First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons™ Character Creation
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AD&D Deities: Greyhawk
Greyhawk deities have many nuances, including particular alignment restrictions for clerics that may be different from the alignment of the deity but not as broad as those of the followers. Some deities offer their clerics special abilities, but clerics of these deities suffer an experience point penalty to pay for these. There is a great deal of detail on deities and their clerics and worshippers in Greyhawk Adventures, and if this book is not available these will probably be excluded from play options.
Boccob is Archmage of the Deities, a true neutral greater god who is patron of magic, arcane knowledge, neutrality, foreknowledge, and foresight. His clerics, who must be neutral, are permitted to use daggers, knives, and slings in addition to flails, maces, and staffs. At higher levels they gain limited sage abilities, a powerful attack spell, and the ability to create a potent scrying device, and can use many magic items normally limited to magic-users. However, upon reaching level ten, these clerics suffer a 5% penalty on experience thereafter. All alignments can worship him.
Celestian The Star Wanderer is neutral good. A lesser god and brother to Fharlanghn, he is revered by astronomers, astrologers, navigators, philosophers, and dreamers. His clerics and worshippers may be any good alignment. His clerics suffer a 10% experience penalty, but may use spears, short swords, and staves as weapons, and they receive additional spells related to movement as they advance, beginning with feather fall (once per day, in addition to any cleric spells). The meteor spell is designed specifically for clerics of this deity.
St.Cuthbert is a lawful good lesser god with lawful neutral tendencies. There is strong personal enmity between him and Iuz, and great rivalry between his followers and those of Pholtus of the Blinding Light. His clerics divide into three orders, but all are either lawful good or lawful neutral, as are the worshippers. The Chapeaux seek to convert others to the faith; beginning at level three these gain an extra spell, a shillelagh, once per day. The Stars tend to be lawful neutral, focusing on preventing backsliding among the faithful, and gain an extra E.S.P. spell each day at level four. The Billets seek to protect and minister to the faithful, and in the main are lawful good; this is the largest order, and its members gain an extra friends spell each day at level two. This order also has an available beguiling spell, which gives charm abilities to a holy cudgel. Clerics may also use club, flail, mace, staff, and sling. There is no experience point penalty for these clerics. He is associated with wisdom, dedication, zeal, common sense, truth, and forthrightness.
Ehlonna of the Forests is a neutral good lesser goddess with a broad array of worshippers. Forests, flowers, and meadows are her domain, and she is revered by hunters, fishermen, woodcutters, and others who make their living from forests. In addition she is a fertility goddess and patron of animals. Her worshippers may be any good or neutral, but her clerics must be either neutral good or true neutral (druids). These suffer a 5% penalty on experience, but may use the long bow, knife, spear, staff, lasso, or club as weapons. They have ranger tracking abilities, and at level five gain a free animal friendship spell. The stalk spell is available to these clerics.
Fharlanghn, Dweller on the Far Horizon, is the deity of roads, travel, and distance. His symbol often appears on the doors of inns. Adventurers, merchants, and other itinerants are his primary worshippers, and any alignment may worship this neutral good lesser god, although neutrals are preferred. Clerics must be neutrally aligned; there are no weapon or experience adjustments. They gain an acute sense of direction, and access to the footsore spell, which doubles the apparent length of any journey.
Incabulos is the villain of the pantheon. Neutral evil and worshipped by any evil, this greater god is god of evil, plague, disease, nightmare, drought, famine, and disaster. Common people sometimes burn candles to appease this deity. Clerics may be any evil alignment, use club, flail, mace, staff, lasso, and sling, and suffer a 5% experience penalty. They are masters of disguise, and have an immunity to all diseases, slimes, and other ailments of all types no matter how caused which starts at 20%. They gain an extra hypnotism spell at level five and an extra permanent sleep spell at level eight, and have access to a spell called plague.
Istus, the Colorless and All-Colored, Lady of our Fate, is a true neutral greater goddess. She is goddess of fate, destiny, and predestination. She prefers neutral worshippers but will accept any; her clerics must be neutral (and therefore druids). There is a 5% experience penalty for her clerics, who are mostly women, and all have long hair. These may use club, flail, hammer, mace, staff, and lasso. Most are cynical and resigned to their fate, although some are pleased with theirs. This emphasis on fate leads many to make decisions randomly, although more so with unimportant ones. third level clerics gain an extra augury spell once per day, and seventh level clerics have a special strand of binding spell, a ten foot powerful cord. They also gain access to an enmeshment spell which temporarily blinds and confuses, and transports victims to a magical labyrinth for the duration of the spell.
Iuz The Old is the patron of wickedness. This chaotic evil demigod wants to take over the world. Oppression, deceit, and pain are associated with him. There is great personal enmity between him and St. Cuthbert. The chaotic evil clerics pay no experience penalty, may use club, flail, mace, staff, sling, and garrote, and collect trophies from their victims, particularly skulls. They gain an extra change self spell once per day at level three, and have access to a first level paralyzing spittle spell. All evils may worship him.
Nerull is known by many names, including Reaper, Foe of All Good, Hater of Life, Bringer of Darkness, King of All Gloom, and Reaper of Flesh. Obviously this greater god is neutral evil, and is worshipped by all evil alignments. He is god of death, darkness, and the underworld. Clerics must be evil, and pay a 5% penalty in experience. Their weapons are limited to staves and special weapons used solely by their order, including small sickles (equivalent to daggers) at level on and scythe-like polearms (treated as hook-fauchards) at level five. Training in alertness means they are only surprised on a roll of one. They gain access to an ebony tendrils spell, a particularly deadly attack form, but a fifth level spell.
Pholtus of the Blinding Light is a lawful good lesser god with neutral tendencies. Worshippers must be lawful, and clerics lawful neutral. This god of order, inflexibility, sun, and moon, light, resolution, and law, divides his clerics into three ranks, based on level. Glimmerings, through level four, can cast an extra dispel darkness once per day. Gleamings, through level eight, add to this a one per day extra glow. Shinings, the highest levels, add reflect to the once per day extras. They use standard cleric weapons and pay a 5% experience penalty. They have access to a sunburst spell with a broad array of effects.
The lesser god Ralishaz is chaotic neutral but with evil tendencies. He is god of chance, ill luck, misfortune, randomness, and madness, and may be worshipped by any alignment, although most of his worshippers are chaotic. Gamblers and risk takers comprise the bulk of his relatively meager following. His clerics must be chaotic neutral, and use only slings and maces, but pay no experience penalty. They avoid taking chances, seldom suffer ill luck, but suffer terribly when they do. At a random mid level they gain the ability to put a victim to sleep by gazing into their eyes, once per day. The risky second level vicissitude spell is available to them, which usually gives good luck but can backfire terribly.
The lawful good Ulaa is a greater godess worshipped by any good or neutral, particularly those in the mountains. She is patron of miners, hillmen, mountaineers, and quarrymen, goddess of hills, mountains, and gems, and is followed particularly by dwarfs, gnomes, and halflings. Her clerics are lawful good or true neutral, and pay a 5% penalty on experience. They may use club, flail, hammer, mace, staff, military pick, and sling. They each select a monster type which is a thread in their home area as a chosen foe, against whom they gain damage bonuses of +1 increasing to +4 at level thirteen. They also gain extra spells beginning with detect invisible objects, dig, passwall, and ultimately stone to flesh, as they advance in levels. The available command earth spell protects against or charms creatures of that elemental plane.
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