Deities

Deities may comprise any beings powerful enough in magic to exert a significant degree of control over the plane they call home. They also typically bolster their own magic significantly with power gained through the prayer of many followers.

While there are many creatures revered as deities across the many planes, they are commonly divided into two camps: major and minor deities, whose differences are detailed below:

Major deities are those beings able to manifest deific powers in the material plane.

The Five are a coalition of deities who came to the material plane approximately a millenium ago. Their arrival was met with conflict by Anu, but the Five were ultimately successful in sealing Anu away. They in turn were able to pave the way for mortal races, humans, and dwarves in particular, to become dominant forces in Rezia in their own right.

They also preach a strong opposition to resurrection magic in all of its forms. Viewing death as a natural part of the world, they view any magic that allows one to cheat that natural order as an aberration.

The fiery god of life and light, Anu is perhaps the most ancient deity still worshipped to this day. He is also known as the Banished One due to the conclusion of the Great War. In spite of this, clerics have still been able to draw upon his power and preach what they interpret to be his will.

To this day, Anu stands in stark contrast with the Five in being the only deity to sanction resurrections in any form. Perhaps due to this, he has commonly been worshipped as a phoenix, being seen as one granting cleansing rebirth to his followers.

Occasionally, one may hear whispers of old, long-forgotten deities that once ruled the world. In particular, dwarven myth holds that the gods of the giants once held dominion over all the lands. With the passage of time, the giants and their gods have faded into obscurity, choosing to live far from the realms of the mortal races. Whether or not their deities yet live is unknown.

There are also yet still rumors of powerful beings dwelling beneath the waters. Whether or not these beings qualify as deities is a matter up for debate, and yet others still question whether or not they are real, or just the mutterings of one too many drunken sailor.

Minor deities are powerful magical beings who may well rival major deities in their might and control over their environment. Where they differ, however, is in their ability to project their might to the material plane. These beings may include the many archfiends and archfey.

Indeed, many scholars argue that there is no true distinction between major and minor deities beyond the matter of perspective. Were one to examine things from the viewpoint of the Feywild, they may argue that the only true deities are the archfey, and that the Five and Anu are but minor deities worshipped by only minute fringe within the Feywild.

Each deity may hold power over certain aspects of the world, which are represented by their domains. These domains also denote the typical types of clerics who follow each deity.

While they do dictate what the majority of clerics following any given deity practice, this is not an absolute rule. As an example, a Peace cleric could follow Torm under their understanding that his firm position on order and laws does lead to peace.

A deity may also have an associated holy symbol. That symbol could be an object associated with a given deity, or something more abstract. These symbols can serve to identify someone as a servant of a given deity, or to help a servant better channel their faith into magic or prayer.

The gods are listed below, in order of general reverence in society.