Gods
& stuffGods
Caabrah, Aust, Rez-Nyagh, Nai, Rorik, Fire, Oak, Stone, Raven, Coyote, Death, Set, Cat, Dolphin, Iron, Bull, Cobra, Thunder, Dragon Kings, Owl, Fox, Beast Cults, Shark, Sparrow.
Caabrah is the giver of life, the vitalizing power of the earth, the supreme judge, forgiver, savior of mankind. His word is law among all human gods and goddesses, and he is the final arbitrator in any dispute among them. He appears as an ethereal, aged man with a bald head and a long white beard.
Dogma
Caabrahs only concerned with human empires, honesty and hard work are the virtues he admires most. Omens come from Caabrah only when an emperor has lost his favor, in such times, an empire is besieged by natural disasters such as plagues, floods, and earthquakes.
Clergy and Temples
Caabrahs high priest is always a human emperor or his highest advisor, his other priests must be nobility. Worshippers who are not nobles are allowed to make offerings to him once a year. A priest’s sole duty consists of administering their empire as efficiently as possible and with the welfare of their empire at heart.
CAABRAH
Cleric 20/Fighter 20
Medium-Size Outsider
Divine Rank: 17
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 30, Con 29, Int 35, Wis 35, Chr 40
Aust flies across the sky bringing warmth and light to the world each day and then retires to his palace in the elemental plane of fire. He appears as a large winged lizardman engulfed in flames wielding a burning whip.
Dogma
Aust is a fickle god and is appeased more than worshipped, he expects his followers to praise him when he is kind and fear him when he is not.
Clergy and Temples
His priests spend the majority of their time trying to appease him. One of the most important duties is greeting him each morning. The surest way for a priest to incur Aust's wrath is to sleep past dawn. Another important ceremony is the Sun Dance held each spring, the priest must spend an entire week dancing. It is during this time that young warriors hoping for Aust’s favor must endure a test of pain to prove their worthiness. Most of his worshippers are reptilian, he also has a fair amount of other races who worship him in deserts and cold areas. Sacrifices to him consists of gold and/or enemies and are burnt at noon on the first day of spring.
AUST
Druid 20/Fighter 20
Large-Size Outsider
Divine Rank: 15
Abilities: Str 50, Dex 25, Con 25, Int 25, Wis 30, Chr 30
Possesions: Fiery Whip of Aust, those struck burst into flame until completely consumed.
Rez is Aust's sister, her duty is to light the night, which she fulfills with regular but varying success. Her appearance is constantly changing, though she most often appears as a silver dragon. Hers is the power to light the dark, and to hold at bay the dangerous things which lurk in the night.
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Dogma
Rez is particularly sympathetic to women, and is 10% more likely to answer a plea for help if it comes from a woman. Good omens from Rez generally take the form of the ability to see perfectly in the dark, but she expresses her displeasure only by her absence. Rez rarely punishes individuals who have angered her, she simply severs their spiritual connection with her instead.
Clergy and Temples
Her Preistesses must be females of good alignment. Rez discourages her priestesses from engaging in combat, they are not allowed to wear any form of armor but they may defend themselves with daggers if attacked. She always grants her priestesses the power to create light within a 10’ radius, this light causes 2 points of damage per round to undead. They are expected to keep a light glowing within their house (or camp if traveling) at all times.
REZ-NYAGH
Druid 20/Wizard 20
Large-Size Outsider
Divine Rank: 15
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 30, Con 25, Int 35, Wis 35, Chr 30
She is the beginning and end of all life, for all mortal beings spring from her bosom upon birth and return to it upon death. She feeds all animals, elves, and plants, and is the provider of the Water of Life. Nai appears as a brown skinned elven woman with long green hair.
Dogma
Nai is a patient and careful deity. She is the most likely of higher elven deities to answer the individual supplications of her worshipers. As a rule, her base chance to respond in any given case is increased by 1% for each level of the beseecher, and by 5% if the beseecher is a priest of her order.
Nai prefers to guide her worshipers through a wide range of omens. Almost anything can serve as a sign of her pleasure or displeasure: a white eagle, a black wolf, a burning tree. Often, the meaning of such portents is unclear, and the recipient must enter a deep trance to clarify its meaning.
However, when she finds it necessary to discipline a transgressor, Nai’s punishments are severe and unmistakable. In cases of elven offenses, she often sends a flood or earthquake to devastate the wrongdoers. Individual offenders fare little better: being attacked by a black bear or bitten by a snake is considered an unmistakable sign of her enmity.
Clergy and Temples
Nai’s clerics must always be of neutral good alignment. Usually, but not always, her priests are women. Whether male or female, however, her clerics must prove their fruitfulness by being parents, and usually have between 2-4 children living in their home. Losing the ability to bear children is considered a sure sign that an individual has lost Nai’s favor, though this seldom happens to even to the oldest of her clerics.
Priestesses worshipping Nai preside over two important ceremonies each year: the Blessing of Spring, when life returns from the bosom of the Grandmother, and the Sacrifices of Fall, when important magic items must be buried in the forests or thrown into raging rivers so that the life will return to the forests in the spring.
Clerics worshipping the Earth Mother may use flails to defend themselves or, if necessary, to prevent the desecration of the land. Nai allows her priestesses once they reach the 4th level of experience the ability to summon and command 1- 6 wolves. At the 8th level of experience, she allows them to instantaneously grow one tree per day, up to sixty feet in height, provided they have the proper seed to plant.
NAI
Druid 20/Ranger 20
Medium-Size Outsider
Divine Rank: 15
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 40, Con 25, Int 35, Wis 40, Chr 35
Rorik is the son of Rez-Nyagh and is revered in many locales. He appears as a long sinuous dragon covered in silver-white scales that sparkle and gleam.
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Dogma
Rorik is stern and very disapproving of evil, he brooks no excuses for evil acts. He urges his followers to promote the cause of good, but prefers to let beings fight their own battles when they can.
Clergy and Temples
Rorik has few clerics and even fewer temples, he accepts only good clerics. Clerics of Rorik strive to take constant but subtle action on behalf of good.
RORIK
53 Hit Dice
Colossal Dragon
Divine Rank: 10
Abilities: Str 53, Dex 10, Con 39, Int 35, Wis 36, Chr 35
Fire has the ability to destroy anything living. He is also charged with providing warmth and light, but is resentful of this duty and only executes it if constantly fed. Fire’s true form is that of a jet-black human with the head of a hawk, and he is always sheathed in an aura of flames. He has the power to see and hear anything that passes within fifty yards of a fire.
Fire is arrogant, vengeful, and tolerates no affronts to his power or shortcomings among his priests. His omens always involve fire and are never subtle. It is common for him to create a face in a fire and speak directly to his worshipers. He delights in punishing by burning.
Clergy and Temples
The duties of priests worshipping Fire consist primarily of appeasing their arrogant god with regular sacrifices of food and fresh meat. Fire’s priests must always keep a fire burning within their lodge, and are often called upon to perform foul tasks, like murdering those who have offended their god. They are allowed to use any weapon, though Fire grants an extra first level spell to those using only flame-based weapons. Because of their deity’s evil nature, his priests are often banished from the tribe if some fire-based calamity befalls the village.
RAVEN
Raven created the world by pulling it up from beneath the waters. He is well known as a trickster who resorts to anything to satisfy his ravenous appetite. Though his true form is that of a large black raven, he can polymorph at will into many different forms, including a fox, jay or even the moon.
Though generally goodhearted, the unpredictable Raven has a narrow range of concerns -and most of them have to do with food. Raven never answers appeals for aid unless an offering of food is made to him. Even then, Raven is unlikely to help unless the appeal is for food, water, or shelter.
Raven’s omens are always delivered by one or more of his namesakes. For instance, if displeased, Raven might send a flock to drop various disgusting items on the offender. When seriously angered, Raven’s punishments are inventive and harsh. As an example, Raven once turned a man who hunted too many ravens into a grasshopper, so that the ravens could hunt him.
Clergy and Temples
Priests are expected to feed any ravens that happen to be nearby, and must converse with these birds constantly. As a result, there are variably 1d20 of these garrulous birds following any priest of Raven.
Priests of Raven are not allowed to wear any armor but can speak with animals(birds only) at will, at third level his priests can cast fly as a spell-like ability once a day per level, as long as they have a black feather.
COYOTE
Coyote taught men crafts such as making weapons, pottery, as well as the summoning and controlling of fire. Despite the generous side of his personality, however, Coyote is a cowardly thief who often resorts to trickery.
Coyote can polymorph himself into any natural animal once per day. He can make himself or any object invisible for an indefinite period of time, and can animate any object for up to one week. His true form is that of a giant, silver-furred coyote.
Coyote is greedy and conniving. During his frequent attempts to swindle a fellow god, he often assigns difficult jobs to his worshipers, promising great rewards if they succeed. Most often, he "forgets" to keep such promises. He is not above bullying a mortal to get what he wants.
Omens from Coyote take the form of strange noises in the night. Typically, he will only punish his clerics for failing at an assigned task or daring to cheat him. Such punishments take the form of a cruel trick, such as stealing a cherished possession and giving it to the victim’s enemy.
Clergy and Temples
Coyote’s priests must sacrifice 1 gp per level worth of treasure (or one magic item) a week. Failure to do so results in a loss of spells and powers until the missed sacrifice is made up. They must also help coyotes whenever they encounter an endangered one. Coyotes priests have the sneak attack abilities of a rogue of the same level, they are proficient in the same weapons as rogues and cannot wear any armor.
OAK
Oak, or Old Man Oak, is the god of healing and medicine. He is the deity who keeps humans healthy and free from disease, or who helps them recover from disease. Oak’s touch cures all diseases, no matter how serious.
Dogma
Oak is dedicated to relieving disease, but no one seems to know exactly why - perhaps because he has never slowed down long enough to explain motivation. All a person need do to receive Oak’s help is be sick and pray for it. Evil beings stand a 1% chance of being visited by him, neutral beings a 10% chance, good beings a 25% chance, his worshipers a 50% chance, and his priests a 75% chance. Persons lucky enough to receive a visit from Oak seldom realize it; they simply begin getting better. Oak is too busy to send omens or portents to his worshipers.
Clergy and Temples
Like Oak, his priests are devoted to curing the sick and spend their time seeing to the needs of the ill. They live in a temple filled with containers of black holy water. Providing the sufferer drinks nothing but this black water, he recovers 1d4 hit points per day and his Constitution is magically prevented from falling below 1 under any circumstances. Only priests of Oak can survive on such a diet for more than a month, however.
Priests of Oak are immune to all forms of disease and at third level can create a vial of black holy water once a day.
DEATH
Death is the judge of the dead and queen of the Ten Thousand Hells. When a dead man’s soul reaches her in the after-world, Death determines whether the man should be rewarded, reincarnation, or passed on to one of the Ten Thousand Hells for punishment. In her true form, Death resembles a black robed warrior with solid white skin.
Dogma
Death is a dedicated and humorless servant, her primary concern is making sure that the spirits of the dead are processed quickly and efficiently.
Death must personally approve any raise dead, resurrection, or reincarnation spell cast. Any time such a person casts one of these spells, there is a flat 25% chance she will cancel it. Death is not well-known for sending omens or portents.
Clergy and Temples
Priests devoted to Death are required to prepare the dead for cremation, preside over funerals, and offer advice to their followers about how best to worship one’s ancestors. Occasionally, they are called upon to track down a rogue undead spirit.
Priests of Death who have reached 5th level can converse with the spirit of another’s ancestor. They may ask the spirit up to 5 questions which are truthfully answered. A person’s ancestral spirits may be contacted only at their request and with their permission.
A cold and calculating god, Set is the jealous personification of evil. He always acts against the interests of mankind and the gods of Seven Sycthes. His followers are a dark and scorned lot who work under of darkness and keep themselves cloaked in treachery and deceit.
Although he has the body of a human male, his head is that of an aardvark.
Set guards his power and his secrets carefully. He is always looking for ways to recruit new followers and disrupt the churches of the other gods. Despite his loathsome nature, Set takes good care of his followers and will not willingly betray or abandon his people.
Clergy and Temples
Priests of Set often oversee the activities of thieves, assassins, and other evil beings. It is not uncommon for an order of assassins to be headed by such an individual. They are not permitted to betray members of their order and must always work to promote "the brotherhood of evil."
Priests of Set are forbidden from wearing any type of armor and can sneak attack as a rogue of equal level, at fifth level they are immune to all poisons.
Duties of the Priesthood
Priests of Cat are required to keep cats as pets and to sample the physical pleasures of the world whenever they can. As one might imagine, this makes the worship of Cat a popular profession.
Requirements: AB as per rogue plus Wis of 12; AL any non-evil; WP as rogue; AR as rogue; DOMAINS animal, healing, protection; PW 1) hide in shadows and move silently as ranger of equal level; 5) charm mammal (affects felines only, no save is allowed, and the power is always in operation); 10) shape change (into any 1 form of feline); TU nil.
Duties of the Priesthood:
Every ten days, her priests must release white doves, and every new moon they must throw objects of art and beautiful jewelry into the sea. They must also do what they can to aid anyone who is in trouble because of a forbidden love.
Requirements: AB standard plus Charisma 16+; AL any non-evil; WP bow and arrow, net, staff; AR a; DOMAINS water, protection, healing; PW 5) charm person (opposite sex only); 10) Charisma increases to 18; 15) arouse feelings of love (as the enamoring effects of a philter of love) in any intelligent being; TU nil.
Duties of the Priesthood:
Before accepting any person as a priest, Iron sends his avatar to see how the person reacts to a dwarf. If they are kind, they are accepted. Priests of Iron must be proficent at blacksmithing.
Requirements: AB standard plus Str l5+; AL any non-evil; WP hammer; AR f; DOMAINS war, knowledge, fire, protection, healing, sun; PW 1) +1 per level ability scores when making a blacksmithing check; 5) able to repair magic weapons and armor (proficiency check required); 10) able to create magical weapons or armors with a bonus up to +1 per 3 levels of experience (maximum of +5).
Duties of the Priesthood
Priests of Bull are the cultivators and guardians of magic potions. By law, it is their duty to keep all but the priests, kings, and noble classes from drinking their special potions. For a good cause, however, they have been known to violate this law. Other potions they sell or give away to aid their community. They are forbidden from harming minotaurs.
Requirements: AB standard; AL cg; WP sickle, spear, axe; AR a; DOMAINS war, animal, knowledge, healing, plant, protection; PW 1) plant growth; 10) find the path; 15) programmed illusion; TU nil
Duties of the Priesthood
Priests of Cobra are noted for their monthly fire dance. After scouring the countryside in search of sacrifices (which includes everything from furniture to living beings), the priests spend several hours dancing around a huge bonfire. They end the ceremony by throwing everything they have collected into the fire.
Requirements: AB standard; AL ne; WP any; AR a; DOMAINS war, knowledge, fire, necromantic, sun; PW 1) immune to fire damage; TU control (upon reaching 5th level).
Duties of the Priesthood
Priests of Thunder must keep their god appeased so that he doesn’t harass their village. Thunder especially likes to see them become mercenaries, or servants of a blue dragon.
Requirements: AB standard; AL any chaotic; WP spear, lance, polearm, spiked mace; AR a; DOMAINS chaos, war, healing, air & water; PW 1) use THAC0 tables of warriors; TU nil.
Statistics: AL varies; WAL any; AoC sea and rain; SY dragon
Duties of the Priesthood
Priests of a Dragon King are generally found in fishing villages, where they assist the local fishermen in the rites that placate the Dragon King in return for catching his fish. They must always be excellent swimmers, and are expected to know the schedule of the tides by heart. Those found inland can summon rain instead of the listed power at 15th level.
Requirements: AB standard; AL any good; WP trident; AR b; DOMAINS animal, knowledge, healing, plant, water; PW 10) breathe underwater; 15) summon and control any one sea creature of 10 HD or less; TU nil.
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Duties of the PriesthoodDuties of the Priesthood
Priests of Fox preside over the ceremonies involved in planting and harvesting and forging swords. They are expected to do their fair share of work in the fields and to act as defenders of peasants and foxes and pass on the secret of sword smithing to only those of good.
Requirements: AB standard; AL any good; WP sickle, spear, sling, sword; AR a; DOMAINS animal, knowledge, earth, healing, plant; PW 1) move silently (as a ranger of equal level); 4) hide in shadows (as a ranger of equal level); 8) find/remove traps (5% per level); 12) open locks (5% per level); 16) detect noise (5% per level); 20) climb walls (5% per level); TU nil.
Duties of the Priesthood
To be a priest of Shark, a man must be a ship captain. Such men are fighters who worship Shark and have been granted a few clerical powers on the side. (They are not considered dual- or multi-class; they are simply fighters with extraordinary powers.)
Requirements: AB fighter; AL any; WP any; AR b; DOMAINS water, knowledge, protection, strength; PW 1) use spells as a priest; 10) breathe water; TU nil.
Duties of the Priesthood
Most often, the village storyteller is a priest of Sparrow. It is his duty to preserve knowledge of the gods and the past, passing it from generation to generation through heroic ballads and poems. It is permissible for a human worshiper of Sparrow to advance as a multi-class priest/bard.
Requirements: AB must meet both priest and bard requirements; AL any non-evil; WP club, bow and arrow; AR a; DOMAINS trickery, knowledge, healing, protection; PW 3) faultless memory (can recall anything heard); 12) dominate (as domination spell) with song; TU nil.
Enhance (Alteration)
Eighth Level Wizard
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 Hour
Area of Effect: One person
Saving Throw: None
Although many high-level wizards know the enhance spell, it is one they rarely use. It is powerful, dangerous, and exhausting, so it is employed only in the most dire circumstances, or as a reward for deeds truly worthy of heroic status.
By means of an enhance spell, the wizard can permanently increase one Attribute score of his choice. The caster can never cast this spell upon himself, and casting it upon another character is so fatiguing that he must rest in bed for a full week (or lose one point of Strength permanently).
On those rare occasions when a wizard does cast this spell, he names the Attribute score he is modifying (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma). He rolls 1d4 and adds the indicated number of points to the desired attribute. The target gains all of the appropriate bonuses and special abilities associated with his new attribute score.
Following the casting of this spell, however, the wizard loses a number of Constitution points equal to one greater than the number of points he bestowed upon his subject. Thus, if a wizard uses this spell to increase a hero’s Strength by 3 points, the wizard himself loses 4 Constitution points. This loss is permanent.
No attribute may ever be increased above 22 by this spell. If the target’s Strength attribute is modified to 18 and he happens to be a warrior, the target rolls percentile dice normally to determine exceptional strength.
Any time this spell is cast, there is a basic 30% chance that it will backfire. This chance is modified by -1% for each level of the caster. A 16th level wizard, for example, would stand only a 14% chance of backfire (30-16 = 14). When the spell backfires, the wizard loses 1d4 points in the Attribute score he named.
The material component of the enhance spell depends upon the attribute score that is being modified:
Strength The horn of a black bull
Wisdom Two wing feathers from an owl
Intelligence The tusks of a boar
Dexterity The whiskers of a cat
Constitution The claws of a bear
Charisma A lock of hair from a woman with a Charisma of 16 or more
Spirit Animal Form (Alteration)
Third Level Priest
Sphere: Animal
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 1d10 days
Casting Time: 1 hour
Area of Effect: 1 person
Saving Throw: None
This spell is most commonly used on warriors and rangers in the pursuit of some heroic deed. Spirit animal form can be cast upon the self or another willing person. After entering a trance which lasts at least one hour, the receiver changes into a typical member of his spirit animal’s species. For all intents and purposes, he becomes that animal, receiving all of its normal attributes and abilities, save that he retains his own intellect. He uses the spirit animal’s combat tables, but uses the saving throw tables appropriate to his human form. Everything he was wearing or carrying becomes part of the animal form, and is still with him when he returns to normal. The spell lasts 1d10 days, and neither the caster nor the receiver has any control over when it will expire.
This spell may not be used to assume the form of supernatural or supernaturally large animals, such as unicorns. If such an attempt is made, the receiver assumes the form of a similar type of creature - in the case of unicorns, for example, a horse.
Favor (Invocation/Evocation)
Fifth Level Priest
Sphere: Protection
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 week per level of caster
Casting Time: 1 hour
Area of Effect: one individual
Saving Throw: none
By casting a favor spell, the priest is asking his deity to watch over the target (which may be himself). Usually, the favor spell is cast upon a great hero, such as Odysseus or Jason, lust before he undertakes a magnificent deed.
The effectiveness of the spell depends upon how the priest’s god views the glory of the deed to be undertaken. Usually, as the god’s favor is somewhat arbitrary, this is determined by rolling 1d6. For the duration of the spell, the target’s saving throws are modified (in the positive direction) by the result. In cases of especially glorious undertakings, the DM may assign a saving throw modifier that he feels is appropriate.
In addition, the target is blessed by a pledge of one godly intervention. In practical terms, this means that, during the duration of the spell, the player character may reroll any single die roll that affects him personally. The player character may ask the god to honor his pledge of intervention only once, even if the second roll was unsuccessful.
The gods will never grant more than one favor spell to a single group of adventurers or a single adventurer, and usually insist that the spell be cast upon the group’s leader. If a second favor spell is attempted, both it and the first are lost.
Sacred Bundle
A sacred bundle is a collection of 5-10 totemic items placed together in a pouch for the purpose of imbuing magical protection on the wearer. To create a sacred bundle, a warrior: enters a trance (usually with his medicine man’s help) and contacts his guardian spirit. He then asks for the spirit’s help in creating this magical talisman. After carefully considering the warrior’s personality and nature, the spirit selects 4-9 (1d6 +3) items which the warrior must collect. Usually, several of these items will be difficult or dangerous to procure, such as a bear’s claw, a giant snake’s rattle, or a feather from the nest of an eagle.
After he has collected these items, the warrior goes to his tribe’s medicine man and asks for his help in mystically binding the materials together. The medicine man then asks the warrior to gather one last rare item. Almost always, the medicine man chooses an item which he needs in performing his shamanistic duties, and when the warrior procures it, takes part of the item for his own use.
Once all the items are assembled, the medicine man performs a ceremony binding them into a sacred bundle, and from that point forward the warrior wears the bundle at all: times. The sacred bundle bestows the following benefits upon the owner: + 2 on all saving throws, the warrior is only surprised on a natural roll of 1, his unarmored AC becomes 18, and he subtracts one point from each die of damage when he is hit by an enemy’s weapons.
If the sacred bundle is ever removed from the warrior’s body, all of its benefits permanently vanish, and he can never get another. A sacred bundle never benefits anybody but the warrior who made it.
Worlds of the Dragon Gates
