Attention Faith Managers

[Kelend]

Chauntea
============
The Great Mother, the Golden Goddess, She Who Shapes All, the Earthmother
Holy Symbol: Blooming rose on a sunburst wreath of golden grain
Followers: Chauntean(s)
Cleric Alignments: CG, LG, N, NG (N only on FK?)
Follower Alignments: Any
Enemies: Talos, Umberlee, Malar, Talona
Allies: Mielikki, Lathander
Current Faith Managers: ????

Chauntea is as old as Toril itself. Hers is the divine spark that gave life to the natural world, the vibrant, caring spirit infused with the planet at the moment of its creation. Originally a deity of wild places and animal life, Chauntea has grown with her world, changing and adapting to its many developments.

Chauntea loves the inhabitants of her world, and she likes nothing more than instructing Toril's denizens on how the land itself might enrich their lives. Today, Chauntea is worshipped as the Great Mother of agriculture, the kind benefactor who ensures a strong harvest, healhty meals, and robust country living.

Priests of Chauntea are charged to learn- and pass on to others, both fellow clergy and laity- all they can of horticulture, herblore, plant types, and plant diseases, and to encourage all civilized folk to enrich the land by replanting, composting, and irrigation, not merely to graze or dig it bare for what it can yield and then pass on.

Dogma: Growing and reaping are part of the eternal cycle and the most natural part of life. Destruction for its own sake and leveling without rebuilding are anathema. Let no day pass in which you have not helped a living thing flourish. Nurture, tend, and plant wherever possible. Protect trees and plants, and save their seeds so that what is destroyed can be replaced. See to the fertility of th earth but let the human womb see to its own. Eschew fire. Plant a seed or a small plant at least once a tenday.

[Gwain]

I'd recommend taking on at the end the information on the coded deity orders available in game.

Beshabans have the Black Fingers.

[Mele]

Updated List:

Beshaba
Chauntea Mele
Corellon Larethian Larethiel
Gruumsh Grafghur
Helm Aveline
Kelemvor Hrosskell
Loviatar Mele
Mielikki Lea
Mystra
Oghma Ynaura & Lerytha
Talona
Talos Kirkus
Torm Kregor
Tymora
Waukeen
Yondalla

This was the last list of who was working on what. Perhaps give people a few day grace period - because personally the two with my name had been submitted via PM and I had just been too lazy to resubmit. :)
(Please use Kelend's version, though, mine was not in the format being used now.:D)

Just one or two for them to pipe up, not too many to hold back the reinstating of the project? Just in case people have them made all ready.

On that note, take Loviatar as you wish I'm feeling quite lazy. (Don't forget to include Talona as a faith enemy though. *shake fist*)

[Larethiel]

Some helpfiles have already been updated long ago, f.e. the one for Corellon. Personally, I like the outlook of it very much.

[Gwain]

If one has already been submitted for Kelemvor, please use it over mine.

[Pirro]

I could possibly do Yondalla's, but probably not before the weekend.

[Aveline]

1. Bane is done, and I'm working on Beshaba.
2. Just to clarify a bit, when submitting these, they don't have to be in any particular format. Submit as much information as you want, however you want to submit it. I imagine as we keep going with this we'll find more things to add and things will change. The format I posted was just to give everyone an idea of what the helpfile might look like in game. You do not have to format the information you have to fit with that.
3. And about the helpfiles that were updated a long time ago... There are quite a few in the system already that were already updated. Corellon being one of them. There were some general worries about the helpfiles having a consistent look, and about the length of them. I like the looks of them personally, but I also like the idea of them all having a more consistent look. It doesn't particularly matter to me one way or the other, if people prefer the individualized look of each helpfile with the color codes and such, then we can go that way. Either way, all the information submitted will be used, so it's not like I'd be chopping up and taking things out of what anyone has submitted.

If you want an idea of some of the things others had submitted, look to Corellon's helpfile, Lathander's...um..and Garl's.

[Kelend]

I'd recommend taking on at the end the information on the coded deity orders available in game.

Beshabans have the Black Fingers.

Added, though I haven't been able to find much information on them aside from 'generic evil assassins'.

[Kelend]

Talona
=========
Lady of Poison, Mistress of Disease, the Mother of All Plagues, She of the Deadly Kiss
Holy Symbol: Three amber teardrops on a purple triangle
Followers: Talonite(s)(general), Talontar(clergy)
Cleric Alignments: CE, NE, CN
Follower alignments: Any non-good
Enemies: Chauntea, Kelemvor, Loviatar, Lliira, Mielikki, Shiallia, Silvanus, Sune, Tyr
Allies: Shar
Current Faith Managers: ????

Talona is often depicted as a withered old crone with a scarred, tattooed face in religious texts. Where she walks, misfortune and death follow. She has the personality of a petulant, greedy child trapped in the body of a once beautiful woman now scarred by horrific disease and ravaged by age.

Talona's power slowly wanes after each great plague in Faerun. When she feels vulnerable in her position, she unleashes another wave of misery and disease-brought death and receives a torrent of prayers entreating her to spare the inhabitants of Faerun from her withering touch. Her power then waxes again in an endless cycle of indifference, devastation, and appeasement.

Aside from selling poisons, antidotes, and medicines, the Talontar travel Faerun as quietly a possible, constantly seeking out new diseases and afflictions and spreading rumours so as to augment the reputation of Talona. What seems to motivate Talonites in their day-to-day behavior is a quest for respect: respect that is due Talona for her potentially devastating abilities and due them as her representatives in Faerun. Throughout their careers, Talona's clerics work with magic and study to build their personal immunitied to various poisons and diseases. Thus protected, they treat the diseased, take employment as food tasters for paranoid rulers, wealthy merchants and nobles, and bury those who have died from diseases.

Dogma: Let pain be as pleasure, for life and death are in balance, but death is the more powerful and should be paid proper homage and respect. Death is the true power, the great equalizer, and the lesson that waits for all. If it falls to you to drive home the point with the tip of a dagger, so be it. The Mother of All Plagues works upon you from within, and weakness and wasting is her strength. Talona's breath is forever and always with you, whomever you or the rest of the world believes in or serves. Let all living things learn respect for Talona and pay homage to her in goods and in fervent worship. If they do so, intercede for them so that Talona will not claim them - this time. Go and work in Talona's name and let your doings be subtle or spectacular, but make them known as the will of the Mistress of Disease.

[Kelend]

Shar
======
Mistress of the Night, Lady of Loss, Dark Goddess, Nightsinger
Holy Symbol: A black disk with a border of deep purple
Followers: Sharran
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Follower Alignments: Any, mainly evil
Enemies: Selune, Lathander, Shaundakul
Allies: Talona
Current Faith Managers: ????

Shar reflects the primal dark, the flawless void erased at the beginning of time by a distant, unconcerned overdeity. Her heart longs for a return to the calm of nonexistence, and she schemes from the shadows to tear down establishments, destroy order, and undermine all creation.

Since her earliest battles with Selune(which continue to this day), Shar has gained dominion over pain hidden but not forgotten, carefully nurtured bitterness, and quiet revenge for old slights. Deeply twisted, the Lady of Loss favors secrets, underhanded dealings, and subterfuge. She uses her mortal worshippers as pawns in a perverse game against everything that has been, is, and will be.

Shar's love of secrecy serves her clergy well, and most residents of Faerun know very little about her mysterious cult. All regard her as a dark and vengeful deity, but many seek out her servants in times of grief or bereavement. There is a pervasive belief that her clergy aids those who have been wronged or who have suffered a great loss. Instead of offering release from the pangs of grief, though, Shar's clerics reinforce supplicants regrets and feelings of betrayal, turning their focus to bitterness and revenge.

Dogma: Reveal secrets only to fellow members of the faithful. Never follow hope or turn to promises of success. Quench the light of the moon (agents and items of Selune) whenever you find it, and hide from it when you cannot prevail. The dark is a time to act, not wait. It is forbidden to strive to better your lot in life or to plan ahead except when directly overseen by the faithful of the Dark Deity. Consorting with the faithful of good deities is a sin except in business dealings or to corrupt them from their beliefs. Obey ranking clergy unless it would result in your own death.

Clergy of Shar's faith who have killed one of the clergy of Selune are rumored to gain acces to an honorary order known as the Dark Justicars.

[Pirro]

Distilled from Faiths and Pantheons and this. Things that make sense to me but were not in F&P or current helpfiles are in italics. Things that seem nonessential are in square brackets.

-------------------

Yondalla

The Protector and Provider, the Nurturing Matriarch, the Blessed One
Symbol: cornucopia painted on a wooden shield
High Priest: Chester
Allies: the halfling pantheon (Yondalla's Children), Moradin, Garl Glittergold, Corellon Larethian, Tymora, Chauntea
Enemies: Gruumsh, the goblinoid deities, Malar, Cyric, Talona, Talos
Cleric alignments: LG, NG, CG, LN
Follower alignments: Any good or neutral


Yondalla created the halflings (Hin) and gave them her good-natured love of life, peace, and comfort. As Protector, she gives halflings the courage and strength to defend themselves, and as Provider she grants fertility and plenty. Nearly all halflings (even for those who are not specifically dedicated to her) revere her as the matriarch of their pantheon and the guide of their race. [Her clerics often act as secular as well as spiritual leaders.]

[Halflings build few temples to Yondalla, preferring to worship in their own homes or at the local cleric's. Her church has no formal holidays, but most villages occasionally set aside a 'Safeday'. This typically includes a feast in Yondalla's honour and a leisurely walk through the district, along which elders retell local legends.]

Most Yondallan clerics become permanently attached to one town or settlement, but others prefer to wander from place to place, serving wherever they are needed. These are loosely organised into an order called the Wayward Wardens.

Dogma: Those who follow the Provider faithfully will be blessed with safety and prosperity. Do not actively seek violence, but remember that the Protector helps those who fight to defend their homes. Live in harmony with those around you, honouring your family and caring for the weak.

[Hrosskell]

In concerns to Beshaba, and the Black Fingers: She's a tricky one, seeing as how she's very frequently mentioned, but there's no real canon background to claims made about her. I think that this is an okay thing in FK, and opens up a door for player-driven stories and backgrounds. That bit of foundation being made, I think that if a rounded-out explanation of the Black Fingers were to be given, it would be in concerns to a bit of Dogma I found floating around that states that the powerful, in order to remain powerful, should plan to undermine their compatriots. This lends me to believe that the Black Fingers are devoted to assassinating not only Tymorans deemed too lucky/powerful, but politically, socially, and economically important people. Also, in game, the ranks of this group have historically been made by every class save the mentioned fighter, though whether a wizard should be exception or rule isn't up to me.

With this in mind, and I hope I can liberally do this, I think the helpfile for the Black Fingers should look something like this:
The Black Fingers of Beshaba:
==========================
The Black Fingers are an elite group of assassins comprised only of males from Beshaba's clergy. These assassins are employed by the Church of the Maiden of Doom to carry out her dogma of spreading Misfortune to those considered especially fortunate in their lives. Members of this group do not apply, but are chosen directly by the Maiden's Will, and are not restricted by profession, age, or wealth; only skill and true devotion can garner entry into this highly secretive order.

[Aveline]

*Went through the faith manger helps and linked all of the faith managers to their respective deities. If you have a FM character and your helpfile is nonexistant/blank/out of date, when you get time work on getting that fixed and I'll update it for you. Even if you are no longer an FM but are a former one (one of those relics out there). You don't want me writing them for you. I may have an Oghman character, but the ooc me may embellish where I see fit...
*Currently going through the famous characters to link them
*Updated Beshaba's black fingers help
*Largely left Corellon's helpfile alone, but added a few things to it
****Working on Cyric. Will mostly leave this one alone too, but need to know if the dirty liars want to list the names of their FM's or not. You can PM me with a yes or no.
**Working on Chauntea too!

[Lathlain]

... but need to know if the dirty liars want to list the names of their FM's or not. You can PM me with a yes or no.

Yes please Aveline Just make sure you include Chuck Norris in big red lettering. People often overlook him as a faith manager.

[Gwain]

Chuck Norris serves death, not murder. I would think that listing the cyrite leadership would not be an issue since they're all icly insane and insane individuals tend to advertise.

[Aveline]

Dun dun dun! Chauntea, Corellon, Cyric, Garl all done, save for needing a few helpfiles from FMs. Though admittedly, most of those were already done and didn't require much on my part. We've done good getting information for the deities. For an update though we still need more information on Gond (Have some for Gond already), Loviatar, Mielikki, Oghma, and Tymora.

Gruumsh is really close to being updated, just need to find some people to ask a few questions about that one. One... Do the followers of Gruumsh have an adjective other than orcs? Gruumians..? Gruumshters? I'm struggling with this one and can't find it..

Reworking Helm!

[Kelend]

Loviatar
========
Maiden of Pain, the Willing Whip
Symbol: Nine-tailed barbed scourge
Followers: Loviatan(s)
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE (LN?)
Follower Alignments: Any evil
Enemies: Ilmater, Eldath, Talona, Lliira
Allies: Malar, Bane
Current Faith Managers: ????

Loviatar is the aggressive, domineering and fearless patron of torturers, sadists, and bullies. She has a cold and calculatingly cruel nature and and icebound heart. The Maiden of Pain has an instinct for inflicting both physical and psychological pain, always striking at the biggest chink in her victim's emotional armour.

Loviatar likes to be feared, and her clergy members are ordered to whisper of her ever-present power in the darkness after they have inflicted pain. Their Prime Charge is to tirelessly cause suffering, both widespread and personal. This work may be as brutal as flogging an encountered band of orcs until they flee or as subtle as breaking hearts among young nobles by pretending to fall in love with the gallants, working to break up existing amours and friendships, and engaging in scandalous dalliances before coldly spurning the victims and departing.

Being a good actor and of striking beauty (or experienced in using spells to appear so) are very useful traits for a Loviatan, but the most successful Loviatans are those who understand the ways and natures of folk and so know just how to cause them the most pain and to manipulate them toward that end.

Dogma: The world is filled with pain and torment, and the best that one can do is to suffer those blows that cannot be avoided and deal as much pain back to those who offend. Kindnesses are the best companions to hurts, and increase the intensity of suffering. Let mercy of sudden abstinence from causing pain and of providing unlooked-for healing come over you seldom, but at whim, so as to make folk hope and increase the Mystery of Loviatar's Mercy. Unswerving cruelty will turn all folk against you.

Act alluring, and given pain and torment to those who enjoy it as well as those who deserve it most or would be most hurt by it. The lash, fire, and cold are the three pains that never fail the devout. Spread Loviatar's teachings whenever punishment is meted out.

Pain tests all, but gives strength of spirit and true pleasure to the hardy and the true. There is no true punishment if the punisher knows no discipline. Wherever a whip is there is Loviatar. Fear her-- and yet long for her.

[Ramirus]

Assembled from http://www.nj-pbem.com/data/Gods/humangods/Oghma.htm and Faiths and Pantheons. If it is too lengthy or a bit overblown, don't hesitate to cut it down, or rearrange the pieces.

Oghma
========
The Lord of Knowledge, The Binder of What is Known
Symbol: A blank scroll
Followers: Oghman(s), Oghmanyte(s)
Cleric Alignments: TN, CN, LN
Follower Alignments: Any align
Enemies: Mask, Cyric, Talos, Bane(dead)
Allies: Deneir, Milil, Gond, Lliira, Mystra, Azuth, Lathander
Current Faith Managers: Lerytha and Ynaura

Oghma is the neutral greater power of bards, inspiration, invention, and knowledge in Faerûn. Oghma is the leader of the Deities of Knowledge and Invention, composed of himself, Deneir, Gond, and Milil, and his homeplane is the House of Knowledge. Followers of Oghma tell an interesting tale regarding the earliest days of existence. Not long after Shar and Selûne created Toril and gave birth to Chauntea, the world's animating spirit, a traveler ventured to the world from a distant realm. He came upon a chaotic landscape of indistinct, shapeless concepts yearning to be given solidity. To each of these concepts he gave a name that would define it in the eons to come. Such was the power of these names that the concepts transcended their elusive existence, bound to physical form in the material world. Thus, did Oghma, the Binder of What is Known, give order to chaos and claim an honored place among Toril's oldest deities.

Oghma's dominion over the realm of ideas continues to this day. The Lord of Knowledge sits in judgment of all ideas, deciding whether they will be allowed to spread, or whether they will die with their originator. In this regard, the Binder exercises a great deal of caution, for the experience of countless ages weighs heavy on his heart. He prefers to keep the delicate balance he has nurtured since the beginning of time.

Oghma is venerated by sages, wizards, and the knowledgeable. He is also the patron of bards, who also show their bended knees to Milil, and most consider Oghma the source of creative inspiration and the protector of accumulated knowledge. Anyone seeking information, particularly lost or hidden information, sends a few good words in Oghma's direction and asks for his blessing.

Oghma has a special order called The Companions of the Silver String, who are heroic bards who acted valiantly at risk of their own lives in the service of the church of Oghma.

Dogma: Knowledge, particularly the raw knowledge of ideas, is supreme. An idea has no weight, but it can move mountains. The greatest gift of humankind, an idea outweighs anything made by mortal hands. Knowledge is power and must be used with care, but hiding it away from others is never a good thing. Stifle no new ideas, no matter how false and crazed they seem; rather, let them be heard and considered. Never slay a singer, nor stand by as others do so. Spread knowledge wherever it is prudent to do so. Keep no secrets for their own sake. Curb and deny falsehoods, rumor, and deceitful tales whenever you encounter them. Write or copy lore of great value at least once a year and give it away. Sponsor and teach bards, scribes, and record keepers. Spread truth and knowledge so that all folk know more. Never deliver a message falsely or incompletely. Teach reading and writing to those who ask (if your time permits), and charge no fee for the teaching.

[Harroghty]

Gwain: Death serves Chuck Norris, not the other way around.

[Kesiel]

Chuck Norris is Ao's boss.