As the Dragonlords terrorized the lands and enslaved the burgeoning societies even as they evolved, the pantheon of a dozen gods galavanted and antagonized the beasts until a great war happened. When the halflings and gnomes were nearly wiped out and the dwarfs and elfs disappeared into their favored lands out of fear, the world had been impacted enough to finally enrage the father-god- Ao. He intervened and punished all the parties, but his punishment for the gods was nuanced. Each of the dozen were turned into avatars to roam the mortal realm. Their punishment would end after 1000 years, but there were other ways to return to their divine realm. Each avatar was bound by three specific rules while stuck as a mortal, and each was limited in their divine powers (priests of the mortal races would gain their power directly from Ao so the gods' absence didn't impact them even more). The three rules were such:
1. You cannot use your station as a divine being to interact with the mortal races.
2. You cannot use your divine powers to interfere in the affairs of the mortal races.
3. You must defend the mortal races against all other divine threats.
Most avatars understood what this meant and were loyal to this oath of punishment. However, ages passed and some of them forgot and began meddling. Each of the avatars had their race, gender, and even special abilities given based on their roles in the Godswar. Otherwise, their stats are almost always the same- a CR5 character with 100HP, but one or two stats at 30. Beyond their abilities, the avatars have collective powers that they can use in the worst-case scenario of another gods war. The most important of these is a ritual to teleport themselves back to GodSpire. But it takes six of them as any threat that brings half of the avatars together is great indeed.
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| from Red Ragged Fiend |
The God of Magic: This was the god that really antogonized everyone. He galvanized the gods against the dragonlords and used his massive powers to encourage aggression and irritation amongst all the races and the parties. Because of his instigatory role, Ao banished him as a human mercenary, named Mikel, that couldn't work magic at all. Worst, he retained his knowledge but had no talent. Eventually, he sought solice by visiting the Oracle of the Elvenqueen and being told of a union between him and a elf maiden to create the savior of the Feywild. His quest eventually led to the creation of a banshee, the awaking of one of the dragonlords, and his daughter's installment as princess just in time for the fall of the Feywild. He finally met his death at the hands of the adventurers tasked with bringing his daughter back to him. With his death, he will now return to imprisonment by Ao at Godspire.
The God of Knowledge: Always the god to instigate, and often claiming for the purpose of "behavioral study", he was despised the most of all the pantheon. As the resident 'know-it-all', he was constantly trying to outsmart everyone with his artifacts and cunning. Because he was the most annoying, Ao sent his in form of a human thief named Pete to the mortal world. Pete found a way back to God Spire and stole an artifact from the god of luck and wealth. When this artifact was found and used to instigate a war against between the goblins and humans, Pete intervened and was killed in a massive explosion. But Pete was still spiteful after Ao's punishment, so he enacted a curse that removed knowledge of the artifact and its whereabouts from the mortal world. He is now imprisoned by Ao and tormented by an imp.
The God of Adventuring and Wanderlust: Always ready for a challenge and never satisfied with peace, this god was known for escalating any situation. He didn't mean to cause any trouble, but his constant role in the Godswar led Ao to banishing him as a female human warrior named Xena, set to wander the land and enjoy the chaos of the mortal races. Coincidentally, the warrioress met the same group of adventurers that killed Mikel, mated with the Dragonborn to follow the same rumoured prophecy as her companion, and met her end in an attack by the awakened green Dragonlord. Her death allowed him to return to Ao's good graces, but he grieves for the loss of the Dragonborn and their child.
The God of War: He never did more than his job, which was to inspire the mortal races and his companions to settle their conflicts with passion. Whether that be organizing the war efforts against the dragonlords or inspiring the Orcish races to invade the human lands, the god wasn't ashamed of any of his actions during the Godswar. Ao understood and banished him as a brave knight with the entire role of guarding against the return of the dragonlords on his shoulders. That human knight was named Sir Knight and spent most his time aiding the elves in their quest against the minor dragons. The avatar continues to wander in the hopes of slaying a dragon. He is AC 30 and can make six attacks in a single round.
The God of Nature : She was completely uninvolved, even as she watched her fellow gods begin a war that would be so destructive. Her own sphere was directly affected as her forests were burned, mountains were leveled, and waterways emptied and dried up. The fertile realms she helped to created and maintain suffered greatly and still she did nothing. Ao was very angry at one of his children showing such apathy at their own responsibility and punished her with the form of a Treant, named Still Oak, and then forcing it to stand constant vigil over the prison of one of the dragonlords. As time trundled along, the tree grew older and slower until eventually a gnome showed up to awaken and accompany it on its mission. The tree is nearly dead but can't enter God Spire until it helps to defeat a dragonlord in some way. Still Oak now wanders with an adventuring party and the gnome. It has Con 30 and is resistant to fire, which can be used as a breath weapon like a young red dragon.
The God of Luck and Wealth: He wasn't hesitant about working both sides, and his natural good-looks and charisma certainly helped with his activities. Playing both sides of the war and acting like a double-agent spy, his antics also angered Ao. As punishment, the god was sent as an old, female human beggar that would never achieve success without the very luck that he was denied. The female avatar took the name of Angela and, luckily, ran into the very adventuring party that would free her companions. Currently, Angela wormed her way into running the adventurers' tavern in the forgotten city. She has a Charisma of 30 and can create food/water/coins.
The Goddess of Chaos: She loved everything about the Godswar, including Ao being upset at everyone and punishing them. She knew she was getting something fun and she wasn't wrong. After deliberating, Ao gave her the form of an old human man man named Smothers and turned him into a sick deviant that would be kicked out of every society he would join. Smothers has endured centuries of gross behaviors leading to exile from scores of cities, and loves all of it. Currently, Smothers is in the human Kingdom of Twain enjoying the strife. He has a Wisdom and Intelligence of 30 and can curse at will.
The Goddess of Life: She was the kind light in all the Godswar, but she prolonged the event by giving everyone escape from pain and damage. She healed everything everywhere all the time and this meant that the destruction visited on the mortals was not felt by the divine and draconic beings causing it. Her mercy caused mercilessness and her patience prolonged suffering. Ao wanted her to learn, so her form was as a male gnome wanderer who could never forget all that happened, named Bobby. The avatar grew tired of this knowledge and began acting like a real gnome- being a nuisance and annoying all those around. Eventually, Bobby found Still Oak and figured out what was happening. Unfortunately, his antics may have caused the awakening of the dragonlord. The gnome is now accompanying the adventuring party that actually did and bringing Still Oak in hopes to find a solution before Ao finds out. He has a Dexterity 30 and can teleport short distances.
The God of Death: Almost always known as the most powerful of the gods below Ao, he very much enjoyed the destruction from the war. Ao banished him in the form of a ghost that must possess mortal beings to act at all. The avatar is named Kelemvor and tries to stay out of all the affairs of mortal realms. But he isn't dumb and realizes that another war is upcoming and has spent his time finding and gathering undead armies. He has the ability to teleport to any corpse anywhere across the mortal lands and can't be turned or destroyed.
The Goddess of Order and Wisdom: She already took the form of men and women and presented herself to all kinds of mortals, carrying words of wisdom or warning. She always tried to protect the mortals from the wiles of her brother god of war and felt that her role as a stormbringer was as beneficial as her role as oracle. During the Godswar, she took on the form of Erathis- a strong human male that embodied righteousness to the embattled mortals below. Despite her role in saving many races and peoples, Ao still banished her as the form of a blind, male elf named Eltharion. Eltharion created a maze that would teach patience and prowess. Only the greatest generals and leaders have passed this maze, but none have defeated Eltharion in combat and had to leave with humility as the final lesson. That was until a polymorphed dragon infiltrated the maze and killed the elf. She was returned to God Spire and now prepares for the upcoming war at Ao's request.
The God of Justice: He tried very hard to prevent the Godswar and constantly obstructed the rest of the pantheon in the hopes of mitigating the damage. He even demanded strong penalties when Ao intervened as he had been so adamant against their actions. Ao, feeling challenged, decided that all of the gods would be punished and none of this pantheon would be spared. For believing that he can judge his companions and overstepping his role, Ao banished him as a Roc that has to patrol Mt. Sunset. Always looking down on the mortal races and yet being trapped on a mountainside and being surrounded by violent and terrible creatures. In bird form, he is called "Dredd" by the surrounding tribes of Orcs. He has Telepathy and can't be slowed.
There is one more avatar...
The God Spire is the mountain, far to the north, protected by the North Star Mountain Range and overlooking all the world down to the equator and the Southern Forests. At the top of the mountain sits the divine realm of the gods and can only be accessed by a powerful teleportation spell ritual. There are currrently four gods, two imprisoned and another crippled by grief, in that home. Of the remaining eight gods still stuck as avatars, one of them is a ghost and can't return, one of them is a tree will soon return, and another is outright missing. To counter the threat of the dragonlords, the avatars will need their powers restored by getting back to the God Spire. One dragonlord may be defeated, but trusting the lesser dragons to help is completely contrary to the Scorpion and Frog fable known across the lands. The avatars will have to come together again.
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| from Ancient Origins |
