Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Maxxim 03-07-07, 11:56 AM	Following is the cosmology I've created for my first attempted at a campaign world named Isteria. I know this is going to end up as a fairly long series of posts to get the entire thing out, and I don't expect people to read the whole thing (unless you want to, which is great), but if anyone has comments, criticisms, and/or suggestions on any piece of it, large or small, I welcome it gladly. Thanks! --------------------------------------------------------- COSMOLOGY GODS OF ISTERIA Cathedral of Light The Cathedral of Light encompasses the good and neutral deities of Isteria. It is loosely presided over by Erabus, the Sun God, although Erabus acts more as a referee than a ruler. Not all deities in the Cathedral are good, per se, though none are evil. Some are more aptly neutral, although all deities in the Cathedral have rejected the evil gods of Isteria and sworn to do their part in destroying them. They are not, however, waging an active war against the evil deities, and spend more time either gathering followers, pursuing their hobby of the moment, or bickering with, playing tricks on, or contesting the power of the other members of the Cathedral. Erabus, the Sun God. Lawful Good. Domains: air, fire, good, law, protection, strength, sun, war. Worshippers: All recognize him and have worshippers, especially humans. Symbol: A golden sun with eight pointed rays extending from it, the topmost larger than the other seven (each symbolizes one god of the Cathedral, the largest being Erabus). Erabus is the head of the Gods of Isteria. It is generally believed that the universe was created by Erabus, who formed the sky, the stars, and the sun, in which he rides throughout each day. Erabus also aided Melana, the Earth Goddess, in creating the earth (such assistance is rumored to have been of the romantic sort, as it is generally believed that Melana gave birth to the lands of Isteria) Erabus is the creator God. He is the champion of good against evil. He is directly opposed to his brother, Grimghul, the Moon God. His followers are numerous and diverse, although they all see themselves as crusaders acting for the benefit of mankind and the glory of the Cathedral. Erabus is the head deity in the Cathedral of Light. He oversees the other gods, and attempts to keep them from the bickering and infighting that seems to go hand in hand with most of them. Melana, the Earth Mother. Neutral. Domains: animal, earth, healing, knowledge, plant, water. Worshippers: any race, though mainly worshiped by wild races; druids, rangers, some monks. Symbol: Three intertwined stalks of wheat, symbolizing fertility of the earth and the intermingling of the sentient races, animals, and plants. Melana is the goddess of the earth. She created the lands of Isteria soon after Erabus created the sky and the heavens. In the beginning, Melana gave birth to Isteria as one whole, continuous landmass, though due to an epic battle between Donarr and Bakkar, in which Donarr split the earth with bolts of lightning (an inadvertent result of his attacks on Bakkar), Isteria was torn into the various continents that exist today. Melana presides over all things earthly. She is the predominant figure in most druidic systems, and is generally responsible for keeping balance between the humanoid and animal kingdoms, as well as tending to the rivers, streams, forests, flora and fauna of Isteria. Most of the wilder races show her great respect, even if they worship another deity, and their druids, rangers and other such members of society often spend time attempting to commune with her. Darlani, God of the Wind and Travelers. Chaotic Neutral. Domains: air, chaos, luck, magic, travel, trickery. Worshippers: Predominantly haflings; also most bards, some rogues and rangers. Symbol: Five stylized horizontal lines (~), representing both the power of wind and movement along an endless path. Darlani is the god of air, wind, and travelers. Rarely found spending time in the Cathedral proper, Darlani spends most of his time journeying the world, allowing himself to go where the wind will take him. Darlani’s worshippers consider it good luck to leave a coin on their path when they come to a crossroads, as an offering to Darlani and a request for good fortune. Darlani himself considers it bad luck for his worshippers not to do so, and when he comes across such a reckless fool, he is quick to teach a lesson. Even more offensive are those people who travel the roads of the world, attempting to make a profit from collecting such offerings. With these, Darlani is seldom forgiving. Darlani is the quintessential free-spirited rogue. He created the race of Halflings in much his own image, though mainly as a practical joke on the other deities, all of whom he felt were taking their attempts at creation far too seriously for their own good. Darlani does not figure prominently in much of the deific tradition. Either he is a small player on an overly large stage, or one of the unseen hands that have been pulling the strings behind many cataclysmic events over the eons. No one seems to know for sure, and Darlani’s followers don’t seem to care. Nur, God of Water. Lawful Neutral. Domains: destruction, law, protection, strength, travel, water. Worshippers: Any, though he is not strongly worshipped by any group except for the mer-people, who look to him above all other deities. Symbol: A trident head; the largest, middle point represents Nur, and the two smaller outer points represent the minions of his domain: sea creatures and mer-people. By far the most temperamental of the Cathedral of Light, Nur spends his time beneath the waves, mostly in contemplation of his realm. Nur does not care very much for the affairs of man or god, and is seen in the Cathedral of Light even less than Darlani. He handles matters in his underwater dominion fairly and efficiently, and at least there, he is far more “hands on” than his brethren. Nur often makes himself known to his chosen people, the Mer, and takes an active interest in their lives. The Mer worship Nur to the exclusion of all other gods, something that pleases Nur and alleviates his jealousy of Erabus, his uncle. Seafarers claim that when there is a problem at sea, Nur is angry with the Mer-people, causing storms, tidal waves, and devastating whirlpools. Elissa, Fertility Goddess. Neutral Good. Domains: animal, good, healing, knowledge, magic Worshippers: any, no predominant race; many druids originating from systems espousing the ideals of fertility and life. Symbol: two intertwined arms, one masculine & one feminine; they start from a common point, cross once, then return to join hands. Elissa is a loving, secular deity. She is the daughter of Melana, and at an early age took it upon herself to disseminate her godly characteristics throughout Isteria. Many of the great rulers throughout Isteria are rumored to trace their bloodline back to some lucky man (or woman, depending on Elissa’s then-existing mood and assumed form) who shared Elissa’s bed. Not only a lover, Elissa is a fierce combatant, especially with Sakpet, against whom Elissa has a sworn grudge ever since Sakpet impersonated Elissa in order to mate with a great king and bring Sapket’s son, Bakkar, into Isteria, resulting in war, strife and destruction wherever Bakkar traveled Because of Sakpet’s treachery, some claim that Elissa is more of a danger than a blessing. Refusing to believe that one goddess could impersonate another, some religious groups hold that Elissa’s seed, imported into the wrong specimen, can wreak too much death and destruction, and these groups are actively and violently opposed to the many (predominantly female) fertility-worshipping sects throughout Isteria. Borus, the Indomitable Mountain. Lawful Neutral. Domains: Destruction, earth, fire, law, protection, strength. Worshippers: dwarves, gnomes, goliaths, other earth-based races; many martial classes. Symbol: A shield with a mountain on it, its peak hidden by clouds. Borus is, first and foremost, the god of the dwarves, gnomes and goliaths. Seeing the wonders Erabus wrought in creating the world, Borus was not to be outdone. He decided to shape his own creations out of the stone of Isteria, and after many trials and experiments, breathed life into his beloved races. Unfortunately, because all deities in the Cathedral are, by definition, somewhat lesser than Erabus, Borus made many mistakes along the way, resulting in the countless denizens of the deep that prowl and skulk through the mountains and caves of Isteria. Some claim (the truth being unknown) that Borus also created the giant races in one of his earlier experiments, and gave them life before realizing the full extent of such actions, and the problems such beings would cause, especially to his chosen people. Borus now spends much of his time in contest with Bakkar, to whose worship most of Borus’ faulty creations migrated. Teth-Tellan, God of the Forest. Chaotic Good. Domains: animal, chaos, good, luck, magic, plant. Worshippers: Predominantly elves; also many druids and rangers. Symbol: A tall, deciduous tree with flowing branches Teth-Tellan is the god of the woods, and also the creator of the elves. He presides over the flora and fauna of the forest (in conjunction with Melana). On numerous occasions in the past, Teth-Tellan has attempted to exert some control over the fey, such as the dryads, naiads, and the like, with hardly any success. Such beings he suffers to live in his realm because they share his love for, and desire to protect, the forest, and they serve as earthly protectors, albeit for their own ends and not his. Teth-Tellan also embodies beauty and grace. When he saw what Borus did after so many failed attempts, Teth-Tellan decided to create the elves, and in one fell swoop forever show up his half-brother. It is not known how Teth-Tellan actually created the elves, but it is known that he imbued them with much of his litheness, grace, and natural beauty, and also gave them a nearly godlike lifespan. Aside from his status as champion and protector of elves and the woods, little is known of Teth-Tellan, and while the elves worship him almost to the exclusion of the other deities of the Cathedral, almost no other race pays him much heed. Donarr, the Thunder God. Neutral Good. Domains: air, destruction, fire, strength, war Worshippers: no predominant race; almost all barbarians (and vikings), most other martial classes. Symbol: A sword and hammer crossed, with a lightning bolt vertical through their middle. Donarr is more aptly known as the God of War, though he shies from this categorization due to his nemesis, Bakkar. Donarr is the patron of the righteous struggle, and of those just warriors who ply their trade for the proper cause and in the right circumstances. War is not to be made for its own ends, or for the wanton destruction of one’s enemies; it is a necessary means to a moral and honorable end. Those that engage in warfare for such purposes find Donarr at their back, spurring them on and giving them the strength to overcome their obstacles. Long ago, the evil goddess Sakpet grew tired of her endless struggle with Melana, the Earth Mother. Sakpet concocted a plan whereby she impersonated Elissa, and allowed a great ruler of mortals to impregnate her. The result was Bakkar, the evil god of war and Sakpet’s son. Sakpet set Bakkar loose on the world to wreak havoc and destruction. When Donarr looked down from his seat in the Cathedral, and saw what Bakkar was doing, he became enraged and waged a great battle with Bakkar. Donarr launched his divine bolts of lightning at Bakkar, and after a year of such battling, finally succeeded in driving Bakkar’s earthly form from Isteria. But, as strong as Donarr’s bolts were, they brought about an unfortunate result: the destruction of the unified Isteria, and the breaking apart of the land and formation of the divided continents. There has been much tension between Donarr and Melana ever since, the latter feeling that regardless of how noble the goal, Donarr’s wars succeed only in further damaging Melana’s ward, the lands of Isteria.
Maxxim 03-07-07, 11:57 AM	Dark Temple The Dark Temple encompasses the evil gods of Isteria. If it can be said that the Dark Temple has a chief deity, it would be Grimghul, because he is the most powerful of the evil gods. However, he does not exert much control or influence over his brethren, and the other Temple inhabitants would just as soon do harm to him as they would to a deity of the Cathedral, if only they had sufficient power to do so. The gods of the Temple spend their time plotting against each other, or wreaking havoc on the material plane via their various agents and servants. This is not to say such deities take an active position in the everyday workings of Isteria, but they do sow the seeds of their miscontent through their followers. Grimghul, God of Death (Moon God) Lawful Evil. Domains: death, destruction, earth, evil, fire, knowledge, law. Worshippers: no predominant race; many warlocks and necromancers who have made a dark pact in exchange for their magical gifts. Symbol: a black snake, forming a circle with itself by biting its own tail, symbolizing the circle of life and Grimghul’s basic tenet that all life, in the end, devours itself and ends before him. Grimghul is the God of Death, and also of the Moon. Isterians believe that when Erabus leaves the daytime sky, Grimghul is free to run rampant and claim those souls that are rightfully his. In fact, Grimghul is the gatekeeper of Annuwan, the plane to which all dead souls first travel. From Annuwan, these souls are judged and sent to their place in one of the eternal planes created and maintained by the various deities. Grimghul relishes adding souls to his “collection,” as he calls it; however, evil though he may be, he more or less fairly adjudicates a soul’s final destination. He works by a strict set of laws to determine whether a soul has adhered to the ideology and ethos of its particular patron deity, and if so, that soul is sent to the appropriate place. But, Grimghul also prides himself in finding “loopholes” in those laws, and many is the unlucky soul doomed to spend eternity in Grimghul’s playground. Grimghul also takes an interest in the material world, and often makes pacts with mortals who desire some portion of his great power (rivaled only by that of Erabus himself). Such mortals often become warlocks and necromancers of great renown and infamy, though none has ever escaped his or her ultimate fate as a plaything of Grimghul in the afterlife. Sakpet, Goddess of Disease and Famine. Neutral Evil. Domains: air, animal, death, evil. Worshippers: no predominant race or class; many blighters and evil druids. Symbol: a single stalk of wheat with flames surrounding it, a mockery of Sakpet’s sworn enemy, Melana. Sakpet is the goddess of disease, famine, strife and sickness. She does not take much interest in the lives of mortals, except to the extent she can hurt those lives in order to further her ultimate goal: the destruction of Melana and her child, Isteria. For reasons unknown even to most of the other gods, Sakpet harbors an immense and unquenchable hatred for Melana, and will stop at no end to destroy her. Plagues, famine, and widespread natural disasters are Sakpet’s tools of choice, and she employs them with wicked cunning. She rarely has any followers of great strength, due to her utter contempt for life in general. Some ex-druids who have strayed from their path, becoming Blighters or other similar beings, worship her in the false belief that by furthering her will, they will gain some benefit either during life or thereafter. Unfortunately, Sakpet cares nothing for such beings, and usually hands them over to Grimghul for their eternal punishment. Bakkar, God of War. Chaotic Evil. Domains: chaos, death, destruction, evil, strength, war. Worshippers: many orcs, goblinoids, giantkin and related races; evil martial classes. Symbol: A bloodied axe with pitted edges, symbolizing Bakkar’s everlasting struggle to kill, maim and wage war. Bakkar, God of War, lives for death and destruction. He is the fomenter of unrest, and enjoys war and murder for their own ends. He was originally created by Sakpet in an effort to destroy Melana. However, Sakpet had not counted on Donarr’s intervention. Donarr won his battle and banished Bakkar’s material form from Isteria, thus thwarting Sakpet’s plans. Ever since, Sakpet has mostly ignored Bakkarr as a useless, failed attempt at Melana’s destruction. Bakkar, on the other hand, constantly strives for his mother’s approval, and attempts to gain it by fostering contempt and anger among the more malleable mortal minds. He is the force behind the great wars of Isteria, though to this point, his attempts at inciting anarchy have been thwarted by those loyal to the teachings of Donarr. Dolrus, God of Trickery and Magic. Neutral Evil. Domains: evil, luck, magic, travel, trickery. Worshippers: some goblinoid and draconic races; most evil magic-users, bards and rogues. Symbol: A stylized pentagram, deep purple, over a black void. Dolrus, God of Trickery and Magic, lives what the other deities consider a pointless existence. His hobbies include playing elaborate practical jokes on the other deities, and creating bizarre and disturbing alien planes of existence, then warping their inhabitants into truly horrid forms. In fact, when alienists and similar summoners bring forth their unusual servants, they are unwittingly furthering Dolrus’ work, and momentarily giving his creations a window into the material world. Followers of Dolrus are normally “rewarded” by spending their afterlife in one of these alien worlds. Bandahg, God of Fire. Neutral Evil. Domains: destruction, earth, evil, fire, strength. Worshippers: orcs; no other predominant race or class. Symbol: A hammer and anvil, representing Bandahg’s image as the forger. Bandahg is the brother of Borus. He shares in Borus’ love of creating and forging new things, although he does not share in Borus’ skill. When Bandahg saw Borus’ creations in Isteria, he decided to try his own hand, and after numerous attempts, succeeded in creating the race of orcs, universally regarded (by those who are not orcs) as a failure. He soon lost interest in his creation, and for lack of a better solution, set them free to roam Isteria. Bandahg is rarely, if ever, worshiped by any race or class other than orcs. Even that race has its doubts as to his worth as a deity, but all orcs, even those not of evil alignment, grudgingly give him respect for their creation. Bandahg does not receive much respect or attention from non-orcs or the other gods, and tends to sulk in his own domains, taking the least active interest in affairs outside his realm of influence.
Maxxim 03-07-07, 12:00 PM	PLANES OF EXISTENCE Isteria is made up of countless planes of existence. First and foremost is the material plane. Closest to that are the celestial and infernal planes. “Inside” these (most accurately considered “sub-planes”) are the Cathedral of Light and the Dark Temple, respectively, which are not only names for the two groups of deities, but also the planes where such deities congregate. No mortal has ever been to one of these two planes, and wouldn’t be able to reach them without the direct intercession of a God. Such intercession is unlikely ever to occur, since no mortal could survive for even a moment on one of these two planes. Close to, and essentially coexisting with the material plane, is the ethereal plane, the land of restless spirits that remain unclaimed by any of the gods. This is also the realm of ghosts and spirits that do not have a deity to speak of (such as the ghost of an animal or monster). Next is Annuwan, the plane of death, where Grimghul judges the recently departed. Near this is found the numerous plans and quasi-universes created by the various deities, in which they reside when not in the Cathedral or Temple, and to which they bring their loyal followers if such are deemed worthy after death. It is on these planes that a mortal may be able to directly interact with his or her patron, if the mortal can find a path to such a plane, and if the deity deigns such interaction worthwhile (which, of course, they almost never do). Outside of the “deific planes” can be found the elemental planes: earth, air, fire and water. Taking up the unused space between these planes is the astral plane, which is for the most part composed of gravity-less darkness and empty space, and is primarily used for travel between various planes. Outward from these planes are the multitudinous planes and realms created by the deities as experiments, or out of sheer boredom, then forgotten or abandoned. There are countless such planes of existence, as one deity may create a thousand planes at once, each with a single variation, simply to satisfy some whim or answer some philosophical question. Though they could never be fully catalogued (and, in fact, more are created every second), some have been reached by mortals employing various forms of extremely powerful and dangerous magic. One never knows exactly which plan will be reached by such magic, and one can never be assured of returning to the material plane afterward. ORIGINS OF MAGIC Divine Magic Divine magic in Isteria is granted by the deity worshipped by a particular magic user. Instead of researching, or knowing magic through innate abilities, a divine spellcaster must pray to his or her chosen deity to receive the ability to use divine magic. Most of the deities are very particular as to whom may use their powers in their name. If a representative of a deity engages in acts that go against that deity’s teachings, beliefs, and/or moral code, the deity is very likely to punish the person by not granting access to magical powers. Similarly, if the particular magic user does not employ the divine powers granted to him or her in furtherance of his or her deity’s wishes, the deity in question may very well abandon that person completely. Arcane Magic Magic users come by arcane magic in a variety of ways. Some, such as sorcerers, are born with the innate ability to bend such magic to their wishes. Others can use it as well, though they must achieve the same power through hours of study and meditation. Still others (the greatest majority of Isterians) have no magical abilities to speak of, but can at least learn to manipulate magical items and artifacts created by those with such abilities. No matter how one arrives at the power to command arcane magic, the source of the raw magical power is the same, and is, in fact, somewhat tied to the source of divine magic in Isteria. In the beginning of the world, when Erabus and Melana created the material plane of Isteria, their celestial congress caused formed the matter that makes up the world. However, a necessary (albeit unexpected) by-product of the creative process was the generation of a massive amount of non-matter energy, which then infused and encompassed the matter that was created. Given the nature of Erabus and Melana, that energy was naturally of a virtuous nature. But, as is wont to happen, other deities were determined to get involved. Dolrus, who was at the time simply the god of trickery, decided to play one of his jokes on the world at large. He attempted to collect the energy with which Isteria was suddenly inundated, and use it to expand his own creative processes. The task proved far beyond his capabilities, given the relative power of Erabus and Melana in contrast to Dolrus’ own. But, the system of energy was tainted in the course of his actions, resulting in a rift in the all-encompassing power, some of it remaining virtuous, and some of it becoming vile and dark. Some lucky (or unlucky) people today are able to harness a small portion of the energy that infuses Isteria. Whether they realize the source of their powers or not, when an arcane magic user employs his or her powers, he or she is drawing a portion of the world’s energy inside, transforming it as per the user’s desires, and setting it free into the world again in the chosen form. Many arcane scholars who have studied the topic maintain that some day in the future, the energy that is used to cast such magic will be completely depleted. They cannot surmise just how long this would take (though all agree it is a distant worry, given the immense powers of the deities in question), nor can they guess at the effect on the material plane of Isteria.
taradusis 03-31-07, 08:40 PM	I gave this a quick read thru and it seems ok.Perhaps you should re-read the rules on how many domains a god can have?The idea of the dark cathedral and light cathedral being demiplanes is so-so,you should go thru the manual of the planes and pick a better locale for each?RANDOM THOUGHTS
GnomeNinja 04-01-07, 05:58 PM	Well, gods can have as many domains as they want, but they have to have a high rank (be very powerful), as from Deities and Demigods. As far as planes go, you have A LOT of demiplanes, and the gods' demiplanes seem a little ... out there. Literally and figuratively. Maybe you should add some elemental planes, as those add good flavor to most campaigns. Maybe consider more alignment planes, though yours seem fine. All in all, seems pretty good.