Basic World History and Overview

Religion and Gods
There are many gods in the world and indeed over time the gods have changed. There are old gods that have died off and plenty of them that have been forgotten all together. Unlike the pantheons like the Greek one each god or goddess is not always associated with only one object, ideal, or concept. Indeed several gods often claim dominion over the same concept, for instance there are several gods associated with the sun.

There are also beings of such power that they are in effect gods, even if they aren't divine in the standard sense. There is the fey courts for example. There are also the depths of the Abyss where Demon Lords and Arch-Devils dwell. They too can be considered gods. Also existing are the old gods, gods that have died or are dying. These gods tend to be of lesser power than the greater gods as a rule, but even a tiny fraction of divine power is immense. These gods also often are insane, and mortals should deal with them with great caution.

The gods and goddesses do form alliances from time to time often called pathos. These gods and goddesses share similar goals and mindsets. However there also are gods that work all by themselves. Most races have a patron god associated to them, typically viewed to be the creator of that particular race. Some however do not, for instance Elves are related to the fey courts.

Here is a basic list of important gods and goddesses for the campaign. As always very much subject to change as needed.



Gods of Light/Order (Adjumanti Pathos)
Pelor
Pelor is the patron god of humanity and as such is currently widely worshiped in most of the world. He is often associated with the sun, light, life, and order. He leads Adjumanti pathos.

Tyr
Tyr is the god of justice and law in the world. He is closely aligned with Pelor. He has a deep dislike of Myra, Goddess of Illusion and Trickery.

Erathis
Erathis is the goddess of civilization and order. She tells her followers to tame the land and make it better for all.

Kord
Kord is the god of noble warriors that protect civilization from evil and chaos. He is the militant arm of the Adjumanti pathos.

Melora
Melora is the Goddess of Agriculture and Farming. She seeks to make things grow and is often associated with the Earth, though not the element in general.



Darkness/Tyranny (Tyrantus Pathos)
Tharizdun
Tharizdun is the head of the Tyrantus pathos, he desires the powerful to dominate the weak and to control them.

Bane
Bane is the Great General of the Tyrant's Legion. He was once a devout follower of Tharizdun and was raised by him to lead his armies in the conquest of the cosmos.

Gurzil
Gurzil is the god of destruction, he follows in Tharizdun's wake crumbling everything that remains.

Venca
Venca is the patron of necromancy. He steals the souls of the dead from their rightful place in the cycle (thus enraging the Raven Queen) and uses them for his own purposes. He also steals power from Mystra who like the Raven Queen detests Venca.



Magic/Knowledge (Mystic Pathos)
Mystra
Mystra is the Goddess of Magic. She is in charge of the primal force of magic in the world, she generally is good aligned, but does not prevent the other deities from accessing the font of magic even if they're evil. She tries and maintain a balance of magical power flow in the world, at times she is unsuccessful and pockets of raw Wild Magic form. Other times magic disappears completely, this is dangerous if at times natural. Too many of such places could lead to permanent damage to the plane itself. She is often just too busy to worry about how people use magic.

Ioun
Ioun is the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. She is closely aligned with Mystra the Goddess of Magic. She encourages her devotees to seek out new sources of magical wisdom and power. She also likes knowledge for it's own sake. Many historians and scribes are among her faithful.



Elemental Princes and Princesses
The elemental lords each rule over the prime elemental planes. They as a rule are neutral.

Imix
Prince of Fire and ruler of the Plane of Fire.

Grundmar
Grundmar is the Prince of Earth and ruler of the Plane of Earth.

Thalassa
Thalassa is the Princess of Water and Ruler of the Plane of Water.

Zephyra
Zephyra is the Princess of Air and ruler of the Plane of Air.



Dwarven Gods (Khordaldrum Pathos)
Moradin
Moradin is the patron God of the Dwarves. He values tradition and hard work. He is called the God of the Forge as well as he loves good craftsmanship and metalwork. He leads the Khordaldrum pathos.

Thurin
Thurin is the God of the Hearth and is often worshiped by Dwarves. He is part of the Khordaldrum pathos and focuses on the notion of clan and family.

Duriden
Duriden is the patron of the Wildhammer Dwarves found in northern parts of Riladia. He is hearty and independent (as are the Wildhammers) though he is still part of the Khordaldrum pathos.

Yona
Yona is the Dwarven Goddess of Brewing. She brews all forms of Ales and Spirits. Oddly enough she isn't very associated with wine, that's more a Fey drink. She is also associated with Dwarven revelry, which often involves barfights.



Dragon Pathos
Unlike other Pathos the Dragon Gods don't always get along, however they are often associated together as a whole as most folks either don't know better or are in general much to scared of dragons as a rule.

Bahamut
Bahamut is the Dragon God of Justice, Honor and Nobility. He was once the consort of Tiamat the Dragon Queen, however her vile heart, once revealed caused him to leave her side, however while they were together it is their union that created the Dragons themselves to populate the world in their image.

Zyrael
Zyrael used to be a ancient Silver Wyrm who was raised to become the new consort of Bahamut. Their paring led to the creation of the Dragonborn.

Tiamat
Tiamat is the cruel Goddess Queen of the Dragons. She with Bahamut created Dragons in their image. Once she split from Bahamut, she then created the Kobolds who worship her and her new consort. However, she found them weak and disappointing and just as often as not uses them for her twisted amusement, though their lack of good sense in general doesn't let them see this.

Kutrulmak
Kutrulmak was once an ancient Red Dragon that was raised up to be the consort of Tiamat. The Kobolds came of their pairing and nomadic Kobolds tend to devote themselves to him over Tiamat.



Rulers of the Hells and Abyss
The nine hells are several planes of general nastiness. They are ruled by powerful Demon Lords and Arch-Devils who often fight among each other. In ages past the Hells invaded the mortal realm and came alarmingly close to outright conquest and destruction. A strange alliance of the other gods, even ones that were at odds with each other managed to turn the tides and now for the most part Demons and Devils are locked into the Hells where they cannot easily escape.

Asmodeus
Ruler of one of the planes of hell. He is a very powerful Arch-Devil who initially lead the Hells into the mortal realm in search of conquest.

Baal
Another Demon Lord and ruler of one of the Hells.

Yserriane
The Demon Queen of Debauchery and Sin. She rules one of the planes of Hell. She is the leader of the Incubi and Succubi. Ages past when the Hells invaded the mortal realm her servants either goaded, tricked, or forced mortals into mating with them. The results were the Cambions and the Alus (male and then female terms). It is from the Alu and Cambion that the Tieflings draw their demonic nature, once they further mated with mortals (thus deluding the blood further). It is this reminder of how close the Hells came in ages past to destroying the world that causes the great distrust of the Tieflings today.

Alakuu
Alakuu is a powerful demon worshiped by certain tribes in the far South, where Voodoo Rituals are performed in his name.



Unaligned/Neutral
These gods and goddesses are not part of a pathos though they may work with one from time to time.

Avandra
Avandra is the Goddess of Travel, Adventure, and Luck. She loves to find and challenge the unknown. Prayers are often offered to her at the beginning of a long journey. She is often looked at as a patron of the Lightfoot Halflings who have rather adopted her as a patron over their original patron, the God Roquen.

The Raven Queen
The Raven Queen is the goddess that is in charge of ferrying souls back and forth when people die. She is completely neutral in both mortal and divine affairs. She hates Venca as a thief of the dead.

Llyra
Llyra is the Goddess of Storms and the Sea. Sailors look to her to keep them safe. She is the mother of Myra and Auril.

Auril
Auril is the Queen of Frost. She is the Goddess of the far reaches of the world that are covered in snow and ice. She is closely aligned with her mother Llyra.

Myra
Myra is the Goddess of Trickery and Illusion. She delights in a well placed lie, though she isn't evil by any means. She was to be a Storm Goddess but instead found herself drawn to the arts of deception. She is often a patron of thieves.

Sune
Sune is the Goddess of Passion and Love. She is depicted as having wild red hair and as dancing wildly around without a care. She has a long standing relationship (they're lovers) with Selune of the Silver Court. Many romances and marriages are carried out asking for her blessing.



Fey Courts
The Fey Courts are the realm of the Fey Lords and Lady's. They are a mixed bag, some good and noble, some callous and deceptive, some can be just mean. The Courts are organized into two separate Grand Kingdoms, the Seelie and the Unseelie. Corellon and Lolth were once lovers but they quarreled in ages past and she left to form her own separate court in an attempt to supplant Corellon. However, oddly enough the Fey Courts never fight each other directly unlike other gods and goddesses. They have established boundaries with each other and respect them.

Seelie Kingdom
Corellon
The patron God of the High Elves. He rules the Sun Court of the Feywilds and is seen as noble and honorable. He loves art and culture.

Selune
She rules the Silver Court and is associated strongly with Sehanine, the Silver Moon. She is the sister of Maeve and they used to be close to her but after Maeve's romance with a mortal fell through distanced herself from her sister. Selune is the one Fey Lady that has relationships outside of the Fey Kingdoms, she is the lover of Sune, the Goddess of Passion and Love and they are often depicted together. Due to her close nature with Sune, she too has picked up some of the portfolio of romance, though while Sune is wild and Passionate, Selune is a bit cool and reserved, though just as devoted. The contrasting styles between high passion and devotion is seen as very romantic to most people.

Elistrae
Elistrae is the Goddess of the Wilds and the Hunt. Many rangers and druids worship her. She is the patron of the wild lands and rules the Wild Court.

Lillith
Lillith is the ruler of the Singing Court and delights in song and celebration. She is often the patron of bards or people that just want to have a good time.

Unseelie Kingdom
Lolth
Lolth is the one time lover of Corellon who left to form the Unseelie Kingdom. She is the patron of the Dark Elves, or Drow, who left with her when the Courts split. She rules the Night Court.

Maeve
Maeve is the sister of Selune and ruler of the Blood Court. She is associated with Mab, the Red or Blood Moon. Long ago it is said she fell in love with a mortal man (though his identity is lost to time) and entered the mortal realm in disguise to be with him. However, she found out one day she was betrayed as he was unfaithful, in her wrath she tore him apart and used his blood to paint Mab (the moon) red. Ever since she has had at best a distrust of mortals which more often than not morphs into outright hatred. She is cruel to mortals as a rule and crossing her is not a good idea.

Aerys
Aerys is the ruler of the Mad Court (though it is often called the Dead Court). Ages ago he slipped into a deep madness that has led his court to ruin. There isn't much left to the court itself and to wander it's paths is a walk into insanity. It is expected for Aerys to eventually lose his court all together, though how long that will take is unknown.



Other Gods/Racial Patron Gods
These Gods are generally important patrons of certain races, but don't fit into a pathos.

Gond
Gond is the patron God of the Gnomes. He is known as the God of Invention and Mechanics. He is depicted by the symbol of a gear. He is well acquainted with Moradin, the God of the Dwarves as his interest in Invention and Mechanics meshes quite well with the God of the Forges.

Roquen
Roquen is the patron God of Halfings, particularly the Stoutheart branch. He is very traditional and no nonsense in manner, as are the Stouthearts. It is why the Lightfoots have switched to Avandra.

Gruumsh
Gruumsh is the patron God of Orcs. He loves strength and battle. Once fought with Corellon who won the fight and cut out one of Gruumsh's eyes. He is partially allied with the Tyrantus pathos.