Pantheon
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| Ethos | "All virtue is summed up in dealing justly." - Aristotle |
|---|---|
| Domains | Community, Law***, Knowledge, Insight. ***Note: Those clerics who take the Law domain gain an extra granted power: Knowledge (Local) as a class skill |
| Prestige Classes | Justicar |
| Holy Days | Day of Wishes, Day of Remembrance, Children's Day, Night of Fear. |
| Sacrifices | Magic Items |
| Favored Weapon | Light hammer: Pantheon will see justice served throughout the Wold. His clerics gain proficiency with the Light Hammer - symbolic of Pantheon’s gavel. |
Pantheon is responsible for all justice in The Wold. He patrons the right of all beings to be heard and listened to fairly before being judged. He understands that in a trial many have trouble communicating the circumstances of the events being discussed, so he champions the right of everyone to have a trained advocate to speak on their behalf.
Pantheon hates bigots. He fights against those who declare themselves to be the judge of others by means of power and influence. Such people act out of selfishness instead of a desire to achieve fairness. Most of all, he despises those who seek revenge for real or imagined wrongs done against them.
Contents
The God of Justice
Godly Powers
Pantheon has the power to determine the guilt or innocence of any creature in any situation. He can detect lies told by anyone except for Wardd, God of Luck. He knows the motives and thoughts behind the actions of any creature.
Appearance
Mortal Form -- As Pantheon has never had a mortal existence, he has no known mortal form.
Avatar Form -- When appearing for judgment, Pantheon appears as a magisterial figure, clothed in official gray robes of office. His face glows white, shining so bright that his features cannot be seen. His voice is clear and booming, inspiring fear in the foolish and hope in the hearts of those who have been wronged.
Divine Form -- Pantheon's symbolic form is that of a white glowing gavel.
Worship
Perhaps because, in times long past, the Gods of Yore turned away from the Noble Races, now Pantheon plays an active role in the life of all Woldians. His temples are community centers, where all are welcome. Those who consider themselves victims of a crime or wrongdoing may seek sanctuary in a temple of Pantheon. They are given refuge and comfort while their grievances are being investigated. Even those who are accused may claim sanctuary in Pantheon's temples, there safely confined until a trial can be arranged. In this way, Pantheon will shelter even admitted criminals from angry mobs or acts of revenge.
Justices of Pantheon hold regular ceremonies and weekly prayer meetings. Some of these meetings are Redemption Services, where those convicted of crimes must publicly describe their wrongs and repent, or where they perform services for others in compensation for their past misdeeds. All these are occasions for worship.
Holy Symbol
A gavel. Many clerics like to cast Continual Flame on it. This has been adapted from the original High Woldian Glyph.
Priests' Appearance
Clerics of Pantheon dress in gray. It is many times trimmed in silver or gold and cut according to the current style.
Clerics in Society
Clerics of Pantheon, called Justices. Some preside over courts, arbitrations, and negotiations -- especially if one party has been accused of wrong-doing. Other Justices serve as representation for those accusing or accused of crimes. Although they can be stern, these Justices are respected for their probity and integrity, as well as for their knowledge of laws. Any Justice who knowingly rules unfairly, or deliberately abuses his power and authority in dealings of responsibility, forever loses all clerical powers.
History and Relationships
Before there was Pantheon there were the Guardians, the first Gods of the Wold. Also known as the Gods of Yore, they were mortals taken by The Jericho from the first families of each race to protect the Wold from outside influences. This was needed, because the early Wold was beset with all manner of threats outside Jerichospace.
The Guardians were told by The Jericho to stay out of the lives of the Noble Races and concern themselves entirely to the protection of the Wold. One other command did The Jericho give them: They were to be an example to the Wold with their lives.
During the First Age of the Wold, the Gods of Yore served their purpose. Slowly, however, they grew arrogant and corrupt with the power given to them. Certain of the Gods of Yore secretly began to feed The Jericho false information about his creation, and then, with great magicks, they began to create barriers between the Wold and its creator, so that The Jericho ceased to receive information about the Wold at all. With time, they thought, The Creator would totally forget about his creation, and it would by default become theirs to do with as they wished.
Time passed and a crisis upon the Wold began to brew. The monsters that had come to the Wold, before the selection of the Guardians, were flourishing. War between the monsters and the Noble Races had begun.
Prayers by the thousands ascended to the Gods of Yore, who held a conclave concerning the problem. Those gods involved in the conspiracy against The Creator knew that if they acted on behalf of the Noble Races that the Jericho would more than likely notice the event and become aware of the false information he'd been fed. So these gods spoke in the assemblage of the Guardians and reminded them of their mandate from The Jericho to protect the Noble Races from without. They were not to get involved with threats from within. Those challenges were for the Noble Races to solve. Since this threat was an inside influence (in that these monsters came to the Wold before the Guardians received their mandate from The Jericho), they should not intervene. Theon, the Supreme God, in his heart wanted to help the Noble Races, but being a person much concerned with the letter of the law, agreed that they must not help. However, his conscience continued to bother him.
So the prayers of the Noble Races went unanswered. The Gods of Yore ached and yearned to help their charges, but dared not interfere, because they feared the wrath of The Creator.
Soon, an upstart Mage named Alemi began seeking them out, demanding an answer for their inaction. Having made their decision, they ignored him. This upstart, though, somehow knew about The Creator and began searching out ways to contact him. When Alemi found the possibility of a way to contact the Jericho, he quickly made the attempt. Those gods who were in the conspiracy watched in fear, hoping beyond hope that he would not succeed. When Alemi failed, they rejoiced.
Soon however, to their shock and surprise, his servant somehow succeeded where Alemi had failed. The Jericho, angry at the Gods of Yore, authorized Alemi to destroy them and gave him the means. Using an army of adventurers on Gold Dragonback, along with other long-forgotten means, the Gods of Yore were destroyed. Their bodies were put to rest in an empty far-off plane, forever to float in silence.
There the Gods of Yore remained for ages, floating as dead giants in silence and shame: Until a miracle happened.
An adventuring group known as the Gold Dragons gated into the area where the bodies of the Gods of Yore floated, chasing a monstrous foe known as a Dreadnaught. The battle was filled with high level magic of all kinds. Part of the battle was actually fought on the giant body of Theon. The magic released during this battle awakened Theon and his comrades in death. However, they were very weak and growing weaker once again, with nothing to feed upon. So Theon, the former head of the Guardians, drew the other essences into himself and, and together, they survived adapting into a single being of many minds. They became Pantheon.
Making their way to the Wold again, they began to search for ways and means to increase their power so that this new combined being could survive. They offered themselves as "powers" to many Witch Covens and disheartened clerics and set them to work finding magic for them to feed upon. Their new followers scrambled for magic to feed their hungry master.
Soon Pantheon had established itself with enough power to be considered a god again. As an Independent God, its priests and witches were hunted by adventurers. These trials and the common need brought the entities that were Pantheon closer into alignment. Eventually, they all evolved into a single mind, with the presence of Theon at its center.
When Marteaus began assembling all the Cult Gods into an alliance, Pantheon joined, knowing that to refuse was to seal his doom. However, he did not approve of the methods that Marteaus used. Most of all, he despised Marteaus' feelings of mistreatment and his need for revenge. Revenge did not become the dignity of a god. Revenge accomplished nothing and showed immaturity.
So when the Cult Gods stormed the Godlands, Pantheon took his opportunity and turned on the Cult Gods, coming to Alemi's rescue and facing off against Ga'al. That was the last thing he remembered as he experienced death for the second time.
When he became self-aware again, he found that he'd been rewarded for his efforts and had been added to the Gods of Wold as the God of Justice. His opposing god turned out to be Jancassis, Goddess of Revenge. Reveling in his change of fortunes, he has been very active in taking on the job that used to belong to Alemi.
