Deities
The pantheon of the Lost Lands is a diverse and fragmented collection of divine beings whose worship reflects the cultural, political, and metaphysical history of the world. The gods range from primordial creator figures to ascended mortals, and their cults often vary widely between regions. Since the withdrawal of most deities from direct involvement in mortal affairs, their influence is primarily exercised through visions, divine agents, and lingering miracles.
Many deities’ cults are intertwined with national identity: the Ochre Flame in the Republic of Carcola reflects the increasingly harsh living conditions of that land, the dual worship of Ekekkia and Ulfgar in the Helsingfyrd Pact reflects the union of vampire and lycanthrope that form the core of the Pact, and the draconic cults of the Azure Empire reflect a culture where living draconic power and patronage networks are the backbone of society.
Major Deities
The Faceless Maker
- Domains: Knowledge, Life, Nature, Grave (rare), Forge (Lagashian sects)
- Alignment: Neutral
- Symbol: A featureless mask or blank sun disc
- Lore: The primordial creator of the world, the Faceless Maker is said to have formed the perfect disc of Izaria as his dwelling place. Myths claim he was either slain or blinded in the distant past, some say by Christopher Bale, and now lies dead or wanders as a blind poet. In nearly every culture, he is acknowledged as the origin of all things, even where his worship is suppressed or forgotten.
Christopher Bale
- Domains (5e): Order, Knowledge, Light, Tempest, Grave (esoteric sects)
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Symbol: A bat, a spinning top, or an hourglass
- Lore: God of time and space, and in some traditions, the slayer or usurper of the Faceless Maker. Bale briefly ruled the world directly before withdrawing to govern through archons such as Talapas. Worship of Bale has declined, particularly in Carcola, where the Ochre Flame has outlawed his cult. His faithful emphasize cosmic order, patience, and the inevitability of time.
Kogoth the Undying Machine
- Domains (5e): Forge, Knowledge, Arcana, Order
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral or Neutral Evil (extremist sects)
- Symbol: A segmented mechanical centipede
- Lore: Once a living god and ruler of Lagash, Kogoth became a mechanical being to continue his pursuit of invention. He systematized magic into a structured discipline, making it accessible to mortals. His cults revere relentless innovation, often at the expense of morality or tradition. Opponents call him the betrayer of the old gods. Worship of Kogoth is extremely uncommon after the Sundering of Lagash, and he is widely considered to be a dead god.
Ekekkia, Mother of the Undead
- Domains (5e): Death, Nature (Agriculture), Grave, Trickery
- Alignment: Neutral Evil or Lawful Evil
- Symbol: A sheaf of wheat bound with a blood-red ribbon
- Lore: Once a goddess of roads and boundaries, Ekekkia was exiled east by Kogoth. In exile, she created the first undead — blood-drinking priests — and became patroness of agriculture in the Helsingfyrd Pact. Pact orthodoxy denies her rumored love affair with Ulfgar, though Helskari folk tradition keeps the tale alive.
Fain, Ascendant Ember of the Ochre Flame
- Domains (5e): Light, Order, Forge
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Symbol: A volcano erupting with golden fire
- Lore: Twin of Sere and personification of Mount Fain in Carcola. In Ochre Flame cosmology, Fain leads the virtuous upward into a higher, purer hell — an inversion of most salvation myths. Her worship is state-endorsed in Carcola, where she symbolizes endurance through purifying trials.
Sere, the Lower Flame
- Domains (5e): Grave, Death, Order
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil
- Symbol: An inverted flame descending into darkness
- Lore: Twin of Fain, Sere guides most souls into the lower hells of Ochre Flame belief. Although feared, Sere is honored as a necessary guide in death, ensuring the cosmic balance of reward and punishment.
Ulfgar, First Raider of the Moon
- Domains (5e): Nature, War, Trickery
- Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
- Symbol: A crescent moon over a wolf’s skull
- Lore: God of lycanthropy, hunting, and the moon. Ulfgar’s earliest followers were raiders and pastoralists who rejected settled life. His greatest warriors became the first lycanthropes. Pact orthodoxy frowns upon the heretical belief that Ulfgar and Ekekkia were lovers. Kitsune revere Ulfgar as a trickster god, instead of as a raider or warrior god, leading to tensions with lycanthropes.
Tezquamar, First of the Dragons
- Domains (5e): Knowledge, Tempest, Light, Order
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Symbol: A dragon coiled around a star map
- Lore: Said to have been born from magic-struck dinosaurs in the ruins of the Lost Lands, Tezquamar is revered by dragonkin as the greatest of gods, the inventor of astronomy, and the very first dragon. His cult rejects the old gods, venerating him as a bringer of enlightenment.
- Domains (5e): Knowledge, Tempest, Nature (Travel), Trickery (seafaring sects)
- Alignment: Neutral Good
- Symbol: A feathered serpent coiled around a ship’s prow
- Lore: Led the migration of metallic dragons and dragonkin from the Lost Lands to the Azure Empire. Honored as a divine herald and patron of explorers, traders, and diplomats in the Azure Empire.
Jura the Eternal
- Domains (5e): Nature, Knowledge
- Alignment: True Neutral
- Symbol: The profile of a tyrannosaur skull crowned with laurels
- Lore: An immortal tyrannosaur who witnessed the fall of Lagash. Jura communicates telepathically and is worshipped by some druids and scholars as a living witness to the deep past. She is not universally regarded as a deity, but her cult views her as divine.
Minor or Controversial Deities
- Skalkos, God of the Tempest and Sea — Revered only by social outcasts, lighthouse keepers, and antisocial cults in the Helsingfyrd Pact.
- Domains: Tempest, Nature, Trickery. Said to have been the former lover of Ekekkia who retreated to the sea in the Sundering of Lagash. Cursed the sahuagin during the fall of Lagash. Worship widely viewed as akin to demonolatry.
Clerical Practice
Clerics in the Lost Lands are often affiliated with national or regional temples rather than an abstract universal church. The withdrawal of the gods means divine magic is interpreted as a sign of special favor, prophecy, or hereditary calling. Divine magic is instead said to derive from angels and devils -- intermediaries between the divine world and the physical world known as archons. Some deities, like Fain, Sere, and Ekekkia, maintain active hierarchies and political power, while others, like Jura or Bale, have dispersed cults.