StreamOfTheSky
Adventurer
I'm trying to finish up a god of shadows for my next campaign, which will be my character's deity, and a major contributor to the plot of the game. (It's rotating DM, I'm the one mainly in charge). Here's what I have so far:
[sblock][Name], God of Shadows
The Corruptor of Reality, The Shaper of All, The Spurned One
Lesser Deity
Symbol: Half a face, the rest concealed by darkness
Home Plane: Plane of Shadow
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Creation, Deception, Revenge
Worshipers: Rogues, Ninjas, Shadowdancers, Illusionists, Shadow Hand disciples, Cultists, Thieves, Fugitives
Cleric Alignments: TN, LE, NE, CE
Domains: Creation, Darkness, Evil, Illusion, Retribution, Shadow, Suffering, Trickery
Psionic Mantles: Deception, ... (need more)
Favored Weapon: (undecided)
[Name], god of shadows, appears as a gaunt middle-aged man, with strings of black, greasy hair hanging over his face and a long, slightly crooked nose. He is constantly draped in swirling shadows and darkness, obscuring his appearance, as well as often altering it, so this appearance is based entirely on ancient accounts of questionable legitimacy. He teaches his followers the true history of the Great Wheel, and the Prime Material in particular, a creation story far different than the commonly accepted one. The other gods, after which were envious and fearful of his power, turned upon him in desperation before he could lay claim to his rightful place as ruler of all. Beaten back to the plane of shadow, he fortified himself there, a defense not even the full weight of divinity could pierce. Instead they set to work sealing off his grand palace so that he could never leave, turning it into his immortal tomb. [] preaches for the destruction of existence, so that he may be free from his confinement and able to remake the planes entirely with his own palette.
Dogma: [Name] tells his followers of the true origin of creation, an event no other god was able to procure but himself, by weaving together the great mass of of darkness and shadow existent already into comprehensible forms. It is likely these elements were given life with the help of other gods, though [] mentions none in particular. [] is not concerned with widespread conversions, teaching that knowledge of the truth is a fruit sweet enough only for the few worthy enough of understanding and accepting it. Thus, followers spread his message only to those they deem worthy, like a great whispered secret.
Clergy: Priests to [Name] make no efforts to be outward and friendly to others. They tend to view everything as a test, and this often includes others bearing their company. Only a rare few deserve their attention and affection, all the rest are mere waste that will be purged one day, so why bother with them?
Quests: Quests in the name of [Name] are typically to weaken the hold of any other deity, save for the few who [] considers allies. [] prefers subterfuge to open aggression, possibly a necessity of his own weakened state. Thus, instead of burning down other priesthoods and slaughtering their flock, a quest for [] will often involve surgical assassination operations, misinformation campaigns, and other methods that can be accomplished by a small band of skilled fanatics, in order to accomplish the ultimate goal.
Prayers: Prayers to [Name] are always whispered or given while silently meditating, never loudly. They are also always made in darkness or under a cast shadow, never in daylight, and indoors or some area of small space is preferred, to show solidarity with []'s condition. Prayers typically mention becoming one with the all enveloping darkness and thus one with all of the lord's creation or how as the light of the other gods' power fades, their lord's shadows endure unchanged.
Temples: [Name] has very few actual temples, although there are a fair amount on the plane of shadow. Most worshippers instead maintain altars in locations hidden from public view, or use none at all. The religion teaches that anywhere light retreats or shadow looms, [] is present, and it is thus a suitable location to pray.
Rites: Rites to become a cleric of [Name] involve no vows, in stark contrast to the rites of most other deities. Priests of [] know better than most how valueless words are. Instead, a potential cleric must first prove through action and years of devotion that he will be a staunch representative of all [] encompasses. None are told exactly what this means, it is left purposely vague so that their way of thinking can also be evaluated. Tests of faith and great sacrafices are required to advance to higher levels in the disparate clergy, out of the respect for the great sacrafice [] has had to pay for his role in creation.
Heralds and allies: (undecided)
potential allies (HD in parentheses): Darkweaver (9), Chwidencha (12), Cranium Rat Swarm (lesser pack) (6)
potential herald (CR in parentheses, should be 20-21): Shadow Giant (18) with Rogue levels, two nightcrawlers (18 each)
Spells:
Weapon of the Diety: +1 Shadowstrike (favored weapon)
Deific Bastion: (undecided)
Divine Retribution: Cold, Dexterity
Footsteps of the Divine: +40 feet
Interfaith Blessing: (undecided)[/sblock]
So, name is the most important thing for me right now, but i'm terrible at naming things. Also not sure on favored weapon, some of the deity-specific spells, herald and allies, and psionic mantles. If anyone has a better idea for symbol, I'm not satisfied with the generic-ness of what's there currently.
I don't care too much about psionic mantles, it's just there for completeness. I really just don't like CPsionic in general and got rid of my copy. I could "lend" it in pdf form from friends if need be.
Heralds and allies I mostly got from Fiend Folio, I lack the planes books. We allow elementals, outsiders, and extraplanar creatures if it fits thematically for planar ally spells. Herald can be anything. I really like Darkweaver the most, but they're 9 HD (right between lesser planar ally and planar ally), and have low hp. May template/advance it up to the equivalent of a 12 HD creature. if anyone has other suggestions for creatures, let me know.
[sblock][Name], God of Shadows
The Corruptor of Reality, The Shaper of All, The Spurned One
Lesser Deity
Symbol: Half a face, the rest concealed by darkness
Home Plane: Plane of Shadow
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Creation, Deception, Revenge
Worshipers: Rogues, Ninjas, Shadowdancers, Illusionists, Shadow Hand disciples, Cultists, Thieves, Fugitives
Cleric Alignments: TN, LE, NE, CE
Domains: Creation, Darkness, Evil, Illusion, Retribution, Shadow, Suffering, Trickery
Psionic Mantles: Deception, ... (need more)
Favored Weapon: (undecided)
[Name], god of shadows, appears as a gaunt middle-aged man, with strings of black, greasy hair hanging over his face and a long, slightly crooked nose. He is constantly draped in swirling shadows and darkness, obscuring his appearance, as well as often altering it, so this appearance is based entirely on ancient accounts of questionable legitimacy. He teaches his followers the true history of the Great Wheel, and the Prime Material in particular, a creation story far different than the commonly accepted one. The other gods, after which were envious and fearful of his power, turned upon him in desperation before he could lay claim to his rightful place as ruler of all. Beaten back to the plane of shadow, he fortified himself there, a defense not even the full weight of divinity could pierce. Instead they set to work sealing off his grand palace so that he could never leave, turning it into his immortal tomb. [] preaches for the destruction of existence, so that he may be free from his confinement and able to remake the planes entirely with his own palette.
Dogma: [Name] tells his followers of the true origin of creation, an event no other god was able to procure but himself, by weaving together the great mass of of darkness and shadow existent already into comprehensible forms. It is likely these elements were given life with the help of other gods, though [] mentions none in particular. [] is not concerned with widespread conversions, teaching that knowledge of the truth is a fruit sweet enough only for the few worthy enough of understanding and accepting it. Thus, followers spread his message only to those they deem worthy, like a great whispered secret.
Clergy: Priests to [Name] make no efforts to be outward and friendly to others. They tend to view everything as a test, and this often includes others bearing their company. Only a rare few deserve their attention and affection, all the rest are mere waste that will be purged one day, so why bother with them?
Quests: Quests in the name of [Name] are typically to weaken the hold of any other deity, save for the few who [] considers allies. [] prefers subterfuge to open aggression, possibly a necessity of his own weakened state. Thus, instead of burning down other priesthoods and slaughtering their flock, a quest for [] will often involve surgical assassination operations, misinformation campaigns, and other methods that can be accomplished by a small band of skilled fanatics, in order to accomplish the ultimate goal.
Prayers: Prayers to [Name] are always whispered or given while silently meditating, never loudly. They are also always made in darkness or under a cast shadow, never in daylight, and indoors or some area of small space is preferred, to show solidarity with []'s condition. Prayers typically mention becoming one with the all enveloping darkness and thus one with all of the lord's creation or how as the light of the other gods' power fades, their lord's shadows endure unchanged.
Temples: [Name] has very few actual temples, although there are a fair amount on the plane of shadow. Most worshippers instead maintain altars in locations hidden from public view, or use none at all. The religion teaches that anywhere light retreats or shadow looms, [] is present, and it is thus a suitable location to pray.
Rites: Rites to become a cleric of [Name] involve no vows, in stark contrast to the rites of most other deities. Priests of [] know better than most how valueless words are. Instead, a potential cleric must first prove through action and years of devotion that he will be a staunch representative of all [] encompasses. None are told exactly what this means, it is left purposely vague so that their way of thinking can also be evaluated. Tests of faith and great sacrafices are required to advance to higher levels in the disparate clergy, out of the respect for the great sacrafice [] has had to pay for his role in creation.
Heralds and allies: (undecided)
potential allies (HD in parentheses): Darkweaver (9), Chwidencha (12), Cranium Rat Swarm (lesser pack) (6)
potential herald (CR in parentheses, should be 20-21): Shadow Giant (18) with Rogue levels, two nightcrawlers (18 each)
Spells:
Weapon of the Diety: +1 Shadowstrike (favored weapon)
Deific Bastion: (undecided)
Divine Retribution: Cold, Dexterity
Footsteps of the Divine: +40 feet
Interfaith Blessing: (undecided)[/sblock]
So, name is the most important thing for me right now, but i'm terrible at naming things. Also not sure on favored weapon, some of the deity-specific spells, herald and allies, and psionic mantles. If anyone has a better idea for symbol, I'm not satisfied with the generic-ness of what's there currently.
I don't care too much about psionic mantles, it's just there for completeness. I really just don't like CPsionic in general and got rid of my copy. I could "lend" it in pdf form from friends if need be.
Heralds and allies I mostly got from Fiend Folio, I lack the planes books. We allow elementals, outsiders, and extraplanar creatures if it fits thematically for planar ally spells. Herald can be anything. I really like Darkweaver the most, but they're 9 HD (right between lesser planar ally and planar ally), and have low hp. May template/advance it up to the equivalent of a 12 HD creature. if anyone has other suggestions for creatures, let me know.
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