Interlude 2 - These are the people in your neighbourhood.

First off a word from one of the players.

Fabio here and my character is Cheet the Hobgoblin druid.

D&D is like my 1st love. It was the system that hoked me into RPG. I remember scouring through shops back in Italy in search of the "Red Box" then the "Blue Box", until I collected all four. My brother still has those back at home.

I then spend 20 years of my life dedicated to my carrier in hospitality, and stopped playing.
Once I finally got a 9-5 job in education I started searching for RPG players and discover The Dragon Quest group in Auckland. I have been playing with them for the last 2 years.

I always wanted to get back and play D&D and when William suggested to run a game with the 5th edition I jumped at the chance.
Picking it up was like riding a bike. You just need to remember some of the basics and then you are away.
The character generation was quick and easy to pick up. I rolled dice for the stats, however for the druid I follow the quick creations ideas, as well as rolling for the background. I thought it may be more interesting/challenging and fun to play something that I left to chance.

Some of the mechanics of the game are pretty much the same, however I do not remember if the 1st edition had the rolling for initiative wick I like a lot. I also like the advantage/disadvantage mechanics, however the choosing of the spells for my druid can be a little daunting. Having spell card or a good spell apps on the phone definitely helps.

Over all I enjoyed the original system and I do enjoy this new system. I personally found that some of the rules may be a bit scattered in the book but definitely easy to pick up.

High Fives all around for me on this one.

And now all those divinities you've been reading about and have been bedeviling the PCs.

The major gods of the Brittania campaign. The entire pantheon is a revised and trimmed down version of the Faerun (Forgotten Realms) mob. Why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to? But they are trimmed down. Often settings can have too many divinities which typically overwhelms players. The other reason is that the purgation of the 'good' divinities makes for a darker universe.
With the exception of Torm, Ilmater and Yondalla the other powers are neutral at best and most are, well they are the bad boys and girls of the Faerun pantheon.

Creator Gods

All these gods have created and shaped a people, a species in their image.

Abbathor: The God of the dwarves. King of Heaven. Abbathor is a god of civilisation and all that implies. He is a god of industry, order, laws, cities and commerce. However he is also concerned with tyranny, conquest, ambition and slavery. All dwarven settlements and cities will have an opulent temple dedicated to this deity. Abbathor is a dictatorial ruler of the heavens and all other gods must bring him tribute. Prefered sacrifice, gold and precious gems given to a high priest.

Maglubiyet: The God of the Goblins. Chief enemy of Abbathor, Magubliet is creator of the High Goblins (hobgoblins). He is the god of steel, the secret of which was wrested from him by the Dwarven heroine Mayani. Nevertheless hobgoblin steel is the best in the world. Magubliet also embodies tactics, order and security. The mighty ones temples are rare in Britannia but the debased goblin race erect idols to him in caves. To best secure his favour sacrifice a shaved dwarf.

Corellon: The God of the Elves. Lord of Forests, the wild and the hunt. Corellon makes each High Elf personally. Each High Elf is a special unique creation and may be male, female, neuter or hermaphrodite as pleases this lord of the fey. His place of power is Hibernia and it is where he resides and has dominion over. Sacrifice: A mighty kill with the bow. He is also patron of the gnomes.

Gruumsh: The God of the Orcs. God of savagery, of battle, rage and spoils. Gruumsh is Corellon’s brother and created the Orcs to oppose and slaughter his brother’s children. It is said in the early ages that these two deities fought. That is where Gruumsh lost his eye and the remains of his sanity to his brother. Sacrifice, a high elf.

Yondalla: The Goddess of the Halflings. Goddess of agriculture, the hearth and protection. Yondalla is an older goddess and her people have been largely supplanted by the larger more vigorous races. She is the conquered and enslaved concubine of Abbathor. Her worship is tolerated and allowed in the lands of the dwarves. Dwarves never forget to remind halflings of this divine oppression. The first portion of the harvest is her preferred sacrifice.

Annan: The god of the giants, the first peoples. God of Order: Annan’s peoples are the giants, created along with the world to play out the conflict with his rival Tiamat. Although Tiamat was caged by Annan in the Abyss her master of assassins later poisoned Annan and he now lies buried beneath the earth as near to death as a primal force of creation may be. His stirrings are responsible for earthquakes and volcanoes. Without their god, the giant civilisation collapsed and they are but a degenerate shadow of their former selves.

Tiamat: Goddess of Chaos: Her peoples are the dragons. Created like the giants, to play out the cosmic conflict between order and chaos. Eventually, Annan and the giants were victorious, slaying most of the dragons and chaining Tiamat at the very bottom of what is now known as the Abyss. It is her screams and cries that gave form to the demons. Her blood, when it fell on the earth gave rise to many of the monsters and it is said that these first monsters are immortal.

Lesser Deities

These divinities often represent an aspect or set of aspects. An A, G or E indicates their allegiance to Abbathor, Magubliet or Corellon respectively. Such deities typically appear as a member of that species. The unaligned may choose as needed.

Auril (A): The Frostmaiden. Goddess of ice, snow and winter. She acts as Abbathor’s enforcer. The further north you go the more temples to her will you find. Burn things, valuable things to get through winter.

Azuth (A): God of wizardry and arcane knowledge. The toady god. He serves as Abbathor’s wizard, advisor and grand vizier. If you wish success in scholarly pursuits or desire lost knowledge then pray to Azuth.

Bane: The Lord of All. A very presumptuous title for a relatively young deity. It is said this god of war, conquest and tyranny has been hard at work on some secret project which nears completion. Worship of Bane is confined to warlords and petty kings. It is banned in the civilised lands of Dwarf, Low Elf and Hobgoblin.

Beshaba: Lady of Fortune: A fickle and capricious goddess, she is more the goddess of misfortune, calamity and also revenge. If you have been scorned seek her out. Beshaba graces/bedevils all three divine courts. She has been mistress to many to their subsequent misfortune. Her servants are those beautiful, wonderful and terrific beings, the succubi.

Bhaal (M): God of blood, death and murder. Revered by assassins and executioners Bhaal is the god to go to when you want someone dead. He is overlord of all assassins and their organisations. His shadow cultists are both reviled and sought out in equal measure.

Cyric (M): God of Lies. Advisor to Maglubiyet and god of cunning, trickery, intrigue and deception. This god says he has no temples or organised priesthood as he needs none. Every lie and deception is considered a prayer to him.

Gond (A). God of Craftsmen: The god of industry, smithing, mining and hard work. All who work with great skill should honour this diety. His temples are common and many workplaces will have a small statue or shrine so that the master craftsman may supervise the work. To earn his favour one should sacrifice something of great value that you have made yourself. Worship of Gond is popular among city folk.

Ilmater: The broken god. God of mercy, endurance and the ending of suffering. Also known as the foolish god, Ilmater is looked down upon by most other deities and his worship scorned by right thinking peoples. Ilmater cults are however tenacious and popular among those who suffer at the hands of the mighty. Ilmater works to bring about a better world where suffering is eased for all. This is a thankless and impossible task. His only ally is the equally scorned Torm.

Loviatar (A): Goddess of pain. misery and hope. Abbathor’s torturer. Loviatar is tasked with punishing those who strayed from the path. The unworthy are corrected in her halls of pain as are rebels, malcontents and other enemies. It goes without saying that Ilmater and Lovitar are most mortal enemies.

Malar (E) : God of the Wild Hunt. Corellon’s huntsman and leader of the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a great elven frenzy of riding out to hunt, pursue and run down all they may find. His province is also that of all predatory monsters. A small sacrifice to Malar and you may be granted success in capturing, taming or allying yourself with some terrible beast.

Mask: God of thieves. Like her brother Bhaal, Mask is the capo de capo of all thieves, brigands, pirates and robbers. Your gang, your crew, your guild may have a mortal leader but she is the over-boss and due her rightful ten percent.

Myrkyl: God of Death and the Undead. All worship Myrkyl in the end. Die and you find yourself in his cold halls. If not claimed then Myrkyl will take you and use you to build his Wall of the Faithless where your eternal screams will please him. Myrkyl is also Lord of Undeath. All Undead are said to be his servants and act to hasten your journey to his halls.

Mystra (M): Goddess of Magic. This goddess is magic, she is in the ebb and weave and flow of magic about the world. She cares little how it is used only that it is. She patronises Maglubiyet since Abbathor’s mortal followers would constrain, dominate and control her. She hates wizards especially. Any sorcerer seeking additional power would do well to sacrifice a wizard to her.

Savras (M) Should a Hobgoblin have need of knowledge, be it mundane or mystical he would do well to attend to The Mighty One’s chief seer. With the right sacrifice Savras can see and reveal all. He does well in Magubliet’s court and his mortal followers are respected and honoured in Hobgoblin society. The servant of Mystra.

Sune (A) Goddess of love and beauty. Goddess also of the moon Sune is revered by all who wish to be well regarded and loved for their magnificence. She cares little but for the adoration both mortals and divines shower upon her. She is also the patron of poets, inspiration and artists.

Talos (A): The storm god. A god of storms, battle and unbridled chaos. Talos has temples so that weather is kept fair and good. He is particuarly revered at ports and one should always sacrifice to Talos before setting sail. His gift to his mortal followers is thunderbolt iron, metal from the skies that may be fashioned into weapons even mightier than Magubliet’s.

Tempus: The berserker god. Talos’s crazier and wilder brother. He is on good terms with Gruumsh and many orcs pray to him before battle. Tempus has fought with all gods on all sides for he cares not who or why he fights only that there is fighting. Tempus and Talos often compete for Bershaba’s favours. No succubi will slay a follower of either god although they may well be enslaved.

Torm: The good god. The idiot’s god. Torm exemplifies righteous and just rule. He is thus scorned and his worship outlawed. An ally of Ilmater, both gods would desire the current regime in the divine and mortal realms changed for the better. If Torm has one failing, it is that he is besotted by Sune. And that goddess likes things as they are. Often she has foiled Torm’s plans with promises of earning her favour.

Umberlee; Goddess of the ocean and the depths. A strange and fey goddess. Rumoured to be an ascended dragon, Umberlee commands all of monsters of the deep. Venture into or across her realm at your peril, for she commands many strange things that lie beneath the waves.

This is not a nice, nor happy set of gods. They exhibit ‘every madness and vice’. This is intentional. All too often in fantasy it is hard to see why anyone would be bad. Good is too powerful. Being good is demonstrably rewarded and obviously the better choice. Here the powers of good are rare, outlawed or enslaved by the dominant evil powers. And those dark powers reward those who enforce the status quo. Being good may be a challenge, but no one said a hero’s life was easy.