Religions

From Lauremor

For over four millennia the populace of Lauremor followed the god Orz. He was called "The Silent God" because he never directly responded to any of the prayers of the mortals. There were people in the world that claimed to be able to perform miracles, and these glimmers of religious hope, along with a highly organized religion, kept the populace faithful to Orz.

At the start of the second era, many of the currently worshipped dieties arrived in Lauremor. With their obvious presence, granting of prayers, guidance, and direct interaction with the mortals, millions of people have fled the flock of Orz. Because this only happened a few dozen years in the past, there is a great schism between the faithful of the new gods and Orz. Many of those that have remained faithful to Orz have begun hunting down the "heretical minions" of the false gods in an effort to cleanse Lauremor of their presence. However, for every violent follower of Orz there are ten that remain true to Orz's teachings, and remain peaceful in their pursuit of regaining "the lost."

The new gods of Lauremor are detailed below. The fields of each god's entry are as follows:

Nicknames: These are the names that are sometimes invoked when speaking about the god. Some people are superstitious and will not say a god's real name. Instead, they use these monikers.

Portfolio: This is the area of influence and control that the god has.

Sex: The generally accepted gender of the god. Some gods, such as Sibith, do not appear in a form that can be easily established as male or female.

Alignment: The alignment of the god. In order to be a priest, cleric, paladin, or druid of the god, the character's alignment must be the same, or within one "step" of the god's alignment.

Worshippers: The types of people that generally worship the god. Worshippers are not limited to these groups of people.

Symbol: The icon that symbolizes the faith of the god.

Favored Weapon: The weapon that all priest's of a god are trained in using. Priests may use the favored weapon of their god as if they had the martial weapon proficiency. Priests are not required to only use the favored weapon, but it is encouraged.

Domains: These are the domains that the clerics of the god may choose from.

Appearance: This is how the god usually appears to the mortals. The gods can pick almost any form that they choose, but to avoid confusion, they tend to pick the same appearance. Masquerading as a god can bring severe punishment.

Goals: These are the general goals that the god is attempting to accomplish.

Myths: These are tales about the god. Some are true, some are false, and most of them are a mixture of both.

Requirements: These are the requirements that a priest of the god must fufill before joining the ranks of the clergy.

Tithe: Every god requires a sacrifice, action or donation of some sort from their priests.

Donations/Sacrifices: If a non-priest wishes to thank a god, this field lists the appropriate donations that can be made to the god.

Special Powers: These are the special powers that are granted to the priest of the god.

Religious Holidays: Most of the gods celebrate special days during the year. These are detailed here.

Ceremonies: There are special occasions in most of the faiths, and the details about these rituals can be found here.

Day-to-Day Activities: When priests are not adventuring, or performing ceremonies, they all have regular activities that they tend to. Those activities are detailed here.

Priestly Vestments: This describes the clothing that a priest can be expected to wear.

Prayers: This lists small snippets of prayers that are said to their god, and under what occasion they are uttered.

Relationships: This lists out the relationships with the other gods. It is possible for one god to be friendly towards another, but the returning attitude is neutral. The relationships are not uniformly bidirectional.

Name	Portfolio	Sex	Alignment
Aesoth	Messengers, travelers, trade	Male	LG
Balek	Sickness, plague, famine, disease	Male	CE
Barzadi	Hate, undead	Male	NE
Fanuviel	Healing, love, marriage	Female	LG
Garzaka	Oozes, slimes, molds, decay, poisons	Female	CE
Gollad	Fate, prophecy, knowledge	Male	N
Kylak	Darkness, night, moon	Male	NE
Laurawin	Sky, weather, wind, air	Female	CG
Maleesh	Revenge, vengeance	Female	NE
Mallad	Family of the past, present and future	Female	NG
Marana	Oceans, rivers, seas, water	Female	CN
Nalo	Fortune, luck, mischief, thievery	Male	CN
Phillia	Agriculture, earth, nature, hunting	Female	NG
Sheelam	Fire, torture	Female	CE
Sibith	Dead	Female	LN
Tallamir	Fine arts, happiness	Male	NG
Thandir	War, strength	Male	LN
Thrana	Peace, wisdom	Female	LG
Thund	Justice, redemption, truth	Male	LN
Tordotha	Light, dawn, sun	Male	LG

There is at least one god for each alignment, except for lawful evil. Most people who are evil choose to consort with devils and demons to gain their power. There have been a few short-lived gods that were lawful evil, but they could not garner the followers that were needed to maintain their power-base. These gods had influence in such a small part of Lauremor that their names have already been forgotten. Devil and demon worship is a very common practice amongst the downtrodden, vile, evil, and avariced population of Lauremor. This mostly is a holdover from the time with Orz was the only god that was prayed to. The devils and demons that contacted the citizens of Lauremor promised great power, and delivered it. This drew many people to follow a faith with a reward, even if the price was a horrible one to pay.