Gond's Portfolio

Armin · Post by **Armin** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:07 am

I have a new priest hopeful of Gond. I was wondering if it is acceptable to concentrate on the "work" part of the portfolio? I.E. The "Working Man's" God...as opposed to the pure "inventor" Alathalus is a northman, and is used to hard labor, and a past experience in his job caused him to revere Gond, and now he appreciates hard labor, and fine craftsmanship. Is that an acceptable RP?

Cret · Post by **Cret** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:50 am

I believe rp is what you make of it...

Anyways.. being somewhat the leading member, Arlen being the leading priest(ess?) -never can tell with gnomes- I belive Ive gained some insite.. through several years of rp.. hmm if Im lucky.. class change to cleric and gain Hp status.. *hint hint*.

Anyways, I believe that to be a true, devote follower of Gond one must be inspired to create new things. Though anyone can follow any diety. I think it might be best to rethink why you would join the Gond faith over.. say a Chauntean faith.. She works hard.. tills the fields tends the hearth. That sort of stuff.

I happen to have many Dieties I hold

Gond being the first - chosen because of my afinity for creation
be it illusion, weapons, jewelry... mechanical beasts
Mystra - She is the goddess that alows me to create, So I pay hommage
Lathander - That was through Rp and best be found out that way
Selune - Also another view of Rp

Now I dont want to say dont join, far from it. I wish fellow Gondsmen. But I believe that the person (character) must wish to uphold the basic elements of the faith if they wish the blessings of that patron.

To answer your question, Yes.. I think you can join the Gond faith for any reason. Gond is a Diety of Action. "To do is for a Gondar, to talk about it is for everyone else".

With these ramblings I leave thee in better hands.. or with more questions. And.. If all else fails.. Seek out the Members of the faith and ask Icly. I know of one gnome who is easy to find most ot the time.

With love..

Gwain · Post by **Gwain** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:52 am

I think for this type of roleplay and any you are unsure of you need to research and apply to the applications email to see if you can go about this rp. It might be better than the boards, that way you hold onto the purity of your character and don't give away any ic info on him.

Yonna · Post by **Yonna** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:51 pm

"Others talk, Gondars do." being a favorite quote of mine

...Anyways, Gondars are not all inventors by trade, many are just skilled craftsman that enjoy making things with their hands. Arlen isn't necessarily an inventor, but she has many trades to her name, not even necessarily good at them

. I think you really just have to ask yourself, "Is this a rp that I am going to enjoy?". The rp is all up to what you make of it. Of course it is acceptable, if that is what you are worried about. Arlen would love to have some more Gondar friends

Kregor · Post by **Kregor** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 6:29 pm

It also is good to read up on the lands of Faerun to see how the different dieties are revered and worshipped in different lands.

Unlike the racial dieties -- the Seldarine have all the same members wherever there are elves, the dwarven pantheon where there are dwarves, etc. -- the Human gods each have their places of popularity and reverance throughout the kingdoms, and the "pantheon" is larger or smaller.

For example, for Rozor, I chose his place of origin as Sembia, this has not only played into his personality in other ways -- his almighty dollar mentality, his struggling against a distrust for elves, etc. -- but also in my intention for him to be a Tymoran follower. Tymora has one of the strongest holds in Sembian culture.

The Northmen tend to follow Tempus, Chauntea or Umberlee, if they are from the Moonshaes. If they are from the main continent in the North, then much more of the pantheon has reached their culture. Still, the Northmen are a (relatively) primitive people (think Vikings, which is what Northmen essentially are modeled after). The dieties which have the strongest foothold in the North are the more ancient, natural and war dieties. Innovation and invention are not a strong suit in the North, which I think you yourself kind of indicated in your question, but for this reason, Gond has, at least in the FR sourcebooks, not made his way into the North.

As Cret said above. Northmen who are dedicated to labor and hard work would possibly revere Chauntea for that aspect, as much of their labor revolves around building for agriculture, and fishing in the coastal areas.

Angel and I have a good PDF (2nd ed) sourcebook on the Northmen that we can either share with you, or Angel would probably share the download link if I can get her to pull it off her bookmarks

There is also content on the various human subraces, Northmen included, on myth-drannor.net, and in the Races of Faerun 3rd edition sourcebook.... but you gotta pay for that one.