Pantheon
Major Gods
Most the population of Ataland worship a specific of god in the main pantheon of eight.
Players can also choose to not follow any god in particular, and this is common with true neutral aligned characters. The cleric and paladin classes require a deity to be chosen, as they are the source of your spellcasting.
Every race in Ataland worships the same gods, and the gods themselves are not of any specific race.
List of Major Gods
| Name | Title | Alignment | Gender | Symbol | Suggested Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solina | The Eternal Light | Lawful Good | Female | A Lamp | Life, Light |
| Marlon | The Caretaker | Neutral Good | Male | Open Hands | Life, Wealth |
| Caspio | The Rouge Wanderer | Chaotic Good | Fluid | A Signpost¹ | Nature, Trickery |
| Solos | The Impartial One | Lawful Neutral | None | An Icosahedron | Knowledge, Light |
| Gaia | The Patron of Nature | Chaotic Neutral | Female | An Oak Tree | Nature, Tempest |
| Xor | The War King | Lawful Evil | Male | Crossed Swords | Knowledge, War |
| Vastra | The Usurper | Neutral Evil | Female | A Coin | Trickery, Wealth |
| Kalis | The Herald of Corruption | Chaotic Evil | Male | A Skull | Tempest, War |
¹ Representing a fork in a road.
Every major god has an alignment. Characters sometimes follow a deity that matches their alignment, but this is not a requirement. A character's religion can be influenced by their family, friends and history. Playing a character with a different alignment to their god allows you to explore more aspects of that character's personality.
Solina
"Cast out evil and find eternal light."
Solina is the champion of good. She is seen as a guiding light to her followers, instructing them to fight evil directly and take on other noble causes.
Appearance
Solina is depicted in the form of a female humanoid, glowing in brilliant golden light. Detailed descriptions are sparse. It is said that the light is so bright, it is impossible to gaze upon her fully. Statues of Solina are gold painted where possible, or otherwise of well polished bronze.
Lore
Solina is said to have created all the creatures and she imbued each of them with a holy light, giving each one a will of their own.
Followers
Solina's follows are often very devout and observant of their religion. They normally either work with the temple directly or occasionally as a volunteer.
Among her most ardent followers you will find Healers, Soldiers, Guards, and Governors.
Solina's followers get on well with followers of Marlon and Solos. They clash with followers of Kalis.
Classes
Clerics, Monks and Paladins favour Solina.
Aspects
Solina is associated with Holiness and Life.
Marlon
"To help is it's own reward."
Marlon is the saviour of the oppressed. His worship strongly connected with the desire to help those in need, regardless of personal cost.
Appearance
Marlon is frequently depicted as a kindly older humanoid male, with a large grey beard and balding head.
Lore
Marlon is said to have gifted intelligence to the Otterfolk after witnessing some otters save a child from an overflowing stream.
Followers
Marlon's followers are well regarded as friendly and charitable. Leaders that follow Marlon's teachings are loved by their subjects.
Among his most ardent followers you will find Healers, Farmers, and Teachers.
Marlon's followers get on well with followers of Solina and Caspio. They clash with followers of Vastra.
Classes
Clerics, Druids and Paladins favour Marlon.
Aspects
Marlon is associated with Family, Comfort and Charity.
Caspio
"Life is nothing without risk and risk is nothing without reward."
Caspio is god to adventurers, wanders, pirates and scoundrels. If the road, waves or sky calls to you, Caspio is said to be whispering in your ear.
Appearance
Caspio is depicted as a handsome androgynous humanoid with locks of red hair.
Lore
Caspio is pansexual and once wooed mortal lovers by whisking them away on an adventure. It is said you can find Caspio at crossroads.
Followers
Caspio's followers are sometimes seen as suspicious at best or criminals at worst, but this is an unfair stereotype. Most are completely law abiding. Their followers are those who wish for an unexpected future and who's worst fate is day just like yesterday.
Among their most ardent followers you will find Sailors, Adventurers, Travelling Salesmen, Thieves, Barkeeps and Musicians.
Caspio's followers get on well with followers of Marlon and Gaia. They clash with followers of Xor.
Classes
Bards, Rangers and Rouges favour Caspio.
Aspects
Caspio is associated with Adventure, Treasure, Romance
Solos
"Justice is sacred. Judgement is absolute."
Solos is the personification of law, order and justice. Solos is said to judge fairly, with no biases, preconceptions or prejudice. Solos' followers are instructed to do the same.
Appearance
Solos is depicted as an icosahedron - a simple geometric shape consisting of 20 equally shaped triangular faces. In an effort to avoid bias, Solos is the only deity that does not take on a humanoid form.
Lore
It's said that each of Solos' faces reflects one aspect of the truth.
Followers
Solos followers are sometimes seen as dull, but they are generally respected. They don't tend to talk their faith publicly, except in cases justice is demanded.
Among Solos' most ardent followers you will find Judges, Guards, Scholars, Teachers and Leaders.
Solos' followers get on well with followers of Solina and Xor. They clash with followers of Gaia.
Classes
Monks, Rangers and Wizards favour Solos.
Aspects
Solos is associated with Law, Justice and Science.
Gaia
"If you protect nature, it will protect you."
Gaia cares as much about the plants, animals and other life as she does her followers. Seeing them as just another small part of the grand dance. If you have a love of nature, you may have a kinship with Gaia.
Appearance
Gaia is infrequently depicted as female humanoid with plants as hair. More often her followers plant oak trees in their temples to represent Gaia.
Lore
Gaia is said to have created the world along with all plant life.
Followers
Gaia's followers are usually simple folk who work with the land. Temples to her tend to be simple and rural. Her followers spurn elaborate religious ceremony and tend for a more direct communion with nature.
Among her most ardent followers you will find Farmers, Herbalists, Hunters, Fishermen, Hermits and Grocers.
Gaia's followers get on well with followers of Caspio. They clash with followers of Solos.
Classes
Barbarians, Druids and Warlocks favour Gaia.
Aspects
Gaia is associated with Nature, Growth and Rebirth.
Xor
"Conflict begets progress."
Xor feeds on war and conflict. Xor's followers are instructed to seek the fight, and to find glory in death or victory. Xor cares not for your cause, only your fervour for battle.
Appearance
Xor is depicted as a humanoid in full plate armour. The armour is black, with painted ripples and shades of red. Nobody knows what is inside the armour. Given his title, Xor's gender is assumed to be male.
Lore
Xor is said to have given the secret of invention to an early mortal tribe. While the tribe celebrated their new easier lives, Xor told another tribe how to steal invention from them. In legend, this caused the first war.
Followers
Xor's followers often live short and violent lives. However some survive and are promoted to positions of authority.
Among his most ardent followers you will find Soldiers, Generals, Autocrats, Smithies and Spies.
Xor's followers get on well with followers of Solos and Vastra. They clash with followers of Caspio.
Classes
Fighters, Warlocks and Wizards favour Xor.
Aspects
Xor is associated with War, Technology and Knowledge.
Vastra
"The world is a treasure trove, so take your fill."
Vastra preaches self-indulgence and selfishness. She encourages mortals to take what they desire by any means.
Appearance
Depictions of Vastra vary greatly as each artist gives her their own features. The one thing all versions have in common is she is shown to be beautiful and powerful.
Lore
In times past, a deity known as Halganon "The Sleeping Giant" was worshiped in her place. Vastra, at this time a minor god, overthrew Halganon, stealing his position and power.
Followers
Vastra's followers believe greed and vanity are normal and as nothing to be ashamed of. However they are not completely lacking in heart and reward those they consider loyal to them.
Among her most ardent followers you will find Landlords, Entertainers, Bandits and Traders.
Vastra's followers get on well with followers of Xor and Kalis. They clash with followers of Marlon.
Classes
Bards, Rouges and Sorcerers favour Vastra.
Aspects
Vastra is associated with Vanity, Commerce and Power.
Kalis
"The only inevitably is death."
Kalis seeks death and destruction. Many believe that Kalis will eventually corrupt the land, then bring and end to life, and finally time itself.
Appearance
Kalis is depicted as a naked male humanoid carrying a skull.
Lore
Kalis pledged to the other gods that he would end the world. Believing that nothing has meaning without an end.
Followers
To be a follower of Kalis you don't actually have to wish for the end of the world. You do, however, accept the inevitably. This nihilistic world view enables Kalis' followers to easily ignore suffering of others.
Among his most ardent followers you will find Cultists, Executioners and Soldiers.
Kalis' followers get on well with followers of Vastra. They clash with followers of Solina.
Classes
Barbarians, Fighters and Sorcerers favour Kalis.
Aspects
Kalis is associated with Corruption and Death.
Minor Gods
In addition to the eight major gods, there are countless minor gods worshiped in Ataland. Minor gods do not get dedicated temples and have very few followers. Often worship of a minor god is passed down family lines. Worship of a minor god can be a hindrance to a character - minor religions are often not given the same respect as more orthodox beliefs. It is very rare to see a cleric or paladin dedicated to a minor god.
This bit of lore allows players to invent their own favoured deity, with the supervision of the Game Master. Decide on a name, alignment, title, symbol, aspects and appearance. How did you wind up with an unusual faith? Was it passed down to you, or did you have a experience that converted you?
List of Minor Gods
The following is an incomplete list of the minor gods.
| Name | Title | Alignment | Gender | Symbol | Aspects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halganon | The Sleeping Giant | Neutral Evil | Male | A Mountaintop | Disorder, Fate, Death, Peace |
| Karlo | The Chef | Lawful Good | Male | Crossed Knife & Fork | Food, Friendship |
| Lilith | The Temptress | Neutral Evil | Female | Embracing Lovers | Pride, Lust, Indulgence |
| Mada & Opa | The Guardians | Chaotic Good | F / M | Parents & Child | Protection, Sacrifice, Parenthood |
| Rallah | The Collector | Lawful Neutral | Female | An Open Box | Obsession, Order, Preservation |
| Zaloz | The Torturer | Chaotic Evil | Male | A Broken Bone | Pain, Secrets |
Halganon
Special mention should be made of Halganon. Once a major god he was overthrown long ago. Although all of their temples and clerics are now gone, Halganon is far from forgotten. The names of winter months still pay them tribute and they are a major figure in the observance of the winter solstice.
Appearance
Halganon is depicted as a glacier. Usually he lies asleep.
Lore
Halganon is said to have woken once a year to wander the land destroying crops and homes wherever his feet fell, and that winter would not end until Gaia could trick him back into his bed to sleep again.
Followers
Halganon has more followers than any other minor god, but it's still precious few in comparison to the major gods. Halganon's followers are out of touch with modern Ataland.
Halganon's followers don't really clash with anyone. Most others would treat the worship of Halganon as quaint.
Classes
Barbarians and Druids sometimes worship Halganon. A cleric to Halganon would be a rare sight.