Need information on Heironeous' family tree

[Green Knight]

OK, as far as I can determine, these are Heironeous' relatives.

Hextor (Half-Brother)
Stratis (?-Brother)
Stern Alia - The Shield Mother (Mother)

Alright, so who's his father? And who's Hextor's father? And how is it that Hextor ended up with a different father? Is the Shield Mother a ho or something? LOL! Seriously, can someone relate the story to me if there is one of the parentage of these folks? And how about Stratis? Is he a half-brother to both of them, or to 1 one of them? And if both, then who's HIS father?

Also, what level are these people? Lesser, Intermediate, or Greater gods? And what of the aformentioned fathers? If they're gods then what level are they, and what portfolios do they hold? Thanks for the info.

 

[grodog]

OK, as far as I can determine, these are Heironeous' relatives:

Stratis (?-Brother)

I don't recall Stratis, is he the figure that dies early on, or something like that (per a Dragon Chainmail article)???

Hextor (Half-Brother)
Stern Alia - The Shield Mother (Mother)

Alright, so who's his father? And who's Hextor's father? And how is it that Hextor ended up with a different father? Is the Shield Mother a ho or something? LOL!

Well, it is possible Hextor and Heironeous share either the same father or the same mother, since they're half-brothers.

Also, what level are these people? Lesser, Intermediate, or Greater gods? And what of the aformentioned fathers? If they're gods then what level are they, and what portfolios do they hold? Thanks for the info.

Greyhawk does not presuppose that two gods mating will linearly/predictably produce offspring of the same or reduced divine power: Kord is a greater god (in 1e) or an intermediate god (in 3e), and is the son of Phaulkon and Syrul, who are both lesser gods (in 1e and 3e). So, a wealth of possibilities exist for you to play with:

• Stern Alia was mortal and later raised to demigoddess after birthing one or both of the Oeridian war gods
• Stern Alia was a demigoddess all along
• Stern Alia was more powerful than a demigoddess, but transferred most of her power into her children, diminishing with each birth
• Hextor and Heironeous share the same father but different mothers: which one did Stern Alia birth?
• Hextor and Heironeous share the same mother but different fathers
• et cetera

I'm sure you'll come up with more options.

One of the most interesting questions in building a Greyhawk creation myth is where the Oeridian gods came from at all: they don't have any greater gods in 3e (although both Zilchus and Procran are Oeridian greater gods in 1e; in 3e they're both intermediate gods). They don't have a father-figure/creator god like Lendor for the Suel, Beory for the Flan, or Istus for the Bakluni (I don't recall the details for the Olman or Tuov races, someone else will have to provide those). However, with the large number of lesser and intermediate gods that the Oeridians have, it almost suggests that they spontaneously and/or synchronously ascended en masse during their migrations.

Anyway, those are my thoughts....

 

[Erik Mona]

Stern Alia is sort of a Virgin Mary figure in the sense that she's worshipped as an afterthought by the much more influential churches of her sons. Stratis is completely unknown in the Flanaess. No one knows who his father is. No one knows who the father of Heironeous or Hextor are, either, but they are obviously different people. At some point, we may delve into these secrets, but it's not a top priority for anyone here at Wizards, for the time being.

Alia is a demigod. Her cult was once powerful in Medegia, but just as that nation no longer really exists, her cult has fallen into disarray, as well. Hextor and Heironeous are, I believe, intermediate gods. I have no idea what Stratis is, but I assume he's a demigod. I also believe he is the youngest sibling, but I don't know that for sure, either.

--Erik Mona
Editor, Living Greyhawk Journal

 

[grodog]

Thanks for the info, Erik