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Millstone85
2019-06-26, 03:56 AM
One of my characters was a warforged who ended up in the Realms. I might get to play him again in a few sessions.

An idea I have is for him to worship a subset of the Faerūnian pantheon, that he would have assembled on the model of Eberron's Sovereign Host.

Here are the members of the Sovereign Host, and the Faerūnian deities I think are most similar to them:


Arawai
Chauntea


Aureon
Mystra


Balinor
Silvanus


Boldrei
Selūne


Dol Arrah
Lathander


Dol Dorn
Tempus


Kol Korran
Waukeen


Olladra
Tymora


Onatar
Gond


Does that seem about right to you?

The weakest match, I think, is Boldrei/Selūne. Turns out the Faerūnian pantheon does not have a deity of hearth and home. There are the dwarven goddess Berronar and the halfling goddess Cyrrollalee, but I would leave them to their races. I went with Selūne because she is, among other things, a goddess of motherhood.

I also hesitated on Aureon/Mystra. I could have instead gone with Azuth, Deneir or Oghma, who are all connected to arcane magic and scholarly knowledge in general. But, well, Mystra is the most important.

Note that I did not try to match individual alignments. I did, however, exclude all evil deities.

Millstone85
2019-06-30, 03:25 AM
Hmm... I will take the absence of answers to mean that nobody saw anything wrong.

Yora
2019-06-30, 08:36 AM
Looks good to me. With the exception of Silvanus, these all seem to be mainstream gods of civilized peoples throughout the continent. But I think going with Helm or Tyr as a war god would fit better. Helm in particular seems to be a very popular god, while Tempus is more of a barbarian deity.

Millstone85
2019-06-30, 04:17 PM
Tempus is more of a barbarian deity.My knowledge of Tempus comes mainly from Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear and from fifth edition's Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Those did not make me picture a barbarian deity.

For example:
Tempus's favor might be randomly distributed, but over the centuries his priests have made an effort to spread and enforce a common code of warfare--to make war a thing of rules, respect for reputations, and professional behavior. This code, called Tempus's Honor, has the purpose of making conflicts brief, decisive, and as safe as possible for those not directly involved.

Many who worship Tempus also follow the Red Knight, goddess of strategy.


I think going with Helm or Tyr as a war god would fit better. Helm in particular seems to be a very popular godI personally dislike Helm for his obedience to Ao. By contrast, SCAG says that Tyr lost his eyes when he criticized the Overgod's actions, so he has my sympathy. I will consider switching Tempus for Tyr.

RedMage125
2019-07-02, 10:00 AM
My knowledge of Tempus comes mainly from Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear and from fifth edition's Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Those did not make me picture a barbarian deity.

For example:

Many who worship Tempus also follow the Red Knight, goddess of strategy.
You are correct, Tempus is simply the god of WAR. All war. And he has a particular soft spot for Eldath, goddess of peace, and does not tolerate his worshipers harassing hers. Tempus believes that war needs to be distinguished and highlighted by (brief) periods of peace.


I personally dislike Helm for his obedience to Ao. By contrast, SCAG says that Tyr lost his eyes when he criticized the Overgod's actions, so he has my sympathy. I will consider switching Tempus for Tyr.
Helm's basically a divine robot. Tyr lost his eyes when he whined to Ao about all the gods being punished for the theft of the Tablets of Fate.



Here are the members of the Sovereign Host, and the Faerūnian deities I think are most similar to them:


Arawai
Chauntea


Aureon
Mystra


Balinor
Silvanus


Boldrei
Selūne


Dol Arrah
Lathander


Dol Dorn
Tempus


Kol Korran
Waukeen


Olladra
Tymora


Onatar
Gond


Does that seem about right to you?

The weakest match, I think, is Boldrei/Selūne. Turns out the Faerūnian pantheon does not have a deity of hearth and home. There are the dwarven goddess Berronar and the halfling goddess Cyrrollalee, but I would leave them to their races. I went with Selūne because she is, among other things, a goddess of motherhood.

I also hesitated on Aureon/Mystra. I could have instead gone with Azuth, Deneir or Oghma, who are all connected to arcane magic and scholarly knowledge in general. But, well, Mystra is the most important.

Note that I did not try to match individual alignments. I did, however, exclude all evil deities.

Okay, I like a lot of your choices, but I have some input for you.

Chauntea is a god choice for Arawai, but she's also the closest thing Eberron has to a goddes of hearth and home.

Honestly, I would put Lathander as the closest to a deity of hearth and home. He is a very community-minded deity. MUCH more so than Selune.

Dol Arrah is also not well served by Lathander anyway. I know it mentions "Sunlight and Honor" in the PHB, but that's imprecise. She's one of the Three Faces of War, and the fact that she's the Lawful Good deity of honorable combat is the most significant way she is worshipped and honored. To that end, I suggest Torm (god of duty, courage, and self-sacrifice), or Tyr (justice).

All the rest of your selections are totally on point. I fully support your decision to make Aureon=Mystra, and here's why: In Eberron, Aureon is the god of magic, but he separated the darkness in himself, which became The Shadow (of the Dark Six), who is also a god of magic. Shar in Faerun is the goddess of darkness, and also controls the Shadow Weave, an alternate source of magic.

You should also remember that the Sovereign Host is made up of FIFTEEN deities, not nine. The Dark Six are a part of the Host's faith. Even though most consider them dangerous, not all do. The Mockery is a war god, but he teaches victory by any means. The Shadow protects those who are persecuted and grants them boons to help survive (medusae believe the Shadow gifted them with their stone gaze). The Fury lends great strength to those who are rules by passionate emotion. The Devourer is a natural part of the world, feeding on the weak so the strong may survive. And The Traveler isn't even "evil" at all, but unpredictable. Changelings revere him as the one who gave them their abilities. Got nothing nice for the Keeper, lol. However, the Keeper is the only Sovereign represented as a skeletal dragon, and is often associated with undeath and the trapping of souls.

So my suggestions for the Dark Six for you (again, portfolio more important than alignment, like you did):

The Devourer => Malar, god of beasts and slaughter

The Fury=> Talos, god of storms and destruction

The Keeper=> Bhaal, god of murder or Myrkul, god of death (not to be confused with the god of the dead, Kelemvor). I recommend Myrkul slightly more.

The Mockery=> Cyric, god of strife and lies

The Shadow=> Shar, as I mentioned above.

The Traveler=> This one is hard. A mischevious, but not malign deity of chaos, trickery and change? Nothing fits perfectly. I would say Lliira Leira, goddess of illusion.

Millstone85
2019-07-03, 03:45 AM
Dol Arrah is also not well served by Lathander anyway.I am torn on this. On the one hand, you are right. Dol Arrah is the patron of paladins, while Lathander is just listed as one of the "less common" choices for a paladin's deity. On the other hand, it was the first match I made, based on them being sun gods*. Perhaps it is not the most meaningful thing about them, but then again my character isn't a divine spellcaster, or even proficient in Religion, so there is room to say his approach was a bit naive.

* I see Amaunator and Lathander as the lawful and good aspects of a single deity.


You should also remember that the Sovereign Host is made up of FIFTEEN deities, not nine. The Dark Six are a part of the Host's faith. Even though most consider them dangerous, not all do.My character would. Still, it makes sense that he would also ponder on Toril's Dark Six, and your list is very helpful.

RedMage125
2019-07-03, 09:29 AM
I am torn on this. On the one hand, you are right. Dol Arrah is the patron of paladins, while Lathander is just listed as one of the "less common" choices for a paladin's deity. On the other hand, it was the first match I made, based on them being sun gods*. Perhaps it is not the most meaningful thing about them, but then again my character isn't a divine spellcaster, or even proficient in Religion, so there is room to say his approach was a bit naive.
Even a cursory knowledge of Dol Arrah, however, would know that she is primarily a War god. She is the goddess of honorable combat. That she grants the Sun/Light domains is a secondary aspect of her portfolio.


* I see Amaunator and Lathander as the lawful and good aspects of a single deity.
In 4e, that was canon. Amaunator returned and "revealed" that Lathander had been an aspect of him all along. Now in 5e, they're different deities again.


My character would. Still, it makes sense that he would also ponder on Toril's Dark Six, and your list is very helpful.
Glad to help!

Millstone85
2019-07-03, 02:00 PM
Boldrei/Lathander has consolidated itself in my mind. Meanwhile, I read on Torm and Tyr and I think I like the former better, both as a character and because Dol Arrah and Torm share the "patron of paladins" bit.

So I am modifying the list.



Arawai
Chauntea


Aureon
Mystra


Balinor
Silvanus


Boldrei
Lathander


Dol Arrah
Torm


Dol Dorn
Tempus


Kol Korran
Waukeen


Olladra
Tymora


Onatar
Gond

RedMage125
2019-07-03, 04:38 PM
Boldrei/Lathander has consolidated itself in my mind. Meanwhile, I read on Torm and Tyr and I think I like the former better, both as a character and because Dol Arrah and Torm share the "patron of paladins" bit.

So I am modifying the list.


I like the new list. I also agree on Torm, I mainly threw Tyr in there because he was also fairly appropriate, and you seemed familiar with him already. I also like Torm a lot more. He is a god of honor, duty, and self-sacrifice. Tyr's kind of a whiner in my opinion. If you've ever read The Empyrean Odyssey, Tyr basically abandons all his godly duties once he gets a girlfriend. Even his own celestail servants think it's gauche. Torm practically absorbs him after doing his job for him. Torm, on the other hand, gave his life to permanently destroy Bane during the Time Of Troubles. And when the ToT was over, Ao restored Torm because he gave his life in pursuit of his ethos. Bane did not return until years later (his demigod son Iyachtu Xvim, as it turns out, was a vessel for Bane's resurrection).

So....yeah, huge fan of Torm. He's the deific equivalent of a morally-righteous Paladin, but he's sincere, and he practices what he preaches, even if it costs him everything.

Of note on my Dark Six recommendations. The only one I had any doubts on was Cyric as The Mockery. Like the "Dol" Sovereigns, The Mockery is also a war god, while Cyric is not. OTOH, The Mockery is a god of violence and treachery, which Cyric absolutely is. I considered suggesting Bane, god of tyranny and fear. Alignment doesn't fit either choice (one's LE, the other CE, Mockery is NE), so I discarded it and tried to think only about their respective portfolios. And while The Mockery is a deity who promotes slaughter and bloodshed, he also favors underhanded tactics, deceit and betrayal. Cyric's not one for revealing his hand or open violence, but he is the Prince of Lies, god of strife, and is, himself, a traitor and a backstabber (as a mortal he was dual-classed Fighter/Thief who betrayed and murdered his friends during the Time of Troubles).

If you want to read on other deities to be sure of your selections for the Dark Six, then I guess the shark god Sekolah also fits for the Devourer. He's almost exclusively worshipped by sahuagin, though. And though Eberron Sahuagin DO worship The Devourer, that isn't the totality of that god's worship. Malar fits best, I believe, because he's a savage god, still a nature deity, and worshipped by many savage humanoids. I also stand by Talos for The Fury (even though The Fury is female). Talos leads a group of gods called the Gods Of Fury, and though he is called "the Stormlord" and is a god of storm and lightning, his primary portfolio is Destruction. If you want a good female equivalent, I advise Umberlee, Auril, or Talona. The first two are fairly element-focused (water and ice, respectively), and Talona is a goddess of poison and disease. But that's it. Cyric is a god of madness, but he's better as The Mockery, and to me, The Fury is more about wrath and destruction than madness. I gave 2 suggestions for The Keeper. I stand by Myrkul, with Bhaal as the next best choice. The Shadow, likewise, I cannot think of any alternatives to look into. Mask is a god of "shadows", because he is a patron of thieves, but The Shadow is not only a god of darkness and secrets, but also magic. None fit better than Shar for that.

And I need to make a correction for The Traveler. I wrote the wrong name down before, it's Leira, who is goddess of deception and illusions. The name I wrote is a CG goddess of joy. Not a good fit, lol. Leira, by the way, the more I read on her, the more I stand by my choice. She isn't viewed as malicious, but rather as enigmatic. She is a patron for those who decieve others, and her clergy wear masks that make their faces almost featureless (you know, like a changeling's natural face). I'm doubling down on Leira as The Traveler.

Sorry I wrote another novella, but I'm very familiar with FR's pantheon, and I am a HUGE Eberron fan, so your thought experiment here intrigued me a great deal (and also makes me very qualified to give advice on it, lol*). I actually re-read all the SCAG entries for the deities I suggested, thinking about it. I should be done now.

*I'm also very humble.