Pelor
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| Greyhawk Deity | |
|---|---|
| Pelor | |
| Title(s) | The Sun Father, the Shining One |
| Home Plane | Blessed Fields of Elysium |
| Power Level | Greater |
| Alignment | Neutral Good |
| Portfolio | Sun, Light, Strength, Healing |
| Domains | Good, Healing, Strength, Sun |
| Alias(es) | Sol, Al'Asran |
| Superior | none |
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Pelor is the god of the Sun, Light, Strength, and Healing. Pelor is also a prominent member of the game's default pantheon, and is a popular choice among player character clerics because he is the only god of said pantheon with the healing domain. He is known as the Shining One, and the Sun Father. He is known as the creator of much that is good. His holy symbol is a face in a sun.
Pelor is the deity of the iconic cleric, Jozan.
Contents |
[edit] Description
A Flan deity, Pelor is worshipped throughout the Flanaess, and on other worlds as well. He rides a mighty ki-rin named Star Thought, summoning eagles and destroying evil with bolts of light.
[edit] Other aspects
Pelor was known as Sol by the early Oeridians.
Among the Bakluni, Pelor is known as Al'Asran. Al'Asran is said to have granted the legendary Cup and Talisman to Al'Akbar.
As of "The Complete Divine" two more domains were added to Pelor's Jurisdiction: The Community and Glory Domains. Both can be found, with description and domain spell breakdowns, in The Complete Divine.
A number of Pelor's followers have achieved deity or near-deity status, the most popular being Mayaheine, demigoddess of protection, justice, and valor, and Saint Bane the Scourger, patron saint of those who hunt the undead.
[edit] Relationships
A number of Pelor's followers have achieved deity or near-deity status, the most popular being Mayaheine, demigoddess of Protection, Justice, and Valor, and Saint Bane the Scourger, patron saint of those who hunt the undead. Another saint, Saint Jalnir the Gentle, was a half-orc priest.
Among the other gods, Pelor is allied most closely with Mayaheine, and very closely allied with Rao as well. Pelor's other allies include Heironeous, Saint Cuthbert, Pholtus, and Trithereon. Pelor's priests have been known to help mediate disputes between St. Cuthbert's followers and Pholtus's. Pelor is friendly to good-aligned nonhuman deities such as Corellon Larethian, Moradin, and Garl Glittergold, and is especially friendly to those with an agricultural or solar aspect, as Yondalla has.
Pelor opposes all evil deities and his followers avoid neutral deities with teachings counter to Pelor's. Pelor particularly loathes Tharizdun, having played a role in the Dark God's imprisonment.
[edit] Realm
The Fortress of the Sun, once known as Light's Blessing, is Pelor's realm in Elysium. Pelor's domain, once a vast manor surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and farmland for miles, is now (since he assumed a more martial aspect during the Greyhawk Wars) a gold-plated citadel that forms a beacon atop the largest island of Elysium's layer of Thalasia.
[edit] Dogma
[edit] Scriptures
- In the Sun Father's Hand is a controversial text accepted at present by only a handful of Pelorian temples. It was written about 476 CY by a woman named Tephos. Tephos was not a priest, but she believed herself to be Pelor's chosen representative on Oerth. Somehow she performed miracles, including curing an entire village of plague, before writing about her beliefs and vanishing in front of her disciples in a flash of golden light. Tephos taught that all property should be held communally, that society should return to a more "natural" state like that assumed to exist before the spread of civilization, and that clerics were unnecessary; Pelor could intervene directly instead. Most branches of the Pelorian faith consider Tephos to be gifted but delusional.
- The Light of Pelor is the most common Pelorian holy book, beginning with Pelor's creation of the sun and telling of how Pelor instructed the first mortals. Some turned against his teachings, thus creating evil, and this evil spirit has waxed and waned over time. Some versions portray Pelor as the sun (Liga) itself, rather than its creator, and tell of Pelor's attempts to win back those who have strayed from his light. The Light of Pelor only has minor variations in it, and all are considered canonical, despite these small discrepancies. The book is often enchanted to glow with a soft solar radiance when it's closed, and some versions are gilded.
[edit] Worshippers
Pelor is a popular deity, much-beloved by the commonfolk. He is particularly revered in the Bright Lands (as Aurifar), among the Rovers of the Barrens, in Dyvers, Geoff, the Free City of Greyhawk, Nyrond and old Almor, Perrenland, Sterich, Sunndi, Tenh, and Urnst (both the Duchy and the County). In his Baklunish aspect, Pelor is one of the major deities of the nation of Ekbir. He is worshiped on at least one other world, the homeworld of Mayaheine.
Although Pelor's church has a few heresies and schisms, the head priests of his powerful temples are in contact with one another and with the religion’s overall leadership. If the secular leaders of one nation place an onerous tax on Pelor’s temples, word will spread through Pelor’s hierarchy. Other nations might be persuaded by their Pelorites to apply diplomatic pressure to get the tax repealed.
[edit] Clergy
Pelor's clergy heal the sick, bless crops, help the needy, and destroy evil and the undead. His elite priests are called Radiant Servants. Pelor's favored weapon is the mace (heavy or light). Vestments are typically yellow or gold.
[edit] Druids
Pelor is served by a small number of druids, who behave in ways similar to his clerics, but with a greater emphasis on the care of plants and animals. They usually associate themselves with settlements rather than living as hermits, aiding the community with their hands, spells, and animal companions wherever they can. They are considered to have priest status within the Pelorian church, though they have a separate hierarchy. Pelor is also worshipped in the Old Faith, where he is considered the god of summer.
[edit] Paladins
Pelorian paladins are rare, having appeared in large numbers only since the Greyhawk Wars. They are about as common as Mayaheine's paladins, though the demigoddess's church is much smaller than Pelor's. Pelor's paladins see themselves as the burning light of the sun which scours away darkness and evil and brings strength and comfort to the innocent.
[edit] Rituals
Pelor's services involve communal prayer, the singing of hymns, and the distribution of alms.
[edit] Temples
Pelor's temples are tall, with large windows; many are stained-glass cathedrals. Temple trappings are typically yellow or gold.
[edit] Holy days
Pelor's major holy days generally take place on the solstices and equinoxes of the Greyhawk Calendar.
- Breadgiving Day. On this day, taking place on the 4th of Needfest (the Winter Solstice), Greyhawk's clerics of Pelor, Rao, and Saint Cuthbert distribute food to the poor.
- The Feast of Edoira. The Pelorians of Greyhawk also join Raoans in this interfaith celebration, occuring on Growfest 4.
- Midsummer's Day. This day, also known as the Holy Day of Pelor, takes place on Richfest 4, the day of the Summer Solstice.
[edit] Relics
Famed relics of Pelor include the maces called Dawnstars and the holy symbols known as the Shards of the Sun. Both are described in Complete Divine.
An artifact of Pelor's is hidden in the Caves of Deadly Shadows.
- Ajira's Rod is a relic of a legendary paladin called Ajira. Some of his bones were placed in the hilt of his mace, becoming the relic. It glows, removes disease, and regenerates its wielder.
[edit] References
- Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0 (Wizards of the Coast, 2005). Available online: [1]
- Grubb, Jeff, David Noonan, and Bruce Cordell. Manual of the Planes (Wizards of the Coast, 2001).
- Holian, Gary. "Paladins of Greyhawk." Dragon #306. (Paizo Publishing, 2003)
- Holian, Gary. "Paladins of Greyhawk." Dungeon #104 (Paizo Publishing, 2003)
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
- Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (TSR, 1998).
- Noonan, David. Complete Divine (Wizards of the Coast, 2004).
- Redman, Rich, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. Deities and Demigods (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).
- Reynolds, Sean K. "Core Beliefs: Pelor." Dragon #346 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (TSR, 1992).
