Religion
Many people in the Lakelands follow the High Church of the Seven Good Gods: Mardan, Mellador, Aedor, Belanus, Uarthos, Amaethon, and Brigit. Others follow the druidic faith. The Lakashi and a few others worship the Beast Lords or their own ancestors. It should be remembered that, in the Lakelands, deities are real. They can reward their devout followers, and punish those who displease them.
These are some of the more common deities/faiths a character can worship:
Aedor
Aedor, God of Blacksmiths, Artisans, Craftsmen, and Mechanics, is lawful good. He appears as a majestically bearded dwarf of heroic proportions. He is said to work the Godforge, creating the thunderbolts of Mardan. He is worshiped by dwarves, as well as by smiths and artificers of all types. The domains he is associated with are Earth, Fire, Strength, and War. His favored weapon is the hammer. He is one of the Seven Good Gods.
Amaethon
Amaethon, Lord of the Harvest, is neutral good. Vine leaves entangle his short hair and fall about his shoulders like a mantle. He cradles a large sheaf of grain in his arms. Amaethon is often depicted dressed as a peasant farmer, with a stylized tree upon his tunic. Farmers, vintners, and those who cultivate the land worship him. The domains he is associated with are Animal, Earth, and Plant. His favored weapon is the scythe. He is one of the Seven Good Gods.
Ancestral Worship
Ancestor worship is common among the Lakashi, the Alderhald, and the goblinoid races. Even some civilized human and dwarven families worship their illustrious ancestors. Shamans and clerics of ancestors can be any alignment, so long as they are not more than one step removed from the alignments of the ancestors they worship. For clerics, ancestors are generally associated with the Death, Knowledge, Protection, and Trickery domains. Favored weapons may be assigned based upon historical precedent.
Artemis
The Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis is chaotic neutral. She is depicted as an incredibly beautiful young girl armed with a bow. She is often shown riding a doe with stag’s horns, or is depicted with stag’s horns herself. Although many hunters, foresters, and rangers worship (or placate) her, she only allows human, elven, or half-elven females into her priesthood. The domains associated with Artemis are Animal, Travel, and Trickery. Her favored weapon is the longbow.
Badur
Badur, the Judge of the Dead, is neutral. He is depicted as a dark, faceless man wearing dark robes, and bearing a greatsword made of dark stone. He is sometimes called the Bonewarden. Few worship him, save undertakers and those who pray for the dead, though many pay him heed. It is Badur whose task it is to assign the dead to the heavens or hells, or to gray limbo. His priests often seek out the undead, to deliver them to their Grim Lord’s judgment. They may also “borrow the dead” from Badur to perform tasks in the world of the living. The domains he is associated with are Death, Knowledge, and Protection. His favored weapon is the greatsword.
Baerbeth
Goddess of Cats, Pleasure, and the Night, Baerbeth is chaotic neutral. She is depicted sometimes as a female humanoid with cat-like qualities, and sometimes as a great cat. The domains she is associated with are Animal, Luck, Magic, and Trickery. Her favored weapon is the kukri.
Beast Lords
In the Lakelands, every animal type has a Beast Lord, a creature that is a perfect representative of its species type. Many Beast Lords are also depicted in human, or semi-human, form. The Beast Lords are worshiped mainly by intelligent and/or awakened animals, faerie animals, shapechangers, and humanoids whose forms mirror the Beast Lord they worship. Some Beast Lords have cults with human followings, however, and some Beast Lords have created “elevated” humanoid animals to worship them. In general, Beast Lords are neutral. All are associated with the Animal domain. Most have one other associated domain related to their nature (i.e., the Bear Lord and Ox Lords are associated with the Strength domain, while the Turtle Lord is associated with Protection and the Otter Lord with Water). Beast Lords have no favored weapons.
Belanus
Lithe Belanus, beloved of the elves, is chaotic good. He is often depicted as a young human, elf, or half-elf, with a lyre. An olive wreath crowns his head, holding long hair away from his laughing face. Belanus is the God of the Sun, Music, Healing, and Prophesy, known also as the Ward Against Undead. The domains he is associated with are Healing, Knowledge, and Sun. His favored weapon is the longbow. He is one of the Seven Good Gods.
Brigit
Fair Brigit is the Goddess of Hearth, Fire, Poetry, and Community. She is lawful good. She is depicted as a young girl, clean of limb and bare of breast, unadorned save for a circlet of gold inlaid upon her brow. She is also known as the Virgin Goddess, for the priestesses who keep her communal hearths are sworn to remain virginal throughout the length of their service. Clerics dedicated to Brigit do not have to be female, only her hearthwards do. The domains she is associated with are Fire, Luck, and Protection. Her favored weapon is the longsword. She is one of the Seven Good Gods.
Druidic Faith
Druids are as described in the Player’s Handbook, and gain spells accordingly. In the Lakelands, druids recognize Celene (represented by the moon) as the female principle of nature, and Herne (represented by a stag-horned man) as the male. To the druids, all living things have an animus, life-energy that drives the world of the living, as well as providing the divine energy for druidic spells. Death is also part of the cycle of life, where the animus loses its differentiated form and goes back into the breath of the world. Still, druids gain power from the living world, and most shun the world of the dead.
Julius Invincible
Julius Invincible, Lord of Victory By Any Means, is lawful evil. He began as a warlord among the Parthelonians, who came to power by slaughtering his own father. He is depicted as a cruel-faced man wearing blood-soaked armor. Barbarians, fighters, evil rangers, and monks may all worship Julius Invincible. His cult appeals to the ruthless. The domains he is associated with are Destruction, Strength, and War. His favored weapon is the longsword.
Mardan
Mardan, the Bringer of the Law and chief of the Seven Good Gods, is lawful good. He is worshiped by paladins, fighters, monks and those who prefer civilized order to chaos. Mardan is depicted as a jet-black man with four arms and green eyes. He is said to hurl thunderbolts in judgment, and is often depicted with two thunderbolts, a morningstar, and the Book of Law. The domains he is associated with are Air, Law, Protection, and War. His favored weapon is the morningstar. He is one of the Seven Good Gods.
Mellador
Mellador is neutral good. The Goddess of Mercy, Shipwrecked Sailors, and Fertility, she is often depicted with a serpent-staff, her right hand raised in benediction, as though to heal the wounded onlooker. Mothers, sailors, fishermen, and healers worship her, though many others come to her for aid. The domains she is associated with are Healing, Good, and Protection. She has no favored weapon. She is one of the Seven Good Gods.
Mellythese
The Great Spider is the Goddess of Spiders, Treachery, Venom, and Deceit. She is chaotic evil. Mellythese is depicted as a gigantic black and red spider with cunning, evil eyes. She is worshiped by the treacherous, by those bent to evil in their quest for vengeance, and by magicians who are seduced by the false lure of easy power. The domains she is associated with are Death, Evil, Knowledge, and Trickery. Her favored weapon is the net.
The Seven Good Gods
Although clerics may worship them separately, many clerics in the High Church of the Seven Good Gods worship all of the gods together. In this case, the cleric may be of any non-evil alignment (though most are good). The domains they have access to are Fire, Good, Healing, Law (unless they have a chaotic alignment), Protection, and Sun. They do not gain the benefits of a favored weapon.
Uarthos
Called the Sleeping God, Uarthos is the chaotic good God of Sleep, Dreams, Healing, and Inspiration. He is worshiped by poets, lovers, and dreamers of all sorts. He is often depicted as a well-formed giant, with serene features, meditating or asleep. The domains he is associated with are Chaos, Healing, Knowledge, and Travel. He has no favored weapon. Uarthos is one of the Seven Good Gods.