D&D 5E What's a good Egyptian/Pharoanic deity for this Twilight Cleric

[DarkMoon250]

I'm playing a Cleric of the Twilight Domain in my first campaign, which is located in a homebrew setting that was once ruled by Osiris and his gang as featured in the DMG. My character has the Far Traveler background, and comes from a town that was long hidden away by deep forest and fey-magic until the evil empire came a knockin'. My DM and I agreed that this place has been cut off from the surrounding world for so long, they retain a culture that the rest of the continent has long moved on from, and they worship deities whose names have been lost to time.

What this means is that I'm allowed to take a deity from Egyptian mythology that isn't on the DMG list, and make it the focus of my Cleric's faith. We've thrown about ideas on what gods would work for the Twilight Domain, and why it is that the rest of the world has forgotten them [either they did something to earn the scorn of the other gods or of some mortals, or they're more primordial and less anthropic than the gods who emerged from them later]. We've narrowed it down to either the Moon and wandering god Khonsu, the sky and star goddess Nut, or the primordial dusk and darkness god Kek, but I'm personally unable to make the final call, and he wants the decision to be my own instead of his, so I come to this gathering place of fellow dice-rollers to gather advice and inspiration.

It's already been established in the first session that the character was a night-watchman on the outskirts of the hub city defending it from raids by bandits and monsters [he was a Cleric before he was a guard, though], views said monsters with some degree of empathy and believes some have goodness in them, and his faith is defined by a love of the beauty of the shadows, evening, moonlight and night, and the mysteriousness of his god. Not sure which deity this might steer him towards.

 

[DEFCON 1]

If you are a fan of Marvel Comics' Moon Knight, then Khonshu's your guy!

 

[Flamestrike]

Khonshu; literally means Moon and Traveller. Good find!

Khonsu's name reflects the fact that the Moon (referred to as Iah in Egyptian) travels across the night sky, for it means "traveller", and also had the titles "Embracer", "Pathfinder", and "Defender", as he was thought to watch over those who travel at night. As the god of light in the night, Khonsu was invoked to protect against wild animals, and aid with healing. It was said that when Khonsu caused the crescent moon to shine, women conceived, cattle became fertile, and all nostrils and every throat was filled with fresh air.

Khonsu - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Seems perfect.

 

[Voadam]

Shadows and moonlight is more Khonsu, but the beauty of night can easily be Nut who ties into Osiris as his mom. The Ogdoad is very primordial chaos associated so if you want something separated from a lot of the Osiris gang you can go with a priest of the elder god Kek. All good options.

 

[Maxperson]

And if you really don't want to worship a Nut, she was also known by the names Nueth and Newet.

 

[jgsugden]

If you go the Khonsu/Khonshu route, be aware of the Marvel Comic character Moon Knight. He'll have a Disney Plus series, likely in 2021, and he is tied closely to this Egyptian Deity. That might be a benefit, or a pain, in your eyes, but it is best to be aware.

Other options (from: Egyptian Gods - The Complete List ):

A'ah - An early moon god who evolved into Iah (also known as Yah) and, eventually, Khonsu.

Iah (Yah) - A god of the moon who figures prominently in the Egyptian calendar. In the story of the creation of the world, Atum is angered by the intimate relationship between Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) and so separates them, declaring that Nut may not give birth to her children on any day of the year. The god Thoth appeared and gambled with Iah for five days worth of moonlight. He won and divided the moonlight hours into days which, because they were not part of the days of the year decreed by Atum, Nut could give birth in. She then gave birth to the first five gods: Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder in July. The Egyptians regulated their calendar with these five magical days. Iah was eventually absorbed into the god Khonsu.

Kek and Kauket - Gods of obscurity and night, members of the original Ogdoad of Hermopolis. Kek and Kauket were the male/female aspects of darkness but not in any way associated with evil. Kek was the god of the hours before dawn and was known as "Bringer-in-of-the-Light" as he guided the sun barge of the god Ra toward the sky from the underworld. Kauket, his feminine balance, was depicted as a woman with the head of a serpent also called "Bringer-in-of-the-Darkness" who presided over the hours of twilight when the sun was setting and guided the sun barge into the underworld.

Mehit (Meyht) - She was a moon goddess from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 31250-2613 BCE) identified with the concept of the Distant Goddess who departs from Ra and returns to bring transformation. Usually depicted as a reclining lioness with three sticks protruding from behind her. Consort of Anhur.

Mekhit - Goddess of war, probably originally from Nubia, depicted as a roaring lioness and associated with the moon. She symbolized the vengeful aspect of the Eye of Ra. In one myth, the Eye of Ra departs for Nubia where it transforms itself into a lioness. The god Onuris hunts it down and returns it to Ra where it becomes (or gives birth to) Menhit who then becomes consort to Onuris. She was worshipped at Abydos in the cult center honoring her and Onuris. The story of Menhit, Onuris, and the Eye of Ra is an example of the Distant Goddess motif where the eye leaves Ra and returns or is returned, bringing transformation.

Pakhet - A hunting goddess in lioness form, her name means "She Who Scratches" or "Tearer". She was a consort of Horus and associated with the vengeful aspects of Sekhmet and the justice of Isis. She was thought to hunt at night and terrify her enemies.

Sah - An astral god, personification of the constellation Orion, usually paired with Sothis (Sopdet) as representations of the astral forms of Osiris and Isis. He is referred to as "Father of the gods" in the Pyramid Texts and was an important aspect of funerary rites where he welcomed the king to the afterlife. Known also as the "Dweller in Orion", Pyramid Text chapter 186 welcomes the soul, "In the name of the Dweller in Orion, with a season in the sky and a season on earth" which can be understood as, "with a season in the sky after a season on earth". He is depicted as a man holding the ankh and was sceptre standing in a boat surrounded by stars in a night sky.

Something that is not directly a God suggestion, but might influence how you consider the God manifests:

Star Deities - Gods and goddesses identified with the night sky. By the time of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE) the Egyptians had identified five of the planets which they referred to as "Stars That Know No Rest" and associated with gods: the called Mercury 'Sebegu' (a form of the god Set); Venus ("The One Who Crosses" and "God of the Morning"); Mars ("Horus of the Horizon" and "Horus the Red"); Jupiter ("Horus Who Limits the Two Lands"); Saturn ("Horus Bull of the Heavens"). Further, the star Sirius was associated with Sothis and then Isis while Orion represented the god Sah, "Father of the Gods". The appearance of Sirius heralded the inundation of the Nile, the promise of fertility, and represented the cyclical nature of existence and so came to be linked to Osiris, the dying and reviving god, and Isis, the one who revived him. The stars then were called "Followers of Osiris" who sailed across the night sky in accordance with divine pattern. Sah and Sothis in the heavens reflected the divine couple Osiris and Isis and the god Sopdu, (son of Sothis), the astral form of Horus. Thus the night sky told the stories of the most meaningful stories of the Egyptian culture and assured the people of an eternity in the gods' presence when they looked up at the stars.

 

[Omand]

Had you not specified some specific deities in your original post I would have said go with Nephthys. She is a protector of the dead and of humanity in general at night. Depending on the exact myth this is part of her penance/reaction to being previously married to Set and now opposing him.

Of course, that story is all mixed up, as there is evidence that in early dynastic Egypt Set was actually seen as a good a protective god, but that over time his minor portfolio aspect of protection of foreigners mutated to being evil after foreigners (the Hyksos) took over the country for a couple of decades.

Cheers

 

[cbwjm]

Just read up on Khonsu who I didn't know too much about but he seems to fit well with the protection theme of the twilight domain from New Kingdom onwards.

I would also float the idea of Bes. He was often invoked to protect from evil spirits, especially during child birth. So he seems to fit the theme as well, you wanted a god not on the list of deities though so you may not want to use him.

 

[Henry]

Today I learned that Khonshu was an ACTUAL Egyptian deity. I had always assumed he was made up whole cloth by Doug Moench, and never bothered to check!

 

[Tonguez]

Khonsu is a no brainer for this one - hes a god of healing and protection, associated with travel and is the son of Mut and Amun.

Plus a Goat headed deity is way cooler than Frog-boy Kek