Session 3: Tomb of the Iron God, Part 3

The party begin the session by completing their interrogation of the goblins. The shaman is the only goblin that speaks Common, so he ends up answering most of their questions. Overall, they discover several interesting pieces of information:

• The goblins arrived at the monastary about a week ago. Previously, they had been living in the jungles around the area.
• This group of goblins know about the other group of goblins to the east, but they are not on good terms with them.
• The talking head at the entrance to the cellars was actually placed by the shaman, in order to scare off intruders. It has nothing to do with the Iron God.
• The goblins attempted to explore the catacombs, but everyone they sent started to experience strange visions and hallucinations.
• Similarly, they tried to steal the silver from the bowl to the north, but as they took it away, it somehow became progressively heavier.

The party decide to be friendly to the goblins, after Iriellis deflects their suspicion about the party sending the iron statue at them. Iriellis spends the last of her healing magic helping some of the wounded goblins, and Zedlyn proposes an offer: the party will allow them to live, if they leave the monastary. The goblins accept this offer, and the party escorts them out, although not before they search through the goblins' pile of spoils, finding 100 gold pieces and several gems and trinkets that seem valuable.

At the front entrance, they rejoin with Sharla to plan their next move. Everyone is in favour of resting, since several party members are quite injured; Sulif points out that Asuna is only an hour away, so they could easily rest the night there. Everyone agrees, so they head back to the town, paying close attention to the route so that they will be able to return without Sulif's guidance.

Back at Asuna, Sulif departs - with his broken arm, he won't be much use adventuring, although fortunately his share of the loot from the goblins should be enough to tide him over until it heals. The party check in with Arik, who is feeling a bit better, although unsure if he'll be able to join them tomorrow. He reminds them that they only have two more days before the caravan departs. Zedlyn, Adokas, and Iriellis check in at the local healer's home, and everyone rests for the night.

The next morning, Adokas picks up some dungeoneering supplies from the village's store, including torches, a lantern, and a prybar. Arik is still too exhausted to join them and decides to spend another day resting. The party head out, with Iriellis retracing Sulif's footsteps back to the monastary.

Their first stop after they arrive is the storeroom where they found the embalming fluid, and where they hope to find more. There are nine more crates in the room, which open much more easily with their newly-acquired prybar. Most of the crates contain various mundane supplies - ceremonial garments, scrap iron, tanned hides, and dried food. In addition, they find a crate full of various primitive idols, which Iriellis recognizes as representations of orc and goblin deities. There is also a crate containing hundreds of wooden sticks, about the size of wands; Lorcan uses a spell to detect magic but they do not appear to be enchanted. Another crate contains what they were looking for: three vials of embalming fluid, along with ten flasks of (holy?) water, a flask of what appears to be honey, and two unidentified green flasks. They take them all. Finally, at the bottom of the crate that contained ceremonial garments, they find a strange book. Sharla quickly flips through it, and finds that it concerns necromancy. The first half of the book concerns the creation of skeletons and zombies, the second half, ghouls. Oddly, there do not appear to be any references to the Iron God in its pages, only Mung, the God of Death. Sharla takes the book for more in-depth study later.

Continuing on, the party head to the east from the four-way intersection, but are stopped when they notice a large pressure plate stretching across the passage. Adokas and Lorcan investigate, but are unable to find any linked mechanisms, so the plate is either a pit trap that opens up, or it's a pressure plate that controls something deeper into the cellars. The party decide to avoid it for now.

Taking a nearby door, they enter a mostly-empty room filled with animal droppings. As this is near where they previously heard the sound of giant rats, they decide to leave the room alone, reasoning that rats are unlikely to have treasure or anything else of value.

At this point, the group decide to return to the front chamber to investigate the statue of the Iron God holding an urn. From this room, they can see the barricade they put up to block off the goblins they heard earlier; it appears to be undisturbed. Lorcan is the only party member tall enough to see into the urn, so he takes a torch and peers inside. The urn actually opens into a chute, which goes for about ten feet and opens into a room, although all Lorcan can see of it is the floor. He throws the body of a goblin down the chute to see if it has any effect; the goblin tumbles down into the other room, but nothing unusual or unexpected happens.

Their options being limited to the goblins past the barricade, the passageway through the urn, the passage beyond the pressure plate, the room with the rats, and a single unexplored door near the rat noises, the party opt for the door. Beyond, they find a ransacked storeroom, followed by an intact storeroom containing five barrels, two boxes, and a large spool of thread, as well as doors to the north and south. Continuing to the south past the barrels and boxes, they enter the room at the other end of the urn's chute, where the goblin's corpse lies. Inside are a large stone slab, shelves lining the west and east walls, several large iron vats, and a pile of curiously large wicker baskets. The party surmise that this must be the embalming room, and follow a passage out to the north.

The north passage opens into a small room containing a stairway down, mounted by an iron plaque similar to the one above the catacombs entrance. Zedlyn steps forward to read the plaque, at which point he triggers a pit trap that none of the party had noticed. Luckily, quick reflexes save him from falling in, but the open pit now prevents easy passage, so the party decide to return to the storeroom from before.

Inside the storeroom, two of the barrels contain nothing but stagnant water, while the other three are full of embalming fluid. One of the boxes is full of alum powder, used in dehydrating bodies to be preserved, and the other contains various surgical instruments. This is clearly where the priests kept their embalming supplies. The party proceed through the northern door.

This door leads to a passage which swings to the east, then opens into a room that appears to be a library or archive, full of shelves of books. Strangely, the books appear to all be made of solid iron, fused shut. The only books that can be read are four that are open on a sturdy reading table, and even then, only the currently opened pages can be read. One book is open to a description of a spell that creates illusionary duplicates of the caster. The second contains a description of how to prepare the dead for re-animation (broadly consistent with the surgical tools from the storeroom before). The third seems to be a record of valuable items. The fourth and final book is open to part of a story or parable, describing how the Iron God defeats something called the "Eater of the Dead" by imprisoning it in store.

The books are solid iron and thus extremely heavy, so Sharla gets to work copying down the spell while the rest of the party check out the other books on the shelves. None of them can be opened, so they can only judge by the titles, but most of the books seem to be either religious texts or archival records, mixed in with a smattering of tomes regarding necromancy, as well as a few books covering sagely topics such as history and magical theory. Unfortunately, none of them can be opened and read.

Sorcerers

Spells: A sorcerer casts arcane spells. Sorcerers can only cast a limited number of spells, from each spell level, per day. The Sorcerer Spells Per Day Table lists the number of spells per day a sorcerer may cast of each spell level. For example, a 5th level sorcerer can cast seven 0 level spells, six 1st level spells, and four 2nd level spells per day. Unlike a wizard, a sorcerer does not need to prepare spells before casting them. A sorcerer may use a spell slot to cast any spell that he knows of the appropriate level, without assigning slots in advance.

Bonus Spells: With a high charisma score, a sorcerer gains bonus spells. If the character has a charisma of between 13-15, they can memorize an extra 1st level spell. If the charisma score is 16 or 17, the sorcerer can memorize an extra 2nd level spell, and if 18 or 19, the sorcerer can memorize an extra 3rd level spell. Bonus spells can only be acquired if the sorcerer is at a high enough level to cast them. Bonus spells are cumulative. Bonus spells only affect the number of spells a sorcerer can cast per day, not the number of spells known.

Prime Attribute: Charisma
Alignment: Any
Hit Dice: d4
Weapons: Club, dagger, sling, staff
Armor: None
Abilities: Spell casting

Level	HD	BtH	EPP
1	d4	+0	0
2	d4	+1	2,600
3	d4	+1	5,200
4	d4	+1	10,400
5	d4	+1	20,800
6	d4	+2	42,500
7	d4	+2	85,000
8	d4	+2	170,000
9	d4	+2	340,000
10	d4	+3	500,000
11	+1 HP	+3	750,000
12	+1 HP	+3	1,000,000
13+	+1 HP	+3	250,000 per level

Sorcerer Spells Per Day

Level	0th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1	6	4
2	6	5
3	6	5
4	7	6	3
5	7	6	4
6	7	6	5	3
7	7	7	5	4
8	8	7	6	5	3
9	8	7	6	5	4
10	8	7	6	6	5	3
11	8	8	7	6	5	4
12	8	8	7	6	6	5	3
13	9	8	7	7	6	5	4
14	9	8	7	7	6	6	5	3
15	9	8	8	7	7	6	5	4
16	9	9	8	7	7	6	6	5	3
17	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	5	4
18	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	5	3
19	10	9	8	8	8	7	7	6	5	4
20	10	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	5

Sorcerer Spells Known

Level	0th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1	4	2
2	5	2
3	5	3
4	6	3	1
5	6	4	2
6	7	4	2	1
7	7	5	3	2
8	8	5	3	2	1
9	8	5	4	3	2
10	9	5	4	3	2	1
11	9	5	5	4	3	2
12	9	5	5	4	3	2	1
13	9	5	5	4	4	3	2
14	9	5	5	4	4	3	2	1
15	9	5	5	4	4	4	3	2
16	9	5	5	4	4	4	3	2	1
17	9	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	2
18	9	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	2	1
19	9	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	2
20	9	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	3

Weapons and Armor

Armor	Cost	AC	Check	Speed	Weight
Padded	6 gp	+1	--	30 ft	10 lbs
Leather	10 gp	+2	--	30 ft	15 lbs
Studded Leather	25 gp	+3	-1	30 ft	20 lbs
Scale	50 gp	+4	-2	25 ft	30 lbs
Chain	100 gp	+5	-3	25 ft	35 lbs
Splint	200 gp	+6	-4	25 ft	40 lbs
Plate	600 gp	+7	-5	20 ft	45 lbs
Full Plate	1800 gp	+8	-6	20 ft	50 lbs

Shield	Cost	AC	Check	Weight
Small Wooden	5 gp	+1	-1	5 lbs
Small Steel	10 gp	+1	-1	10 lbs
Large Wooden	15 gp	+2	-2	10 lbs
Large Steel	20 gp	+2	-2	15 lbs

Melee Weapon	Cost	Damage	Range	Size	Weight
Axe, Battle	10 gp	1d8	--	M	7 lbs
Axe, Hand	4 gp	1d6	10 ft	S	4 lbs
Axe, Two-Handed	20 gp	1d12	--	L	20 lbs
Axe, War	15 gp	1d8 / 1d10	--	M / L	12 lbs
Club	1 gp	1d4	10 ft	M	3 lbs
Dagger	2 gp	1d4	10 ft	S	1 lbs
Flail, Heavy	15 gp	1d10	--	L	20 lbs
Flail, Light	8 gp	1d8	--	M	5 lbs
Hammer, Light	2 gp	1d4	20 ft	S	2 lbs
Hammer, War	6 gp	1d8	--	M	8 lbs
Lance, Heavy	10 gp	1d8	--	M	10 lbs
Lance, Light	6 gp	1d6	--	S	5 lbs
Mace, Heavy	12 gp	1d8	--	M	12 lbs
Mace, Light	5 gp	1d6	--	S	6 lbs
Mace, Two-Handed	20 gp	1d10	--	L	20 lbs
Pick, Heavy	8 gp	1d6	--	M	6 lbs
Pick, Light	4 gp	1d4	--	S	4 lbs
Polearm	15 gp	1d10	--	L(R)	15 lbs
Scythe	18 gp	1d8	--	L	12 lbs
Spear	1 gp	1d6	20 ft	M	3 lbs
Spear, Long	5 gp	1d8	--	L(R)	9 lbs
Staff	1 gp	1d6	--	L	4 lbs
Sword, Bastard	25 gp	1d8 / 1d10	--	M / L	10 lbs
Sword, Long	15 gp	1d8	--	M	4 lbs
Sword, Short	10 gp	1d6	--	S	3 lbs
Sword, Two-Handed	30 gp	1d12	--	L	15 lbs
Trident	10 gp	1d8	10 ft	M	6 lbs

Ranged Weapon	Cost	Damage	Range	Size	Weight
Arrows (20)	2 gp	as bow	as bow	--	3 lbs
Bolts (10)	1 gp	as crossbow	as crossbow	--	2 lbs
Bow, Long	75 gp	1d6	100 ft	L	3 lbs
Bow, Long Composite	100 gp	1d8	110 ft	L	3 lbs
Bow, Short	30 gp	1d6	60 ft	L	2 lbs
Bow, Short Commposite	75 gp	1d8	70 ft	L	2 lbs
Crossbow, Light	35 gp	1d6	80 ft	L	6 lbs
Crossbow, Hand	100 gp	1d4	30 ft	M	3 lbs
Crossbow, Heavy	50 gp	1d10	120 ft	L	9 lbs
Javelin	1 gp	1d6	30 ft	M	2 lbs
Sling	--	1d4	50 ft	M	1 lb
Stones (5)	--	as sling	as sling	--	2 lbs

Iriellis Swiftfoot

Neutral Good Female Halfling Cleric (of Slid), Level 2
Played by Winnie

Str 10 Dex 16 Con 7 Int 16 Wis 16 Cha 18
HP 7 AC 20 Prime Attributes Wisdom, Charisma
Height 3' 10" Weight 75 lbs Age

Racial Abilities Duskvision, Fearless, Hide, Move Silently, Resistant
Class Abilities Turn Undead

Equipment Light flail, Iron Flail +1, sling, Large Shield +1, chainmail, silver holy symbol, 30 gp

Description

Biography Iriellis comes from a small farming village on the outskirts of Cappadarnia. Over the years it has become a bit of a run-down place as Cappadarnia takes almost all of their crops for the war effort. They have enough to get by, but not enough to live comfortably. All business seems to support the war effort in some way.

She joined the clergy almost a full year ago, becoming a cleric of Slid. She tries very hard to charge for her services, but her bleeding heart often seeps through the cracks. She likes people, she likes helping and she hates fights. She will often try to talk her way out of them given half the chance.

Session 2: Tomb of the Iron God, Part 2

Deciding to leave the rest of the storeroom alone, the characters retreat back to the fountain room and try to wash the embalming fluid off of Zedlyn and Adokas. Unfortunately, the stuff seems to be quite tenacious and they only succeed in getting a small amount of it off. Wary of goblin scouts returning or worse, Sharla leaves to guard the entrance to the temple cellars.

Returning to the four-way intersection from before, the group head to the north, passing by doors to the west and the east until the passage finally opens into a room. Listening at the doors, they hear nothing to the west, but a large number of goblin-ish voices to the east, probably just beyond the door judging by their volume. Bypassing the goblins for now, they head to the northern room, which turns out to be large and semicircular. A sturdy door to the east is mounting with an inscription, indicating that any who pass must be "draped in respect" and "speak [their] name for the scribe of the dead". Otherwise, the room contains a pedestal with a large bowl filled with silver coins, and a pile of implements (including an iron longaxe, an iron lantern on a pole, an iron incense burner on a pole, and six rust-brown hoods).

Deciding not to risk the warning of the door, or risk disturbing what could be holy implements, they return to the intersection in order to start exploring beyond doors. They first explore the west door that they just passed, finding within it a bunkroom, filled with more-or-less intact beds. Searching the room, they discover a hastily scrawled note, indicating the someone named "Ardarus" has imprisoned the High Priest for opposing his new doctrines, which apparently include the fact that the priesthood is now allowed to accumulate wealth through tribute.

They return to the west branch (which led to the storeroom) and open a door facing to the south. Inside is what appears to be the High Priest's chamber, or at least the chamber of someone very important. The room is richly furnished with tapestries, rugs, and expensive furniture, but the furniture is all smashed and the tapestries torn. Inside the room is another iron statue, this time of a more affluent-looking priest. This one immediately starts to move towards them at a slow, but determined, pace. They try to communicate with it, but it doesn't respond, so they step back and close the door, to buy themselves some time.

As the statue begins smashing down the door, the group retreat, with the majority returning to the entrance chamber, Adokas heading towards the goblin lair to draw them out, and Zedlyn retreating to a nearby alcove to watch what happens. Adokas opens the door to the goblins then runs off into the ceremonial chamber to the north. Several goblins pop out to investigate, but hearing the heavy footsteps of the iron statue, they pop right back in and barricade the door.

The statue, hearing the noise coming from the north, heads towards the sound and smashes through the door to the goblin lair. There are the sounds of battle, with several goblins screaming and going down, but the fight ends quickly, evidently with the defeat of the statue. With that threat taken care of, the party have a new problem - Adokas is now to the north of the goblin lair, while the rest of the party is to the south, and the door is smashed open, making it difficult to sneak by. Several scouting parties of goblins emerge from the lair; one of them enters the room where Adokas is hidden, but thankfully his skills allow him to remain hidden and the goblins don't see him.

The rest of the party decide that they will attempt to negotiate with the goblins, sending Zedlyn in first, as he is the only party member who speaks the goblin language. However, as soon as he steps in the doorway, the goblins attack (Zedlyn being a gnome, and gnomes and goblins being mortal enemies)!

Zedlyn and Sulif block the doorway, forcing the goblins to come at them a few at a time, while Lorcan shoots over Zedlyn's head, Iriellis throws a flaming vial of embalming fluid into the mass of goblins, and Adokas runs up from his hiding space and starts sizing up one of the goblins for an assassination attempt. The goblins are directed by a leader, who hangs towards the back and directs their attacks. He commands them to pull Zedlyn into the room, which they do, swarming over him and dragging him back into the mass of creatures. The rest of the party advance into the room to save him, but he is quickly subdued and stunned by a blow to the head (saved from being worse only by his helmet!).

With over a dozen goblins against only five party members, the fight is difficult. Nearly everyone is injured to a greater or lesser degree, with Sulif in particular going down with a broken arm. However, the party manage to systematically cut down the goblins until less than half their number remain. At this point, with nowhere to retreat to, the goblin leader surrenders.

Session 1: Tomb of the Iron God, Part 1

As we begin, the party, under the leadership of Arik, has joined on with a caravan heading to the east, towards the desert land of Ember. The caravan is still a few weeks' travel away from the main campaign area, and is currently making its way through a sweltering jungle. All of the men and animals are adversely affected by the heat, but Arik in particular is very badly affected, because he is used to very cold temperatures.

The caravan arrives at the small village of Asuna, which holds no more than a few hundred people and a few dozen buildings, and Arik convinces the head merchant of the expedition to stop for a few days to allow everyone to rest and recuperate. The members of the caravan head for the village's single inn, though the party notice the villagers giving them all a variety of unfriendly looks as they pass.

The next morning, Arik summons the group into his inn chamber. When they arrive, he explains that he has been speaking with the innkeeper, and she has told him that the people of this village (and several other nearby villages as well) worship a god called the Iron God. However, about a month ago, the Iron God's temple was destroyed by lightning in a freak storm, and none of the priests have been seen since. Arik asks the party to investigate, as he is not in good enough shape to do it himself.

The party start by talking to the innkeeper, a stout but reasonably friendly woman. She tells them that a local boy, Sulif, went to investigate the ruins of the temple a few weeks ago, but found that goblins had already moved in and taken over. Since then, the villagers have been loathe to approach the ruins. She also warns them to be careful, because about a week ago, a guard from a caravan that was stopping in town mysteriously disappeared. The members of the caravan were convinced that the villagers had something to do with it, but after a few days were unable to prove anything, and eventually were forced to continue on their way. As far as she knows, no one has any idea what happened to him.

When the party asks the innkeeper where the temple is, she explains that it's about an hour's journey away, but the path leading to it is somewhat unclear, and without a guide it would be easy to get lost. They ask for her recommendation, and she names Sulif, the boy who discovered the presence of goblins, who apparently fancies himself something of an adventurer. She directs them to his home.

At Sulif's home, they are greeted by his cantankerous father, who summons the youth at the party's request. Sulif turns out to be a large, sturdily built individual about 20 years of age. While he is fairly easily convinced to help the party out (they tell him they want to recover the temple's relics and bring them back to Asuna), he tells them that he can't go without his father's permission, as he has chores and duties to attend to at home. The party asks to speak with his father again, who turns out to be quite stubborn and unyielding - that is, until Lorcan changes his mind with a subtle bit of spellcasting.

Permission having been granted, Sulif suits up and heads out, guiding the party along the path of the Temple of the Iron God. The trip takes a bit over an hour (accounting for the small legs of gnomes and halflings); when they arrive near the temple, Adokas sneaks ahead to check for goblins. The temple and its associated outbuildings are almost completely destroyed, with rubble, smashed furnishings, and massive gouges through the earth visible everywhere. There are, however, no signs of goblins. Adokas goes back to inform the group, who cautiously advance towards the temple's cellar entrance.

Standing at the stairs down to the temple's lower level, Adokas again sneaks ahead. The stairs lead to a large chamber, with two exits to either side. However, Adokas cannot make out very many details because it's too dark. He at least determines that he can't hear any goblins. Heading back up, the group next send in Zedlyn, whose gnomish darkvision lets him see in the absence of light. Zedlyn enters, and sees that the back of the chamber is dominated by huge iron statue holding a downturned urn. There is also what appears to be a mummified goblin head lying in the center of the room. As Zedlyn steps forward, the head hisses a warning against tomb robbers, but then goes silent when the gnome tries to converse with it.

Returning back up the stairs, the party discusses the possibility that the Iron God has destroyed the goblins and left the head as a warning for trespassers. Sulif eventually points out that (as far as he believes) they're here for a good cause, so they have nothing to fear. He hands a torch to Sharla, and the group as a whole head town the stairs.

Taking the right passage from the main chamber, the party come across a vestiary with two doors. Listening at the doors, the party hear the distance sounds of several (many?) creatures (goblins?) speaking animatedly. Deciding to avoid the goblins for now, the party retrieve some debris from the surface and barricade the door, before returning to the main chamber and trying the left passage.

The left passage leads to a northward hallway, with a branch leading off to the west. Following the branch, the party arrive at a circular room featuring a murky fountain. Lorcan wades in and opens the valve that turns on the fountain, but after ten minutes or so, the water doesn't seem to be clearing up. The party spend this time searching the room, but are unable to find anything of interest. Adokas points out that it's probably just a ritual fountain of some sort, used for rituals of cleansing or purification. The party move on.

The northward passage eventually leads to another, similar, room - circular with a (drained) pool in the center. It is distinguished by two additional features - strange iron patterns inlaid into the wall, and iron statues of two priests. Zedlyn investigates the patterns while the rest of the party investigate the statues and the rest of the room. The group, after spending some time searching the room, come to the conclusion that the statues are actually moving - incredibly slowly, but moving nonetheless. The unspoken assumption among the group seems to be that this must be some sort of curse or magical effect that has transformed the priests into statues of iron. Zedlyn, meanwhile, has been following the patterns, and they seem to have a calming and meditative effect on him. After studying the patterns, he feels very clearheaded and focused.

The party continue down the northward hall, passing a doorway beyond which the sound of rats chittering can be heard. They arrive at a four-way intersection, with doors visible in all directions.

Sulif

Neutral Good Male Human Fighter, Level 1

Str 16 Dex 11 Con 15 Int 9 Wis 10 Cha 14
HP 12 AC 15 Prime Attributes Strength, Constitution, Charisma
Height 6' 2" Weight 240 lbs Age 19 years

Class Abilities Weapon Specialization (Spear)

Equipment Spear, large wooden shield, sling, 20 bullets, studded leather armor

Description Sulif is a tall, bulky, and muscular youth. Like most inhabitants of Ember, his skin is somewhat dark and his hair black; he has a friendly and not unattractive face. His garb is that of a common villager, and in combat he wears a suit of studded leather armor - lighter than the armor preferred by most warriors, but the best protection that he can afford.

Biography When asked about his past, Sulif shrugs and says that there isn't very much to say. He's spent his entire life in and around the small village of Asuna, never travelling more than a day's journey away. He lives with his father, the town's brewer, his mother having passed away several years ago. Naturally big and strong, he has taken up the spear in the hopes of finding adventure and perhaps seeing the rest of the world - but for now, his chores and duties at home keep him firmly planted in Asuna.

Gods of Ember

Based on "The Gods of Pegana" and related works, by Lord Dunsany (http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8395/pg8395.html). Still a work in progress.

Kib - Creator of Men and Beasts, Crafter of the World

Kib is called the Creator of Men and Beasts and Crafter of the World for indeed, He was the creator of all these things. Kib created the world by uplifting His hand and drawing together the rocks scattered across the cosmos, and He created living creatures upon it as playthings to amuse Himself.

The priests of Kib attempt to keep the world as Kib has intended it. They oppose the expansion of Men into the realms of Beasts, but similarly those oppose the intrusion of Beasts into the realms of Men. Some cities are declared as belonging to the realm of Men in the holy scriptures of Kib. These cities are to be preserved and defended. Those that are not listed, are to be destroyed.

Sometimes Kib comes to favour an individual Man or Beast, one that particularly amuses or interests him. Thus, the priests of Kib pray for Kib's favour.

Mung - Lord of All Deaths

Mung is the God of Death, who is responsible for ending the lives of Men and Beasts. It is said that Mung was jealous of the playthings of Kib, and fearful that one day they might discover the Secret of the Gods, and so He created Death and sent it out among the Men and Beasts.

The main duty of Mung's priests is to make the Sign of Mung against those who are foretold to die. The priests are never wrong - those who have the sign made against them invariably die within the month. The priests of Mung do this to warn those for whom death is approaching, so that they may spend well their final days. Secondarily, the priests of Mung offer prayers, chants, and sacrifies to Mung so that He might grant respite against death.

Individuals who have been resurrected are an abomination against Mung, and must be hunted down and destroyed in order to appease Him.

Sish - Destroyer of Hours, God of Time

Time is the Hound of Sish; He has mastered it and He sends it to devour the hours and days, and to propel the spheres through the Heavens. Never has Sish stepped backward and never has He tarried, but it is said that one day, Time will turn against its master and seek to devour Him.

Although one of the most important Gods, Sish is not greatly worshipped by Men. He has few worshippers and priests because his work is so inexorable. Sish does not heed the prayers of Men and there is naught that can be done to halt or divert the flow of Time, so there is little for priests of Sish to do.

Those priests of Sish that do exist serve mostly as chroniclers, archivists, and historians, who seek to track and record Sish's work so that others in the future might appreciate it.

Dorozhand - Whose Eyes Regard the End, God of Destiny

Dorozhand is a mystery, even amongst the other Gods. It is said that He has beheld the End of all things, and that he knows how all things must come about, although not why. His influence is subtle; the goals that He works towards and the actions that He takes are inscrutable to those who have not seen the End.

Dorozhand sometimes sends knowledge to Men on the Earth, for reasons that none know or understand. This knowledge manifests itself as fragmentary visions detailing how things will occur, but not why. They are usually vague and difficult to interpret.

The priests of Dorozhand seek out and aid these seers and prophets, in order to ensure that things progress as they must towards the End.

Slid - Whose Soul is the Sea, Lord of All Waters

Slid

The soul of Slid rests in the sea, but He is the God of all the waters, from the rivers that carve through the Earth, to the rain that falls upon the hills. His moods and emotions are reflected across the waters; when Slid is calm, the rivers and seas are clam; when Slid is angry or excited, the rivers and seas are angry or excited.

Especially in the vicinity of the Yann, the priests of Slid are extremely important, due to the river's vast important as a source of water, farmable land, and transportation. Priests of Slid pray to Him in order to ensure plentiful floodings and rains, resulting in a bountiful harvest. While travelling by boat, they pray for Slid's favour in order to ensure a swift and safe journey. Most sailors will refuse to sail without a priest of Slid onboard.

Because of Slid's importance, the priests of Slid tends more towards corruption and concern for wordly affairs than the priests of other Gods. High ranking priests of Slid are among the most important individuals around.

Limpang-Tung - God of Mirth and Melodious Minstrels

Limpang-Tung is a minor God, one who does not understand the schemes of greater Gods such as Kib, Sish, and Mung. He doesn't understand why Men and Beasts must grow old and die, why this cycle must repeat itself ceaselessly, and why mortal creatures must endure so much suffering throughout their lives. Feeling pity for the Men and Beasts who are trapped within the cycle, He sends mirth and happiness so that they may enjoy what time they have. But when Men and Beasts grow old, He withdraws from them, for death and age, He does not understand.

The priests of Limpang-Tung carry out His desires by spreading joy and celebration in order to help others forget their worries. They organize festivals and holidays.

Limpang-Tung is also the God of the Sky, for every day He sends marvelous blues to paint the skies, for Men and Beasts to enjoy.

Yoharneth-Lahai - God of Little Dreams and Fancies

Roon - God of Going, Lord of Charms

Sirami - Lord of All Forgettings

There are certain memories and certain pieces of knowledge that are best forgotten. Sirami, the Lord of All Forgettings, is the God that causes memories to be forgotten. Primarily, He relieves the dead of their memories before they pass on to the afterlife; He also relieves dreamers of their memories when they awake. Sometimes, when He feels merciful, He relieves the living of those memories that are too painful to bear.

Sirami has very few priests; those that do exist worship Him as a keeper of secrets and reliever of painful memories. He is also worshipped by some as a God of wine and spirits, which cause Men to forget their troubles, if only temporarily.

Priests of Sirami often preside over funerals, where they ritually seal the deceased's eyes shut with wax, representing Sirami relieving the departed soul of its earthly cares.

Wohoon - Lord of Noises in the Night

Hish - Lord of Silence

Jabim - Lord of Broken Things

Kilooloogung - Lord of Arising Smoke, Keeper of Ritual

In the holy scriptures, Kilooloogung is described as the lord of the smoke that rises from the hearth. From this humble duty, He has become, to His worshipers, the God of the Home, and therefore the God of City, and therefore the God of Civilization. From His rule over the natural laws that determine the shape and pattern of the rising smoke, He has become worshiped as the God of Law as well.

The priests of Kilooloogung are steadfast defenders of Law and Civilization. They fiercely defend the cities of Men against any who would threaten them from without, and uphold the law in order defend the cities against any who would threaten them from within.

The priests of Kilooloogung are generally very traditional and conservative.

Inzana - Dawnchild, Goddess of the Sun

Inzana and Umborodom

Umborodom - Whose Hound was the Thunder

Umborodom is the grim and relentless God of divine judgement and justice. His Hound is the Thunder, and it can often be heard echoing across the land as He hunts down those who have violated the laws of the Gods.

The priests of Umborodom perform the same service among Men as Umborodom Himself performs among the Gods - they uphold justice and bring retribution to those who have earned it. They often work with the other priesthoods, as well as with secular law enforcement agencies.

Temples of Umborodom are often used as courtrooms, where judgment is pronounced against the guilty, and often the priests of Umborodom are the executioners.

Yahn - Usurer of the Gods, God of Wealth

Agrodaun - The Mountain Standing Alone

Unlike the other deities listed here, Agrodaun is not an abstract, distant God, but rather a mountain that is worshipped as a God. Agrodaun can be found in the northeast corner of Ember (http://fgofe.blogspot.ca/2013/06/map-of-ember.html); It is a vast, black mountain that stands at the border of the sea.

It is said that Agrodaun halted the advance of the sea by splitting it in two as it raced across the Earth, preventing it from covering all the land. For this reason, Agrodaun is worshipped as a God of steadfastness, resilience and protection.

The priests of Agrodaun tend to the city of Nen, founded at the base of Agrodaun. They protect the sacred mountain, and spread their teachings to those who come to visit the sacred mountain.

Updates

This post is just to keep track of which posts have been updated or added.

2013-07-25

 - Sorcerer class description added.

2013-07-24

 - Weapons and armor added.

2013-07-23

 - Session 2 report added.
 - Iriellis Swiftfoot bio added.

2013-07-12

 - Session 1 report added.
 - Sulif character profile added.

2013-07-07

 - Cities of Ember completed.
 - Gods of Ember added.