Lathanderite
First Post
So far, I'm not really sure what to put, exactly. What I've got is the beginnings of an idea. A storyline idea. A small blurb is this. In Faerun, Lathander is well-known as the Morninglord, a neutral-good deity of rebirth, renewal, nobility, youth, and many other things. But, to some, he wasn't always so. In fact, many others believe he was once the Lawfully-aligned sun god of an ancient pantheon, the people of Netheril, before a grave mistake tore asunder the Netherese empire and rendered the Anauroch Desert as it is today. Amaunator, thought to be dead by most, bears some similarities to the current Morninglord, and the two share many portfolios. To some, Lathander is a reincarnation of Amaunator, though to believe such labels these believers 'heretics'.
Lathander
((Taken directly from the web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathander ))
Lathander
Title(s) The Morninglord
Homeplane Morning Glory
Power Level Greater
Alignment Neutral Good
Portfolio Spring, dawn, birth, renewal, creativity, youth, vitality, self-perfection, athletics
Domains Good, Nobility, Protection, Renewal, Strength, Sun
God of Spring, Dawn, Birth, Renewal, Creativity, Youth, Vitality, Self-Perfection and Athletics, his domains are Good, Nobility, Protection, Renewal, Strength, and Sun. He requires his followers to be of Neutral to Good alignment.
Lathander favours those who dispel the undead and aid others. He blesses those who plant new life.
Many followers of Lathander work in various creative arts, such as music, painting, entertaining, and the creation of works of fine art. Lathander is also the god called upon to bless birth and fertility related ceremonies.
Novice clerics in the Lathanderian faith are called the Awakened, and they gain the title of Dawnbringer upon becoming full priests. In ascending order of rank, the titles in general use by the Dawnbringers are Dawngreeter, Dawnlord (the church does not use feminine form of titles often), High Dawnlord, Dawnmaster, Morninglord, High Morninglord, Morningmaster, High Morningmaster, and Sunrise Lord.
Practice of Faith
Most ceremonies of Lathander are held at dawn and actions and contracts agreed to at sunrise are said to be blessed by him. Funerals, among his followers, are held at dusk, and followed by a wake that lasts until dawn.
The church of Lathander sponsors a small restricted order of paladins and fighters called The Order of the Aster.
The charge given to most novice postulants to the faith is:
Strive always to aid, to foster new hope, new ideas, and new prosperity for all humankind and its allies. Perfect thyself, and guard ever against pride, for it is a sacred duty to foster new growth, nurture growing things, and work for rebirth and renewal. Be fertile in mind and in body. Consider always the consequences of thine actions so that the least effort may bring the greatest and best reward. Wherever you go, sow seeds of plants, tend the growing things you find, and plant seeds of hope, new ideas, and plans for a rosy future in the minds of all. Whenever possible, see each dawn.
Lathander's dogma is filled with stories of optimism and perseverance. It is important to feel good about an upcoming event or else it will naturally go awry through negative thinking. Favorite sayings of Lathander include:
From death, life.
There is always another morning.
In the dawn, beauty reigns, and the way is clearer.
Far more importance is placed on acting in the service of Lathander by helping, encouraging, and aiding than in strict adherence to rituals, rules, and the dictates of superior clergy.
Death is considered a reward for the clerics because they are "going to Lathander" in the afterlife. Most clerics are not raised unless they are needed to finish a task.
Followers of Lathander seek to build anew and to rebuild. They seek to make lands more productive and push civilization to improve itself through interracial harmony, cooperation, pursuit of the arts and progress.
And here we get into the Risen Sun Heresy, which is the precise storyline I want volunteers for. The following that I am going to post is the alternate deity some Lathanderites, called 'heretics' by the rest of their order, believe Lathander may someday be born into. He is called Amaunator, and I will post up excerpts about Amaunator, and about the ancient kingdom of Netheril, whom spawned Amaunator. Most believe that with the death of the civilization came the death of the deity. But that is not so for the 'heretics'.
Netheril
((The following is an excerpt from the web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netheril#Netheril ))
However powerful humanity can be, there is one opponent it can never face and win: hubris.
The magocracy of Netheril was one of the ancient human empires of Faerûn that lie in what is now the (magical) desert of Anauroch. Netheril was also the home of the most powerful wizard who ever walked on Faerun, Karsus, who could cast 12th level spells (although he cast such a spell only once, and it was his last spell ever). The Netherese also created powerful artifacts known as mythallars, which allow mundane objects to become magical, dramatically changing the face of the Empire (or better said the face of the upper side of the empire, as Netheril eventually became twofold: the "have", High Netherese, and the "have not", low Netherese).
People in Netheril used magic carelessly. Great wizards used spells to turn the mountains upside down, made them float on the air and built cities on them. Netheril was destroyed by Karsus's Folly: an attempt to become an avatar of Mystryl (now known as Mystra), in a last ditch effort to save Netheril from the invading Phaerimm. When this happened all magic ceased to exist for a time. Since Netherese cities floated above the surface, when magic ceased to exist there was nothing to hold the cities up. Netheril was completely obliterated in one fell swoop. This also lead to the creation of the King of Shadows, an Illefarn Guardian who is featured in the computer game Neverwinter Nights 2. The remnants of Netheril was destroyed by the phaerimm, who would have destroyed the rest of Faerûn had it not been for the intervention of the sharn. The only surviving city is Shade Enclave — a floating city which is home to the survivors of ancient Netheril who fled into the shadow plane before Karsus's folly. The citizens of Shade — the Shadovar — returned to Faerûn on 1 Hammer, the Year of Wild Magic (1372 DR), with the help of the Evereskan elf Galaeron Nihmedu.
Three Netherese successor states (Asram, Anauria, and Hlondath) survived for a while, but all were eventually destroyed by the encroaching desert.
Amaunator
((The following is an excerpt from the web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaunator ))
An ancient Netherese deity of order and the sun, Amaunator was also revered as the patron of law and time. The justice he dealt was always harsh but eminently fair. He was revered by many rulers, soldiers, and powerful wizards.
His symbol is a sun with a face on the solar disk. According the Third Edition rules for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the official cleric domains of Amaunator are Law, Nobility, Planning, Sun, and Time. His favored weapon is the Scepter of the Eternal Sun and his clergy typically use maces as representations of their deity's weapon.
Amaunator
Title(s) The Yellow God, The Keeper of the Eternal Sun, Keeper of Law
Homeplane Keep of the Eternal Sun
Power Level Greater deity (Dead)
Alignment Lawful Neutral
Portfolio Bureaucracy, contracts, law, order, the sun, rulership
Domains Law, Nobility, Planning, Sun, Time
Church
Members of the church of Amaunator were powerful political figures at the height of Netheril’s rule. Amaunator’s clergy were extremely hierarchical and rulebound. Each Righteous Potentate (high priest of a temple, called a "Court") oversaw all aspects of church functions. No one could perform or be relieved of their duties without the consent of the Righteous Potentate or one of his seven Monastic Abbots. Under each of the seven Monastic Abbots, there were an additional seven High Jurists (priests) who served relentlessly, performing whatever duties were assigned to them.
Lower ranks of clergy members served beneath the High Jurists, and were known as (in descending order): Jurists, High Magistrates, Magistrates, Defenders of the Law, Lions of Order, Radiant Servants, and Clerks. Within Amaunator's church, there was an elite sect of clerics and holy warriors called sunmasters, who now represent a branch of the church of Lathander known as the Brotherhood of the Glorious Sun.
Dogma
Amaunatori were taught that the law is the law. The law kept order in society, and without it civilization would unravel and chaos would reign. Amaunator represented the sure function of the law, for just as certainly as the sun would rise in the morning, the law could deal fairly with any dispute and any crime.
Novice Amaunatori were charged as follows: "Learn the law and live it; obey its every letter and clause, for in knowledge of the intracacies of law lies freedom to act with righteous impunity. Keep track of the decisions of your superiors so that the body of precedent continues to grow and the unity of purpose of the rulings of Amaunator is made manifest to all. Serve your superiors faithfully, and they will reward you faithfully; shirk your duty and find the harsh hand of reproof."
The two deities themselves were very different, although holding some similarities. I will not divulge too much more into the storyline, because most of it should remain somewhat of a surprise. But I am looking for some people to play Lathanderites; who follow Lathander as he is now, disbelieving the Risen Sun Heresy; the Heretical Lathanderites; who believe there to be truth to the Risen Sun Prophecy (how they refer to it, rather than as a heresy); and anyone who may be somehow involved. My e-mail address is lathanderite@hotmail.com which is going to be used expressly for this storyline. Anyone interested in this storyline, feel free to either e-mail me, or post directly to this thread. Lastly, I will give you a glimpse of what the storyline entails, in the except below. It is the Risen Sun Heresy (or Prophecy, depending).
I'm also going to consider asking the Magi to add another room to the Faerunian area, specifically for the Temple of Lathander in Waterdeep, but for now, if there is need of meetings within the Temple, we will contain those to the Carpe DM or the Ahoy Adventure areas. Other details of the campaign are due to unfold, but all that needs known at this point is that High Morningmaster Nicos Spaerideion, formerly of Chessenta, is in charge of the Waterdeep temple of Lathander. The Risen Sun Order has a leader as well, of course, but as it is a secretive sect at the moment, his/her name will not be disclosed on this site. Again, thank you to everyone taking the time to read this. I hope that it will attract a fair amount of people willing to play in the new storyline!
Lathander
((Taken directly from the web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathander ))
Lathander
Title(s) The Morninglord
Homeplane Morning Glory
Power Level Greater
Alignment Neutral Good
Portfolio Spring, dawn, birth, renewal, creativity, youth, vitality, self-perfection, athletics
Domains Good, Nobility, Protection, Renewal, Strength, Sun
God of Spring, Dawn, Birth, Renewal, Creativity, Youth, Vitality, Self-Perfection and Athletics, his domains are Good, Nobility, Protection, Renewal, Strength, and Sun. He requires his followers to be of Neutral to Good alignment.
Lathander favours those who dispel the undead and aid others. He blesses those who plant new life.
Many followers of Lathander work in various creative arts, such as music, painting, entertaining, and the creation of works of fine art. Lathander is also the god called upon to bless birth and fertility related ceremonies.
Novice clerics in the Lathanderian faith are called the Awakened, and they gain the title of Dawnbringer upon becoming full priests. In ascending order of rank, the titles in general use by the Dawnbringers are Dawngreeter, Dawnlord (the church does not use feminine form of titles often), High Dawnlord, Dawnmaster, Morninglord, High Morninglord, Morningmaster, High Morningmaster, and Sunrise Lord.
Practice of Faith
Most ceremonies of Lathander are held at dawn and actions and contracts agreed to at sunrise are said to be blessed by him. Funerals, among his followers, are held at dusk, and followed by a wake that lasts until dawn.
The church of Lathander sponsors a small restricted order of paladins and fighters called The Order of the Aster.
The charge given to most novice postulants to the faith is:
Strive always to aid, to foster new hope, new ideas, and new prosperity for all humankind and its allies. Perfect thyself, and guard ever against pride, for it is a sacred duty to foster new growth, nurture growing things, and work for rebirth and renewal. Be fertile in mind and in body. Consider always the consequences of thine actions so that the least effort may bring the greatest and best reward. Wherever you go, sow seeds of plants, tend the growing things you find, and plant seeds of hope, new ideas, and plans for a rosy future in the minds of all. Whenever possible, see each dawn.
Lathander's dogma is filled with stories of optimism and perseverance. It is important to feel good about an upcoming event or else it will naturally go awry through negative thinking. Favorite sayings of Lathander include:
From death, life.
There is always another morning.
In the dawn, beauty reigns, and the way is clearer.
Far more importance is placed on acting in the service of Lathander by helping, encouraging, and aiding than in strict adherence to rituals, rules, and the dictates of superior clergy.
Death is considered a reward for the clerics because they are "going to Lathander" in the afterlife. Most clerics are not raised unless they are needed to finish a task.
Followers of Lathander seek to build anew and to rebuild. They seek to make lands more productive and push civilization to improve itself through interracial harmony, cooperation, pursuit of the arts and progress.
And here we get into the Risen Sun Heresy, which is the precise storyline I want volunteers for. The following that I am going to post is the alternate deity some Lathanderites, called 'heretics' by the rest of their order, believe Lathander may someday be born into. He is called Amaunator, and I will post up excerpts about Amaunator, and about the ancient kingdom of Netheril, whom spawned Amaunator. Most believe that with the death of the civilization came the death of the deity. But that is not so for the 'heretics'.
Netheril
((The following is an excerpt from the web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netheril#Netheril ))
However powerful humanity can be, there is one opponent it can never face and win: hubris.
The magocracy of Netheril was one of the ancient human empires of Faerûn that lie in what is now the (magical) desert of Anauroch. Netheril was also the home of the most powerful wizard who ever walked on Faerun, Karsus, who could cast 12th level spells (although he cast such a spell only once, and it was his last spell ever). The Netherese also created powerful artifacts known as mythallars, which allow mundane objects to become magical, dramatically changing the face of the Empire (or better said the face of the upper side of the empire, as Netheril eventually became twofold: the "have", High Netherese, and the "have not", low Netherese).
People in Netheril used magic carelessly. Great wizards used spells to turn the mountains upside down, made them float on the air and built cities on them. Netheril was destroyed by Karsus's Folly: an attempt to become an avatar of Mystryl (now known as Mystra), in a last ditch effort to save Netheril from the invading Phaerimm. When this happened all magic ceased to exist for a time. Since Netherese cities floated above the surface, when magic ceased to exist there was nothing to hold the cities up. Netheril was completely obliterated in one fell swoop. This also lead to the creation of the King of Shadows, an Illefarn Guardian who is featured in the computer game Neverwinter Nights 2. The remnants of Netheril was destroyed by the phaerimm, who would have destroyed the rest of Faerûn had it not been for the intervention of the sharn. The only surviving city is Shade Enclave — a floating city which is home to the survivors of ancient Netheril who fled into the shadow plane before Karsus's folly. The citizens of Shade — the Shadovar — returned to Faerûn on 1 Hammer, the Year of Wild Magic (1372 DR), with the help of the Evereskan elf Galaeron Nihmedu.
Three Netherese successor states (Asram, Anauria, and Hlondath) survived for a while, but all were eventually destroyed by the encroaching desert.
Amaunator
((The following is an excerpt from the web page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaunator ))
An ancient Netherese deity of order and the sun, Amaunator was also revered as the patron of law and time. The justice he dealt was always harsh but eminently fair. He was revered by many rulers, soldiers, and powerful wizards.
His symbol is a sun with a face on the solar disk. According the Third Edition rules for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the official cleric domains of Amaunator are Law, Nobility, Planning, Sun, and Time. His favored weapon is the Scepter of the Eternal Sun and his clergy typically use maces as representations of their deity's weapon.
Amaunator
Title(s) The Yellow God, The Keeper of the Eternal Sun, Keeper of Law
Homeplane Keep of the Eternal Sun
Power Level Greater deity (Dead)
Alignment Lawful Neutral
Portfolio Bureaucracy, contracts, law, order, the sun, rulership
Domains Law, Nobility, Planning, Sun, Time
Church
Members of the church of Amaunator were powerful political figures at the height of Netheril’s rule. Amaunator’s clergy were extremely hierarchical and rulebound. Each Righteous Potentate (high priest of a temple, called a "Court") oversaw all aspects of church functions. No one could perform or be relieved of their duties without the consent of the Righteous Potentate or one of his seven Monastic Abbots. Under each of the seven Monastic Abbots, there were an additional seven High Jurists (priests) who served relentlessly, performing whatever duties were assigned to them.
Lower ranks of clergy members served beneath the High Jurists, and were known as (in descending order): Jurists, High Magistrates, Magistrates, Defenders of the Law, Lions of Order, Radiant Servants, and Clerks. Within Amaunator's church, there was an elite sect of clerics and holy warriors called sunmasters, who now represent a branch of the church of Lathander known as the Brotherhood of the Glorious Sun.
Dogma
Amaunatori were taught that the law is the law. The law kept order in society, and without it civilization would unravel and chaos would reign. Amaunator represented the sure function of the law, for just as certainly as the sun would rise in the morning, the law could deal fairly with any dispute and any crime.
Novice Amaunatori were charged as follows: "Learn the law and live it; obey its every letter and clause, for in knowledge of the intracacies of law lies freedom to act with righteous impunity. Keep track of the decisions of your superiors so that the body of precedent continues to grow and the unity of purpose of the rulings of Amaunator is made manifest to all. Serve your superiors faithfully, and they will reward you faithfully; shirk your duty and find the harsh hand of reproof."
The two deities themselves were very different, although holding some similarities. I will not divulge too much more into the storyline, because most of it should remain somewhat of a surprise. But I am looking for some people to play Lathanderites; who follow Lathander as he is now, disbelieving the Risen Sun Heresy; the Heretical Lathanderites; who believe there to be truth to the Risen Sun Prophecy (how they refer to it, rather than as a heresy); and anyone who may be somehow involved. My e-mail address is lathanderite@hotmail.com which is going to be used expressly for this storyline. Anyone interested in this storyline, feel free to either e-mail me, or post directly to this thread. Lastly, I will give you a glimpse of what the storyline entails, in the except below. It is the Risen Sun Heresy (or Prophecy, depending).
The Risen Sun Heresy/Prophecy
Some followers of Lathander insist that he is in fact the reincarnation of Amaunator, the Netherese god of the sun. Others take this heresy further, claiming that he will take up the mantle of the lawful neutral Amaunator again, and that the transformation from deity of the morning to sun god is imminent.
Some followers of Lathander insist that he is in fact the reincarnation of Amaunator, the Netherese god of the sun. Others take this heresy further, claiming that he will take up the mantle of the lawful neutral Amaunator again, and that the transformation from deity of the morning to sun god is imminent.
I'm also going to consider asking the Magi to add another room to the Faerunian area, specifically for the Temple of Lathander in Waterdeep, but for now, if there is need of meetings within the Temple, we will contain those to the Carpe DM or the Ahoy Adventure areas. Other details of the campaign are due to unfold, but all that needs known at this point is that High Morningmaster Nicos Spaerideion, formerly of Chessenta, is in charge of the Waterdeep temple of Lathander. The Risen Sun Order has a leader as well, of course, but as it is a secretive sect at the moment, his/her name will not be disclosed on this site. Again, thank you to everyone taking the time to read this. I hope that it will attract a fair amount of people willing to play in the new storyline!
