Religion

Throughout the world there are many religions, gods, pantheons, and belief systems. This page covers all religions of Galea.

History

Gods are born. Gods die. Nations rise and fall. Over the long history of the world religion has changed several times. Only a handful of gods have remained constant, but even the most popular god's wax and wane in popularity, influence, and power over the course of time.

In the beginning there was one being. He was the master and creator. He raised Gaspar to divinity and granted him the ability to give Power to those worthy to wield it. This being is known as Nous, the intelligence.

Mortal Death

When a mortal dies, they go through several steps before they can spend eternity with their god. When mortal death occurs, the spirit leaves the body and enters the ethereal plane. It is at this point the soul is guided to the River Styx, which begins where the ethereal meets the outer planes. If a soul does not find the river, a psychopomp helps it and guides it to the river. If a soul chooses not to enter the river, and has a strong will and tether to the mortal realm, then it can stay behind as a ghost. Unlike most undead who's souls are trapped in a physical body, ghosts are trapped between life and death.

If a spirit enters the River Styx, the flow takes it into Joram's court to wait to be judged. Once the spirit's time is up, it is judged by its action during life. When a verdict is given, it is sent back into the River Styx to exit again in the correct plane. Once judged, raise dead no longer functions and resurection must be used.

Once they arrive at the appropriate plane, there are two possibilities. The first, happening to most spirits, is that they become a petitioner and wander the plane as they choose. Petitioners who followed a certain deity in life may be granted access to that deity's realm. The second possibility is far more rare. The devout followers of deities are gathered by the deity's followers once they exit the river and brought directly to their realm. It is here that they transform into and appropriately powered outsider that matches their level of devotion and strength in life. In some exceptionally rare circumstances, for the most devout, these mortals become unique outsiders in service of their god. In a situation where a mortal dies prematurely, the deity can elect to not immediately turn the devouted follower into an outside, and instead hold onto it while awaiting the coming resurection.

Over time, a soul becomes more and more in tune with the plane they have been sent to. As they become more ingrained in the plane, they are harder to resurrect. The closer a petitioner is to becoming an appropriate outsider to the plane, the harder it is to bring them back to mortality. Eventually, the petitioner becomes an outsider, and it is at this point that resurrection becomes impossible without deific intervention.

Pantheons

The Pantheons are similar gods grouped together in one core belief system. While these are the main pantheons, it is not a comprehensive list of all pantheons. Many nations or groups of people have their own pantheon that includes several different gods from different core pantheons.

Pantheons can be used as in place of a god to worship. Some pantheons are so similar that a character that follows a pantheon can choose domains from any god within the pantheon. Any pantheon that this is possible with will have this abilities listed on the pantheon's page.

Core Pantheons

Racial Pantheons

Regional Pantheons

Demigods

As lesser deities these are generally worshiped regionally.

Belief Systems

New Domains

Overgods

The topic of Overgod is a hotly debated topic of many. Nous is generally considered by all to be the greatest being in the universe. He is the supreme cosmic spirit, the Soul of Reality. However, in many texts he has an equal, Velith. This being is both male and female, depending on the texts, and is usually considered Nous' lover, wife, and greatest enemy. Some rare writings attribute the creation of the universe to Velith, and even some claim the universe is Velith. Even still, some writings claim that there is no difference between the two on a cosmic level, and in fact the are both Nous, but instead two halves of the whole. Regardless of what interpretation is correct, what is easily identifiable is that Nous is the essence of life, creation, and substance while Velith is the essence of death, destruction, and nothingness. Some schollars have concluded that the positive and negative energy planes are the physical manifestations of the fractured state of Nous as Nous and Velith.

Nous - God of Substance
Velith - Goddess of Void

Regional and Racial Gods

Adonai - Luminous One True God.
Ayana - Goddess of the Elven Sky and Storms
Azgal - God of Dwarven Protection and Home
Bahamut - God of Good Dragons
Baleena - Goddess of Deep Elves
Bastet - Sekten Goddess of Pleasure, Protection, and Mothers.
Evening Glory - Goddess of Vampiric Eternal Love
Evriel - Goddess of Purity
Fa - Goddess of Wild Elves
Glorthal - God of Dwarves and the Forge
Goladii - God Deep Elven Magic and Protection
Haarl - God of Sea Elves and the Sea
Halona - Goddess of Ice Elves
Kaeleth - God of Elves
Kaz - Minotaur God-King
Kilvar - God of Duergar
King Yan - Wa God of Death and Hell
Knost - God of Fear
Maera - Goddess of Mist Elves of Mystery
Mystique - Godddess of Wishes
Neffin - God of Deep Elf Judgement
Ola - Goddess of the Blue Moon
Or'gall'gin - God of Dark Elf Battle
Orithen - God of Dwarven Earth
Ovkas - God of Dwarven Wisdom
Phalir - God of Dune Elves
Pria - Goddess of Elves
Ray - God of Wild Elves
Saranae - Goddess of Drow Lust
Shoral - God of the Red Moon
Siralee - Goddess of Drow Love
Sorin - God of the Green Moon
Tiamat - Goddess of Evil Dragons
Vinik - God of Deep Elven War and Travel
Werdal - God of Dwarven WIsdom
Zenfaria - Goddess of the Drow

Non-racial core gods