The Pantheon

Locally, the most important gods are considered to be the Divine Family. The concept is heavily stolen from Bujold's books, namely The Curse of Chalion, and then D&Dified for your pleasure.

Although the Family are widely recognised and accepted, there are numerous lesser gods and powers that attend them and are worshipped, as well as local deities that may not be known beyond the valley or mountain they call home. In addition, the precise members of the Family are sometimes disputed or known by different names, although their mystic roles are usually identified.

All told, feel free to Bring Your Own Deity, but expect larger temples and known religious structures to broadly align with the Family.

Also note that the roles and responsibilities of the Family overlap somewhat, and there may be apparent contradictions within them. Each contains multitudes, as it were. All members of the Family also have at least some interactions with each other, even those who are nominally opposed.

The Mother

The Mother is the bringer of life, goddess of birth and hearth. She is brilliant light, raucous noise, the cry of the newborn and the nocturnal exclamation of the newlywed. She is summer and warmth, patron of menders and makers, cooks and potters. She is day.

Her shrines and images adorn houses of healing, gardens and farms, newly established family homes, brothels and bordellos, and halls of marriage.

Her domains include: Life, Light, Forge

The Mother and...

The Father

The Father is the bringer of death, god of the grave and silence. He is quiet darkness, records and laws, keeper of the final truth. He is winter and frost, and demands obedience absolute. He is patron of funerary rites, lawkeepers, contract makers and annalists. He is night.

His shrines and icons may be found in cemeteries and funeral homes, over doors and portals, and wherever records are kept.

His domains include: Death, Grave, Order, Twilight

The Father and...

The Son

The Son is the wilderness, the hunt, blood red and running amidst the leaves. He is the stag, the howling wolf, the first of the druids, the god of harvests and revelry and the end of things. He is patron of all those that turn away from the trappings of civilisation, hermits and trappers and poachers, bandits and outlaws, as well as a warden of the beasts of the wild. He is autumn and dusk.

His shrines may be found scattered through the wilds, isolated cairns stained with old sacrifices, offerings burnt in a bonfire while his faithful dance, moss growing over carved stones and weathered altars. Many who live or work away from the bright lights of the towns and villages will offer at least passing respect to Him.

His domains include: Twilight, Nature, Peace

The Son and...

The Daughter

The Daughter is a clenched fist, banners snapping before the charge, bloody justice and righteous rebellion. She is war, swords and voices united in Her cause, and She is the judgement who comes for all in the end. She is patron of military doctrine, knights, vigilantes and rebels. She is the march of progress, and the oath that binds one to it, the storm that shatters the old and brings change to stagnancy. She is dawn and spring.

Her icons may be found wherever armies are trained, housed or deployed, as well as places of judgement and punishment. Few indeed are those that fight for a living and do not honour Her.

Her domains include: War, Tempest, Order, Light

The Daughter and...

The Bastard

The Bastard is a curse, a disaster, a god of misplaced and unwanted things. They are portents and omens, things from beyond understanding, and all manner of hidden and dangerous knowledge. They watch over orphans and outcasts, and seek to return those who are lost. They show us the truth that we wish remained hidden.

The Bastard is rarely central to the lives of others. Occasionally libraries and vaults are dedicated to Them, and this says as much about the contents as most people want to know. Such places often double as churches in their honour, and often further serve the function of an orphanage. They are respected, but only rarely appealed to.

Their domains include: Knowledge, Blood

The Bastard and...

The Wanderer

The Wanderer is a story, a dream, a song that never quite leaves your head, yet evades precise recall. He or She is myth, is forgery, is an illusion that yet reveals. He or She will never be known, yet tells us everything with a smile and a wink. The Wanderer is the eternal minstrel, the travelling storyteller, progenitor of a million lies and one sacred truth. The Wanderer is all that we want, yet none of it is true.

The Wanderer's mark is known to those who entertain, the bards and dancers and gyrovagi, authors and poets, and all those who deal with the fey. There are no churches or chapels dedicated to The Wanderer, instead being worshipped through story and song wherever two souls meet and exchange tales.

His or Her domains include: Trickery, Moon

The Wanderer and...