Expanding the Qaltiar Pantheon - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Syltorian Dec 28, 2013 8:51:21	For some time now, I've tried to work out a pantheon of spirits for the drow tribes of the jungles of Xen'drik. Though most of them worship Vulkoor, some - in particular the Qaltiar - consider the scorpion to be only one amongst many great spirits. Some of these were mentioned by Keith Baker in The Gates of Night - Kura'tra, Ko'molaq, and Hul'drac, as well as the mysterious entity known as the Wanderer - where the Qaltiar as such are introduced. I found the description of the Qaltiar there to be very engaging, going far beyond the 'view from outside' which most other Eberron material offers. The following is an attempt to expand this pantheon, in particular with regards to a group of tribes I've been working on, and which call themselves Is'tar. The story is that these are the descendants of a single tribe of the Qaltiar before they were led by Vulkoor to an ancient city guarded by a couatl. There, they were charged with patroling the ancient sites of Xen'drik where ancient evil lies buried, and prevent anyone from unleashing it. They still worship the Great Spirits, though they have included the couatl amongst them. I'm not sure whether this makes them a serpent cult; if groups from Khorvaire ever manage to meet them and not get killed by the overzealous defenders, Korranberg and Wynarn can argue about that (though I'd also be interested to hear the opinion of the forum-goers here). Now, before I go on to present the spirits I have either created or taken over from GoN and other Eberron material (Vulkoor), I'd be very happy if you could help me with the following. -- Any comments, thoughts on, additions to, these spirits are very welcome. In particular, if you have any ideas for rituals that might be associated with these spirits, or aspects I've forgotten to take into account (or misrepresented), I'd be grateful. -- To fit with Eberron, I originally wanted to create a pantheon of twelve spirits plus the couatl, who is the odd one out for several reasons (it's an outsider, rather than a natural creature; it's the only spirit to have died - when the race sacrificed itself to trap the overlords - and as such is between worlds, not of this world). However, by this count, I am lacking one creature, and I cannot seem to come up with one. So - what aspect of life am I missing? I've thought of some creatures that might be interesting, but can't come up with a good association: I've thought of the Digester, the Dragon Turtle, the Stirge and the Yrthak, or some variant of crocodile, toad or tortoise, but I'm stuck on what the drow could believe these spirits teach them. -- An alignment question. This tribe, the Is'tar, venerate a couatl; they travel a lot and are thus more open to other native tribes than some other tribes, but they believe that it is better to kill some innocents rather than miss a threat to their sacred sites and let a rajah escape, or a gate to Fernia be opened. They're essentially like those iconic guardians in movies like the Last Crusade, or the medjay in the Mummy. For those who do not threaten to release some ancient evil or damage the jungles, they prefer to avoid contact, and they do warn people before striking (though they don't care if those people actually understand the warnings, which are essentially drums and skulls pinned before ancient sites). I assume that still takes them beyond LN into LE? -- I also need an explanation as to how, if they are charged with guarding ancient sites where evil is buried, they have so far managed to remain unnoticed by Khorvairians, who have built a major outpost right atop one of the most tainted sites in all of Xen'drik - Stormreach - where a rajah is buried. - I'm also not too happy with Zozomatl. I feel the girallon/gorilla to be an important (not to say iconic) creature, traditional for jungle stories. But I feel he needs to be more than simply a strong beast to be respected by the drow, and to reflect the actual gorilla. Also, I consider the spirits to be mostly genderless (inspite of the fact that Vulkoor is often considered a "god" in canon), and my Zozomatl goes against this. Now, without further ado, I present to you my Is'tar pantheon. Vulkoor, the Scorpion Vulkoor is the spirit of the scorpion. The Is’tari worship it as the Provider and Preserver: they respect its skill as a swift, lethal and hidden hunter, who favours resolving conflicts quickly, but strikes only for defence or food. To this they add the image of the scorpion carrying its young on its back; the drow see him as a protector of their race, who has sheltered them since their race rose up against the giants. Taboos against Vulkoor include overhunting, killing without need, but also letting prey escape when it deserved to die. Sacrifices to Vulkoor involve the hunt itself, as well as pieces of the hunted creature; offenders are ritually killed with daggers made from the scorpion’s stingers (Note: tribes which worship Vulkoor the Wrathful are far more violent and draw out sacrifices, believing that Vulkoor was responsible for the fall of the Giants and may also punish the drow for being disrespectful). References: Vulkoor appears in numerous Eberron supplements, as well as in Gates of Night by Keith Baker. Vulkoor the Wrathful is described in Sox:72
#2 Hellcow Dec 29, 2013 21:13:03	Nothing specific to add, but for what it's worth, I like it.
#3 Syltorian Dec 31, 2013 6:31:18	Hellcow wrote:
#4 Napolean_Warlord Jan 01, 2014 7:33:54	Great work! Do you want any of the animal spirits to represent evil/outsiders? Crocodile with a croc-flavored yuan ti backstory would work. A degenerate / corrupted spirit worshipped by another tribe, but acknowledged by the core gods. Another option would be to have a spirit representing whatever domesticated food animals your drow will cultivate (teaching fertility, hunting, etc) thinking from a meta game standpoint: You might have each tribe focus on a few of the spirits. You can then reveal additional details as the players encounter new groups which prioritize the spirits differently. You might also leave one or two undefined to represent the paragon and epic campaign villains (unless you've defined them). I wouldn't worry about the storm reach point. Imagine how many ancient evils exist in, above, and below Sharn!
#5 Syltorian Jan 01, 2014 9:19:20	Thanks for the kind words and suggestions, Napolean Warlord! Napolean_Warlord wrote:
(Reply to #5) Napolean_Warlord	Happy to help spur some thoughts, your players really have something to look forward to! Syltorian wrote:
#7 Syltorian Jan 02, 2014 10:31:22	Napolean_Warlord wrote:

For some time now, I've tried to work out a pantheon of spirits for the drow tribes of the jungles of Xen'drik. Though most of them worship Vulkoor, some - in particular the Qaltiar - consider the scorpion to be only one amongst many great spirits. Some of these were mentioned by Keith Baker in The Gates of Night - Kura'tra, Ko'molaq, and Hul'drac, as well as the mysterious entity known as the Wanderer - where the Qaltiar as such are introduced. I found the description of the Qaltiar there to be very engaging, going far beyond the 'view from outside' which most other Eberron material offers.

The following is an attempt to expand this pantheon, in particular with regards to a group of tribes I've been working on, and which call themselves Is'tar. The story is that these are the descendants of a single tribe of the Qaltiar before they were led by Vulkoor to an ancient city guarded by a couatl. There, they were charged with patroling the ancient sites of Xen'drik where ancient evil lies buried, and prevent anyone from unleashing it. They still worship the Great Spirits, though they have included the couatl amongst them. I'm not sure whether this makes them a serpent cult; if groups from Khorvaire ever manage to meet them and not get killed by the overzealous defenders, Korranberg and Wynarn can argue about that (though I'd also be interested to hear the opinion of the forum-goers here).

Now, before I go on to present the spirits I have either created or taken over from GoN and other Eberron material (Vulkoor), I'd be very happy if you could help me with the following.

-- Any comments, thoughts on, additions to, these spirits are very welcome. In particular, if you have any ideas for rituals that might be associated with these spirits, or aspects I've forgotten to take into account (or misrepresented), I'd be grateful.

-- To fit with Eberron, I originally wanted to create a pantheon of twelve spirits plus the couatl, who is the odd one out for several reasons (it's an outsider, rather than a natural creature; it's the only spirit to have died - when the race sacrificed itself to trap the overlords - and as such is between worlds, not of this world). However, by this count, I am lacking one creature, and I cannot seem to come up with one. So - what aspect of life am I missing? I've thought of some creatures that might be interesting, but can't come up with a good association: I've thought of the Digester, the Dragon Turtle, the Stirge and the Yrthak, or some variant of crocodile, toad or tortoise, but I'm stuck on what the drow could believe these spirits teach them.

-- An alignment question. This tribe, the Is'tar, venerate a couatl; they travel a lot and are thus more open to other native tribes than some other tribes, but they believe that it is better to kill some innocents rather than miss a threat to their sacred sites and let a rajah escape, or a gate to Fernia be opened. They're essentially like those iconic guardians in movies like the Last Crusade, or the medjay in the Mummy. For those who do not threaten to release some ancient evil or damage the jungles, they prefer to avoid contact, and they do warn people before striking (though they don't care if those people actually understand the warnings, which are essentially drums and skulls pinned before ancient sites). I assume that still takes them beyond LN into LE?

-- I also need an explanation as to how, if they are charged with guarding ancient sites where evil is buried, they have so far managed to remain unnoticed by Khorvairians, who have built a major outpost right atop one of the most tainted sites in all of Xen'drik - Stormreach - where a rajah is buried.

- I'm also not too happy with Zozomatl. I feel the girallon/gorilla to be an important (not to say iconic) creature, traditional for jungle stories. But I feel he needs to be more than simply a strong beast to be respected by the drow, and to reflect the actual gorilla. Also, I consider the spirits to be mostly genderless (inspite of the fact that Vulkoor is often considered a "god" in canon), and my Zozomatl goes against this.

Vulkoor, the Scorpion

Vulkoor is the spirit of the scorpion. The Is’tari worship it as the Provider and Preserver: they respect its skill as a swift, lethal and hidden hunter, who favours resolving conflicts quickly, but strikes only for defence or food. To this they add the image of the scorpion carrying its young on its back; the drow see him as a protector of their race, who has sheltered them since their race rose up against the giants. Taboos against Vulkoor include overhunting, killing without need, but also letting prey escape when it deserved to die. Sacrifices to Vulkoor involve the hunt itself, as well as pieces of the hunted creature; offenders are ritually killed with daggers made from the scorpion’s stingers (Note: tribes which worship Vulkoor the Wrathful are far more violent and draw out sacrifices, believing that Vulkoor was responsible for the fall of the Giants and may also punish the drow for being disrespectful). References: Vulkoor appears in numerous Eberron supplements, as well as in Gates of Night by Keith Baker. Vulkoor the Wrathful is described in Sox:72