The library-temple in Magepoint is described as being "dedicated to several neutral-minded deities."
For those of you playing in Greyhawk, what deities did you use?
It seems pretty obvious that Agath is a cleric of Celestian.
I was thinking of making the temple dedicated to the trio of Celestian, Cyndor, and Boccob.
I have to admit that as far as GH deities go, i'm extremely ignorant, and so I'm not even sure if the suggestion i'm going to make would even match up. . .
But, witht hat being said . . I ran across the name of a GH deity that I think I remember also reading was neutral. And for some reason the name is stuck in my head for some reason. Rao . .
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The library-temple in Magepoint is described as being "dedicated to several neutral-minded deities."
For those of you playing in Greyhawk, what deities did you use?
It seems pretty obvious that Agath is a cleric of Celestian.
I was thinking of making the temple dedicated to the trio of Celestian, Cyndor, and Boccob.
Good suggestions.
Boccob is essential (Greater God: Magic, Arcane Knowledge, Foresight, Balance) and I like your nod to the Rule of Three. I'd suggest expanding it more though. Include the other two Greater Gods of Nuetral alignment and have each with a prominant room in the library. Istus' (Fate, Destiny, Divination, Future, Honesty) room would certainly have a lot of material about the Age of Worms. Beory (The Earth Mother), I'd dedicate a small courtyard to her with rooms filled with botanical keys and geologic texts right off of it.
Rao, also a Greater Power, is the major divinity of Veluna. I doubt he'd have much presence here (aside from theology/political tomes) because of that implied political association.
Continue the Rule of Three with the Intermediate Gods. Celestian's place is clear. I suggest this also as Magepoint is the most likely spot spelljammer vehicles would visit and Celestian has a huge roll in Greyspace travellers. Magepoint has the Nyr Dyv to land ships in out of sight of most eyes and is close to the Free City to assure trade items reach the markets quickly. This also opens up the potential of using a spelljammer ship to get around Oerik/Amedio quickly. Fharlanghn's shrine would be the entrance area to the library with fountains, grape vines, and fruit trees providing a place for the road weary to freshen up before entering. Lastly, Zilchus would have a portion of the library devoted to his porfolio. Though he's not a True Neutral deity, Power, Prestige, Money, Business, and Influence will have plenty of material written. I suspect the "Widget for Dummies" books would be here too. ::wink::
Near Zilchus' area, one of the Rule of Three Lesser Deity shrines would be found, dedicated to Mouqul. Aside from literature dedicated to his portfolio (Trade, Negotiation, Ventures, Appraisal, Reciprocity), I'd expect the political theory volumns to be close by. Xan Yae (Twilight, Shadows, Stealth, Mental Power) would have a portion of the library frequented by rogues and psionic characters. Lastly, as the Nyr Dyv is a vital aspect of Magepoint, Geshtai's (Lakes, Rivers, Wells, Streams) shrine would look out at the lake and contain the library's catalogue of nautical texts and all things related to hyrdrology.
Cyndor is a good suggestion though a shrine dedicated to him would be overshadowed by Istus' and Fharlanghn's. Clocks and other time keeping devices would be in many rooms and thus his divinity too.
So by the Rule of Three and the three major catagories of divinity, there'll be nine dedicated shrines in the library.
I'd expect that some acknowledgement would be given to the Demi/Hero Gods. Zuoken's (Physical and Mental Mastery) small shrine would be found among the texts dedicated to military history and strategy (along with more diet books than Tenser can shake a stick at). Kelanen's (Swords, Sword Skills, Balance) shrine would be nearby as well, next to the big book called "Weapons of Legacy". Finally, I'd have Daern's (Defense, Fortifications) shrine located near the catalogue of architecture/engineering.
A lot of topics would be located in portions of the library without any clear divine association, obviously. A Nerull shrine in the "occult" section would be too messy. Characters that owe their divine inspiration to other deities will have to make due elsewhere!
I hope this helps with ideas for the library. It certainly helped my insomnia! ::yawn::
It certainly helped my insomnia! ::yawn::
No kidding! And I've been up for several hours taking care of two sick children.
I didn't get into what deities were represnted in the library, but that's due to the fact that I don't have a party cleric, and none of my players even asked.
What they did take note of was that some of the texts, especially those that dealt with druidic history (and I do have a druid in the group) seemed to have blank pages, as if the writers, transcribers, and translators simply skipped them altogether.
They took one book that seemed to have a lot of blank pages with them. They hope to study it and use divination magic to see what they can find out. I plan on using the book more after the Library of Last Resort, with the pages filling in again just after the conclusion.
Rao would not fit in there, as he is Lawful Good.
Have a look at where these deities are from, as not all are commonly worshipped across the flanaess. Especially Suloise deities are probably obscure.
Stefan
Since Magepoint is virtually Tenser's fief, do you think he might have something to say about what deities are honored in the library-temple? I know Tenser is LG, but does he have a close association with a patron deity? Since the domain of Greyhawk is pretty much a crossroads, with influences from all corners of the Flanaess, I would guess that just about any deity could find its way to Magepoint.
Given her association with magic, I'd be inclined to dedicate at least one corner of the temple to Wee Jas, although the Green Lady's tolerance for evil tendencies might not go down so well with Tenser. My rule of three would place Celestian, Boccob, and Wee Jas in the temple as the main three deities, and some others as minor ones.
It also seems conceivable that Pelor would be an appropriate deity, since light and enlightenment go hand in hand, and I think of Tenser as having the kind of principled but not inflexible opposition to evil that Pelor represents. So I might replace Wee Jas with Pelor instead.
In any event, it is clear from the illustration that Agath of Thrunch is a cleric of Celestian, and Boccob also quite clearly has a place in a temple dedicated to knowledge.
Given the strength of the Druidic heritage in the Cairn Hills region, and the ancient role of druids as keepers of lore, and the campaign's tie in with the Order of the Storm, a druidic deity like Beory might be appropriate as well.
One could even have one ancient corner of the building's basement hold a shrine to an obscure local demigod tied to the Order of the Storm: Granruth the Stormrider was an ancient Flan druidic hero who rode a thundercloud into battle against a great horde of undead at the edge of the Rift, some 1500 years ago or more. He perished, but was elevated to demigodhood for his bravery, and became a sort of tutelary deity to the Flan tribes of the Cairn Hills afterward. Besides his prowess in battle, he was also a druid of great learning and magical prowess, and some lesser disciples of the Order of the Storm (which he headed), erected standing stones on the site of Magepoint after his death to commemorate him, and this place became a center of druidic learning. In later years, followers of other gods came to the region and joined the conclave, giving the library-temple the polytheistic character it has today. An aging druid and his priestess wife still care for the shrine, which stands on a hill behind the main edifice. They may be the only two living people who worship Granruth today, though they have adopted two young orphans whom they hope will serve as acolytes and carry on the faith. Granruth's holy symbol is a thundercloud parting to reveal the light of the sun. His favored weapon is a spear, and his domains are air, war, and knowledge. He is neutral good.
As for "neutral-minded," it could be taken to mean deities of NG, LN, & CN alignments as well (Tenser probably wouldn't tolerate shrines to NE deities).
I would reject Geshtai, as she really isn't that popular outside Bakluni lands. The same goes for Mouqol. I don't really see Zilchus in the library either. Given Magepoint's position on the Nyr Dyv, I lean toward a less flashy business deity, like Xerbo.
I would restrict the temple deities mainly to neutral gods whose priests would normally be interested in libraries. Gods not normally worshipped in the region (like the Baklunish deities), would not have shrines there.
That would leave us with mostly Suel & Oeridian gods.
Celestian (N/NG) is obvious. His shrine would be in the Astronomy wing. Pelor (NG) might a shrine here, too, but probably smaller, given Agath's preferences. Same for Sehanine Moonbow.
Fharlanghn (N/NG), his brother, should also be included. Geography. I'd also throw the sea gods Osprem (LN), Procan (CN), & Xerbo (N) into this wing, as the Nyr Dyv is just a jump away.
Boccob (N), definitely, & by extension, Zagyg (CN/CG). Boccob's shrine would be in the Arcana wing.
Cyndor (LN) would be viable, as might his Suel counterpart, Lendor (LN). Istus (N) is another good choice, as she also has a temple in Greyhawk. I'd put all in the History wing.
Lydia (NG), Suel goddess of music & knowledge, would be believable. We'd find her shrine in the Fine Arts wing.
Wee Jas (LN/LE) would be possible. Despite the overlap with Boccob, she's also a goddess of Law and a relatively benign death deity. I'd place her shrine in the legal library.
It's possible Joramy (N/NG) would be represented (maybe in the philosophy wing), but given there are no volcanoes in the region, it's a stretch. Should one wish to include Rao (LG) god of reason, he'd also go in this wing--but given his alignment, I rather doubt it. Xan Yae (N) may also have a place here.
Though they have no neutral components to their alignment, it's hard to imagine Lirr (CG), goddess of poetry & literature, & Delleb (LG), god of reason & study, not represented in a Library-Temple. I'd stick Lirr in the Fine Arts wing with Lydia, & Delleb in the Natural Philosophy wing.
Deities that might have shrines in Magepoint, but unlikely to be represented in the Library-Temple:
Bleredd (N), god of smiths might have a shrine at the local smithy. IIRC, there is an extended family of dwarves in Magepoint, so you might consider creating a hill/metalworking/mining group shrine that includes Moradin & the rest of the dwarven pantheon, Bleredd, his wife Ulaa (LG), Fortubo (LG/LN), and his brother Jascar (LG).
The local tavern might double as a place of worship for both Olidammara & Norebo (both CN). Especially if all you have to do is drink, sing a bawdy song, or roll the bones.
Perhaps there's a small church or shrine of St Cuthbert (LN/LG), which would appeal to the common folk. Of course, one could say the same of Pelor, who may have his own church outside his small shrine in the Library-Temple. Then again, I'll probably just have the "common folk" of Magepoint follow the Old Faith.
A shrine or temple to the Old Faith would be feasible. This could cover Pelor, Beory, Obad-Hai, Ehlonna, Berei, Merikka, Velnius, Telchur, Atroa, Sotillion, & Wenta. Possibly the sea deities, too.
Magepoint's garrison may also hold a shrine to a more martial deity, such as Heironeous or Mayaheine (Pelor's servant).