Kamarr, Goddess of Magic and Secrets

Priests of Kamarr view magic as the ultimate goal, the only Art worth pursuing. They also believe in the ordered use of magic. Chaos and randomness are repugnant and evil. Kamarr despises the wanton wasteful use of magic, and Her priests often police mages' guilds and colleges. Indeed, they are often the founders of such.

There have always been very few temples dedicated to Kamarr. Of those few, most are kept very secret, in the private chambers of a guildmaster, or in a hidden and magically protected cave. Many magi resent the priesthood's attempts to regulate the use of magic, yet Her followers are numerous.

Some come to Kamarr because they sincerely believe in the need for controls on magic. Others approach Her out of need for aid against magic. And still others seek the goddess out so that She may guard and ward items of Power.

(The God and Goals) - describe the God and his or her goals (The Worshippers) - Who goes to worship this god and why (The Priesthood - Hierarchy and Sects) - describe the priesthood, its heirarchy, and distribution (Places of Worship) - describe how their temples and shrines look

Aid. The priesthood must offer aid against any magical threat. This aid can be in any form commensurate with the threat, except offering knowledge (Kamarr's priests are required to do this anyway).

Gather Knowledge. The priest must gather information about new spells, magic items, or other matters relating to magic. The priest need not steal the magic, only write down information on it. It is left up to the individual priest to decide whether or not a new spell, for example, needs to be acquired for further study.

Guidance. Lay priests and Warders must always offer advice on magical matters when asked, unless the questioner obviously intends harm to the priest.

Protection. Any time a temple to Kamarr is under attack, all priests of 6th level and higher will know where the temple is. They will not know the nature of the attack. All priests who are alerted to this attack must proceed at once to that temple to defend it. The knowledge gained at 6th level is sufficient for a Teleport to the altar, as if the priest had studied the altar carefully.

Secrecy. All temples to Kamarr are kept secret. They are repositories of magic and knowledge. Under no circumstances will an outsider be permitted in a temple to Kamarr. Furthermore, the priests must keep their true faith secret if at all possible. If a priest fails to keep the fact that she is a priest of Kamarr a secret, she may be penalized experience points - in addition to any other results of such failure. This does not mean that the priest cannot reveal his goddess to others, only that there must be a very good reason for it, or there is no other choice in order to accomplish Kamarr's goals.

Sovannight. On the eve of the New Year, every priest of Kamarr has his or her spellcasting level increased by 2, in both Wizard and Priestly magics. If the priest is also a Wizard, his or her Wizard level is also increased by 2 (whether dual- or multi-classed, the temporary level increase still occurs). This could easily allow the priest to cast spells not normally available to him. However, the increase will last for one night only - from the setting of the sun, to dawn. This is a time of great importance for the Warders. On this night, they can work their greatest magics.

Tithe. Every priest is required to donate 5% of his or her wealth to the priesthood.

Vigilance. Vigilance against the misuse of magic. Misuse is defined as causing major shifts in ley lines or nodes (see the Leylines Article), destruction of non-cursed/non-harmful magical works, using magic to abuse other beings (example: Mass Charming a town to raise a tower in a single day). The priest must first prevent further damage by the misuser, then undo the harm to the best of his or her ability. The general laws are:

1) Magic should not be used when other means will suffice. Example: Using magic to build a fortress to meet the oncoming Karanukese horde is a perfectly valid use. Using magic to build a fortress when there is no pressing need would result in a priest of Kamarr working to undo the magic and punish the instigator.

2) Creating magical duplicates of living beings is forbidden. No exceptions. If the Warders had their way, the spells Simulacrum and Clone would be wiped from existence. All who make use of these spells are marked for death. There have been a very few exceptions to this law in the past.

3) Magic that causes cataclysmic events is forbidden. Examples: The destruction of Anryth - the priesthood still seeks to undo all works by the Drow Archimage Kashai Kith'ain for the destruction of Anryth. By the same token, the priesthood is constantly seeking a way to return the Battleplain to the green, fertile hills it once was.

4) Destruction of implements of the Art. A priest of Kamarr would actively seek to prevent the destruction of any non-cursed magical devices - even an Unholy Reaver. Priests are permitted to use items such as a Rod of Cancellation and Mordenkainen's Disjunction to preserve their own lives, the priesthood, and in pursuit of Kamarr's goals.

5) There are some magics and spells that were not meant for mortal hands. Here are a few: Clone, Simulacrum, Dragonsbreath, any permanent, non-natural Gate to another plane, Virus Charm, Mass Charm, and several others.

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff.

Priests of Kamarr will do just about everything they can to keep their identity as a priest of Kamarr secret. They will not kill people who find out who they really are, unless those individuals reveal the knowledge to others. Even then, it is likely that the priest will use spells of memory alteration to "fix" the problem.

Kamarr's followers are the judges of the Art. They weigh the use of magical power against accomplishing the same task without magic. Given a choice of flying across a chasm and using the rope bridge, the priest will encourage using the rope bridge - unless he is being pursued by an Orc horde.

These priests will do everything they can (within reason) to acquire odd, unusual, or unique spells and magical devices for return to a temple (for study) or for their own use. At the very least, they will want to stay close to such items so they can study them, record their use and effects, and gather more knowledge about their history and making.

In large cities or towns, Kamarrites will spend their free time deep in libraries, searching for lost bits of enchanted lore, or interviewing other sages, wizards, and bards for information of a magical nature. They will make a point of sending letters to their fellow priests in the area, as well as regular reports back home.

They should come across to other PCs as something of wizard/thieves in behavior. They keep their secrets, revealing only knowledge that is safe for other mortals to handle. It is very important to remember that these priests have access to over 90% of all mage spells. Acquiring some rare gramarye for use on an adventure normally involves only a request made in person to a temple of Kamarr. They will not share such magics with fellow mages (unless they are also followers of Kamarr).

On witnessing the misuse of magic, the Kamarrite will become enraged - lecturing the transgressor at the very least, or confiscating his spellbooks and magical devices if the situation warrants it. Use of the spells Simulacra or Clone will result in an attack 99% of the time.

Lolth

The Elves tell of a time long past, before the rise and fall of Tesh, before the Cataclysm, when their people spread throughout the forests of Avamor. They learned the greater magics from Dragonkind, choosing those that were most harmonious with the world, teaching them to the younger, shorter-lived races in turn.

During this lost age, there arose disagreement among the Aelvenar. Some among the Twelve Families thought it best to control the shorter-lived races, to guide them more appropriately, and teach them to live with the natural world. Their kin grew concerned as this control turned to domination and a twisted curiosity of the younger races' capacity for cruelty to their own kind. Even Corellon appeared to warn his children that they were well upon the Shadowed Path, and only ruin lay at its end.

His warnings unheeded, Corellon and his pure children watched in horror as their kin became adept at cruelty, as they trafficked with demons and other foul creatures in search of yet more power, as they fed upon their own kind. Unable to stand their kin's excesses any longer, the Aelvenar rose up against their own kind for the first and last time in the history of their race.

The war was short and bloody, filled with a hate that wounded those Aelvenar who walked the Path of Light. But they were victorious, and Corellon forbade the light of the sun to those of his children who walked the Shadowed Path. Only by their own redemption would they ever again live within the sheltering forests, drink from its cool streams, know peace beneath the ash and the oak. Forever more, they would be known as the Drow, the Fallen.

Reeling from defeat at the hands of their kin and abandonment by their god, the Drow retreated deep beneath the earth. They nurtured their hatred for their surface kin, constantly plotting ways to destroy them. They bargained with, and eventually worshipped a demoness named Lolth as their patron. Lolth carefully fed the Drow hatred, causing them to war on each other as well as their surface kin.

For ages, this conflict ran red with blood. Drow cities were destroyed by the Elves and their allies. Elven forests were burned or laid waste by the Drow and their pawns. Some say the greatest conspiracy of all was achieved when the Drow finally convinced the Empire of Tesh that the demihumans were the source of the Teshian's ills, and inspired an unspeakable slaughter of the Dwaenar and Aelvenar at human hands. Whatever the cause, the Aelvenar were nearly wiped from the surface of Avamor. They were scattered for centuries. Some took shelter in the Silver Forest beyond the Trail of Tears, protected by both Corellon and Moradin. Others found refuge in the last remnant of the ancient forests in Peacewood, where they continued their silent, deadly war with the Fallen. Still others were taken as slaves in lost Avernia, and were destroyed with that land during the Illithid War. Finally, perhaps the eldest of the Aelvenar cultures, the Ci'thas in Karuthea closed their borders to all, fighting desperately to survive as the world turned against them.

In time, the Elves re-established contact with each other. They once again opened their borders to other, shorter-lived races - mostly at the urging of Prince Seloveyan Keliveyr, perhaps the greatest leader of the Aelvenar ever. They grieved over the loss of their kin in Avernia, even as they strove against the mind flayers. When the Illithid used a magical disease created by a rogue Drow wizard, Lizarren, to decimate the Drow, the Elves of Peacewood took in the survivors, offering them redemption and a return to the warm light of the sun. Now, only the eldest and most evil Drow remain beneath the surface, dying or becoming undead. The greatest wound of the Aelvenar has almost healed.

Favored Weapon: Dagger (usually poisoned with spider venom).