Spes Magna Games

I felt like writing up a quick pantheon, so I turned to Chaotic Shiny’s pantheon generator. I sought out new deities a few times, cutting and pasting the names and spheres of influence I thought most interesting until I had 12 gods and goddesses that I could divide into three groups. One Lawful, one of Neutrality, the other of Chaos. Then I added brief descriptions. Here’s the results:

The Lords of Law
Renceth, the God of Prophecy, Friendship, and Keys. Renceth knows the future, but he does not freely share that knowledge. Instead, he puts into the paths of his faithful the people and the resources necessary to open the doors that will be encountered. Those who ignore Renceth’s gifts find their paths full of obstacles whereas the observant find their paths full of opportunities.

Taiath, the God of the Underworld. Taiath judges the souls of the dead on the Balance. Those who tip the scales toward Lawful are rewarded with the ineffable joys of the heavenly realms. Those who tip the scales toward Chaos are plunged into the terrors of the hells. Those who do not tip the scales at all wander the purgatorial fields in between.

Veshah, the Goddess of Good, Archery, and Music. Veshah represents the good things in life. She defends her commmunity with her bow and arrows, and she enriches the spirit with her music. Complex exhibitions of orchestral archery are part of Veshah’s high rites.

Zazic, the Goddess of Knowledge. Zazic collects and collates everything that can be known. She reveals the patterns within disciplines and the relationships between fields of knowledge.

The Watchers
Alousavn, the God of Inspiration. Alousavn grants flashes of insight and motivation to achieve. He is favored by poets, musicians, artisans, inventors, and those in need of hope.

Droainon, the Goddess of Water and Sorrow. Droainon causes rivers to flow, tides to rise and fall, and rain to fall. She also helps her faithful give testimony to their sorrow through the cleansing wash of their tears. She represents both that which is necessary for life and the pain that life inevitably entails.

Kulloe, the God of Magic. Kulloe taught the first magic-users the secrets of wizardry, and to this day he watches those who delve into such secrets. He seldom interferes with how those secrets are used unless a magic-user brings shame upon the arcane arts.

Tourr, the Goddess of Abundance and Fate. Tourr chooses who prospers and who doesn’t. She rewards her faithful as she sees fit. It is the faithful one’s task to grapple with and to accept the consequences of Tourr’s decisions.

The Havoc
Cro, the God of Truth, Chaos, and Opposites. Cro always speaks the truth. Cro always lies. Cro stands firm against what is evil. Cro revels in evil, his hands stained with innocent blood. Cro is all things, and all things are Cro.

Moannah, the Goddess of Desire. Moannah gently kindles the embers of desire, nurturing the warmth of wanting. She adds fuel to the fire, stoking it with jealousy, greed, and obsession. She turns desire into an all-consuming fire.

Seskoe, the Goddess of Winter, Witches, and Creation. Seskoe turns water to ice, rain to snow, and sorrow to callousness. She is served by witches who seek to swallow life’s warmth. At the same time, Seskoe represents creation, but devoid of the light of inspiration. She creates without originality or love for her creations.

Tronsos, the God of Thieves and Beauty. Tronsos doesn’t reward his faithful. Instead, his faithful take their rewards from those unable to keep them from being taken. Of all rewards, beauty is the most prized, and beauty must be possessed and hidden away, safe from covetous eyes.

Tags: fantasy pantheon, Swords & Wizardry

Okay, I admit it. I love Grace Jones. Well, not her personally. We’ve never met, although I have seen her once in concert in a nightclub in Oaha, Hawaii. But I do love her music, her voice, and I find her various presentations of herself fascinating. How I could not turn Grace Jones into a demonic servitor of the god of deceit?

For Swords & Wizardry:

Masked Diva
Hit Dice: 8+16
Armor Class: 8 [11] (due to DEX)
Attacks: by weapon (1d8)
Saving Throw: 8+
Special: 18 DEX, backstab x3, immune to deception, half damage from non-magic weapons, magic resistance (50%), magical abilities, thieving skills
Move: 15
Alignment: Chaotic
Challenge Level/XP: 12/2,000

A masked diva is type of demon that serves Li, god of deceit. Infrequently, one is sent to bedevil and assist Li’s faithful. She may also be sent to destroy those who offend Li. A masked diva possesses incredible dexterity. She can backstab as an 8th-level thief, and has the thieving abilities of the same, but with a +20% bonus to hide in shadows and move silently (75% and 80%, respectively). It is impossible to deceive a masked diva. She always sees through disguises (including magical ones), detects illusions for what they are, and cannot be fooled by even the most clever of lies. A masked diva sings and dances with great skill. Her songs have magical properties as well. A masked diva can “cast” charm monster, confusion, fear, or suggestion at will through the power of her song. The songs are so potent that saving throws against their effects are made with a -2 penalty.

Tags: Grace Jones, monsters, Swords & Wizardry

For Swords & Wizardry:

Sleeping Knight
Hit Dice: 9+9
Armor Class: 2 [17] (platemail & shield)
Attacks: longsword (1d8+2)
Saving Throw: 6+
Special: 17 Strength, multiple attacks, parry enemy attacks, sleep eternally
Move: 12
Alignment: Lawful or Chaotic
Challenge Level/XP: 10/1,400

A sleeping knight is an enchanted warrior who rests in eternal slumber as a guardian over some place, be it a kingdom, a mountain pass, a tomb, et cetera. While the nature of guarded site varies, it is always home to dozens if not scores of ravens. When the sleeping knight’s site is threatened, the ravens die, and the knight awakens to confront the menace. A sleeping knight is treated as a 9th-level fighter with a 17 Strength. He gains multiple attacks against creatures of 1 HD or less, and he can parry enemy attacks. A sleeping knight does not age, breathe, or require food or water while he slumbers, and there seems to be no limit to how long his sleep may last. Sleeping knights are not undead creatures.

Tags: monsters, Swords & Wizardry

For Swords & Wizardry:

Golem, Book
Hit Dice: 5 (25 hit points)
Armor Class: 8 [11]
Attacks: 2 fists (1d6)
Saving Throw: 12+
Special: Answer questions, healed by magic scrolls, hit only by magic weapons, immune to most spells
Move: 12
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 8/800

A book golem is a servant created by a powerful cleric or magic-user to assist with research. Only +1 or better magic weapons can harm a book golem. A book golem is immune to spells that do not involve fire. It takes +1 point of damage per spell level from fire spells. A book golem can be healed by adding a magic scroll to its pages. The golem heals 1d4 points of damage per spell level contained on the scroll. The scroll can never be retrieved once it heals the golem. Three times per day, the golem will answer a “yes/no” question. There is a 50% base chance the golem has the knowledge available to answer a question. This increases by 5% for every point of Intelligence above 12 the golem’s creator possessed. If the golem cannot answer the question, there is a 50% chance it gives the wrong answer. This chance decreases by 5% for every point of Intelligence above 12 the golem’s creator possessed.

Tags: monsters, Swords & Wizardry

Submitted to Gorgonmilk’s sources of magic community project:

The Gibbering Sea
At the end of the last age, the armies of Law and the hordes of Chaos battled in the valley pass between Ancient Kardmon and the Blasted Heaths. Thousands died, and beleagured chaos wizards unleashed the Sleepless Dust from Beyond the Pale. Reality collapsed under the eldritch weight, and the valley vanished, leaving behind a crater hundreds of miles in diameter and scores of yards in depth. In the centuries since, rain, run off from snowcapped peaks, et cetera, have filled the crater with icy water stained black by the impure earth of the crater. When the ebon waters bubble and lap on the shore, the sounds of countless voices gibbering in sorrow can be heard.

Chaotic spellcasters who survive on nothing but the Gibbering Sea’s foul waters in the surrounding wilderness for a fortnight can tap into the unholy power of the crater. (Those that don’t survive are seldom seen again, but a few wander back to civilization irrevocably insane.)

A chaotic spellcaster who has tapped into the Gibbering Sea’s power selects his spells as normal for his class. He can, however, select one spell of a level no higher than one less his maximum allowed spell level from another class’s spell lists by praying to the sea’s essence. For example, a cleric that can cast 1st- and 2nd-level spells could select a 1st-level magic-user spell, and a magic-user able to cast up to 3rd-level spells could select a 1st- or 2nd-level cleric spell.

Tags: place of power, Swords & Wizardry