History of the Material Plane
Imagine
not just one world, but many worlds. All of them connected by a series of
colossal teleportation portals called "Realm Gates". On each world
there are two such gates and each gate is connected by a series of roads in
which this is called "The Long Road". All this was made possible by
humans from the world Kingsdale. The humans of Kingsdale built an empire on
their home world through the use of magic and science. The humans empire, that became to be known as the Kingsdale Empire, had a
Manifest Destiny to explore and expand their empire to other worlds after
conquering their own. The humans encountered other humans, dwarves, gnomes,
halflings, dragonborn, orcs, minotaur, mind flayers, orges, merfolk, centaurs,
lizardfolk, kobold and many others on the material plane. Some became allies,
most became enemies, terrible wars where fought and the Imperial Empire conquered
all that they had seen. Then the humans created portals to the Feywild and Shadowfell
planes on Kingsdale and encountered the Eladrin and Drow. They made allies of the Eladrin
and enemies of the Drow. The war was brutal and only end with a uneasy truce.
With the Kingsdale Empire ever increasing need to explore and expand they decided to created a third Realm Gate on Kingsdale. The humans built the third Realm Gate and the great wizards casted the long ritual to open the portal. A unimaginable colossal magical beast came through the portal and began laying waste to the surrounding area and its peoples. It took the human military might twelve days, and half its population to finally defeat and slay the beast. When the humans went back to the third Realm Gate they witnessed something horrible, another beast was seen peering though the Realm Gate, but this beast was many times bigger for what the humans saw was only a single colossal eye. That beast upon looking at its dead, what historians now think was its offspring, lesser beast it uttered a single phrase in agony and despair. At that moment every human within a thousand miles was struck dead, unless you happen to be a very powerful magic user. In which those magic user became cursed and were transformed into the race that you know as Tieflings.
The Cursed as it became to be known as, did not stop. It spread out to the rest of the world. Every human was affected, non-magic users became weak and their bodies began to wither and over an unspecific time the human would die. Those who had an inkling of magical ability would either slowly turn into a tiefling, doppelganger, grimlock, nothic or yuan-ti. What was worse is that The Curse spread to the humans of the other worlds and they would suffer the same fate as those humans on Kingsdale. No amount of prayer to the gods, arcane arts, or healers from other races could cure the human races of this awful cruse. So over the course of a couple years the human race and any race that mixed with humans (example half-elf, half-orc) faded from existence.
With the demise of the human race in the material plane the other civilized races took over the stewardship of maintaining the Realm Gates, while the uncivilized and evil races rushed to take up the old human lands. There were many new wars on each world and much of what the humans had created faded into ruins.
With the Kingsdale Empire ever increasing need to explore and expand they decided to created a third Realm Gate on Kingsdale. The humans built the third Realm Gate and the great wizards casted the long ritual to open the portal. A unimaginable colossal magical beast came through the portal and began laying waste to the surrounding area and its peoples. It took the human military might twelve days, and half its population to finally defeat and slay the beast. When the humans went back to the third Realm Gate they witnessed something horrible, another beast was seen peering though the Realm Gate, but this beast was many times bigger for what the humans saw was only a single colossal eye. That beast upon looking at its dead, what historians now think was its offspring, lesser beast it uttered a single phrase in agony and despair. At that moment every human within a thousand miles was struck dead, unless you happen to be a very powerful magic user. In which those magic user became cursed and were transformed into the race that you know as Tieflings.
The Cursed as it became to be known as, did not stop. It spread out to the rest of the world. Every human was affected, non-magic users became weak and their bodies began to wither and over an unspecific time the human would die. Those who had an inkling of magical ability would either slowly turn into a tiefling, doppelganger, grimlock, nothic or yuan-ti. What was worse is that The Curse spread to the humans of the other worlds and they would suffer the same fate as those humans on Kingsdale. No amount of prayer to the gods, arcane arts, or healers from other races could cure the human races of this awful cruse. So over the course of a couple years the human race and any race that mixed with humans (example half-elf, half-orc) faded from existence.
With the demise of the human race in the material plane the other civilized races took over the stewardship of maintaining the Realm Gates, while the uncivilized and evil races rushed to take up the old human lands. There were many new wars on each world and much of what the humans had created faded into ruins.
Cosmology
The Planes
The various planes of existence are realms of myth and mystery. They're not simply other worlds, but dimensions formed and governed by spiritual and elemental principles.
The Outer Planes are realms of spirituality and thought. They are the spheres where celestials, fiends, and deities exist. The plane of Elysium, for example, isn't merely a place where good creatures dwell, and not even simply the place where spirits of good creatures go when they die. It is the plane of goodness, a spiritual realm where evil can't flourish. It is as much a state of being and of mind as it is a physical location.
The Inner Planes exemplify the physical essence and elemental nature of air, earth, fire, and water. The Elemental Plane of Fire, for example, embodies the essence of fire. The plane's entire substance is suffused with the fundamental nature of fire: energy, passion, transformation, and destruction. Even objects of solid brass or basalt seem to dance with flame, in a visible and palpable manifestation of the vibrancy of fire's dominion.
In this context, the Material Plane is the nexus where all these philosophical and elemental forces collide in the jumbled existence of mortal life and matter. The worlds exist within the Material Plane, making it the starting point for the campaign and adventure. The rest of the multiverse is defined in relation to the Material Plane.
Planar Categories
The planes are grouped in the following categories.
The Material Plane and its Echoes. The Feywild and the Shadowfell are reflections of the Material Plane.
The Transitive Planes. The Ethereal Plane and the Astral Planes (Astral Sea) are mostly featureless planes that serve primarily as pathways to travel from one plane to another.
The Inner Planes. The four Elemental Planes (Air, Earth, Fire, and Water), plus the Elemental Chaos that surrounds them, are the Inner Planes.
The Outer Planes. Sixteen Outer Planes correspond to the eight non-neutral alignments and shades of philosophical difference between them.
The Positive and Negative Planes. These two planes enfold the rest of the cosmology, providing the raw forces of life and death that underline the rest of existence in the multiverse.
The Material Plane
The known worlds of the Material Plane.
The Iron Kingdoms is the world of the birthplace of the dwarves, gnomes and halflings. It is world with many mountain ranges, rivers, lakes and forests. There are a few forests that elves have claimed as their own. Giants used to rule this world but the eternal feud with dragons and the rise of the Iron Kingdoms brought the giants low, forever losing control of this world. (Scandinavia climate)
Kingsdale was the throneworld of the mighty Kingsdale Empire, now it is a dark, eerie, undead ruinous landscape. The Third Realm Gate is still open, negative energy still spills forth from it. Only the mad and undead come here to stay, but in the ruins lay hidden treasures. (No culture, very dark European climate)
Dapan is the world of dragons and lizards. Here the Dragonborn, Lizardfolk and Kobolds call home. This world is a tropical paradise, if you don't count the multitude of dragons, dinosaurs, and other reptilian beasts that call this world home. (East and Pacific Asia culture and climate)
Material Echoes
The Material Plane is a richly magical place, and its magical nature is reflected in the two planes that share its central place in the multiverse. Each of the known worlds have a Feywild and a Shadowfell that are parallel dimensions occupying the same cosmological space, so they are often called echo planes or mirror planes to the Material Plane. The worlds and landscapes of these planes mirror the natural worlds of the Material Plane but reflect those features into different forms - more marvelous and magical in the Feywild, distorted and colorless in the Shadowfell. Where a volcano stands in the Material Plane, a mountain topped with skyscraper-sized crystals that glow with internal fire towers in the Feywild, and a jagged rock outcropping resembling a skull marks the spot on the Shadowfell.
The Feywild, also called the Plane of Faerie, are worlds of soft lights and wonder, worlds of little people with great desires, a place of music and death. It is a realm of eternal twilight, with slow lanterns bobbing in the gentle breeze and huge fireflies buzzing through groves and fields. The sky is alight with the faded colors of the setting, or perhaps rising , sun. But, in fact, the sun never truly sets or rises; it remains stationary, dusky and low in the sky. Away from the settled areas ruled by the Seelie Court, the land is a tangle of sharp-toothed brambles and syrupy fens - perfect territory for the Unseelie to hunt their prey. Fey creatures, such as those brought to the material plane by conjure woodland beings and similar spells, dwell in the Feywild.
The Shadowfell, also called the Plane of Shadow, is a darkly lighted dimension, worlds of black and white where color has been leached from everything. It is a place of toxic darkness that hates the light, where the sky is a black vault with neither sun nor stars.
Transitive Planes.
The Ethereal Plane is a misty, fog-bound dimension that is sometimes described as a great ocean. Its shores, called the Border Ethereal, overlap the Material Plane and the Inner Planes, so that every location on those planes has a corresponding location on the Ethereal Plane. Certain creatures can see into the Border Ethereal, and the see invisibility and true seeing spell grant the ability. Some magical effects also extend from the Material Plane into the Border Ethereal, particularly effects that use force energy such as forcecage and wall of force. The depths of the plane, the Deep Ethereal, are a region of swirling mists and colorful fogs.
The Astral Plane is the realm of thought and dream, where visitors travel as disembodied souls to reach the planes of the divine and demonic. It is a great, silvery sea, the same above and below, with swirling wisps of white and gray streaking among motes of light resembling distant stars. Erratic whirlpools of color flicker in midair like spinning coins. Occasional bits of solid matter can be found here, but most of the Astral Plane is an endless, open domain.
Inner Planes
The Inner Planes surround and enfold the Material Plane and its echoes providing the raw elemental substance from which all the worlds were made. The four Elemental Planes - Air, Earth, Fire and Water - form a ring around the Material Plane, suspended within the churning Elemental Chaos.
At their innermost edges, where they are closest to the Material Plane (in a conceptual if not a literal geographical sense), the four Elemental Planes resemble a world in the Material Plane. The four elements mingle together as they do in the Material Plane, forming land, sea, and sky. Farther from the Material Plane, though, the Elemental Planes are both alien and hostile. Here, the elements exist in their purest form - great expanses of solid earth, blazing fire, crystal-clear water, and unsullied air. These regions are little-known, so when discussing the Plane of Fire, for example, a speaker usually means just the border region. At the farthest extents of the Inner Planes, the pure elements dissolve and bleed together into an unending tumult of clashing energies and colliding substance, the Elemental Chaos.
Outer Planes
If the inner Planes are the raw matter and energy that makes up the multiverse, the Outer Planes are the direction, thought and purpose for such construction. Accordingly, many sages refer to the Outer Planes as divine planes, spiritual planes, or godly planes, for the Outer Planes are best known as the home of deities.
When discussing anything to do with deities, the language used must be highly metaphorical. Their actual homes are not literally "places" at all, but exemplify the idea that the Outer Planes are realms of thought and spirit. As with the Elemental Planes, one can imagine the perceptible part of the Outer Planes as a sort of border region, while extensive spiritual regions lie beyond ordinary sensory experience.
Even in those perceptible regions, appearances can be deceptive. Initially, many of the Outer Planes appear hospitable and familiar to natives of the Material Plane. But the landscape can change at the whims of the powerful forces that live on the Outer Planes. The desires of the mighty forces that dwell on these planes can remake them completely, effectively erasing and rebuilding existence itself to better fulfill their own needs.
Distance is a virtually meaningless concept on the Outer Planes. The perceptible regions of the planes often seem quite small, but they can also stretch on to what seems like infinity. It might be possible to take a guided tour of the Nine Hells, from the first layer to the ninth, in a single day - if the powers of the Hells desire it. Or it could take weeks for travelers to make a grueling trek across a single layer.
The most well-known Outer Planes are a group of sixteen planes that correspond to the eight alignments (excluding neutrality) and the shades of distinction between them.
The Seven Heavens of Mount Delestia, Lawful Good
The Twin Paradises of Bytopia, Lawful and Neutral Good
The Blessed Fields of Elysium, Neutral Good
The Wilderness of the Beastlands, Neutral and Chaotic Good
The Olypian Glades of Arborea, Chaotic Good
The Heoric Domains of Ysgard, Chaotic Good and Neutral
The Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo, Chaotic Neutral
The Windswept Depths of Pandemonium, Chaotic Neutral and Evil
The Infinite Layers of the Abyss, Chaotic Evil
The Tarterian Depths of Carceri, Neutral and Chaotic Evil
The Gray Wastes of Hades, Neutral Evil
The Bleak Eternity of Gehenna, Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil
The Nine Hells of Baator, Lawful Evil
The Infinite Battlefield of Acheron, Lawful Neutral and Evil
The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, Lawful Neutral
The Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia, Lawful Good and Neutral.
The planes with some element of good in their nature are called the Upper Planes. Celestial creatures such as angels and pegasi dwell in the Upper Planes. Planes with some element of evil are the Lower Planes. Fiends such as demons, devils, and yugoloths dwell in the Lower Planes. A plane's alignment is its essence, and a character whose alignment doesn't match the plane's experiences a profound sense of dissonance there. When a good creatures visits Elysium, for example , it feels in tune with the plane, but an evil creature feels out of tune and more than a little uncomfortable.
Positive and Negative Planes
Like a dome above the other planes, the Positive Plane is the source of radiant energy and the raw life force that suffuses all living beings, from the puny to the sublime. Its dark reflection is the Negative Plane, the source of necrotic energy that destroys the living and animates the undead.
The various planes of existence are realms of myth and mystery. They're not simply other worlds, but dimensions formed and governed by spiritual and elemental principles.
The Outer Planes are realms of spirituality and thought. They are the spheres where celestials, fiends, and deities exist. The plane of Elysium, for example, isn't merely a place where good creatures dwell, and not even simply the place where spirits of good creatures go when they die. It is the plane of goodness, a spiritual realm where evil can't flourish. It is as much a state of being and of mind as it is a physical location.
The Inner Planes exemplify the physical essence and elemental nature of air, earth, fire, and water. The Elemental Plane of Fire, for example, embodies the essence of fire. The plane's entire substance is suffused with the fundamental nature of fire: energy, passion, transformation, and destruction. Even objects of solid brass or basalt seem to dance with flame, in a visible and palpable manifestation of the vibrancy of fire's dominion.
In this context, the Material Plane is the nexus where all these philosophical and elemental forces collide in the jumbled existence of mortal life and matter. The worlds exist within the Material Plane, making it the starting point for the campaign and adventure. The rest of the multiverse is defined in relation to the Material Plane.
Planar Categories
The planes are grouped in the following categories.
The Material Plane and its Echoes. The Feywild and the Shadowfell are reflections of the Material Plane.
The Transitive Planes. The Ethereal Plane and the Astral Planes (Astral Sea) are mostly featureless planes that serve primarily as pathways to travel from one plane to another.
The Inner Planes. The four Elemental Planes (Air, Earth, Fire, and Water), plus the Elemental Chaos that surrounds them, are the Inner Planes.
The Outer Planes. Sixteen Outer Planes correspond to the eight non-neutral alignments and shades of philosophical difference between them.
The Positive and Negative Planes. These two planes enfold the rest of the cosmology, providing the raw forces of life and death that underline the rest of existence in the multiverse.
The Material Plane
The known worlds of the Material Plane.
The Iron Kingdoms is the world of the birthplace of the dwarves, gnomes and halflings. It is world with many mountain ranges, rivers, lakes and forests. There are a few forests that elves have claimed as their own. Giants used to rule this world but the eternal feud with dragons and the rise of the Iron Kingdoms brought the giants low, forever losing control of this world. (Scandinavia climate)
Kingsdale was the throneworld of the mighty Kingsdale Empire, now it is a dark, eerie, undead ruinous landscape. The Third Realm Gate is still open, negative energy still spills forth from it. Only the mad and undead come here to stay, but in the ruins lay hidden treasures. (No culture, very dark European climate)
Dapan is the world of dragons and lizards. Here the Dragonborn, Lizardfolk and Kobolds call home. This world is a tropical paradise, if you don't count the multitude of dragons, dinosaurs, and other reptilian beasts that call this world home. (East and Pacific Asia culture and climate)
Material Echoes
The Material Plane is a richly magical place, and its magical nature is reflected in the two planes that share its central place in the multiverse. Each of the known worlds have a Feywild and a Shadowfell that are parallel dimensions occupying the same cosmological space, so they are often called echo planes or mirror planes to the Material Plane. The worlds and landscapes of these planes mirror the natural worlds of the Material Plane but reflect those features into different forms - more marvelous and magical in the Feywild, distorted and colorless in the Shadowfell. Where a volcano stands in the Material Plane, a mountain topped with skyscraper-sized crystals that glow with internal fire towers in the Feywild, and a jagged rock outcropping resembling a skull marks the spot on the Shadowfell.
The Feywild, also called the Plane of Faerie, are worlds of soft lights and wonder, worlds of little people with great desires, a place of music and death. It is a realm of eternal twilight, with slow lanterns bobbing in the gentle breeze and huge fireflies buzzing through groves and fields. The sky is alight with the faded colors of the setting, or perhaps rising , sun. But, in fact, the sun never truly sets or rises; it remains stationary, dusky and low in the sky. Away from the settled areas ruled by the Seelie Court, the land is a tangle of sharp-toothed brambles and syrupy fens - perfect territory for the Unseelie to hunt their prey. Fey creatures, such as those brought to the material plane by conjure woodland beings and similar spells, dwell in the Feywild.
The Shadowfell, also called the Plane of Shadow, is a darkly lighted dimension, worlds of black and white where color has been leached from everything. It is a place of toxic darkness that hates the light, where the sky is a black vault with neither sun nor stars.
Transitive Planes.
The Ethereal Plane is a misty, fog-bound dimension that is sometimes described as a great ocean. Its shores, called the Border Ethereal, overlap the Material Plane and the Inner Planes, so that every location on those planes has a corresponding location on the Ethereal Plane. Certain creatures can see into the Border Ethereal, and the see invisibility and true seeing spell grant the ability. Some magical effects also extend from the Material Plane into the Border Ethereal, particularly effects that use force energy such as forcecage and wall of force. The depths of the plane, the Deep Ethereal, are a region of swirling mists and colorful fogs.
The Astral Plane is the realm of thought and dream, where visitors travel as disembodied souls to reach the planes of the divine and demonic. It is a great, silvery sea, the same above and below, with swirling wisps of white and gray streaking among motes of light resembling distant stars. Erratic whirlpools of color flicker in midair like spinning coins. Occasional bits of solid matter can be found here, but most of the Astral Plane is an endless, open domain.
Inner Planes
The Inner Planes surround and enfold the Material Plane and its echoes providing the raw elemental substance from which all the worlds were made. The four Elemental Planes - Air, Earth, Fire and Water - form a ring around the Material Plane, suspended within the churning Elemental Chaos.
At their innermost edges, where they are closest to the Material Plane (in a conceptual if not a literal geographical sense), the four Elemental Planes resemble a world in the Material Plane. The four elements mingle together as they do in the Material Plane, forming land, sea, and sky. Farther from the Material Plane, though, the Elemental Planes are both alien and hostile. Here, the elements exist in their purest form - great expanses of solid earth, blazing fire, crystal-clear water, and unsullied air. These regions are little-known, so when discussing the Plane of Fire, for example, a speaker usually means just the border region. At the farthest extents of the Inner Planes, the pure elements dissolve and bleed together into an unending tumult of clashing energies and colliding substance, the Elemental Chaos.
Outer Planes
If the inner Planes are the raw matter and energy that makes up the multiverse, the Outer Planes are the direction, thought and purpose for such construction. Accordingly, many sages refer to the Outer Planes as divine planes, spiritual planes, or godly planes, for the Outer Planes are best known as the home of deities.
When discussing anything to do with deities, the language used must be highly metaphorical. Their actual homes are not literally "places" at all, but exemplify the idea that the Outer Planes are realms of thought and spirit. As with the Elemental Planes, one can imagine the perceptible part of the Outer Planes as a sort of border region, while extensive spiritual regions lie beyond ordinary sensory experience.
Even in those perceptible regions, appearances can be deceptive. Initially, many of the Outer Planes appear hospitable and familiar to natives of the Material Plane. But the landscape can change at the whims of the powerful forces that live on the Outer Planes. The desires of the mighty forces that dwell on these planes can remake them completely, effectively erasing and rebuilding existence itself to better fulfill their own needs.
Distance is a virtually meaningless concept on the Outer Planes. The perceptible regions of the planes often seem quite small, but they can also stretch on to what seems like infinity. It might be possible to take a guided tour of the Nine Hells, from the first layer to the ninth, in a single day - if the powers of the Hells desire it. Or it could take weeks for travelers to make a grueling trek across a single layer.
The most well-known Outer Planes are a group of sixteen planes that correspond to the eight alignments (excluding neutrality) and the shades of distinction between them.
The Seven Heavens of Mount Delestia, Lawful Good
The Twin Paradises of Bytopia, Lawful and Neutral Good
The Blessed Fields of Elysium, Neutral Good
The Wilderness of the Beastlands, Neutral and Chaotic Good
The Olypian Glades of Arborea, Chaotic Good
The Heoric Domains of Ysgard, Chaotic Good and Neutral
The Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo, Chaotic Neutral
The Windswept Depths of Pandemonium, Chaotic Neutral and Evil
The Infinite Layers of the Abyss, Chaotic Evil
The Tarterian Depths of Carceri, Neutral and Chaotic Evil
The Gray Wastes of Hades, Neutral Evil
The Bleak Eternity of Gehenna, Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil
The Nine Hells of Baator, Lawful Evil
The Infinite Battlefield of Acheron, Lawful Neutral and Evil
The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, Lawful Neutral
The Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia, Lawful Good and Neutral.
The planes with some element of good in their nature are called the Upper Planes. Celestial creatures such as angels and pegasi dwell in the Upper Planes. Planes with some element of evil are the Lower Planes. Fiends such as demons, devils, and yugoloths dwell in the Lower Planes. A plane's alignment is its essence, and a character whose alignment doesn't match the plane's experiences a profound sense of dissonance there. When a good creatures visits Elysium, for example , it feels in tune with the plane, but an evil creature feels out of tune and more than a little uncomfortable.
Positive and Negative Planes
Like a dome above the other planes, the Positive Plane is the source of radiant energy and the raw life force that suffuses all living beings, from the puny to the sublime. Its dark reflection is the Negative Plane, the source of necrotic energy that destroys the living and animates the undead.
Religion
In the Realm Gates universe, the existence of gods is not in question. Evidence of their presence can be found everywhere, on every inhabited world in the known universe. Clerics can cure the sick, raise the dead, and see the future. No one of sound mind seriously doubts that they are guided by the divine.
However, recognizing the existence of the gods and comprehending their mysteries are two very different things. While most people worship one or more deities and clerics can even commune with them, no mortal can truly grasp the minds or natures of these divine powers. When it comes to explaining the gods, mortals are forced to make do with finite understandings.
In Realm Gates, the Unification Church is one such way of understanding the nature of the gods. The Unification Church believe that the many deities worshipped in the known worlds are cultural aspects of the Twelve - the deitypes of the Great Pantheon.
The Twelve
The Destroyer
Alignment: (Any) Evil
Domains: Death, Tempest, and War.
The Destroyer is the personification of evil and hate in the Realm Gates. He strives to undo all that has been done and bring creation to an end. He is the lord of entropy and the master of the void.
Aspects: Bane (god of tyranny), Erythnul (god of envy and slaughter), Hextor (god of war and discord), Incabulos (god of plague and famine), Iuz (god of pain and oppression), Loviatar (goddess of pain), Takhisis (goddess of night and hatred), Talona (goddess of disease and poison)
The Father
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Knowledge, Life, Tempest, and War.
The Father is one of the two creator deities within the Great Pantheon, as the 12 deitypes are collectively known. Whereas the Mother represents raw, primal creativity and fertility, the Father is the patron of rules, structure, and the application of science to describe the natural order of things. He is the ultimate lawmaker, the Patriarch of the Gods. In religions of most cultures, his aspect is responsible for creating the world and for ruling over both gods and mortals.
Aspects: Ilmater (god of endurance),Majere (god of meditation and order), Oghma (god of knowledge), Paladine (god of rulers and guardians), Pelor (god of sun and healing), Rao (god of peace and reason), St. Cuthbert (god of common sense and zeal), Zivilyn (god of wisdom)
The Judge
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Knowledge, Light, and War.
In different aspects, the Judge represents mercy and justice, as well as righteous retribution and wrath. The Judge is both the arbiter of fairness and the divine hand wielding the hammer of punishment. In some cultures, lawful neutral aspects of the Judge appear as the impartial, somewhat distant arbitrator who maintains the cosmic balance, judging the good and evil equally. In most civilizations, though, the Judge is viewed as the divine protector of the innocent and righteous and the wrathful punisher of evil.
Aspects: Heironeous (god of chivalry and valor), Helm (god of protection), Sagonnas (god of vengeance and fire), Trithereon (god of liberty and retribution), Tyr (god of justice)
The Lover
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Life, Light, Nature, and Tempest.
The Lover is both the object of ultimate desire and the personification of ideal beauty. She is often represented as the unattainable goal, but she is also the spouse or soul mate with whom you spend your life. In many cultures, she is also the muse, the font of creativity and the artistic impulse. Her aspects can also appear as deities of celebration, festivals, and wine.
Aspects: Branchala (god of music), Eldath (goddess of peace), Lliira (goddess of joy), Milil (god of poetry and song), Sune (goddess of love and beauty)
The Magus
Alignment: (Any) Neutral
Domains: Knowledge and Trickery.
The Magus is the personification of magic, the power to shape reality by the force of will. He is also the god of knowledge, and in some cultures, he manifests darker aspects as the god of secrets or forbidden lore.
Aspects: Azuth (god of wizards), Boccob (god of magic), Gilean (god of knowledge), Istus (goddess of fate and destiny), Lunitari (goddess of neutral magic), Morgion (god of disease and secrecy), Mystra (goddess of magic), Nuitari (god of evil amgic), Savras (god of divination and fate), Solinari (god of good magic), Vecna (god of evil secrets)
The Merchant
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domains: Knowledge and Trickery.
The Merchant is the goddess of commerce, trade, and wealth. She is the goddess of fair contracts and exchanges that benefit both parties, but she is also worshipped by thieves and opportunists. in her gentler aspects, she is the lady of gifts, gift giving, and charity. In many cultures, she is also the traveler and wanderer, the patron of those who journey and explore.
Aspects: Beshaba (goddess of misfortune), Celestian (god of stars and wanderers), Fharlanghn (god of horizons and travel), Shinara (goddess of wealth and trade), Tymora (goddess of good fortune), Waukeen (goddess of trade)
The Mother
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Life, Light, Nature, and Tempest.
The Mother is the deitype of life. While the Father created the universe, all living things originate with the Mother. She is the personification of nature in all its aspects, from the untouched wilderness to the fiery hearts of the suns. She is the patron of mothers and motherhood, and the goddess of fertility and healing.
Aspects: Beory (goddess of nature), Chauntea (goddess of agriculture), Chislev (goddess of nature), Ehlonna (goddess of woodlands),Hiddukel (god of lies and greed), Lathander (god of birth and renewal), Mielikki (goddess of forests), Mishakal (goddess of healing), Obad-Hai (god of nature), Ulaa (goddess of hills and mountains), Umberlee (goddess of the sea)
The Reaper
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Death, Nature, Tempest, and Trickery.
The Reaper is the embodiment of death. In some cultures, he is the neutral and impartial keeper of the afterlife, to be feared and respected but not hated. In the Realm Gates, however, he is also the god of murder, the bringer of doom, and the king of the undead.
Aspects: Bhaal (god of murder),Chemosh (god of the undead), Kelemvor (god of the dead), Myrkul (god of death), Nerull (god of death), Shar (goddess of darkness and loss), Tharizdun (god of eternal darkness), Wee Jas (goddess of magic and death)
The Stormlord
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Nature and Tempest.
The Stormlord is the deitype of the elemental forces of nature. He is the god of storms, the sea, lightning, and thunder. While the Mother represents the nurturing and life-giving of the weather and the elements, the Stormlords is the personification of its destructive wrath.
Aspects: Auril (goddess of winter), Habbakuk (god of animal life and sea), Malar (god of the hunt), Silvanus (god of wild nature),Sirrion (god of fire and change), Talos (god of stroms), Zeboim (goddess of sea and storm)
The Smith
Alignment: (Any) Neutral
Domains: Knowledge, Light, Nature, and Tempest.
The Smith is the god of crafts, technology, and the physical sciences. He is the master of technical knowledge and practical magic. In the Realm Gates, technology touches the lives of almost everyone, and the Smith is one of the most respected and revered deities in the Great Pantheon.
Aspects: Deneir (god of writing), Gond (god of craft), Reorx (god of craft)
The Trickster
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Knowledge, Light, Tempest, and Trickery.
The Trickster is the complex and sometimes seemingly contradictory god of thieves, mischief, comedy, illusion, and secrets both hidden and revealed. He is the patron of cruel humor and biting wit but also of children, laughter, and games.
Aspects: Cyric (god of lies), Leira (goddess of illusion), Mask (god of thieves), Olidammara (god of revelry)
The Warrior
Alignment: (Any) Neutral
Domains: Light and War.
The Warrior is the deitype of strength, valor, battle, and warfare. He does not represent battle for the sake of bloodlust or destruction, but rather for defense and preservation or as a test of courage and skill-at-arms. For the Warrior and those who follow him, there is glory to be won in combat but not in slaughter.
Aspects: Kiri-Jolith (god of honor and war), Kord (god of athletics and sport),Tempus (god of war), Torm (god of courage and self-sacrifice
However, recognizing the existence of the gods and comprehending their mysteries are two very different things. While most people worship one or more deities and clerics can even commune with them, no mortal can truly grasp the minds or natures of these divine powers. When it comes to explaining the gods, mortals are forced to make do with finite understandings.
In Realm Gates, the Unification Church is one such way of understanding the nature of the gods. The Unification Church believe that the many deities worshipped in the known worlds are cultural aspects of the Twelve - the deitypes of the Great Pantheon.
The Twelve
The Destroyer
Alignment: (Any) Evil
Domains: Death, Tempest, and War.
The Destroyer is the personification of evil and hate in the Realm Gates. He strives to undo all that has been done and bring creation to an end. He is the lord of entropy and the master of the void.
Aspects: Bane (god of tyranny), Erythnul (god of envy and slaughter), Hextor (god of war and discord), Incabulos (god of plague and famine), Iuz (god of pain and oppression), Loviatar (goddess of pain), Takhisis (goddess of night and hatred), Talona (goddess of disease and poison)
The Father
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Knowledge, Life, Tempest, and War.
The Father is one of the two creator deities within the Great Pantheon, as the 12 deitypes are collectively known. Whereas the Mother represents raw, primal creativity and fertility, the Father is the patron of rules, structure, and the application of science to describe the natural order of things. He is the ultimate lawmaker, the Patriarch of the Gods. In religions of most cultures, his aspect is responsible for creating the world and for ruling over both gods and mortals.
Aspects: Ilmater (god of endurance),Majere (god of meditation and order), Oghma (god of knowledge), Paladine (god of rulers and guardians), Pelor (god of sun and healing), Rao (god of peace and reason), St. Cuthbert (god of common sense and zeal), Zivilyn (god of wisdom)
The Judge
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Knowledge, Light, and War.
In different aspects, the Judge represents mercy and justice, as well as righteous retribution and wrath. The Judge is both the arbiter of fairness and the divine hand wielding the hammer of punishment. In some cultures, lawful neutral aspects of the Judge appear as the impartial, somewhat distant arbitrator who maintains the cosmic balance, judging the good and evil equally. In most civilizations, though, the Judge is viewed as the divine protector of the innocent and righteous and the wrathful punisher of evil.
Aspects: Heironeous (god of chivalry and valor), Helm (god of protection), Sagonnas (god of vengeance and fire), Trithereon (god of liberty and retribution), Tyr (god of justice)
The Lover
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Life, Light, Nature, and Tempest.
The Lover is both the object of ultimate desire and the personification of ideal beauty. She is often represented as the unattainable goal, but she is also the spouse or soul mate with whom you spend your life. In many cultures, she is also the muse, the font of creativity and the artistic impulse. Her aspects can also appear as deities of celebration, festivals, and wine.
Aspects: Branchala (god of music), Eldath (goddess of peace), Lliira (goddess of joy), Milil (god of poetry and song), Sune (goddess of love and beauty)
The Magus
Alignment: (Any) Neutral
Domains: Knowledge and Trickery.
The Magus is the personification of magic, the power to shape reality by the force of will. He is also the god of knowledge, and in some cultures, he manifests darker aspects as the god of secrets or forbidden lore.
Aspects: Azuth (god of wizards), Boccob (god of magic), Gilean (god of knowledge), Istus (goddess of fate and destiny), Lunitari (goddess of neutral magic), Morgion (god of disease and secrecy), Mystra (goddess of magic), Nuitari (god of evil amgic), Savras (god of divination and fate), Solinari (god of good magic), Vecna (god of evil secrets)
The Merchant
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domains: Knowledge and Trickery.
The Merchant is the goddess of commerce, trade, and wealth. She is the goddess of fair contracts and exchanges that benefit both parties, but she is also worshipped by thieves and opportunists. in her gentler aspects, she is the lady of gifts, gift giving, and charity. In many cultures, she is also the traveler and wanderer, the patron of those who journey and explore.
Aspects: Beshaba (goddess of misfortune), Celestian (god of stars and wanderers), Fharlanghn (god of horizons and travel), Shinara (goddess of wealth and trade), Tymora (goddess of good fortune), Waukeen (goddess of trade)
The Mother
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Life, Light, Nature, and Tempest.
The Mother is the deitype of life. While the Father created the universe, all living things originate with the Mother. She is the personification of nature in all its aspects, from the untouched wilderness to the fiery hearts of the suns. She is the patron of mothers and motherhood, and the goddess of fertility and healing.
Aspects: Beory (goddess of nature), Chauntea (goddess of agriculture), Chislev (goddess of nature), Ehlonna (goddess of woodlands),Hiddukel (god of lies and greed), Lathander (god of birth and renewal), Mielikki (goddess of forests), Mishakal (goddess of healing), Obad-Hai (god of nature), Ulaa (goddess of hills and mountains), Umberlee (goddess of the sea)
The Reaper
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Death, Nature, Tempest, and Trickery.
The Reaper is the embodiment of death. In some cultures, he is the neutral and impartial keeper of the afterlife, to be feared and respected but not hated. In the Realm Gates, however, he is also the god of murder, the bringer of doom, and the king of the undead.
Aspects: Bhaal (god of murder),Chemosh (god of the undead), Kelemvor (god of the dead), Myrkul (god of death), Nerull (god of death), Shar (goddess of darkness and loss), Tharizdun (god of eternal darkness), Wee Jas (goddess of magic and death)
The Stormlord
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Nature and Tempest.
The Stormlord is the deitype of the elemental forces of nature. He is the god of storms, the sea, lightning, and thunder. While the Mother represents the nurturing and life-giving of the weather and the elements, the Stormlords is the personification of its destructive wrath.
Aspects: Auril (goddess of winter), Habbakuk (god of animal life and sea), Malar (god of the hunt), Silvanus (god of wild nature),Sirrion (god of fire and change), Talos (god of stroms), Zeboim (goddess of sea and storm)
The Smith
Alignment: (Any) Neutral
Domains: Knowledge, Light, Nature, and Tempest.
The Smith is the god of crafts, technology, and the physical sciences. He is the master of technical knowledge and practical magic. In the Realm Gates, technology touches the lives of almost everyone, and the Smith is one of the most respected and revered deities in the Great Pantheon.
Aspects: Deneir (god of writing), Gond (god of craft), Reorx (god of craft)
The Trickster
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Knowledge, Light, Tempest, and Trickery.
The Trickster is the complex and sometimes seemingly contradictory god of thieves, mischief, comedy, illusion, and secrets both hidden and revealed. He is the patron of cruel humor and biting wit but also of children, laughter, and games.
Aspects: Cyric (god of lies), Leira (goddess of illusion), Mask (god of thieves), Olidammara (god of revelry)
The Warrior
Alignment: (Any) Neutral
Domains: Light and War.
The Warrior is the deitype of strength, valor, battle, and warfare. He does not represent battle for the sake of bloodlust or destruction, but rather for defense and preservation or as a test of courage and skill-at-arms. For the Warrior and those who follow him, there is glory to be won in combat but not in slaughter.
Aspects: Kiri-Jolith (god of honor and war), Kord (god of athletics and sport),Tempus (god of war), Torm (god of courage and self-sacrifice