Quoar - God of the Desert's Strength

[LiquidBlue]

Upon further reflection I have decided that a single god is best for the proposal. So I present a demigod Quoar

Quoar, God of the Desert's Strength

The Walker in Wastes
Enworldian Demigod
Symbol: A Human Figure encompassed by a Sand Storm
Home Plane: The Material Plane, He can be found wandering in the Deserts of Enworld
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Deserts
Worshippers: Desert Nomads, Some Monks and Rangers
Cleric Alignments: LN, TN, CN, NG, NE
Domains: Nobility, Sun, Travel, Weather
Favored Weapon: Falchion.

Quoar is the patron of people who make their lives within the inhospitable deserts of Enworld. Clerics of Quoar form an indispensible part of any community or group who lives within the desert, as their spells Quoar grants them are useful counters the vagaries of the desert.

Quoar's emphasis on self-sufficiency and self-reliance makes him attractive to Ranger and Monks.

[sblock=Discarded Proposal for two Gods]I have found that my proposal idea is best seperated into two Gods, Falnor and Ku.

Falnor, The Unconquered God, Master of Himself
Enworldian Greater Deity
Symbol: A Hand Streaked by Clay
Home Plane: Unknown
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Self-Mastery, Existenstial Struggle
Worshippers: Falnor is an enigmatic god with few worshipers, Those few Clerics of Falnor are chosen by him only after they have found true inner strength, often through some trial.
Cleric Alignments: LN, TN, NG
Domains: Liberation, Nobility, Strength
Favored Weapon: None

Falnor has no origins within the various mortal mythologies. Within the bardic catalogs of gods his entry is spare, for he has conflicted with no god, mettled with no mortal, and created no lands or animals. Despite this he is known to be in constant struggle, but only with himself. Despite these struggles he is yet known as the Unconquered.

Falnor is not the inner strength that people find within themselves, but he is the power that reveals the existence of their own power to their understanding.

There are no organized structures dedicated to Falnor in the world. He has no church, no temples, and it is hard to find one of his clerics. Individuals seeking to develop inner strength or trying to overcome adversity instead worship Sela, Mongrel, Ayratha, Verdante, or Ku.

Ku, God of the Desert
Enworldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A Cleft Rock set in the Desert
Home Plane: The Enworld
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Deserts, Desert Races
Worshippers: Desert Nomads, Desert Races, Rangers
Cleric Alignments: Any Neutral
Domains: Community, Sun, War, Travel, Weather
Favored Weapon: Falchion

Ku is the power and danger of the desert, but he is also the patron of those that respect his power. Though most would find the desert to be a harsh and dangerous place, it is home to those with the power to accomadated themselves to the unconquerable. Followers of Ku are fiercely independent and will defend that independence.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Old Proposal]Quoar, God of the Desert's Strength

The Walker in Wastes, Stout Heart
Enworldian Intermediate Deity
Symbol: A Human Figure encompassed by a Sand Storm
Home Plane: The Timeless Desert of the Noncreated Space
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Existenstial Struggle, Deserts, Earned Trust, The Demands of the Present
Worshippers: Desert Nomads, Those who would start a new life, Monks, Rangers
Cleric Alignments: LN, TN, CN
Domains: Community, Sun, Strength, Travel, War, Weather
Favored Weapon: Falchion.

Quoar is jealous of the world's deserts and resists those who would cause any transformation to come upon them. Quoar finds that strength and confidence comes from survival against forces greater than one's self and even beyond one's comprehension.

Quaor favors those who confidently face adversity of any quality or source, and will help those that support others and are willing to receive support. He welcomes those that would bury their past within the trackless waste and begin their lives anew.

Quoar does not support the idea that one person should compell another's conscience or alligience. Quoar's followers must struggle every day of their lives, which may include sources other than the purely nature. Against attempts to deprive his followers of life or liberty, Quoar strengthen and leads them.

It is said that Quoar existed before the world, and opposed its creation. Quoar watchs the deserts because they are not created nor controled by any god. It within the deserts of the world that intelligent beings can find and follow Quoar's example of strength and growth. It there that overwhelming and unconquerable power can temper and strengthen the will of men.

Though Quoar is mainly considered a Desert god, and most of his clergy and followers live or originate from the deserts of the world, Quoar is an Intermediate God of great power, even if he has not and does generally act within the world. His portfolio's are broad enough that he has knowledge of almost every being on enworld. From the poor farmer that struggles to gain sustence from poor land and famine, to the wife whose trust has been broken by an unfaithful husband. There really is no being that at some time has not felt the quiet promptings of Quoar to break the chain of the past and gain strength from an unmerciful universe.

A common slander against Quoar and his followers is that he works for the destruction of the world or the elemental towers.[/sblock]

 

[Bront]

Not quite sure how he fits into the pantheon, as I think we have 2-3 other War gods.

Why no NE or NG followers?

Halor is the Chaotic counterpart of Gundar in theory, though I have no problem with Quaor having played part in it. However, he's Neutral, not chaotic.

I'm not understanding the Comunity domain and why it fits in, why those who seek justice or hide their past worship him, as neither fit well in his portfolio.

You describe him as fairly lawful in some ways, and then simply mention he's chaotic, so him being TN still doesn't make much sense, he seems more LN to me as described.

Suggestions:
I'd drop War, and adjust his portfolio to Comunal survival and self reliance (which seem oddly contradictory, but are usually not). Maybe swap the strength domain for something else.. Travel maybe, as is often the life of a desert nomad? (SO Comunity, Sun, Travel, Weather).

Then, you could say that Quaor helped give strength to many of the desert races as their lands were raveged the worst by the struggle of Halor and Gundar (which explains why he is more a desert god, though he'd likely have a presence outside of the desert), and all of his aspects fit in.

If you relate him more to the desert nomads, you should be able to fit all this in.

 

[LiquidBlue]

Thank you Bront for the review of the Quoar proposal. I especially appreciate your anaylsis of the weakness of the proposal, and I have found your advice to be useful.

In fact your post is so useful that I will use it as a guide as I try to remake Quoar.

Not quite sure how he fits into the pantheon, as I think we have 2-3 other War gods.

I guess I really did not think how Quoar would fit in with the rest of the gods. It is something that I will consider, and I will present my thoughts further below.

I really did not create Quoar as a War god. That may not seem to make sense on the surface because I included just war as one of his portfolios, and War as one of his domains.

I still do not intend Quoar to be a god of war, and I hope that further thoughts will refine him. However, I must point out that there are lawful gods of war, evil gods of war, chaotic gods of war, and good gods of war, but not a truly neutral god of war. (Not that I mean to argue that there must be a god of war for each of the nine alignments, or even that Quoar fills that need.)

Why no NE or NG followers?

I have to admit that I rejected NE and NG clerics without a very thoughtful reason. Allow me to try one now.

I am trying to strongly relate Quoar with desert qualities. The desert is merciless upon all creatures alike without favor or prejudice. The desert's strength is not of a good or evil source, it is simply a fact, and individuals cannot act with the desert's strength guided by consideration of good or evil.

That is not to say that followers of Quoar cannot be of NG or NE, just that his clerics must be one of LN, TN, or CN.

Halor is the Chaotic counterpart of Gundar in theory, though I have no problem with Quaor having played part in it. However, he's Neutral, not chaotic.

I am glad that you brought up Halor, I did not completely research the make-up of the enworld Pantheon before I proposed Quoar.

Halor is secure as the Chaotic counterpart to Gundar. In fact I think a good place for Quoar, is not in actual struggle with Gundar or Halor, but rather a philosophical difference. In that he opposed the idea of the creation. Quoar was more interested the power and growth gained from struggle and accomadation with forces unconquerable and uncomprehensible.

He did not want the creation because it replaced the uncoquerable and uncomprehensible with the controled and known.

Gundar and Halor grew in power as they formed the enworld according to their own designs. Quoar refused to participate in the Creation or the struggle for its direction. However to his delight, admist the struggle between Gundar and Halor, areas appeared which neither intended and over which neither had power. Where the earth and air mixed and swirled, sometimes covering and hiding entire features, sometimes fleeing to reveal long lost secrets.

Quoar rejoiced to find these small frontiers, and seeking not to control them, simply watchs to see that none could be claimed.

I'm not understanding the Comunity domain and why it fits in,

I included the community domain as one of his portfolios is self reliance(personal and familial), what I mean is that Quoar's philosophy involves gaining greater power over one's self through interaction with one's environment. As explemlefied through his connection with the desert, one eventually learns that self dominion and self sufficientcy is ultimately limited if one does not maintain connections and interreliance with others. He does not support the inpersonal groups of geography and commerce, but the personal relationships that cause people to be greater than themselves.

I think perhaps I need to add to his profile so that this domain more closely fits. Perhaps Earned Trust

why those who seek justice or hide their past worship him, as neither fit well in his portfolio.

I like these groups as worshipers, so perhaps I need to adjust his profile again.

Both of these groups have more to do with the desert connection, than with the previously stated profiles. I included those that wish to hide their past, as it seems like fleeing to the desert is a standard means to do so. Quoar accepts such people as they accept facts of their pasts yet, choose to be guided by the present. In terms of portfolios, and sticking to the desert theme; one of Quoar's portfolios is: The Demands of the Present . Quoar is concerned for what must be done now, and what can be learned now.

Upon reflection, those that seek justice, does not really fit with the descriptions I have given, and nearly directly conflicts with the new portfolio I have just described.

Now to expand upon The Demands of the Present. The Present cannot be dealt with unless it is acknowledged. Thus Quoar is strongly aligned with truth. And as a Desert will ultimately disgourge its hidden secrets, no lie can remain forever, eventually the facade will be worn away.

Suggestions:
I'd drop War, and adjust his portfolio to Comunal survival and self reliance (which seem oddly contradictory, but are usually not). Maybe swap the strength domain for something else.. Travel maybe, as is often the life of a desert nomad? (SO Comunity, Sun, Travel, Weather).

Then, you could say that Quaor helped give strength to many of the desert races as their lands were raveged the worst by the struggle of Halor and Gundar (which explains why he is more a desert god, though he'd likely have a presence outside of the desert), and all of his aspects fit in.

If you relate him more to the desert nomads, you should be able to fit all this in.

Thank you for your excellent suggestions. I know need to make updates to the Proposal

 

[Bront]

I'd study up on the other gods, including the others with proposals out there (I think one is approved that hasn't been filed even). We have a lot of stuff covered, so the best thing is to look for a group that fits in the pantheon.

Of note, there may be worshipers who do such things as hiding their past or seek lawful revenge that worship him, but likely just by non-exclusion. I think there are other gods/goddesses that cover those as well.

Again, not saying I don't like the god, but how it fits into Enworld is a different issue.

 

[LiquidBlue]

Bront your considered words and counsel continue to help me refine this proposal create something that adds to the established whole. Just for added clarity let me explain that I am trying to create a God that represents or exemplifies a certain, hard to articulate philophsophy. Where he fits into the official mythology may need additional work.

I appreciate Bront's thoughts and I would like to invite the thoughts and suggestions of others.

The idea that I am going for is somewhat like the fremen philophsophy from Dune, or the thoughts contained within the Poem Invictus, by William Ernest Henley.

The idea, that I am going for is that he is not a desert god, or a war god, or even a nomad god, but God that exist's for his own reasons, and a god who is willing to guide people to find similar strength in themselves.

Given that, please watch the first post as I rewrite the proposal in the first post. I am afraid that I will need to bump up his power.

[sblock=Invictus]Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.


In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.


Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.


It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.[/sblock]

 

[LiquidBlue]

A Request for consideration

I have again made changes to the Quoar proposal. Upon reflection, I have decided that my original idea for a desert god didn't require such a powerful being, or such extensive portfolios.

I would like to request further consideration of this proposal. Furthermore, I would like some help in crafting Quoar's history. That is to say, where does Quoar fit in?

 

[Bront]

Still considering... I'll have more thoughts later