[Rintaran]

As most of you probably know by now, I'm rarely satisfied with my campaign world. This time however, I believe I'm coming up with something that I can really sink my teeth into. Naturally, I'd like some opinions and comments on it. The whole development project is continuing through my blog here on the site, but tonight's entry is so delicious, and I'm so anxious to see what people think of my approach, that I'm posting it here. Let me know what you think.

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Step 2: Overarching Theme

Zind. It is the name of place where dreams swiftly become nightmares. It is the name of a land where the good suffer by their own hands as often as those of evil. It is the name of a world under the threat from a terror rarely heard of in the halls of men. Zind is a world of turmoil, where things are not quite as they should be, without leaving you the ability to determine precisely what it is before it is too late. This is Zind.

Imagine a world, where goblins and kobolds are among the civilized races. Imagine elves and halflings as feral creatures viciously haunting woods and hillsides, foaming for the taste of your flesh. Contemplate a world that has suffered great wars between psions and wizards, tearing great holes in the fabric of reality and inflicting the curse of sorcery upon unsuspecting mortals; plagued by creatures seeping through portals in the darkest caverns and deepest chasms, determined to free their overlord, who has been chained to the mast of the world since before the birth of the current mortal races, back when dragons ruled the seas and the skies that they have now deserted; where the protectors of those chains will stop at nothing to prevent the release of the deity locked below. A world filled with sacrifice and needless bloodletting. A world ruled by the darkest of passions. This world, is Zind.

Across this vast world, two mighty organizations pursue an endless war from the shadows, striking at their foes, destroying whole villages if they deem it necessary, all in the pursuit of their eternal goal: superiority.

On the one side are the chain-breakers, determined to release Kaltesh from the divine chains that keep him from bursting through the world and laying waste to his siblings. They are the Right Hand, determined to right what they believe the other gods have wronged. But their god must feed, and he has a voracious appetite for souls and sacrifices. By consuming these souls, Kaltesh is able to grant some of his followers a piece of his magic: the divine gift.

The other faction, the imprisoners, fight tooth and claw to keep Kaltesh weak, to keep him chained. They are the Glengoth Council, a union of leaders from the three most ancient races on Zind: the Nox, great black-winged creatures with razor-sharp claws for hands; the Dwarves, stout creatures brandishing weapons in hands as often covered in dried blood as dirt; and the mighty Kobold, the last remnants of the ancient dragons gifted with a vicious flair for traps and torture. As hungry for blood as their counterparts, the Council has no qualms with sacrificing people and souls to obtain the power of their gods, creatures nearly as soul-hungry as Kaltesh himself.

Between these two factions are the children. The young races. Split between the ‘civilized and intelligent’ humans and goblins, and the feral and ‘savage’ elves and halflings. The humans and goblins are used as pawns and fodder for both of these secretive organizations, while the elves and halflings inflict their own devastating blows to all the races of the world. Whether they know it or, more likely, not, all are playing out the plot of either the Hand or the Council, at the cost of their own kind.

The trick, is that on the surface, everything appears as it should, mostly. There is an appearance of relative peace. There is an appearance of relative harmony. There is an appearance of freedom. There is an appearance of development and growth. But for all of this, there is the real situation, small parts of which are known by many, but the grand picture is captured by none. That is the trick. Zind, for all its apparent peace and prosperity, is a cesspool of filth, sinking deeper and deeper towards its cruel destiny.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Sounds really interesting. Sounds like Zind is headed for a gotterdamerung (sp). If this is the sort of thing that you are thinking, it might interest you to know that the one single trait all societies share just before their collapse is rampant rudeness among its citizens. Might help add some flavor, if you want.

I like the idea of the elves being a wild race. I'm tired of everyone imitating Tolkein's elves. I also like the twist on the kobolds. They never seem to get enough recognition. Really, they tend to be more like XP with legs.


Okay, now one hundred and one questions -
What sort of hints and clues are there that s much lies beneath the seemingly calm surface? Where did the dragons go? Are there fey? Are there giants? What is the overall cosmology? Where are the gods? Are they the ones keeping Kaltesh locked up? If not, who is? Are the gods playing any role in this whole mess? What about the demons/devils? Does all of these goings on cause paranoia in the populations of the world? If not, why? Do goblins and kobolds have the same personalities as they do in normal DnD? Do elves and halflings? If so, why is everyone arrayed and portrayed as they are? Do the elves and halflings know something no one else does?

I know, I know....You didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition...

NO ONE EXPECTS THE---

Not now! Sorry, Rin. Didn't mean to give you the **third degree** Just thought the questions might be helpful. If they aren't you may be made of sterner stuff. GET THE CUMFFY CHAIR!!

[Rintaran]

I only count 16. What are the other 85 questions?

It is building up to a sort of gotterdammerung (correct spelling, yay for dictionary.com). The only thing really stopping that is the Council. But once they're distracted enough to let a few people from the hand through, well, let's just say the campaign world will witness a dramatic shift.

I've been frustrated with the pansy do-good and gum drops elves for a while now. As for the halflings, I merely chose one of the two halfling races from the previous version of my campaign world. They're viscious little monsters.

I've also been frustrated with how both goblins and kobolds are generally considered as little more than fodder for adventurers. So I've taken the Slayer's Guide version of the races, and then developed them a little. To answer your question as to what happened to the dragons, they've devolved into Kobolds as a result of the curse of sorcery. There'll be more on that when I put up my treatise on magic and psionics.

There are no fey, no giants, no gnomes, and a lot of the rest of the monster manuals gets thrown out too. As far as humanoid races go, what I've listed (nox, human, dwarf, elf, kobold, goblin, and halfling), without the possibility to reproduce cross-race without magical aid, those are the only humanoid races. That's right, no orcs, no bugbears, no lizardmen, no catfolk, etc. You can also scratch off most of the intelligent and powerful non-humanoid races, like dragons and beholders. I haven't ruled out vampires and were-folk yet, but that doesn't mean I won't.

The gods formed the world, and I've a whole big legend concerning that and their imprisonment of Kaltesh. They were the ones who chained him up originally, sacrificing a large portion of their power to do so. But they no longer watch over him directly. They've turned toward squabbling and in-fighting as much as mortal siblings. They walk Zind themselves, in a neverending hunger for souls, seeking the conversion or taste of those who hail another of their siblings. As such, they are no longer aiding the Council directly, and occasionally even fall prey themselves to being a part of the plot of the Hand. Kaltesh lies bound in the chains of the gods, unable to free himself, and unguarded by more than the knowledge and power of the noxian, dwarven, and koboldian leaders, who reign over the council and manipulate the denizens of the world into doing their bidding. In other words, Katlesh is guarded by everyone the Council controls, though comparatively few know it. There will be several legends unveiled concering the deities in due time.

Ah demons and devils. You didn't really think I had forgotten them in my introduction did you? They're mentioned, though not directly revealed to be what they are. Or rather, devils are mentioned. Demons have made little or no headway on Zind, and affect it only occasionally and in very small, relatively insignificant ways. However, the creatures slipping through portals that I mentioned: those are the devils. They're the driving force behind the Hand. There will be more on them in the future.

Elves, halflings, kobolds and goblins do not have quite the same personalities as those adopted by standard D&D. I'd explain all of the differences here, but then what would I put in the race info posts that are coming up in my development journal?

Paranoia is present, to a small degree. But most people don't have a clue what's going on, they just occasionally get the feeling that something isn't quite right. Like something's a bit off-kilter. It could be anything from noticing that a building in a prime location recieves no traffic, it could be a shuffling footsteps from a dark, empty alley, it could be something not left quite where they put it, it could be a flutter of something on the edge of their sight. The people, the average citizen, if in the right areas (or rather the wrong areas), tend to grow edgy and jumpy. A slow-building paranoia tends to creep up on them, making their flesh crawl and their eyes ache for searching, eventually even leaving some of them with severe bouts of fearful insomnia. But that's only some people. Most are completely oblivious that they're pawns, and that there's a much more important war raging. Most chalk down odd occurrances to mundane things or tricks of the imagination, just like we tend to do in RL. The main difference is, on Zind, it usually isn't something mundane. More hints and clues will be divulged when I get to the level of the city (not too long from now I hope).

OK, I think I've either answered or put off with hints the questions you've assayed me with. Thanks for bringing them up, they've made me decide to slightly change the order in which I will be crafting Zind.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Glad I could help, but I feel I must once more assult you with a fucillade of questions.

Are there undead? What "powers" them? How do they come about? Who uses them? Are they anathma or useful tools in society (think cheap labor that never complains)? Have you looked into Ravenloft for some interesting rules for Sinkholes of Evil (they soudn like they'd fit in perfectly)? What about ethereal resonance? Is insanity a problem (it sounds like there would be a lot of lunes just because of all the stuff that's not right. woudl drive many people over the edge)? If not, why not? If so, what do people do with them? Are there assylums? How are they viewed? Are they outcasts or just patients or both (like lepracy - screw dictionary.com )? Are there kobold dragon disciples? Are there half-fiends in the world? Is there a large subterrainean network of caves (a la underdark) where your "portals in deep places" are located? If so, what formed it? If not, where are these "deep places"?

Well, I know that this only brigns the total to 34, but the other 67 will be on there way after your response. Hope these help, too.

[Rintaran]

I'm still undecided on the existence of undead. For the moment I'm tentatively saying that they exist, and are powered via sustained conduits to the sources of arcane magic. As for who uses them, pretty much anyone with the power to make them, which would be very few people. They would be a mind-blowing rarity, so although they may provide cheap labour, anyone who stumbles across them that isn't previously acquainted with their existence is likely to have a bit of a breakdown. This is assuming that they exist, on which I still need to make a decision, but it is not a major priority. The world could essentially function with or without them.

Afraid I've never read any of Ravenloft. Been wanting too, but am unwilling and unable to shill out for the book.

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What about ethereal resonance?

What about it? Have I considered it? Do I even know what you're talking about here? I'm going to go with no on both counts.

Insanity is a problem in many areas. Heck, insanity should be a problem in many areas of all but the tamest of campaign worlds, but that's just my opinion. Assylums exist in some areas, but the treatment of patients varies depending upon their social rank & resources, the type of insanity, and their location. Some cities may not have an assylum, and instead treat insanity as a sort of plague, slaying those infected and burning the bodies in the hopes to prevent spreading the disease. Some cities may have a magnificent assylum with actual psychologists paid by the state, a church, or some other organization. Most assylums wouldn't be thing munificent however. Indeed, most would be little better than a prison. Being insane doesn't mean you can't participate in the diabolical plans of the Hand or the Council. They can make for good tools some times.

There are no dragon desciples, as there are no dragons and no inter-racial breeding of any sort. There is a caste of Kobolds known as the "Wing" caste. These rare kobolds are slight throwbacks to their draconic origins, as they still actually possess the wings of their ancestors. The near-impossibility of inter-racial breeding also eliminates half-fiends. As I mentioned earlier, there is the possibility of developing a spell that may allow for a half-race child, but if it exists, it may have been used once or twice in the entire history of Zind, and I'm going to propose that the effects were likely disastrous.

Underground tunnels... There are some, but not huge complex networks of tunnels. Both the dwarves and the kobolds are miners in origin, and thus both have their own networks of tunnels, though neither have them to great depths. Some tunnels are old lava-tunnels, others used to contain (or still do) underground rivers. Still more were formed by purple worms and a few other subterranean creatures. There is no significant "underdark," as the deep regions are devoid of anything resembling humanoid or intelligent life, save the occasional fiend who breaks through one of these naturally forming portals. To correct your quote however, I never claimed they came from vague "deep places", but "through portals in the darkest caverns and deepest chasms." Realistically, you don't have to be far underground for it to be as dark as dark can be. Theoretically, it could just be from your cellar!

What else have you got?

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Well let's see. Firstly, if you would like to know more about Ravenloft's wonderful little gothic thingies, feel free to ask. I can explain it all to you. There are some very interesting, if not useful mechanics and ideas in it with regard to making a place seem weird, uncanny, or evil. It also has a nice take on ghosts (don't know if you are including them, as undead seem to be a rarity).

Okay, here's a warning. I'm going to get metaphysical on you now. Bwahahahaha!

What is a soul? What has a soul and what does not? What happen to souls when the body dies? Can the soul ever leave the body while it is still alive? Can it return afterward? Is life itself magical at all? If so, please explain. Is there magic that directly affects a person's life? Are there planes other than the one Zind occupies? What are they? What purpose do they serve? Does anything live there? Can they travel to Zind? How? Are the classic DnD alignments tangible or merely a description of how people act? If they are tangible, please explain in such a way the Socrates would not confound you what is Good; what is Evil; what is Law; and what is Chaos? You mentioned there are gods; where did they come from? How does being a "god" differ from being a mortal? Can mortals become gods? What do gods want? Where do gods get their power? Why do they care about mortals? Why do they care about Kaltesh? What do they think of religion? Can gods become mortals? Has it ever happened? What happened when it did?

Well that brings us up to 91. Next post will give you the 101 promised questions. Hope it helps.

[Rintaran]

I'm glad I decided to wake up a bit before coming here this morning. If I hadn't, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to come up with any sort of answer to these questions of metaphysics. However, I shall endeavor to comply.

A soul is the integral 'spirit' or 'inner being' that is integral for any creature to be defined as living. Therefore, every living creature has a soul, and in the case of intelligent undead, they have a soul too. Not all souls have equal value, as it is dependant upon their previous material form. Intelligent creatures have a greater soul value than unintelligent creatures.

When a body dies, the soul transverses to the outer planes, where they may be reborn as a petitioner on the plane best reflecting their attitudes during their life. Alternatively, they may be reborn elsewhere on Zind, or another prime material planet. Death is as common (if not more common) on the outer planes as it is on the Prime Material Plane, and souls also come to the Prime from the outer planes. It's a matter of equilibrium, or the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy, whichever floats your boat.

For the cycle of rebirth, the soul first attempts to be reborn into another of its previous material kind. Elephants prefer to be elephants, humans prefer to be humans, etc. In the case where none of its material kind are pregnant with an as-yet unsouled young, the soul makes the journey to the planes and accepts its role as petitioner. Outer-planar souls are considered "charged" souls upon return to the Prime Material. Although said soul will first try to find an unsouled-fetus of its previous kind to occupy, it does not require this and should one prove unavailable, it can pass into an unsouled fetus higher up on the chain of being. The declining animal population and ballooning intelligent creature population demonstrate the amount of charged souls that make their way onto the prime. For the mere sake of consistancy, should an unsouled fetus reach maturity without recieving a soul, it is stillborn. If there are no beings at an equal or greater level on the chain of being for a charged soul to occupy, it is automatically reborn into a creature at a lower level. If by some impossibility there are no eggs and no pregnant creatures on the prime, the charged soul makes another round on the planes. Creatures killed in a specific and ritualistic manner often have their souls imprisoned, stopping this cycle.

A soul cannot leave a body while it lives without some sort of magical or psionic aid. The results of this vary depending on the type of magical or psionic aid utilized. The more common result on Zind, is the capture of the soul, and its sacrifice to the gods. Bodies whose souls have been eaten, rot. The incrediably rare option allows the soul to wander the world for short periods of time. The soul is then forced back into its body. Captured souls that are released return to their body, assuming it has not been captured long enough to cause it to rot in earnest. If the body has already been degraded in this manner, the soul returns to the great cycle.

On the origins of souls: after the self-creation of the gods, they manipulated smaller portions of those same energies from the inner planes to create souls. They quickly discerned a difficulty because the souls dissipated rapidly having no material shell to occupy. Thus they created the world and its peoples to contain the souls. This will be explained in yet further detail when I completely unravel the history of the gods in a future blog post.

Yes, there is magic that affects a persons life. But if I give you a shot to the arm, does that not also affect your life? You bet. If I give a shot to your best friend's arm, does that not also affect your life? Very likely. If I give a shot to a complete stranger's arm while in your sight, does that not affect your life? It certainly can. If I give a shot to a complete strangers arm on the opposite side of the world to you, does that affect your life? Not really. Magic works in much the same way, with only a few differences. Unlike a brief shot to someone's arm, the effects of some magics are a little more permanent. The greatest example of this on my world is the creation of the mage wastes and sorcerors, which come as the result of a war between psions and wizards. But that again, is a tale for another time.

There are many planes beyond the Prime Material, of which Zind is a part. First there are the inner planes, from which both the physical and metaphysical building blocks of life are drawn. Additionally, arcane magics are drawn from there through instantaneous conduits formed by peculiar rituals, handmotions, words, etc. The gods are no longer powerful enough to form the energies of the inner planes into souls, nor have they the ability to revive themselves to that level of power (this will be further explained in a future blog post). The Outer Planes are formed by ideas and ideals, and provide a place for charging souls so they may be reborn in different forms on the prime. Essentially, I am using the 2E Planescape planar cosmology as opposed to that found in the Manual of the Planes. Creatures from the planes can travel to the prime. A number of naturally forming portals are present on Zind and provide for the transportation of the Devils. Portals are activated by the presence of the corresponding key. This could be anything from the right hand motion, word, sneeze, or by possessing a particular object. Similarly, some spells and psionic powers may be required to activate these portals. Spells and psionic effects that instantaneously create portals to other planes have not developed on this world as the mortal population is generally unknowledgable of its existence.

DND alignments are relative descriptions of how people act. This removes protection from good/evil/law/chaos from the spell/psionic lists. The overwhelming nature of Zind would undermine any tangibility in this area anyways, so I feel it best to avoid it. Similarly, this rule either eliminates, or requires a modification of the various paladin classes.

As to the history of the gods, and most of your questions relating to the gods, I feel obliged to not answer these questions at the present time as it would leave almost nothing to my deities blog entry. Suffice it to say, mortals cannot become gods, but gods can become mortals (and are well on their way to it). This has not occurred as of yet. They differ from mortals in several ways. First, they were self-created as a natural evolution of the inner planes. Second, they formed mortal souls from smaller amounts of that same material, thereby making them naturally weaker, and unable to interact with the inner plane with the same ease they could. The gods have had to give up a large amount of their power since, making them only slightly greater than mortals. This makes the difference of being a god instead of a mortal, only a few factors: self-creation, age, and scale of innate power.

Ok, I've got those answered pretty well I think. Let's here your final barrage.

For those of you ghosting this, please pipe in with your comments too. That is why I posted this stuff here after all.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

92) What is a "soul value" and how does it affect the soul, the world, and how it behaves at death?

93) How nice are Kaltesh's siblings?

94) What would Kaltesh do after he kills his siblings and why would mortals care?

95) How do aberrations fit in?

96) What magic level are you using?

97) What tech level are you using?

98) How does magic work?

99) What can psionics do taht magica cannot? What can magic do that psionics cannot?

100) Is there magic/psionics transparency? If so, why bother with two different systems?

Warning: This last question was first encountered as the sole question on a phylosphy exam and may prove to be the most aggrivating one of this entire list. Please answer in terms of your world.

101) Why?

[Rintaran]

Ok, I've taken a few more steps. Here are the fourteen deities of Zind. Note that their power isn't indicative of their level of worship. They quite simply aren't powered in that manner. I'll put up more info on the gods in my blog/on my site, as I get the chance to type it up, but I'd like to hear what people think of these deities. It's important to understand that the gods are physically present on Zind.


Alexa the Beautiful
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A pair of interconnected rings, one with a noticeable hole
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Beauty, Marriage and Treachery
Worshipers: Actors, Lovers, Rakes...
Cleric Alignments: NE, LE, CE, N
Domains: Darkness, Healing, Trickery
Favoured Weapon: Scourge

Alexa the temptress, Alexa the deciever, Alexa the beautiful... These are all names for one goddess. A gorgeous, well-endowed, thin goddess with eyes of pure ocean blue and wavy blond hair that blows in the wind. The goddess is usually adorned with diamonds and gold, and wears a shear, nearly transparent silk gown, normally white. A glance in her direction is enough to catch the eyes, one from her takes the gazer's heart. Although true sight will reveal her fourteen foot, natural form, she appears as one of the mortal's own kind. She avoids Noxians, as she believes feathers to be atrocious.

Dogma

Beauty leadys to marriage. Marriage is stability and reliability. Marriage provides opportunity of wealth and possessions not often available to those who aren't married. And if it doesn't seem to work out, take everything and abandon your spouse before they do the same to you.

Clergy and Temples

Alexa's clergy come in two forms: the young and beautify, and those who are too old for marriage. The old clerics teach the young how to entrap the hearts of the opposite (and in some areas the same) sex. They also perform wedding and divorce ceremonies for acceptable donations. In most kingdoms, no weddings are considered legal unless performed by a priest or priestess of Alexa.

The youthful priests and priestesses spend their time learning from the old, primping, prepping, and trying to attract husbands or wives. Their skills in primping and prepping leads them to the fashion trade, resulting in textiles, hair stylists and manicurists having facilities in larger cities.

Alexa's temples are found in every major city. They are usually largish buildings with numerous entrances. There is one central hall, lined with pews, that stands before a large hold symbol of Alexa and her altar. This room is used for wedding ceremonies. The other rooms of the temple belong to the hairstylists, manicurists, and textile workers. There is usually some rooms for the local and visiting clergy to inhabit.



Bagdai the Just
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: Three Masks (one blind-folded, one with look of pity, one with look of rage)
Alignment: LN
Portfolio: Compassion, Justice and Vengeance
Worshippers: Courts, murderers
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, LE, N
Domains: Healing, Death and Liberation
Favoured Weapon: Whip

Bagdai has three faces on his head, and each reflects a different part of his personality. The center face is the face of justice, but in place of eyes, there rests only ears. The face on the right is forever locked in a look of pity, with blue searching eyes. The face on the left is forever angry, red eyes blazing. All three faces have mouths, that Bagdai decides to use according to his feelings. Each face breathes heavily, and this sound is often taken as a group of people as opposed to the one creature that it is. Bagdai always wears a flowing red robe, bordered with golden runes, black boots and extremely tight-fitting red gloves. He has shoulder length red hair. When walking out of places he considers safe, he tends to a hood up and pretends to use a cane.

Dogma

Justice requires two things: an unyielding order, and proper balance between the extremes of compassion and vengeance. Bagdai teaches his followers the differences between these three aspects, and the appropriate time to make use of each of them. Bagdai encourages his followers to adhere to local laws in public, but to follow his path in private, even if that means imprisoning someone only to release them, or grant them clemency only to kill them later.

Clergy and Temples

Most priests of Bagdai either run local prisons and reform houses, or have jobs as magistrates and justices. As such, they are often revealed to lean towards one of Bagdai's three aspects. Additionally they tend to turn a blind eye to the actions of other followers of Bagdai, including the legendary "Freebirth". Their positioning in society leads them to be a rather secretive organization, with the true power of the law resting in their hands, regardless of the edicts of any King, Speak, Tsar, or whatever the local bigwig decides to label himself.

Like many deities on Zind, Bagdai has no "temples". Instead, any prison or hall of justice, as well as any non-standard location of trial (for the duration of said trial) can ostensibly be considered temples of Bagdai. Prisons and halls of justice usually have small shrines to the deity.



Condeus the Honest
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A grey ring around a rose circle
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Disease, Endurence, and Honesty
Worshippers: Varied
Cleric Alignments: N, NE, LE, CE
Domains: Destruction, Strength, and Sun
Favoured Weapon: Scythe

Condeus appears similar to a dwarf, except for the black spots, pock marks, ring-around-the-rosies, and other signs of disease and pestilence, not to mention a height of fourteen feet. Condeus wears an outfit of sackcloth and is always in a horrible mood. His thin and scraggly brown hair often gets in the way of his bloodshot, brown eyes. Condeus makes no attempts to hide his ailments, and honestly tells anyone he cares to address of the various plagues that wrack his body. Wherever he goes, plague travels with him.

Dogma
Plague and sickness are everywhere. Bring it to your friends. Bring it your neighbours. The sooner one is submitted to plagues and disease, the sooner they can learn to endure the hardship and become immune. Those who die, could not endure and aren't worhty of the existence the gods gave them. Never lie about your ailments, or about anything. The sooner the truth is known the sooner others can test their endurence.

Clergy and Temples

Condeus' clergy are itinerant carriers of plague. They travel from town to town, spreading their diseases to the unsuspecting townsfolk. They stand by town wells and preach endurence before suffering from the beatings of the townsfolk, which only serves to spread his plague faster. They tend to remain in town just long enough to witness the seeds of plague take root, give a couple sermons, and then move on to the next city.

Condeus has no temples, but wherever plague and disease strikes can be considered within his sight and hearing. Graves and burn-sites often have shrines to Condeus built over them, though they tend to be simple and short lasting.



Daranzebub the Swift
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A solid black 30 point star
Alignment: LE
Portfolio: Tyranny, Loyalty, and Swiftness
Worshippers: Rulers, Leaders, Messengers
Cleric Alignments: LE, LN, NE
Domains: Diabolic, Water and Travel
Favoured Weapon: Dire Flail

Dressed in a black spiked scale mail, his dire flail in his hand and his red horns protruding through his helmet, Daranzebub is a fierce and devastating emporer of many mortal kingdoms. He is the most active deity in mortal affairs, pitting his peons against those who show a semblance of disloyalty, or who fail to accept his offer of assimilation. Daranzebub makes his rulings and orders swift and expects them to be carried out in the same manner.

Dogma

Do it. Do it now. Do it fast. Never betray your lord. If you are a lord, act like one and make your inferiors feel their position. You are the great ruler. None should question you. But I am your ruler, bow before my might, or die.

Clergy and Temples

Daranzebub's clergy serve him directly as messengers and servants. His temples are tall, imposing palaces where he may choose to live for an extended period of time. One such temple is located in each kingdom that has sowrn allegiance to his empire. Some clergy upkeep these temples when not in use. They use them as training ground for servants of all sorts. Even the children of some rulers have gone through their halls as students.



Goran the Sufferer
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A black circle, in a red triangle, in a white square, in a black circle
Alignment: LE
Portfolio: Magic, Suffering, and Prophecy
Worshippers: Mages, Seers, Torturers, Sadists, Masochists
Cleric Alignments: LE, LN, NE
Domains: Magic, Fire and Luck
Favoured Weapon: Dagger

Goran is tall and always dresses in black. His face is covered with unsightly purple blotches, as are his hands, arms, and the rest of his body. These blotches ooze and puss, constantly stinging and annoying Goran, which makes him constantly miserable. Despite this, Goran has immense muscles and his presence is one to fear. Goran has a voracious appetite, and has been known to consume mortals whole in a single sitting. Goran often meets with varous rulers and uses his gift of prophecy to gain their allegiance and aid.

Dogma

Only pain can open your eyes. Embrace the pain and you will find your gift, whether it be access to the great source of magic, or a glance into the future. But not short passing pain, only a long suffering pain can open the doors of your mind. Bring suffering unto others, so they can understand the power it brings. Only through suffering can you gain both the power and the sight.

Clergy and Temples

Goran's clergy are all sadists and masochists who ritually take part in numerous tortures, inflictions and agony all to obtain the power promised by Goran. The clergy often have jobs as torturers, or run S&M clubs. They're also slave drivers, and often enjoy positions of power and contral as local police forces, using excessive brutality to bring their suspects to the courts.

Goran's temples are torture chambers, S&M clubs, and guard halls. They are usually decorated with numerous implements designed to cause lasting pain or discomfort, for example, beds are lumpy and flea infested.



Jutara the Orderly
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A blood speckled gold crown
Alignment: LE
Portfolio: Heirarchy, Wind and Malice
Worshippers: Royalty, Nobility, Guild Leaders, Sailors, Usurpers.
Cleric Alignments: LE, LN, NE
Domains: Nobility, Air and Strength
Favoured Weapon: Mace

In many ways, Jutara appears as an exceptionally tall Noxian female, complete with the white tips on the black feathers near the base of her neck and the complete lack of breasts. Unlike Noxians however, she has four black wings, and the tips along the edges are blood re. Her eyes are the customary Noxian white and she maintains a strict, emotionless look upon her face at all times. Jutara usually wears only a belt, holding her powerful mace. Like all Noxians, her body is covered in a soft black down, and like all Noxian females, her gential down is a very contrasting white. Her appearance drives Noxian males crazy, but she maliciously puts off their advances and demands the appropriate sacrifices.

Dogma

There is order to everything, and that order must be obeyed at all costs. You have power because we wish it so. Your power can be removed and we will decide your replacement based upon the great heirarchy we designed.

Clergy and Temples

Clerics of Jutara are often sailors or messengers, but many come from the noble class in the hopes of raising their family to the pinnacle of the kingdom. Just as the clerics of Bagdai control the laws, the clerics of Jutara control not only who makes the laws, but also the trasportation of letters and merchandise by the seas. Clerics of Jutara perform a monthly blood dance, where they dance beneath the bleeding and spinning bodies of thirteen people whose souls are, by this ceremony, sacrificed to Jutara.

With such a large part of its clergy among the upper echelons of society, Jutara is one of the few gods to actually have proper temples, though most wharfs and ships also double as temples of Jutara for those members of the church that don't belong to the upper classes.



Kaibaleth the Mad
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: Brass Laughing Head Coin
Alignment: CE
Portfolio: Madness, Mirth and Money
Worshippers: Rogues, Bards, Merchants, Entertainers, Party Goers, Dwarves
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE
Domains: Madness, Healing, and Greed
Favoured Weapon: Unarmed

Kaibaleth the Mad wanders the world dressed only in a plain brown robe. He remains unwashed for millenia and stinks something most foul. His dry, gritty brown hair remains uncombed and his eyes stare madly at any object that attracts his attention. He heaves heavily when he's not laughing wildly or scaring local townsfolk. Like most of the gods, he stands nearly fourteen feet tall.

Dogma

Kaibaleth, though mad, is an insanely jovial deity. He encourages out of contron partying, drinking, drugs and gambling. With his insane lust for excitement, lovemaking and even rape are encouraged by this deity. Although forever lusting for mirth himself, Kaibaleth recognizes the trouble this can, and does, lead mortals into. He is aware that sometimes there is too much mirth and one can be insane. For a god, it is entertainment, for a mortal, a punishment, which is why Kaibaleth encourages his followers to take care of those whose minds are unstable.

Clergy and Temples

Kaibaleth's clerics tend to follow one of two paths: those who celebrate and encourage mirth, and those who tend to the maddened ones. The first group are often multiclassed as bards or rogues and form a staple of travelling shows of all sorts. Any celebration, spontaneous or planned, is bound to have at least one cleric of Kaibaleth present, and he's probably the one making the biggest fool of himself.

The caretakers are a somewhat more sombre lot, teaching their flock to give up the unstable mirth that has conquered their mind, or whatever mental ailments may be troubling them. These clergymen (and women) do know how to cut loose when it is appropriate, like on holy days and their ritual Fridays. They keep their mad rituals secret from the general public because they fear that no one would trust them with their madnesses otherwise.

Although both types of clerics may seem easygoing, they're very determined and unflinching in their pursuits. If a cleric of Kaibaleth wants to put a play on in the middle of the entry gate to a town and hold up traffic for two hours, he will.

Kaibaleth has no "temples" per se. However, every tavern, brothel, gambling house, and hospital for the mad is considered a holy temple for Kaibaleth. Additionally, every travelling show with a cleric of Kaibaleth among its crew is considered a travelling temple of Kaibaleth.



Kaltesh the Great Destroyer
Greater Deity (DR 20)
Symbol: A Chain-link
Alignment: NG
Portfolio: Light, Love, Childbirth and Abundance
Worshippers: Very few know of Kaltesh. Those who do either worship her or another deity.
Cleric Alignments: N, NG, LG, CG
Domains: Pleasure, Joy, Community, and Repose
Favoured Weapon: Battleaxe

This sixty-foot goddess sits trapped somwhere on Zind. In shape, form and looks, she resembles a peaceful halfling, with child-like features and innocent green eyes. She has dark green hair and is chained to an immense altar naked by a special type of chain crafted by the other gods that keeps her weak and contained. Her weapon, a powerful battleaxe, is chained to the wall past her feet.

Dogma

Our goddess is trapped somewhere on this world. She must be freed. She is the goddess of growth and development. She cares for the mortals of the world. She wants us to grow, expand and procreate. She wants us to live in abundance and joy. She wants us to love each other for who we are. The other gods couldn't see that. We must free our goddess from her shackles. We must fight those who oppose her goals.

Clergy and Temples

The clergy are all members of the global organization known as the Hand of Kaltesh. They work constantly to spread the qualities of Kaltesh while hiding their devotion, and search for clues to both her whereabout and how to free her from the shackles the gods crafter for her.

Because of Kaltesh's powers being trapped beneath chains, clerics of Kaltesh must perform a sacrifice once a month in order to obtain the divine gift of spellcasting. This sacrifice must either be willing, or a declared priest of one of the other gods. Exceptionally powerful sacrifices often have effects beyond that of access to divine magic.

Kaltesh has no obvious temples. Because of the mis-teachings of all the other temples, worship of Kaltesh is almost universally forbidden. The Hand does have a number of secret meeting halls and sacrificial chambers that count as temples.

Avatars

Kaltesh is the only god or goddess with sufficient overall power to manifest an avatar to carry out her will. Unfortunately, the chains that bind her, prevent her from being able to make use of this ability without some supplemented power from a special sacrificial ritual that takes the lives of no less than three priests of Thebault. On these rare occasions, her avatar appears as herself, though the avatar is the size of a halfling, and only has an effective powerlevel of a demigod. Her rare appearances bring guidance to the Hand, directing their work at freeing their goddess from her shackles.



Kobial the Poetic
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A rolled sheet of paper as the bait on a mousetrap
Alignment: CE
Portfolio: Trapmaking, Poetry, and Thievery
Worshippers: Poets, Entertainers, Thieves, Property Owners, Kobolds
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE
Domains: Trickery, Luck and Knowledge
Favoured Weapon: Quarterstaff

Kobial is a master of disguise, and one of the only deities capable of meshing unnoticed with the kobold population. Once upon a time, he was a gargantuan dragon in form, but as the curse began to effect the dragon population, he adapted his form to match as closely as possible with his favourite creations. There are some discrepencies, as Kobial is still a good two feet taller than most kobolds. He disguises this by leaning over against his staff.

Dogma

If by word I can't convince you to part with your money, I'll pick it off you body once you're dead. Kobial is the ultimate god of taking that which isn't his. His teachings suggest verbal wheedling as the first way of obtainments, traps as the second, and risky thievery as the third. Kobial is not greedy however, and does not instruct his followers to guard or keep their spoils. On the contrary, Kobial teaches that all property is transient and made for the sole purpose of being wheedled from one individual to another.

Clergy and Temples

Clerics of Kobial often form art & culture enclaves within larger cities, and are arguably the guardians of culture (in combination or competition with clerics of Toriah). They are also often hired as engineering advisors for rulers and the rich so they can protect their goods from others. The clerics of Kobial design and build traps for their clients, as well as for their own use. Of course, the clerics have a knack of remembering the traps they've designed, making them both useful and dangerous hirelings.

Temples of Kobial are usual small bricklayers and engineering shops or offices. They have no central location, except for the cultural enclaves in larger cities, which may or may not be a permanent building.



Mirya the Merciful
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A red swatch of cloth
Alignment: CE
Portfolio: Mining, Mercy and Killing
Worshippers: Miners, Gemworkers, The Ailing, Murderers
Cleric Alignments: NE, CE, CN
Domains: Earth, Corruption and Death
Favoured Weapon: Heavy Pick

Fiery red hair, burning red eyes, bulging muscles and barbaric, rag-like clothing describes the fierce appearance of Mirya. Her body is as hard as stone, and though her heart is softer, her idea of mercy is death. She has an almost one-track mind, only swerving slightly to dig through the earth, usually to make a grave, but sometimes to obtain some valuable gem or ore, or to point them out to someone.

Dogma

Know someone who's suffering? Be merciful, kill them. Someone getting in your way? Kill them. Don't know where to put the bodies? Try a mine shaft. Get digging!

Clergy and Temples

Due to the violent nature of Mirya and her teachings, her clergy are almost never found preaching anywhere except near the mines they tend to run. These mines also serve as their temples, and are an excellent location to hire assassins.



Seline the Beastly
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A Black Scorpian.
Alignment: CE
Portfolio: Psionics, Beasts and Seasons
Worshippers: Psionic users, hunters, farmers
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE
Domains: Knowledge, Bestial, and Weather
Favoured Weapon: Claws & Tail

This tempermental goddess is a horror to behold. She appears as a huge black scorpian capable of walking upright. Unlike other scorpions, she has four frontal claws and is adept with all of them. Her head, although remeniscent of elves in both general shape and ears, contains a number of features disturbing to look upon, including a pair of incissors, a jet-black shell-like skin, and pulsing white eyes. Seline spends much of her time passing through dwarven kingdoms and their subeterannean tunnels, snacking on any dwarves who happen to displease her.

Dogma

The mind controls everything, even beasts and the weather. Seline's teachings create not only a useful almanac for detecting weather patterns and important hunting tips, they also include many ways to go about unlocking the mind's true potential. The mind is the source of creation, without it, there is nothing. Seline teaches independance from society and self-reliance. However she demands sacrifices more often than most of the deities, and her hunger is hard to satisfy.

Clergy and Temples

Clerics of Seline undergo numerous forms of self-mutilation, spanning everything from minor tattoos and piercings, to attempts to grow or graft beastly appendaged to their body. Despite their often grotesque appearances, they serve the almost admirable jobs as keepers of records, or in layman's terms, they're librarians. Some work as hunters and trainers. Because of their somewhat grotesque traditions, there are very few clerics of Seline in comparison to many other deities.

Selinic temples usually double as halls of records, butchershops or stables. Because of the reliance of travellors on the weather, there are small shrines at all major crossroads for sacrificial purposes.



Shasson
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A stalk of wheat and a stalk of corn with stems intertwined
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Agriculture, Drought and Dance
Worshippers: Gardeners, farmers, performers
Cleric Alignments: N, LE, NE, CE
Domains: Plant, Destruction, and Travel
Favoured Weapon: Sickle

Both a blessing and a curse for the people that rely on their fields for sustenance or profit, Shasson appears as a sort of bipedal worm with two arms. She has no visible mouth or eyes, but somehow manages to consume and enrich dirt around her. Shasson perfers slightly [WOMBAT] environments, but has been known to cause drought from a distaste of a particular soil type that a farmer may be usuing, or may have overused. She commonly wears a brown hooded cloak decorated with green runes.

Dogma

The soil brings us life. Treat it well and it will treat you well. Dance to call rain, dance to celebrate a good harvest, dance to change your world. Shasson teaches that there are many reasons to dance, though hers is merely the presence of legs. She also teaches the cycles, and give agricultural advice. She eats the soil, and when it doesn't meet her hopes, she finds ways to feed the soil, usually with the bodies of those who die as a result of a drought.

Clergy and Temples

Priests of Shasson are usually rural folk and are rarely found in a big city. Usually, a small shrine to Shasson will be set-up in the centre-square of a farming community, around which the priests, farmers, and many other may dance to celebrate and pray to their goddess. Clergy enjoy no special benefits and toil on the farms like regular farmers, except they often take better care of their soil and therefore have higher crop yields.



Thebault the Conquerer
Lesser Deity (DR 10)
Symbol: A crown of poison ivy
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Creation, Nature, and Conquest
Worshippers: Warlords, warriors, artists, and druids
Cleric Alignments: N, NE, CE, LE
Domains: Creation, Plant and War
Favoured Weapon: Greatsword

Thebault is the great leader of the gods. He is the idea-man, from which everything can thank its existence. Thebault gave the gods their first purpose, and showed them to use their powers. Thebault led them against the great usurper, Kaltesh, and gave them a way to create life and entertainment. He is responsible for the path the beings of Zind have travelled.

Thebault stands taller than the other gods, at twenty feet in heigh. He has three legs, and four arms, each of which wields a greatsword. His armour shines in gold and his gaze strikes fear and awe in mortals. His body, aside from the third leg, vaguely resembles a dark-skinned goblin.

Dogma

Thebault is the great creator. He is Father Nature. He rules all, and wants us to try to follow suit. Conquer your foes. Conquer your friends. Bring all beneath your control. Conquer everything.

Clergy and Temples

The clergy are masterful warriors in all sorts of weaponry. They run military academies, command war councils, and rage against anything they believe opposes them. They are the soldiers, border guards, and in some cases, the brigands of Zind. Outposts and military academies count as temples of Thebault.



Toriah the Valourous
Minor Deity (DR 5)
Symbol: A foot wrapped in barbed wire
Alignment: LE
Portfolio: Art, Valour, and Pain
Worshippers: Knights, Warriors, artists of all types, decorative gardeners and architects
Cleric Alignments: LE, LN, NE
Domains: Protection, War and Pain
Favoured Weapon: Lance

Lady Toriah dresses as one would expect a knight equipped for a tournament, in full helmeted plate mail, with her sword sheathed at her side, a lance in one hand, and her coat of arms on her shiny shield. When she removes her helmet, she has the face of a kobold, but a short shock of red hair runs from her horns to her back, where they then appear to combine and run down her neck and likely her back. Her manner is brisk and to the point, except when she's examining a tapestry, painting, sculpture of another piece of art, where she patiently takes her time to examine it thouroughly and critique it ruthlessly.

Dogma

Art and valour are the two most important things in life. Art is a thing of beauty to be spread across the world, whether painting, sculpting, tapestries, or merely garned or furniture arrangements, art is what brings pleasure to life. Valour is the other pedestal of existence. It is what gets things done. Valour can change the minds of foes, valour can bring truth and profit. But in all things, there must be pain. Pain leads to growth. Pain is development. Through pain, one's valour is graded. Through pain, one's art gains worth. Between art and valour, there is pain.

Clergy and Temples

With a clergy that spends half its time toiling on some form of art, and half its time perfecting martial skills, Toriah's clergy are always toiling at one thing or another. Physical, unattached pieces of art are auctioned off, or given as gifts to adorn town, cities, or even temples of other gods.

Like most deities, temples of Toriah tend to have purposes aside from straight worship. Usually they provide training grounds for valourous combat, as well as locations for tournaments and some archery competitions. Other "temples" serve as artist colonies, providing a safe place for artists to sweat and toil on their pieces out of the uncultured eyes of the regular populace.

[Axel]

To assist Raven with the Inquisition:
Although you have told us the hidden rulers of the world, who are the apparent rulers?
Why do the gods want Kaltesh bound, exactly?
What are the legends and heros of this land, depressing as the reality may be what are the grand stories they tell?
If clerics do indeed draw their strength from their gods, who in turn require sacrifice for strength, then what sorce to druids call on? Are there druids at all?
Are there any other gods or other spirits than they major ones? Small gods or local spirits maybe? Household gods or such myths?
How about prophets, saints, or messiahs?

[Rintaran]

The apparent rulers are the so-called kings, tzars, ceasars, speakers, or whatever they decide to call themselves. Generally the world is not of sprawling countries, but of city-states, who try to make claim to some territories surrounding them, which they may, or may not have actual control. These tin-pot dictators, or elected representatives (ha!) may believe they are the ones in command, and enough of their orders are followed to believe it to be true, but with all the whispers in their ears, they are far from as powerful as they believe themselves to be.

Why do they want Kaltesh bound?

The reason the deities used, was that Kaltesh was destroying everything they had worked so hard to accomplish. Kaltesh changed the way of life for all the races on the planet, changing the way they interact with their environments by teaching them things that the other gods did not want them to know.

The reason the clerics of the other deities give, on the rare occasion someone hears of a goddess named Kaltesh, is that Kaltesh is the great destroyer, bent of annihilating all life on Zind.

The real reason is jealousy. In the creation of the world and the races, and in the bridging of planes and the drawing from the inner planes, the other, older deities had to sacrifice their own power, weakening them substantially. The crafting of the chains that bound Kaltesh weakened them still further, but that's besides the point. When Kaltesh sprung at the end of their creationism, she was what they all once were. As powerful as they all used to be. She was everything they were no more. Jealousy has a great power over the mind, of mortal or deity alike (choose your pantheon, it's a major driving force in almost all).

There are many legends, stories and "heroes". As they're completed, they're like to be posted.

On to druids: there are none. The closest thing to a druid would be a cleric of Shasson or Thebault, which I think even you will agree, don't sound anything like a druid.

These fourteen deities are all the deities that are. They are sometimes called by different names, sometimes people will celebrate/fear their individual aspects separately, under different names. Mortals get confused often enough that they can't truly be trusted to keep their facts straight.

If by prophets, you mean people who predict the future, then yes. There are both mages of divination, and psionic seers. If you mean beings, sent by god to bring forth knowledge and predictions, to set the new way for a religion and turn the old one on its head, then no, at least, no real ones. Also no "saints" or messiahs. The gods don't require these intermediaries, as they are present on the world themselves. Only Kaltesh is capable of creating an avatar, which may possibly fall under this category.


--

It is at this point where I feel the need to make it apparent that there will likely be 14 different cleric classes, as the base cleric class does not seem fitting for any of these deities (especially with their requirements). Also being reworked is the sorceror. The barbarian and druid are definitely being removed. Other classes await my decision, though the ranger is likely going to lose his spellcasting ability, and therefore, as a mere archer who really hates things, is likely to be removed as a fighter could fill the role just as easily. Paladins are likely going to be tweaked as well.

[Axel]

And no lesser spirits, angels and the like? Or perhaps near-deities or child-gods, like Santa Claus or the Bogeyman?

[Rintaran]

Demons and devils have access to the world, but no angels or other lesser spirits of the like are known to exist. No near-deities or child-gods... You should read over the entry on the cosmology of my setting, it has some of the background of the deities contained therein...

The deities were formed in four distinct waves, with Kaltesh coming last, as the sole deity of her wave. They were created by the natural interactions between the energy planes. Theoretically, more gods could spring from this in the future. There is no ascension into godhood*, though there is a possiblity for, for lack of a real word, "descension" from godhood to mortality. The gods fear this, but hope to be able to trick other deities into sacrificing more of their deific power and descending down that that road (all of the deities were once DR 20).

*Although I claim there is no ascension into godhood, there is one way, and only two deities are of sufficient DR to do so (Thebault and Kaltesh). For the purposes of my campaign world, a deity with a DR greater than 6 can sacrifice 2 points of their DR to bestow 1 point of DR on a mortal being who meets certain criteria. This would however, cripple the deity in question, which is why Thebault would never think of doing such a thing, though Kaltesh is already crippled and bestowing godhood on a mortal could lead to her freedom... But then, freeing Kaltesh, or preventing her from being freed, is the underlying story of the setting, now isn't it?

[Axel]

Is there any way for deities to regain power? You suggested that they require sacrificed to sustain themselves, but can they increase their power?

[Rintaran]

None have discovered such a way as of yet, though they seem to believe that with enough, or with great enough sacrifices, they can regain their powers. Whether this is actually true or not is dependant upon the DM running the game, though nothing will officially be said about it in the official setting. Even if it were possible for them to increase and rebuild their DR (short of the ascension method, which does provide for that opening, albeit as an unlikely occurrance), the moment they drop below DR 0, they become mortal, and no longer benefit from sacrifices.