Tempus (Forgotten Realms)

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Forgotten Realms Deity
Tempus
Title(s) Lord of Battles,
Foehammer
Homeplane Warrior's Rest
Power Level Greater
Alignment Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio War, battle, warriors
Superior None

Tempus (tem-pus) is the Faerûnian deity of war in Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms fictional world of Abeir-Toril. His dogma is primarily concerned with honorable battle, forbidding cowardice and encouraging the use of force of arms to settle disputes.

Contents

Dogma

Tempus' teachings forbid cowardice (an offense punishable by eternal death if displayed in Warrior's Rest), require that his followers arm all who have need of arms (even their enemies), and teaches that war should not be feared, for it is fair in that all participants have the chance to rise to prominence or to die in the attempt. In this aspect, Tempus' mindset is somewhat Darwinian. Though Tempus thrives on war, he does not revel in dragged-out slaughter, and teaches that it is best to win a battle decisively rather than engage in a war of attrition. His ways allow for retreats from hopeless battles, but with the admonition that battle must be joined first to determine if it really is hopeless. Tempus and his followers respect valor, and honor their opponents even as they strive to defeat them. Tempus favors honorable tactics, showing favor to those who defeat their opponent on the field of battle without resorting to destruction of the enemy's homes, family, or to attacks from the rear (unless the enemy force is vastly superior). While Tempus encourages battle, he commands that the warriors first consider the consequences and not be reckless or indiscriminate in waging war. He also teaches that cowards and diplomats who are not willing to brandish or consider conflict wreak more damage than even the most violent tyrant, for those who will not fight to defend what they value are bound to lose it. Tempus' domains are Chaos, Protection, Strength, and War[original research?].

Famous Worshippers

Wulfgar, Son of Beornegar, of The Tribe of the Elk.(Originally referred to him as Tempos, the Barbarian's name for him)[citation needed]

Orders

  • Order of the Steel Fang

The Order of the Steel Fang is an elite fighting order within the church of Tempus, whose members are often assigned to the most hazardous duties. Steel Fang units are led by battle-hardened members of the clergy. Many mercenary companies and knightly fighting orders of crusaders also avail themselves of a connection to the Church. One badge of the god seen among his affiliated mercenaries is a rusty brown dagger, shown diagonally with its point to the upper right, dripping four drops of blood[original research?].

  • Order of the Broken Blade

The Order of the Broken Blade honors those warriors and clergy who are injured in Tempus's service and can no longer fight in the front lines[original research?]. Appeared in Popular Icewind Dale game[citation needed].

Relationships

Tempus is served by the Red Knight, deity of strategy and war planning. He opposes and is opposed by Garagos, who encroaches upon his portfolio and uses a divine symbol that was formerly Tempus' own when he was worshipped in the now-fallen empire of Netheril. Tempus slew many other deities aspiring to be the god of war in the past, and it is not certain why he tolerates Garagos' continued existence, having already defeated him once. Some scholars in the Realms believe that Tempus' dislike of mindless slaughter and bloodlust prompted him to spare Garagos so that he could represent those more vicious aspects of war[who?].

Sune sees Tempus as her enemy because of the destruction that wars wreak upon beautiful things and people, but Tempus does not consider her worth the conflict[who?].

Despite the fact that Tempus' dogma is diametrically opposed to that of Eldath and that he considers her naive for her pacifist outlook, he has commanded his followers to not harm those of the goddess of peace, seeing that war is meaningless without peace following[who?].

References