Deities (test)

Faerun - a land where the gods live.  Deities walk amongst their flock; Clerics control powerful magics at the will of their masters; Warriors wage wars across the lands in the name of the gods; Evil creeps throughout Faerun in service to dark lords.  It is not easy to avoid the machinations of the deities and their followers when you walk the surface of Faerun, let alone when you have departed.  No matter who you are, what walk of life you are from, or what your beliefs are, the gods will affect your adventures in some way.

 

 The deities of Toril take an active interest in their world, channeling power through their clerics, druids, rangers, paladins and other worshippers, and sometimes intervening directly in the affairs of mortals.  At the same time they plot, war, intrigue and ally amongst themselves, with powerful mortals and extra planar beings such as elemental rulers and demons.  In this they resemble their mortal worshippers, for to an extent, deities are defined and shaped by their worshippers, their areas of interest and their divine spark.  Because they lose strength if their worship dwindles away and is forgotten, deities task their clerics, and others to whom they grant divine spells, with spreading their praise and doctrine, recruiting new worshippers and keeping the faith alive. 

Patron Deities:

 

The deities of Faerun are deeply entangled in the functioning lives of mortals.  Characters of Toril nearly always have a patron deity.  Everyone in Faerun knows, those who die without having a patron deity to send a servant to collect them at their death, spend eternity writhing in the Wall of the Faithless or disappearing into the hells of the devils or the infernos of the demons.

 

 Having a patron deity implies some true personal attachment to that deity.  Given this relationship, it is practically unheard of for a character to have a patron with a radically different alignment than her own.  When choosing a Patron, if you are a divine spell caster, you must follow the 'one-step' rule (unless noted otherwise) - that is, your alignment must be within one step of your patron's.

 

Using the alignment chart below, find your deities alignment, then your options are one step up, down or to the side.  

 If the alignment is true neutral, your options would form a cross. If your deities alignment is LN, the cross does not carry over to the other side, leaving LG, TN, and LE as your only options.

 

 You can only have on patron deity at a time.  It is possible to change patrons, but doing so is not a decision made lightly or quickly.  If you are a cleric, druid, paladin, or spell casting ranger, this process is more difficult and requires the help of your new church.  If you are any other character class, changing a patron is a simple matter of deciding to do so, that does not require intervention by the church of your new patron (although obtaining its blessing is customary, to show allegiance to the new deity).  A character who frequently changes patron deities is likely to gain a reputation of being weak in her faith, and risks being branded as one of the false in the afterlife. 

Domains:

 

A complete list of NWN2 workable domains can be found here.

 

Nature Deities:

 

 As mentioned in Chapter 2, on classes, divine spell casters receive their spells from the deities.  While paladins follow a lawful good line and clerics follow the line of their chosen patron, druids must serve a nature deity in order to be granted spells.  The following are a list of deities that can grant druids spells - if there is another deity you have in mind, contact your HDM about it.  Some, of course, may not be able to be taken with the NWN2 engine (given its current limitations), but this will hopefully soon be corrected.  Details on these gods can be found in the following section.  Note that in ALFA, Rangers do not need to follow a Nature diety in order to gain spells.

Aerdrie Faenya, Angharradh, Anhur, Auril, Baervan Wildwanderer, Chauntea, Deep Sashelas, Eldath, Gwaeron Windstrom, Isis, Lurue, Malar, Mielikki, Nobanion, Osiris, Rillifane Rallathil, Sebek, Segojan Earthcaller, Set, Sheela Peryroyl, Shiallia, Silvanus, Solonor Thelandira, Talona, Talos, Thard Harr, Ubtao, Ulutiu and Umberlee. 

Gods of Faerun

 

 Instead of typing out an entry for each of the hundred and one gods, there are plenty of good sources on the web already, including the one below. Note: there are a few references to events that have not yet occoured, as the year in ALFA is still 1376. If you see mention of a Spell Plague or to the Upheavel era, these are not included in ALFA Lore.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask in our Realm's Lore forum.

 

Forgotten Realms Wiki : Deity Portal 

Death, Dying and Deities

 

 When mortals die their souls are drawn to the Fugue Plane.  Most of this place is flat, gray, bland, and no notable topographical features.  The spirits of the dead gather here, usually unaware that they have died.  From time to time (anywhere from once a day to over a tenday, depending on the deity involved), the powers send representatives - usually outsiders of the appropriate alignment - to the Fugue Plane to gather the souls of their own worshippers.

While most souls wander the Fugue Plane until their deity calls them, the Faithless and the False are compelled to enter the city of Judgment and be judged by Kelemvor.  The Faithless firmly denied any faith or only gave lip service to gods for most of their lives without truly believing.  The False intentionally betrayed a faith they believed in and to which they had made a personal commitment.

 

 All Faithless receive the same punishment: They form a living wall around the City of Judgment, held together by a super-natural greenish mould.  This mould prevents them from escaping the wall and eventually breaks down their substance until the soul and its consciousness are dissolved.

 

The False are punished according to their crimes in life and serve their sentence in the City of Judgment for eternity. 

 

 Nearly all of the beings in the city are members of the False, the rest being deceased followers of Jergal and Kelemvor who enact the will of their deities upon the doomed souls.  Depending upon the severity of their crimes, some of the False may receive relatively light punishment, such as escorting visiting baatezu or patrolling the city for unauthorized guests.  Others are punished in ways that would surprise the cruelest of demons.

 

 For an Adventurer (and anyone else) been labeled as a False or Faithless has further consequences - it becomes near impossible to be raised from the dead.  Any attempts made through the Resurrection or Raise Dead spells fail.  Short of a Miracle or Wish, attempting to raise a False or Faithless from the dead is futile