3. The Calendar and Holy Days

The Calendar and Holy Days


  • Mulhorandi and drow pantheon done, working on dwarves and elves next.


  • Human deities done, with the exception of Mulhorandi pantheon. I'll continue work, trying to finish it before the end of the year. I'll start weekly events based on this next week.


  • Orc Pantheon:

    Bahgtru:
    Clerics and adepts of Bahgtru pray for their spells at dusk, when the Leg Breaker tears the sun from the sky. Each month, when the moon is full, Bahgtru's followers gather for a Festival of Strength, during which many challenges drawing on physical prowess are held. Some challenges are lethal, an inevitable winnowing of the weak.

    Gruumsh:
    Clerics and adepts of Gruumsh prepare their spells in the dark of night. Their holy days are the times of the new moon and anniversaries of great battles against elves, dwarves, or other orc tribes.

    The last day of Marpenoth, which Gruumans call Gharfek’taaz (“Feast of the Bloodied Stones”), commemorates Gruumsh’s ascendancy as the master of Nishrek. On this day, new shamans are ordained in a bloody orgy of torture and sacrifice.

    Ilneval:
    Clerics and adepts of Ilneval pray for their spells at dusk in preparation for the night's battles. The church of Ilneval observes few holy days, other than token obeisance to those honoring Gruumsh in calculated display of loyalty to the One-Eyed god, for Ilneval is not interested in remembering past victories but plotting new ones to come. The most sacred celebration of the year is held annually at Greengrass, when Ileval's cleric assemble hordes of orc warriors to swoop down on civilized lands in an orgy of destruction and violence.

    Luthic:
    Cleric and adepts of Luthic pray for their spells each day whenever the moon is highest in the sky. Luthic's holy days are tied to the new moon, the symbol of orc fertility. The Feast of the Moon is celebrated by the Cave Mother's followers as the Coming of the Winter Cave, for most tribes must retreat to Luthic's domain during the winter months. Many young are usually conceived during this festival, ensuring another generation of warriors.

    Shargaas:
    Clerics of Shargaas pray for their spells at midnight, when the world is shrouded in darkness. The Night Lord's clergy gather under the darkness of each new moon to honor the Stalker Below in a grim ceremony known as the Chant in the Abiding Darkness. Supplicants are required to bring an object of great value to its prior owner to sacrifice to Shargaas, preferably the heart of some foe. The assembled faithful then begin chanting a series of ritualistic prayers to the Night Lord pledging to serve as his silent, deadly weapons.

    Yurtrus:
    Clerics and adepts of Yurtrus pray for their spells at dusk in the dying of the day. The church Yurtrus recognizes two major holy days. The first, known as the Ceremony of Contagion, is celebrated on Midsummer Night. On this day the deity's contagion is said to take root, sapping the world of life in a relentless spiral that leads inexorably to the winter and the death of the year. After a bloody ritual of sacrifice to spare the orcs from the ravages of plague, the clerics of Yurtrus venture forth, spreading disease and death across the world, particularly among other races.

    The second holy day, known as the Putrescent Death, is celebrated on Midwinter Eve. On this night, the clergy of Yurtrus recognize the death of the world, symbolized through the sacrifice of sentient beings of other races. Sacrifices are typically made to the Rotting Lord through the deliberate infection of a victim with a particularly horrible disease.


  • Halfling Pantheon:

    Arvoreen:
    If time permits, Arvoreen's priests and lay followers come together prior to every battle (either in a temple or at a makeshift altar in the field) to ask for the blessings of the Defender. After a brief, inspirational sermon and a period of private prayer, the Battle Hymn of the Keepers is sung in unison and silvered weapons—at most one per worshiper—are sacrificed to the god by placing them on the altar. If Arvoreen is pleased with the diligence of his followers' preparations, the Defender receives the silver plating from the sacrificed arms, leaving behind the actual weapons. For the next 24 hours, all such once-silvered weapons are enchanted to strike at a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.

    The Ceremony of Remembrance is celebrated annually on the Feast of the Moon. During this holy day, Arvoreen's followers gather in his temples and on battlefields where their comrades have fallen to remember the names of those who gave their lives in defense of the community. Close friends and relatives often report a brief, wordless encounter with the spirit of a fallen loved one during Ceremonies of Remembrance, but no evidence of such, aside from the statements of individuals who report such spiritual visitations, has ever been found.

    Brandobaris:
    As one might expect, followers of Brandobaris have little in the way of formal ceremony when they venerate the Master of Stealth. On nights of the new moon, no matter where they are, followers of Brandobaris are expected to hide one or more stolen items from the previous month's take in the best hiding place they can find as part of a ritual known as the Trickster's Tithe. If Brandobaris is pleased with the offering (which has less to do with the value of the offering than it does with the amount of risk required to acquire it), it vanishes from its cache by morning, any the worshiper is blessed with the Trickster's favor for the following month. (In game terms, this translates into a +1 bonus on a single saving throw that must be used within the next month at the character's discretion.)

    Cyrrollalee:
    Worship services for Cyrrollalee are held on the first day of each month, known in halfling communities as Hearthday. Devout halflings gather in the home of one of their fellow parishioners, rotating to a different dwelling in the local community each month. The Hand of Fellowship asks for nothing in the way of propitiation aside from simple prayers requesting her blessing. Friendship among her worshipers is considered the highest praise one can raise to her name.

    Sheela Peryroyl:
    Sheela is venerated at twilight under the full moon in monthly celebrations known as Gatherings. Halflings from the surrounding community gather to celebrate the bounteous produce of the earth, whether it be brought from the fields directly or brought from root cellars dug within the earth. Gatherings are as much community-wide feasts as religious ceremonies, and all are expected to contribute, even if it be only a stone for the soup. (Halflings have a tale similar to that of most human cultures in which a wayfarer comes to a town suffering after a terrible harvest. After learning there is nothing to eat, the hungry stranger begins to cook stone soup. As the visitor boils his water containing naught but a rock under the watchful eyes of the incredulous villagers, he comments how much better it would be if he only had a carrot. After one villager reluctantly offers up a hoarded carrot, the stranger muses how much better it would be with some cabbage and a single head is found as well. The tale continues until every family in the entire village has contributed something to the soup, at which point the stranger pronounces it done and shares it with all the contributors.)

    The major festivals of the church of Sheela are usually celebrated around Greengrass and Higharvestide, although the starting date varies from year to year. The first festival - called the Seeding, New Spring, and other titles, depending on the region - comes at the traditional time of planting the first crops of the year. At dawn, Sheelite priests dispense seeds from the temple stores while giving homage to the goddess, and the entire community aids in the sowing of the fields. The second festival - called High Harvest, the Reaping, and other titles, depending on the region - comes at harvest time. At this time, offerings of seeds are made to the temple to be stored for the coming year, as are the fruits of the season's labors. Community-wide revelry is common at these celebrations starting in the evening when the work has been finished and continuing late into the night. The length of these festivals varies from area to area, averaging about 10 days.

    Urogalan:
    Nights of the full moon are considered holy days by the Urogalanan priesthood and are collectively known as Earthrisings. Halfling theology holds that the full moon is a manifestation of Urogalan, symbolizing both the ascendance of earth and the inevitable coming of death after life. Priests and followers of Urogalan, as well as halflings whose loved ones have passed away within the past month, gather in natural earthen basins at night to propitiate He Who Must Be. Offerings to the Lord in the Earth at such ceremonies are made on a large, low, flat rock placed at the center of the bowl and typically include precious gifts of the earth such as uncut gems, diarun, and clay statuettes depicting the god. During such rituals, participants sing soft dirges and chant elegies to the percussive pounding of bare feet while making slow rotations around the central stone.

    Among the various burial practices used by priests of Urogalan, there are only three set precepts that must be met. The body must be encased in earth or stone - either a wooden casket that will quickly rot away or a stone sarcophagus - and a stone tablet engraved with the name of the deceased. Urogalan's symbol must be placed upon the corpse's chest. The priest presiding over a burial must carve from stone or shape from clay twin figurines depicting a pair of black hounds, bless them, and place them on the palms of the deceased. Finally, members of the community who were friends of the departed soul must come forth and return a gift the deceased gave to them. Such gifts are typically tales of the generosity, kindness, cleverness, wit, or escapades of the deceased and are sometimes accompanied by a small token of remembrance suggestive of the tale. Typical tokens include a clay pipe, an apple, a jug of wine, or a simple woodcarving.

    As an example of a fairly wide-spread burial practice, halfling gravestones often include clay statuettes of Urogalan placed in a small niche at the base of the grave marker. Regional practices exist as well. Many halflings of the Sword Coast are descended from emigrants from what is now the Calim Desert who fled enslavement at the hands of the genies and the human rulers who followed them. The early hin - an archaic name for halflings derived from Alzhedo - often lacked the simple pleasures and quiet security halflings treasure, and it was feared that a life lived in tragedy would leave the deceased unprepared for the afterlife in the Green Fields of Mount Celestia. Thus began the practice, which continues until this day among the halflings of the Purple Hills, eastern Amn, Sunset Vale, and the lower Delimbiyr river valley, of covering the face of the deceased with a terra cotta mask depicting the face of the deceased with contented expression. Such burial masks were believed to aid the spirit in its initial adjustment to the afterlife and to symbolize the true peace escaped slaves found only in death. Of course, the reasoning behind this practice has been forgotten by most of its practitioners, and if pressed by nonhalflings questioning the custom, most halflings explain it away with the quizzical rejoinder, "Undead don't smile!"

    Although burial practices vary somewhat from community to community, few changes occur upon the passing of a halfling deserving of special status, for the Small Folk feel ostentatious tombs for particularly individuals are inappropriate in their relatively egalitarian society. Acceptable enhancements to the common burial practice include interring favorite possessions along with the deceased, chiseling elaborate carvings representing the life and deeds of the deceased on the exterior of a sarcophagus, and employing rare stone, gems, and metals in the construction of the sarcophagus and gifts interred within. As a matter of necessity, elaborate safeguards to deter tomb robbers must sometimes be included as well. For example, the last Margrave of Meiritin, Samovar Amethystall, who died in battle with the armies of the Duchy of Cortryn in the Year of the Phoenix (519 DR), was entombed in a small vault in the western Tejarn Hills of what is now southern Amn. The halfling prince was interred in a red marble sarcophagus elaborately sculpted with friezes depicting his heroics as well as his beneficence. Engraved in the lid of the stone coffin was a stylized map of the lands he ruled, before the rise of Cortryn, with important sites marked. Within the marble casket, along with the margrave's body, was placed a terra cotta mask with bronze filigree and green eyes of carved tomb jade, a pair of onyx dogs (figurines of wondrous power), an ornate silver snuffbox, a diarun weedpipe, and the Crystal Crown of Ilhundyl. The location and current state of the tomb are unknown, although the margrave's distant descendant, Count Krimmon Amethystall of Tethyr, has discretely funded several expeditions to find it.

    Yondalla:
    Halflings set aside one day per Realms week - the fifth day of each tenday - for worship of Yondalla. Safeday, as it is known, is a day that is mostly spent in rest and play. In the morning, families gather together in the home, collectively offer up the fruits of the goddess's bounty in homage to the Provider, and then spend several hours preparing a tenday's feast from those offerings. During these activities, local members of the clergy of Yondalla go from house to house to lead each family in brief devotions, offer the goddess's blessings, and share any concerns a family may have. When the tenday's feast is prepared, each family, sometimes joined by a local priest, joins together in eating, laughing, and the telling of tales. In the late afternoon, the Small Folk emerge from their homes and assemble in the central square. The highest- ranking priest of Yondalla (or in the absence of a priest, a pious lay representative) then leads the assembled Small Folk on a walk around the central community, symbolically joining Yondalla in her defense of the settlement. Such tours are hardly armed patrols; they usually involve contests to see who can pick the most perfect apple or the like and other gentle reminders of how bountiful are the goddess's gifts. When the promenade returns to the central square, the community-wide dinner feast begins. Extra food prepared during the morning hours is heated and served, while the community elders relate traditional tales of halfling folklore. Such festivities can last far into the night as the community reforges their communal bonds. Unlike the religious ceremonies of other races and powers, allies and even strangers are often invited to contribute and partake in the feasting and merriment, although those unknown to the community are discretely observed just in case.


  • Gnome Pantheon:

    Baervan Wildwanderer:
    The Offering of Trinkets: Baervan's priests gather monthly in sylvan glens under the light of the full moon to dance, hurl acorns at each other, and sacrifice magical trinkets or other treasures to the god. If a follower has been unable to acquire any magical gift to offer to Baervan over the course of the last three tendays, a knickknack of some value temporarily enchanted by means of some minor magic (often a light spell) is commonly offered up to Baervan.

    Baravar Cloakshadow:
    The clergy of Baravar venerates the Sly One in a monthly ritual known as the Cloaking. Although such rituals are always observed on the night of the new moon, the exact location and nature of the ceremony varies every time. The Cloaking is often held in public places, and it is considered a point of honor by the participants that such assemblies are never detected as such by outsiders. This practice has led to a common joke among the Forgotten Folk that any unexplained gathering of two or more gnomes must be "another meeting of the Illusory." Baravar's priests make offerings to their god by creating illusions of items they have seen or heard or otherwise sensed. The greater the realism of such deceptions, the more the god is pleased.

    Callarduran Smoothhands:
    The followers of Callarduran assemble on Midsummer day and on Midwinter night to venerate the god in sister ceremonies known as (he Festivals of the Ruby and the Star, respectively. The Festival of the Ruby marks Callarduran's hiding of rubies and other gems in the depths of the earth for the deep gnomes to find, a story symbolized in svirfneblin mythology by tales of the Great Red Ruby (the setting sun) sinking into the earth (dipping below the horizon). The Festival of the Star celebrates the continued protection the Deep Brother provides to the descendants of the svirf-neblin who followed him into the Deepearth. The holy day is marked by deep gnomes who assemble on the shore of a subterranean lake or pool to observe an annual event when small patches of a specially bred species of phosphorescent fungi in the cavern roof tight up like stars, creating an illusion of the night sky reflected in the waters below. For deep gnomes this event reaffirms their ancestral ties with the surface world and reassures them that they have not been abandoned in the hostile environment deep beneath the surface of the earth.

    Flandal Steelskin:
    Members of Flandal's priesthood assemble annually on Midsummers Day in great moots to celebrate the holy day known as the High Forge. The faithful gather in the morning to make offerings of forged metal weapons to the god and offer praises to him through rhythmic, percussive hammer hymns culminating at midday with a brief period of utter silence. In the afternoon and evening, the participants exchange ideas and new techniques and exhibit the finest of their wares, and by evening the gathering is overwhelmed by merchants seeking to acquire new trade goods.

    Gaerdal Ironhand:
    The followers of Gaerdal refer to tenday periods as Tenhammers, a name referring to the marking of the passage of each day by striking a great hammer against a metal shield, for such is the typical length of service for guard duty for members of this faith. The tenth day of every ten Tenhammers is a holy day of the faith, known to gnomes everywhere as the Great Clang and on such days the cult of Gaerdal assembles to pay homage to the god through battle hymns and rhythmic chants.

    Garl Glittergold:
    The church of Garl holds monthly worship services on the 13th day of each monthan auspicious day in gnome folklore. Known as the Communion of Laughter, the Forgotten Folk venerate the head of the gnome pantheon through a variety of activities that last the entire day. Although the order varies from temple to temple, the Joker's rituals include a period of prayer and quiet contemplation, dancing atop the central dais, the sharing of communal meals, storytelling to the accompaniment of visual displays of magic, and joke telling contests that last late into the night. Individuals are expected to offer a bit of gold (or other precious metals, if gold is not available) to the god, even if it is just a handful of gold dust. The moneys so collected are used by the temple for the collective benefit of the community.

    Segojan Earthcaller:
    Segojan is venerated at quarterly holy days that mark the first day of each new season. His faithful gather in plainly adorned earthen dens and offer up gemstones, both worked and unworked, in honor of the treasures of the earth that the Lord of Burrows provides. Such treasures are then placed in small holes dug by badgers before covering them with dirt. Segojan is said to command small burrowing animals to move the jewels elsewhere for gnomes to discover anew. Those corrupted by the taint of Urdlen have occasionally returned to the burrows where Segojan is worshiped in hopes of stealing the offerings. Despite timely excavation, none of the buried offerings have been found where they were buried.

    The Earthen Embrace is a relatively widespread funerary ritual observed in most gnome communities, particularly among rock gnomes. Gnome customs regarding the interment of the dead are believed to date back to the enslavement of the Forgotten Folk by the Netherese before their emancipation in the latter half of Netheril's Silver Age in 1472 NY. In gnome communities, the bodies of the fallen are rarely placed in any form of coffin or sarcophagus (except for some communities of forest gnomes who employ wood coffins). Instead gnome corpses are slathered with a thick coating of specially prepared mud by priests of Segojan. This coating dries and hardens over a period of three days until it achieves the consistency and strength of stone. During the three days it takes to prepare an earthen mummy, gnome illusionists work small magics into the hardening earthen shell to replicate the image of the deceased as she or he appeared in life. After preparation, an earthen mummy is adorned with lifelike illusions and then carried on a carpet of furs of small burrowing animals to the central gathering spot of the community, or in larger settlements to the temple with which the deceased was most closely associated. Friends and relatives, a group that often encompasses the entire community, then gather around the body to recount favored stories of the deceased and to tell tales of his or her life. Finally, the body is blessed by the assembled clergy and borne off by the priests of Segojan to its final resting place in an earthen burial niche. Burial practices vary slightly from community to community, but generally changes to the basic ritual are performed only for gnomes who have received some measure of renown and thus entered into the rich oral tradition of gnome folklore. A fairly common practice in such cases is the placement of small gemstones and other treasures in the coating of mud before it hardens. This practice has resulted in grave robbers (including avaricious followers of Urdlen) plundering gnome burial sites in search of hidden treasures and the desecration and destruction of mummies thus unearthed. As a result, gnome burial sites are unmarked so as not to betray their location to nongnomes.

    They are often located deep beneath the surface at the end of narrow winding tunnels that are then completely collapsed. Other prominent gnomes are recognized by permanent illusions that persist long beyond the three-day mourning period that may actually move about as the gnome did in life. In the rarest of ceremonies, gnomes of great renown are honored by wrapping their earthen shell in the hide of an aurumvorax.

    Urdlen:
    In a regular ritual known as the Feeding, Urdlen's priests appease their god by spilling the blood of their prey on the ground and burying it. Jewels and valuable metal goods are also sacrificed to him by ruining, breaking, tarnishing, or melting them and then burying them. On Midwinter night, followers of the Crawler Below gather in subterranean caverns to offer blood sacrifices to the god to appease its wrath. If Urdlen is displeased by the volume of blood or the value of the despoiled goods offered on the Night of Blood, it may appear and slay all the assembled worshipers in an orgy of unbridled destruction.


  • Elven Pantheon:

    Aerdrie Faenya:
    The Dance of Swirling Winds is a semiannual festival held on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes to celebrate the changing seasons and to honor the Winged Mother. The winds are always strong on such days no matter where Aerdrie's followers gather. Celebrants make offerings of beautiful feathers and join in an aerial ballet danced to the music of wind instruments played by some of the participants.

    Those who lack wings or magical means of flight may ride the wind as a gift of the goddess herself. For the duration of the formal ceremony, recipients of Aerdrie's blessing are usually tethered by long ropes to others who can command their own aerial movements. Once the dance breaks up, however, wind dancers, as they are known, are swept across the forest canopy for miles in a breathtaking flight before settling gently in a sylvan glade not too far from home.

    Angharradh:
    Members of Angharradh's priesthood celebrate the holy days and important ceremonies of one of the Three, depending upon which aspect of the Triune Goddess they particularly venerate.

    Corellon Larethian:
    Corellon's faithful celebrate a great number of holy days, most of which are tied to astronomical events and occur only once every few years (such as Shieldmeet) or decades. Of particular import, once per lunar month, when the crescent moon softly illuminates the night sky, Corellon's faithful gather in moonlit glades to celebrate the gifts of their deity in a festival known as Lateu'quor, the Forest Communion of the Crescent Moon. Devotees of the Protector offer up their praises through music, song, dance, and the offering up of their most beautiful creations. True works of art are sometimes brought up to Arvandor so as to be appreciated by the spirits of those elves who dwell among the Seldarine, while others are kept within Corellon's shrines and temples so that the Fair Folk of Faerun may wonder at the fruits of Corellon's greatest gift: creativity. On rare occasions such revels spontaneously unleash a glorious magica ceremony whose results are guided only by the Creator of the Elves. Sometimes the landscape is reshaped, and the site is thereafrer considered sacred to the Protector. At other times, the communal magic coalesces into an item-usually a sword, long bow, set of cloak and boots, suit of elven mail, or musical instrument-of unearthly beauty. Such items art-then enchanted by Corellon's seniormost priests and are thereafter considered holy relics of the faith.

    Deep Sashelas:
    Deep Sashelas is honored individually through the creation of works of art and other wonders, and prayers are given to the Lord of the Undersea upon initiating and after completing such projects. Daily observances by Sashelas's clergy thank Deep Sashelas for his benevolence and the beauty of the undersea world, but the most important rituals are timed to coincide with especially high and low tides, known as the High Flow and the Deep Ebb, respectively.

    During such ceremonies, the Delphions make offerings of precious natural objects and items of great artistry. Meanwhile, acolytes swim in complex patterns accompanied by dolphins, and sing deep, reverberating songs of praise to the Lord of the Undersea and his creations. While both ceremonies are similar in form, the High Flow is a joyous celebration emphasizing beauty, creativity, and artistry, while the Deep Ebb is a grim, martial ceremony emphasizing the remembrance of those who are lost and vigilance against the everpresent enemies of the Undersea.

    Erevan Ilesere:
    Followers of Erevan gather monthly for a Midnight Gambol, which is held in a sylvan glade beneath the light of the full moon. The exact location of each Midnight Gambol is a secret that is passed among the faithful by word of mouth in the days leading up to the event.

    Anyone who manages to discover the festivities through his or her own ingenuity is welcome to participate. Erevan's followers are often joined in their revels by the mischief-loving subjects of the Seelie Court, particularly sprites and pixies. Each Midn ght Gambol includes the sacrifice of beautiful objects (most of which are borrowed), dancing, wine-drinking, tale- telling, and endless prank-playing

    Fenmarel Mestarine:
    The church of Fenmarel does not celebrate widely recognized holy days. Instead, each individual or band venerates the Lone Wolf in personal worship services of their own devising. Many outcasts mark the day of their personal banishment with private contemplation, while tribes of feral elves mark anniversaries of important events in the group's oral history, many of which are correlated with astronomical events easily noted by the naked eye.

    Hanali Celanil:
    While Hanali's priests are given to frequent impromptu revels, their greatest celebrations are held every month beneath the bright light of the full moon. Such holy days are known as Secrets of the Heart, for romantically involved participants are said to experience the full bloom of their affections on such nights, allowing them to evaluate the strength of their feelings. Likewise, the inner beauty of celebrants visibly manifests as a rosy glow in their cheeks and eyes for days thereafter. Offerings of objects of great beauty are made to Lady Goldheart during such holy festivals, some of which are swept into Arvandor while others are returned to be shared among all of Hanali's followers. It is not uncommon for artists to unveil their latest work at such holy days, nor is it rare for young lovers to either pledge their troth secretly or proclaim it to all assembled, for doing so is said to invite Hanali's favor.

    Labelas Enoreth:
    The faithful of Labelas do not celebrate individual holy days, for the passage of time is uniform, independent of the events that unfold in each regular interval. Instead, the Lifegiver's followers gather each day in small groves near his temples as the sun sets to mark the passage of another day, a daily ritual known as the Marking of Time. They utter prayers to Labelas and recite all that they have learned in the past day to be recorded by the lorekeepers of Arvandor who serve the One-Eyed God.

    It is considered a great honor if a priest of Labelas attends a birth, as it is a sign that the child will live a long and fruitful life.

    Such visitations always occur at the first sunset after the birth and involve casting a bless spell on the infant as prayers to Labelas are exclaimed to the heavens. A priest of the Lifegiver does not perform such a ceremony unless she or he receives a vision in advance from the god giving such instructions.

    Rillifane Rallathil:
    Rillifane's faithful gather twice yearly at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes to hold fey dances in large groves of oak trees deep in the heart of great forests. The Budding is a joyful celebration of new life celebrated through dance and song and preceded by an extended period of fasting. A ritual hunt of an ancient and noble hart is undertaken on this day, from which the venison serves to break the fast of the Leaflord's faithful. This ritual honors Rillifane's bounty and reminds his followers of the natural cycle of life that plays out beneath the Leaflord's boughs. The Transformation marks the arrival of autumn and the vibrant hues that bedeck the canopies of the Leaflord around this time. The Sy-Tel'Quessir and elves of other subraces who seek a form of spiritual rebirth or a major change in their lives gather to celebrate Rillifane's eternal promise that the trees will bloom again and that life is a process of continual renewal.

    Sehanine Moonbow:
    Sehanine's faithful celebrate a wide variety of holy days, all of which are tied to the position of various heavenly bodies, particularly the phase of the moon and various types of eclipses. Many of these celebrations occur once per decade, once per century, or even once per millennium.

    The most frequent celebrations of Sehanine's faithful are held monthly beneath the light of the full moon. Lunar Hallowings, as such holy days are known, are marked with personal meditation and collective entrance into a communal trance. On occasion, Sehanine manifests through her assembled worshipers, knitting together their spirits in a true sharing of minds. Such holy days are concluded with a joyous freeform dance beneath the most visible manifestation of the Goddess of Moonlight (the moon) that lasts until the first rays of dawn.

    Once per year, Sehanine's faithful gather on the night of the Feast of the Moon for the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud.

    Similar in many ways to the monthly Lunar Hallowings, the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud are notable for the visible manifestation of the Lady of Dreams whereby the assembled worshipers are enveloped in a mantle of shimmering, silvery light that then rises up and darts across the heavens. During such mystical flights across the sky, the sacred mysteries of Sehanine are revealed to the participants, with each participant learning secrets appropriate to his current level of spiritual development. The ceremony concludes when the nimbus of light returns to the earth and the forms of Sehanine's worshipers coalesce.

    Sheverash:
    Midwinter Night is observed by the cult of Shevarash in memory of the Dark Court Slaughter. On this holy day, those who wish to join the ranks of the clergy are inducted into the faith and vows of unceasing vengeance are shouted into the night. In honor of their god's original vow, each new priest swears to never again laugh or smile until the Spider Queen and the other dark gods of the drow are slain and their followers are destroyed.

    Solonor Thelandira:
    Solonor's faithful generally eschew frivolous celebrations, considering them unnecessary distractions to the tasks at hand. Once per lunar month, under the soft light of the full moon, the Great Archer's faithful assemble to give thanks for the skills Solonor has taught and the bounty thus provided. In this festival called Giving of Thanks Hunters sacrifice hunting trophies that cannot otherwise be employed, and unbroken arrows engraved with the symbol of Solonor are fired into the sky to poke holes in the firmament and allow the light of Solonor's teachings to shine forth on his people (these arrows are never fired in a direction that would cause them to fall where they might hurt someone, including straight up).


  • Dwarven Pantheon:
    Abbathor:
    Solar eclipses and days when volcanic eruptions or other causes bring darkness during daytime are always considered holy days.

    Once a year, priests of Abbathor sacrifice a creature on an altar. It must be an enemy of dwarves but can be anything from an elf to a boar. Ores, trolls, and giants are the most favored sacrifices. The faithful of Abbathor then bring gems in offering to the god, and these are placed upon the body, they must touch the blood of the sacrifice. The value of the sacrifice is said to determine the amount of Abbathor's favor that will benefit the offerer in the year to come. Even priests refer to this practice as "buying grace." The sacrifice is then burnt to ashes, gems and all. If magic or especially valuable gems are sacrificed, these sometimes disappear before the body is consumed, taken by Abbathor for his own (or pocketed by the priests for their own use, some say).

    Abbathor's favor is said to include minor things like causing guards to sleep or become distracted, shaping shadows and moon-cloaking clouds to hide the features or exact position of a fleeing dwarven thief, or allowing a trapped thief an occasional battle-aid (in the form of an initiative roll bonus). Dwarves in need of Abbathor's immediate favor may make offerings at other times throughout the year. It is also customary to make an offering when one first worships at a particular temple.

    Berronnar Truesilver:
    Priests of Berronar worship the Mother Goddess by kneeling, closing their eyes, picturing the Revered Mother, and whispering prayers that begin and end with her name. They typically do this when asking for her guidance or when they are about to heal in her name. Her guidance is often given via an inner feeling or decision.

    Annual offerings of silver are made to Berronar in the form of coins, jewelry, drinking vessels, or trade-bars (a dwarven invention). White flowers sometimes adorn the offerings in token of dwarven love and affection for the Mother Goddess. Midwinter day and Midsummer night are celebrated by Berronar's faithful as holy days of the Revered Mother, although monthly observances are common in the larger temples. More elaborate rituals to Berronar take place aboveground on Midsummer Night and underground the rest of the time. Rituals honoring Berronar typically begin with a chanted prayer and continue with an address from the Keepers of the Truesilver.

    This ends in a responsive prayer led by a High Old One or chosen priest. Next comes a report of the good works and successes of the priesthood and an identification of failures and problems still to be overcome. Another responsive prayer follows, then a rising, spirit-lifting unison prayer. If a very sick dwarf or dwarves are present, unison healing then takes place.

    The entire assembled clergy lays hands on the afflicted ones and calls on Berronar. Healing does not always occur, although the deadening of pain (for 1d4+l days) always does - the assembled priests take the pain upon themselves. If healing does take place, it is a manifestation of the goddess, not a cast spell. Berronar's Touch, as this is known, has in the past cured blindness, insanity, lycanthropy, poisonings, life energy loss, bodily transformations due to parasitic or symbiotic plant life, tissue corrosion, and the like, in addition to more simple wounds and diseases.

    As betrothal and married life are the province of Berronar, lawful good dwarves follow her custom of exchanging rings with those for whom they feel deep, mutual trust and love, a ceremony that is never entered into lightly. The rings are often silver, matching the Revered Mother's symbol, and are treated by dwarven smiths to be everbright (never to tarnish), then blessed by priests of Berronar. If one of the parties participates with deceit in his or her heart, Berronar's power makes one of the rings crumble during the blessing (or both rings, if both are false).

    Clangeddin Silverbeard:
    Clangeddin's faithful or lost, as holy days. Individual temples mark particular days more than others, as the entire year-long calendar is overfilled with anniversaries of past battles. In Narfell, the latest such festival is the anniversarsy of the Fall of Jiyyd during N'jast war of 1499. This remembrance day is held at Greengrass. Conflicts whose importance and heroes have faded into the mists of time are commemorated every decade, century, or millennium, as appropriate.

    On holy days or during battle, always on a known (past, present, or immediately pending) battlefield, priests of Clangeddin chant, pray, and break weapons that they have anointed with their own blood. The god often manifests as a glowing radiance to consume the weapons, and this radiance may extend to worshipers as a temporary protective aura in battle. Offered weapons not consumed by the god are either twisted and shattered (where-upon they must be melted down and used for other things) or left un- touched (whereupon they may be used again, with the god's approval).

    The Father of Battle is often worshiped by frantic prayers in the midst of the fray. At such times, the god preferentially answers those who fight on fearlessly. When time permits, however, either on the evening before an anticipated battle or at the burial of a great dwarven warrior, the rituals of worship include a procession of the faithful onto the battlefield or gravesite. Clangeddin's priests lead the participants in a mournful dirge, a wordless rising and falling chant. The sound rises slowly into an exultant roaring and ends in a single, high, clear singing note - an odd, eerie contrast to the rough-voiced bloodsong that has preceded it. The slow-marching procession is always accompanied by slow, steady drumbeats (from drums carried by lesser priests) and consists of dwarves wearing their most battered armor (freshly used, if possible). These faithful are led and followed by chain mailarmored priests, who may echo the drumbeat by crashing weapons against shields. When the procession reaches its goal, the priests cast down their shields, hold their weapons high, and begin to whisper the god's name. They then close their eyes and continue whispering, concentrating on whatever image each one has of Clangeddin. (This is always the appearance of the avatar or manifestation if the dwarf has witnessed the direct acts of the god.) The priests then begin to move toward wherever they feel the god's presence is strongest and so blindly draw together until they collide. At that spot, they make the weapon sacrifice, speak the names of the valiant fallen that they wish the god to remember and hold in esteem, then kneel to await a sign. And an answer is often given - anything from a roll of thunder to a shield speaking a blessing, command, or answer. If the ritual was a burial, it is concluded with the interment and a solemn march away. If, instead, it was a preparation for a battle, it is concluded with a war chant and a "wild run," in which the participants wave weapons and emit whoops and war-cries.

    Deep Duerra:
    he Duerran church celebrates two holy days annually. The first, known as the Rallying, is celebrated on Midwinter eve. On this night, the followers of Duerra assemble to commemorate the triumphs and conquests of the previous year and to proclaim their intentions to seize new territory. Grim chants of war and the pounding of hammers against stone echo through the tunnels as the duergar work themselves into a grim fury. The culmination of such martial exaltations is the display of the newly seized skull of an enemy from another race whose territory will be besieged in the coming year.

    The other holy day of the Duerran faith is celebrated on the 5th of Mirtul. On this day, skilled practitioners of the Invisible Art assemble in Duerran temples to join in the Melding, a psionic ritual in which the assembled minds of the gray dwarves contact Duerra herself. The duergar temporarily form a common mind that rivals that of the great Elder Brains of the illithids. It is from such Meldings that many insights leading to great advances in duergar technology and psionics have come.

    Offerings to the Queen of the Invisible Art are made at both ceremonies; these typically include dirt or stone carried back from the borders of newly conquered territory, the brains of psionic individuals, or shattered skulls from members of any intelligent race.

    Dugmaren Brightmantle:
    The church of Dugmaren has little in the way of formal ritual or ceremony. Priests of the Wandering Tinker whisper a prayer of thankfulness to Dugmaren when they discover a piece of forgotten lore or whenever they make a significant discovery of any sort.

    Greengrass and Higharvestide are the only holy days regularly celebrated by Dugmaren's faithful. Such days begin with several hours of private early-morning introspection, usually spent staring into the heart of a single lit candle. These personal meditations are followed by a day-long convocation of scholars in which the results of scholarly investigations since the last such symposium are presented, defended, and discussed.

    Dumathoin:
    Nights of new moons and the days to either side of each such a night are considered holy days. They are known collectively as the Deepstone Triad, for the moon is considered to be hidden deep beneath the surface during this time. Also, special holy days known as Splendarrsonn can be decreed by a High Old One of the faith, usually when dwarves discover a major new lode, lost subterranean treasure cache or delve, or something of the sort.

    Gems and jewelry are sacrificed to Dumathoin at each celebration of the Deepstone Triad and on all other holy days. Such precious stones are offered up on altars dedicated to the god. Gems sacrificed to the Keeper are pulverized and mixed with certain herbs and fungal secretions to derive a paste that serves to make rock porous, help plant material adhere to it, and provide nourishment for plants in contact with it. With buckets of this acrid, purple-and-green fibrousa paste, priests of Dumathoin creep about the underways painting and planting fungi and other plant life to improve the underground environment. These improvements include not only beautification of the underground ways, but also concealment of stone dwarven doors, redirection of watercourses to turn water-wheels or fill reservoirs, and so on.

    Among the various burial practices used by priests of Dumathoin, there are only three set precepts that must be met. First, the body must be washed, and three or more stone burial tokens—the corpse's personal mark, the clan's mark, and Dumathoin's mark—must be braided into the deceased's beard. Second, the corpse is clothed in his or her own armor or a light suit of mail burial armor. (No matter what trade a dwarf plied in life, none enters the afterlife unarmored and unreadied.) Finally, the priest presiding over the burial must create a song honoring the dead dwarf's life and deeds; the song is carved into the lid of the coffin or sarcophagus (or when in a large clan tomb with numerous niches for fallen dwarves, onto the back of a mausoleum seal, a plaque, or a marker covering the recess where the deceased is buried).

    The song is never sung out loud in honor of the ever-silent Dumathoin. If someone finds it and speaks or sings it aloud, it is believed that a curse will settle on the one who committed the sacrilege. (Some suggest that the corpse itself might reanimate and smite the offender.)

    Burial practices may change slightly to suit particular clans, but a number of alterations in typical burial practices occur upon the passing of a dwarf deserving of special status. In general, there are simply more ceremonies, and more attention is paid to the construction of the tomb. The following are some specific variations that might be found in the burials of important dwarves:

    *The burial of a priest is a more convoluted and lengthy process, incorporating aspects of Dumathoin's worship and that of the god whom the priest served. Priests therefore tend to be buried within well-guarded tombs, and their sarcophagi are surrounded by (if not buried under) tokens and offerings from the priest's friends and faithful. Priests of Clangeddin or Moradin are often interred with the remains of their greatest conquered adversary, ensuring a grand afterlife of battle against dwarffoes. Unlike many other dwarven tombs, priests' spells are used heavily in the interment of a priest to protect the remains and offerings (and, some hint, to prevent the gods from calling on their servants after their time has passed).

    *Clan allies of any race can be interred within dwarven tombs, but only if they fell in battle defending the allied clan, the tomb, or a place sacred to Dumathoin.

    *While others are buried with standard ceremony and accouterments, wizards are always clad in robes made of woven silver and sealed in solid silver sarcophagi (or a burial creche lined with silver); this is due to a superstition born of an old dwarven myth that Dumathoin paid Mystra his weight in silver to garner his faithful protection from the magics that disturb the sleep of the dead. While there is believed to be little truth in this legend, the custom still prevails.

    *Clan outcasts (assuming a priest of Dumathoin willing to officiate over their burials can even be found) are buried without a clan mark in their beards, and their coffins or burial place markers often depict the broken or marred symbols of their former clans.

    Gorm Gulthym:
    Every festival in the Calendar of Harptos is sacred to the priesthood of Gorm. On such holy days, guardians of Gorm gather for a salute, a ritual involving the rhythmic grounding of weapons, and a responsively chanted prayer. Offerings to Gorm are of weapons used, even broken, in the service of guardianship anointed with tears, sweat, and drops of blood of the dwarf making the offering. Rituals involve silent vigils, muttered prayers, and answering visions from the god. At the height of a salute, if the ritual is performed in the chancel of one of Gorm's temples, the door behind the altar sometimes opens by the power of the god and through it may come instructive phantom images, scrolls or potions, weapons, pieces of armor, or even maps - small aids from the god, to help his faithful fulfill their duties.

    Haela Brightaxe:
    The followers of the Luck maiden celebrate three holy days of note. The first such day of the year, celebrated annually on Greengrass, is known as the Time of the Spawning. On this day Haela's clergy prepare for the next wave of ores and other monsters to pour forth from the occupied holds of long-fallen dwarves to threaten the remaining Stout Folk once again. The Time of Spawning is marked by grim ceremonies of preparation for the coming onslaught and includes endless choruses of battle hymns, rhythmic chanting to the beat of endless drumming, and the ritual shattering of weapons and armor seized from previous opponents.

    The second major holy day of the Haelan faith is known as the Axe Held High (Midsummer), a day that glorifies the valor of the Lady of the Fray and her role in defending the Stout Folk against their ancient foes. On this day of joyous celebration, ceremonies are held at midday, outdoors in the full embrace of the sun. The followers of the Luckmaiden hold that an unsheathed sword appears momentarily in the center of the solar orb at high noon.

    Finally, the Feast of the Moon is celebrated by the followers of Haela as the Commemoration of the Fallen. On this day, those dwarves and nondwarves alike who fell in the defense of the Stout Folk while battling monstrous opponents are remembered by the recounting of their battles and the consecration of new armor and weapons in their memory.

    On all such holy days, Haela's devout followers are expected to offer several drops of their own blood (one per level of the follower) as well as the blood of enemies of the dwarves they have defeated since the previous holy day (one drop of blood per foe, and one foe per level of the follower).

    Laduguer:
    As befits their grim lives, gray dwarves are a race almost without joy who reserve their celebrations for victories over enemies and for the grim pleasure of inflicting pain on those unlucky enough to fall into their clutches.

    The only regular holy day is celebrated annually at Midwinter and is known as Grimtidings. On this day only, the duergar lay down their hammers and gather to hear their priests recount the trials the duergar have suffered since their voluntary exile and the weaknesses of the other dwarven subraces and their gods. Laduguer is extolled for his artistry and craftsmanship, and a litany of those who have given insult to the god and the gray dwarves and against whom a promised, deadly revenge is recited.

    The Ardukes of the Gray Gloom also declare holy days, known as Guerdon Revels, after major victories and when prisonersparticularly gold and shield dwarves-are captured. While the work does not stop during such festivals, most gray dwarves are given a few moments off from their labors to observe the recounting of heroics by duergar warriors, to examine plundered loot, and to participate in the torture and painful deaths of any prisoners.

    Marthammor Duin:
    Followers of Marthammor celebrate numerous holy days during the year. Each festival day in the Calendar of Harptos and nine days after each festival day is considered holy to Marthammor. In years when Shieldmeet occurs, the holy day follows it nine days later; there are not two adjacent days, one following Midsummer and one Shieldmeet. On most holy days, and at least once a year for each worshiper, followers of the Finder-of-Trails must burn used ironwork and dwarf-made footwear in homage to the Watcher.

    Midwinter and the ninth of Alturiak are known to the faithful as the Rooting and the Rebirth respectively. The former holy day celebrates the reforging ties to the mountain homelands, and the latter celebrates the reemergence of dwarven wanderers from their mountain fastnesses.

    Greengrass and the ninth of Mirtul are known to the faithful as the Wind and the Wayfaring respectively. The former celebrates new discoveries and the latter celebrates extended sojourns in the homelands of other races.

    Midsummer and the ninth of Eleasias are known to the faithful as the Hammer and the Anvil. These holy days celebrate dwarven craftsmanship and creativity. Shieldmeet is celebrated as the Shepherding, a day when dwarven wanderers are expected to introduce the hidden to their human and demihuman neighbors.

    Highharvestide and the ninth of Leafall are celebrated as the Thunderbolt and the Fulmination. On these days followers of the Finder-of-Trails pray for guidance in any upcoming battles of the Stout Folk.

    Finally, The Feast of the Moon and the ninth of Nightal are celebrated as the Beacon and the Runestone respectively. These holy days celebrate the path revealed by Marthammor and the knowledge learned by interacting with other cultures.

    Moradin:
    Those who worship the Soul Forger gather monthly around the forge to celebrate the All-Father and to make offerings. In some dwarven cultures, Moradin is worshiped at the time of the full moon. In addition, any High Forgesmith can declare a holy day at any time and often does so as a way of celebrating a local event. Offerings of common or precious metals-especially those already worked by dwarven hands into items of beauty or practical use, such as tools or ornamented hardware-are made on the monthly holy days. Sacrifices of common or precious metals are melted down at the forge and reformed into shapes usable by the clergy. Rituals are performed while making such offerings, which involve chanting, kneeling, and reaching barehanded into the flames of the forge (Moradin prevents harm to the truly faithful) to handle red- and white-hot objects directly.

    The 1st of Hammer is a holy day in memory of the Thunder Blessing bestowed on the dwarven race by the Soulforger.

    Priests entering a temple of Moradin bow to the forge and surrender any weapons (in times of peace). Priests of Moradin strike the anvil standing by the entry once with their hammers before surrendering them to faithful dwarven warriors. At least seven warriors are usual at any shrine, but four will always be there. Priests of another faith, without permission of a High Old One or the avatar of Moradin, cannot advance beyond the wall of fire, a knee-high, permanent magical effect surrounding the central forge. Priests of Moradin engage in humble, verbal prayer and in open, earnest discussion of current dwarven problems and issues, more so than any other priesthood. Such discussion is considered to be between equals (even if nondwarves participate), save that the ranking priest of Moradin has the sole authority to open and close discussion on a particular topic.

    Worship usually ends with a rising, quickening chant in unison of: "The dwarves shall prevail, the dwarves shall endure, the dwarves shall grow!" This is repeated, ever more loudly, until the plain, massive, battered smith's hammer on the largest anvil of the forge rises from the anvil of its own volition (moved by the power of the listening god). It may (or may not) move about or glow to denote the god's will, marked pleasure, or agreement. It descends gently to the anvil, though it comes to rest with a thunderous ring, as if brought down with all the strength of a powerful dwarf.

    Sharindlar:
    The worship of Sharindlar has been kept secret from outsiders, especially her fertility aspect. Dwarves in general refer to her as the Lady of Mercy whenever they know nondwarves to be listening. Dwarven priests of any faith who care for the wounded or sick often pray briefly for Sharindlar's favor.

    When the moon begins to wax (the night after the new moon), at Greengrass, at Midsummer Night, and whenever the moon is full, Sharindlar's clergy gather to pray to the Lady of Life. The more secret rituals of Sharindlar take place in hidden caverns, wherever there is a pool of water. Such ceremonies involve dancing, prayers for the Lady's mercy and guidance, and the sacrifice of gold. Gold is heated until molten, and dwarves let blood from their own forearms into the mixture, which is then poured into the water, as Sharindlar's name is chanted and the dwarves dance about the pool in a frenzy, armor and weapons near at hand but not worn or carried.

    In the Deep Realm, Sharindlar's rituals take place around the Lake of Gold, a subterranean lake whose rocky bottom is streaked with gleaming veins of gold. The Lady of Life's dwarven faithful never take gold from the lake, whose bottom is now carpeted with the sparkling gold dust of long ages of worship resulting from rituals performed in an effort to raise the low birthrate of the race. Rituals in honor of Sharindlar's fertility aspect celebrated here always end with splendid feasts and courting chases through the underways of the Deeps. Rituals invoking Sharindlar's healing strength enacted by two or more priests of the goddess involve their gathering over injured or sick beings. The Lady of Life's priests sprinkle the ill from a vial of water from the Lake of Gold, while whispering secret names and descriptions of the goddess

    These rituals are called Ceremony of the Sactified Cauldron.

    Thard Harr:
    Ceremonies venerating the Lord of the Jungle Deeps are held on nights of the full and new mon. On such occasions, several hunting bands come together under the direction of one or more priests of Thard. The drums and chants of the wild dwarves then echo throughout the jungle, striking terror in the hearts of intelligent beings and beasts alike. Whenever the moon is full, and often when the moon is new, blood sacrifices of beasts and/or intruders are offered up to the Lord of the Jungle Deeps. Although they are not cannibals and do not usually eat intelligent beings, the assembled wild dwarves then often eat the still-warm sacrifice, regardless of its species.

    Vergadain:
    Priests of Vergadain work tirelessly to support and promote dwarven merchants and craftsfolk throughout Faerun. Whenever they render aid or handle material wealth of any sort, they mutter Vergadain's name in homage. Most of Vergadain's faithful also do so, and this makes up the bulk of Vergadain's daily worship. It is said that Vergadain can see into the mind of any creature within 10 feet wherever his name is uttered. He sometimes warns a dwarf of treachery by means of a vision or a preventative manifestation.

    Holy days of the Vergadainan faith are known as coin festivals to the faithful and as trade moots to those cynics who would purchase their wares, for Vergadain's followers typically seek to earn as much coin as they can before such ceremonies-and thus last-minute bargains are to be had-so as to earn status among their fellows by garish displays of personal wealth and large tithes. Coin Festivals are held on the days before and after a full moon, on Greengrass, and any day proclaimed holy by a Merchant Prince. Offerings of gold are made to Vergadain once a month at such coin festivals by placing them on an altar dedicated to the Merchant King.

    The proper rituals of worship to the god consist of meeting in windowless rooms or underground, around torches, braziers, or other flames. The rituals call for dancing in slow, stately shiftings around the flame, wearing and displaying gold and other objects of worth. Every dwarf who worships the god throws at least one gold piece into the flame as the dance continues. The flame consumes valuables placed in it utterly, sometimes dying away to reveal a map, clue, scroll, potion, or other sending of the god. These sendings are rare, and although helpful, they are rarely powerful. The appearance of a weapon is known but extremely rare. Perhaps the most common sending of Vergadain is a duplicate key to a strongbox, vault, or barrier that prevents dwarves from reaching wealth rightfully belonging to them, or stolen by cheating them over a period of time.

    The dance ends when the flame flares upward, signifying the god's attention and thanks. The priests light candles or conjure light, and then discuss business (usually current projects to further dwarven wealth). Transfers of necessary fees, bribes, aid, or other funds from one dwarf to another occurs next, usually from priests to the faithful they have called to worship. Finally, the ranking priest passes his hand through the flame, which slowly diminishes. At this time, any dwarf present kisses a gold coin as a gesture of farewell, and then departs.


  • Drow pantheon:
    Eilistraee:
    The customary worship to the Dark Maiden is a hunt, followed by a feast and dancing, and a Circle of Song, in which the worshipers sit and dance by turns in a circle, each one in succession leading a song. If pos- sible, this is done out of doors, in a wooded area, on a moonlit night. Daily prayers are sung whenever possible, and priests try to lead others in a song or two every evening, even if no formal ritual is held.

    Worshipers of Eilistraee try to let out all of the gathered emotions of the day with an 'evensong'. An evensong is a personal thing, often wordless and done in private. Priests of the Dark Maiden who have the coins to do so are expected to hire any strange minstrel or bard they meet for a song or two; lay worshipers are encouraged to do so. Whenever a sword is finished or first taken into use by a worshiper of the Dark Maiden, a priest tries to call down the blessing of the goddess upon it. This is done by planting the blade point-down in the ground, out of doors and by night, and dancing. The Sword Dance circles the blade and involves the priest drawing blood from each of her limbs by dancing momentarily against the blade. If successful (45% chance, per night attempted), the blade glows with a silvery radiance. For three months, it does not break or rust (if a drow weapon, it is also made immune to sun and removal from- radiation damage for the same period), and though lacking a bonus or dweomer, can strike creatures normally hit only by magical weapons.

    The High Hunt is celebrated at least once in each of the four seasons: a night-time hunt of a dangerous beast or monster, led by priests of Eilistraee. By tradition, the hunters may use any bladed weapons, and wear anything-except the priests, who go naked, carrying only a single sword. If the quarry is slain, a chanted prayer and circle dance to the goddess is held.

    At least once a year, priests of Eilistraee undertake a Run. Those who are not drow blacken their bodies with natural dyes and oils. All priests, drow or not, boil certain leaves and berries to make their hair silvery, and go wandering (on the surface world). (Hostile drow say their silver hair indicates that the brains within the head are addled, though many drow who do not worship Eilistraee have silver hair.) Trusting to their music, kind ways, and sword skills to keep them from being slain as drow, priests of the Dark Maiden go where they are strangers, making an effort to seek out elven communities and bring them game, kindness, and helping hands. They try to learn new songs, music, and sword ways, and do not come to preach their faith or make a mark for themselves.

    In the end, all priests who do not die in battle hold their greatest ritual: the Last Dance. In old age, Eilistraee's priests hear the goddess singing to them by night, calling them to her. When the song feels right, they go out unclad under the moonlit sky and dance-never to be seen again. Those who have observed such dances say that the goddess comes and sings overhead, and the aged priest begins to dance more effortlessly, looking younger and younger. Her hair begins to glow with the same radiance as the Dark Maiden's, and then she becomes slowly translucent, fading away as the dance goes on. In the end, only a silvery radiance is heard, with two voices-the goddess and her priest-raised together in melancholy, tender song.

    Ghaunadaur:
    Ghaunadaur expects a prayer of adulation and praise, accompanied by a sacrifice, at least once per day. If live sacrifices cannot be procured that often, the Elder Eye accepts offerings of bones and food burned in oil. Braziers of perfumed incense are also burned.

    If a priest is unable to procure such offerings, the priest must pray while holding one hand in an open flame. The priest's hand must be covered with any magical oil or potion. (Oils or potions of fire resistance are instantly converted to lamp oil, with the appropriate results.) If the prayer is accepted (55% chance), the hand is healed of any damage it sustains immediately after sustaining it.

    In any place of worship to Ghaunadaur, all cloth furnishings and garments worn by priests are to be of hues pleasing to Ghaunadaur's eye. Acceptable colors are copper, amber, flame-orange, russet, gold, dark red, plum, purple, amethyst, violet, heliotrope, mauve, lilac, lavender, black, and silver.

    Smoke and flame are to be a part of all sacrifices to Ghaunadaur. No creature should speak out against the will of Ghaunadaur in the presence of the Eye, its avatar, or its manifestation. If such defiance occurs, a sacrifice of appeasement must be performed (preferably involving the creature who defied the Elder Eye).

    Kiaransalee:
    While each priest performs a handful of minor devotions to Kiaransalee every month, the Crones of Thanatos venerate the Lady of the Dead on a single annual holy day-the Graverending-celebrated each Midwinter Eve. The Graverending is celebrated individually, with each priest animating as many undead creatures as she can. All such undead-known as the Vengeance Hunters-are consumed with thoughts of revenge against their killers and unerringly seek them out over the next 24 hours. If destroyed, a Vengeance Hunter does not rise again. Vengeance Hunters return to their graves, if possible, once 24 hours have passed since their animation or once they have exacted their revenge.

    Lolth:
    Lolth requires homage-submission in prayer, plus offerings-regularly from her priests. Ceremonies involving the sacrifice of surface elves are performed monthly during nights of the full moon as deliberate affronts to Sehanine, Lolth's hated rival. Rituals to Lolth are customarily practiced in female-only company in a sacred room or area. Rituals requiring extraordinary power or a public display may be celebrated in the open and in all sorts of mixed company When Lolth's aid is required, sacrifices must be made. These are traditionally the blood of drow faithful and/or captured foes, spilled with a spider-shaped knife whose eight descending legs are blades. In other cases, gems or other precious objects may be burned in braziers, as prayers of offering are chanted. In large, important rituals, priests of Lolth customarily use eight braziers to provide additional flame material and in homage to Lolth (the flames represent her eight legs). The most powerful rituals to Lolth defy detailed description and are seldom seen by nondrow. Rituals to Lolth involve the burning of precious oils and incense, live offerings, and riches of all sorts, particularly gems. These are customarily placed in a bowl-shaped depression in a black altar (or burning brazier). These offerings are always consumed in the flames of Lolth at some point in the ritual. If Lolth is particularly displeased, or impostors are present, the black-and-red flames that leap from the braziers to consume the offerings may also arc to consume other valuables present, such as magical items, jewelry, and clothing. Typically, Lolth's flames do little more than humiliate a burned priest, destroying his or her garments, but an impostor or intruder receives a searing flame attack. If this occurs, every priest of Lolth present in the chamber instantly receives a free darkfire spell to wield, even if she or he is carrying a full load of spells or has other darkfire spells memorized. The spell comes with the strong command to use it, forthwith, to blast those who would so insult Lolth.

    Lolth enters the Prime Material Plane in avatar form or allows herself to be contacted only when it pleases her to do so. Otherwise, Lolth's servant yochlol are reached. Such contact rituals require the use of a brazier of burning oils, coals, or incense-burned in a vessel fashioned of a valuable black material (such as onyx, obsidian, or a golden bowl whose interior is studded with black pearls). The flames provide material that the magic transforms into an interplanar gate temporarily linking the 66th layer of the Abyss with the Prime Material Plane. Through this link, the yochlol appear, using flame material to fashion semblances of themselves. If called with sufficient force, a yochlol can emerge fully from its gate. Lolth usually orders her handmaidens to remain in the Prime Material Plane only so long as the flames that brought them remain-the dying of the summoning flame then allows a yochlol the safety of being sucked instantly back to the Abyss. Yochlol who are summoned can keep the gate that brought them open while they communicate with Lolth and others in the Abyss. (Such communication demands their full attention, causing their Prime Material forms to go momentarily blank faced and unhearing.) They can also send one creature of the Abyss into the Prime Material Plane, loose of all control and against the wishes of the summoner. This act causes the destruction of the gate and the disappearance of the yochlol. Such sends are usually myrlochar.

    Selvetarm:
    Selvetarm's faithful are expected to observe the rituals of Lolth, as directed by her priests. (Those who have recently emigrated from Eryndlyn have abandoned this practice, so far without divine retribution, and are said to be praying for guidance in new ways of honoring the Spider Demon.) Selvetarm does expect all who take up arms in his name to cry out his name in the bloodlust of battle as they deliver the killing blow to a foe. Since there is always the chance that any attack will be a fatal one, the Selvetargtlin tend to constantly scream out their god's name during a battle.

    The aranea of the Spider Swamp venerate Zanassu with a totally different set of rituals, notable in comparison for their emphasis on patience, craftiness, and subtlety. Such ceremonies involve animal sacrifices to the Spider That Waits-typically a boar or lizard-and repeating litanies beseeching him to return. The holiest day of the year is the 6th of Kythorn, the day on which Zanassu returned after his millennial exile. On this day all of the aranea celebrate their deliverance through fasting and ritual combat.

    Vhaeraun:
    The most important attacks, negotiations, and other activities of the clergy must occur at night. Priests of Vhaeraun utter prayers to the Masked God of Night whenever they accomplish something to further his aims. Offerings of the wealth and weapons of those they vanquish (enemies of the drow, or regalia of female drow priests) are to be melted in black, bowl-shaped altars. Offerings of magic and wealth are made regularly. The more and the more value, the more Vhaeraun is pleased, though he favors daily diligence more than rare, huge hauls.

    Midwinter Night, known to Vhaeraun's followers as the Masked Lord's Embrace, is the most sacred time of the year to the followers of the Masked Lord. This annual holy day is celebrated by the Masked Lord's followers with daylong introspective rituals of total sensory deprivation. Each worshiper is expected to cloak himself in a region of magical darkness and levitate at the middle of the effect for a full 24 hours while contemplating Vhaeraun's teachings and dreaming up schemes to advance the Masked Lord's goals in the coming year. All followers of Vhaeraun who wish to perform this ritual are granted the ability to employ both spell-like effects on this day, with the necessary extended duration, by a special boon of the Masked Lord.

    In the Night Above, nights of the new moon are considered sacred to the followers of the Masked Lord. Such occasions are observed with midnight stag hunts that range over miles of shadowy woodlands, such as the Forest of Lethyr, the Forest of Mir, the Frozen Forest, the Lurkwood, Rawl-inswood, the Trollbark Forest, and the Winterwood. Packs of Vhaeraun worshipers, mounted on riding lizards brought up from the Underdark, run down a noble hart and then sacrifice its rack of antlers and still-beating heart to the Masked Lord in dark rites that pervert the ancient ways of the surface elves.


  • Mulhorandi Pantheon:
    Anhur:
    The month of Tarsakh is referred to in Mulhorand as the Time of Storms, and Anhur is said to walk the borders of Mulhorand during this time seeking out interlopers to drive off. The clergy of Anhur celebrates this time by engaging in a month-long tournament of nonlethal combats. The winner of the combat is known as the Chosen of Anhur for the following year (and receives an additional +1 attack bonus for the rest of hios or her life on top of all other bonnuses). The month-long tournament concludes on Greengrass with a festival known as the Sharpening of the Sword. On the rare occasions when mulhorand has gone to war, major campaigns typically begin on or soon after this date.

    The Remembrance Ritual is celebrated on Higharvestide. This somber festival is a day of self-reflection and a time to remember fallen comrades. It concludes on a joyous note with a litany of martial hymns thanking Anhur for military successes in the past year.

    Finally, the clergy of Anhur have numerous (practically biweekly) holy days commemorating one major battle or another. Though these commemorative celebrations are largely ignored outside the clergy, the citadels of Anhur are sites of good-spirited revelry during these festivals, and they sponsor many competitive sporting events on such days.

    Geb:
    Each evening, a priest of Geb must locate one pecious stone or mineral and bury it in the dirt while speaking evening prayers. The following morning, the priest must excavate the gem and offer it up to Geb while repeating morning prayers. These twin ceremonies, known collectively as the Hidden Gift and the Bountiful Joy, celebrate Geb's bequest to the world and the discovery of the earth's precious secrets.

    The first of Mirtul, a month known to those who visit Mulhorand's mountains as the Time of Melting, is celebrated in a festival known as the Unwrapping. Mountains streams fill with the runoff alpone snow around this time, often exposing new caves and veins to mimne. The last day of Nightal, known as the Day of Drawing Down, is a solemn ceremony marking the death of those died in the depths of the earth and mountains during the year. The entrance of at least one abandoned mine shaft is collapsed each year to commemorate the occasion.

    Hathor:
    Priestesses of Hathor follow a lunar calendar of 30 day months that does not include the standard special days of the Calendar of Harptos. They have cycle of prayers corresponding to each day in a month that repeats with each full moon.

    On the day of the first full moon after Greengrass, the clergy of Hathor celebrates a holy day known as the Birthing. Many priestesses give birth around this time, and it is a time of great joy and happiness. All priestesses of Hathor are required to unveil a new song, dance, or poem at this time, if they are not in the final stages of pregnancy or the mother of a newborn.

    Midsummer's Eve is known as the Celebration og the Moon to priestesses of the faith. After a day of joyous revelry and uplifting hymns, Hathor's clergy often participate in moonlit trysts that result in the large number of newborns among the faithful the following year.

    Horus-Re:
    Priests of Horus-Re venerate their god in three daily rituals. Each sunrise they greet the return of their lord with a set of welcoming prayers known as the Greeting of the Lord. The most important ceremony of the day occurs at noon when the sun is directly overhead. Immediately prior to noon, most of the inhabitants of Mulhorand gather in front of the numerous balconies protruding from the Sun Lord's temples. The priests of Horus-Re then deliver a daily sermon known as the Zenith Aspirant. (Competing factions of priests within the clergy often strive to outdo their rivals by drawing larger crowds of people to this daily sermon.) In the evening the clergy of Horus-Re pledge to guard Mulhorand through the nighttime hours in a private ceremony known as the Girding of the Guard involving the girding of ceremonial weapons.

    The most important annual holiday is Midsummer's Day when all the priests of Horus-Re gather in his temples to sing his praises. Unlike most of the rest of the year, this is truly a day of religious devotion and to celebrate it almost the entire government of Mulhorand shuts down.

    Solar eclipses are considered a reaffirmation of Horus-Re's eternal rulership. The visible corona is seen as the crown of the Lord of the Sun. Any priest of Horus-Re who slays a priest of Set or thwarts one of his major plots during a solar eclipse receives limited wish or wish from Horus-Re. This benefit can only occur once in a priest's lifetime.

    Isis:
    The two most sacred days for the clergy of Isis are Greengrass and Higharvestide. During the first festival, the clergy of Isis give thanks to the goddess for her aid in the planting, and during the second they give thanks to both Isis and Osiris for their help with the harvest. Both days are occasions for joyous celebration, wild revels, and moonlit trysts, and all who participate in farming join in them along with the clergy.

    Priestesses of Isis have numerous daily rituals as well. They celebrate the Shift in the Winds each time the weather changes for the better and utter quiet thanks to the goddess. Every time they cross a river, they must drink deeply and give thanks for the goddess's bounty before partaking of a single bite.

    Nephthys:
    The clergy of Nephthys celebrate few holy days in their calendar. The Feast of the Moon is known as the Feast of the Silver Coin to the faithful of Nephthys. In a somber, but elaborate, day-long rite, they give thanks to Nephthys for her beneficience and tithe half of their wealth to the church. After the ceremony, they begin their year-long accumulation of wealth once again. Nephthysans would not think of attempting to stint the goddess through arcane accounting methods, transferal of goods to another, or other cunning means toward avoiding payment. The greater the wealth they contribute to the church during this ceremony, the higher the personal status they accrue within the church.

    Numerous funeral rites and rituals are performed over the corpses of the deceased by the priestesses of Nehthys. In the bowels of the goddess's temples, they perform the mummification rituals on deceased wealthy and noble citizen (in cooperation with priests of Osiris) and more humbly prepare less wealthy Mulhorandi for burial. Nephthys's priestesses are also responsible for conveying the prepared body to the burial chamber, setting the defensive wards, and sealing the crypt to prevent tomb robbers from gaining entrance in a grand ceremony known as the Passage Onward. This often entails the casting of numerous warding spells including major curses, enduring ward and sanctify crypt. Priestesses of Nephthys maintain much more humble common graves and group tombs for slaves and commoners, but each is always blessed and set with at least a minor protective ward. (The manner and splendor of one's burial and entombment is commensurate with one's ability to pay.)

    Osiris:
    The two most important holy days in the church of Osiris are Higharvestide and Midwinter. The former is a relatively joyous celebration of Osiris's bounty in which all the citizens of Mulhorand are invited to join. The latter is a solemn, private day during which the sanctity of every burial crypt in Mulhorand is renewed or reinforced so that the dead may continue to rest easy.

    The passing of Eternal Contentment and Justice is a sacred ceremony performed during the enshroudment and burial of the dead. There are three versions of the ceremony - High, Middle, and Low Passin - that are employed during funerals for the royal family, the nobles, and the commoners, respectively.

    Sebek:
    Villagers seeking to ward of the attack of crocodiles hope to appease Sebek by the monthly sacrifice of animals (and occasionally sentietn creatures) outside shrines located deep in the swamp. The remains of the sacrifice are left within the shrine for the crocodiles. Many a worshiper has failed to leave quickly enough after making a sacrifice and fallen prey to the jaws of the crocodiles attracted to the site.

    Werecrocodile priests of Sebek must give whispered praises to the Lord of Crocodiles before each kill, and they must leave a small fraction of their catch out at night while they sleep for Sebek to devour if he so chooses. Once per month they must slay a sentient creature (low intelligence or greater) or lose all their priestly powers until they do so. Each year they must create at least one new werecrocodile from the human population of Mulhorand and guide that person into the worship of Sebek so that Sebek's cult continues to grow.

    Set:
    Priests of Set have no formal holy days. Rather, they perform their important ceremonies and sacrifices every time they achieve major victory in the name of Set.

    When a Supplicant seeks to join the brotherhood of evil as a full-fledged member, he must undergo the Test of Venom. This ceremony involves the supplicant walking through a pit of poisonous snakes or scorpions. Aspiring priests who survive the ceremony are admitted into the clergy.

    Particularly infuriating to the clergy of Osiris and Nephthys is the Reconsecration ceremony performed by grave robbers who serve in Set's clergy. This ceremony involves the complete defilement of a burial chamber, the creation of an unholy altar to Set, the looting of the crypt's treasure, and the animation of the dead as undead horrors.

    Thoth:
    The clergy of Thoth inscribe their god's symbol at the top of each page of papyrus before writing anything else on that page. Prior to undertaking any major task requiring engineering, writing, or magical skill, Thoth's faithful draw the symbol of Thoth on the backs of their hands and over their hearts.

    In general, the clergy of Thoth put less emphasis on excessive pageantry and ceremony than most other clergy of Mulhorand; they regard most of it as a waste of valuable time. During the winter and summer solstices, priests of Thoth are required to fast for an entire day and then immerse themselves in an icy bath. The Ceremony of Introspection, as this is known, symbolizes their desire for true understanding and their reemergence into the world with a clear head and invigorated heart.


  • Minor Deities:
    Akadi:
    Each day is an important event in the eyes of an Akadian. The faithful typically rise before the sun emerges to whisper their prayers on the morning breeze and stay up to watch the moon rise over Faerun or glide the dying thermals of the waning day and joyfully speak their evening prayers.

    On Midsummer, the church holds its only calendar festival. To attend this festival, all of the faithful who are able to travel do so for tendays before Midsummer. They gather in the Shaar at the ruins of Blaskaltar, which contain the site of the first known shrine to Akadi in Faerun, now obliterated by the hand of time and seasons of wind andd rain. Here the chant of the heroes of the faith is recited by all present and new names are added to the roll commemorating those who have passed on during the past year.

    Auril:
    Midwinter Night is the most holy time of the year to clergy of Auril. It is a festival of ice-dancing that lasts the whole night through, during which the goddess desires her clergy both to enjoy themselves and to lure as many folk as possible into her service.

    Postulants are instructed in the ways of the goddess, and must undergo the most sacred ritual of Auril to gain admittance to the clergy: the Embracing. This personal ritual may occur at any time of the year, but if it is in summer, the postulant must journey to arctic or high mountain regions in order to findd a blizzard. The Embrracing consists of running through a blizzard all night long dressed only in boots (though they may be thigh-high), a thin shift, and body paint depicting symbols sacred to Auril. Celebrants either perish of exposure or are accepted by the goddess by being rescued from the pain and shiveringg by Her Embrace.

    Thereafter, clergy members usually pray in private, by lying out in the snow all night long in prayer vigil. In summer, her clergy usually immerse themselves (except for their heads) in the coldest water they can find, typically by lying down in a fast-flowing stream. Auril answers their queries and gives them directions and mission through mind visions.

    Two informal but enthusiastically celebrated rituals are the Coming Storm and the Last Storm - howling ice storms called up by the clergy working en masse with all the cold mmagic they can muster. Togetherthey bring fierce weather down upon a town or region to mark the onset of winter or its last gasp as spring begins.

    Beshaba:
    Priests of Beshaba must make an offering to the Lady at least once a day by setting fire to brandy, wine or spirits while uttering the name of the goddess and dipping a black antler tine into the mixture; prayers follow. A sacend prayer similar to the first must be made to Beshaba each night outside under a dark sky. If a member of the clergy is forcibbly confined, at least a prayer during the hours of darkness is expected to be attempted. The nighttime offering is a personal prayer for guidance, and the goddess often answers it with nightmare visions later in the evening.

    Devotees of Beshaba mark every midsummer and Shieldmeet with wild revels of destruction and rudeness to mark Beshaba's nature as Maid of Misrule. Otherwise they ignore the calendar, holding special ceremonies upon the deaths of important clergy and when a priestess ascends to a new rank.

    Deneir:
    Ceremonies include chants, sung prayers, and resposive readings as well as private, personal prayers. Certain old priests utter a prayer with every illuminated letter they commence and again when they complete it - or whenever they first make a mark upon a virgin page. Most Deneirrath pray to their deity when they undertake major task suchh as copying out a noble family tree, making a map, or copying out a minstrel's chapbook of ballads for sale in the larger, more sophisticated cities of the Realms.

    Eldath:
    Eldath's clergy members pray on a personal and individual basis when bathing or floating in ponds or streams, when standing under waterfalls, and in small chambers, caves or forest bowers given over to regular meditation. Mant forest paths in woods dwelt in by Eldathyn cross streams by means of log bridges bearing tiny huts with holes or trap doors in their floors, permitting modest clergy to immerse themselves for prayer or bathing. These are the most favored meditation spots for Eldathyn.

    Prayers must be performed upon awakening, at sunset, and at least once during the dark hours, and mat be performed at any other time as personally desired. In woodlands and remote wilderness areas, worship of the Green Goddess should be done unclad or as close to it as possible given the circumstances. Startled woodsmen tell of certain adventurer-priests standing in pools to pray with their weapons drifting in midair around them in slow, enspelled orbits so as to be ready to hand if danger came upon the scene.

    The only calendar related ritual of Eldath, the Greening (Greengrass) is also the only regular gathering and festival of the priesthood. It is preceded by Firstflow, a festival held at different times in different locales as the ice breaks up and the waters begin to flow. The only other occasions upon which the Eldathyn gather in large numbers are consecrations of new places as opeen-air temples or shrines of the goddess. At such consecrations, the assembled clergy perform the Chant of the Fastness. An avatar of Eldath always appears to bless her worshippers' efforts, though she may not always speak or work magic other than making any spring or water in her new sacred place into water of Eldath for a tenday thereafter and giving it the power to regenerate and heal all creatures immersed in it until the dawn following the day of her appearance.

    Finder Wyvernspur:
    Humans as well as saurials celebrate the 20th or Marpenoth (leafall), the day Finder destroyed first Moander's avatar on the Realms and then the evil god's true form in the Abyss. Saurials are most grateful for their emancipation from Moander's enslavement and stress this in their prayers. Humans, while recognizing Moander's death as a good thing, tend to think of this day in terms of it being the occasion when Finder realized even his own music could be improved by change. The day is celebrated with music, dancing, plays, and the unveiling of more static art forms. Some of Finder's songs are usually sung, often with varying arrangements.

    Garagos:
    Garagos demands to be worshiped in two ways: A believer who slays any foe in battle can shout out the power's name over the body of his or her victim to dedicate the death to Garagos as an offering. The second way to wroship him is at a stone Blood Altar in one of his shrines or temples. Prayer to Garagos at a Blood Altar must begin with drops off bloodd being spilled into throughs in the stone altar. Then the devout entreats the Reaver to hear, promises to perform some act of battle valor involving death and destruction, however small, and then calls the Master of All Weapons for aid, strength, or guidance.

    There are no calendar-related Garagathan religious rituals. Any gathering off seven or more priests may call a Blood Festival. A Blood Festival involves a feast wherein at least some of the food must be butchered at or next to the table an subsequently devoured while still bloody (that is, not fully cooked). Initiations of priests to the Full Blood, the ceremony in which novices are made into full priests, must take place at a Blood Festival. Initiation into the Full Blood involves dipping the supplicants' hands into fresh blood and then painting their cheeks with the symbol of Garagos with blood. The blood used must be that of one or more monsters (dangerous creatures) slain by the supplicants to be initiated and full priests of Garagos with no other assistance.

    Gargauth:
    Gargauth's clergy celebrate the Unveiling every Midwinter night. This horrific ceremony, believed to involve many gruesome sacrifices, heralds the imminent unveiling of the Lord Who Watches as the Lord of All. The church believes this long-anticipated time will begin when Gargauth seizes the Realms as his unholy kingdom and transports all of Faerun to Baator to form the basis of a new layer.

    The Binding is celebrated on the eve of the Feast of the Moon. It is a personal ritual in which each priest renews his eternal contract with Gargauth, trading absolute fealty for increased power. This unholy ritual is believed to involve personal sacrifices of money, magic, and hoarded knowledge and the casting of variant spiritual corruption and Mask of Gargauth spells.

    Gargauth's clergy mark all agreements with signed contracts consecrated in the name of the Lord Who Watches. Priests of Gargauth beleive that their lord enforces the letter of any agreement and his divine wrath will be visited on any who betray it. On the other hand, breaking the spirit of any agreement is acceptable and encouraged if it benefits the priest and the Hidden Lord.

    Grumbar:
    The faithful are expected to pray to Grumbar each day upon rising and each night before resting, thanking him for keeping the earth stable and secure yet another day. Other than this daily ceremony, the church observes two personal ceremonies and a yearly festival.

    The Oath of Landwalking is a solemn promise undertaken by all members of the Grumbarryn faith upon entering the priesthood that forbids them from traveling through the air or by sea. Only in the most dire of circumstances would priest of Grumbar take to the enemy element of air. Even then, they would probably suffer a loss of spells. Travel over water is allowed only when the church would benefit as a result of the sacrifice. Such benefits include the dedication of a branch temple or shrine in a new land, obtaining a new source of minerals or stone to replace one now mined out, or even the discovery of a new earth-based creature.

    On Midwinter, the church holds a festival celebrating the completion of another year in the eternal church of Grumbar. During this festival church leaders and elders gather to plan the faith's activities during the upcoming year. These plans, once set, are never varied from during the year and can only be changed at the next Midwinter festival.

    Gwaeron Windstrom:
    Gwaeron has no special holy days outside of those commonly celebrated by the faith of Mielikki. After a successful "stalk," Stalkers of the Silent Path and any would-be tracker who invokes Gwaeron's name are expected to leave a circle of six footprints in the ground with their right foot, the heel of each print nearly touching and the toes facing outward.

    Hoar:
    The clergy of the Doombringer celebrate few major holy days. Instead, each priest is encouraged to celebrate the anniversaries of his most fitting and sweetest acts of revenge. Each priest is also expected to mark the anniversary of each injury, insult, or slight as yet not avenged with quiet contemplation (many persons not of the faith would call it brooding) upon strategies for appropriately enacting that revenge. However, true members of Hoar's clergy are also to remember those who have helped them unselfishly, protected them from harm, or otherwise provided them aid and contemplate ways to reward them personally and lastingly, rather than with meaningless titles, shallow items of wealth, or faint and passing praise. Silent or thunderous praises (as appropriate) must be given to Hoar each and every time some vengeance is exacted by a priest of the Doombringer.

    The Penultimate Thunder is celebrated on the 11th of Eleint with great feasts of game, bread, fruits, and mead. It marks the long-anticipated victory over Ramman by the Lord of Three Thunders.

    The Impending Doom is observed on the 11th of Marpenoth with daylong ceremonies of rumbling drums, vigorous oaths, and exhausting acts of purification. It celebrates justices yet to be meted out, revenges yet to be carried through with, and good deeds that call to the celebrants to be remembered.

    Istishia:
    Each morning for a follower of the Water Lord begins with a quiet prayer said in Istishia's name over a drink of water, and each night ends the same way. Spring tide and neap tide are celebrated with festivals by the church. During these festivals new members of the faith are dedicated to Istishia by being boisterously tossed into the sea or a lake or by diving into fountains or pools. Surface-dwelling communities of the faithful are often visited by water-dwelling emissaries from Istishia's aquatic churches during these fetes, and underwater churches in turn host surface-dwellers through magical accomodations.

    Jergal:
    Jergal's faithful have little patience or need for holy days or religious ceremonies, viewing them as unnecessary distractions. The one small ritual Jergal's priests are required to perform is called the Sealing. After recording each and every creature's demise, form of death, and destination in the afterlife, Scriveners of Doom are required to sprinkle a light dusting of ash and powdered bone over their inscribed words to blot the ink and mark another step toward the world's end.

    On the last night of the year, the 30th of Nightal, Jergal's clergy cease their endless toil for a full night. On this holy night, known as the Night of Another Year, the priests read every name whose death they ahve recorded from the scrolls they have carefully inscribed over the past year. With a cry of "One Year Closer!", all the scrolls are then burned, and work begins anew.

    Lliira:
    All of the major holidays of the calendar and all local festivals (and in truth, just about anything else) are occasions for a "holy festival" or "lesser revel" of the Lliiran faith. These ceremonies always involve an opening fanfare and songs to the goddess given while tumbling or dancing and then progress to a feast. What happens thereafter is determined by the occasion; there may be speeches or a solemn holy ritual, ribald comedy entertainment, amorous pursuits, or a friendly contest such as a tug-of-war, knock-the-knight-down, or a pun duel.

    On all joyous occasions, offerings of food or wealth are "held up to the goddess" and her name invoked. These offerings are then buried, burned, or (whenever possible) given away to beggars and others not invited to, or unable to be present at, the revelry.

    The most holy ceremonies to Lliira always begin with the ritual of Swords Cast Down, wherein two or more weapons are cast onto the ground amid chanting and covered with fresh flowers (either picked or—in winter—conjured up by hired druids, hired mages, or special spells cast by senior clergy members). The most holy personal prayers to the goddess always involve the faithful supplicant dancing alone in a meadow, garden, or beautiful setting while whispering or singing prayers to the goddess. The appearance of a rainbow during such prayers is seen as a blessing and a powerful good omen.

    Loviatar:
    The most basic ritual performed by Loviatans is a kneeling prayer at morning and at evening performed after striking oneself once with a whip. Other rituals of the faith center on consecrating wine, whips, holy symbols, and other items-both practical, such as potions of healing, and horrific, such as tortune implements-used by the devout and on celebrating advancement in priestly rank.

    All four seasonal festivals are celebrated by Loviatans with the Rite of Pain and Purity: a circle dance of chanting, singing clergy members performed upon barbed wire, thorns, or broken glass or crystal, where the priests allowed themselves to be urged to greater efforts by the whips of high-level priests and are accompanied by the drumming of lay worshipers. A red radiance rises gradually and forms a flickering cloud above the ring. If Loviatar has important missions to speak of, is especially pleased with this group of followers, or wants to enact her displeasure, she manifests in the heart of the cloud. If Loviatar does not manifest, the ritual ends after half an hour, and the priests heal themselves.

    Every twelfth night (unless such a night coincides with a Rite of Pain and Purity, which preempts it) the clergy members celebrate smaller Candle Rite wherein they sing, chant, and pray as they dance around lit candles, passing some parts of their bodies through or over their flames repeatedly until the rite ends with the highest-ranking priestess extinguishing her candle with consecrated wine.

    Lurue:
    Lurue's twin holy days are Midsummer's eve and the Feast of the Moon. The former holiday is celebrated in a night-long festival of revelry, wild antics, and much hullabaloo. Such events are marked by wild rides through the countryside and sky, numerous theatrical skits, humorous oratories, mock duels, grand songs in which everyone joins in, and romantic declarations. Many unicorns take a mate for life on this night.

    The Feast of the Moon is a quiet ceremony marking the onset of winter and serving as a time for remembering those who have passed away and now "dance with the unicorns." Many great works of art and epic song are unveiled during th Feast of the Moon to quiet applause, particularly in the city of Silverymoon, which celebrates its founding on this day.

    Milil:
    Devout worshipers of Milil call out to him in a Song of Praise at least once a day and usually also after every victory of battle or great thing that benefits them. They also participate in either a personal song to the Lord of All Songs upon awakening or (in a temple) join in the softly voiced chorus of the Sunrise Song.

    Other rituals include the solemn, beautiful polyphonic chord-singing of the Song of Sorrowing, performed at the funeral of any faithful of Milil, and the Song of Welcoming, sung when someone is welcomed into the faith. The calendar-related festivals marked by rituals sacred to Milil are Greengrass, when the Call to the Flowers is sung by all faithful, and Midsummer, when the Grand Revel is held. The Revel involves a feast, dancing, and much roistering, and is marked by parodies and wickedly satirical song, but all other shared (by two or more clergy members and laity) rituals of worship to Milil involve a sung or played opening call, a prayer and solo song while kneeling before the altar, a unison hymn followed by a sermon or supplication to the Lord of Song (and the proffering of any offerings), and then a closing song that rises to a thunderous, grand cresendo that typically makes devout listeners or participants weep with joy– and those of other faiths stop and listen in wonder.

    Nobanion:
    Two major religious observances are held each year for Nobanion, and they are always exactly three and one half months apart. Their spacing is representative of the gestation period of the lion.

    The Festival of the Pride normally takes place during the first week of Ches. This is a time for frolicking, dancing, courting a mate, lovemaking, and generally celebrating the bounty of life and its potential. Religious belief promises that a child/cub conceived this night will go on to become ruler of the church/pride.

    The Newborn Celebration always takes place during the third week of Kythorn. This ceremony celebrates the birth (or rebirth-church teachings are vague) of Nobanion, the prominence of lions in the Vilhon Reach, and the importance of the hunt in the region. It is marked by a great hunt and a great feast. Newborns undergo the Rite of the First Blooding where their right paw (or hand) is placed in the blood of the prey and blessed by a priest of Nobanion.

    Red Knight:
    In addition to observing the holy days and important ceremonies of the church of Tempus, the clergy of the Red Knight observe two important holy days themselves.

    The Retreat is an annual event held every Midwinter's day. During this solemn cermony, the clergy of the Red Knight assemble for a day-long retrospective on the previous year's campaigns. Strategies are discussed, battles are analyzed, and the accumulated lore is intergrated into the church's teachings.

    The Queen's Gambit is celebrated on the first day of Taraskh. During this festival, the clergy of the Red Knight unwind with a day of feasting and gamesmanship. Day-long tournments of chess and go (a game imported from Kara-Tur) are held, with tournments victors receiving recognition, titles of merit, promotions, and sometimes a precious gift from the temple armory.

    Savras:
    The Feast of the Moon is celebrated by the followers of Savras as the Vision. This holy day is observed by every devout follower of Savras with 24 hours of continuous meditation. In some temples the meditation occurs in a sauna or steam bath, while in others it occurs amidst a haze of incense. Each worshiper who participates in the day-long ceremony is rewarded with a vision from the All-Seeing One. Beneficiaries of such visions are expected to act in accordance with this prescient knowledge or risk Savras's wrath.

    Sharess:
    The clergy of Sharess celebrate more festivals than possibly any other faith in the Realms. They are known collectively as the Endless Revel of Life. The daily rising and setting of the sun, the yearly passage of seasons, the appearance of a full moon, or nearly any other event is cause for a celebration and wild revel to which the general populace is always invited. Each such festival has several outlandish titles and new festivals are added all the time as old ones are forgotten. Without comparison, however, Midsummer's Eve is the time of greatest rejoicing among Sharess's faithful and an occasion for the most extreme pursuits of boundless pleasure.

    Shiallia:
    Days that mark the passing of seasons are the most important of the year to followers of Shillia. In particular, Greengrass and Higharvestide are celebrated as holidays of birth and fruition, respectively. On all holy days (including Midwinter, Midsummer, and the Feast of the Moon) the faithful invite all friendly creatures to revel with them in feasting, singing, and dancing.

    Weddings are welcomed and even solicited upon the change of seasons, and Shiallia's followers always enliven such occasions with as much faerie charm magic and romance as they can muster, creating a fantasy atmosphere under the stars. Therefore, many nonworshipers set their wedding dates on Shiallia's holy days in hopes of receiving her blessings and hospitality.

    Siamorphe:
    Religious services tend to be simple convocations of nobles discussing the social order and current difficulties in governing the masses. Siamorphe's name is invoked at the beginning and end of such services with a short prayer. Siamorphe's clergy have crafted many unique ceremonies for the various noble families of Waterdeep through the use of Divine Investiture spells. All the rage among the nobility, the ceremonial baptism of a newborn heir presided over by a Scion of Siamorphe can cost as much as 10,000 gp.

    In Waterdeep, Siamorphe has a holy day in Sea Ward and North Ward where the nobles take over Heroes' Walk and Heroes' Garden and the road from Skulls Street and all along the Street of Glances to the Street of the Singing Dolphin and hold a huge festival. Known as the Divine Pageantry, this fashionable revel is always held during the summer, but the date varies according to the will of Siamorphe (and, some critics claim, the year's current social calendar). Waterdeep's nobility bedeck themselves in archaic costumes and wander the area throwing coins (usually copper or silver) to commoners, addressing each other with their full titles and speaking in a highly stylized, stilted speech that has been abandoned for several centuries.

    Talona:
    The church of Talona observes thrice-daily prayers to the goddess (morning, highsun, and evening, though the timing of such rituals need not be precise), and daernuth (holy festivals) every 12 day. Festivals are events open to nondevotees, where such visitors are encouraged to pray and give offerings to Talona to spare themselves or loved ones from death, disease, wasting diseases, and the like. At such day-long celebrations, priests of Talona are always careful to show lepers and other victims of disfiguring diseases being cured by priestly magic before everyone and also to demonstrate their immunity to contracting disease by touching disease-carrying or filthy objects to the stillbloody ritual wounds of a Talontar (inflicted as during a private cicatrization ceremony). A long symphony of rolling drums, deep-voiced chanting, and glaur, shawm, and zulkoon music proclaims the power and veneration of Talona throughout the day, and minor priests busily sell poisons (for eliminating vermin, of course), antidotes, and medicines throughout the day, assisted by senior clergy who diagnose conditions (usually with great accuracy) and prescribe treatments in return for stiff fees (typically 50 or 100 gp per examination).

    Annually at the daernuth falling closet to Higharvestide, initiates of the faith are formally inducted into the priesthood. This ascension is marked by horrifying private ceremonies involving ritual scarring and sacred tattoos.

    Tiamat:
    Members of Tiamat's clergy perform numerous daily ceremonies in homage to their mistress. The two most widespread are known as the Tithing and the Rite of Respect. Once per day each priest of Tiamat must offer a small tithe, typically several gold coins or a small gem. The tithe is hidden in the priest's cupped hands and a small prayer is offered. When the prayer is completed and the handsunfurled, there is a 10% chance the offering has vanished. On days when it is taken, the clergy consider themselves and their efforts particularly blessed.

    The Rite of Respect is a complicated ritual of abasement and appeasement that must be performed while approaching any spawn of the Dragon Queen. This ceremony does not provide any ritualistic protection from the wyrm's fury, but failure to perform the ceremony with rigorous perfection is sure to draw the great reptile's ire.

    In Unther, the Dark Scaly Ones have proclaimed the day of the first full moon after Midsummer a holy day dedicated to the Queen of Chaos. Known as the Festival of Vengeance, this day marks the defeat off Gilgeam by Tiamat, Nemesis of the Gods. In Unthalass the day is marked by general anarchy, rioting, and widespread mayhem incited by the clergy and the faithful and is punctuated by the consummation of long-simmering acts of revenge. During this time, the priests of the Mulhorandi and Faerunian pantheons seek to contain the looting and destruction, but prominent officials must beware of the numerous assassination attempts executed by the Serpent Guards.

    Ubtao:
    Most Tabaxi consider themselves religious, though they show it in ways that astound travelers from other parts of the Realms. There are seemingly scores of Tabaxi sacred ceremonies and holy days, many of them particular to ancestors that have passed on, the time of year, the location the Tabaxi are going to hunt at, move to, or pass through next, or necessary before performing certain activities, such as hunting a certain animal or burying the dead. Yet when their small, moveable stone altars are not being used for these ceremonies, the Tabaxi treat them as if they were just another rock.

    Ulutiu:
    The Nakulutiuns follow a special set of edicts called kaiurit that vary from village to village and change from year to year. On the first day of spring, the urit calls an assembly of the entire village (called iurit) and declares the kaiurit for the previous year are no longer valid. She or he then announces the coming year's kaiurit, consisting of two or three new rules that the villagers are expected to follow.For a month prior to announcing the year's new kaiurit, the urit spends each evening in isolation , praying and meditating. The urit receives the kaiurit by experiencing tiny fragments of Ulutiu's dreams as visions. To outsiders, the kaiurit seems baffling and arbitrary, but to the Nakulutiuns, its dictates are sacred and indisputable. Typical examples include "No fires can be lit outside," "At sundown, each adult must toss a handful of meat into a crevasse as an offering to Ulutiu," "All adults must wear a certain painted symbol (a bird, a moon, etc. ) on their foreheads at all times," "A certain species of animal (ice toads, polar bears etc) cannot be hunted or killed for any reason," or "All heathens (non-Nakulutiuns) are to be killed on sight."

    In addition to obeying the urit and yaaurit and following the kaiurit, Nakulutiuns must offer a silent prayer to Ulutiu three times a day (usually at dawn, midday, and sunset). Prayer-givers cover their eyes with their hands and turn their heads to the sky, remaining silent for about a minute.

    The Ice Hunters have abandoned the practice of observing kaiurit, but they continue to offer silent prayers to Ulutiu three times per day. In addition, they practice a year-long ritual known as the kaitotem. At the beginning of the birthing season, the bravest hunters of the village set out to capture an infant of the species that serves as the tribe's primary beast totem without slaying its mother or her other offspring. The infant is brought back to the village alive, raised by the priests of Ulutiu, and given the best allotments available in food for entire year. At the end of the year, the infant is possessed by the clan's beast totem and vanishes into the wilderness. If the clan treated the beast well and cared for its needs, it is assured Ulutiu's favor in the coming year. If the animal is mistreated or dies, Ulutiu may choose to visit the village with misfortune for the next year.

    Valkur:
    The clergy of Valkur celebrate only one holy day per year: the Shattering. The Shattering is always held in early spring, but the exact date varies from year to year. The festival is held to mark the end of winter and the beginning of sailing season in the North and is celebrated even in the South where the winter ice does not block or trouble ocean travel. Valkur is said to communicate to his High Captains the exact date of the festival each year, and it often varies from city to city. The Shattering is marked by the unfurling of many new sails throughout the port districts of coastal cities and the christening of at least one new ship that then departs for its maidenvoyage crewed by Valkur's clergy.

    Valkur's clergy regularly perform over a dozen separate ceremonies in the course of their duties. Most of these ceremonies are related to ships and voyages, including ceremonies at a ship's christening, before departing on a voyage, when arriving at a new port, and when returning to the home port, among others. Valkur's temples garner most of their operating funds from rich merchants who wish to ensure Valkur's favor on high-risk sea voyages.

    Velsharoon:
    For a relatively young faith, the clergy of Velsharoon have quickly established a large number of holy days and rituals. The faith has yet to coalesce into a homogeneous creed, however, and widely varying rituals are found not only in different temples but within individual temples as well. Nonetheless, one ritual has become fairly widespread.

    The Pact of the Everlasting is a special ceremony performed by Velsharoon's priests upon attaining 9th-level. This unholy ritual involves the casting upon them of a Velsharoon's death pact (as the 7th-level priest spell), as well as numerous other horrible incantations and the foul sacrifice of numerous good-aligned sentients. Prominent theologians of the faith claim that this ritual is merely the first of seven to be revealed by Velsharoon along a path to achieving immortality.


  • Major Deities:
    Azuth:
    The church of Azuth holds a holy revel to mark the ascension of a new Magister and of any mage to the ranks of the Favored. Every twilight the faithful of Azuth pray silently to the High One for guidance in all their doings that day and the next. Azuthan priests otherwise avoid a lot of ceremony, but in temples and abbeys of the Lod of Spells, all three major meals of the day are accompanied by readings from the writings of the great amges on the ethics of magic use, speculations as to what magic can be made to do in the future, and various philosophies of magic.

    Azuthan clergy and laity alike also celebrate occasional Wild Nights, in which they dance in the midst of unleashed wild magic just to feel its power and effects. (Otther wizards and priests stand by to rescue anyone who runs into harm.)

    Bane:
    No rituals of Bane correspond to calendar dates, seasons, or lunar progressions. Rituals are held whenever clergy leading a congregation declare they would be, and these ceremonies are called by a variety of names. Personal prayers to Bane are to be uttered before going into battle and before eating or drinking anything to thank Bane for allowing his followers to live to taste the fare.

    Chauntea:
    Every day should begin with a whispered thanks to Chauntea for continued life and close with a prayer to the setting sun, from whence the Great Mother sends her power. Prayer to the Great Mother most be made whenever things are planted, but should otherwise occur when worshipers are moved to do so by the beauty of nature around them, which they are always encouraged to notice. Prayer to the Golden Goddess is best made on freshly tilled ground, farmland, or a garden, or failing that, at least at a well or watering place. Chauntea listens best to those who enrich the ground, so before prayer many priests bury wastes, dispose of the litter of civilization, or plant seeds.

    Few ceremonies of worship fall at set times. Passing one's wedding night in a freshly tilled field is held by Chaunteans to ensure fertility in marriage.

    Greengrass is a fertility festival, wherein uninhibited behaviour and consumption of food and drink is encouraged.

    The much more solemn High Prayers of the Harvest celebrate the bounty Chauntea has given the community and are held at different times in each community to coincide with the actual harvest of crops, rather than precisely on Higharvestide.

    Cyric:
    Blood sacrifices are deemed necessary for Cyric to hear any prayers of entreaty. Local priests usually declare an improptu Day of the Dark Sun (a high holy day) whenever they acquire something (or someone) deemed important enough to sacrifice to Cyric.

    Gond:
    Gondar have only one calendar-related festival: the Ippensheir. The Ippensheir is the name given to the 12 days immediately following the Greengrass. It is named gor Ippen, the first great cleric of Gond, who sometimes appears to clergy in need these days as Gond's First Servant. Durin the Ippensheir, all clergy members of Gond's faith and his devout worshipers gather at a temple, abbey or holy site of Gond to share innovations and show inventions and innovations they have made or witnessed with and to ther fellow Gondar. (Many cavern networks and remote towers where capavle inventors once dwelt are revered by Gondar as holy sites.) It is a time of feasting, drinking, and revelry, and some Gondar make much use of personal teleport magics and the network of gates maintained by the priesthoodto link major defensible holy houses to visit as many gatherings of the faithful as they can during this time.

    Daily rituals to Gond are simple: muttered prayers upon rising and retiring are often scheduled as part of dressing or disrobing so that they are not forgotten, a long prayer of thanks at the main meal of a priest's day , and a special prayer of thanks and dedication of their work before commencing any work of new making (as opposed to repair or maintenance).

    If a new tool or machine is seen or made by any Gondar, that Gondar is charged to make two copies of it if possible. One is hidden away against the prying eyes of thieves or vandals for later display to fellow Gondar, and the other is smashed - or preferably, burned - whule a prayer of offering to Gondd, the Sacred Unmaking, is chanted. This ceremony reinforces Gond's dominion over both constructive and destructive engineering.

    Helm:
    On daily basis, worshipers of Helm should always pray to the Vigilant One upon awakening and before composing themselves for slumber. A faithful worshiper who poses a question to the god typically receives some sort of (often crpytic( guidance in dream visions. Helm may also grace a nonbeliever who is growing interested in his faith with such visions.

    The most holy major Helmite ceremonies are the Consecration of a Postulant, which is the dedication of a being seeking to be confirmed as one of the clergy of the church of Helm, and the Cosecration of a Glymtul, which is a dedication of a special item to Helm's service (glymtul is an ancient word for "favored thing"). Other ceremonies of note are the Purification and the Holy Vigil. The purification is a renewal of faith or atoning for shortcoming in vigilance, loyalty or worship. The Holy Vigil ceremony marks the ascension of a priest to a higher rank. It is a night-long ceremony of concentration in which a priest, by willpower alone, keeps his or her weapon floating in midair. The weapon is enspelled by a senior priest through ritual magic to levitate, and the vigilance of the priest observing the ritual keeps it hovering.

    Ilmater:
    There are no calendar-related special holy days or any other festivals observed by the Ilmatari. Instead, the daily rituals of prayer to Ilmater at least six times per day govern each and every day of service.

    A special Plea must be made to Ilmater to receive divine dispensation for a Rest, which is a tenday vacation from serving Ilmater's dictates. Usually Ilmatari request this when they are emotionally exhausted, but some adventurer-priests use Rests to perform things Ilmater would otherwise frown upon. This custom is an established tradition that some leaders of the faith rely upon, sending their best fighting clergy out to do things that the church cannot otherwise accomplish (covertly removing a tyrant rather than confronting him openly, for example).

    The most important ritual of the Church of Ilmater is the Turning: It is the duty of every priest of Ilmater to try to get dying persons to turn to Ilmater for comfort, receiving the blessing of the Broken God before they expire. As the veneration of Ilmater grows, even in death, his healing power becomes greater.

    Kelemvor:
    Most folk experience the rituals of the death clergy in a personal way: As someone dies, a priest or priests of Kelemvor performs the Passing, a simple ceremony of last rites that is a chant of comfort calling on Kelemvor to be alert for the coming essence of this person, who has enriched life in Faerûn in his or her own way and earned this salute. The Lament for the Fallen is a larger ceremony of this sort sung over a battlefield, ruined village or fortress, or other site where many folk have recently died.

    Clergy of the god also lead a daily morning ceremony over graves, the Remembrance, and a ritual that begins after nightfall, the Daeum. The Remembrance is a dignified rite of songs and prayer usually attended by relatives of the dead. The Daeum, or Thanks to the Guide (Kelemvor), is a celebration of the strength and purpose of the Great Guide and his church and is attended only by faithful followers of the god. It is at the close of this ceremony that the goods of the dead are distributed to the assembled faithful and any favors of the god or holy missions are dispensed through manifestations or the orders of senior clergy.

    The two great calendar-related holy days of the Church of Kelemvor are Shieldmeet and the Feast of the Moon. During both of these days, priests of the Lord of the Dead tell tales of the Deeds of the Dead so that the greatness and importance of the ancestors of those alive today will never be forgotten. They also call back from the dead heroes who are needed in the land again (in the opinion of mortal supplicants whom Kelemvor agrees with). During both of these solemn high holy days, any priest of Kelemvor who casts speak with dead can talk freely with the departed for as long as desired and hold conversations, not merely put questions to them for which the answer will be a bare "yes" or "no."

    Kossuth:
    The Oath of Firewalking is an introductory initiation that all priests of the faith must undergo in order to be granted first-level spells. As a priest rises in level, his faith continues to be tested by these fire-walks.

    The faithful must pray to Kossuth each day at sunrise and at highsun before taking their meals, thanking him for the hidden fire of life energy that burns in all things. Other than this daily ceremony, the church observes two personal ceremonies and each temple holds a yearly festival.

    The Oath of Firewalking is a solemn oath taken when a novice becomes a priest. The strength of this promise is tested when it is first taken and again when a Kossuthan priest rises in rank by a walk over burning coals. The coals become hotter and the walk longer with each Firewalk: How Kossuth or his senior clergy members know what is in the hearts and minds of those taking the test is unknown, but Kossuthans with doubts or who are secretly plotting against their temples (for instance) are often horribly burned by a Firewalk or die on the coals, while priests who are single-minded in their purity of purpose and loyalty walk unscathed.

    On the birthdate of the Eternal Flame of each temple, that temple holds a festival. The Eternal Flame invites Kossuthan high and senior priests from other temples, local and foreign dignitaries, and others whom she or he believes the temple will benefit from by currying favor with. These people are pampered, given special gifts, and courted to become future allies of the Eternal Flame and the temple.

    Lathander:
    As may be surmised, most ceremonies of Lathander are held at dawn. Actions taken and contracts agreed to at dawn are considered blessed by the god. Marriages held at Lathanderian temples or shrines at dawn are considered especially blessed and so dawn is when the church most often holds such services, even if they are inconvenient for visiting guests. Funerals consist of a solemn, candlelit ceremony called the Going Down. This ceremony is followed by a wake that lasts until dawn prayers. Funerals are not held for those who are to be raised.

    The most important ceremonies of worship are the daily prayers to Lathander at dawn, often held outdoors or where the dawn can be seen. This ritual is followed in importance by the twilight devotions. Some temples and shrines also add to these two daily ceremonies an optional prayer and song to Lathander at highsun. To these daily devotions are added special prayers said when offerings are presented at the altar and when priests call on Lathander for guidance or aid. These ceremonies are all joyful, but dignified, and usually involve prayer, song, and ritual drinking of well water touched by the dawn. On special occasions, on Midsummer morning, and on the mornings of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, priests of Lathander perform the Song of Dawn, praising Lathander with a blend of vocal harmonies and counterharmonies of beautiful complexity.

    Malar:
    Worship of Malar centers around the hunt and tends to consist of personal prayers to the Beastlord offered before the chase, during pursuit, and while drinking a toast over the slain quarry (sometimes a toast of the blood of the very animal killed). The droning Bloodsong is intoned over the bodies of all creatures slain during a hunt—and specific ritual prayers and chants should accompany feasting on any beast slain duringa hunt.

    The only high rites of the faith are the Feast of the Stags and the High Hunts. The Feast is celebrated at Higharvestide, when Malarite clergy parade through settled areas bearing the heads of the beasts they have slain during the previous tenday (a frenzied orgy of killing) and lead all who desire to eat to a feast. The beasts hunted down by Malarite hands are the main dishes at this two-day-long revel of gluttony, and all folk are invited (even druids may come and dine in safety, protected by "the Peace of the Table"). At this feast, clergy publicly undertake to hunt throughout the winter ahead for the tables of specific widows, aged folk, infirm individuals, and orphan children. This day marks the annual high point of regard for the faith of Malar in most communities.

    By Malar's command, every hunt (religious ceremony) of his worshipers must celebrate at least one High Hunt in each of the four seasons of the year. A High Hunt is a sporting event attended by all Malarite clergy members able to walk. They wear boots and headpieces made from the skulls or heads of beasts they have personally slain, and each wields only a single knife or the claws of Malar. Their quarry—a sentient humanoid, usually a human male—who is set free in a wooded area (or extensive cavern complex if necessary) ringed by Malarite clergy members. The quarry is armed and armored with all the nonmagical items he or she desires that can reasonably be obtained—and then hunted to death for the glory of Malar. However, if the prey escapes the boundaries of the hunt (set up at its beginning) within a day and a night or survives until the sun has cleared the horizon on the morning after the hunt begins, he or she wins freedom, can never be so hunted again, and can ask any boon of the Huntmaster that is within his or her power and does not involve killing a Malarite.

    The prey is often a druid and cannot be a worshiper of Malar. (Huntmasters cannot use the High Hunt to eliminate potential rivals within the clergy.) When slain, victims of the hunt are wholly burned to ashes as a meal for Malar.

    Mask:
    There are no calendar-related rituals in the Church of Mask, but at every full temple of the god, the Ritual of the Unseen Presence is celebrated at least once a month. This ritual is an acknowledgment in chanted verse, hymns, and offerings of wealth.coinage stolen by the faithful that is melted down in altar-flanking braziers or crucibles .of the constant regard of Mask, who sees all deeds, however well hidden.

    Lay worshipers and Maskarran also participate in daily Sunset Prayers, in which they kneel, proffer coins to the clergy and worship before the Altar of the Masked God. Praying junior clergy members give coins to senior clergy members, and the highest-ranking priest of a holy house of Mask gives his or her coin to the lowest-ranking priest present in recognition of the wry humor of Mask, who so often makes the high low, and the low high. The Altar of the Masked God is always a massive stone block over which floats an enspelled black velvet, fur, or silk mask of giant size (6 feet across or more) or which has a mosaic in inlaid precious gemstones of a similar giant mask behind it.

    The Church of Mask has darker rituals associated with the elevation of clergy members in rank known only to the initiated. These secret observances and the Ritual of the Unseen Presence are always guarded by striking shadows spells cast by senior clergy members to slay or keep away eavesdroppers

    Mielikki:
    Those who worship the Lady of the Forest believe her voice is echoed continuously throughout all forests by the rustling leaves. A worshiper in good stead can listen and understand the whispers of the woods after a period of meditation and extended introspection. These whispers have been transcribed by a few bards and rangers, but never seem to say the same thing twice. The general theme is the preservation and understanding of the forests and the creatures living within them. (Those who listen for a long period of time are reputed to improve their tracking and woodland survival skills as well as their knowledge of animal lore.)

    Worship of Mielikki involves periods of introspection and meditation each morning and evening (in the forest whenever possible). Groups of worshipers also gather under the stars to sing the Lady's praises and ask for her guidance. When a worshiper of Mielikki begins a self-imposed quest to right a desecration of the forest, a special prayer is given up to the Lady of the Forest for strength and guidance. When aid is needed performing some simple task like setting the broken leg of a trapped wolf or following a trail, Walkers of the Forest Way usually ask for the Lady's blessing under their breath before proceeding.

    The best-known to outsiders of the holy rituals of Mielikki are the Four Feasts of the solstice and equinox nights. These are known simply as the First Feast, the Second Feast, and so on. They are occasions for holy rituals and revels, wherein all Mielikki's faithful are expected to celebrate the sensual side of existence and sing praises to the Lady in forest depths wherever possible.

    The festivals of Greengrass and Midsummer Night are even greater rituals, combining revels similar to those of the Four Feasts with planting rites and the Wild Ride. During the Wild Ride, the lady causes unicorns to gather in herds and gallop through the woods. Her faithful are allowed to ride them bareback through the night, covering astonishing distances and seeing much. On such rides, unicorns are empowered by the Lady to use their teleport ability as often as they desire for up to triple the normal range. On years when Shieldmeet follows Midsummer, riders can continue the Ride for that day and night if they so desire.

    At least once a month, every member of the clergy must perform the Song of the Trees and serve any dryads, hamadryads, or treants their song calls forth. The clergy members perform the small tasks requested of them, but are free of dryad charms through the will of the Lady.

    Every fire lit by a member of Mielikki's clergy must have the Dread Prayer whispered over it. In return, Mielikki makes the fire give off intense heat in particular directions indicated by the supplicant but almost no smoke. Such fires glow only dimly, so as to attract as little attention as possible, and do not spread. In this way, no watch need be kept against starting forest fires.

    Mystra:
    In Waterdeep, the church of Mystra celebrates Gods' Day on the 15th of Marpenoth, the anniversary of Midnight's elevation to divinity as the new Mystra, with a huge festival centered around the House of Wonder that ends in magical fireworks that go long into the night. This holiday is being gradually adopted by shrines and temples of Mystra throughout Faerûn.

    On the whole, though, the worship of Mystra tends to be a personal thing rather than a series of calendar rituals. For some mages whom the goddess counts as devout believers, it never goes beyond a whispered prayer of thanks to her with each spell they cast coupled with some thought as to the moral consequences of the use of this or that spell. For Mystra, that is enough. The goddess gains both delight and strength, however, from beings who do more in reverence to her. Two ceremonies of personal significance stand out: Starflight and Magefire.

    Starflight is often used as an initiation when an individual joins the priesthood of Mystra or a celebration when two worshipers are wed. It is a special ceremonial cooperative magic worked by several priests that empowers one of the faithful to fly so long as stars are visible in the sky. This can make long journeys easy, provide a joyous change of pace, serve as a special means of looking over the land, achieve privacy for important discussions, place one of the faithful a safe distance away from precious things in order to try hurling spectacular spells, or provide a very special beginning for one's marriage.

    Magefire is renewal; it is the exciting feeling of great magical power surging through one's body, blazing out as flickering blue fire as it spills forth, cleansing and renewing. With enough clergy powering it, this cooperative ceremonial magic can heal all sorts of fell conditions. Mystrans describe it as "the most blissful feeling one can know." It is spectacular to watch. The Mystran to he affected lies down on the ground and the circle of celebrants pours power into the worshiper—until his or her body, blazing with blue fire, slowly rises to hang in midair above those fueling the ceremony, humming and crackling with the power of the magic surging through it. Magefire often ends in a Starflight ceremony, provided the celebrants intone the correct incantation.

    The Hymn to the Lady is a solemn ritual performed at funerals and magemoots, that calls up visions of dead mages and Mystran clergy as a plainsong dirge is intoned by the living clergy present. Mystra often uses these visions to insert her own guiding scenes. A modified Magefire ceremony may be employed at the end of the Hymn to raise the honored dead aloft into a floating pyre on high.

    Oghma:
    Midsummer and Shieldmeet are the most sacred days of the Oghmanyte calendar since they are occasions when agreements are made or renewed and many contracts, bonds, and the like are drawn up. However, a priest of Oghma must observe two solemn rituals every day: the Binding and the Covenant. The Binding is a morning service wherein the symbols of Oghma are written in the dirt, in ashes upon a stone altar, or in the mind if a clergy member happens to be shackled or otherwise unable to write, while a silent prayer of loyalty and praise is made to Oghma. The Covenant is an evening service during which a passage from some work of wisdom is read aloud or recited from memory, a song or poem is offered up to Oghma, and some item of knowledge that the clergy member has learned during that day is spoken aloud to the god and to any fellow clergy present.

    In monasteries, temples, and abbeys of the Wise God, the rest of the day is typically occupied by readings aloud from great books of lore, philosophy, and history at gatherings held every two hours or so. It should be noted that almost all temples to Oghma have their own rituals that vary from one temple to the next except the Cornerstones of the Day (the Binding and the Covenant) and that many have two different sets of rituals: those for the resident clergy and those for laity and visiting clergy.

    Selune:
    Selûnite clergy embroider their rituals into quite individual, unique observances. The basics of these are open-air dances and prayers under the moonlight with offerings of milk and wine poured upon a central altar during the nights of every full moon and new moon. These rituals are often called night stalks and during them her priests reaffirm their closeness to the Night White Lady and commune with her when possible.

    The most sacred rituals of Selûne are the Conjuring of the Second Moon and the Mystery of the Night. The Conjuring of the Second Moon is performed only during Shieldmeet. It summons the Shards to do the bidding of the mortal clergy, often to do battle with minions of Shar. The Shards always take one mortal priestess to be one of them before they depart.

    The Mystery of the Night must be performed at least once a year by every priest. During the Mystery ritual, Selûnite priests cast certain secret spells and lie before the Moonmaiden's altar, from whence they fly upward and spiral around the moon in a trance while they speak personally with Selûne via mental visions. This ritual causes a mortal ld12 points of damage as it is so draining, but this damage heals normally through rest or the use of healing magic.

    Shar:
    As so many devotees of Shar keep their faith secret (and this secrecy is encouraged by senior clergy), the Sharran faith has no set holy days aside from the Feast of the Moon. To Dark Followers (the faithful of Shar) this holiday is known as the Rising of the Dark. They gather on it under cover of the more widespread venerations of the dead to witness a blood sacrifice and learn of any plots or aims the clergy want them to work toward during the winter ahead.

    The most important Sharran ritual of worship is Nightfall, the coming of darkness. Clergy hold this ritual every night. It consists of a brief invocation, a dance, a charge or series of inspiring instructions from the godness spoken by one of the clergy or by a raven-haired female lay worshiper, and a revel celebrated by eating, drinking, and dancing together. Lay worshipers must attend at least one Nightfall (or dance to the goddess themselves) and must perform - and report to their fellows - at least one small act of wickedness in salute to the Lady every tenday. On moonless nights, Nightfall is known as the Coming of the Lady, and every congregation must carry out some significant act of vengeance or wichedness in the Dark Lady's name.

    The most important ceremony of the priesthood of Shar is the Kiss of the Lady, a horrific night-long revel of slaying and doing dark deeds in the name of the lady that ends with a feast at dawn. Kissmoots are scheduled irregularly, whenever the priests of Old Night decree.

    Shaundakul:
    Shaundakul's clergy celebrates only one holy day per year. The 15th of Tarsakh is known as the Windride. No matter where they are, priests must seek out a strong breeze and cast a wraithform or wind walk spell at dawn. (Priests who do not have access to either spell are granted access to the former on this one day, regardless of level. In addition, the duration of either spell is extended to last from dawn to dusk.) Shaundakul's priests then spend the day soaring with the wind, swooping and swirling wherever chance may take them. They always land safely, usually in a region they have never been to before.

    Shaundakul's clergy members have a few simple ceremonies they practice when appropriate. They are to utter a simple prayer every time the wind changes significantly. Whenever they discover previously uncharted territory (such as an undiscovered valley, lake, or island), they are to create a small throne of rocks marked with Shaundakul's symbol near the location where they first made the discovery. If of sufficient level, they are to create a shrine to Shaundakul using stone shape magics.

    Silvanus:
    Priests of Silvanus pray to the Forest Father at all times, though the god seems to respond best to prayers at sunset and in moonlight. Greegrass, Midsummer Night, Higharvestide, and the Night the Forest Walks are holy days to the greenleaf priesthood. The Night the Forest Walks can occur at any time during the year. It is a night when Silvanus is restless, and trees move, streams and ravines change their courses, and caves open and close in the forest. Forest-dwelling monsters are often stirred into action, and forest magic is especially strong and apt to go wild.

    Many rituals of worship to the god take place in a crown stand of tall, ancient trees on a hilltop. The god must always be worshiped by sacrifice-but never by blood sacrifice. Instead, something made from material taken from a wood must be ceremonially broken and buried-not burned. For example, a wood must be ceremonially broken and buried-not urned. For example, a cart, wagon, or chair fashioned from the wood or felled trees could become a sacrifice to Silvanus.

    The simplest prayer to Silvanus is the Call of Oak, Ash, and Thorn, wherein a priest gathers leaves of the three named sorts of trees, floats them on water, and entreats Silvanus to hear a prayer. For deeper concerns (a conversation with a servant of the god, or the receipt of godly favors or magical powers) a Vigil is often employed: The worshiper anoints his or her own body with a powder of crushed acorns and mistletoe leaves mixed with rainwater or spring water and lies down on, or in contact with, a growing tree for most of a night. Some part of the bare flesh of the faithful must touch green, growing moss, so moss-covered giant trees are most favored for use in Vigils.

    The two most powerful and holy rituals of Silvanites are the Song of the Trees and the Dryad Dance. The first ceremony is a droning, haunting chant that is repetitive, leaps from sharp to flat in pitch, and increases in power the more worshipers are participating. Its performance always draws woodland creatures to gather in silent witness, laying aside their usual fears and their instincts to prey upon each other. The Song of the Trees heals burned, diseased, and scarred trees-and even, in rare moments of the favor of Silvanus, reerects trees that have fallen or been felled.

    The Dryad Dance is a wild ritual of piping, dancing, and carousing that calls out any dryads or hamadryads from the woods around and empowers them to travel far from their trees for a lunar cycle (month) after the dance is performed (though they cannot use their charm ability when more than 360 yards from the tree). Dryads and their trees are healed and revitalized by the dance, and it is rumored that humans and dryads who tryst at this time cause the rapid spead of new oaks trees and the birth of new dryas linked to them.

    Sadly, it seems the most often performed ceremony in the Silvanite canon is Thorncall, a ritual magic that raises thick walls of deadly tearing thorns out of the forest soil. These barriers are permanent and as labyrinthine as the presiding priest desires, but they can only be called up when a servant of Silvanus (a worshiper or a servitor creature, such as a stag) has been slain or shed much blood in the vicinity. The Thorncall ritual is used to keep out those who would burn or despoil the forest in such a way as to upset the balance.

    Sune:
    Greengrass is celebrated by Sunites with a great deal of outdoor frolicking, and Midsummer Night with night-long flirtatious chases through forests and parks, but local priesthoods can set the times of other celebrations to their own pleasure, as long as at least one Grand Revel befalls each month and at least one Feast of Love is celebrated in every tenday.

    A Grand Revel is a dusk-to-dawn party to which outsiders are invited, dancing and minstrelsy dominate, and those of the faith seek to attract converts with fun and the exhibition of a few of a temple's or shrine's beautiful art objects or magical treasures. A Feast of Love is a more intimate, quiet affair, open only to the faithful, who lie on couches and indulge in the gentle sipping of liquers and nibbling at subtly flavoured bitelets (as savory hors d'oeuvres are called in the Realms) and sweet pastries while lone dancers perform. These dances are interspersed with readings of romantic verse and prose and lays of love sung by skilled minstrels. Such rituals always break up into private gatherings, though bards are always on hand to relate tales of courtly love or mysteries of Faerûn for those who do not feel like socializing more privately.

    Sunites also offer personal prayers to Sune, always while dressed in beautiful ritual garments, standing in a pool or bath, and looking into a mirror lit only by natural light or candles. Those seeking guidance in life, entry into the faith, or atonement indulge in a night-long Candle Vigil. Sune sends guidance to them by visions visible in the mirror, often by altering the reflection of the worshiper in some ways.

    Talos:
    Talassans mark all of the anneal festivals (Greengrass, Midsummer, and so on) with rituals that call down lightning or call up storms. Calling Down the Thunder is the most sacred of these rituals and involves the slaying of an intelligent being by lightning in return for the Storm Lord granting special boon. This boon is usually the bestowal of a spell normally beyond a Talassan priest's ability to receive and wield, but it is sometimes a deed such as the sending of a storm down on a particular locale or being named by the priest.

    A more frequently seen ritual is the Fury, which is simply a berserk attack on folk and items made while howling the name of Talos repeatedly. It begins and ends with a prayer (if the priest survives) and usually involves the hurling of spells and of lit, carried torches, in an effort to visit considerable destruction on a place or encampment within a short time. It is considered most holy when performed by a lone Talassan priest - but against formidable foes, clergy of Talos usually attack together or draw off defenders by creating illusory attackers in one direction and mounting their own real attack from another.

    Tempus:
    The ritual performed by most of the faithful is a prayer for valiant performance and survival in the fray ahead, made to the war god over the weapon the praying being most often fights with. If a new weapon comes into the believers possession before a battle - particularly in the form of hard won booty - it is taken as a sign of Tempus's favour, and this weapon is the one that used in worship.

    The eves and anniversaries a great battles of a holy days of the Church of Tempus, and as such vary from place to place. In Narfell, the latest such festival is the anniversarsy of the Fall of Jiyyd during N'jast war of 1499. This remembrance day is held at Greengrass.

    The Feast of the Moon, honouring the dead, is the most important fixed date in the religious calendar. It is also expected that at least once a ten-day worshippers of Tempus bills a few drops of blood (preferably their own or a worthy foe's) and sing the Song of the Sword in Tempus's honour. Regardless of battle anniversaries, clergy perform at least two ceremonies each day: the Feast of Heroes at high sun and the Song of the Fallen at sunset. In most temples, a senior priest also conducts a Song of the Sword ceremony after dark for all lay worshippers desiring to attend.

    Torm:
    During the year, the Tormish celebrate two great festivals: the Divine Death on the 13th of Eleasias (commemorating Torm's death in battle just north of Tantras during the Time of Troubles, when he and Bane destroyed each other) and the True Resurrection on the 15th of Marpenoth (when Torm returned to his powers, at the end of the Godswar).

    The Divine Death is a solemn ceremony of remembrance for all the fallen who died for just causes, while guarding others, or in the holy service of Torm. After prayers and a huge feast, Tormtar go at dusk to the graves or battle sites where departed ones dear to them fell or now lie, light special candles, and pray through the night, recounting the deeds of the fallen to Torm so that none who fell may truly be forgotten. Torm often sends comforting dream visions to Tormtar on this night-but it is said among the faithful that if one sees Torm's death in a vision, it means that person's death in his service in the coming year.

    The True Resurrection celebrates Torm's rise anew to power and is a joyous feast and revel where laws are set aside just for this one day and night so that Tormtar can stray from their principles of law and order once a year. Most use this opportunity merely to shock others by speaking freely or by enjoying sensual pleasures with their fellow Tormtar-but a few every year employ it to bring vengeance down on someone. (For example, a noble protected against all physical punishment by the laws of a realm but who ordered others mutilated might himself be mutilated on the night of the Resurrection.) Torm traditionally sends inspiring visions into the dreams of all his faithful in the sleep that follows this festival-and grants the Loyal Boon to a few, as a mark of his appreciation for their outstanding service: A new prayer is placed in their minds, granting them once chance to cast a new spell they would otherwise not be able to cast until they rose in experience by another level.

    Throughout the year, faithful of Torm are expected to pray to the True God at least four times per day: at noon, dusk, midnight, and dawn. Prayers to Torm are uttered in a prescribed litany, which sounds like a rolling chant, and ask for guidance from the Lord of Duty, Loyalty, and Obedience. Since the Time of Troubles, the Penance of Duty has been included as part of the litany. To these rituals and prayers are added special prayers said when a follower of Torm needs extra inner strength to follow orders, to do a necessary but unpleasant task, or to support an ally or friend.

    The faithful of Torm need practice only three special rituals: Torm's Table, Investiture, and Holy Vigil. Torm's Table must be observed at least once every two months. To perform this ritual, a Tormtar purchases or prepares a grand meal and then turns it over to a stranger (usually a beggar or citizen in need) to consume while they fast, waiting on the table. Within three days after the feast is done, the priest must confess any personal sins, failings, or shortcomings to anothe Tormtar priest and report on his doings to a superior.

    Investiture is the solemn ceremony wherein a novice becomes a priest or priestess. It is the duty of every Tormish priest or holy warrior within a day's ride of the announced place of ritual to attend. The supplicant (only one priest is invested at each ceremony) prepares beforehand by rolling in mud or dust and then donning the oldest, filthiest clothes they can find or beg for. Thus attired, she or he fasts for a day and then in the evening (after the gathered priests have feasted) is brought in to the temple and washed clean with water by the visiting Tormtar. The supplicant is formally introduced to the presiding priest and accepted into the service of Torm-provided she or he passes the Holy Vigil. All the clergy then join in a hymn of hope, and withdraw, leaving the supplicant locked in the temple sanctuary alone to complete the Holy Vigil.

    The Holy Vigil is repeated every time an individual advances in rank within the priesthood. Before departing, the presiding priest solemnly raises a naked bastard sword from the altar and casts it up into the air. By the grace of Torm (and a secret spell cast beforehand), the blade rises up and moves to hand a man's height above the supplicant's head, point downward. The more the supplicant gives in to fear or slumber or dwells on any doubts about his or her faith in Torm, the lower the sword slips. Though such swords move slowly enough that they rarely seriously injure when they touch the priest below them, the magic is broken if the sword draws blood, and the shame of being found with a fallen sword the next morning is extreme. If a Vigil is thus failed, the presiding priest prays to Torm for guidance and follows the True God's dictates: the Vigil may be repeated on the next night, or the failed one may be cast out of the church or charged with a penance or quest.

    Tymora:
    The clergy ot Tymora have always adhered to rituals of greeting, touching their silver disks (the holy symbols of Tymora) to each other (and often embracing to do so) after watchwords of recognition have been exchanged. To unknown persons and beings they know to be worshipers of Tymora, but possibly laity, they say: "Life is short. Live it as Tymora means it to be lived!" This is answered by: "Dare all, and trust in the Lady." The watchwords between friends, or when both parties know each other to be clergy of Tymora, are simpler: "Defy" answered by "Dare much.''

    Midsummer is the most important festival of Tymora - a wild, nightlong revel of reckless, mischievous derring-do and romantic trysts. It is a time for the wandering clergy to gather and meet with Harpers, those of allied faiths and relatives. Many missions and plans are laid at such times.

    The most holy festival of Tymora is Starfall, which occurs on the 22nd day of Marpenoth which is believed by the followers of Tymora - though not by the rival clergy of Beshaba - to be the date of Tyche's destruction and Tymora's birth. On this date, clergy who have earned advancement are formally acclaimed and presented with tokens and vestments appropriate to their new station.

    Tyr:
    The priesthood of Tyr follows a monthly cycle of high rituals, beginning with Seeing Justice on the first day of each month, the Maiming on the thirteenth day of the month, and the Blinding on the twenty-second day of each month. These major rituals involve chanted prayers, thunderously sung hymns to the god, and conjured illusions: a gigantic war hammer that glows blinding white hanging over the heads of the congregation at Seeing Justice; at the Maiming, a gigantic right hand that bursts into view above the congregation surrounded by a nimbus of burning blood, then tumbles away into darkness and fades from view; and two eyes that burst into fountains of flaming tears until they have entirely spilled away and are gone at the Blinding. Early in the ceremony of the Blinding, symbolic blindfolds of diaphanous damask are bound over the eyes of the celebrants by clergy to remind the worshipers of Tyr's blindness.

    In addition to the high rituals, Tyrrans celebrate daily rituals of prayer to the god, which take the form of a sung invocation, a series of responsive prayers led by a senior cleric, a short sermon of instruction or reading of wisdom from the Sacred Judgments of Tyr, and a rousing closing anthem. In temples and abbeys dedicated to the god, such rituals are celebrated every two hours around the clock, with the most important offices taking place at dawn, highsun (noon), the equivalent of six o'clock, and the equivalent of none o'clock. The dawn ritual, The Awakening, is a gentle, uplifting renewal of faith. The noonday ritual, the Hammer at Highsun, is a stirring, exultant expression of the church's vigilance and martial might. The evenfeast ritual, High Justice, is a stern, proud celebration of Tyr's commandments and the church's purpose. The evening ritual, the Remembrance of the Just Fallen, is a haunting, softly chanted reverence for those who have laid down their lives for justice, both inside and outside the faith—a ritual of quiet dignity and respect that always leaves many witnesses, even those who do not follow Tyr, in tears.

    Umberlee:
    Umberlee is to be worshiped daily with offerings, prayer, and self-anointing on the brow, hands, and feet with sea water. In addition, the faith has a few special rituals, most notably the Drowning, First Tide and Stormcall.

    The Drowning is a private ritual, and only clergy members may witness it or take part. In the Drowning, an Untaken becomes a true priest of the goddess. The supplicant lies before an altar and is surrounded by candles lit to the goddess, each placed with an intoned prayer by a different Umberlant priest. The attending clergy then withdraw, and a senior priest casts a spell that causes sea water to flood the room in a huge breaking wave and then flow away. Supplicants who surviveare confirmed in the service of Umberlee and warned that if they should ever betray the Queen of the Deeps, drowning is the fate that awaits them. They were spared during the Drowning and so can be taken by the Sea Queen at any time to come. (Clergy whom the Sea Queen feels have failed her go to sleep one night never to awaken, dying during the night of drowning, their lungs mysteriously filled with sea water).

    The public rituals of Umberlee include First Tide and the Stormcall. Forst Tide is celebrated by a flute-and-drum parade through the streets of a city by the clergy when the ice breaks up in the harbor. In a cold-hearted and brutal ritual, the clergy carry a live animal down to the shore to be tied to a rock and hurled into the water. If the creature somehow washes or struggles ashore alive, it is freed, tended and magically healed back to full health. It then becomes a sacred animal with the rank of an Umberlant. (This custom began in ancient times when Umberlee often selected her clergy from among human sacrifices by unbinding them beneath the water.)

    Stormcall is a mass prayer in which worshipers call for Umberlee to send a storm to devastate a specific harbor or ship or to turn away an approaching storm or one that has already broken upon the worshipers. Worshipers kneel around pools in which lit candles float on fragments of driftwood that have been carefully collected and dried by Umberlant priests for this purpose. Sacrifices of precious goods are thrown into the pools, but the priests must carefully levitate the candles through the magic of the ceremony as this is done to keep them alight- for a candle doused is a sign of Umberlee's anger.

    Uthgar:
    The Uthgardt religion is close to nature and is tied to the change of the seasons. The spring equinox and summer and winter solstices are observed by Uthgardt shamans with a ceremony involving a day and night of fasting (called the Birthing in spring, the Fullness in summer, and the Darking in winter). A vision quest (communing with Uthgar and the spirits), in which the shamans ask their spirit guides and tribal totem for guidance in the upcoming months, is also performed during these times.

    The holiest time of year occurs during the autumnal equinox during the month of Eleint (which coincides approximately with the festival Higharvestide). At this time, all tribal clans converge on the tribe's ancestral mound for the annual Runemeet. The Uthgardt worship their gods, set tribal policy, perform marriages, celebrate births, formalize adoptions, and mourn deaths at these sites. Shamans officiate over these functions, establish new spirit guardians of the ancestral mound for the upcoming year(through the use of summon ancestor spells), stabilize the gate on top of each mound for another year, and initiate new candidates into the priesthood.

    During the Runemeet, Uthgardt youths desiring to be adults (and warriors of all ages) participate in the ritual of the Runehunt, in which those involved seek victory over one of the tribe's ritual enemies - usually orcs. When youths complete a Runehunt succesfully, shamans hold a ceremony, known as the Telhut, to initiate them into manhood. Shamans of Chauntea initiate Uthgardt girls into womanhood at this time as well.

    Waukeen:
    he usual altar to Waukeen is a plain stone block or wooden table on which is set a blessed golden bowl. As gold coins and other riches are added to it, the bowl rises off the table, levitating due to an enchantment that becomes stronger in direct proportion to the nonorganic weight added to it. (Such a bowl can be rowed about without the mover having to take the weight of its contents and used to shift heavy stone blocks, rocks, or furniture, but no use of it is to be made that allows nonclergy members of Waukeen to see it in secular operation.) All rituals to the goddess center around offerings made by worshipers into this bowl, and if a member of the faithful ever wishes to make his or her nightly prayer and is not within reach of such a bowl, a single coin must be cast into water (such as a stream or pond) and left there as the supplication is made.

    The first ritual of high holiness is the Cleaving, wherein nonbelievers first entering the faith, people entering their novitiate, novices becoming priests, or priests rising in rank dedicate themselves to the goddess. This involves entering the church covered in dirt, and in this state going to the altar on one's knees, carrying or dragging (use of a sledge and body harness is allowed) one's own weight in gold. The gold is placed on the altar, the bowl is then kissed by the supplicant, and as a hymn to the goddess is sung by all, stone covers in the floor roll back to reveal a warm bath of spiced wine. As the supplicant enters it, the offering bowl levitates and pours out its contents of liquid gold (actually holy water laced with flecks of gold) into the waters. The supplicant bathes until clean but sparkling with gold as hymns to the goddess continue. Priests then come forward to allow the person to modestly be dried and clothed in new grand, gaudy garb. After this, a feast begins.

    The best-known ceremony of holiness is the bestowal of the Mark of the Lady, a gold chevron in the form of a giant coin of Waukeen. This is done to reward priests or faithful worshipers of the goddess who have achieved great success or distinction in their endeavors (in other words, who have enriched the church and/or their communities, not merely themselves). The Favored One ends up with the coin on a sash, and all who attend such a ceremony receive a single tiny gold coin. (Some people have three or more of the havy, fragile, highly prized gold coins, which cost 450 gp or more due to the gold that goes into them.) Thieves are warned that Waukeenar seem to have a spell that allows them to trace such coins. On two occasions when the gift coins were stolen, clergy members unerringly followed the thieves and recovered the wealth (in one case from a very elaborate hiding place) before slaying the thieves for their temerity and sacrilegious behavior.

    The church of Waukeen holds many festivals, and such holy rituals such as the Cleaving and the bestowal of the Mark are usually performed at one of them. Other features of such gatherings always include assembly at a spot where hymns are sung to the goddess (often a pond or well where faithful worshipers can throw in their coins and pray), a parade in full finery from that place to the temple (accompanied by music, and sometimes by unwanted pranksters who throw stones, eggs, and refuse at the gaudily-dressed clergy), and a solemn sermon, any holy rite scheduled, and then a fast that goes on into the wee hours. If no holy rite is scheduled to be celebrated, then one is not held and its place in the service is taken by a public Prayer to the Lady Waukeen, given by the senior priest present. The feast involves much merriment because of the freely flowing drink and is always accompanied by hired entertainment—jugglers, dancers, musicians, storytellers, contortionists, trained animals with their keepers, and hedge wizards who do sleight-of-hand tricks and minor cantrips.

    Each temple can add its own festivals to the roster for whatever reason, but all important communities of Waukeen-worshipers celebrate the dozen High Festivals: Cold Counting Comfort, Great Weave, Highcoin, Spheres, Sammardach (SAM-mahr-dock), Brightbuckle, Sornyn (SOR-nihn), Huldark, Spryndalstar (SPRIHN-dahl-star), Marthoon, Tehennteahan (Teh-HEN-tee-ah-han), and Orbar.

    Cold Counting Comfort occurs on the 15th of Hammer and is named for the accounting that goes on in many businesses during this down time at the height of the harsh winter.

    Great Weave is celebrated on the 20th of Alturiak and is named for the tapestry-weaving practiced in all wealthy households throughout the winter and the textile-making to which cloth merchants devote this month.

    Highcoin is celebrated on the 30th of Ches. It is a grand feast when spoken accolades, accompanied by trumpet fanfares, hail the wealthy for amassing such worth and offerings are amassed for the next festival, Spheres.

    Spheres is held on the 10th of Tarsakh. During this festival glass spheres filled with gems and coins are paraded around a city and then lobbed into the air by catapults to fall into the city, shatter, and pill out their contents at random for the general populace to snatch up.

    Sammardach occurs on the 12th of Mirtul. This observance is named for the richest benefactor of the early church, a merchant so rich that he once bought a city—now-vanished Tsabran, which stood just southeast of Airspur along the Chessentan coast, and gave it with all its properties and businesses to the Waukeenar.

    Brightbuckle is held on the 21st of Kythorn. The advent of good weather is marked by a parade in finery of all who wish to attend a Waukeenar church feast, of whatever faith—and Waukeen's priests give inspirational talks about the growing wealth of the lands around and show recent works of the Lady through (hired) illusion spells in hopes of encouraging new worshipers to join the faith or the priesthood.

    The 3rd through the 5th of Flamerule is Sornyn, a festival marking the time for planning, the making of treaties and agreements, and the receiving of envoys from unknown lands and traditional foes. Much wine is drunk at this three-day occasion, when "my enemy is like a brother to me."

    Huldark is celebrated on the 17th of Elesias. It is a feast wherein the bounty of the land, which feeds and sustains us all, is celebrated, an faithful of Waukeen plant new fruit trees or vegetable plants.

    Spryndalstar occurs on the 7th of Eleint. Spryndalstar recongnizes how magic and the ideas of those who work with it have enriched us all: Waukeenar sponsor mages in their endeavors and hire wizards to cast spells to awe and entertain folk in public spectacles.

    The 1st of Marpenoth marks Marthoon, the church's recognition of the vigilance and work of soldiers and guards in defending the wealth and the security of those who generate it. During Marthoon, such folk are feasted and given gifts of gold-and each major temple sponsors one lucky warrior into retirement by giving him or her 10 times his or her weight in common coin and a steading to enjoy it on.

    Tehennteahan is held on the 10th of Uktar. It is known as the Night of Hammers and Nails and is a day-long feast in which Waukeenar salute the inventions of simple folk—smiths, crafters, and those who work with they hands and not magic—and how their works benefit us all. New innovations are demonstrated, shops are shut so that their keepers can join in the feasting, and the church buys all rights to certain inventions for a room full of gold per invention purchased. (The room has to be one in the inventor's house, and the church fills it to the rafters with gold coin.)

    Orbar, held on the 25th of Nightal, rounds out the yearly festivals. It is a solemn remembrance of the dark side of wealth. Prayers are said for those driven mad by gold or their miserliness, those slain by thieves and brigands, those who died trying to steal, or who met their ends adventuring or mining after gold, and like people. The public is invited to a Candle Feast wherein well-loved deceased merchants are remembered with praise, and the church reminds all in the community that it has the power to trace and hunt down thieves who steal the wealth of those who worship Waukeen—and will use it.


  • Midwinter (also known as Deadwinter Day) is a festival to mark the midpoint of winter in the Calendar of Harptos. It occurs on a special day between Hammer 30 and Alturiak 1. Amongst nobles and monarchs it is known as Midwinter and is traditionally used to make or renew alliances, although the common people call it Deadwinter, a reference to the cold and hard times remaining before the spring.

    Greengrass is a festival to welcome in the first day of spring in the Calendar of Harptos. It occurs annually on a special day between Tarsahk 30 and Mirtul 1. Traditionally, the wealthier people bring out flowers to hand to the less wealthy, who either wear them or throw them on the ground to encourage the deities to usher in the summer.

    Midsummer night is a festival that celebrates love and music through feast. A time when love advances, it is said the deities themselves take a hand to ensure good weather. If bad weather is experienced on this night it is considered an extremely bad omen.

    Highharvestide is an annual festival in the Calendar of Harptos, taking place between the last day of Eleint and the first day of Marpenoth. It is traditionally a feast to celebrate the harvest and the abundance of food, but also the time when those wishing to travel leave on their journeys before the winter sets in.

    The Feast of the Moon, or Moonfest, is an annual festival in the Calendar of Harptos, occurring between the final night of Uktar and the first day of Nightal. It is a time to celebrate and honour the dead, with people gathering to tell stories and legends. Graves are blessed, and the Ritual of Remembrance is performed.


  • Jul 1 - Kythorn 30 Nobanion Vergadain
    Jul 2 - Flamerule 1 - Full Moon Baervan Bahgtru Cyrrollalee DeepSashelas Erevan Hanali Istishia Moradin Sehanine Selune Sharess Sharindlar Sheela Solonor ThardHarr Tyr Urogalan
    Jul 3 - Flamerule 2 Vergadain
    Jul 4 - Flamerule 3Waukeen
    Jul 5 - Flamerule 4Waukeen
    Jul 6 - Flamerule 5Waukeen
    Jul 7 - Flamerule 6
    Jul 8 - Flamerule 7
    Jul 9 - Flamerule 8 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Jul 10 - Flamerule 9
    Jul 11 - Flamerule 10
    Jul 12 - Flamerule 11
    Jul 13 - Flamerule 12 Loviatar Talona
    Jul 14 - Flamerule 13 Garl Tyr
    Jul 15 - Flamerule 14
    Jul 16 - Flamerule 15 Dumathoin
    Jul 17 - Flamerule 16 - New Moon Baravar Brandobaris DeepSashelas Dumathoin Gruumsh Istishia Luthic Selune Shargaas ThardHarr Vhaeraun
    Jul 18 - Flamerule 17 Dumathoin Sharindlar
    Jul 19 - Flamerule 18
    Jul 20 - Flamerule 19 Corellon
    Jul 21 - Flamerule 20 Gaerdal
    Jul 22 - Flamerule 21
    Jul 23 - Flamerule 22 Tyr
    Jul 24 - Flamerule 23
    Jul 25 - Flamerule 24 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Jul 26 - Flamerule 25
    Jul 27 - Flamerule 26
    Jul 28 - Flamerule 27
    Jul 29 - Flamerule 28
    Jul 30 - Flamerule 29
    Jul 31 - Flamerule 30 Hathor Lurue Sharess Silvanus

    Aug 1 - Midsummer Akadi Berronar Beshaba Callarduran Flandal Gorm Haela Horus-Re Lathander Marthammor Mielikki Milil Oghma Sharess Sharindlar Shiallia Sune Talos Tymora Vergadain Yurtrus
    Aug 2 - Eleasias 1 - Full Moon Baervan Bahgtru Cyrrollalee DeepSashelas Erevan Hanali Istishia Moradin Sehanine Selune Sharess Sharindlar Sheela Solonor ThardHarr Tiamat Tyr Urogalan
    Aug 3 - Eleasias 2 Vergadain
    Aug 4 - Eleasias 3
    Aug 5 - Eleasias 4
    Aug 6 - Eleasias 5
    Aug 7 - Eleasias 6
    Aug 8 - Eleasias 7
    Aug 9 - Eleasias 8 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Aug 10 - Eleasias 9 Marthammor
    Aug 11 - Eleasias 10
    Aug 12 - Eleasias 11
    Aug 13 - Eleasias 12 Loviatar Talona
    Aug 14 - Eleasias 13 Garl Torm Tyr
    Aug 15 - Eleasias 14 Dumathoin
    Aug 16 - Eleasias 15 - New Moon Baravar Brandobaris DeepSashelas Dumathoin Gruumsh Istishia Luthic Selune Shargaas ThardHarr Vhaeraun
    Aug 17 - Eleasias 16 Dumathoin Sharindlar
    Aug 18 - Eleasias 17 Waukeen
    Aug 19 - Eleasias 18 Corellon
    Aug 20 - Eleasias 19
    Aug 21 - Eleasias 20
    Aug 22 - Eleasias 21
    Aug 23 - Eleasias 22 Tyr
    Aug 24 - Eleasias 23 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Aug 25 - Eleasias 24
    Aug 26 - Eleasias 25
    Aug 27 - Eleasias 26
    Aug 28 - Eleasias 27
    Aug 29 - Eleasias 28
    Aug 30 - Eleasias 29 Vergadain
    Aug 31 - Eleasias 30 - Full Moon Baervan Bahgtru DeepSashelas Erevan Hanali Istishia Moradin Sehanine Selune Sharess Sharindlar Sheela Solonor ThardHarr Urogalan

    Sep 1 - Eleint 1 Cyrrollalee Tyr Vergadain
    Sep 2 - Eleint 2
    Sep 3 - Eleint 3
    Sep 4 - Eleint 4
    Sep 5 - Eleint 5
    Sep 6 - Eleint 6
    Sep 7 - Eleint 7 Waukeen
    Sep 8 - Eleint 8 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Sep 9 - Eleint 9
    Sep 10 - Eleint 10
    Sep 11 - Eleint 11 Hoar
    Sep 12 - Eleint 12 Loviatar Talona
    Sep 13 - Eleint 13 Garl Tyr
    Sep 14 - Eleint 14 Dumathoin
    Sep 15 - Eleint 15 - New Moon Baravar Brandobaris DeepSashelas Dumathoin Gruumsh Istishia Luthic Selune Shargaas ThardHarr Vhaeraun
    Sep 16 - Eleint 16 Dumathoin Sharindlar
    Sep 17 - Eleint 17
    Sep 18 - Eleint 18 Corellon
    Sep 19 - Eleint 19
    Sep 20 - Eleint 20
    Sep 21 - Eleint 21 - Autumn Equinox Aerdrie Eilistraee Gwaeron Lathander Loviatar Malar Mielikki Rillifane Segojan Sharess Uthgar
    Sep 22 - Eleint 22 Tyr
    Sep 23 - Eleint 23 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Sep 24 - Eleint 24
    Sep 25 - Eleint 25
    Sep 26 - Eleint 26
    Sep 27 - Eleint 27
    Sep 28 - Eleint 28
    Sep 29 - Eleint 29 Vergadain
    Sep 30 - Eleint 30 - Full Moon Baervan Bahgtru DeepSashelas Erevan Hanali Istishia Moradin Sehanine Selune Sharess Sharindlar Sheela Solonor ThardHarr Urogalan

    Oct 1 - Highharvestide Anhur Dugmaren Gorm Isis Malar Marthammor Osiris Sharess Shiallia Sheela Silvanus Talos Vergadain
    Oct 2 - Marpenoth 1 Cyrrollalee Tyr Waukeen
    Oct 3 - Marpenoth 2
    Oct 4 - Marpenoth 3
    Oct 5 - Marpenoth 4
    Oct 6 - Marpenoth 5
    Oct 7 - Marpenoth 6
    Oct 8 - Marpenoth 7
    Oct 9 - Marpenoth 8 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Oct 10 - Marpenoth 9 Marthammor
    Oct 11 - Marpenoth 10
    Oct 12 - Marpenoth 11 Hoar
    Oct 13 - Marpenoth 12 Loviatar Talona
    Oct 14 - Marpenoth 13 Garl Tyr
    Oct 15 - Marpenoth 14 Dumathoin
    Oct 16 - Marpenoth 15 - New Moon Baravar Brandobaris DeepSashelas Dumathoin Gruumsh Istishia Luthic Mystra Selune Shargaas ThardHarr Torm Vhaeraun
    Oct 17 - Marpenoth 16 Dumathoin Sharindlar
    Oct 18 - Marpenoth 17
    Oct 19 - Marpenoth 18 Corellon
    Oct 20 - Marpenoth 19
    Oct 21 - Marpenoth 20 Finder
    Oct 22 - Marpenoth 21
    Oct 23 - Marpenoth 22 Tymora Tyr
    Oct 24 - Marpenoth 23 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Oct 25 - Marpenoth 24
    Oct 26 - Marpenoth 25
    Oct 27 - Marpenoth 26
    Oct 28 - Marpenoth 27
    Oct 29 - Marpenoth 28
    Oct 30 - Marpenoth 29 Vergadain
    Oct 31 - Marpenoth 30 - Full Moon Baervan Bahgtru DeepSashelas Erevan Gruumsh Hanali Istishia Moradin Sehanine Selune Sharess Sharindlar Sheela Solonor ThardHarr Urogalan

    Nov 1 - Uktar 1 Cyrrollalee Tyr Vergadain
    Nov 2 - Uktar 2
    Nov 3 - Uktar 3
    Nov 4 - Uktar 4
    Nov 5 - Uktar 5
    Nov 6 - Uktar 6
    Nov 7 - Uktar 7 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Nov 8 - Uktar 8
    Nov 9 - Uktar 9
    Nov 10 - Uktar 10 Waukeen
    Nov 11 - Uktar 11
    Nov 12 - Uktar 12 Loviatar Talona
    Nov 13 - Uktar 13 Garl Tyr
    Nov 14 - Uktar 14 Dumathoin
    Nov 15 - Uktar 15 - New Moon Baravar Brandobaris DeepSashelas Dumathoin Gruumsh Istishia Luthic Selune Shargaas ThardHarr Vhaeraun
    Nov 16 - Uktar 16 Dumathoin Sharindlar
    Nov 17 - Uktar 17
    Nov 18 - Uktar 18 Corellon
    Nov 19 - Uktar 19
    Nov 20 - Uktar 20
    Nov 21 - Uktar 21
    Nov 22 - Uktar 22 Tyr
    Nov 23 - Uktar 23 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Nov 24 - Uktar 24
    Nov 25 - Uktar 25
    Nov 26 - Uktar 26
    Nov 27 - Uktar 27
    Nov 28 - Uktar 28
    Nov 29 - Uktar 29 Vergadain
    Nov 30 - Uktar 30 - Full Moon Baervan Bahgtru DeepSashelas Erevan Gargauth Hanali Istishia Moradin Sehanine Selune Sharess Sharindlar Sheela Solonor ThardHarr Urogalan

    Dec 1 - Feast of the Moon Arvoreen Gorm Haela Kelemvor Lurue Luthic Marthammor Nephthys RedKnight Savras Sehanine Shar Shiallia Sharess Talos Tempus Vergadain
    Dec 2 - Nightal 1 Cyrrollalee Tyr
    Dec 3 - Nightal 2
    Dec 4 - Nightal 3
    Dec 5 - Nightal 4
    Dec 6 - Nightal 5
    Dec 7 - Nightal 6
    Dec 8 - Nightal 7 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Dec 9 - Nightal 8
    Dec 10 - Nightal 9 Marthammor
    Dec 11 - Nightal 10
    Dec 12 - Nightal 11
    Dec 13 - Nightal 12 Loviatar Talona
    Dec 14 - Nightal 13 Garl Tyr
    Dec 15 - Nightal 14
    Dec 16 - Nightal 15 Dumathoin
    Dec 17 - Nightal 16 - New Moon Baravar Brandobaris DeepSashelas Dumathoin Gruumsh Istishia Luthic Selune Shargaas ThardHarr Vhaeraun
    Dec 18 - Nightal 17 Dumathoin Sharindlar
    Dec 19 - Nightal 18
    Dec 20 - Nightal 19 Corellon
    Dec 21 - Nightal 20 - Winter Solstice Eilistraee Gwaeron Loviatar Malar Mielikki Segojan Sharess Thoth Uthgar
    Dec 22 - Nightal 21
    Dec 23 - Nightal 22 Tyr
    Dec 24 - Nightal 23
    Dec 25 - Nightal 24 DeepSashelas Istishia
    Dec 26 - Nightal 25 Waukeen
    Dec 27 - Nightal 26
    Dec 28 - Nightal 27
    Dec 29 - Nightal 28
    Dec 30 - Nightal 29
    Dec 31 - Nightal 30 Geb Jergal Vergadain