Deities, pg 3 - TIW

Accuris, The Sleeping God, The Unnamed

Description: Priests of Accuris see death as the ultimate fulfillment of peace. Therefore, they hate and despise the greater undead, especially vampires and liches, and will almost always attack and destroy them on sight.

Accuris, as well as his priests, seeks as may souls as possible to enter his realm. His priests are always seeking converts, and in many cases will show stubborn or insulting people "the true glory of darkness" (i.e. murder them). This is the province of a special sect of His faithful: the Gatherers.

There are very few temples dedicated to Accuris. Most civilized lands will not tolerate a temple to a god of death. But they are still present fulfilling needed duties that others would find distasteful. Usually, Accuris's priests will be found performing their tasks at the nearest graveyard, or at battlefields giving the last rites appropriate to the deceased's culture and ending the suffering of the dying.

The priesthood of Accuris are not necessarily "bad" or "evil." They do not seek power or fame of any sort. They view themselves as a necesary part of a greater cycle through which all souls must pass. Those souls which break the cycle must be brought back into it, willing or not. Above all, this order is patient.

Everyone comes to Accuris eventually.

Sects: There are three sects of the Sleeping God.

Watchers. Watchers are the guardians against the Undead, who seek to cheat the Afterlife. They seek out and destroy all undead they can find, especially the greater undead. Watchers are the most likely to be encountered on adventures. Almost all Watchers are Neutral Good.

Guides. Guides are the caretakers of the travellers (the dead and dying). They prepare the bodies of the dead for burial, according to the deceased's beliefs. They care not what Powers the traveller worshipped in life -- all must stand before Accuris for judgement in the Afterlife. The dying are made as comfortable as possible, even if this means cutting a throat. Guides are usually found in hospitals. They tend to be exclusively Neutral.

Gatherers. Those who seek to gain more than their share of lifespan, or those who take souls from the Sleeping God (swords of life stealing, for example) are the province of the Gatherers. It is the task of the Gatherers to gather travellers and send them on their way. Some societies call this assassination. Indeed, a quick knife in the back or a morsel of venomed food may be used to help the traveller on his or her journey, but this is for the traveller's benefit. After all, there is an appointment with Death to keep. Gatherers, by nature, are Neutral Evil. They can be found anywhere. They are the enforcement of Accuris's will and the avengers of wrongs done to his worshippers.

Bonus Proficiencies: Watchers - Undead lore; Guides - Herbalism (various drugs, especially pain-killers); Gatherers - Alchemy (poisons).

Nonweapon Proficiencies Required: Religion.

Nonweapon Proficiencies Recommended: Reading/Writing, any language.

Weapon Proficiencies Required: Scythe.

Nonweapon Proficiency Group Crossovers: Priest, General.

Weapons Permitted: Battle axe (usually styled as a headman's axe), dagger/dirk, knife, lasso (often tied in the fashion of a noose), scythe, sickle, stiletto, sword/khopesh, sword/short.

Armor Permitted: None; no shields.

Dress. Accuris's priests must dress in flowing gray robes with black trim and ceremonial masks on holy days, or when performing any of the duties listed here.

Burial. Priests of the Sleeping God must see that any sentient being he or she kills is buried (or that whatever ritual is required for the creature is performed). Furthermore, they must properly bury the remains of any deceased beings they may encounter.

Guidance. Priests of Accuris are expected to guide those who are near death into the afterlife as painlessly as possible. At the very least, the priest should not add to the soul's torment. That is Accuris's judgement and not for the likes of mere mortals.

Last Rites. Performed over the dying. This duty must be performed whenever it is requested.

Tithes. 10% of all the priest's treasure must be donated to the priesthood.

Vigilance against any being which is unnaturally keeping Death at bay (undead). Those who use longevity magics, and are still alive, are usually exempt from this vigilance.

Divine Protection: This isn't so much a granted power as a sign of respect and fear. When pursuing their duties of burial and last rites, described above, followers of Accuris are sacrosanct. There are extremely few intelligent beings who will harm Accuris's priests in performance of these duties - usually because the same priest may be called upon to care for an enemy's dead as well as an ally's. Baelites and Settites do not grant this respect and will likely use the opportunity to murder the Faithful.

Inspire Fear: Same as the 4th level Magic User Spell. Useable 2/day.

Know Alignment: Useable at will 1/day.

Turn Undead: The priest power. Accuris's Priests turn undead as if they were two levels higher than their current level. They can only turn or destroy Undead - extra-planar creatures are unaffected. Nor can the priests of Accuris control undead.

Hold Undead: Gained at 3rd level. Same as the 3rd level Mage spell. For every 4 levels of the priest, this spell can be cast 1/day at will (1st-4th level, use 1/day; 5th-8th level, use 2/day etc.)

Peace: (Guides Only) Gained at 7th level. Guides may invoke Peace by touch. This has the same effect of a Friends spell on most beings. On those who are mortally wounded or otherwise near death, Peace removes pain and suffering, calms the final throes, and allows Accuris to gather souls unmarred by the torments of the final clutching at life. The priest may take no hostile action against those he invokes Peace upon without incurring Accuris's wrath. Briefly.

Mark of Death: (Gatherers Only) Gained at 9th level. Lasts for one week. Once per month, a Gatherer may touch a creature and remove all protections and immunities that it has. Creatures hit only by magical weapons become vulnerable to mundane ones, attacks to which the creature is immune (takes no damage) inflict half damage, attacks to which it is resistant (takes half damage, or -2/die, etc) inflict full damage. All saves are made at -4. Any priest of Accuris will see Accuris's mark upon the creature on sight. This mark cannot be concealed by any power save that of another Greater God. All priests of Accuris who use Contact Other Plane, Divination, Commune or similar magics will automatically be informed of any creature which has received this mark. Note, the Mark of Death is effective only against beings which have a soul. This does include some Undead (liches, vampires, shades, etc.), but does not include truly immortal creatures, such as Dragons, Unicorns, Drakes, Elementals, Demons, and so forth. This power is only rarely invoked.

Bane of Unlife: (Watchers Only) Gained at 10th level. This power allows a Watcher to create a haven safe from Undead. The only requirements are that the place be bound by four walls and that it be a built structure. A natural setting surrounded by four cliff faces will not do. This power is limited to a single room in areas of multiple rooms. Within this area, lesser (unintelligent) Undead are immediately destroyed on entering. Greater (intelligent) Undead must make a save vs.. spells at -7 to enter, and then take 2d10 hp damage/round they remain within the Bane. Furthermore, any magical powers, including life energy draining, the creature uses must first overcome a magic resistance of 3%/level of the Watcher who invoked the Bane of Unlife. This ability cannot be used on holy ground dedicated to another faith, nor does it affect beings magically controlled by Undead (unless they are themselves Undead). Only one area may be so warded at a time. Warding a second area nullifies any previous such protections bestowed by the priest. Multiple priests warding the same area has no effect. This power takes 1 hour of prayer to invoke, 1 segment to remove.

Finger of Death: Gained at 15th level. Usable 1/week. Strong in His faith, the greatest of Accuris's followers may snatch a soul from the body with a mere gesture.

Make the priest able to tell when Accuris has laid claim upon their soul: The priest will briefly see a dark cloaked figure behind the soon-to-be-deceased, sometimes wielding a scythe, sometimes not. The figure will gesture towards or strike at the "victim." The clearer the figure is, the more imminent, and likely, death is. Make the player aware that this is not certain death - the priest may (rarely) take actions to prevent or delay the death.

Gatherers should not heal even their allies and friends in the middle of combat. Instead, they should wait until the battle is done before granting magical healing of any sort. This is out of the near fanatical belief that if Accuris intends to claim a person, the priest has no right to interfere. But, once the fighting is over, it is obvious that Accuris wished that person to live, and it is alright to heal them. Gatherers should frequently talk about how they are looking forward to harvesting the souls of their "friends" for their Lord, give a slow death's grin whenever someone nearby is in danger, and stand behind that endangered person with their axe ready - to grant a merciful, quick death "if it becomes necessary." Gatherers should also speak in a slow, "graveyard", sepulchral tone of voice. Make frequent use of the Inspire Fear power, especially when they are being delayed.

Watchers should generally act kindly, until the conversation turns towards life and death, or especially Undead. Then they become passionate and fanatical (i.e. unable to be reasoned with). Watchers should be very quick to anger when their task (hunting Undead) is interfered with: "My friend, it is my fervent and dear hope that you will cease to thwart My Lady's will, for She will likely claim your soul this very evening for having the temerity to delay Her most humble servant for even a second. Verily, She may well visit your entire household and speed every man, woman and child to the executioner's block if you don't move your fat, sniveling carcass from my path!" They should use Inspire Fear very rarely. They sometimes have to work with Paladins of Avaryan, after all. (Note: Accuris is referred to as both "he" and "she".

Guides should be very quiet and unnoticed. They should come across as mystics, doing Accuris's True Work. They try to be inoffensive to everyone. They will behave almost like servants, even while performing their work. In discussion or argument, they will side with the course that will result in the greatest number of deaths; but will never seek personal confrontation with their companions (read: tools).

Scythe of Dismissal. These are powerful weapons wielded by the priests of Accuris. A Scythe of Dismissal can not even be touched by anyone but a follower of Accuris. The scythe inflicts normal damage (2-9/1-6 S or M/L) on sentient living creatures and is +4 to hit and damage. In this case, the being must save vs. death magic or be immediately sent before Accuris for judgement (see below). If the scythe hits any undead of less than 6 hit dice, the undead is instantly destroyed (no save). All other undead take double damage and must save vs. death magic (at -4) or be sent before Accuris for judgement.

Accuris's judgement can take the following forms: 1) The being will be allowed to continue its existence. However, the being cannot attack the priest who wielded the scythe ever again; nor can that priest ever attack that being, whether said being was undead or not. 2) Being (if undead) is returned to life as it was at the moment it became an undead. This can be very detrimental to a lich who died (and thus became a lich) of a heart attack. 3) Death. Being has become an abomination in the eyes of Accuris. This includes most forms of undead (except in special circumstances), mages who have used magic to extend their lives beyond 300 years, and murderers who've taken lives before it was time.

Amara, The Silver Lady

Amara, the Silver Lady, is the protector of forests and trees and all who live in or near them. Many Druids and rangers call to Her. She is the First Handmaiden of Avaryan.

Any who preserve the woodlands are favored by Amara. Great is Her wrath towards those who destroy the forests. All Her worshipers try their best to protect and live with Her trees. It is often said that Dryads are Her children. In fact, a Dryad is often less likely to try and Charm a priest of Amara, lending credence to this belief.

Sects: There are no sects of Amara's Priests, nor are they especially organized into a true clergy. Amara's priests are the caretakers of growing things, forest and plain, desert and jungle. The Silver Lady's followers are always on good terms with Druids.

Dress. Priests of the Silver Lady tend to dress according to the season of the region they are in. For example, take a priest in the forest. In the spring, bright greens with splashes of yellow and red; summer brings the deeper greens and natural browns; fall, different shades of red, brown, and yellow; and in winter, whites and grays.

Guidance. Priests of Amara are duty-bound to teach others how to care for the plants that live in their land.

Marriage. Marriages performed by Amara's priests are always done in natural settings.

Tithe. Amara's priests never retain wealth beyond what they need to live on. All excess wealth will be used to further the aims of the Silver Lady. How that wealth is used is up to the individual priest.

Vigilance. Followers of the Silver Lady are always vigilant for destruction of the natural environment. When they find such destruction, they will often call on rangers and Druids for aid.

Weapon & Armor Restrictions:
Weapons Permitted: Blowgun, bow, club, net, quarterstaff, scythe, sickle.

Armor Permitted: No armor. All wooden shields (no metal or leather).

Other Limitations:
Priests of this sect may not wear leathers or furs in their clothing.

Granted Powers:
Identification: Priests of Amara can identify plants of any sort with perfect accuracy.

Defiance of Obstacle: Amara's faithful can pass through overgrown areas like the Druid, but can do so at 1st level.

Dancing Lights: Same as the 1st level mage spell. Gained at first level and useable 1/day for every three levels of the priest.

Phantom Steed: Useable 1/month. Gained at 6th level.

Sanctuary: When attacked by natural animals or any form of plant, all priests of Amara are treated as if they have a permanent Sanctuary (1st level Priest) spell in effect about them.

Solid Fog: Useable 1/month. Gained at 7th level.

Wall of Fog: Useable 1/week. Gained at 4th level.

Followers: Priests of the Silver Lady do not gain followers in the normal sense. Often, they will have used Animal Friendship on animals native to the area in which they live. In addition, the priest may call on any local rangers, woodsmen, or Druids for additional aid. This does not normally require any negotiations on the part of the priest - the rangers, woodsmen, and/or Druids answer such calls as a part of their profession.