader who becomes a tyrant, the protector who becomes a conqueror, the reformer whose ideals curdle into dogma. His most effective work is done not through malice but through sincere, patient persuasion: he finds people who genuinely want to make the world better and guides their good intentions toward destructive ends.

He is old. Older, some scholars argue, than Venn -- though the records that would establish this were lost in the Time of Nightmares. His followers fought and were fought across all of Venn's history, and Zebadiah Zorandor's family alone claimed to have waged war against him since the dawn of time.

The Imprisonment. Approximately forty millennia ago, an event occurred that had never happened before and has not happened since: the Orders of Wizardry, the Clerics of the major gods, and the Warlocks of Venn worked together in a single unified purpose. With the aid of Solgarde and the god Malachar, the three factions built a prison capable of containing a deity -- on the condition that a mortal soul willing to stand in opposition to Charoth complete the seal from within. The warlock Zebadiah Zorandor, whose family had fought Charoth across generations, chose to enter. With his willing sacrifice, the prison closed. The Corruptor was contained.

The prison was constructed with a paradoxical key: only someone with no desire to free Charoth could find it. The builders believed this made escape impossible in perpetuity.

They were almost right.

The Present Danger. The prison is empty.

Someone -- unwittingly, by all available evidence -- found and turned the key. Charoth walks Kyrell again. His forty millennia of confinement have not diminished him in any way that those who know his history find reassuring.

Zebadiah Zorandor has also awakened from the prison. He is diminished -- his own words describe him as "a shadow of his former self" -- but he is alive, oriented, and aware of what has happened. He has one purpose: to find Charoth and end him permanently, so that the Corruptor's influence is removed from the world not for forty thousand years, but forever.

Conduct: Charoth's followers are rarely those who openly proclaim devotion to corruption. They are more often sincere idealists who have been persuaded that one more compromise, one more pragmatic exception, one more necessary evil is justified by the greater good they serve. The highest-ranking among his priesthood have generally stopped believing this and embraced what they have become. The lowest-ranking rarely know what they are.

Note: Charoth is a campaign-active threat, not a deity with an established worship structure in the present age. GMs should treat his "followers" as a loose network of the misguided, the compromised, and the genuinely devoted rather than an organized church.

The Fey Courts

The Fey Realms connect to the physical world in ways that even scholars do not fully understand. Legend says the elves once had friendly relations with the fey, but that is not the current state of affairs.

Fey are divided among four courts named for the seasons: - Summer Court: Emotional but generally well-meaning fey, though not always wise. - Winter Court: Cold-blooded and typically cruel fey. - Spring and Autumn Courts: Mixtures of the two extremes.

Fey interactions with mortal species are generally unpleasant for one or both sides. Fey are not necessarily evil, but their culture and beliefs are deeply dissimilar to mortal norms.

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