Deities of the Iron Kingdoms

The Primary Gods of Men - Morrow & Thamar

Humans in the Iron Kingdoms have two main patron deities. The prophet Morrow (neutral good) is the lord of goodness and light, and is worshipped by most humans. His fraternal twin sister Thamar (neutral evil) is the patron of the selfish and wicked. The two started out as ordinary humans, thousands of years ago, but they came to believe that any person could improve their lot in life almost without end. After a long, hard path, they ascended into divinity and enlightenment, sacrificing their physical bodies so that they could walk the earth in spirit, providing guidance to those who needed it. The twins' journey is recorded in the weighty Enkheiridion of Ascension, the primary religious text of the Iron Kingdoms.

Sadly, the siblings fought near the end of their journey, and their paths diverged. Morrow chose the path of selflessness, deciding to guide and protect Men in their journey through life, nudging them to the path of virtue and self-improvement that he discovered. Thamar chose to guide Men in a different way. She is the whisperer in shadows, always urging people to take the quick and easy path, to maximize their short-term earthly gains and pleasures regardless of the consequences.

It is said that every human at some point has to make a choice between the two paths - that Morrow and Thamar eventually visit everyone and secretly test them. "The Volition," as the trial is called, takes the form of a moral dilemma, usually early in life. Few people can pinpoint when their Volition was, for the gods are subtle and clever, never showing themselves directly. The rare individuals that can clearly see the test and the gods before them are blessed, and almost always become clerics or paladins.

Clerics of Morrow and Thamar can be of any good or evil alignment, respectively. They attempt to emulate their patron's lives, often traveling in their footsteps and attempting the same trials the twins undertook so long ago. Those that succeed become saintly beings who Ascend to take their place at Morrow or Thamar's side. These Ascendants (good) and Scions (evil) are very rare; only a score of people have ever Ascended to either god's side. Each Ascended are powerful entities in their own right, with their own philosophy and sphere of influence.

While the Church of Morrow has a very formal structure and rich history, the worship of Thamar is a solitary thing. Rarely will one see so much as a shrine in her name, and her clerics are secretive. However, almost all of the humans in the Iron Kingdoms are strong believers in the central teaching of both siblings - you create your own destiny, and your lot in life is not fixed at birth.

Domains for Morrow and Thamar's Clerics

Since the Men of the Iron Kingdoms have comparatively fewer gods than other game settings, there is more leeway within the clerical domains.

The Domains of Morrow: Good, Healing, Knowledge, Protection, Strength, Travel, War

The Domains of Thamar: Death, Destruction, Evil, Luck, Magic, Trickery, War

Morrow and Thamar are the principal deities, but the Ascended men and women are worshipped alongside them as patrons. Clerics which choose an Ascendant or Scion take one Domain from their patron, and the other from their god.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Morrow: Heavy Mace or Sword

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Thamar: Morningstar or Dagger

Ascendants of Morrow

The following lists all the current Ascendants which serve as Morrow's most powerful divine servants and serve as patrons for those who worship the god. Having a patron Ascendant is common both for clerics as well as pious laymen.

Name	Patron of...	Domain
Asc. Angellia	History, Lore and Knowledge	Knowledge
Asc. Corben	Alchemy, Astronomy, and Wizardry	Magic
Asc. Doleth	Sailors and Fishermen	Water
Asc. Ellena	Travelers and Adventurers	Travel
Asc. Gordenn	Farmers and Family	Plant
Asc. Katrena	Valor, Knighthood & Paladins	Good
Asc. Markus	Soldiers & Town Guards	War
Asc. Rowan	Downtrodden & Champion of the Poor	Protection
Asc. Sambert	Smiths, Stonemasons and Carpenters	Strength
Asc. Shevann	Merchants & Bankers	Luck
Asc. Solovin	Healers, Battle-Chaplains & Midwives	Healing

Scions of Thamar

The following lists all the current Scions which serve as Thamar's most powerful divine servants and serve as patrons for those who worship the goddess. Having a patron Scion is common both for evil clerics as well as superstitious criminals.

Name	Patron of...	Domain
Sc. Aidan	Grave-Robbers, Treasure Seekers and Adventurers	Earth
Sc. Bolis	Gamblers, Smugglers & Evil Merchants	Luck
Sc. Delesle	Necromancy and Death	Death
Sc. Drayce	Thieves & Corrupt Leaders	Trickery
Sc. Ekris	Infernalists, Diviners and Tyrants	Plant
Sc. Khorva	Patron of Assassins, Murderers, Thugs and Enforcer	Destruction
Sc. Lukas	Madmen, Rapists & the Depraved	Evil
Sc. Nivara	Wizards & Sorcerers	Magic
Sc. Roth	Soldiers, Mercenaries and Bandits	War
Sc. Stacia	Evokers, Arson, Champion of Female Wizardry	Fire

Man's Ancient Patron, Menoth

The worship of Menoth (lawful neutral) is ancient, predating the Church of Morrow by millennia. Menoth is a strict, vengeful deity, credited by most humans (even those who follow the Twins) with the creation of the world and mankind. It's unquestionable that Menoth exists, for his priests were once the powerful ruling class of the land. Alas for Menoth, the more uplifting and tolerant message of Morrow began to take hold with the people, and today the worship of Menoth is a minority faith everywhere except the Protectorate. Outside of the Protectorate, the largest minority serving Menoth is among the "Old Faith" of Khador, where many citizens cling tenaciously to the worship of their ancient creator.

Menoth is usually depicted as a masked giant, towering over his frightened worshippers. He demands adherence to a strict code of conduct - part of which is providing constant tribute to Menoth and his priests. The notion that a man may "ascend," so central to the worship of Morrow and Thamar, is blasphemy in the church of Menoth. To Menoth, man's place is to serve his creator, and his reward is to pass quietly into oblivion.

Domains for Menoth's Clerics

Menoth's clerics have access to the domains of Knowledge, Law, Strength and War. Some evil high-level clerics become Scrutators, the feared temple police and policy-makers. Powerful Scrutators can even gain access to the domains of Evil and Destruction.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Menoth: Flail

Cyriss, Maiden of Gears

Cyriss, Maiden of Gears, Mistress of Numbers, also known as the Clockwork Goddess, is a fairly recent addition to the land's pantheon. Her worship became known only a few centuries ago, at about the time Men and dwarves began to build sophisticated machines and delve into new kinds of math and philosophy. Cyriss is a true neutral goddess, largely unconcerned with the fate of individuals. Most of her effort is spent writing and overseeing the natural laws that govern the realm of science and engineering, though she will take action directly or through her followers when something threatens the natural order of things. She appears as a humanoid, but she is not a human goddess; her worshippers are largely human but also include a number of dwarves and even some gobbers and members of other races inclined toward engineering.

Understanding the mind of Cyriss and revealing the true nature of the multiverse is a process of divine revelation to her worshippers. For this reason engineers and scholars often pay Cyriss their respects, but true fanatics and clerics are hard to find with the culture of Men and dwarves so dominated by their traditional religions. However, with the spread of science and mechanika across the land, Cyriss may soon begin to increase the size of her flock.

Many of the most devout followers of Cyriss believe that machines are holy, and those who build and tend them are society's superior caste. Some even believe that in mathematics there may be found some superior method for managing the world's affairs - a place for everyone, and everyone in their place, with some kind of divine calculating machine overseeing everything with cold precision. Cyriss' evil worshippers are taking steps to build such a machine, but luckily they are few in number and thought to be far from their goal.

Domains for Cyriss' Clerics

The domains available to her clerics (which are extremely rare) are Knowledge, Protection and Travel.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Cyriss: Light mechano-flail

The Devourer Wurm

Although often referred to as a legendary monster rather than a god, the Devourer is the ancient foe of Menoth, bane of humanity's creator. Also known as the Beast of Many Shapes, Lord of Predators, and the Unsleeping One, the Devourer is an ancient force of natural chaos which hates everything civilized. When Menoth was the dominant religion, the Devourer was considered the great foe, although its role as enemy of mankind has been reduced since the rise of the twins.

Despite its reputation the Devourer has always drawn worshipers among many races, particularly those living in the wilds or of chaotic alignment. Many human barbarians, gobbers, trollkin, and ogrun worship the Devourer, and claim this god is the most ancient power from the dawn of the world. Since the near extinction of the human barbarian tribes, there are no longer any large territories in the hands of Devourer worshipers. The largest pockets are found in the mountains of Khador, the Bloodstone Marches, and the Scharde Islands. Small cults to the Devourer can be found across the Iron Kingdoms, usually in remote locations or in secret tunnels beneath cities and towns. Human druids in the Iron Kingdoms believe their power derives from the Devourer, but do not actually worship this entity.

Domains for the Devourer's Clerics

The Devourer is a chaotic-neutral deity and its clerics can be of any chaotic alignment and of any race. The domains available to its clerics are Animal, Chaos, Strength and Destruction.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for the Devourer Wurm: Axe

Great Fathers of the Dwarves

The dwarves do not have a single patron deity. Instead, they worship a group of divine forefathers, the thirteen paragons that spawned their race. These divine Great Fathers founded the original Thirteen Families millennia ago, and their blood is said to provide all dwarves with their legendary fortitude. The Great Fathers' most direct descendants are called the Stone Lords, and these powerful and respected individuals sit at the head of the dwarven Moot today as they have since the first days. Being strong with the Great Fathers' blood, the Stone Lords (who are all high-level paladins) are unusually hardy and live a very long time, often surpassing two hundred winters.

Each Great Father is, practically speaking, a demigod, though dwarven folk only worship them as a lawful good unity. An individual Great Father is never singled out as a cleric's sole patron, for this is considered disrespectful and ignorant. The Fathers as a group gave life to dwarvenkind, and as a group they will always be worshipped. Nonetheless, each Father has his own personality, holidays, parables and sphere of influence, and it is common to say a prayer or a curse in a particular Father's name as the situation warrants it.

The following are the names and influences of the Great Fathers:

Name	Influence
Dhurg	First Father of Battle (Master of Axes)
Dohl	Father of Mining
Dovur	First Father of Smithing (Weapons)
Ghrd	Father of Wealth and Jewelcraft
Godor	Father of Law and Oration
Hrord	Second Father of Battle (Master of Blades)
Jhord	Father of Spying and Information
Lodhul	Father of Feasting and Virility
Odom	Father of Magic and Secrets
Orm	Father of Building and Stonework
Sigmur	Father of History and Records
Udo	Third Father of Battle (Master of Hammers)
Uldar	Second Father of Smithing (Armor)

Domains for the Great Fathers' Clerics

dwarven clerics who worship the Fathers have access to the domains of Earth, Good, Healing, Law and War. Although some humans find it surprising, the majority of clerics of the Great Fathers are female. This tradition stems from the fact that the first clerics of the Great Fathers were their own wives, known as the Claywives. However male dwarves are also permitted to serve as clerics and have become more numerous in the last few centuries.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for the Great Fathers: Warhammer

The Doomed Gods of the Elves

The elves, once the world's dominant race, builders of the first civilization, are now concealing a terrible secret. Deep within the elven homeland of Ios, six great jeweled cities lie in ruins and decay. Only two of their great original cities remain: Iryss and the ancient capital, Shyrr. Cloistered away under the capital, below their most holy Fane, rests the weary form of the goddess of Spring... and she is dying. Scyrah, who helped give birth to elvenkind, beloved and last of the elven patrons, has no more than a century to live. Elven holy men know this with certainty, and believe nothing can prevent this fate. All of their other gods, around whom they built their magnificent cities, have vanished and never returned.

The cause of the gods' disappearance millennia ago is mysterious, but the effects have been profound. The formerly proud and powerful race has withdrawn into itself. The lands of Ios, once legendary for their beauty, now are shadowed and dying. The elves have become a race of orphans, adrift in fear and self-doubt. Their numbers are dwindling, and when the last goddess Scyrah finally passes on, no more Elf-children will be born at all. It is twilight for the elves, and there is no relief in sight.

Scyrah's clerics have a gut-churning dilemma before them. Each time they channel their patron's power, they take a bit of her strength and hasten her demise - and the demise of their entire race. At the same time, it is their duty as holy men to help those in need, and they know that elven society must be strong and faithful if Scyrah is to have any chance of survival. They agonize over each spell cast, trying to evaluate where the greater good lies. The priesthood has become fragmented in the last two centuries into three distinct sects, a reflection of the desperation of the elven people. The traditional Fane of Scyrah attends to the goddess in her last days, and encourages the elves to stay isolated and secretive. The radical and militant Retribution of Scyrah believes the vanishing of the gods and Scyrah's illness are a result of an attack upon them and wish to strike back against perceived enemies. Most hopeful is the somewhat naive Seekers sect, who think all is not yet lost and a solution to their doom awaits them if they look hard enough for it, perhaps with help from the other races.

Domains for Scyrah's Clerics

Scyrah is a chaotic good deity. Each of the major sects portrays Scyrah slightly differently, and picks from different domains.

The Fane of Scyrah choose the Domains of Animal, Earth, Healing, Plant and Protection.

Retribution of Scyrah clerics choose from the Domains of Chaos, War, and Healing.

Seeker clerics may choose from the Domains of Good, Healing, Knowledge or Protection.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Scyrah: Longsword

The Elven Divine Court

Following are the names of all eight elven gods. Only Scyrah knows what happened to the others, and she has refused to answer all questions on the topic. All are presumed dead or incapacitated, although the Nyss (winter elves) have kept the secret of the fate of the god of winter, Nyssor.

Name	Influence
Lacyr	Narcissar of Ages, former ruler of the gods
Ossyris	Incissar of Hours
Ayisla	Nis-Arsyr of Night
Nyrro	Arsyr of Day
Scyrah	Formerly Nis-Issyr of Spring, now Regent Narcissar
Lurynsar	Issyr of Summer
Lyliss	Nis-Scyir of Autumn
Nyssor	Scyir of Winter

Domains for Nyssor's Clerics

Among the Nyss, or winter elves as they are commonly known, Nyssor is worshiped as a patron instead of Scyrah. Nyssor is a chaotic-neutral god. Clerics of the Fane of Nyssor have access to the Domains of Air, Water, Chaos and Knowledge.

Cleric Weapon of Choice for Nyssor: Claymore (greatsword)

Most of our folk are content to cower in Shyrr, waiting for the end... the fools will stay there praying in vain until Scyrah is dead, and our race with her. Those of you who are not content to pass quietly into oblivion, come with me now and take action. - Deyral of Iryss, Retribution of Scyrah