TEXT: Robert J. Schwalb
  A Shadow of the Demon Lord Supplement
  
  Uncertain Faith
  A Guide to Religion in a Land of Shadow ™
  Writing and Design Robert J. Schwalb
  Art Direction: Kara Hamilton and Robert J. Schwalb
  Editing: Scott Fitzgerald Gray
  Proofreading: Kara Hamilton and Kim Mohan
  Layout and Graphic Design: Kara Hamilton
  Cover: Mirco Paganessi
  Interior Illustrations: Biagio d’Allessandro, Ivan Dixon, 
  Olga Drebas, Kim Van Deun, Jack Kaiser, Mathew Kaminski, 
  Mirco Paganessi, Svetoslav Petrov, and Andrey Vasilchenko
  Uncertain Faith: A Guide to Religion in a Land of Shadow is © 2016 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC. 
  All rights reserved.
  Shadow of the Demon Lord, Uncertain Faith, Schwalb Entertainment, 
  and their associated logos are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
  SCHWALB ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
  PO Box #12548
  Murfreesboro, TN 37129
  info@schwalbentertainment.com
  www.schwalbentertainment.com 
  
  2
  Chapter 1: The Old Faith .................5
  Sects and Factions ................................................................6
  Many Gods, One Faith ........................................................6
  Changing Seasons ................................................................6
  Priests of the Old Faith ........................................................7
  Gods of the Old Faith ..........................................................8
  Father Death ..........................................................................8
  Priests of Father Death ...............................................................9
  The Horned King ................................................................10
  Priests of the Horned King .......................................................11
  The Maiden in the Moon ................................................. 12
  Priests of the Maiden ................................................................ 12
  Old Man Winter ..................................................................14
  Priests of Old Man Winter ........................................................14
  Revel ....................................................................................... 15
  Priests of Revel ............................................................................15
  The Queen of Summer .....................................................16
  Priests of the Queen ..................................................................16
  The Seer ................................................................................ 17
  Priests of the Seer .......................................................................17
  The World Mother .............................................................18
  Priests of the World Mother ...................................................18
  Chapter 2: The Honored Dead ............20
  Clan and Kin ....................................................................... 20
  Days of Remembrance ...................................................... 21
  Priests of the Honored Dead ...........................................22
  Chapter 3: Witchcraft ............................23
  Covens ...................................................................................24
  Priests of Witchcraft ...........................................................24
  Chapter 4: The New God .....................26
  The Four Truths ..................................................................28
  The Seven Orders ...............................................................29
  Priests of the New God ...................................................... 31
  Chapter 5: The Dark Gods ....................32
  Wyrd .......................................................................................32
  Symbols and Forms ...........................................................33
  Priests of the Dark Gods ...................................................33
  Gothi: Expert Path ..........................................................34
  Chapter 6: Other Faithss .......................35
  The Dark Lady ....................................................................35
  One-Eyed Pete .....................................................................36
  Fey Lords and Ladies .........................................................36
  The Devil ..............................................................................36
  Oceanus .................................................................................36
  Spirits of the Woad .............................................................36
  Genies ....................................................................................37
  The Demon Lord ................................................................37
  Small Gods ...........................................................................38
  Creating Your Own Religion ...........................................38
  Appendix 1: Magic of the Gods .............39
  Spells .....................................................................................40
  Arcana .........................................................................................40
  Battle ...........................................................................................40
  Celestial ......................................................................................40
  Curse .............................................................................................41
  Death ............................................................................................41
  Divination ...................................................................................41
  Earth .............................................................................................41
  Enchantment ..............................................................................41
  Fey .................................................................................................42
  Fire ................................................................................................42
  Life ................................................................................................42
  Nature ..........................................................................................42
  Primal ...........................................................................................42
  Rune .............................................................................................43
  Shadow .........................................................................................43
  Spiritualism ............................................................................... 44
  Telepathy.................................................................................... 44
  Theurgy....................................................................................... 44
  Water ........................................................................................... 44
  Relics ......................................................................................45
  Blade of Secrets ..........................................................................45
  Bowl of Mists ..............................................................................45
  Cloak of the Wolf Lord .............................................................45
  Dawn Spear ................................................................................ 46
  Eye of the Seer ........................................................................... 46
  Face of the Frost .........................................................................47
  Hammer of the Stone King ......................................................47
  Idol of Nazzan .............................................................................47
  The Maiden’s Hourglass ...........................................................47
  Pale Horse Statuette ................................................................. 48
  Revel’s Die .................................................................................. 48
  Seed of Life ................................................................................. 49
  Virtue’s Goblet ........................................................................... 49
  Appendix 2: False Wonders .................50
  Background ......................................................................... 50
  Getting Started ................................................................... 50
  Faithful Gathering ............................................................. 50
  The Shrine ........................................................................... 50
  Sister Samanda ...................................................................52
  The Shack .............................................................................53
  Roadside Inn and Livery ...................................................53
  Talking with Locals ............................................................54
  THe Hidden Chamber ......................................................54
  Am I a Demon? ...................................................................55
  Conclusion ...........................................................................55
  Index ..............................................................56
  Spirits of the Woad
  36
  
  3
  Introduction
  Against a backdrop of history deﬁ ned by war, dark 
  magic, plagues, and countless other calamities, it should 
  come as no surprise that faith occupies an important 
  place in the hearts and minds of people living in and 
  around the Empire. For some, religion oﬀ ers hope, 
  meaning, and a purpose greater than simply serving 
  one’s own interests. It can promise a future that 
  transcends the suﬀ ering and misery endured by so many, 
  and can guide people toward leading better lives. 
   Religion can also be dangerous, for it attracts people 
  who are at their most vulnerable. Many religions—but 
  especially those dedicated to dark forces such as the 
  Devil or the Demon Lord—promise power, wealth, 
  gratiﬁ cation, and purpose, and then lead only to 
  destruction. Even cults dedicated to good and noble 
  purposes can be corrupted from within and twisted 
  toward unspeakable ends. 
   Good or bad, helpful or destructive, religion has 
  always been a signiﬁ cant force in the lands of Rûl. 
  One can ﬁ nd monuments of faith in all lands, from 
  the blasted expanse of the Desolation to the towering 
  monoliths of the Frozen Wastes beyond Blötland. Grand 
  cathedrals tower above the streets of Caecras, Lij, and 
  other cities, while humble temples oﬀ er refuge and 
  community in the smaller settlements of the provinces 
  and beyond. 
  Myth and Religion
  The world of Urth is a complex and often frightening 
  place—a reality in which anything is possible. Myths 
  help people explain why the world is the way it is, and 
  why certain things happen. Ultimately, they provide an 
  understanding of why people exist in the ﬁ rst place. The 
  sun rises in the east and sets in the west because ﬁ ery 
  steeds drag it across the dome of the world. The ground 
  sometimes shakes because Father Death and the Lady 
  of Sorrows quarrel. The seasons change when greedy 
  Old Man Winter creeps out of his cave to conquer the 
  Summer Lands while their queen travels in the north, 
  only to ﬁ nd himself beaten back when she returns to 
  claim her kingdom. These myths helped the earliest 
  mortals understand their world and allowed them 
  to ﬁ nd common ground and cultural identities. The 
  societies that formed around these stories would help 
  establish the major religions found in the world today.
   Religions take shape when people ﬁ nd consensus 
  about their myths and codify their beliefs in them. 
  In doing so, they create a truth about the world and 
  what it means to live in it. Myths and the people who 
  believe them typically stand at the center of these 
  budding faiths, providing an explanation of the world 
  and inviting others to share in that explanation. As 
  social structures, religions also dictate proper forms 
  of behavior and codes of conduct to which the faithful 
  must subscribe. As well, most oﬀ er rewards for 
  membership, such as access to a paradise found in death 
  or the chance to live again. 
   As important and as powerful as they are, religions 
  come and go all the time. Corruption in the ranks of 
  the priesthood might cause congregations to become 
  disaﬀ ected and abandon the faith altogether. People 
  might convert to other religions that demand less of 
  them, have an ethos more in line with their thinking, 
  or oﬀ er greater rewards. Religions can thus experience 
  incredible growth only to wither and die. Those 
  religions that enjoy the greatest longevity allow the 
  ideas underpinning their faith to evolve, adapting to the 
  changes in their congregations and in the world around 
  them.
  Religion in Rul
  Among all the peoples living on Urth, mortals place the 
  most importance on religion. Faced with the ﬁ nitude of 
  existence, mortals shape their faith as a powerful tool for 
  combatting the crisis of mortality. Religion can promise 
  escape from the horrors and hardships of the world, 
  oﬀ ering hope to people struggling to feed themselves 
  or fend oﬀ  attacks from beastmen and worse. Similarly, 
  religions that speak of how this life is but one of many 
  can help people come to terms with their misery, giving 
  them hope that the next time around will be better. 
   Few mortals question the existence of the gods, and 
  many believe that deities take an active hand in the 
  world’s aﬀ airs. For proof, one need only look to the 
  priests who perform miracles and receive aid from the 
  gods through their prayers. Witnessing these miracles 
  strengthens belief and can bring people who have begun 
  to drift from a faith back into the fold. True believers 
  attend temple services, tithe to their temple, and adhere 
  to a religion’s strictures and tenets.
   However, despite the strong role religion plays in the 
  lives of many people, growing numbers have started to 
  question the existence of the gods. Some suggest that 
  even if deities exist, they have long withdrawn from 
  the world. Some have even gone so far as to reject the 
  concept of deities altogether, holding that the gods are 
  nothing more than manifestations of mortal belief in 
  the ﬁ eld of magic that envelopes and suﬀ uses reality. 
  The so-called miracles that priests perform are simply 
  the casting of spells. Such views tend to be unpopular, 
  though, and in areas intolerant of nonbelievers, voicing 
  such opinions can result in persecution, exile, or even 
  death.
   Few members of the immortal races—including 
  faeries, devils, and even the elementals—have religious 
  inclinations. Unless victimized by violence, such 
  creatures live forever, and the inevitable end that mortals 
  face is at most a distant threat. Furthermore, many 
  
  4
  immortals have dwelled long enough in the world to 
  have seen the beginnings of many religious myths, and 
  recognize them for the fantasy they are. Most ﬁ nd the 
  notion of gods, paradise, and salvation to be ludicrous—
  nothing more than little lies that mortals tell themselves 
  to escape the existential crisis deﬁ ning their existence. 
  Some faeries, however, devote themselves to a fey lord 
  or lady, acting as servants who fulﬁ ll many of the same 
  functions as mortal priests sworn to gods.
   Immortals understand that belief, force of will, and 
  imagination aﬀ ect the ﬁ eld of magic that envelops the 
  world. The focus of many minds on a single concept can 
  produce godlike beings from this ﬁ eld—or, in the case 
  of the Old Gods, can bestow godlike powers on already 
  powerful beings. So from the perspective of immortals, 
  the New God might simply be a name for a power that 
  has existed all along. Perhaps this being represents 
  a revolution in mortal imagination, suggesting that 
  mortals have moved beyond myth and now seek 
  something more. 
  Holy Ground
  The major religions each include a sidebar that 
  details the effects of being on ground deemed 
  holy by that religion or its gods. Holy ground 
  covers the inside of a structure (such as a temple 
  or shrine), as well as the area within 5 yards of 
  it. For an object such as a monolith, holy ground 
  covers the area within 5 yards of it. In addition to 
  the general effects of holy ground, creatures of 
  the faith can attempt to curry divine favor while 
  on holy ground. See Appendix I, “Magic of the 
  Gods,” for more information. 
  Servants of the Gods
  With few exceptions, religions depend on large numbers 
  of people to survive. These servants preserve the faith, 
  safeguard its relics, and represent its interests in the 
  world. Most work out of temples, leading worship and 
  ministering to their congregations. Some take an active 
  role in their communities, helping people in need or 
  advising civic leaders (if they don’t become civic leaders 
  themselves). Some can serve also as street preachers, 
  delivering ﬁ ery sermons to anyone who will listen, or 
  by taking up arms to ﬁ ght in the name of their faith, 
  whether that faith’s enemies are monsters, demons, or 
  rival religions. Some members of a faith can command 
  magical power through a combination of belief and 
  prayer, but most are simply ordinary folk who felt the 
  call to serve.
   Aﬃ  liation with a religion does not guarantee that an 
  individual keeps to all the strictures and tenets of the 
  faith. Large, powerful religions attract ambitious and 
  corrupt people who would proﬁ t from a congregation 
  eager to part with their wealth. Some join a religion to 
  mask their own dark pursuits, and stories abound of 
  evil cults hidden within the followers of the New God 
  and the Old Faith. Most people who join a religion 
  make the decision out of genuine belief in its creeds 
  and ideals. They are dedicated servants who set aside 
  other opportunities to pursue a life of pious devotion 
  to powers greater than themselves. It is through their 
  eﬀ orts that all religions prosper and grow.
  Holy Sites
  Sites deemed holy and sacred to the gods stand all across 
  the continent of Rûl. Some are temples functioning as 
  centers of worship, where priests perform ceremonies, 
  conduct rituals, deliver sermons, and carry out any other 
  tasks required by their faith. Others are small shrines 
  dedicated to holy ﬁ gures, heroes, ancestors, and gods 
  who have passed from mortal knowledge. Then there 
  are the countless stone circles, monoliths, obelisks, great 
  statues, sacred groves, lodges, and other monuments 
  raised to honor the gods, and to remind mortals of the 
  gods’ power and presence in the world.
   Holy sites vary by religion. The Cult of the New God 
  favors grand temples, churches, and cathedrals, while 
  devotees of the Old Faith prefer natural settings in 
  which to oﬀ er prayers. Some places were built to honor 
  the gods, and thus were created holy. Others have been 
  made sacred by the spilling of a martyr’s blood, the 
  performance of a great miracle, or even a manifestation 
  of one of the gods. 
  Using This Book
  Uncertain Faith builds on the information presented in 
  the Shadow of the Demon Lord rulebook by collecting the 
  narrative threads woven into paths, spells, traditions, 
  creatures, and information on the world, then presenting 
  it here. As with most setting information for the game, 
  you’ll ﬁ nd the details broadly presented. This book 
  contains more than enough material to help realize 
  these religions in play, and to spark the imaginations of 
  Game Masters and players alike. 
   To make the most of this book, you’ll need a copy of 
  Shadow of the Demon Lord. Uncertain Faith also references 
  story, traditions, and spells from other supplements, 
  including Tombs of the Desolation, Terrible Beauty, the 
  Demon Lord’s Companion, and Exquisite Agony. Though 
  none of these supplements is necessary to use the 
  content in these pages, having them will make this 
  material even more valuable.
   Paths, traditions, and other game elements marked 
  with a † are found in the Demon Lord’s Companion.
  mortals have moved beyond myth and now seek 
  something more. 
  Holy Ground
  The major religions each include a sidebar that 
  details the effects of being on ground deemed 
  holy by that religion or its gods. Holy ground 
  covers the inside of a structure (such as a temple 
  or shrine), as well as the area within 5 yards of 
  it. For an object such as a monolith, holy ground 
  covers the area within 5 yards of it. In addition to 
  the general effects of holy ground, creatures of 
  the faith can attempt to curry divine favor while 
  on holy ground. See Appendix I, “Magic of the 
  Gods,” for more information. 
  content in these pages, having them will make this 
   Paths, traditions, and other game elements marked 
  with a † are found in the Demon Lord’s Companion.
  
  5
  The Old Faith
  The oldest religion still practiced in Rûl, the Old Faith 
  traces its origins back to the First People, those early 
  humans who originally settled the continent. The 
  roots of animism have never left the Old Faith, and its 
  devotees still ﬁ nd their gods in the sky, forests, hills, 
  and rivers. The presence of these gods instills a deep 
  and abiding reverence for the land in the Old Faith’s 
  devotees, and that reverence stands at the center of their 
  religion.
   A great many gods, spirits, and heroes make up 
  the pantheon associated with the Old Faith. Its most 
  important members are described in their own sections 
  in the following pages. While various sects place greater 
  importance on certain gods over others, nearly all accept 
  the World Mother’s leadership over the rest, for it is from 
  her that all life springs.
  A Rural Following
  The Old Faith has its strongest following in rural 
  communities, having accepted that the crowded, 
  stinking cities are the domain of the priests of the New 
  God. Followers of the Old Faith take comfort in wild 
  places, and minister to the peoples living in such places 
  or along their borders. They help farmers with their 
  crops, care for animals, and guide the lost out of danger. 
  Their congregations include farmers and explorers, 
  hunters and woodcutters, guides, hermits, and anyone 
  who lives in nature. The Old Faith has long been a 
  human religion, but many halﬂ ings, fauns, and even 
  some orcs keep the faith.
   The most ardent followers of the Old Faith adorn their 
  homes or persons with nature symbols, including the 
  face of the Green Man, the World Tree, sheaves of wheat, 
  acorns, or oak leaves. They never keep iron on their 
  persons and avoid using that metal in their homes, lest 
  they drive oﬀ  the helpful spirits with the bad. 
  Groves, Lodges, and Standing Stones
  The Old Faith’s focus on nature requires that most of 
  its ceremonies and festivals take place out of doors. 
  Its followers thus have little use for temples in their 
  religious practices. During holy days, they congregate 
  near important landmarks, such as around the bole of 
  an ancient tree, on the shores of still waters, or at the 
  mouth of a sacred cave. Fields and pastures are also 
  common places for such gatherings, especially in towns 
  where the Old Faith remains the dominant religion.
  
  6
  In the absence of a 
  suitable landmark, 
  those devoted to 
  the Old Faith raise 
  monoliths carved with 
  runes, whorls, and 
  glyphs depicting the 
  various gods of import 
  to their communities. 
  Multiple stones are 
  raised sometimes to 
  form circles, which 
  are believed to help 
  druids and other servants of nature channel magical 
  power. Such places sometimes mark the graves of 
  heroes and legendary priests, their bodies interred 
  under the stones. 
   The few full structures built to honor the Old Gods 
  stand in the far south, where they are sheltered from 
  winter storms, or in the Empire’s central provinces. 
  In the south, the faithful build lodges from wood and 
  stone, carving idols of their gods and arranging them 
  in a circle around the center of the lodge. Shrines at 
  the base of each idol allow visitors to make oﬀ erings 
  and pray. The few temples in Caecras, Low Country, 
  and the Grand Duchy of the West all have a similar 
  form, though instead of wooden icons and symbols, 
  they use idols carved from stone, often in strange and 
  monstrous forms.
  Holy Ground of the Old Faith
  The power of the Old Gods protects nature on 
  their holy ground. Any creature attacking an 
  animal or plant in an area of holy ground makes 
  the attack roll with 1 bane, and animals and 
  plants make challenge rolls to resist attacks with 
  1 boon.
  Many Gods, One Faith
  The Old Faith is a collective creed that incorporates 
  hundreds of smaller religions with countless gods 
  and spirits of power. While most cults aﬃ  liated with 
  the Old Faith cleave to its tenets and strictures, many 
  variations on the faith exist, excluding some gods or 
  worshiping others exclusively. The factions of the Old 
  Faith favor cooperation over exclusion, and can usually 
  ﬁ nd common ground in their commitment to protecting 
  the land from harm. Despite their best eﬀ orts, though, 
  conﬂ ict does arise. And when it does, the blame is 
  typically set at the feet of the gods whom the sects 
  are pledged to serve, rather than the priests who lead 
  those sects.
   Priests of Old Man Winter despise those in service to 
  the Queen of Summer, and the feeling is mutual. The 
  World Mother and the Horned King have a tempestuous 
  relationship, ﬁ nding peace only at the turning of each 
  year when they come together to renew life. The Seer, an 
  interloper deity borrowed from the Dark Gods, stands 
  outside the pantheon, and his drug-addled priests have 
  prayers for him and him alone. Yet even when disputes 
  happen among the sects of the Old Faith, they only 
  rarely result in violence. Wisdom prevails even in the 
  tensest conﬂ icts.
  Sects and Factions
  A great diversity of belief is both the Old Faith’s greatest 
  strength and its starkest weakness. On the one hand, 
  that diversity makes the followers of the Old Faith more 
  tolerant of other religions. On the other, strange and 
  sometimes dangerous beliefs often arise within those 
  followers’ ranks.
   The Serene Way: The followers of the Serene Way 
  believe that all life is sacred, and that they must protect 
  that life from harm even if it means laying down their 
  own lives. The followers of the Serene Way isolate 
  themselves from the world, seeking refuge in the most 
  remote places. They establish hermitages or small 
  colonies, and use magic to conceal their homes and to 
  steer interlopers away from the places they protect.
   The Children of the Earth: Technological progress 
  poses a grave threat to the world, and it must be curbed 
  at any cost—or so believe the Children of the Earth. The 
  faithful of this radical, violent sect focus on recruiting 
  new members in order to build forces large enough 
  to raid settlements. The Children of the Earth destroy 
  bridges, burn towns, drive oﬀ  woodcutters, and collapse 
  mines. Most consider members of the sect to be little 
  better than brigands, and authorities move quickly to 
  contain them whenever they become active.
   The Brothers of Rot: Death is a normal part of the life 
  cycle, and while most followers of the Old Faith focus 
  on living things, the Brothers of Rot concern themselves 
  with the dead and things that feed on the dead. A 
  nihilistic and bizarre cult, the Brothers of Rot embrace 
  civilization. They often live in cities, and will follow 
  armies to pick over the bodies of the dead and dying. 
  Members of this sect swap out access to the Life tradition 
  for the Death tradition†. 
  The Changing of the Seasons
  The Old Faith’s most important holy days are the 
  equinoxes and solstices, marking the transition of one 
  season to the next. Each kicks oﬀ  a weeklong festival, 
  during which priests make oﬀ erings of grain and meats 
  to invoke the gods’ blessings. They oversee great feasts, 
  honor great ancestors, perform weddings, infuse the 
  land with magic to bolster the next season’s crops, and 
  ordain initiates as new priests. The solstices belong 
  to the Queen of Summer and Old Man Winter, while 
  the equinoxes belong to the Horned King, the World 
  Mother, and Revel. 
  the Old Faith raise 
  monoliths carved with 
  runes, whorls, and 
  Holy Ground of the Old Faith
  The power of the Old Gods protects nature on 
  their holy ground. Any creature attacking an 
  animal or plant in an area of holy ground makes 
  the attack roll with 1 bane, and animals and 
  plants make challenge rolls to resist attacks with 
  1 boon.
  
  7
  In the Shadow of the New God
  Priests of the Old Faith respect, honor, and accept the 
  tenets of other religions. At various times, the Old Faith 
  has claimed gods from other faiths, absorbing them into 
  the pantheon. When the Cult of the New God initially 
  began to spread through the Empire, the followers of 
  the Old Faith gave ground, believing they would absorb 
  this radical sect as they had all others. Unfortunately, the 
  new cult regarded the Old Faith as a primitive doctrine 
  obsessed with dark and savage spirits. Some even went 
  so far as to paint followers of the Old Gods as devil 
  worshipers. In the time since, relations between the Old 
  Faith and the Cult of the New God have swung between 
  neutrality and open violence—often at the whim of the 
  Matriarch who leads the cult.
  Priests of the Old Faith
  Anyone who reveres nature and seeks to protect it from 
  despoilers can ﬁ nd a place among the priests of the 
  Old Faith. Most priests come to the religion from rural 
  or wilderness professions, with farmers, herders, and 
  hunters being the most common. The Old Faith 
  welcomes peoples from any ancestry, though most 
  initiates are human, halﬂ ing, or faun. 
   Priests and some druids take initiates in hand, 
  teaching them the mysteries of the faith. These include 
  rites and rituals, how to preserve peace with the fey 
  folk, how to tend and care for animals, and methods 
  for growing healthy and bountiful crops. Only when 
  students demonstrate mastery of these disciplines can 
  they undertake the rite of passage for the priesthood. 
  Druids oversee these rites during one of the faith’s four 
  holy festivals, questioning the initiates and testing their 
  magical knowledge. Upon providing a satisfactory 
  demonstration, initiates are anointed with sacred oils 
  and welcomed into the faith.
   New priests are expected to help their local 
  communities by working the ﬁ elds, helping herders with 
  their ﬂ ocks, healing the sick, and tending to the injured. 
  They help senior priests during festivals and lead the 
  defense of rural communities against the myriad threats 
  arrayed against them. Though the work is diﬃ  cult, 
  the rewards of these priestly labors show themselves 
  in abundant crops, healthy animals, and secure 
  communities. 
   Priests of the Old Faith prefer simple homespun 
  robes. Since they spend much of their time working 
  with the land and its animals, they often appear dirty 
  and unkempt, with grass stains and dirt streaking their 
  bare feet, and their robes spotted with bird droppings, 
  mud, and spiky seedpods. Priests might use bronze 
  sickles, staﬀ s, or medallions made from wood, seeds, 
  and leaves as implements.
   Dedicated priests often go on to become rangers, scouts, 
  or wardens†. The most skilled priests might study the 
  deeper mysteries of their religion and join the ranks of 
  the druids, who protect large territories rather than small 
  communities, and who can bring the considerable power 
  of the Old Gods to bear in defense of their charges.
  Tenets and Strictures
  Priests of the Old Faith must abide by certain strictures 
  to remain in good standing with their gods. A priest 
  must never kill an animal, except for food or in self-
  defense. Wearing or carrying objects fashioned from 
  iron is likewise forbidden. All priests vow to protect 
  places sacred to the Old Gods and to preserve all lands 
  and protect them from despoilers. Finally, priests of the 
  old faith honor the Old Gods during the equinoxes and 
  solstices, performing the rites as they were taught.
  new cult regarded the Old Faith as a primitive doctrine 
  obsessed with dark and savage spirits. Some even went 
  worshipers. In the time since, relations between the Old 
  Faith and the Cult of the New God have swung between 
  neutrality and open violence—often at the whim of the 
  Anyone who reveres nature and seeks to protect it from 
  Old Faith. Most priests come to the religion from rural 
  or wilderness professions, with farmers, herders, and 
  teaching them the mysteries of the faith. These include 
  students demonstrate mastery of these disciplines can 
  they undertake the rite of passage for the priesthood. 
  Druids oversee these rites during one of the faith’s four 
  holy festivals, questioning the initiates and testing their 
  demonstration, initiates are anointed with sacred oils 
  communities by working the ﬁ elds, helping herders with 
  their ﬂ ocks, healing the sick, and tending to the injured. 
  They help senior priests during festivals and lead the 
  defense of rural communities against the myriad threats 
  with the land and its animals, they often appear dirty 
  and unkempt, with grass stains and dirt streaking their 
  bare feet, and their robes spotted with bird droppings, 
  sickles, staﬀ s, or medallions made from wood, seeds, 
   Dedicated priests often go on to become rangers, scouts, 
  . The most skilled priests might study the 
  must never kill an animal, except for food or in self-
  defense. Wearing or carrying objects fashioned from 
  iron is likewise forbidden. All priests vow to protect 
  places sacred to the Old Gods and to preserve all lands 
  and protect them from despoilers. Finally, priests of the 
  old faith honor the Old Gods during the equinoxes and 
  solstices, performing the rites as they were taught.
  
  8
  Level 1 Priest of the Old Faith
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add nature and one of 
  the following other academic professions to your list of 
  professions: astrology, folklore, geography, medicine, 
  or religion. 
  Animal Friendship In social situations, you make attack rolls 
  to inﬂ uence animals with 1 boon.
  Magic You discover the Life, Nature, or Primal tradition. 
  Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and learn 
  one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Blessing of Nature You can use an action to cause new 
  growth to spread across the ground from a point you can 
  reach, out to a number of yards equal to 1 + your Power 
  score. The growth remains for 1 round, and the area is 
  difﬁ cult terrain until the effect ends. At the end of the round, 
  you and any creature you choose in the area heal damage, 
  with each affected creature healing damage equal to half 
  its healing rate. Once you use this talent, you cannot use it 
  again until you complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the Old Faith
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Life, Nature, or Primal.
  • You discover the Life, Nature, or Primal tradition and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to 
  grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the Old Faith
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Protective Prayer When you use Prayer, you impose 1 bane on 
  attack rolls made against the triggering creature until the 
  end of the round.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the Old Faith
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Quickening Prayer Once per round when you use Prayer, 
  you regain the ability to use a triggered action, and you 
  move up to half your Speed.
  Greater Blessing You can use Blessing of Nature twice.
  Gods of the Old Faith
  Most followers of the Old Faith honor all the many gods 
  making up its pantheon, recognizing that each has a 
  part to play in the world and that all oversee diﬀ erent 
  aspects of life. People pray to the Seer for guidance and 
  to the World Mother for an easy birth and healthy child. 
  They pray to Old Man Winter to stay his cruel hand, and 
  to Father Death for an end without suﬀ ering. Though 
  priests represent all the gods, some ﬁ nd themselves drawn 
  to one god and serve that deity directly. Unless mentioned 
  otherwise, all of the following sects follow the customs 
  and strictures of the Old Faith.
  Father Death
  Named Father Death by mortals, the deity called 
  Thanatos has ruled the Underworld for as long as any 
  creature can remember and is worshiped as the god of 
  endings, mortality, dreams, and fear. The grim deity 
  appears as a skeletal ﬁ gure draped in hooded black 
  robes. He carries a blue-metal scythe and rides a pale 
  horse. Among the gods, Father Death sides with Old Man 
  Winter (said by some myths to be his brother), and he is 
  married to the lesser-known Lady of Sorrows, whose ever-
  falling tears wash away memories from souls.
   Menacing Temples: Unlike with most other sects of 
  the Old Faith, the followers of Father Death maintain 
  many temples in the world. Most stand near or within 
  the grounds of graveyards, where priests protect the dead 
  through prayer and vigilance. A temple’s size depends 
  on the burial ground it protects, and most are nothing 
  more than shrines. Larger cemeteries boast full temples 
  with gathering places for mourners, vaults for preparing 
  the dead, and barracks for priests and initiates. The 
  sect’s largest temple is the Cathedral of Death, a ghastly 
  structure built to look as if it were carved from bones. 
  This stands outside Caecras, at the center of a graveyard 
  that stretches for miles in all directions.
   Visitors of other faiths ﬁ nd Father Death’s temples 
  cold and unwelcoming, as if radiating menace. The 
  construction of these temples is meant to capture the 
  essence of the Underworld, with no windows, gloomy 
  interiors lit by black candles, and an atmosphere thick 
  with incense. The primary chamber of a temple is a place 
  for mourners to gather and pray for the safe passage of 
  souls into the lands of the dead. Hidden doors lead to 
  descending staircases that end in the sacred vaults where 
  priests prepare the dead for burning, burial, or interment.
  Holy Ground of Father Death
  Father Death loathes Necromancy, and his holy 
  ground protects corpses from being exploited 
  by that dark magic. When a creature attempts to 
  cast a Necromancy spell on a corpse interred on 
  ground holy to Father death, the creature must 
  make a Will challenge roll. The creature casts the 
  spell normally on a success or wastes the casting 
  with no effect on a failure.
   Deathly Symbols: Father Death’s most common 
  symbol is a screaming skull sheathed in blue ﬂ ames, 
  though scythes, ravens, and white horses are popular 
  images among the god’s followers. These signs appear 
  on tombstones and the doors of burial vaults. Older 
  cemeteries usually have a large idol of the god at center, 
  either riding his horse or looming over graves as a winged 
  skeleton with arms outstretched.
   Funerals and Reaping Night: Ceremonies invoking 
  Father Death deal with funeral services. Priests shepherd 
  souls to the Underworld by calling upon Father Death 
  to claim them before they become spirits in the world. 
  priests prepare the dead for burning, burial, or interment.
  Holy Ground of Father Death
  Father Death loathes Necromancy, and his holy 
  ground protects corpses from being exploited 
  by that dark magic. When a creature attempts to 
  cast a Necromancy spell on a corpse interred on 
  ground holy to Father death, the creature must 
  make a Will challenge roll. The creature casts the 
  spell normally on a success or wastes the casting 
  with no effect on a failure.
  
  9
  Chanting, the singing of dirges, and the burning of rare 
  incense are all believed to help guide souls through the 
  Underworld’s gates.
   Each year at the end of the harvest season, people 
  celebrate the Day of Lost Souls. This is a time for feasting, 
  drinking, and remembering the dead by pouring wine 
  onto the ground and burning the choicest meats on pyres. 
  At night, priests lead processions through their local 
  communities, singing doleful hymns believed to guide 
  the spirits trapped in the world to the Underworld where 
  they belong.
   Another sacred event is Reaping Night, which occurs 
  in late winter. Priests believe that on this night, Father 
  Death mounts his pale horse and rides across the land to 
  claim the souls of those who refuse to die. In olden times, 
  priests would sacriﬁ ce a young man or woman, then 
  paint the victim’s blood on doors to mark the homes of 
  those who had recently lost a family member, hoping that 
  Father Death would pass them by. 
  Sisters of Sorrow
  The Lady of Sorrows has few mortal followers, 
  though at least a few people include her in their 
  prayers to Father Death. One order, however, sets 
  her higher than Thanatos—a sisterhood of priests 
  who have pledged their lives to helping souls 
  ﬁ nd their way into the Underworld. The Sisters 
  of Sorrow, in their black habits and weeping skull 
  masks, follow armies and enter plague towns, 
  moving among the fallen to whisper prayers while 
  using sharp knives to put an end to their suffering. 
  The sisters operate out of four monasteries, with 
  the largest in Balgrendia. They ﬁ nd no welcome 
  during their travels, for they follow sorrow, 
  suffering, and death, seemingly interested only in 
  people on death’s door. 
  Priests of Father Death
  Father Death’s clergy is called the Solemn Brethren, and is 
  known for the diﬃ  culty it has recruiting initiates. In days 
  of old, priests would claim a newborn infant once every 
  ﬁ ve years, perform a funeral service for the child, and 
  raise the baby in their cloisters to prepare him for a life of 
  service to Thanatos. While this practice sometimes still 
  occurs in rural communities, it has been outlawed almost 
  everywhere in the Empire thanks to objections raised by 
  the New God’s cultists. Instead, Father Death’s priests now 
  run orphanages and select initiates from among the most 
  promising children. 
   Training priests of Father Death proves diﬃ  cult, 
  however. Initiates spend most of their time in the gloomy 
  bowels of their temples, learning how to prepare bodies, 
  identify causes of death, and perform the proper rites that 
  ensure souls reach the Underworld. The most signiﬁ cant 
  rite of passage that initiates must undergo to become 
  priests involves being buried alive for a day and a night.
   Priests collect dead bodies and prepare them for burial. 
  They perform funeral services and counsel grieving 
  relatives. They also protect burial sites from ghouls 
  and robbers, and some go so far as to hunt down and 
  destroy spirits, undead, 
  and practitioners 
  of Necromancy. 
  Devoted priests 
  might go on to 
  become clerics or 
  paladins.
   Priests of 
  Father Death 
  wear hooded 
  black robes and 
  use specially 
  prepared skulls 
  as implements. 
  These are 
  ﬁ rst stripped of 
  all ﬂ esh and bleached, and then they are covered with 
  prayers to Thanatos etched into the bone and inked 
  with black bile.
  Level 1 Priest of Father Death
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add mortician to your list 
  of professions.
  Death’s Chosen You do not gain Corruption from discovering 
  the Death tradition†, nor are you at risk of gaining Corruption 
  from learning Death spells. As well, whenever you make an 
  attack roll as a result of casting a Shadow attack spell, you 
  can make the attack roll using your Intellect or your Will.
  Magic You discover the Death, Protection, or Shadow 
  tradition. Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and learn 
  one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Death Knell You can use an action to force one creature you 
  can see within short range to make a Strength challenge roll. 
  On a failure, the creature takes damage equal to its healing 
  rate, and you heal damage equal to your healing rate. 
  Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of Father Death
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Death, Protection, 
  or Shadow.
  • You discover the Death, Protection, or Shadow 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of Father Death
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of Father Death
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Greater Death Knell You can use Death Knell twice.
  destroy spirits, undead, 
  and practitioners 
  become clerics or 
  Sisters of Sorrow
  The Lady of Sorrows has few mortal followers, 
  though at least a few people include her in their 
  prayers to Father Death. One order, however, sets 
  her higher than Thanatos—a sisterhood of priests 
  who have pledged their lives to helping souls 
  ﬁ nd their way into the Underworld. The Sisters 
  of Sorrow, in their black habits and weeping skull 
  masks, follow armies and enter plague towns, 
  moving among the fallen to whisper prayers while 
  using sharp knives to put an end to their suffering. 
  The sisters operate out of four monasteries, with 
  the largest in Balgrendia. They ﬁ nd no welcome 
  during their travels, for they follow sorrow, 
  suffering, and death, seemingly interested only in 
  people on death’s door. 
  
  10
  10
  The Horned King
  A primal, savage deity with a legacy steeped in blood, 
  the Horned King was once a ﬁ gure who evoked terror 
  in all who knew his cult. His bloodthirsty priests would 
  raid other tribes and drag prisoners back to sacriﬁ ce on 
  the horns of their bone altars. A violent god, the Horned 
  King has always inspired anger and fury in the mortals 
  who worshiped him, granting them a lust for battle that 
  bordered on madness. However, as the Old Faith has 
  evolved to leave behind its primitive roots, so too has the 
  Horned King been tamed, becoming a protector of wild 
  places and lord of the beasts. 
   The Horned King resembles a giant, green-skinned 
  man, with a crown of antlers on his head and the lower 
  body of a stag. Also named the Beast Lord and the Stag 
  Prince, he spends much of his time sequestered on the 
  Isle of Forever (see Terrible Beauty), where he tends to his 
  prized animals and holds court for the faeries attending 
  him. Even so, he pines for the mortal world—a realm he 
  once ruled as lord and master—and frequently slips away 
  from his hidden kingdom to roam the deep forests or 
  range across the hills, surveying the lands he left behind. 
   Living apart from the other gods, the Horned King 
  avoids becoming embroiled in their squabbles. He does, 
  however, have a mystical bond with the World Mother, 
  and in many tales, it’s said that the pair are husband and 
  wife. Whether this is true or not, they live apart for most 
  of the year, only coming together in the spring to renew 
  their romance and bring new life into the world. Priests of 
  both gods lead fertility rites, selecting one man to host the 
  essence of the Horned King and one to host the World 
  Mother. The chosen pair come together, and from these 
  unions, great heroes are born.
  Hostility to Mankind: Of all the gods in the Old 
  Faith, the Beast Lord comes closest to being hostile to 
  humanity. A stern and unforgiving ﬁ gure, the Horned 
  King visits swift and terrible punishment on mortals who 
  oﬀ end him. He is blamed for the skinchanger curse that 
  causes people to shed their human forms for those of 
  wild beasts. Some even suggest he created the beastmen, 
  turning them into animals after some grave oﬀ ense. The 
  Horned King never looks back, though, and never regrets 
  his actions. He does what he feels he must do, without 
  sparing a thought for the consequences.
  A Crown of Horns: Followers of the Horned King use 
  a pair of green antlers to symbolize their god. Priests 
  sometimes wear antlers as part of their headgear, or 
  incorporate them into weapons or armor. Some tattoo 
  that symbol onto the palms of their hands, believing that 
  the god’s sign guides their weapons to strike true. All 
  priests greet each other by extending the index and pinky 
  ﬁ ngers on their right hands.
  Signs of Warning: Priests of the Horned King clearly 
  mark the borders of lands protected in his name. They 
  drive posts into the earth and mount animal bones, 
  wooden masks, or the corpses of trespassers on them to 
  
  1111
  warn away intruders. Ignoring or defacing such markers 
  is a good way to end up dead, for the priests and their 
  attendant warriors consider anyone who violates their 
  territory to be fair game.
  Holy Ground of the Horned King
  Animals become ferocious on ground sacred to 
  the Stag Prince, attacking with little provocation. 
  Animals in these areas make attack rolls with 
  1 boon, and their attacks deal 1d6 extra damage.
  Priests of the Horned King
  The Horned King’s cult has no place in the civilized 
  world. A wild religion, it is a cult steeped in blood rituals 
  and mysticism, and a throwback to a more savage time. 
  Human or faun barbarians, savage warriors, and hunters 
  are the people most likely to embrace the cult. Although 
  many strive to join the Horned Ones, as they are known, 
  only those who have glimpsed the fantastical beast 
  known as the Green Stag are invited to become initiates. 
  The stag reveals itself to any suitable candidate, luring 
  that supplicant deeper and deeper into the wilderness. 
  When the supplicant becomes hopelessly lost, a priest 
  appears, inviting him or her to join the faith.
   The priests of the Horned King abide by the strictures 
  of the Old Faith, but when they kill an animal, they must 
  waste nothing. Using every part of the animal shows 
  respect for its sacriﬁ ce, and it speeds the animal’s spirit 
  to the Underworld to be born again. Normally, Horned 
  Ones patrol the lands they pledge to protect, much 
  in the manner of other Old Faith priests. Their focus, 
  however, remains on protecting the beasts that share 
  their lands. 
   Priests of the Horned King wear 
  armor made from the bones and 
  hides of animals they have 
  slain. They wear animal 
  masks to call forth the beast 
  spirit within them, and 
  paint their skin with mud. 
  As hunters, the Horned 
  Ones use their weapons as 
  implements, channeling the 
  power of their god through 
  their spears and bows. 
  Devoted priests might 
  go on to become scouts, 
  rangers, or wardens†, 
  ﬁ nding new ways to serve 
  their god.
  Level 1 Priest of the Horned King
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Perception +1, Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions Add hunter or tracker to your 
  list of professions. 
  Magic You discover the Primal, Spiritualism†, or 
  Transformation tradition. Then choose one of the 
  following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions 
  and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Savage Recovery You can use an action to heal damage 
  equal to your healing rate and make an attack with a 
  weapon. You make the attack roll with 1 bane. Once you 
  use this talent, you cannot use it again until you complete 
  a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the Horned King
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Primal, Spiritualism†, 
  or Transformation.
  • You discover the Primal, Spiritualism†, or 
  Transformation tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the Horned King
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the Horned King
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Greater Savagery You can use Savage Recovery twice.
   Priests of the Horned King wear 
  armor made from the bones and 
  Holy Ground of the Horned King
  Animals become ferocious on ground sacred to 
  the Stag Prince, attacking with little provocation. 
  Animals in these areas make attack rolls with 
  1 boon, and their attacks deal 1d6 extra damage.
  Leit bez well
    recorSed tata 
  halot isa gatha 
   wic eads to
    death. If gloury  
   cmest aftr 
  eathIm notina
   ahurury
  eathIm notina
  Leit bez well
    recorSed tata 
  halot isa gatha 
   wic eads to
  
  1212
  The Maiden in the Moon
  A mysterious and elusive deity, the Maiden in the Moon 
  rarely casts her gaze upon the world. Her attention 
  instead remains ﬁ xed on what lies beyond, and she 
  frequently leaves her place on the dome of the world to 
  dance among the celestial bodies. She is the goddess of 
  mysteries, hidden paths, time, and above all, magic. She 
  revealed the secrets of magic to mortals and remains an 
  important ﬁ gure to users of magic—even to those who 
  do not worship the Old Gods. The Maiden is shown as 
  a young fey woman with silver hair and is often seen 
  dancing on the horn of a crescent moon. 
   A Scattered Cult: Among the followers of the Old 
  Faith, the Maiden in the Moon has always been a key 
  ﬁ gure. Through her, mortals can 
  call upon the power of the gods 
  and perform miracles in 
  the world. Despite her 
  importance, her cult is 
  small and scattered. 
  People who worship 
  her do so to expand 
  their knowledge, 
  oﬀ ering service and 
  devotion in exchange 
  for ﬂ ashes of insight 
  that reveal the deeper 
  mysteries of magic. 
  Outside her cults, the 
  likeness of the maiden 
  decorates many institutions 
  of magical learning, where she 
  is considered the symbol and the 
  patron deity of magic. Even among the 
  witches, her name is often invoked, and some see her as 
  an aspect of the Lady—one of the founders of 
  the witches’ faith.
   Though the Maiden in the Moon’s followers have never 
  been signiﬁ cant in number, the rise of the Cult of the New 
  God has all but driven them from the Empire. Part of this 
  stems from secrecy, with cultists of the maiden guarding 
  their lore to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. 
  In addition, past eﬀ orts to enlist the aid of the maiden’s 
  servants to deal with threats often failed, and many 
  members of the New God’s cult came to see them as 
  being in league with dark forces. The cult, pressuring 
  the Emperors, closed many of the maiden’s temples, and 
  many of her servants disappeared.
   Two major temples still stand to the Maiden in the 
  Moon. The Spire of Mystery in Lij, the City of Wonders, 
  is the oldest. Inside its walls are volumes on magic, 
  magical theory, the histories of the world, and countless 
  other subjects. Though many come to the spire seeking 
  knowledge, its silent priests inevitably turn them away. 
  The priests tending the shrine tore their own tongues 
  from their mouths to prevent themselves from revealing 
  the most guarded secrets contained in their vaults, and 
  only an act of divine will can move them to share the site’s 
  accumulated lore.
   A more inviting location is the Temple of the Moon, 
  which is found in Low Country. The temple is less a 
  building than it is a plaza surrounded by statues of 
  dancing women, where priests gather to worship the 
  maiden and invoke her power when the moon rises. 
  Nearly all of the maiden’s priests spent time at the Temple 
  of the Moon as initiates, learning the maiden’s mysteries 
  and being indoctrinated into her faith.
  Holy Ground of the Maiden in the Moon
  The Maiden in the Moon blesses her holy ground 
  with a surge of magical power. While within the 
  area, creatures gain a +1 bonus to Power.
   The Phases of the Moon: Tarterus, the moon, is 
  the home of the Maiden in the Moon, and thus has a 
  prominent place in the rituals her priests perform. Two 
  nights each month, the priests known as the Daughters 
  of the Moon gather. On the night of the full moon, the 
  daughters inhale smoke from the rare herbs they burn 
  to attune their consciousness to their goddess. Often-
  terrifying hallucinations attack their minds, leaving most 
  of them shaken—and sometimes driving unfortunate 
  priests utterly mad.
   The night of the new moon is also sacred, for the 
  goddess retreats from the sky this night to dance among 
  the stars. Her followers gather outdoors in open spaces, 
  where they build up great ﬁ res to shine the way for the 
  maiden’s return. For many, the new moon is a night for 
  setting aside inhibitions, and the revels of the daughters 
  can grow quite raucous.
  Priests of the Maiden
  For some two thousand years, it was customary for 
  families to oﬀ er their ﬁ rstborn daughters to the cult of 
  the Maiden in the Moon. Though the cult did not always 
  accept this oﬀ er—usually because their numbers were 
  large enough, or the oﬀ ered child had no talent for 
  magic—being selected was considered a great honor. 
  However, those old customs died out with the rise of 
  other religions, so the cult now refreshes its numbers by 
  gathering female orphans and bringing them up in the 
  mysteries of their faith. Those who pass initiation join the 
  Daughters of the Moon.
   The goddess expects her servants to seek out and keep 
  safe the secrets of magical power, to advance their own 
  understanding of those secrets, and to ﬁ ght against any 
  who delve into the depths of dark magic. Her priests also 
  study the heavens, searching for signs of things to come. 
  The goddess forbids her followers from learning or using 
  dark magic, and those who do are maimed and exiled.
   Though most priests of the maiden cloister in temples 
  to study, some venture out into the world beyond to 
  call upon the power of the gods 
  and perform miracles in 
  the world. Despite her 
  importance, her cult is 
  small and scattered. 
  Outside her cults, the 
  likeness of the maiden 
  decorates many institutions 
  of magical learning, where she 
  is considered the symbol and the 
  and being indoctrinated into her faith.
  Holy Ground of the Maiden in the Moon
  The Maiden in the Moon blesses her holy ground 
  with a surge of magical power. While within the 
  area, creatures gain a +1 bonus to Power.
  
  1313
  seek new magic and discover new knowledge—
  especially knowledge that relates to magic. The 
  Daughters of the Moon also keep a careful watch 
  for young women who display inner power, 
  encouraging them to further their studies under 
  the maiden’s guidance.
   During religious ceremonies, Daughters of the 
  Moon wear diaphanous gowns in blue and gray 
  silk. They paint their faces with stars and moons, 
  wearing silver jewelry for the favor shown that 
  metal by the goddess. Most priests tattoo crescent 
  moons on their foreheads or cheeks. Tattooed stars 
  are also common along the arms and legs. Priests 
  can use any objects as implements, though most 
  favor wands. The most devoted followers of the 
  maiden go on to become sorcerers, wizards, 
  or sages†.
  Level 1 Priest of the Maiden 
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add magic and one of 
  the following other academic professions to your list 
  of professions: astrology, history, occult, or religion. 
  Studied in Magic You make challenge rolls to identify 
  magical effects and objects with 1 boon.
  Magic You discover the Arcana, Celestial, or Time 
  tradition. Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Spell Recovery You can use an action to heal damage 
  equal to your healing rate and regain one expended 
  casting. Once you use this talent, you cannot use it 
  again until you complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the Maiden 
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Arcana, 
  Celestial, or Time.
  • You discover the Arcana, Celestial, or Time 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of 
  you makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you 
  can use a triggered action to grant 1 boon on the 
  triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the Maiden 
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Eldritch Prayer When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon 
  on an attack roll made as the result of casting a spell, 
  you grant 1 additional boon. 
  Level 8 Master Priest of the Maiden 
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature 
  other than yourself, you make attack rolls and 
  challenge rolls with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Improved Spell Recovery When you use Spell 
  Recovery, you regain two castings instead of one.
  
  14
  14
  Old Man 
  Winter
  It takes a peculiar 
  individual to 
  pledge service to 
  Father Death’s 
  much-maligned 
  sibling. Old 
  Man Winter, 
  whose original 
  name was Anemoi, 
  has few devotees 
  in the Empire. Cruel, 
  callous, uncaring, and brutal, 
  he emerges from his icy realms each year to drown the 
  world in bitter cold, ice, and snow. Acknowledging him 
  as a force of nature, mortals pray to Old Man Winter and 
  oﬀ er up sacriﬁ ces in the hopes of softening his wrath, 
  sparing them the worst of his seasonal attentions. As 
  such, to willingly place oneself in service to Old Man 
  Winter is to be a willing accomplice in the suﬀ ering and 
  hardship the god creates.
   The Old Faith presents this god as a necessary force. 
  His cold, lethal presence clears away the old to make 
  way for the new. Old Man Winter is as necessary to 
  the world as Father Death is necessary to mortals. 
  Anemoi represents the desperation the cold brings and 
  the lengths mortals will go to in order to survive. His 
  dominions include battle and creatures that prowl the 
  winter nights, such as wolves, bears, and lynxes. 
   Old Man Winter is usually depicted as a ﬁ erce blue-
  skinned man with wild white hair and a matching 
  beard. He has piercing blue eyes and bears a spear 
  made from ice. His likeness adorns the temples and 
  shrines raised in his name on mountainsides and other 
  high places. There, cold winds can catch the prayers 
  of the devout and speed them to the god’s Citadel of 
  Ice, believed to stand somewhere in the Frozen Wastes 
  south of Blötland. These sites are crude, austere, and 
  inhospitable, as they are always cold and oﬀ er no shelter 
  from the elements. In fact, the temples of Old Man 
  Winter are typically colder than the surrounding lands. 
  Holy Ground of Old Man Winter
  Terrible cold grips sites deemed holy to Old Man 
  Winter. Creatures in the area of such holy ground 
  take double damage from cold or ice.
   Winter is the holiest time of year for Anemoi’s 
  followers. In that cold season, priests gather to wage 
  war against their enemies or to help people in their care 
  prepare for the darkness to come. During the night of 
  the winter solstice, priests of Old Man Winter conduct 
  a terrible rite that culminates with binding a sacriﬁ ce in 
  chains and then hurling that doomed person into a pool 
  of freezing water.
  Priests of Old Man Winter
  Old Man Winter has a small number of followers within 
  the Empire, but most dwell beyond its borders to the 
  south, where they live as freaks, renegades, and killers. 
  Devotees of Anemoi gather in small bands, roaming 
  across the lands they inhabit. They scourge themselves 
  to deaden their ﬂ esh against the cold, and most show 
  the signs of having suﬀ ered frostbite—missing ﬁ ngers, 
  ears, and lips. Before gaining full membership in the 
  cult, initiates must survive stripping down and spending 
  three nights outdoors in the dead of winter.
   Priests of Old Man Winter live simply, forgoing the 
  comforts of civilization and ridding themselves of 
  anything more than the barest means of subsistence. 
  Eschewing armor, they go into battle wearing nothing 
  more than breechclouts. Moreover, priests can warm 
  themselves at others’ ﬁ res, but they are forbidden from 
  starting them.
   Priests regularly test their combat prowess against 
  others in their order, ﬁ ghting until one combatant 
  is unconscious. They might also seek tougher foes, 
  hunting weird monsters and leading raids against any 
  folk deemed to be the enemies of their faith. 
   Before heading into battle, Anemoi’s priests daub their 
  bodies with thick blue paint crafted from a rare fungus 
  that grows under the snow. They believe the special 
  substance gives them magical protection. Whether it 
  does or not, the paints are also hallucinogenic, so that 
  priests see and hear things they interpret as signs and 
  omens. Anemoi’s priests use spears as implements, 
  reﬂ ecting the weapon their god wields. The most 
  devoted followers of Old Man Winter might go on to 
  become berserkers or elementalists†.
  Level 1 Priest of Old Man Winter
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add barbarian, exile, or 
  vagabond to your list of professions
  Cold Acclimated You make challenge rolls to resist the 
  effects of exposure to cold temperatures with 1 boon.
  Magic You discover the Battle, Storm, or Water tradition. 
  Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and learn 
  one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Wrath of Winter You can use an action to heal damage equal 
  to your healing rate. Then each creature you can reach 
  must get a success on a Strength challenge roll or take 1d6 
  damage from a wave of cold that rushes from your body. 
  Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest. 
  Old Man 
  Winter
  It takes a peculiar 
  individual to 
  pledge service to 
  Father Death’s 
  much-maligned 
  Man Winter, 
  whose original 
  name was Anemoi, 
  has few devotees 
  in the Empire. Cruel, 
  callous, uncaring, and brutal, 
  Holy Ground of Old Man Winter
  Terrible cold grips sites deemed holy to Old Man 
  Winter. Creatures in the area of such holy ground 
  take double damage from cold or ice.
  
  1515
  Level 2 Priest of Old Man Winter
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Battle, Storm, 
  or Water.
  • You discover the Battle, Storm, or Water tradition 
  and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of Old Man Winter
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of Old Man Winter
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Greater Wrath You can use Wrath of Winter twice.
  Revel
  The two-faced deity sometimes known as Puck, the 
  Trickster, and the Laughing God, Revel embodies 
  celebration, excess, and pleasure. He inspires joy in 
  mortals, urging them to embrace the absurdity of 
  existence and to ﬁ nd delight in all things. However, 
  he also urges them to excess, pushing people toward 
  reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous behavior. Revel 
  is the lord of feasts and celebrations, and his name 
  is invoked to bless those events. He is also the god of 
  madness, violence, and drunkenness, and he is blamed 
  for the tragedy that results from excess. As much as he is 
  widely loved, Revel is also feared, for his gifts come with 
  a terrible price.
   Revel is shown as a comely young man, naked, and 
  with a mop of unruly hair on his head. He has slightly 
  pointed ears and a lopsided smile. The world uses many 
  symbols for the Laughing God, such as a spinning gold 
  coin, a bunch of grapes, a laughing satyr, and the thyrsus. 
  A wand of giant fennel capped with a pinecone, 
  this phallic device symbolizes fertility and 
  good fortune. 
   The temples of the Laughing God 
  have more in common with 
  taverns and brothels 
  than they do with 
  houses of worship. 
  Every excess is 
  entertained within 
  their doors, as 
  demonstrated by 
  free-ﬂ owing wine 
  and ale, tables 
  laden with food, and 
  people coupling with 
  whomever asks—as 
  well as opportunities to satiate even darker lusts. The 
  temples are open day and night, though they become 
  dangerous after dark. Mobs of drunken revelers forming 
  after a brawl are common enough that many cities have 
  closed the doors of Revel’s temples, driving his priests out 
  to restore some semblance of order.
  Holy Ground of Revel
  Revel’s inﬂ uence breaks down inhibitions and 
  fosters madness. Creatures in the area of 
  ground holy to Revel make Will challenge rolls 
  with 1 bane.
  Priests of Revel
  Revel’s cultists come from every corner of the world 
  and all walks of life. His followers might be farmers, 
  prostitutes, drunkards, addicts, criminals—or anyone 
  nurturing the desire to indulge in hedonistic pursuits. 
  Humans, halﬂ ings, fauns, orcs, and even goblins might 
  ﬁ nd a place in the Laughing God’s cult. Pledging service 
  to Revel comes at a price, though, for the god is madness 
  incarnate. Those who serve him become erratic and 
  undisciplined, if not downright crazy. 
   The Laughing God places few demands on his 
  servants. Above all, he urges them to savor life in all its 
  aspects, and to indulge to the point of excess. Priests 
  are also encouraged to follow their hearts, even if it 
  means breaking local la0ws or customs. Other common 
  strictures include never refusing a drink, honoring the 
  faeries, and being generous in all things.
   During festivals, Revel’s priests wear comical masks 
  that appear faintly sinister. If they bother to wear 
  clothing, it’s loose and unrestrictive, so as to be easily 
  removed for lovemaking. All priests of Revel use thyrsus-
  shaped wands as their implements. The most devoted 
  priests might go on to become oracles, berserkers, or 
  mountebanks†.
  Level 1 Priest of Revel
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add carouser or rake to your 
  list of professions
  Touched by Revel The minimum value of your Insanity total 
  equals your Power score.
  Mad God’s Laughter You do not become frightened when 
  you gain Insanity. Instead, you make attack rolls and 
  challenge rolls with 1 boon for as long as you would have 
  been frightened. 
  Magic You discover the Enchantment, Fey (see Terrible 
  Beauty), or Illusion tradition. Then choose one of the 
  following options:
  You discover the other two traditions.
  You discover one of the other traditions and learn one spell.
  You learn two spells.
  Revel’s Blessing You use an action to heal damage equal 
  to your healing rate. You can also choose to gain 1 Insanity. 
  Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest. 
  A wand of giant fennel capped with a pinecone, 
  this phallic device symbolizes fertility and 
   The temples of the Laughing God 
  have more in common with 
  taverns and brothels 
  than they do with 
  houses of worship. 
  entertained within 
  demonstrated by 
  free-ﬂ owing wine 
  laden with food, and 
  people coupling with 
  whomever asks—as 
  Characteristics
  Languages and Professions
  list of professions
  Touched by Revel
  equals your Power score.
  Mad God’s Laughter
  you gain Insanity. Instead, you make attack rolls and 
  challenge rolls with 1 boon for as long as you would have 
  been frightened. 
  Magic
  Beauty
  following options:
  You discover the other two traditions.
  You discover one of the other traditions and learn one spell.
  You learn two spells.
  Revel’s Blessing
  to your healing rate. You can also choose to gain 1 Insanity. 
  Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest. 
  Holy Ground of Revel
  Revel’s inﬂ uence breaks down inhibitions and 
  fosters madness. Creatures in the area of 
  ground holy to Revel make Will challenge rolls 
  with 1 bane.
  
  161616
  Level 2 Priest of Revel
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Enchantment, 
  Fey, or Illusion.
  • You discover the Enchantment, Fey, or Illusion 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of Revel
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of Revel
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Greater Blessing You can use Revel’s Blessing twice.
  The Queen of Summer
  One of the more prominent members of the Old Gods, 
  the Queen of Summer is the goddess of the sun, passion, 
  creativity, love, and desire. Sister to the Maiden in the 
  Moon, she is shown as a striking woman with long red 
  hair, whose nakedness is just barely covered by garlands 
  of ﬂ owers. 
   It is widely believed that the Queen of Summer is the 
  Faerie Queen, and in some parts of the world, those 
  names are used interchangeably. However, the Faerie 
  Queen has servants apart from those who worship the 
  Queen of Summer (see the Avowed expert path in 
  Terrible Beauty) and they rarely mingle with members 
  of the mortal cult.
   Followers of the Queen of Summer symbolize her as 
  a woman’s face surrounded by ﬂ ames or golden sunrays. 
  Her followers make the sign of the goddess by touching 
  two ﬁ ngers to the breast and then gesturing with those 
  ﬁ ngers at another.
   Priests of the Queen of Summer make their temples in 
  great open places with clear views of the sky. The gardens 
  of those temples are ﬁ lled with the perfume of sweet-
  smelling ﬂ owers, crisscrossed by narrow paths leading 
  to mysterious hidden spaces, and accented by statues of 
  nymphs, satyrs, and other faerie folk. At the center of each 
  temple stands a statue of the goddess, usually carved from 
  a single block of white marble and draped with ﬂ owers 
  that never wilt.
  Holy Ground of the Queen of Summer
  The Queen of Summer inspires passion and 
  creativity in people visiting her holy sites. 
  Creatures in such places make challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon.
  Priests of Summer
  The priests of the Queen of Summer welcome anyone 
  into their congregations, but they are selective about 
  who gets to join them. They look for passion, intelligence, 
  and creativity ﬁ rst and foremost, knowing that they can 
  foster stronger devotion as a candidate is initiated into 
  their ranks. 
   The Queen of Summer expects her servants to beautify 
  the world. Priests counsel young couples before marriage 
  and then lead the rites for those who are deemed suitable 
  for each other. They seek out and encourage artists, 
  celebrating their works. They settle disputes, promote 
  peace, and foster joy in all folk they meet. Followers of the 
  goddess are expected to be honest, to never discourage 
  others in their endeavors and to always work toward good 
  ends. All priests of the goddess prize beautiful things, but 
  they also look beyond the forms of beauty to see what lies 
  within, always seeking to understand the virtues of the 
  people they meet.
  Holy Ground of the Queen of Summer
  The Queen of Summer inspires passion and 
  creativity in people visiting her holy sites. 
  Creatures in such places make challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon.
  
  1717
   
  Priests of the Queen 
  of Summer wear thin 
  red robes that they 
  accent with religious 
  symbols. A medallion 
  of polished brass or 
  bronze on a chain of the 
  same material is the only 
  implement used by her 
  priests. The medallion’s face 
  shows either the sun or the goddess’s 
  face. Dedicated servants of the Queen of Summer might 
  go on to become druids, sorcerers, or mountebanks†.
  Level 1 Priest of Summer
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add one of the following 
  to your list of professions: artisan, artist, entertainer, 
  or musician.
  Charming In social situations, you make attack rolls to 
  inﬂ uence people ordinarily attracted to your gender and 
  members of your ancestry with 1 boon.
  Magic You discover the Enchantment, Fey (see Terrible 
  Beauty), or Fire tradition. Then choose one of the 
  following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Blessing of Summer You can use an action to heal damage 
  equal to your healing rate. Light shines from you, and each 
  creature within short range that is not a member of your 
  group must get a success on a Perception challenge roll or 
  become impaired for 1 round. Once you use this talent, you 
  cannot use it again until you complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of Summer
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Enchantment, 
  Fey, or Fire.
  • You discover the Enchantment, Fey, or Fire 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of Summer
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of Summer
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Greater Blessing You can use Blessing of Summer twice.
  The Seer
  The god of oracles, wisdoms, prognosticators, and 
  prophets, the Seer authors the fates of all living things. 
  He stands apart from the other Old Gods, a mysterious 
  ﬁ gure who joined the pantheon late. In fact, many 
  believe him to be identical to Grimnir One-Eye, the dark 
  god of the jotun who occupies a similar role, albeit at the 
  head of his pantheon. 
   The Seer is usually depicted as a faceless man, tall and 
  imposing, wearing a furred cloak and a wide-brimmed 
  hat. He uses the one-eyed owl as his symbol in the world. 
  Sometimes the owl is shown to be missing an eye, with 
  the empty socket utterly black. Other times, the owl has 
  but a single eye over its beak. Owls are sacred animals to 
  the cult of the Seer.
   The Seer’s role in civilization has evolved over time. 
  Seen as a god of justice, law, and order, he sometimes 
  reveals the dooms awaiting mortals to the sibyls who 
  serve as his priests. Though he is not worshipped 
  as widely as he once was within the Empire, people 
  sometimes pray and make oﬀ erings to him for guidance 
  and insight into their futures. His symbols can be 
  found in older courthouses and festooning government 
  buildings constructed before the Cult of the New God 
  came to power. Despite the Seer’s somewhat diminished 
  stature, he does ﬁ nd worshipers on the Empire’s borders, 
  and his priests are most often found in such lands. 
   Temples dedicated to the Seer exist to shelter the 
  sibyls who serve the god. Typically small structures, 
  they are built in remote places such as atop mountains, 
  in deep forests, or on cliﬀ s overlooking the ocean. Each 
  temple has one sibyl and a small body of attendants who 
  see to his or her needs. One can usually ﬁ nd idols of the 
  Seer in Old Faith lodges, and in rare shrines found in the 
  south, close to the lands of the jotun.
  Holy Ground of the Seer
  The Seer’s holy ground is infused with magic that 
  causes the senses to sharpen. Creatures make 
  Perception rolls with 1 boon while on ground 
  sacred to the Seer.
  Priests of the Seer
  Unlike the other Old Faith gods, the Seer has no 
  extensive network of priests and no religious hierarchy. 
  Instead, the god chooses certain mortals through which 
  he might speak. The Seer’s priests are called sibyls, and 
  in their capacity as servants of the god, they foretell 
  the future and answer questions put to them after 
  gaining wisdom from their patron. Most sibyls ensconce 
  themselves in the small temples of the Seer found 
  across the Empire, where they rely on their attendants 
   
  Priests of the Queen 
  of Summer wear thin 
  of polished brass or 
  bronze on a chain of the 
  same material is the only 
  implement used by her 
  priests. The medallion’s face 
  shows either the sun or the goddess’s 
  Holy Ground of the Seer
  The Seer’s holy ground is infused with magic that 
  causes the senses to sharpen. Creatures make 
  Perception rolls with 1 boon while on ground 
  sacred to the Seer.
  
  1818
  for protection, food, and 
  companionship. A rare few 
  move freely throughout the 
  land, most often because they 
  have not yet found a temple 
  in which they might dwell, 
  or because their former 
  temples were destroyed.
   
  Priests of the Seer 
  must never lie. They feel 
  compelled to speak the 
  truth, even when doing 
  so would cause trouble or 
  put them in danger. However, 
  the sibyls are also wise enough to omit 
  certain details of their foretelling if doing so would not 
  distort the truth in any way. 
   Most priests of the Seer wear loose, comfortable 
  robes of white cloth. They use the symbols of their god 
  as implements, and bind their eyes with a strip of cloth 
  on which the Seer’s eye has been painted. Even when 
  covered this way, though, a sibyl can still see as normal. 
  Dedicated priests of the seer might become oracles, 
  witches, or psychics†.
  Level 1 Priest of the Seer
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add one language to the list 
  of languages you can speak.
  Speaker of Dooms You do not gain Corruption from 
  discovering the Curse tradition, nor are you at risk of 
  gaining Corruption from learning Curse spells. 
  Eye of the Seer You know when someone is lying to you.
  Magic You discover the Curse, Divination, or Telepathy† 
  tradition. Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and learn 
  one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Restoring Vision You can use an action to heal damage equal 
  to your healing rate. For 1 round, you impose 1 bane on 
  attack rolls made against you. Once you use this talent, 
  you cannot use it again until you complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the Seer
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Curse, Divination, 
  or Telepathy.
  • You discover the Curse, Divination, or Telepathy 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the Seer
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  The Seer’s Warning When you use Prayer, you impose 1 bane 
  on attack rolls made against the triggering creature until 
  the end of the round.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the Seer
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Greater Vision You can use Restoring Vision twice.
  The World Mother
  The World Mother is the goddess of creation and 
  the Urth made divine. She is the central ﬁ gure in the 
  pantheon of Old Gods, and the followers of the Old 
  Faith oﬀ er most of their prayers to her. Some believe the 
  World Mother to be the ﬁ rst god worshiped by mortals, 
  persisting since the earliest days of mankind. She has 
  evolved from her initial primitive incarnations, having 
  come to be seen as the whole of the world and all things 
  in it. She is depicted as a woman, late in pregnancy, often 
  with a dozen breasts or more. 
   Common symbols for the World Mother include 
  the pentacle, a circled cross, or the face of a smiling, 
  wrinkled woman. A common greeting between 
  her followers is to display three raised ﬁ ngers, each 
  representing a diﬀ erent stage of womanhood—the 
  maiden, the mother, and the crone. These are the 
  forms the goddess takes as the world moves through 
  the seasons.
  Holy Ground of the World Mother
  The World Mother nurtures life and speeds 
  healing. Creatures that heal damage on ground 
  sacred to her heal 1d6 extra damage.
  Priests of the World Mother
  Priests of the World Mother are nearly all women, 
  with men drawn to her husband, the Horned King. 
  Individuals who choose this life feel a special connection 
  to the goddess, having glimpsed her in their dreams, or 
  perhaps stumbling upon her while she bathes in the 
  still waters of a forest pool. Her priests are 
  healers, protectors, and wisdoms, and their 
  presence in a community is considered a 
  great boon.
   Priests of the World Mother must 
  generally abide 
  by the same 
  strictures 
  as do priests 
  of the Old Faith. 
  However, they never 
  eat the ﬂ esh of animals, 
  adhering to a strict 
  vegetarian diet. If a 
  priest breaks this tenet, 
  for protection, food, and 
  companionship. A rare few 
  move freely throughout the 
  land, most often because they 
  have not yet found a temple 
  in which they might dwell, 
  or because their former 
  temples were destroyed.
   
  Priests of the Seer 
  must never lie. They feel 
  compelled to speak the 
  truth, even when doing 
  so would cause trouble or 
  put them in danger. However, 
  the sibyls are also wise enough to omit 
  still waters of a forest pool. Her priests are 
  healers, protectors, and wisdoms, and their 
  presence in a community is considered a 
   Priests of the World Mother must 
  However, they never 
  eat the ﬂ esh of animals, 
  adhering to a strict 
  vegetarian diet. If a 
  priest breaks this tenet, 
  Holy Ground of the World Mother
  The World Mother nurtures life and speeds 
  healing. Creatures that heal damage on ground 
  sacred to her heal 1d6 extra damage.
  
  1919
  her Power score drops to 0 until she completes a rest. 
  The World Mother also urges her priests to marry and 
  have many children.
   Priests of the World Mother favor soft robes in natural 
  colors, with green and brown being the most common. 
  In times of diﬃ  culty, they might don leathers and strap 
  shields to their arms. All priests use small idols of the 
  goddess as their implements, usually carving them from 
  stone smoothed by a river’s waters, then stringing them 
  on cords about their necks. Dedicated priests go on to 
  become druids, rangers, or wardens†.
  Level 1 Priest of the World Mother
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add one of the following to 
  your list of professions: farmer, gatherer, healer, nomad, or 
  pioneer. Also, add the nature academic profession to your 
  list of professions.
  Voice of the Goddess In social situations, you make attack rolls 
  to befriend or persuade other creatures, or to defuse tense 
  situations, with 1 boon.
  Natural Healer You make challenge rolls to stabilize 
  incapacitated creatures and to resist the effects of the 
  diseased afﬂ iction with 1 boon. 
  Magic You discover the Earth, Life, or Nature tradition. 
  Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Shared Recovery You can use an action to heal damage equal 
  to your healing rate. Then one creature you choose within 
  short range heals damage equal to its healing rate. Once 
  you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the World Mother
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Earth, Life, or Nature.
  • You discover the Earth, Life, or Nature tradition and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the World Mother
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Protective Prayer When you use Prayer, you impose 1 bane on 
  attack rolls made against the triggering creature until the 
  end of the round.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the World Mother
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Improved Shared Recovery You can use Shared Recovery 
  twice.
  
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  20
  The Honored Dead
  The dwarfs stand apart from the other mortal peoples 
  in that they honor no gods. Instead, they live under 
  the watchful gaze of ancestors whose spirits walk 
  among them unseen, always judging and assessing 
  the worth of their descendants. Dwarfs conduct 
  themselves honorably, upholding the customs of 
  their people and setting themselves to protecting, 
  strengthening, and enriching their clans. To do 
  otherwise would bring disgrace to the dwarfs, and 
  awaken the wrath of their forebears. 
   It wasn’t always this way, however. The dwarfs’ most 
  ancient histories recall a time when they worshiped a 
  pantheon of dark and angry deities remembered as the 
  Gods of Blood and Iron—the same gods still venerated 
  by the jotun. Grimnir, the dour and joyless king of the 
  gods, fashioned the dwarfen ancestors from steel and 
  planted the seed of ﬁ re in their hearts. He made his 
  children strong, tall, and powerful, then blessed them 
  with beauty and intelligence in equal measure. 
   But as gifted as they were, Grimnir’s favored children 
  also gained his arrogance. They saw themselves as 
  perfect, and they could not fathom why they should 
  prostrate themselves before their maker. Rather than 
  make sacriﬁ ces or live in fear of the gods, they sought 
  to become gods. Setting out to construct a great tower 
  atop the highest mountain, they built ever upward in 
  the belief that they could reach the gates of Valhalla and 
  shatter them. 
   Grimnir, enraged by his children’s hubris, toppled 
  their tower. Many were killed in the destruction, and on 
  the survivors, a heavy curse was laid. Grimnir stripped 
  from them their beauty and stature, reducing them to 
  short, squat, ugly creatures. He awoke in them a desire 
  for the earthly riches of gold and gems, thus turning 
  them away from the glories of heaven. Much diminished 
  and more humbled, the dwarfs, as they became known, 
  delved into the mountains they had once built upon, 
  turning their backs from the gods and all things divine.
   The curse that Grimnir set upon his children extends 
  beyond the lives they are given. As with other mortals, 
  the souls of the dwarfs cycle through many lives—but 
  unlike other mortals, dwarf souls always return to the 
  world in the bodies of dwarfs. There is no escape from 
  the curse, for Grimnir is a vengeful god, and the doom 
  he bestowed will follow the dwarfs until the end of time. 
  Clan and Kin
  Being shamed and cursed by their gods transformed 
  the dwarfs’ views of divinity, reinforcing that the gods 
  were unworthy of worship. Proud and undaunted, the 
  dwarfs banded together to form tight-knit communities. 
  Knowing that Valhalla was denied to them, they built 
  their own paradise within the world, digging out 
  
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  fantastical kingdoms and using the vast wealth of those 
  kingdoms to enrich their lives. Devotion to each other 
  and to the heroes of previous generations gradually 
  evolved into a worship of sorts. The dwarfs recalled 
  the great deeds of their ancestors, praying to them for 
  guidance, courage, and strength. 
  A Dwarfen Religion
  Ancestor worship is not exclusive to dwarfs, and many 
  other peoples of the world engage in similar practices. 
  The worthiness of the dwarfen ancestors and their 
  spiritual presence among the living permeates every 
  aspect of dwarfen culture, to the point where all dwarfs 
  shape their behavior to the notion that some dead 
  ancestor watches them at all times. The religion of the 
  Honored Dead belongs to the dwarfs, and no other 
  people share their particular beliefs.
  Beards and Tankards
  The worship of ancestor spirits is in many ways the 
  veneration of what it means to be a dwarf. For this 
  reason, dwarfs use a dwarfen visage as the symbol of 
  their religion, wearing that symbol with pride and 
  displaying it in their holy places. The visage varies 
  from clan to clan, and is usually fashioned to honor 
  an ancestor of particular note. Generally, though, it 
  shows a dwarf with craggy features almost obscured by a 
  long beard, which begins just under the eyes. Variations 
  include the presence of a helmet, braid patterns in the 
  beard, the absence of an eye, or the presence of a rune.
   Dwarfs also honor their ancestors by donning the 
  colors and signs of their clans. Hammers, axes, anvils, 
  gold coins, glittering jewels, picks, and foaming 
  tankards are just some of the icons associated with the 
  many dwarf clans. The display of such icons not only 
  identiﬁ es a dwarf’s familial identity, but also devotion 
  to the clan. Such displays broadcast the lineage of 
  the dwarfs, and the honorable manner in which they 
  conduct themselves.
  Halls of the Ancestors
  No matter how big or small the space, the most 
  important location in every dwarfen fortress is the 
  Hall of the Ancestors. Here, dwarfen priests inter their 
  dead and commune with the spirits for guidance. The 
  hall always stands near a stronghold’s center and can 
  be accessed by one of four entrances that stand on the 
  cardinal points. These doors each bear the face of a 
  notable dwarfen ancestor, wrought in iron and preserved 
  against rusting by potent spells. 
   Each hall contains row upon row of stone pillars called 
  honored towers, reaching up to the ceiling. Cavities 
  honeycomb these pillars, creating spaces into which 
  priests place the dead, then seal them behind a stone 
  plug whose face is carved to resemble the likeness 
  of the dwarf whose remains it protects. Each 
  clan living in a stronghold has at least one 
  honored tower, though the eldest clans in the largest 
  strongholds might have scores or even hundreds of 
  pillars in their names. 
   At the hall’s center, surrounded by the honored towers, 
  a dais holds a mystic blue ﬂ ame said to be the essence 
  of the dwarfen ancestors awaiting their return to the 
  cycle of life. Whenever a dwarf dies, the ﬂ ame ﬂ ickers 
  to mark the passage of a soul to the Underworld. When 
  a dwarf hero perishes, the ﬂ ame blooms with a terrible 
  light, and a moaning sometimes sounds from it as if 
  countless dwarfen ancestors had cried out in grief over 
  the world’s loss.
   Only dwarfen priests are allowed to freely enter and 
  exit a Hall of the Ancestors. Others can access a hall only 
  when a member of their clan is to be interred or with 
  special permission from the priests. 
  Holy Ground of the Honored Dead
  Any dwarf with 0 Corruption makes attack rolls 
  and challenge rolls with 2 boons while on ground 
  sacred to the Honored Dead.
  Ancestors in the Empire
  With their religion largely unknown outside the dwarfen 
  holds, the faithful of the Honored Dead have little 
  interaction with the gods of other religions. Dwarfs do 
  not worship gods, and outsiders have no reason to pray 
  to the ancestor spirits. Other religious groups often 
  express skepticism of the dwarfs’ faith, or consider 
  it primitive. For their part, the dwarfs don’t care, 
  dismissing all worship of deities as foolish. 
   Many dwarfen strongholds have fallen over the 
  centuries, with the survivors from those places spreading 
  into human lands. As such, many dwarfs have no Hall 
  of the Ancestors in which they might worship. For this 
  reason, dwarfs carry stones from the fallen fortresses 
  of their clans, giving them a connection to their long-
  lost homes. Some dwarfs carve these rocks into small 
  idols, which they name after the greatest heroes in their 
  family lines.
  Days of Remembrance
  As religion and history are entangled for the dwarfs, 
  temporal events are just as important as spiritual 
  ones. As such, each dwarfen stronghold observes its 
  own holy days, commemorating events signiﬁ cant to 
  the community. Such days honor the passing of clan 
  founders, the long-ago completion of some section of 
  a stronghold, victories over goblins, trolls, and elves, or 
  any other event worth remembering. 
   On holy days, dwarfs assemble in their Halls of the 
  Holy Ground of the Honored Dead
  Any dwarf with 0 Corruption makes attack rolls 
  and challenge rolls with 2 boons while on ground 
  sacred to the Honored Dead.
  
  22
  22
  Ancestors to hear tales recorded in the Annals of the 
  Dead, a great codex containing the recorded deeds 
  done by the dwarfs and the wrongs done to them. After 
  the telling—which can last a few hours or a few days, 
  depending on the tale—the whole community feasts, 
  drinks, boasts, and brawls.
   Dwarfs living in the Empire keep the holy days of 
  their homeland if they know them, spending time in 
  prayer or recounting the tales of their kin to trusted 
  friends. Many become increasingly melancholy as 
  they pine for home, though, drowning the sorrow of 
  their separation from kin and clan in rivers of ale and 
  mountains of food. 
  Priests of the Honored Dead
  The priests of the Honored Dead wield almost as much 
  power in their communities as the thanes and guild 
  masters of the dwarfs. As such, membership in the 
  priesthood is reserved for exceptional individuals who 
  have proven their worthiness. Acolytes spend decades 
  studying the Annals of the Dead, from which they learn 
  the histories of their clans, as well as the rites and 
  rituals they are required to perform. Only a few ever 
  successfully meet the high demands of this process, but 
  there’s no shame in not being chosen. Dwarfs who have 
  made unsuccessful attempts at entering the priesthood 
  can always ﬁ nd other ways to serve their communities.
   Priests are the heart and soul of dwarfen culture, 
  the moral authority in dwarfen communities, and the 
  example by which all other dwarfs conduct themselves. 
  They lead exemplary lives, acting with honor and 
  putting the needs of their clans and community above 
  their own. In battle, priests stand in the front ranks, 
  their songs and chants raising spirits and bolstering 
  courage. They gather the fallen, anoint their bodies 
  with tears, and inter them in the honored towers. They 
  preserve the Annals of the Dead, recording the wrongs 
  done to their people and the great deeds done by 
  dwarf heroes. 
   Only on holy days or when preparing the dead do 
  the priests of the Honored Dead don the vestments of 
  their faith. These are robes made from steel coins and 
  steel masks wrought to resemble the faces of their most 
  famous kin. Lesser priests carry censers from which the 
  sweet smell of burning incense wafts, while high priests 
  carry the great tomes that hold the lore of their clans.
   Dwarfs favor hammers and axes in combat, and 
  dwarfen priests are no exception. Nearly all use 
  weapons as implements, decorating them with sacred 
  runes and sigils. Those dwarf priests who seek to further 
  their studies and service to the Honored Dead might 
  become clerics, oracles, or shamans†.
  Level 1 Priest of the Honored Dead
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add minister and the history 
  academic profession to your list of professions. 
  Annals of the Dead You can recall the history of your 
  homeland with perfect clarity, and you make challenge 
  rolls to recall historical trivia about dwarfs outside your 
  homeland with 1 boon.
  Magic You discover the Battle, Life, or Rune tradition. 
  Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Shared Recovery You can use an action to heal damage 
  equal to your healing rate. Then one creature you choose 
  within short range heals damage equal to its healing rate. 
  Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the Honored Dead
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Battle, Life, or Rune.
  • You discover the Battle, Life, or Rune tradition and 
  learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the Honored Dead
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the Honored Dead
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Improved Shared Recovery You can use Shared Recovery 
  twice.
  
  23
  23
  Witchcraft
  Not all religions have large followings. Some faiths 
  belong to a devoted few, with worshipers keeping their 
  beliefs close to the heart and knowing that the secret 
  truths to which they cleave belong to them alone. 
  Such is the case with witchcraft—a religion based on 
  ancient knowledge of herbs and magic, healing and 
  enchantment, as revealed long ago by the Lord and Lady 
  who founded the faith.
   Not long after the Old Faith took shape, a group 
  of priests quietly broke from that religion. Strongly 
  devoted to the Horned King and the World Mother, they 
  rejected the diﬀ erences in dogma and the proliferation 
  of gods that saw the early faith splinter and fracture. 
  These priests understood that the increasingly violent 
  disputes between factions of the Old Faith obfuscated 
  the purpose for which the religion had been founded: to 
  honor, respect, and protect the land. So they withdrew 
  from the faith, intent on studying the gifts granted to 
  them by their gods and to preserve the gods’ lore for 
  those who would follow them.
   Though the Lord and Lady were once rooted in the 
  worship of the Horned King and the World Mother, 
  they have long since evolved to become independent 
  minor deities. Under their guidance, witchcraft has 
  become a religion focused on the making of magic 
  and the preservation of ancient lore. Most followers 
  of witchcraft devote their lives to helping others. They 
  are healers and protectors, wisdoms and advisors, who 
  adopt communities so as to look after the people living 
  in them. They perform magic not to expand their power 
  or make converts of nonbelievers, but to improve the 
  lives of those around them. 
   Witchcraft ﬁ nds devotees among humans, halﬂ ings, 
  goblins, orcs, and some jotun. Witches can be male or 
  female, for the Lord and Lady welcome servants of any 
  ancestry and of any gender.
  Pentacles
  The dagger, the crescent moon, black cats, and patterns 
  of stars are just some of the symbols associated with 
  witchcraft. The ﬁ ve-pointed star known as the pentacle 
  is the symbol by which all witches identify each other. 
  The pentacle is thought to help focus magical energy, 
  aid in divination, command natural forces, and exert 
  power over supernatural beings. When a pentacle is 
  inverted to become a pentagram, it serves as a symbol 
  for witches who have come under the inﬂ uence of 
  dark powers.
  Witchcraft
  minor deities. Under their guidance, witchcraft has 
  
  24
  24
  Good Works
  Since the founding of their religion, practitioners of 
  witchcraft have focused their eﬀ orts on doing good 
  in the world, hoping to leave it a better place than 
  they found it. Though all witches seek to preserve the 
  knowledge they gain over their lifetimes, using that 
  knowledge to improve the lives of their neighbors is 
  the highest honor they can show to their gods. For this 
  reason, most witches devote themselves to helping 
  others, becoming gifted healers, using magic to create 
  bountiful crops, or working to keep the faeries at bay.
   As much as witches work to help people, they also go 
  to great lengths to preserve the wisdom learned from 
  their teachers and their experiences. Each witch records 
  his or her lore in a special tome sometimes called a Book 
  of Shadows. Powerful witches guard these books with 
  nasty curses to ensure their knowledge doesn’t fall into 
  the wrong hands.
   Witches are known for their knowledge, wisdom, and 
  cunning, but they are subject to the same temptations 
  and mishaps that can lure ordinary people into moral 
  peril. Many witches face isolation due to the nature 
  of their faith and the secrecy with which they keep it, 
  and so when faced with darkness, they must confront 
  it alone. Devils and other malicious faeries might 
  single out a lonely witch with oﬀ ers of companionship 
  or power. Witches who accept these gifts run the risk 
  of sliding into corruption to become black witches. 
  Outcasts among their own kind, black witches usually 
  retreat from the world, ﬂ eeing into the deep wilderness 
  and using their magic for selﬁ sh, wicked ends. 
  Covens
  Most witches adopt a community and look after the 
  people living there. One witch can normally manage the 
  needs of a typical village, tending to the elderly, helping 
  with childbirth, and oﬀ ering wisdom to those who seek 
  it. Larger towns and cities might have multiple witches, 
  each one taking responsibility for some portion of the 
  population and coming together to deal with larger 
  challenges when needed.
   When witches work together, they form a coven—a 
  group whose members number three, ﬁ ve, seven, or 
  thirteen. These numbers are important, for they help the 
  coven channel its magic. If a coven of witches loses one 
  of its members, the others disband until they are able to 
  ﬁ nd a replacement. Witches become close as members 
  of a coven, much like the members of a family. Though 
  they might squabble and compete with one another, 
  they always come to their fellows’ defense when needed.
  Cottages
  With no need for places where people might gather for 
  worship, witches have no need to build temples. Instead, 
  they conduct their ceremonies outdoors, under the cover 
  of night and in the light of torches and bonﬁ res. 
   The closest things witches have to places of power 
  are their cottages. A witch’s cottage is a haven for any 
  follower of witchcraft, and other witches instinctively 
  know when they come upon such a place. Most cottages 
  have powerful spells of protection to guard against 
  unwelcome intruders, including mischievous faeries and 
  curious children. 
  Shadow of Suspicion
  Witchcraft has always been a secretive religion. Witches 
  oﬀ er no explanations into their craft, nor do they 
  share their lore with others without need, and this 
  guarded nature leads many outsiders to wonder what 
  they hide. Resentful townsfolk, fearful drunkards, 
  or victims of witch justice might attempt to stir up a 
  community against the local witch. This typically sparks 
  a confrontation, or might even inspire the departure of 
  the witch if the community’s ill will cannot be undone.
   The suspicion witches face from individuals extends 
  to people of other religions, especially those who have 
  moved beyond the old ways. Witches have long enjoyed 
  peaceful relations with the druids and priests of the 
  Old Faith. Even those faithful might whisper about 
  the activities of witches, though, oﬀ ering opinions 
  about what secrets they keep and how much power 
  they truly wield.
   The Cult of the New God has become increasingly 
  hostile to witches over the years as the cult’s importance 
  and power has grown. Inquisitors and witch hunters 
  who happen upon witches and question their workings 
  receive blank stares and silence. After all, witches owe 
  nothing to these followers of a made-up god. Their 
  silence, however, is taken as a sign of some malfeasance, 
  witches in lands where the New God holds sway endure 
  terrible persecution. Though the cult prohibits violence 
  against witches without proof of some wrongdoing, 
  overzealous inquisitors have been known to use torture 
  to extract confessions. 
   Left to themselves, witches don’t much care what 
  other people think of them, so long as incorrect beliefs 
  don’t lead to harm. If permitted to, witches will aid 
  followers of the New God as readily as they help those 
  who keep the old ways, and will even aid those who 
  subscribe to no religion at all. If crossed, however, 
  witches come together for mutual defense, using the 
  fullness of their power to deal with their enemies.
  Priests of Witchcraft
  One can usually spot a witch right away, as they favor a 
  peculiar form of dress. All witches, regardless of gender, 
  favor dark clothing of homespun, long cloaks, sturdy 
  boots, and tall, pointed hats. Though the individual cut 
  and style might vary from witch to witch, the hat never 
  does. This unique headgear identiﬁ es witches to others, 
  and ensures that only fools cross them. Witches use 
  wands, pentacles made from wood, paper, or bronze, or 
  blades such as daggers and swords as implements.
  
  25
  25
   Witches add to their numbers only with great care and 
  caution. Their primary charge is the protection of the 
  ancient lore of their kind, and so oﬀ ering instruction to 
  someone not known to them is unthinkable. All witches 
  understand they must pass on their learning eventually, 
  and so they begin the search for apprentices early in 
  their careers.
   The qualities a witch looks for in an apprentice 
  include a knack for magic, intelligence, honesty, 
  humility, patience—and above all, common sense. 
  Sometimes these traits are found in people within a 
  witch’s community. Sometimes a would-be apprentice 
  will search for a witch to train under. A witch can never 
  be bullied into revealing her secrets, though, and many 
  who seek out an apprenticeship are turned away, their 
  eagerness betraying some ﬂ aw or dark intent. 
   The ﬁ rst lesson an apprentice learns is humility, for 
  an apprentice might labor for years before discovering 
  his or her ﬁ rst tradition. Apprentices cook, clean, mend 
  clothes, help with the birthing of children, and learn 
  the names and lives of all the people in their community. 
  During this time, the witch instructor watches for ﬂ aws 
  in the student, needing to ensure that he or she can 
  be trusted with the lore of witchcraft. Many apprentices 
  never learn magic, ﬁ nding themselves unequal to 
  the expectations placed on them. The few who are 
  found worthy are ushered into the deeper mysteries 
  of the faith.
   After a student has learned the basics, he or she 
  is initiated into the faith, typically during the next 
  new moon. The initiation ceremony varies from 
  witch to witch, but it often involves degrees of testing, 
  anointment with oils, the casting of spells, and the 
  oﬀ ering of prayers to the Lord and Lady. Only after 
  undergoing initiation is an apprentice witch recognized 
  as a member of the faith. Even then, apprentices must 
  work to earn the right to call themselves witches, a title 
  they gain only when their peers accept them.
  Tenets and Strictures
  Much of the lore that witches keep safe involves helping 
  others, so it follows that witches devote their lives to 
  service—and often for little or no thanks. Witches must 
  always use their talents in the aid of others, seeking to 
  uplift, to guide, and to improve. They must avoid forcing 
  their views onto non-witches, in favor of guiding when 
  asked and leading by example. Witches are forbidden 
  from using magic to increase their wealth, to compel 
  others to do their bidding (except in the defense of those 
  they have chosen to protect), and to always avoid dark 
  magic. Failure to live by these tenets leads to corruption.
  Level 1 Priest of Witchcraft
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add nature and one of 
  the following other academic professions to your list 
  of professions: astrology, folklore, geography, medicine, 
  or religion. 
  Varied Traditions Choose three traditions from the following: 
  Alchemy†, Curse, Enchantment, Fey (see Terrible Beauty), 
  Life, Nature, or Protection. The traditions you choose 
  become the traditions associated with your religion.
  Magic You discover one tradition associated with your 
  religion. Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions associated 
  with your religion.
  • You discover one of the other traditions associated 
  with your religion and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Selﬂ ess Recovery Choose up to two creatures within short 
  range of you. Each target heals damage equal to its healing 
  rate. Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until 
  you complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of Witchcraft
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions associated with 
  your religion.
  • You discover one tradition associated with 
  your religion and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of Witchcraft
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of Witchcraft
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Improved Selﬂ ess Recovery You can use Selﬂ ess Recovery 
  twice.
  
  26
  26
  The New God
  The Cult of the New God rose at a time when the 
  Empire was still ﬁ nding its feet, just two centuries after 
  the legions of the Kalasans toppled the Witch-King 
  and scattered the hated men of Gog to the edges of the 
  continent. Cities were still being rebuilt, the full rule 
  of law had yet to be restored, and horriﬁ c monsters 
  that survived the wars of conquest still preyed on 
  the Empire’s people. Wickedness and violence ran 
  unchallenged in wild places, while decadence spread 
  like a fast-growing cancer through lands nominally 
  under the Emperor’s dominion. 
   Against this backdrop of the new-made Empire 
  teetering on the brink of collapse, dark cults spreading 
  poisonous messages, and corrupted faiths arising to 
  replace the old, an unexceptional woman came forward 
  to reveal a better way. 
   Astrid was a priestess of the Order of Light, a religion 
  carried to Rûl by the Kalasan conquerors. She had 
  become sickened by the corruption in her order, by 
  which grasping priests seized power by any means and 
  hid their unspeakable desires behind masks of peace 
  and placidity. The rapacious cult exploited the common 
  people, squeezing them of every last bit with false 
  promises of a life in paradise, and of salvation from a 
  dark and dangerous world. The local religions were no 
  better in Astrid’s eyes, for the gods of the Old Faith had 
  stayed silent as the Witch-King’s warlocks perpetrated 
  endless horrors across the Kingdom of Gog, despoiling 
  great swaths of territory to fuel their foul spells. 
   Astrid came to realize that the promises of all existing 
  religions were based on falsehoods—lies told to keep 
  people obedient and dependent on the leaders of those 
  false faiths. According to the holy writings of the Cult of 
  the New God, a ﬁ gure appeared to Astrid in her dreams, 
  presenting a power unlike any other and revealing to 
  her the Four Truths. These truths became the 
  foundation for the cult founded on Astrid’s teachings 
  in the aftermath of her death. Whether a supernatural 
  being visited Astrid or not is a matter of some debate. 
  Nevetheless, her words tore apart the Order of Light 
  before spreading like wildﬁ re through the Empire, 
  passed from mouth to ear by the common folk who 
  embraced the prophet’s teachings.
  
  27
  27
   Not everyone embraced Astrid’s teachings, and she 
  gathered as many enemies as she did followers. Chieﬂ y 
  the powerful and inﬂ uential members of the myriad 
  cults ﬂ ourishing in the Empire’s capital, these enemies 
  pressed political leaders to silence the prophet. Fearing 
  for her life, Astrid ﬂ ed north to ﬁ nd refuge in the 
  Kingdom of Tarra, where she found a friend in 
  King Roland. 
   Roland used the full power of his oﬃ  ce to protect 
  Astrid, who lived in Tarra for several years. When her 
  enemies in Caecras demanded her capture, pressuring 
  the Emperor to send his legions into Tarra to drag her 
  back in chains, Astrid knew that her presence would 
  plunge the kingdom into war. Against the protests of her 
  protector, she left Tarra to return to Caecras, intent on 
  confronting her enemies in the Emperor’s court.
   She never made it. 
   Some believe the mysterious god who had spoken to 
  Astrid plucked her from the world to live in Paradise 
  at his side. Others believe that Astrid had been the 
  New God all along, and that she left the world after 
  establishing the foundations of her faith. Some whisper 
  that her enemies ambushed her, executing her before 
  allowing her mangled carcass to be ripped apart by 
  dogs. This legend persists thanks to relic sellers who 
  peddle the bones of dogs purported to have been those 
  who fed on the prophet’s remains.
   If Astrid’s enemies were behind her disappearance, 
  their eﬀ orts to silence her failed spectacularly. 
  Her message took the Empire by storm, as groups 
  of believers came together to record and preserve 
  her teachings. Although her followers faced severe 
  persecution at the hands of the Order of Light and other 
  cults, their numbers grew. Even so, the ﬂ edgling cult 
  might have died out had it not been for King Roland 
  in Tarra. Mourning the prophet’s death and 
  convinced of her divine nature, he called 
  for religious leaders across the Empire 
  to come together for an assembly 
  called the First Accord, which would 
  establish the tenets and strictures 
  of the Cult of the New God. 
   It took six months for the First 
  Accord to complete its work, 
  assembling Astrid’s writings 
  into a book known as the Codex of 
  Truth. The seven orders into which 
  the cult is organized today were 
  formalized and united during this 
  momentous meeting and established 
  in Tarra City, which would eventually be 
  renamed Seven Spires in their honor. Organized, 
  possessed of a doctrine, and backed by a powerful 
  leader, the Cult of the New God spread out from the 
  renamed Holy Kingdom, overpowering smaller cults, 
  driving the Old Faith to the backwaters, and establishing 
  itself as the oﬃ  cial religion of the greatest nation to have 
  ever governed the lands of Rûl. And so it has remained 
  for nearly six hundred years.
  The Serpent of Truth
  The New God is central to the cult that venerates him, 
  but members of that faith never depict the deity. Though 
  images of the New God are not strictly forbidden, Astrid 
  never revealed the form he took when he visited her. As 
  such, any image would impose a layer of conception on 
  the god, shaping his being according to mortal hopes 
  and expectations. Instead, the symbols of the church 
  capture the story of Astrid’s ascension, sometimes 
  showing her being lifted up into the sky or with swords 
  and knives piercing her body. 
   Followers of the New God frequently use the symbol 
  of the ouroboros—a serpent or dragon eating its own 
  tail. The symbol represents the endless cycle of life 
  that is the eternal journey undertaken by all souls. 
  Sometimes ﬂ ames wreathe the symbol, while at other 
  times, it shines like the sun.
  The Soul of an Empire
  After the First Accord, the Cult of the New God gained 
  ever-greater power in the former Kingdom of Tarra. 
  Now, the Holy Kingdom is the heart and soul of the 
  New God’s faith. Believers from across the Empire make 
  pilgrimages to Seven Spires in the hopes of catching a 
  glimpse of the Matriarch who leads the faith and rules 
  the kingdom in all but name. 
   The Cult of the New God has spread across much of 
  the Empire, extending from the March Lands in the 
  south to the Northern Reach, where funds from the 
  cult’s coﬀ ers maintain the Crusader States that hold 
  the undead hordes of the Desolation at bay. The cult’s 
  most important conquest is, of course, the old imperial 
  capital of Caecras. Since the First Accord, the cult’s 
  grand pontiﬀ —the highest-ranking member 
  of the cult below the Matriarch, and appointed 
  by her—has crowned each Emperor to sit the 
  Alabaster Throne. However, no move has 
  yet been made by the Cult of the New 
  God to recognize the usurper Drudge 
  the Orc King as Emperor, and no one 
  has seen the grand pontiﬀ  since the last 
  Emperor’s death.
   
  Outside the Empire, the cult’s 
  reach remains limited despite the 
  eﬀ orts of missionaries eager to bring 
  Astrid’s teachings to new lands. The 
  Nine Cities tolerate the New God’s priests, 
  though some (including Lij, Edes, and Kem) 
  have laws preventing people who profess faith 
  in the New God from holding political oﬃ  ce. The 
  freeholders of Nar turn away missionaries of the New 
  God from their holdfasts, and priests venturing into the 
  Woad lands are rarely seen again. 
   The Cult of the New God is a human religion, and it 
  has made few converts among other peoples. Exceptions 
  include small numbers of halﬂ ings, clockworks, and orcs 
  who have not yet shrugged oﬀ  the chains of their slavery. 
  might have died out had it not been for King Roland 
  in Tarra. Mourning the prophet’s death and 
  convinced of her divine nature, he called 
  for religious leaders across the Empire 
  called the First Accord, which would 
  . The seven orders into which 
  momentous meeting and established 
  in Tarra City, which would eventually be 
  grand pontiﬀ —the highest-ranking member 
  of the cult below the Matriarch, and appointed 
  by her—has crowned each Emperor to sit the 
  Alabaster Throne. However, no move has 
  yet been made by the Cult of the New 
  God to recognize the usurper Drudge 
  the Orc King as Emperor, and no one 
  has seen the grand pontiﬀ  since the last 
  Emperor’s death.
   
  Outside the Empire, the cult’s 
  reach remains limited despite the 
  eﬀ orts of missionaries eager to bring 
  Astrid’s teachings to new lands. The 
  Nine Cities tolerate the New God’s priests, 
  though some (including Lij, Edes, and Kem) 
  have laws preventing people who profess faith 
  
  28
  28
  The Four Truths
  The Four Truths underpin the entirety of the Cult of 
  the New God. Astrid revealed each truth as the subject 
  of four sermons she delivered in Caecras. No matter the 
  diﬀ erences between the cult’s various orders and sects, 
  the Four Truths are sacred and stand at the center of 
  belief for all the faithful.
  The Eternal Soul
  Each mortal is born with a soul—the essential essence 
  of self that transcends the limits of the mortal form and 
  survives the body’s death to pass into the Underworld. 
  All souls must descend into that dark realm to prepare 
  for the next life. Only after a soul has had the life it once 
  led sloughed away does it return to the world to inhabit 
  a new body. Souls migrate from body to body, so that any 
  individual soul undergoes many diﬀ erent lives. 
   Crucial to the process of rebirth is the forgetting of 
  what came before. A soul must cast aside experiences 
  and memories so that it can receive new ones in its 
  new body. The Underworld is not a place to be feared. 
  Rather, it is a welcoming place of reﬂ ection and peace, 
  where souls rid themselves of the suﬀ ering, grief, and 
  pain they knew in life. 
   Since mortals live many lives, the Cult of the New 
  God teaches that one should feel no attachment to 
  the present life. Mortals must endure the agonies of 
  existence, but they can take comfort in knowing that 
  pain is only a momentary experience, to be forgotten 
  when one is born again.
  Guard Against Corruption
  Forces conspire to burden the soul and delay its return 
  to the mortal world, and such delays interfere with 
  the natural order of things. Mortals must then strive to 
  hasten the journey through the realm of death so they 
  can return to the world. Mortals who give in to dark 
  impulses blacken their souls with temptations of hatred, 
  lust, and wickedness. Those dark stains weigh a soul 
  down, so that it passes through the Underworld and 
  into Hell. The devils there take their time cleansing that 
  stained soul as they feed on its darkness, which means 
  fewer mortals in the world. To keep the wheel of life 
  turning, mortals should always strive to live in the light 
  of the New God, to act with good intentions, and to keep 
  the devils of temptation at bay.
  No Other Gods but Those Mortals Create
  Mortals created the gods to explain the world around 
  them. The seasons change because of the power 
  struggles between Old Man Winter and the Queen of 
  Summer. Tarterus goes through phases because the 
  Maiden in the Moon dances across the dome of the 
  world. These myths give the gods substance, shaping 
  eternal and immortal divinity into crude forms of mortal 
  conception. These beings are as chains on the One True 
  God. They distort the divine’s true nature, imposing the 
  limitations of mortal imagination on something beyond 
  mortal conception. As such, one must rid the mind of 
  false constructs to liberate the New God to attain the 
  natural state of inﬁ nitude. 
  The Wheel of Life Must Turn
  The soul’s movement along the endless wheel of life 
  is an essential part of the cosmic order. Souls inhabit 
  physical bodies to serve the divine. Then, when their 
  time is up, they pass through death’s door to await their 
  next chance to ride the wheel. Anything that interferes 
  with this process is an abomination—a violation against 
  nature and reality itself. 
   To serve the New God is to preserve the cosmic 
  order. To do so, followers of the faith must never suﬀ er 
  an undead to live, must strive to drive spirits to the 
  Underworld, and must oppose those faeries who would 
  mislead and corrupt. All these duties, however, come 
  second to confronting the greatest threat to reality. 
  All who know the light of the New God must remain 
  vigilant against the Destroyer of Worlds, the Shadow in 
  the Void, and must destroy anyone and anything that 
  would advance its interests in the world.
  Heresies
  Though the Cult of the New God strives to speak 
  with one voice and preserve the tenets set out in 
  the First Accord, heresies sometimes take root 
  within its followers. Inquisitors scour the ranks 
  of the faithful, working to crush these deviations 
  in proper belief. Yet somehow these strains of 
  heresy survive, and the confusion they create 
  quietly weakens the cult’s unity and mission.
   
  Incarnates: The oldest heresy of the cult—
  and one of the reasons the First Accord was 
  called—began as a growing belief that Astrid 
  was, in fact, the New God in physical form. Even 
  King Roland secretly believed this to be true. 
  However, cult leaders saw this belief as being 
  counter to the Third Truth, in that it imposed 
  limitations on the divine, forcing the New God to 
  conform to mortal belief rather than transcend it. 
  Many members of the cult continue to hold this 
  belief, and small cells gather to worship Astrid as 
  the New God.
   
  Legion of God: Members of the secret order 
  known as the Legion of God hold that the Third 
  Truth forbids the existence of all other religions—
  and that as such, it is the duty of the faithful to 
  convert all peoples in the world in order to purify 
  the divine. Although decried by the Matriarch, 
  the legion has supporters throughout the cult.
   
  Infernals: Heretical cultists whose existence is 
  little more than rumor, members of the Infernals 
  believe that the New God is merely a mask worn 
  by their master, the Devil, who plots to steer 
  mortals from the Old Faith and make them his 
  subjects.
   
  Bleak Ones: Obsessed with the Second Truth, 
  the Bleak Ones argue that the mortal form 
  was a prison created by the Devil, and that the 
  proper state of the soul is freedom from the 
  ﬂ esh. Members of this unpopular group torture 
  themselves with scourges and starvation, and 
  many commit suicide to achieve the perfect 
  state—if only for a time.
  would advance its interests in the world.
  Heresies
  Though the Cult of the New God strives to speak 
  with one voice and preserve the tenets set out in 
  the First Accord, heresies sometimes take root 
  within its followers. Inquisitors scour the ranks 
  of the faithful, working to crush these deviations 
  in proper belief. Yet somehow these strains of 
  heresy survive, and the confusion they create 
  quietly weakens the cult’s unity and mission.
  Incarnates: The oldest heresy of the cult—
  and one of the reasons the First Accord was 
  called—began as a growing belief that Astrid 
  was, in fact, the New God in physical form. Even 
  King Roland secretly believed this to be true. 
  However, cult leaders saw this belief as being 
  counter to the Third Truth, in that it imposed 
  limitations on the divine, forcing the New God to 
  conform to mortal belief rather than transcend it. 
  Many members of the cult continue to hold this 
  belief, and small cells gather to worship Astrid as 
  the New God.
  Legion of God: Members of the secret order 
  known as the Legion of God hold that the Third 
  Truth forbids the existence of all other religions—
  and that as such, it is the duty of the faithful to 
  convert all peoples in the world in order to purify 
  the divine. Although decried by the Matriarch, 
  the legion has supporters throughout the cult.
  Infernals: Heretical cultists whose existence is 
  little more than rumor, members of the Infernals 
  believe that the New God is merely a mask worn 
  by their master, the Devil, who plots to steer 
  mortals from the Old Faith and make them his 
  subjects.
  Bleak Ones: Obsessed with the Second Truth, 
  the Bleak Ones argue that the mortal form 
  was a prison created by the Devil, and that the 
  proper state of the soul is freedom from the 
  ﬂ esh. Members of this unpopular group torture 
  themselves with scourges and starvation, and 
  many commit suicide to achieve the perfect 
  state—if only for a time.
  
  29
  29
  The Matriarch and the Gathering
  The complex hierarchy making up the Cult of the New 
  God maintains order within the faith and preserves 
  the Four Truths against heresy and apostasy. The cult’s 
  bureaucracy is known as the Gathering—a political 
  organism that looks after the health of the cult and has 
  spent the six centuries since the First Accord shaping 
  its identity. The Gathering arguably holds as much 
  power as either the wizards of the Tower Arcane or the 
  Emperor, and it has held on to its inﬂ uence through 
  even the most troubling times.
   The Matriarch leads the Gathering. Elected by the 
  cardinals who represent the seven orders of the cult, 
  she normally holds her position for life. However, the 
  Matriarch leads with the consent of her supporters, 
  and can be removed if she acts without their approval. 
  This happened in the year 247, when the thirty-third 
  Matriarch was found dead in her chambers after 
  expressing support for the heretical group known as 
  the Incarnates.
   The seven orders of the Gathering are each led by a 
  cardinal elected by the body of bishops who oversee 
  their order’s interests in the Empire and beyond. 
  The seven orders stand atop the congregation, which 
  comprises all priests, ministers, and the worshippers 
  they lead. Members of the congregation might have 
  diﬀ erent titles based on their region and social standing, 
  but those titles rarely matter outside the communities 
  in which they serve.
  The Seven Orders
  The seven orders of the Cult of the New God grew from 
  seven cults that had formed during Astrid’s life or in the 
  early years after her death. The First Accord united the 
  cults under one common religion. Maintaining these 
  orders preserved their identities and objectives, while 
  ensuring their ongoing support of the Matriarch. Each 
  order operates out of one of the towers commanding the 
  hill overlooking the capital city of the Holy Kingdom.
   Keepers of Lore: An order of religious scholars 
  and archeologists, members of the Keepers of Lore 
  preserve the sacred writings and relics of the faith. They 
  sometimes mount or fund expeditions to track objects 
  and information of import to the cult, though their 
  interest also extends to religious artifacts beyond those 
  associated with the New God. The order has founded 
  several monasteries throughout the Empire, and the 
  monks that dwell there spend their days copying the 
  religion’s holiest books. 
   Bearers of the Faith: One of the ﬁ rst of Astrid’s 
  cults, the Bearers of the Faith focused its followers on 
  spreading the prophet’s teachings to every corner of the 
  Empire and beyond. Members of the order have been 
  instrumental in establishing temples in the Northern 
  Reach and Balgrendia, and now work to expand the 
  cult’s presence into the Patchwork Lands. They tie strips 
  of white cloth around their left arms to signal their 
  peaceful intentions.
   Swords of Astrid: The dreaded Inquisition of the New 
  God was founded to uphold the Fourth Truth, rooting 
  out enemies of the natural order and exposing them 
  to the light of justice. The founders of the Inquisition 
  focused their initial eﬀ orts on purging the Empire of 
  demonic cults. In recent years, they have turned their 
  attention to the Gathering, searching for heretics hidden 
  within. The Swords of Astrid wear black robes with the 
  symbol of the New God emblazoned in white over their 
  hearts. They don bone-white masks that resemble skulls 
  to keep their identities secret when working on behalf of 
  their order.
   Knights of the Temple: This militant order was 
  founded by those who resisted persecution in the 
  earliest days of the cult. The most fervent of its members 
  volunteered to protect other gatherings of the faithful, 
  standing guard day and night to ensure that none came 
  to harm. Members of the Knights of the Temple are 
  known as templars, and work to safeguard sites the cult 
  deems holy. Templars display the holy symbol of the 
  New God in white on a black ﬁ eld.
   Hammers of Justice: The Hammers of Justice arose 
  from Astrid’s ﬁ rst eight disciples—companions who 
  traveled with and protected her. The descendants of 
  those disciples believed that the survival of the cult 
  would require strength of arms and steadfast resolve 
  against other rival faiths. Members of the order have 
  sworn vows to never use edged weapons, in memory 
  of Astrid rebuking one of her disciples for severing 
  the hand from a priest of the Order of Light who had 
  assaulted the prophet. 
   Poor Brethren: Cleaving to the Second Truth, the 
  members of the Poor Brethren reject the comforts of the 
  civilized world to live as beggars. They gather in small 
  bands, wearing coarse robes and owning no more than 
  they can carry on their backs. Although members of the 
  Poor Brethren claim to be peaceful servants of the New 
  God and will minister to any who listen, the hardships 
  they endure take a toll on their minds. As such, many 
  are a bit unhinged.
   Peaceful Sisters: An order founded on the principle 
  of charity, the Peaceful Sisters originated as a small 
  group of wealthy nobles who donated their riches to 
  improve the lives of others. Those nobles used their 
  order to extend their charitable reach, building and 
  running orphanages, feeding the poor, and improving 
  living conditions in the cities. When the Shuddering 
  Pox raced through the Empire, the Peaceful Sisters were 
  instrumental in creating the institutional healers’ order 
  known as the House of Healing.
  
  30
  30
  Temples and Shrines
  The Cult of the New God has temples in most imperial 
  communities, either new-built sites or older temples 
  taken over by the cult. Temples in Caecras, Tear, the 
  Grand Duchy, and the Holy Kingdom are typically grand 
  aﬀ airs, built of stone and boasting large bell towers 
  that chime the hours and call the faithful to worship. 
  All temples and cathedrals provide open areas where 
  congregants can gather to listen to sermons, sing, and 
  participate in ceremonies. The greatest temples are the 
  cathedrals, each a monument to a community’s wealth 
  and devotion to the New God. The largest cathedrals 
  can be found in the cities of the Holy Kingdom and in 
  Caecras.
   Shrines stand at places important to the faith, usually 
  marking sites where people have been martyred or 
  where great miracles were performed. The most notable 
  shrines commemorate the life of Astrid, standing at 
  places where she taught or performed her greatest 
  miracles. (A dozen such sites all claim to be the place 
  from which the prophet ascended.) Shrines are built in 
  the form of tiny temples, and include altars, an icon, and 
  the symbol of the New God. The cult assigns priests to 
  watch over these sites, maintain them, and minister to 
  pilgrims who come to pray.
  Holy Ground of the New God
  Demons, faeries, spirits, and undead make attack 
  rolls and challenge rolls with 1 bane while on 
  ground sacred to the New God.
  Enemies Everywhere
  An aggressive agenda of spreading the faith to all 
  corners of the Empire and beyond has given the Cult of 
  the New God a dark reputation in many lands. Outsiders 
  are typically suspicious of the cult, and 
  even more so of its most fanatical members. Chief 
  among those are the members of the Poor Brethren 
  who rove about the countryside as vagabonds, ﬂ aying 
  themselves with scourges and depending on the charity 
  of others for sustenance. Many folk also remember how 
  in times past, the cult took a more militant stance toward 
  other faiths, driving out nonbelievers and taking over 
  their temples. 
   The priests of the Old Faith avoid the New God’s 
  servants, though they ally with them when confronted 
  by a common enemy. The priests of the Honored Dead 
  consider the New God’s followers dangerous fanatics, 
  while the faithful followers of witchcraft tolerate them 
  at best. Other religions might support the cult or suﬀ er 
  the symbol of the New God. The cult assigns priests to 
  the symbol of the New God. The cult assigns priests to 
  watch over these sites, maintain them, and minister to 
  watch over these sites, maintain them, and minister to 
  pilgrims who come to pray.
  pilgrims who come to pray.
  Holy Ground of the New God
  Demons, faeries, spirits, and undead make attack 
  rolls and challenge rolls with 1 bane while on 
  ground sacred to the New God.
  Enemies Everywhere
  Enemies Everywhere
  
  3131
  their attentions, depending on the beliefs they hold.
   Though the Cult of the New God remains an 
  authoritarian presence, it generally serves a purpose that 
  beneﬁ ts all. In particular, members of the cult are sworn 
  to destroy demonic cults wherever they are found, and to 
  combat any peoples under the Demon Lord’s inﬂ uence. 
  As such, holy warriors of the cult lead bands to attack 
  herds of beastmen, while witch hunters travel from one 
  side of the Empire to the other to chase down rumors of 
  demonic worship and activity. 
  Holy Days
  The imperial calendar is ﬁ lled with festivals and holy 
  days important to the Cult of the New God. Some are 
  regional aﬀ airs that mark the deaths of famous martyrs. 
  Others are holidays once important to the Old Faith and 
  the mystery cults in power during the Cult of the New 
  God’s formative years, and which have been preserved 
  and recast to ﬁ t within the religion’s framework. Beyond 
  these, two celebrations warrant special mention. 
   The ﬁ rst is the weeklong festival known as the 
  Accordance, which begins on the ﬁ fteenth day of the 
  seventh month to mark the anniversary of the religion’s 
  oﬃ  cial founding. Faithful from all over the Empire make 
  the journey to Seven Spires to hear a sermon delivered 
  by the Matriarch. Parades, passion plays, and more turn 
  the city into a festival for seven full days. The journey 
  is expensive, though, and has grown only more so as 
  proﬁ teers seek to exploit the pilgrims who undertake 
  it. As such, many people have begun to celebrate the 
  Accordance in their home communities.
   The holiest day of the Cult of the New God is 
  Ascension, the day commemorating Astrid’s departure 
  from Urth. Falling by tradition on the winter equinox, 
  Ascension is preceded by three days of fasting. On the 
  day, the faithful don hair shirts and form a procession 
  of wailing and weeping to mourn the loss of the 
  cult’s founder. At the day’s end, a great feast begins, 
  symbolizing the rewards of the prophet’s sacriﬁ ce and 
  the knowledge she left to the world.
  Priests of the New God
  The Cult of the New God welcomes anyone into its 
  ranks. People of all lands and of almost any ancestry can 
  ﬁ nd a place in the cult—if not as a minister or priest, 
  then as a member of the congregation. Those seeking a 
  place in the priesthood begin their training as acolytes. 
  They learn to read, become versed in the ﬁ ner points of 
  theology, and eventually learn how to perform miracles 
  through the act of prayer. 
   Cult leaders don special vestments when they lead 
  ceremonies, minister to their followers, or perform 
  rites. The colors of those vestments vary depending on 
  position in the hierarchy, with white for priests, blue for 
  bishops, red for cardinals, and gold for the Matriarch. 
  Certain orders break from this tradition, including the 
  Swords of Astrid, who wear black, and priests of the 
  Poor Brethren, who don robes of plain brown. 
   All priests of the New God use the ouroboros symbol 
  as their implement. Priests can continue their growth in 
  the cult by becoming clerics, paladins, or sages†.
   Live by the Four Truths: Priests are expected to 
  uphold the Four Truths of the New God and live by 
  them. In doing so, they must act as forces for good in 
  the world, combating users of dark magic, slaves to 
  the Demon Lord, and anyone else who would violate 
  the natural order. Priests must give one-tenth of their 
  earnings to the cult. In return, they receive haven and 
  basic supplies from any of its temples. 
  Level 1 Priest of the New God
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You add acolyte of the New 
  God to your list of professions. In addition, you can either 
  read a language you already know how to speak or add a 
  language to the list of languages you can speak.
  Magic You discover the Celestial, Life, or Theurgy tradition. 
  Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions 
  and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Shared Recovery You can use an action to heal damage 
  equal to your healing rate. Then one creature you choose 
  within short range heals damage equal to its healing rate. 
  Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you 
  complete a rest.
  Level 2 Priest of the New God
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Celestial, 
  Life, or Theurgy.
  • You discover the Celestial, Life, or Theurgy 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the New God
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the New God
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Improved Shared Recovery You can use Shared Recovery 
  twice.
  
  32
  32
   The Dark Gods
  One of the darker chapters of the history of the Empire 
  concerns the birth of the orc race. Shaped by the power 
  of dark wizards, the orcs were created from jotun taken 
  as prisoners after imperial forces crushed their power 
  in the Frozen Wastes. The conquering heroes dragged 
  those jotun back in chains to face the Emperor’s justice. 
  Yet even as they were warped by dark magic and 
  transformed into the ﬁ rst orcs, the defeated clung 
  to their faith in a grim and menacing pantheon of 
  deities—the Dark Gods whom the orcs serve still.
   Sometimes known as the Gods of Blood and Iron, the 
  Dark Gods are famously cruel and violent. Unlike the 
  New God or even the most primal gods of the Old Faith, 
  they delight in the suﬀ ering of their mortal servants. The 
  jotun and orcs who worship the Dark Gods do so not out 
  of reverence, love, or the hope of salvation, but from fear. 
  To anger the gods is to face their wrath and be cast out 
  from the halls of Valhalla, languishing weak, forgotten, 
  and powerless in the darkness of the Underworld.
   The pantheon of the Dark Gods includes a whole host 
  of deities, only a few of which are commonly known. 
  Grimnir the All-Father is the god who rules over the 
  pantheon as Lord of the Heavens and Master of All. As 
  wise as he is ferocious, Grimnir is a warrior without peer 
  who possesses a mind as vast as the world. He is shown 
  as a bearded man with one black eye ﬁ lled with stars, 
  often with a raven perched on each shoulder and sitting 
  astride an eight-legged steed.
   The lesser gods attending the All-Father include Baldr 
  the beautiful, Bragi the poet, Eir the healer, Forseti 
  the wise, Freyja of love, Frigg the matron, Hel of the 
  Underworld, Loki the trickster, Od the berserk, Tor 
  of the raging tempest, Tyr the one-handed, and many 
  more. Some of these gods claim descent from Grimnir, 
  but others were once mortal, having earned their place 
  in the pantheon through bold deeds and favor from the 
  All-Father.
  Wyrd
  According to the jotun, all people have a destiny. Each 
  individual’s fate, known as its wyrd, was written even 
  before the All-Father created the world from the skull 
  of the cosmic cow. No matter what decisions a person 
  makes, there is no escape from the wyrd, for it is already 
  decided. This sense of fatalism inspires followers of 
  the Dark Gods to conduct themselves with incredible 
  courage. They believe death might come for them at any 
  time, and know that the gods look poorly upon those 
  who ﬂ inch away from their fates. For those seeking a 
  place in Valhalla, each battle must be fought as if it were 
  the last chance to prove one’s worth before being called 
  to the realm of the gods.
  
  33
  33
  Symbols and Forms
  Followers of the Dark Gods use the triquetra, a 
  triangular knot ﬁ gure, as the symbol of their faith. 
  That symbol is sometimes used as a luck charm or as a 
  marker designating places sacred to the gods. Ravens 
  are considered sacred animals to the faith, for they are 
  the form taken by the Valkyrie when they come to the 
  mortal world to ferry the souls of the fallen to Valhalla.
  Worshipers and Followers
  In Blötland, the jotun have always worshiped the Dark 
  Gods. These dour deities stand at the center of jotun 
  culture and society, and their priests wield formidable 
  power and inﬂ uence over tribal chieftains. The jotun’s 
  faith has even spread into neighboring lands, where 
  bands of humans honor Grimnir and the other Gods 
  of Blood and Iron over the Old Gods. Within the 
  Empire, orcs make up the majority of worshipers of 
  the Dark Gods. Having clung to their beliefs even 
  after the transformation that created their monstrous 
  forms, the orcs have resisted all eﬀ orts to convert them 
  to softer religions. As in Blötland, priests wield great 
  power among the orcs, and many believe those priests 
  responsible for the uprising that landed King Drudge on 
  the Alabaster Throne.
  Monoliths and Stone Circles
  Followers of the Dark Gods do not build temples or 
  shrines to their patron deities. Instead, they denote 
  places of divine signiﬁ cance with stone markers, 
  ranging in size from large slabs to towering monoliths, 
  placed singly or in circles. On the stones, priests carve 
  the names of the gods and details of whatever event 
  occurred to make the site important to the faith. 
   To some, the use of stone markers suggests an ancestor 
  faith common to both the Old Faith and the Dark Gods. 
  Though if there is one, it has been lost over long years of 
  bloodshed and carnage.
  Holy Ground of the Dark Gods
  The Dark Gods delight in violence. All creatures 
  on ground holy to the Dark Gods make attack 
  rolls with 1 boon.
  Uneasy Peace
  There is no love lost between the Empire and the 
  faithful of the Dark Gods. Jotun priests led some of the 
  most devastating raids into imperial lands, goading their 
  warriors to ﬁ nd glory and doom in the slaughter and 
  plunder of humans. When the Empire ﬁ nally defeated 
  the jotun and claimed their survivors as prisoners 
  and slaves, they made speciﬁ c examples of the priests, 
  burning them alive on great pyres. What the imperials 
  didn’t recognize at the time was that death meant 
  nothing to the jotun. If anything, the actions of the 
  Emperor’s agents only made the jotun—and the orcs 
  they would become—hate the humans even more. 
   In the end, the Empire permitted the orcs their 
  beliefs, though they discouraged priests among their 
  ranks. Individual orcs with strong religious proclivities 
  typically found early retirement, one way or another.
  Priests of the Dark Gods
  Priests of the Dark Gods come almost exclusively from 
  the ranks of their jotun and orc followers. Physical 
  strength, courage, and ferocity are the highest ideals 
  among both these peoples, so most study the ways of 
  war. Those who join the ranks of the priests often do so 
  after receiving an omen: a three-eyed raven, a Valkyrie 
  on the battleﬁ eld, or a one-eyed stranger joining the ﬁ re 
  at night. 
   Initiates undergo rites of passage more dangerous 
  and taxing than the rites given to their people’s warriors. 
  They must venture alone into the wilderness with 
  only what gear they can carry, then spend their time 
  in isolation, chanting and ingesting psychedelic herbs. 
  As they carve runes and whorls into their ﬂ esh using 
  knives dipped in black ink, they experience visions of 
  the future. Any acolyte who survives seven days and 
  nights in the wild in this way returns to his or her tribe 
  as a priest.  
   Vestments and Implements: Instead of robes or ﬁ nery, 
  priests of the Dark Gods display the symbols carved 
  into their skin. They unclothe their bodies to reveal the 
  stories etched there whenever they perform the sacred 
  rites of the faith. All priests use the triquetra as their 
  implement, usually wearing it as a medallion on a cord 
  tied around the neck.
   Tenets, Strictures, and Customs: The Dark Gods’ 
  priests hold themselves to an even higher standard than 
  the jotun when it comes to courage and ferocity on the 
  battleﬁ eld. A priest must show courage in the face of all 
  adversity, never shying away from facing the wyrd, and 
  leading others by fearless and ferocious example.
   Priests strive for greatness, even if they are not fated to 
  ﬁ nd it. They lead expeditions into the Frozen Wastes to 
  hunt the dreaded cold worms or lay waste to the hordes 
  of the cold ones—terrifying creatures made from snow 
  to be mockeries of mankind. They raid human lands to 
  hunt lost relics, plunder valuable treasures, and exact 
  vengeance for slights against their gods and people.
   Battle, Destruction, and Rune are the traditions most 
  commonly associated with the Dark Gods. However, 
  characters worshiping speciﬁ c gods can swap out two 
  traditions for ones appropriate to the deity they serve. 
  For example, a character serving Tor might have Air and 
  Storm in place of Destruction and Rune, while a character 
  serving Eir could replace Battle and Spiritualism with 
  Life and Nature.
  Holy Ground of the Dark Gods
  The Dark Gods delight in violence. All creatures 
  on ground holy to the Dark Gods make attack 
  rolls with 1 boon.
  
  34
  34
  Level 1 Priest of the Dark Gods
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Grim Aspect In social situations, you make attack rolls to 
  intimidate other creatures with 1 boon.
  Magic You discover the Battle, Destruction, or Rune 
  tradition. Then choose one of the following options:
  • You discover the other two traditions.
  • You discover one of the other traditions 
  and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Battle Resurgence You can use an action to heal damage 
  equal to your healing rate. Then you grant each creature 
  within short range of you 1 boon on attack rolls until the 
  end of the round. 
  Level 2 Priest of the Dark Gods
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic Choose one of the following options:
  • You discover two traditions from Battle, 
  Destruction, or Rune.
  • You discover the Battle, Destruction, or Rune 
  tradition and learn one spell.
  • You learn two spells.
  Prayer When you or a creature within short range of you 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  Level 5 Expert Priest of the Dark Gods
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Divine Strike When you use Prayer to grant 1 boon on an 
  attack roll, the triggering attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 8 Master Priest of the Dark Gods
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Inspiring Prayer When you use Prayer on a creature other 
  than yourself, you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 round.
  Improved Battle Resurgence You can use Battle Resurgence 
  twice.
  Gothi
  Expert Path
  The gothi are the exalted servants of the Dark Gods. 
  Fierce, violent, and savage, they lead the ﬁ ght against 
  weaker peoples, plundering distant lands for riches, 
  slaves, and whatever else they can carry. Though all 
  followers of the Dark Gods believe in the wyrd, the 
  gothi are unique for having seen their doom and 
  knowing the day of their deaths. Rather than shrink in 
  fear from the end, they move toward it with conﬁ dence, 
  eager to wet their blades with the blood of their 
  enemies. Of course, the gods sometimes lie, but when 
  death comes before the expected time, the gothi greet 
  their doom with laughter.
   Gothi enjoy high standing among their people, valued 
  for their mystic connections to the gods of Blood and 
  Iron, and feared for their almost insane bravado.
  Gothi Story Development
  d6
  Story Development
  1
  A three-eyed crow visited you and revealed your 
  wyrd. You pledged service to the Dark Gods and 
  set out to ﬁ nd your death. 
  2
  Grimnir visited you in your dreams and called you 
  to ﬁ ght in his name. You carved the triquetra on 
  your chest with a knife and haven’t looked back.
  3
  You grew up hearing stories about the decadence 
  of the Empire and the horrors it inﬂ icted on your 
  people. You swore bitter oaths to the Gods of 
  Blood and Iron that you would avenge your kind. 
  The gods listened and bound you to them.
  4
  You saw a Valkyrie claim the souls of the dead on 
  the battleﬁ eld, and knew the stories to be true. 
  You pledged your blade to the Dark Gods and 
  have been their servant ever since.
  5
  You crave a place in the halls of Valhalla and 
  believe that ﬁ ghting in the name of the Dark Gods 
  will get you there. 
  6
  You were raised by a gothi and long ago decided 
  to become one yourself.
  Level 3 Gothi
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You discover a tradition associated with your religion 
  or you learn one spell.
  Cowards Wear Armor If you wear armor, you take a penalty 
  to Power equal to your Power score, and you make attack 
  rolls and challenge rolls with 1 bane.
  Spill the Blood While you are injured, you make Strength 
  attack rolls and challenge rolls with 1 boon.
  Warpriest When you get a success on an attack roll, you 
  grant 1 boon on the next attack roll made by a creature 
  of your choice within short range.
  Level 6 Gothi
  Characteristics Health +4
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Awaken Savagery When a creature within short range deals 
  damage with a weapon attack, you can use a triggered 
  action to expend a casting of a spell. The triggering 
  creature gains 1 Insanity and its attack deals 1d6 extra 
  damage per rank of the spell expended (minimum 1d6 
  extra damage). Once you use this talent you cannot use 
  it again for 1 minute.
  Level 9 Master Gothi
  Characteristics Health +4, Power +1
  Magic You learn one spell.
  Hatred of the Dark Gods You can use an action or a 
  triggered action on your turn to expend a casting of a 
  spell. You heal damage equal to your healing rate and 
  gain an amount of Insanity equal to the rank of the 
  spell whose casting you expended. You do not become 
  frightened from gaining Insanity in this way. Instead, you 
  make attack rolls with 1 boon and your weapon attacks 
  deal 1d6 extra damage for a number of rounds equal to 
  your Insanity total. Once you use this talent, you cannot 
  use it again until you complete a rest.
  
  35
  35
  Other Faiths
  Religions come and go. The major faiths described 
  in the preceding chapters represent those that have 
  somehow survived the history of theological upheaval 
  that has shadowed the Empire, but they represent only 
  a few of the religions to be found on the continent. 
  From the countless faiths crowding the streets of Set, 
  the City of the Gods, to the strange beliefs of the Pirate 
  Isles, to the hidden cults devoted to the Demon Lord, it 
  sometimes seems that there are enough gods for every 
  person in the Empire to have their own unique religion. 
   This chapter presents a survey of some of the other 
  faiths found on the continent. Each entry consists of 
  a broad overview of a faith, with enough information 
  to inspire you to add any necessary details, along with 
  commonly associated traditions for priests of that faith. 
  Some religions receive additional development in other 
  supplements, as noted.
  The Dark Lady
  One of the last footholds of ancient Gog, the Kingdom 
  of Skulls remains a bleak, tortured landscape under 
  the rule of the Dark Lady. Once the Witch-King’s most 
  favored bride, her exalted status and the incredible 
  magical power she possessed helped her and her sons 
  escape the crumbling tyranny of Gog for lands beyond 
  the reach of the triumphant Kalasans. For over eight 
  hundred years, the Dark Lady has maintained an iron 
  grip on her holdings, leading many to believe that 
  she has transcended mortality to become something 
  else—something her most fervent followers believe 
  approaches the divine. 
   In the Kingdom of Skulls, the Dark Lady’s subjects 
  worship her as a god. They honor her with profane 
  festivals and unholy rites, transforming themselves into 
  hideous ghouls and raising the dead as mindless thralls 
  to swell her legions. Rumors spill across the kingdom’s 
  borders of her followers committing even darker acts, 
  while other rumors suggest that the Dark Lady has an 
  extensive bureaucracy of priests who command the 
  dark arts, and who pull the strings of agents embedded 
  within the Empire.
   Associated Traditions: Death, Necromancy, and 
  Shadow
  favored bride, her exalted status and the incredible 
  
  36
  36
  One-Eyed Pete
  A god worshiped exclusively on the Pirate Isles, One-
  Eyed Pete is more of a symbol than a deity, representing 
  the collective greed, violence, and excess that has come 
  to deﬁ ne life on the isles. The pirate god’s priests come 
  from the ranks of retired ship captains, who use their 
  status to command a larger share of the spoils and keep 
  themselves supplied with alcohol and prostitutes. There 
  are virtually no strictures or tenets for the religion, other 
  than it being every pirate’s duty to keep One-Eyed Pete 
  good and drunk by pouring the ﬁ rst drink from a bottle 
  into the ocean. Failing to do so risks having the mad god 
  crawl up from the depths to take a long-overdue share of 
  his followers’ spoils. 
   Though most people on the continent dismiss the 
  stories of One-Eyed Pete as nothing more than invention 
  by scoundrels, some have put forward the idea that the 
  god the pirates worship is actually some alien power 
  sealed in a sunken city at the bottom of the Auroral 
  Ocean. The strange artifacts that occasionally wash up 
  on the shores of the Pirate Isles hint at some truth to this 
  notion, and suggest that an ancient society and its lost 
  gods drowned beneath the waves long ago.
   Associated Traditions: Air, Storm, and Water
  Fey Lords and Ladies
  Such is the power of the fey lords and ladies that many 
  see them as gods. This has led to speculation that the 
  deities of the Old Faith might have arisen from the 
  ﬁ rst human encounters with the immortals. Lords 
  and ladies such as the Faerie Queen, the Queen of Air 
  and Darkness, Oberon, Puck, and others do not seek 
  out mortal subjects, and some go so far as to avoid all 
  contact with mortals. Still, mortals serving the lords 
  and ladies are sometimes gifted with power akin to that 
  granted by the gods. 
   Unlike other religions, the lords and ladies have both 
  mortal and immortal servants. For more information on 
  serving the Faerie Queen and other lords and ladies of 
  the hidden kingdoms, see Terrible Beauty.
   Associated Traditions: Enchantment, Fey, and 
  Illusion
  The Devil
  Diabolus, the Lord of Hell, actively recruits mortals to 
  his service, either directly or through the lesser ﬁ ends 
  under his command. The Devil seduces his followers 
  with promises of power, knowledge, wealth, and 
  pleasure, oﬀ ering tantalizing tastes of whatever they 
  desire most. Serving the Devil is not for the faint of 
  heart, though, for the Lord of Hell is a cruel master 
  who harvests the souls of the damned with glee. 
  Inquisitors and witch hunters also scour the 
  continent for devil worshipers, consigning 
  them to the purifying ﬂ ames of the pyre 
  wherever they are found. For this 
  reason, most of the Devil’s servants keep their beliefs 
  secret, hiding their true nature behind unassuming, 
  innocent masks. 
   As menacing a ﬁ gure as Diabolus presents, he still 
  maintains large numbers of followers and subjects in 
  the mortal world. Most of those believe that their service 
  to him gives them the right to do as they wish, and to 
  insulate themselves from the worst of the punishments 
  they face in the afterlife. Devotees of the Dark Lord 
  of Hell do not advertise their aﬃ  liation with his cult, 
  instead conducting their ceremonies and foul rites in 
  the cellars of temples raised to the New God, in 
  abandoned caves, ruins untouched by the light of the 
  Sun or Tarterus, and other secret places.
   Devil worshippers typically wear hooded black robes 
  during their rites. They decorate their sacred places 
  with pentagrams, black candles, silver knives and 
  chalices, and altars on which they make sacriﬁ ces to 
  their dark god.
   For more information about the Devil and the dark 
  power he oﬀ ers his followers, see Exquisite Agony.
   Associated Traditions: Enchantment, Fire, and 
  Shadow
  Oceanus
  An old deity whose followers are believed to have 
  died out long ago, Oceanus was once the god of the 
  oceans. He is remembered as a violent and vengeful 
  ﬁ gure, demanding that his followers ritualistically 
  drown people as sacriﬁ ces to him. The cult of Oceanus 
  thrived in the days before the men of Gog conquered 
  the continent. As with all cults, his followers suﬀ ered 
  terribly under the Witch-King’s rule. Cult leaders were 
  cruciﬁ ed or torn apart in front of bloodthirsty crowds, 
  reminding their followers that all gods were powerless 
  next to the Witch-King’s tyranny. As a result, the cult of 
  Oceanus disappeared, its members hiding their beliefs 
  and beseeching their god to vindicate their faith. When 
  he didn’t, the last survivors dispersed, shattering their 
  idols and hurling their relics into the sea.
   But despite the collapse of the Oceanus cult in 
  civilized lands, it survives in isolated places, including 
  tiny communities that somehow escaped the tumult of 
  the last eight centuries. In many places, isolation has 
  warped the cult. Distorted from its original form, the 
  faith of Oceanus has become something monstrous, 
  with cultists exalting dark things from the depths—and 
  sometimes breeding with them. Only in Set, the City of 
  Gods, has the cult survived to reﬂ ect its original form—
  an authoritarian religion whose followers make oﬀ erings 
  to the sea, for fear that the King Under the Waves will 
  rise up and destroy them again as he did so long ago.
   Associated Traditions: Destruction, Storm, and Water
  Spirits of the Woad
  The thirteen tribes of the Woad claim descent from the 
  First People. Although they are much changed from 
  
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  37
  their ancestors, having mingled their blood with people 
  of the Edene, the Kalasans, and more, they cling to the 
  old ways and keep their old customs. The folk of the 
  Woad believe in a spirit world that overlaps the world in 
  which they live. In this spirit realm exist entities neither 
  living nor dead—beings as old as the world itself. These 
  spirits can enter the mortal world, but they adopt the 
  form of a beast when they do. Each tribe venerates 
  a particular animal spirit—Badger, Bear, Boar, Deer, 
  Eagle, Fox, Hare, Horse, Otter, Owl, Raven, Snake, or 
  Wolf—and a tribe’s members attempt to emulate that 
  animal spirit’s characteristics. 
   The nature of these spirits is a matter of considerable 
  debate among the theological authorities. Outside the 
  tribes of the Woad, there is no evidence that any such 
  spirit world exists, leading many to suggest that the 
  spirits come from one or more hidden kingdoms. In that 
  case, these spirits might be faeries long ago transformed 
  by the beliefs of the Woad peoples. Some claim that 
  the spirit world is in fact the Underworld, while others 
  recognize that belief interacts with magic strangely, 
  suggesting that the spirit world might exist, but for the 
  Woad only.
   Associated Traditions: Nature, Primal, and 
  Spiritualism
  Genies
  By virtue of their connection to the elements, the 
  gnomes and salamanders believe that the genies 
  fashioned Urth from the raw stuﬀ  of chaos, giving it 
  form and substance by the names they gave things and 
  beings. A number of heretical scholars of other races 
  hold to this belief, hypothesizing that the language the 
  genies used to complete their great work drove them 
  mad, reducing them to near-mindless spirits that 
  haunt the world and can be bound into substance by 
  those who master elemental magic. 
   The madness aﬄ  icting the genies robs them 
  of any desire to interact with their creation or 
  the things that creep, crawl, or ﬂ y upon it. Their 
  madness, however, relents from time to time. 
  Moments of lucidity sometimes return, allowing 
  a genie to regain its senses and communicate with 
  those around it. And when a bodiless, invisible 
  entity speaks, people have a tendency to listen.
   For the most part, cults dedicated to genies are 
  rare, and usually exist only within societies of 
  elemental creatures. However, the centaurs 
  of the Endless Steppe worship the spirits of 
  the wind, the Woad engage with unseen 
  spirits that oﬀ er wisdom, and isolated 
  groups of the faithful worship voices 
  heard murmuring underground, sighing 
  in the wind, or speaking in the crash of 
  waves against the shore. 
   Associated Traditions: One of Air, 
  Earth, Fire, Storm, or Water
  Demon Lord
  The Demon Lord craves release so it can feast upon Urth 
  and all of creation. Against the promise of annihilation, 
  it seems unthinkable that anyone could contemplate 
  pledging service to this horrifying monstrosity. Yet 
  demonic cults have always threatened the world from 
  the shadows, working in secret to hasten the end of 
  all things. The cults of the Demon Lord vary widely, 
  taking diﬀ erent forms based on how people perceive 
  the Shadow in the Void. Some see the Demon Lord as 
  a glorious god sealed in the darkness, eager to return 
  and set things right. Others see him as the Destroyer 
  of Worlds and believe that the only hope they have of 
  escaping the coming apocalypse is to serve. 
   Whatever form the Demon Lord takes, the cult that 
  grows around it attracts people of all diﬀ erent walks. 
  Some are nihilists, hating everything about existence 
  and eager to drag everyone and everything with them 
  into oblivion. Others serve because they are deluded, 
  unable or unwilling to see that the entity they worship 
  is nothing more than a facade behind which chaos and 
  ruin lurk. Others are simply evil, so thoroughly warped 
  by their corruption that they gladly work to 
  unravel reality.
   Cults usually form around one of the Demon 
  Lord’s aspects, such as the Skull King, the 
  Carrion Lord, or the Mother of Monsters. Each 
  such aspect is a mask created by mortal belief and 
  projected onto the Shadow in the Void. Devotion 
  to an aspect can cause cultists to undergo 
  profound physical transformations, 
  shatter their minds, and drive them to 
  commit unspeakable atrocities. Three 
  representative cults of the Demon 
  Lord and their associated traditions 
  are presented here.
   
  Brothers of the Eternal 
  Shadow: This cult was founded 
  on the belief that nothing can stop 
  the Demon Lord from escaping 
  the Void, and the only hope 
  of survival is to earn a place 
  in service to the Destroyer 
  of Worlds. Devotees of the 
  Eternal Shadow work to hasten 
  the Demon Lord’s arrival 
  by recovering vile relics 
  of dark magic, releasing 
  demons to possess 
  mortal creatures, and 
  taking actions meant 
  to destabilize 
  civilized lands. 
  For their 
  eﬀ orts, cultists 
  undergo a horrible 
  Nature, Primal, and 
  By virtue of their connection to the elements, the 
  gnomes and salamanders believe that the genies 
  fashioned Urth from the raw stuﬀ  of chaos, giving it 
  form and substance by the names they gave things and 
  beings. A number of heretical scholars of other races 
  hold to this belief, hypothesizing that the language the 
  genies used to complete their great work drove them 
  mad, reducing them to near-mindless spirits that 
  haunt the world and can be bound into substance by 
  those who master elemental magic. 
   The madness aﬄ  icting the genies robs them 
  of any desire to interact with their creation or 
  the things that creep, crawl, or ﬂ y upon it. Their 
  madness, however, relents from time to time. 
  Moments of lucidity sometimes return, allowing 
  a genie to regain its senses and communicate with 
  those around it. And when a bodiless, invisible 
  entity speaks, people have a tendency to listen.
   For the most part, cults dedicated to genies are 
  rare, and usually exist only within societies of 
  elemental creatures. However, the centaurs 
  of the Endless Steppe worship the spirits of 
  the wind, the Woad engage with unseen 
  spirits that oﬀ er wisdom, and isolated 
  groups of the faithful worship voices 
  heard murmuring underground, sighing 
  in the wind, or speaking in the crash of 
   One of Air, 
  is nothing more than a facade behind which chaos and 
  ruin lurk. Others are simply evil, so thoroughly warped 
  by their corruption that they gladly work to 
  unravel reality.
   Cults usually form around one of the Demon 
  Lord’s aspects, such as the Skull King, the 
  Carrion Lord, or the Mother of Monsters. Each 
  such aspect is a mask created by mortal belief and 
  projected onto the Shadow in the Void. Devotion 
  to an aspect can cause cultists to undergo 
  profound physical transformations, 
  shatter their minds, and drive them to 
  commit unspeakable atrocities. Three 
  representative cults of the Demon 
  Lord and their associated traditions 
  are presented here.
   
  Brothers of the Eternal 
  Shadow: This cult was founded 
  on the belief that nothing can stop 
  the Demon Lord from escaping 
  the Void, and the only hope 
  of survival is to earn a place 
  in service to the Destroyer 
  of Worlds. Devotees of the 
  Eternal Shadow work to hasten 
  the Demon Lord’s arrival 
  by recovering vile relics 
  of dark magic, releasing 
  demons to possess 
  mortal creatures, and 
  taking actions meant 
  to destabilize 
  civilized lands. 
  For their 
  eﬀ orts, cultists 
  undergo a horrible 
  
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  38
  transformation of both body and mind. Their ﬂ esh 
  becomes waxy, their teeth blacken, and in time, 
  their bodies become so deformed that they cannot 
  move openly without drawing unwanted attention to 
  themselves. The grotesque masks most cultists wear are 
  typically less frightening than their true appearances.
   The cult’s associated traditions include Demonology†, 
  Forbidden, and Shadow.
   Revelers of the Glistening Prince: The Glistening 
  Prince loiters on the boundaries between the mortal 
  world and the Void, whispering false promises 
  to mortals and immortals alike of power, sexual 
  gratiﬁ cation, wealth, and status. Small cults have formed 
  in imperial lands to honor this voice in the shadows, 
  congregating on the nights of the new moon. The 
  chiming of a bronze blade in utter darkness is said to 
  summon the Glistening Prince’s vile voice. 
   To join the cult, an initiate must carve a bit of ﬂ esh 
  from his or her body, then burn it in a brass brazier 
  ﬁ lled with charcoal, incense, and sheep dung. The 
  more painful the wound, the higher the initiate’s 
  standing in the cult.
   The cult’s associated traditions include Demonology†, 
  Forbidden, and Illusion.
   Seekers of the Wandering Star: Every 88 years, a 
  blazing red star with a ﬁ ery tail appears in the skies 
  above Urth, remaining there for eight days before 
  fading away. The appearance of the mysterious star is 
  considered an ill omen, and much strangeness occurs 
  while its baleful light shines upon the world. The 
  Seekers of the Wandering Star believe that the star is a 
  god, and that its purpose is to carry the devout into the 
  inﬁ nite. When the star appears, the seekers make blood 
  oﬀ erings to their deity on rooftops and in high towers in 
  the hope of attracting its attention.
   While awaiting the wandering star, the seekers keep 
  busy conducting ceremonies in secret places. They call 
  forth beings that dwell in the dark between the stars, 
  recruit new members to the cult (preferably people of 
  wealth and status), and fund expeditions to ancient sites 
  important to their god.
   The cult’s associated traditions include Celestial, 
  Demonology†, and Fire.
  Small Gods
  Beyond the religions described in this book, countless 
  gods are known in the world—so many, in fact, that 
  simply naming them all would be the work of a lifetime. 
  Most such gods are insigniﬁ cant, however, and so are 
  grouped together as small gods. These comprise a vast 
  and colorful pantheon of deities, some possibly real and 
  others likely imaginary. Small gods might be deiﬁ ed 
  ancestors, spirits in nature, powerful faeries, or monsters 
  conjured from nightmare. Though they are often unique 
  individuals, some appear as aspects or fragments of 
  other gods, or are depicted as sainted agents of more 
  prominent deities. And of course, many small gods are 
  simply nasty devils preying on gullible mortals, or masks 
  worn by the Demon Lord as it plants the seeds of yet 
  another cult.
   Small gods can be patrons of cities or towns, guilds, 
  orders, and secret societies. Some are little more than 
  names, while others have elaborate histories. In any 
  case, though, small gods rarely have formal institutions 
  to support them. Belief in a small god tends to be 
  localized, tied to a particular place or class of people. 
  One small god might inspire a statue in a prominent 
  place, while another has a hidden altar whose location 
  is known only to a handful of followers. In the end, 
  small gods come and go with great frequency, and the 
  remnants of their faiths can be found across the Empire 
  and beyond. 
  Creating Your Own Religions
  Even with all the religions and gods described in this 
  supplement, you might ﬁ nd that you want to create 
  your own faiths—and you should. The creation of new 
  religions, new gods, and the people who worship them is 
  a powerful world-building tool, and the more detail you 
  add to your games, the more realistic they become. 
   However, you don’t need to write up a detailed 
  overview of every new faith, incorporating extensive 
  backstory and connections to the world. In most 
  cases, all you really need is a deity, a symbol, and a few 
  associated traditions. Create only as much material as 
  you need to introduce players and characters to a new 
  religion. Then allow the full development of that faith 
  and its place in the world to happen in the game.
  
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  Magic of the Gods
  The inﬂ uence of religion on the development of 
  civilization extends beyond inﬂ uencing how mortals see 
  the world and their place in it. Devotees of the gods have 
  learned to shape the world through prayer, using magic 
  to perform miracles or create relics of lasting power.
  Serving the Gods
  Characters pledged to serve the gods believe their divine 
  patrons exist. Otherwise, why worship them? Belief in 
  the game has power. It shapes divinities from the fabric 
  of magic enveloping the world and allows individuals 
  to perform miraculous feats through force of will and 
  devotion. Since the gods are real, at least to those who 
  serve them, it’s possible for a servant to ﬁ nd favor from 
  his or her deity—or to incur that deity’s wrath.
  Divine Favor
  Religious people obey the tenets and keep to the 
  strictures of their faith for many reasons. Some do so out 
  of fear. Others have hopes of gaining some reward. Still 
  others keep the faith simply because they believe it to be 
  proper. The gods sometimes reward followers who prove 
  exceptional in their service with divine favor, a blessing 
  that aids them in whatever tasks they undertake.
  Gaining Divine Favor
  A character with 0 Corruption can attempt to gain divine 
  favor by spending time at a holy site. During that time, 
  the character must pray, forgo comforts, burn incense, 
  perform rites, and undertake other activities according 
  to his or her faith. After a number of hours equal to 2d6 
  − the character’s Power score, roll 2d20 (or 3d20 if the 
  character has the priest path). If two dice come up as 20, 
  the creature gains divine favor. 
   Whether or not a character received divine favor, the 
  attempt to gain divine favor can be made only once every 
  3d6 days. The GM rolls and keeps the result a secret. 
  Additional attempts to gain divine favor have no eﬀ ect—
  and might risk divine wrath.
  Benefits of Divine Favor
  Divine favor comes in one of four forms, chosen by 
  the GM.
   Information: The player can ask the GM 1d3 
  questions, and the GM must answer each truthfully.
   Healing: The character or a creature the character 
  designates within short range heals all damage.
   Fortune: The character gains Fortune. 
   Quest: The character is given a quest by his or her 
  deity, which must be undertaken within a certain period 
  of time decided by the GM. Completing the quest 
  usually awards the character with a relic, an enchanted 
  object, or something else needed to complete a larger 
  mission. Failing to complete the quest within the 
  allotted time might incur divine wrath.
  Divine Wrath
  Just as characters can win divine favor, so too can they 
  incur divine wrath—the sudden, powerful manifestation 
  of a deity’s displeasure. Divine wrath might be incurred 
  for various reasons, as determined by the GM. Typical 
  scenarios include the following.
  • A priest consistently violates a stricture of 
  his or her religion.
  • A priest acts in direct opposition to the tenets 
  of his or her faith.
  • A priest gains 4 Corruption or more.
  • A character desecrates a holy site.
  • A character murders, tortures, or abuses a priest.
  • A character destroys a holy relic.
   Whenever one or more characters in the group 
  commit such an action, the GM rolls 2d20 (or 3d20 if one 
  of the characters is a priest). If two dice come up as 1, all 
  characters involved in the action suﬀ er divine wrath.
   Whether or not a character incurs divine wrath, that 
  character is not at risk of incurring divine wrath again 
  from the same deity for 3d6 days. The GM rolls and 
  keeps the result a secret. 
  Manifestations of Divine Wrath
  Divine wrath can take any form the GM chooses, though 
  the following are usually suitable.
   Plague: The character becomes diseased. While 
  diseased in this way, the character takes a −1d6 penalty 
  to Health. Whenever the character completes a rest, 
  he or she must make a Strength challenge roll with a 
  number of banes equal to his or her Corruption score. 
  On a success, the character removes the aﬄ  iction. On a 
  failure, the diseased aﬄ  iction remains. If the total of the 
  roll is 0 or less, the penalty to Health worsens by 1d6.
   Insanity: The character gains 2d6 Insanity.
   Pain: The character takes 1d6 damage and becomes 
  impaired for 1d6 days.
   Cursed: The character becomes cursed. While 
  cursed in this way, the character makes attack rolls and 
  challenge rolls with 3 banes. The curse can be lifted by 
  divine favor, magic, or making restitution for the act that 
  incurred the divine wrath.
  Magic of the Gods
   Quest: The character is given a quest by his or her 
  
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  Spells
  The clearest expression of divine power comes through 
  spells, and the most devoted servants of the gods learn 
  spells that reﬂ ect their patrons’ spheres of inﬂ uence. 
  A priest of the New God can lay hands on the injured 
  and heal them of their wounds, while a priest of the 
  Dark Gods can call upon their power to strike with 
  tremendous force. 
   The spells described in this book expand on the spells 
  found in Shadow of the Demon Lord, and reﬂ ect the spells 
  priests might learn from their associated traditions. 
  These spells are not restricted to priests, though, and 
  any character can learn them provided they meet the 
  requirements.
   In addition to the traditions they discover, all priests 
  have access to certain common aspects of their power. 
  Whenever a priest would learn a spell of rank 3 or 
  higher, he or she can choose to learn consecrate in 
  place of that spell.
  CONSECRATE 
  PRIEST UTILITY 3
  Target One temple, shrine, or monument to your religion 
  you can see within short range
  Duration 24 hours
  The target and the area within 5 yards of it become holy 
  ground for the duration, gaining the beneﬁ t described 
  for holy ground for your religion. If your religion does 
  not have such a beneﬁ t, this spell instead grants the 
  following beneﬁ t: 
   
  While in the area of the holy ground created with 
  this spell, whenever you cast an attack spell from a 
  tradition related to your religion, you make 
  the attack roll with 1 boon and 
  creatures in the area make 
  challenge rolls to resist the 
  attack with 1 bane.
  Permanence If you cast this 
  spell in the same area each day 
  for a month and a day, the effect becomes 
  permanent.
  Arcana Spells
  SUPPRESS MAGIC  
  ARCANA UTILITY 4
  Area A sphere with a radius in yards equal to your 
  Power centered on a point you can see within 
  short range.
  Duration 1 minute
  You purge the area of magic for the duration. 
  Creatures in the area take a –3 penalty to Power 
  (minimum 0) for as long as they remain there. 
  Battle Spells
  HEROIC SURGE 
  BATTLE UTILITY 1 
  Duration 1 minute
  If you are charmed or frightened, remove 
  the afﬂ iction.
   
  For the duration, you make attack rolls using 
  weapons with 1 boon.
  INVOKE THE ANCESTORS 
  BATTLE UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the Honored Dead as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  The target makes an attack with a weapon.
   
  For the duration, whenever you use your Prayer talent to 
  grant 1 boon on an attack roll and the roll results in a success, 
  the next attack you make before the end of the round deals 
  1d6 extra damage.
  INVOKE THE DARK GODS 
  BATTLE UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the Dark Gods as your patron deities.
  Target One creature you can see within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  Until the end of the round, the target makes attack rolls 
  with 3 boons.
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent, 
  you gain a cumulative +1d6 bonus to Health that lasts until 
  the spell ends.
  Celestial Spells
  WALL OF LIGHT 
  CELESTIAL UTILITY 0
  Area A circle with a 1-yard 
  radius, with any orientation, 
  centered on a point within 
  medium range
  Duration 1 minute
  Light spreads through the area 
  and remains for the duration. 
  From either side, the circle emits 
  light into 5-yard-long cone-shaped 
  areas. 
  INVOKE THE MAIDEN 
  IN THE MOON CELESTIAL UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the 
  Prayer talent and must have chosen 
  the Maiden in the Moon as your 
  patron deity.
  Target One creature within 
  short range
  Duration 1 minute
  Moonlight shines down on the target 
  until the end of the round. While 
  the target is illuminated in this way, 
  attack rolls against the target are 
  made with 1 bane. 
   
  For the duration, whenever you 
  use your Prayer talent to grant 1 boon 
  on an attack roll made using a spell or 
  on a challenge roll made to resist an 
  attack spell, you grant the target of 
  the Prayer 2 additional boons.
  HALO 
  CELESTIAL UTILITY 2
  Duration 1 minute
  A celestial glow shines from around 
  your head for the duration, ﬁ lling 
  a sphere with a 5-yard radius 
  centered on you with light. Until 
  the spell ends, whenever you 
  take damage, each sighted 
  creature within short range 
  must get a success on a 
  Perception challenge roll or 
  become blinded for 1 round.
   In addition to the traditions they discover, all priests 
  have access to certain common aspects of their power. 
  Whenever a priest would learn a spell of rank 3 or 
  higher, he or she can choose to learn consecrate in 
  PRIEST UTILITY 3
  One temple, shrine, or monument to your religion 
  The target and the area within 5 yards of it become holy 
  ground for the duration, gaining the beneﬁ t described 
  for holy ground for your religion. If your religion does 
  not have such a beneﬁ t, this spell instead grants the 
   
  While in the area of the holy ground created with 
  this spell, whenever you cast an attack spell from a 
  tradition related to your religion, you make 
  for a month and a day, the effect becomes 
  ARCANA UTILITY 4
   A sphere with a radius in yards equal to your 
  Power centered on a point you can see within 
  You purge the area of magic for the duration. 
  Creatures in the area take a –3 penalty to Power 
  (minimum 0) for as long as they remain there. 
  BATTLE UTILITY 1 
  If you are charmed or frightened, remove 
   
  For the duration, you make attack rolls using 
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent, 
  you gain a cumulative +1d6 bonus to Health that lasts until 
  the spell ends.
  Celestial Spells
  WALL OF LIGHT 
  Area A circle with a 1-yard 
  radius, with any orientation, 
  centered on a point within 
  medium range
  Duration 1 minute
  Light spreads through the area 
  and remains for the duration. 
  From either side, the circle emits 
  light into 5-yard-long cone-shaped 
  areas. 
  INVOKE THE MAIDEN 
  IN THE MOON 
  Requirements You must have the 
  Prayer talent and must have chosen 
  the Maiden in the Moon as your 
  patron deity.
  Target One creature within 
  short range
  Duration 1 minute
  Moonlight shines down on the target 
  until the end of the round. While 
  the target is illuminated in this way, 
  attack rolls against the target are 
  made with 1 bane. 
   
  For the duration, whenever you 
  use your Prayer talent to grant 1 boon 
  on an attack roll made using a spell or 
  on a challenge roll made to resist an 
  attack spell, you grant the target of 
  the Prayer 2 additional boons.
  HALO 
  Duration 1 minute
  A celestial glow shines from around 
  your head for the duration, ﬁ lling 
  a sphere with a 5-yard radius 
  centered on you with light. Until 
  the spell ends, whenever you 
  take damage, each sighted 
  creature within short range 
  must get a success on a 
  Perception challenge roll or 
  become blinded for 1 round.
  
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  Curse Spells
  JINX 
  CURSE ATTACK 1
  Target One creature within short range
  Make an Intellect attack roll against the target’s Will. On 
  a success, the target becomes cursed for 1 minute. While 
  cursed in this way, the target makes attack rolls and 
  challenge rolls with 1 bane. In addition, whenever the total of 
  the target’s roll is 0 or lower, one item it carries falls to the 
  ground and moves 1d6 yards away from it.
  Triggered When a creature you can see within short range 
  makes an attack roll or a challenge roll, you can use a 
  triggered action to cast this spell against the triggering 
  creature. On a success, the effect lasts for 1 round instead of 
  1 minute.
  Death Spells
  INVOKE FATHER DEATH 
  DEATH UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen Father Death as your patron deity.
  Target One incapacitated creature you can see within 
  medium range
  Duration 1 minute
  The target heals damage equal to half its healing rate. 
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent to 
  grant 1 boon on an attack roll, the attack deals 1d6 extra 
  damage.
  WRATH OF THANATOS 
  DEATH ATTACK 5
  Target Any number of undead creatures within long range
  Shadowy tendrils erupt from the center of your chest and 
  streak toward each target, darting around or passing through 
  obstacles in their paths. Each target takes 20 damage. A 
  creature incapacitated by this damage dies instantly and is 
  utterly destroyed.
  Sacriﬁ ce You can expend a casting of this spell to cast the 
  death fog† spell from the Death tradition.
  Divination Spells
  PRAYER OF THE SEER 
  DIVINATION UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the Seer as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  Until the end of the round, you turn any success on an attack 
  roll against the target into a failure.
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent and 
  the triggering roll results in a success, you make attack rolls 
  and challenge rolls with 1 boon until the end of the round.
  SOOTHSAY 
  DIVINATION UTILITY 3
  Requirement You must use implements of divination such 
  as cards, dice, tea leaves, or notched sticks.
  Describe a course of action, a goal, or an event that 
  will happen at some point during the next week. If you 
  concentrate on what you described for 1 minute, the GM 
  gives you a useful piece of advice about the action, goal, 
  or event. The GM might simply tell you something, or the 
  information might be presented as a short phrase or a cryptic 
  rhyme.
  Sacriﬁ ce You can expend a casting of this spell to cast a rank 
  2 or lower spell from the Divination tradition.
  Earth Spells
  OPEN PASSAGE 
  EARTH UTILITY 5
  Target A point you can reach on an object at least 2 yards 
  wide and 2 yards tall
  You touch the target and cause a cube of open space to 
  appear centered on the point. The open space is up to 
  2 yards tall and 2 yards wide. It extends into the object a 
  number of yards equal to 5 + your Power score, or until it 
  reaches another open space.
  Sacriﬁ ce You can expend a casting of this spell to cast the 
  earthquake spell from the Earth tradition. 
  Enchantment Spells
  INVOKE REVEL 
  ENCHANTMENT UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen Revel as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  You remove one of the following afﬂ ictions from the target: 
  charmed, compelled, or frightened. 
   
  For the duration, when you use your Prayer talent to 
  grant 1 boon on an attack roll and the attack roll results in a 
  success, the target of the triggering attack becomes charmed 
  for 1 round.
  INVOKE THE QUEEN
  OF SUMMER 
  ENCHANTMENT UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the Queen of Summer as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  For 1 round, while the target is within short range of you, 
  attack rolls against you are made with 1 bane.
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent 
  and the triggering roll results in a success, the target heals 
  1 damage.
  BEGUILE 
  ENCHANTMENT ATTACK 4
  Target One living creature within short range
  Make an Intellect attack roll against the target’s Will. If you 
  or members of your group attacked the target since you last 
  completed a rest, you make the attack roll with 1 bane. On 
  a success, the target becomes charmed until you complete 
  a rest. While the target is charmed in this way, you can use 
  a triggered action when the target would take a turn and is 
  within short range of you to decide what the target does on 
  its turn. 
  INCITE MADNESS 
  ENCHANTMENT ATTACK 5
  Target One creature within medium range
  You shatter the target’s reality. Make an Intellect attack roll 
  against the target’s Intellect. Against a target with Health 
  20 or lower, your attack roll results in an automatic success. 
  Against a target with Health 50 or higher, you make the 
  attack roll with 1d3 banes. On a success, the target gains 
  Insanity equal to its Will score.
  
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  Fey Spells
  MADDENING REVEL 
  FEY UTILITY 2
  Duration 1 minute
  The scent of wine ﬁ lls a sphere with a 5-yard radius centered 
  on you and moves with you for the duration. When a living 
  creature in the area makes an attack roll, it can choose to 
  gain 1 Insanity to make the attack roll with 1d3 boons. The 
  spell grants boons only to creatures who gain the Insanity. 
  Gaining Insanity in this way does not cause a creature to 
  become frightened. Furthermore, a creature that goes mad 
  as a result of gaining insanity from this spell rolls 3d6 instead 
  of a d20 to determine the form the madness takes.
  Fire Spells
  FLAMES OF PASSION 
  FIRE UTILITY 1
  Target Up to three creatures you can reach
  Duration 1 minute
  You touch each target to imbue it with the ﬁ re of your faith. 
  For the duration, each target sheds light in a 5-yard radius 
  and makes attack rolls and challenge rolls with 1 boon.
  Life Spells
  INVOKE THE WORLD MOTHER 
  LIFE UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the World Mother as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  The target heals damage equal to half its healing rate.
   
  For the duration, whenever you use your Prayer talent, you 
  or a creature you choose within short range heals damage 
  equal to your Power score.
  REVIVE 
  LIFE UTILITY 4
  Target One creature, killed no longer than 1 minute ago, 
  that you can reach
  You touch the target and restore it to life. The target must 
  make a Strength challenge roll. On a success, it heals 1 
  damage and gains 1d6 Insanity. On a failure, it dies.
  Sacriﬁ ce You can expend a casting of this spell to cast the 
  moderate healing spell from the Life tradition.
  Nature Spells
  HEALING POULTICE 
  NATURE UTILITY 0
  Requirement You must spend 1 hour foraging for herbs in a 
  wilderness environment where such herbs might grow.
  Target The herbs you foraged
  Duration 24 hours
  The target herbs become a healing poultice. At any time 
  before you complete a rest, you can use an action to 
  administer the poultice to a creature you can reach. When 
  the creature completes a rest while wearing the poultice, it 
  heals extra damage equal to half its healing rate. A creature 
  can beneﬁ t from just one poultice at a time.
  INVOKE THE OLD FAITH 
  NATURE UTILITY 0
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the Old Faith as your religion.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  The target heals damage equal to half its healing rate. 
   
  For the duration, whenever you use your Prayer talent, 
  you can also cause overgrowth to cover a square patch of 
  ground, 2 yards on each side, within short range. The area 
  becomes difﬁ cult terrain.
  FACE IN THE FOREST 
  NATURE UTILITY 2
  Target One Size 2 or larger tree you can reach
  Duration Concentration, up to 1 hour
  You touch the target and become aware of the exact position 
  of each tree within 1 mile of it. This knowledge lasts for the 
  duration, during which time you must maintain contact with 
  the tree. Each time you use an action to concentrate on the 
  spell, you can choose to perceive from the space occupied 
  by a Size 2 tree whose position you learned from this casting 
  of the spell. Your visage appears in the bark of the affected 
  tree and allows you to see and hear from that tree’s space 
  using your normal senses. If the tree from which you perceive 
  is destroyed, the spell ends and you gain 1 Insanity.
  CALL SPRIGGANS 
  NATURE UTILITY 4
  Area A cube of space, 3 yards on a side, originating from 
  a point within medium range and resting on a solid 
  earthen or rocky surface
  Duration 1 minute
  The ground in the area trembles as 1d3 spriggans rise from 
  it, shaking off dirt and rocks as they do. Each spriggan 
  must make a Will challenge roll. You impose 2 banes on the 
  roll if only 1 spriggan appears, or 1 bane if only 2 spriggans 
  appear. On a failure, the spriggan becomes compelled for the 
  duration. The spriggans remain until the spell ends, at which 
  point they sink back into the earth. 
  AWAKEN TREE 
  NATURE UTILITY 5
  Target One tree you can reach
  Duration 1 minute
  You touch the target tree and imbue it with magical power. 
  The tree uproots itself and becomes a compelled monster 
  of its Size with the following additional traits:
  Defense +3
  Immune asleep, blinded, dazed, fatigued, frightened, 
  stunned; the monster cannot be moved against its will 
  or knocked prone while it stands on the ground
  Fire Vulnerability The monster takes double damage 
  from ﬁ re.
  Primal Spells
  EYE OF THE HUNTER 
  PRIMAL UTILITY 1
  Duration 1 hour
  Emerald light shines from your eyes for the duration. When 
  you cast the spell, choose one creature you can see within 
  medium range. You make attack rolls against the target 
  creature with 1 boon. If the creature is in an obscured area, 
  your attack rolls against the creature ignore banes imposed 
  by that obscured area. 
  Triggered You can use a triggered action to cast this spell on 
  your turn. If you do so, the duration becomes 1 minute.
  INVOKE THE HORNED KING 
  PRIMAL UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the Horned King as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  The target makes attack rolls with 2 boons until the end of 
  the round. 
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent to 
  grant a boon on an attack roll, the triggering creature can 
  move up to half its Speed after the attack without triggering 
  free attacks.
  
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  Rune Spells
  RUNIC ARMOR 
  RUNE UTILITY 5
  Target One suit of armor worn by a creature you can reach
  Duration 1 minute
  You inscribe a gleaming rune on the target armor that 
  remains for the duration. While the armor bears the rune, 
  attack rolls against the creature wearing the armor are made 
  with 2 banes.
  Shadow Spells
  GRAVE VISAGE 
  SHADOW UTILITY 1
  Duration 1 minute
  You mask your true appearance with shadows so that 
  you appear to be a corpse for the duration. Each living 
  creature within short range of you that can see you and is 
  not a member of your group must get a success on a Will 
  challenge roll or become frightened for 1 round.
  Until the spell ends, undead do not attack you unless you 
  attack them ﬁ rst.
  GATE TO THE UNDERWORLD 
  SHADOW UTILITY 4
  Requirement You must have one specially prepared skull 
  worth 1 ss within your reach.
  Target A point in space you can see within medium range
  Duration 1 hour
  You must concentrate for 1 minute while casting this spell, 
  during which time you must maintain contact with the 
  target, causing runes scrawled on the skull to ﬂ are with 
  green light. At the end of this time, the skull moves to the 
  target point and disappears, leaving behind an oval-shaped 
  opening to the Underworld that remains open for 1 hour. 
  The opening is 1 yard wide and 1 yard tall. It can have any 
  orientation you choose. It has a front, but it does not have a 
  back.
  All natural light, as well as any light created by a rank 4 or 
  lower spell, within medium range of the opening becomes 
  shadows for the duration. 
  A creature can move through the opening and enter the 
  Underworld. In the same way, creatures in the Underworld 
  can move out from the opening where it appears there. 
  While the opening exists, you can speak the name of 
  any dead creature. If that creature’s soul resides in the 
  Underworld, it comes to the edge of the opening at the end 
  of the next round, remaining there until the spell ends. If 
  you offer the creature an ounce of warm, fresh blood, it will 
  answer up to three questions, though it is limited to what it 
  can remember from its life. 
  
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  Spiritualism Spells
  SPIRIT OF THE HORNED KING 
  SPIRITUALISM UTILITY 5
  Target One creature you can see within medium range
  Duration 1 minute
  A shadow of the Horned King appears behind the target and 
  moves into its space, then disappears. Until the spell ends, 
  the target gains all of the following beneﬁ ts:
  • The target has darksight.
  • The target gains a +10 bonus to Health.
  • The target gains a +4 bonus to Speed.
  • The target makes Strength and Agility attack rolls 
  and challenge rolls with 1 boon.
  • The target’s weapon attacks deal 1d6 extra damage.
  In addition, whenever a creature gets a failure on an 
  attack roll against the target, you can use a triggered action 
  to move the target up to a number of yards equal to twice 
  your Power. 
  Telepathy Spells
  DREAM WALK 
  TELEPATHY UTILITY 5
  Duration 8 hours
  You must concentrate for 1 minute while casting this spell. At 
  the end of that time, you fall asleep for the duration.
   
  If you were holding a bit of nail, ﬂ esh, or hair from a 
  creature when you cast the spell, you can enter a dream of 
  that creature regardless of your distance from it. You enter 
  the dream and observe what happens in it, and you cannot 
  be detected for the duration. Until the spell ends, you can 
  visit the dreams of any number of creatures, though it takes 
  10 minutes to move from one dream to another, and you 
  must have a bit of nail, ﬂ esh, or hair from each creature 
  you visit. While in a creature’s dream, you can incorporate 
  yourself into the dream and communicate with the creature, 
  provided the creature knows at least one language.
   
  When inside a creature’s dream, you can take control 
  of the dream by making an Intellect attack roll against 
  the creature’s Will. On a success, you cause the creature 
  to dream whatever you want it to dream. If you force the 
  creature to experience something it would ﬁ nd disturbing, 
  the creature can make a Will challenge roll. On a success, 
  the creature forces you out of its dream and can wake up 
  if it chooses. On a failure, the creature gains 1 Insanity and 
  derives no beneﬁ t from having rested when it ﬁ nally awakes.
  Theurgy Spells
  INVOKE THE NEW GOD 
  THEURGY UTILITY 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen the New God as your patron deity.
  Target One creature you can see within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  The target gains a +1d6 bonus to Health for the duration. 
  While the target has this bonus, once per round when 
  you use the Prayer talent, you regain the ability to use a 
  triggered action.
  Water Spells
  ICE ARMOR 
  WATER UTILITY 1
  Duration 1 minute; see the effect
  You become fully sheathed in ice for the duration. Until the 
  spell ends, you have a +2 bonus to Defense, and you are 
  immune to damage from cold or ice. The next time you take 
  damage from ﬁ re, you take half damage and this effect ends.
  INVOKE OLD MAN WINTER 
  WATER ATTACK 1
  Requirements You must have the Prayer talent and must 
  have chosen Old Man Winter as your patron deity.
  Target One creature within short range
  Duration 1 minute
  You hurl a stream of freezing water at the target. Make a 
  Will attack roll against the target’s Agility. On a success, 
  the target takes 1d3 damage and becomes immobilized for 
  1 round.
   
  For the duration, whenever you use the Prayer talent to 
  grant a boon on an attack roll and the attack roll results in 
  a success, a burst of cold erupts in a 1-yard radius around 
  the target of the attack. Each creature in the area takes 
  1d3 damage. 
  BLIZZARD 
  WATER ATTACK 5
  Area A cube of space, 10 yards on a side, originating from 
  a point within long range
  Duration 1 minute
  Snow spreads through and heavily obscures the area for the 
  duration. Creatures treat the area as difﬁ cult terrain.
   
  When you cast the spell and at the end of each round 
  for the duration, each creature in the area must make a 
  Strength challenge roll. On a failure, a creature takes 5d6 
  damage and becomes impaired for 1 round , or just takes 
  half the damage on a success. While impaired in this way, 
  a creature is slowed. A ﬂ ying creature that gets a failure on 
  this roll also falls prone. 
  
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  Relics
  Many of the relics scattered across the world have 
  origins rooted in the gods and religion.
  Blade of Secrets
  An ancient weapon forged from meteoric iron by 
  members of the ﬁ rst witches’ coven, the Blade of Secrets 
  was created to combat the Devil and his innumerable 
  legions. The witches, having broken with the Old 
  Faith, found the dark forces converging on them, 
  tempting them with oﬀ ers of power and secrets best left 
  undiscovered. To combat the Devil, the ﬁ rst coven forged 
  a weapon that would focus their power and drive oﬀ  
  unwanted attention from supernatural beings.
   The Blade of Secrets has been handed down through 
  generations, always ﬁ nding its way into the hands of 
  those champions who need it the most. Though an 
  eﬀ ective weapon of exquisite make in its own right, it is 
  also a potent implement in the hands of a witch, helping 
  to focus greater power than he or she could ordinarily 
  wield.
  Enchanted Sword When you attack with the Blade of 
  Secrets, you make the attack roll with 1 boon and the 
  attack deals 1d6 extra damage (or 2d6 extra damage 
  to faeries).
  Implement of Witchcraft If you make this relic your 
  implement, you gain a +1 bonus to Power.
  Call Forth the Flame You can use an action or a triggered 
  action on your turn to cause ﬂ ames to erupt from the 
  blade. The ﬂ ames emit light in a 5-yard radius and burn for 
  1 minute. While the Blade of Secrets is aﬂ ame, your attacks 
  with the weapon deal 1d6 extra damage.
  Until this effect ends, you can use your action to touch 
  the Blade of Secrets to another weapon made from metal 
  within your reach. The ﬂ ames spread to the weapon 
  touched, so that for 1 minute, attacks made with the 
  affected weapon deal 1d3 extra damage.
  Once you use this power, you cannot use it again until 
  you complete a rest.
  Bowl of Mists
  After toppling the Witch-King’s dark kingdom, Kalasan 
  forces spread out to secure the borders of their new 
  Empire. This rapid expansion brought them into conﬂ ict 
  with the indigenous Woad peoples, who were unwilling 
  to bend the knee to a foreign conqueror despite that 
  conqueror having vanquished the Witch-King’s evil. 
  Though the Woad and their druid allies held oﬀ  
  imperial forces for a time, they were defeated in the 
  end and saw their tribes scattered across Rûl. Remnants 
  of their struggle survive in the Empire only as ruins, lost 
  battleﬁ elds, and the relics created by the heroes of the 
  Woad. 
   One such relic is the bowl of mists. A vessel of gray 
  crystal 13 inches in diameter and 6 inches tall, the bowl is 
  scribed with magical whorls that hint at its power. Azala, 
  a great druid and staunch ally of the Woad, created 
  the bowl to call forth fog to conceal the movements of 
  warriors. The bowl was last seen in the hands of a Woad 
  shaman on the edge of the Northern Reach.
  Billowing Fog Whenever you ﬁ ll the bowl with clean, fresh 
  water, the liquid immediately becomes still. It remains so 
  no matter how much the bowl is shaken, though turning 
  the bowl upside down empties it. After 1 minute within 
  the bowl, the water begins to shimmer as mist rises from 
  its surface. 
  A creature touching the bowl after the mist begins to 
  rise can use an action to make a Will challenge roll. On a 
  success, mist unfurls around the bowl in a 10-yard radius. It 
  then spreads out horizontally from the bowl at a rate of 150 
  yards per minute, until it reaches a 1-mile radius about 10 
  minutes later. The mist partially obscures everything in its 
  area, and creatures in the area make Perception challenge 
  rolls to see with 1 additional bane. This mist lasts for 3d6 
  hours and cannot be dispersed by wind. Pouring the water 
  from the bowl causes the mist to dissipate 10 minutes later.
  On a failed challenge roll to activate the bowl, the water 
  evaporates and the bowl cannot be used again until the 
  light of the risen moon falls on the relic.
  Cloak of the Wolf Lord
  Long ago, the Horned King and the mystical creature 
  known as the Lord of Wolves feuded over who had 
  dominion over the beasts of the world. Heated words 
  turned to violence, and the two battled without rest for 
  twelve days. In the end, the Horned King triumphed 
  and slew the Lord of Wolves, but only after suﬀ ering a 
  grievous wound. 
  undiscovered. To combat the Devil, the ﬁ rst coven forged 
  also a potent implement in the hands of a witch, helping 
  blade. The ﬂ ames emit light in a 5-yard radius and burn for 
  aﬂ ame, your attacks 
  Billowing Fog Whenever you ﬁ ll the bowl with clean, fresh 
  
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   The World Mother, pitying her husband and grieving 
  over the loss of such a noble beast, promised to heal 
  the Horned King’s wound—but only if he honored the 
  Wolf Lord by granting it immortality. The Horned King 
  agreed, but being an angry and vengeful god, he tore the 
  Wolf Lord’s pelt from the carcass, transforming it into a 
  cloak and binding its spirit there. Now, anyone who dons 
  the cloak can draw on the power of the Wolf Lord.
  Form of the Wolf Lord If you wear this cloak at night, 
  you can use an action to transform yourself (along with 
  everything you are wearing or holding) into the Wolf Lord. 
  Use its statistics box in place of your own, as described 
  in the Assuming Different Forms sidebar on page 147 of 
  Shadow of the Demon Lord. You remain in this form until 
  dawn or until you become incapacitated. 
  Doom of the Wolf Lord Each time you return to your 
  normal form after having taken the form of the Wolf Lord, 
  you must get a success on a Will challenge roll or gain 
  1 Insanity. If gaining this Insanity causes you to go mad, 
  the cloak falls from your body and you immediately and 
  permanently transform into an ordinary wolf (as a small 
  animal with the Pack Fighting trait). 
  WOLF LORD 
  Size 2 animal
  Perception 17 (+7); darksight
  Defense 16; Health 60
  Strength 15 (+5), Agility 13 (+3), Intellect 12 (+2), Will 13 (+3)
  Speed 12
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Teeth (melee) +5 with 2 boons (3d6 + 1 plus Trip)
  Trip The target must make an Agility challenge roll. On a 
  failure, it falls prone or takes 1d6 extra damage if already 
  prone.
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Darting Attack The Wolf Lord moves up to half its Speed 
  and then attacks with its teeth. If it gets a failure on the 
  attack roll, it can use a triggered action to retreat.
  Dawn Spear
  As the ﬁ nal battle surged around the hated Witch-King, 
  a warrior named Moenghus sought to gain the gods’ 
  favor in the ﬁ ght. Looking to the sun, he saw in it the 
  power he would need to vanquish the Witch-King’s 
  evil host. So he constructed a pair of wings, donned 
  them, and ﬂ ew up into the heavens to touch his spear 
  to the celestial orb. The Queen of Summer rewarded 
  his cunning and courage by infusing the bronze tip 
  of his spear with holy light. The Dawn Spear has a 
  polished bronze haft and a head that burns with the 
  light of the sun. 
  Light from the Sun The Dawn Spear emits light in a 20-
  yard radius. The light created by the artifact suppresses 
  shadows and darkness created by any magic. Covering the 
  tip of the spear suppresses the light.
  Blazing Spear Your attacks with this spear deal 1d6 extra 
  damage, or 3d6 extra damage to spirits and undead.
  When the total of an attack roll made using the relic is 
  20 or higher and exceeds the target number by at least 5, 
  you and each sighted creature within 10 yards of you must 
  get a success on a Perception challenge roll or take 3d6 
  damage and become blinded for 1 minute.
  Eye of the Seer
  The Eye of the Seer currently resides in a lead-lined 
  box in a vault hidden inside the Watcher’s Redoubt. 
  That great temple of the Seer is built atop the Cliﬀ s of 
  Shazekeel, where the Shield Mountains tumble into 
  the southern shores of the Nyxian Ocean. The sibyl 
  Anoxithris dwells there. When not in the grip of the 
  lotus petals to which she is addicted, she peers into 
  the Eye of the Seer in search of visions of the doom that 
  creeps over the world. 
   The sibyls of the Seer’s cult believe that this heavy orb 
  of black obsidian is truly the Seer’s missing eye, cut out 
  by a titan in a time long forgotten. Others suggest that 
  the relic might be a twin to the dreaded Eye of the Demon 
  Lord (described in Tales of the Demon Lord), for it taxes 
  the mind and blights the power of life around it.
  Accursed Glass If you touch the Eye of the Seer, you must 
  get a success on a Will challenge roll with 1 bane or gain 
  1d3 Insanity and become cursed. While cursed in this way, 
  you gain 1d3 Insanity at the end of any round in which you 
  are not within short range of the relic. If you go mad from 
  gaining Insanity in this way, your brain blasts out from the 
  back of your head, causing you to die immediately.
  The curse lasts until another creature becomes cursed 
  by the relic, which forces you to make a Will challenge 
  roll with 1 bane. On a failure, you gain 1d6 Insanity. Any 
  resulting madness is resolved as described above.
  
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  Inner Magic The Seer’s Eye has Power 6 and contains the 
  following Divination spells: augur, prophecy†, locate, 
  soothsay (described in this book), and clairvoyance. If you 
  are cursed by the relic, you can cast spells from it.
  Blighted Relic If you are cursed by the Seer’s Eye, each time 
  you complete a rest, each living creature within short 
  range of the relic must make a Strength challenge roll. 
  On a failure, a creature takes a cumulative �1d6 penalty 
  to Health and becomes impaired until it completes a rest. 
  The penalty decreases by 1 point each time an affected 
  creature completes a rest.
  Face of Frost
  A mask carved from wood painted blue and fringed with 
  the fur of a polar bear, the Face of Frost bears the likeness 
  of Old Man Winter. Carved by the god himself, the mask 
  has brought nothing but misery to all those who have 
  found it. Despite its dark reputation, the god’s priests 
  scour all lands for it, believing it belongs to them.
  Curse When you put on the mask, you become cursed as if 
  by a rank 5 spell until you become incapacitated. While 
  cursed in this way, you cannot remove the mask. Removing 
  the curse causes the mask to disappear and reappear at a 
  place of the GM’s choosing.
  Immune to Cold While cursed by the mask, you are immune 
  to damage from cold or ice.
  Fury of Frost If you become injured while you are cursed by 
  the mask, a blast of freezing cold spreads out from the 
  mask in a 5-yard-radius sphere. Each creature in the area 
  must make a Strength challenge roll with 1 bane. A creature 
  takes 2d6 damage on a failure, or half the damage on a 
  success. You then make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 minute.
  Hammer of the Stone King
  The ﬁ rst king of the dwarfs after their fall from grace 
  was Ourabald the Great, who delved into the heart of a 
  volcano to forge what would become the symbol of his 
  people’s independence. A mighty hammer imbued with 
  runic magic, the Hammer of the Stone King was wielded 
  by Ourabald and a long line of sons after him in their 
  wars against giants and goblins, elves and humans. The 
  hammer was lost when Haribald the Unready fell in 
  battle against the Witch-King, and it has not been seen 
  since.
   The Hammer of the Stone King is a stout warhammer 
  with an unusually large head. One side of that head is 
  forged in the shape of a clenched ﬁ st, while the other 
  end is a long, tapering spike. 
  Enchanted Warhammer When you attack with the Hammer 
  of the Stone King, you make the attack roll with 1 boon, 
  and the attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  Hammer Fall As an attack, you strike the ground with the 
  warhammer, sending a shock wave rippling through the 
  ground from that point across a line, 10 yards long and 1 
  yard wide. Each creature on the ground in the area other 
  than you must get a success on an Agility challenge roll or 
  take 3d6 damage and fall prone.
  Idol of Nazzan
  At certain times, when the stars align in the night sky, a 
  strange fever grips the world. Artists and poets awaken 
  in a cold sweat, their imaginations gripped by horror as 
  they set out to capture their dreams in whatever medium 
  they can. The result of their eﬀ orts is always some 
  horriﬁ c model, sketch, or poem that has no place in the 
  world. Usually, such works are quickly destroyed by 
  the hands that created them. Sometimes, one makes its 
  way into the world, bringing terror and death to all who 
  encounter it. 
   A fusion of human and animal forms captured in 
  stone, the Idol of Nazzan invites madness to any who look 
  upon it. A thing conjured from an insane imagination, 
  this relic has been molded by the trembling hands of 
  someone who has seen its ghastly shape in dark dreams. 
  Maddening Dreams Any creature that sleeps within 500 
  yards of the Idol of Nazzan experiences strange and 
  unsettling dreams—visions of monstrous beasts, unnatural 
  humanoids, bizarre vistas, and mind-bending events. 
  Upon waking, the creature must get a success on a Will 
  challenge roll or gain no beneﬁ t from the rest and gain 1 
  Insanity. 
  Enchanted Implement If you make the Idol of Nazzan your 
  implement, the relic grants you 1 boon to attack rolls you 
  make as a result of you casting a spell while you hold it.
  Hidden Power The idol is a reservoir of magic power you can 
  draw on to cast your spells. To cast a spell using the idol, 
  roll a d6. 
  On a 1, you gain Insanity equal to your Will score and the 
  spell is not cast. 
  On a 2–5, you gain Insanity equal to the number rolled 
  and you must make a Will challenge roll. On a success, you 
  cast the spell without expending a casting. 
  On a 6, you cast the spell without expending a casting.
  The Maiden’s Hourglass
  Glittering silver sand ﬁ lls this hourglass, whose spherical 
  bulbs are set within a silver frame. Though it functions 
  as a normal hourglass, the Maiden in the Moon created 
  this device for a mortal who had captured her heart. 
  Imbuing it with magic that would slow time for him, 
  she hoped to lengthen the time they had together. Her 
  eﬀ orts were ultimately in vain, though, for the powerful 
  relic attracted the attention of despicable individuals 
  who murdered the mortal and made oﬀ  with the device. 
  The relic’s power has waned since the mortal’s death, 
  as shown by its diminished capabilities in the hands of 
  those who have discovered it in the long years since. 
  Enchanted Implement If you make the Maiden’s Hourglass 
  your implement, the relic can extend your spells. While you 
  hold the relic, any spell you cast with a duration of 1 round 
  or longer has its duration doubled.
  Slow the Flow of Time You can use an action to call upon 
  the hourglass’s power. Make an Intellect challenge roll. 
  On a success, the ﬂ ow of silvery sand from the top bulb 
  is frozen, and time stops for 1 round. You are not affected 
  by this stoppage of time, but everything else in the world 
  is. During this round, you can act normally, and you treat 
  all creatures as defenseless until time starts ﬂ owing once 
  more. If you deal damage to any creature or object while 
  time has stopped, you become stunned until the end of the 
  next round and time immediately resumes.
  On a failure, you become frozen in time for 1d6 + 1 
  minutes. While frozen in time, you are defenseless and 
  perceive nothing until time resumes.
  Once you successfully use the hourglass to stop time, 
  the relic’s magic wanes. Roll a d20. On a 1, the hourglass 
  disappears and reappears at another place in the world of 
  the GM’s choosing. Any other number indicates the number 
  of days that must pass before you can use the relic again.
  
  48
  48
  Pale Horse Statuette
  One of the most prized relics belonging to the Solemn 
  Brethren, the Pale Horse Statuette went missing from 
  the Cathedral of Death a century ago. Members of the 
  brethren placed the blame on Fortunate Freydor, an 
  infamous scoundrel who took credit for many high-
  proﬁ le robberies in his day. Though any stolen relic 
  would be a great aﬀ ront to the priests, the statuette was a 
  grievous loss, for it summons a shadow of Father Death’s 
  white horse to whoever calls upon it. The cult of Father 
  Death still hunts for the relic and would pay a high 
  reward for its return.
   The Pale Horse Statuette is an 8-inch-tall exquisite 
  carving of a rearing horse in white marble that always 
  feels cool to the touch. If left in one place for more than 
  an hour, it causes all plants within 1 yard of it to wither 
  and die.
  Cursed Statuette When you touch the relic, you must get 
  a success on a Strength challenge roll or become cursed 
  until someone else becomes cursed by it. You can choose 
  to fail this roll. While cursed, whenever you make a fate 
  roll, you must roll twice and use the lower result.
  On a Pale Horse If you are cursed by the Pale Horse Statuette 
  and holding it, you can use an action to call upon the Pale 
  Horse. The relic disappears and the Pale Horse (see the 
  statistics box) appears on a solid surface of your choice 
  within short range. The Pale Horse is friendly to you and 
  obeys your commands. It remains until you use an action 
  to dismiss it, which causes the relic to reappear in one of 
  your hands, or at your feet if your hands are full; or until 
  the Pale Horse becomes incapacitated, which causes it 
  and the statuette to disappear and reappear at a place of 
  the GM’s choosing. Once the Pale Horse appears, the relic 
  cannot be used again in this way for 1d6 days.
  PALE HORSE 
  Size 2 frightening spirit
  Perception 15 (+5); truesight
  Defense 15; Health 50
  Strength 15 (+5), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 15 (+5)
  Speed 12
  Immune damage from cold, disease, ﬁ re, and poison; 
  gaining Insanity; asleep, blinded, deafened, diseased, 
  fatigued, frightened, immobilized, poisoned, slowed
  Insubstantial The Pale Horse takes half damage from 
  weapons, can move through solid objects and other 
  creatures, and ignores the effects of moving across 
  difﬁ cult terrain.
  Bestow Insubstantiality The creature who summoned 
  the Pale Horse can mount it. While mounted, the Pale 
  Horse’s rider gains its Insubstantial trait.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Hooves and Teeth (melee) +5 with 1 boon (2d6 + 2)
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Gallop The Pale Horse moves up to three times its Speed.
  Revel’s Die
  Each time Revel’s Die ﬁ nds its way into mortal hands, 
  chaos results. A dodecahedron carved from bone, the 
  die bears a diﬀ erent rune on each face. The runes do 
  not correspond to any known language, and eﬀ orts to 
  decipher them with magic always fail. Some believe that 
  they are symbols tied to the words of power the genies 
  used to fashion the world, but if so, their meaning has 
  proven elusive. 
  Enchanted Implement If you make Revel’s Die your 
  implement, whenever you make an attack roll as a result 
  of casting a spell, make a fate roll. On a 1, you make the 
  attack roll with 1d3 banes. On a 6, you make the attack roll 
  with 1d3 boons. 
  Pale Horse Statuette
  One of the most prized relics belonging to the Solemn 
  Brethren, the Pale Horse Statuette went missing from 
  the Cathedral of Death a century ago. Members of the 
  brethren placed the blame on Fortunate Freydor, an 
  infamous scoundrel who took credit for many high-
  proﬁ le robberies in his day. Though any stolen relic 
  would be a great aﬀ ront to the priests, the statuette was a 
  grievous loss, for it summons a shadow of Father Death’s 
  white horse to whoever calls upon it. The cult of Father 
  PALE HORSE 
  Size 2 frightening spirit
  Perception 15 (+5); truesight
  Defense 15; Health 50
  Strength 15 (+5), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 15 (+5)
  Speed 12
  Immune damage from cold, disease, ﬁ re, and poison; 
  gaining Insanity; asleep, blinded, deafened, diseased, 
  fatigued, frightened, immobilized, poisoned, slowed
  Insubstantial The Pale Horse takes half damage from 
  weapons, can move through solid objects and other 
  creatures, and ignores the effects of moving across 
  difﬁ cult terrain.
  Bestow Insubstantiality The creature who summoned 
  
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  Cast the Die You can use an action or a triggered action on 
  your turn to roll Revel’s Die. Roll a d20 and consult the 
  following table to see what happens. Then roll a d6. On an 
  odd number, the relic disappears and reappears at another 
  place in the world of the GM’s choosing.
  Revel’s Die Effects
  d20
  Effect
  1
  A huge monster appears in an open space of the 
  GM’s choosing within medium range. The creature 
  is hostile to your group.
  2
  You transform (as if by the animal shape spell) 
  into an animal of your Size. The effect lasts for 
  1 hour.
  3
  You and each member of your group must get a 
  success on a Will challenge roll with 1 bane or gain 
  1 Insanity and become dazed for 1 minute.
  4
  You swap places with a creature of your choice 
  within long range.
  5
  You and each member of your group within 
  medium range of you make attack rolls and 
  challenge rolls with 1 bane for 1 hour.
  6
  You and each member of your group regain 
  1 expended casting.
  7
  A pulse of energy spreads out from the relic 
  into a sphere with a 2d6-yard radius. Each 
  creature in the area must make a Will challenge 
  roll. On a failure, the creature takes 2d6 damage 
  and gains 1 Insanity, or just takes half the damage 
  on a success.
  8
  You and each member of your group within short 
  range of you remove 1 Insanity.
  9
  1d3 + 1 medium monsters appear in open spaces 
  of the GM’s choosing within short range of you. 
  They are hostile to all other creatures.
  10
  You gain 1 Insanity and heal damage equal to your 
  healing rate.
  11
  You and each member of your group within 
  short range of you take damage equal to the 
  individual’s healing rate.
  12
  You heal all damage, and one creature of your 
  choice within short range takes the damage 
  you healed.
  13
  The GM chooses one member of your group. The 
  target must get a success on a Will challenge roll 
  with 1 bane or transform into a monster of its Size 
  for 1 minute, or until it is incapacitated. A target 
  transformed in this way is under the GM’s control. 
  14
  You make attack rolls and challenge rolls with 
  1 boon for 1 hour.
  15
  Each creature that is not a member of your group 
  within short range of you heals damage equal to 
  its healing rate.
  16
  You and each member of your group within short 
  range of you make attack rolls and challenge rolls 
  with 1 boon for 1 hour.
  17
  Each creature that is not a member of your group 
  within short range of you removes all afﬂ ictions 
  and makes attack rolls and challenge rolls with 
  1 boon for 1 minute.
  18 
  You and each member of your group heal all 
  damage and remove all Insanity.
  19
  You and each member of your group within short 
  range of you gain 1d6 Insanity.
  20
  You gain 3d6 Insanity and permanently increase 
  an attribute of your choice by 1.
  Seed of Life
  According to legend, a faun named Matilda served 
  the World Mother her entire life, forgoing marriage 
  and friendships to protect the land. When the faun 
  died, the World Mother came to fetch her soul, so 
  that the faun would live forever in her company. To 
  honor her passing, the World Mother bestowed a 
  golden acorn upon the people who tended the faun 
  in her last days, telling them to plant the seed when 
  their need was greatest. 
  Enchanted Implement If you make the Seed of Life your 
  implement, you increase the number of castings for all 
  Nature spells you know by 1.
  Plant the Seed You can use an action to dig a small hole 
  in the ground, drop the seed in the hole, and cover 
  it up. A great oak tree springs up from that spot 1 
  minute later, immediately reaching Size 10. For seven 
  days, any creature that rests within 1 mile of the tree 
  heals all damage and removes 1 Insanity. Additionally, 
  the tree nourishes the land within 1 mile of it, causing 
  crops to double in yield, cleansing sources of water, 
  and eliminating all sources of disease. At the end of the 
  seventh day, the tree and the Seed of Life from which 
  it sprang disappear, and the seed reappears in some 
  other place of the GM’s choosing.
  Virtue’s Goblet
  During Astrid’s travels, she disguised herself and 
  visited seven taverns over seven nights, begging in 
  each establishment for water. The ﬁ rst six barkeeps 
  refused her and cast her out, thinking her nothing 
  more than a ﬁ lthy vagrant. The seventh was a 
  virtuous man, and he gave her water from his own 
  cup. As a reward, Astrid blessed that cup, so that 
  anyone who sipped from it would ﬁ nd relief from 
  their ills. Virtue’s Goblet appears as a simple wooden 
  cup, with an odd depression on one side that 
  resembles a thumbprint.
  Cleansing Goblet Any liquid poured into Virtue’s Goblet 
  instantly becomes pure, clean water. 
  Healing Power While holding the goblet, you can call 
  upon its healing powers by making a Will challenge 
  roll. On a success, the next living creature to drink from 
  the goblet heals all damage, removes all Insanity, and 
  removes the diseased and poisoned afﬂ ictions. 
  A failure causes Virtue’s Goblet to become an 
  ordinary cup for 24 hours. After the third failure, the 
  goblet disappears and reappears at another place of 
  the GM’s choosing.
  
  50
  False Wonders
  An Adventure for Novice Characters
  In the Shrine of the Errant Mother, the statue of 
  Astrid’s Passion weeps blood. Witnesses have carried 
  word of the miracle everywhere, drawing people from 
  all across the Holy Kingdom to gaze upon it and give 
  praise to the New God. Unfortunately, the statue’s 
  bloody tears come from the demon possessing it, 
  which has been wounded by the fumbling eﬀ orts 
  of a well-intentioned priest. 
   The characters complete this adventure by 
  uncovering the truth about what’s going on and 
  destroying the demon before it escapes.
  Background
  A few weeks ago, Robert Croy brought his sixteen-
  year-old daughter Rein to the Shrine of the Errant 
  Mother for help. Not only had she been acting 
  strangely of late, she had bloated to twice her size 
  overnight. Sister Samanda, the caretaker of the shrine, 
  rightly deduced that a demon had possessed the 
  young woman. Fearing that the possession would 
  destroy Rein, and with Seven Spires a week’s travel 
  away, Samanda performed an exorcism to drive the 
  demon out—but she was only partly successful. 
   Instead of being sent back to the Void, the demon 
  jumped into the statue of Astrid’s Passion, where it 
  currently hides. The demon’s presence in the statue 
  has caused blood to spill from the wounds created by 
  the knives sticking out of the statue’s body. Samanda 
  has no idea that the demon is in the statue and has 
  thus interpreted the event as a manifestation of divine 
  favor resulting from her good works. Now that word 
  has spread, people have come from all around to 
  witness the statue and receive its blessing.
   The magic Samanda used to drive the demon out 
  left it weakened. The demon can leave the statue, 
  but it can only enter a body housing a corrupted soul. 
  Thankfully, it has found several such souls in the 
  pilgrims who have gathered to seek salvation and 
  will make its move once night falls.
  Getting Started
  Before you run this adventure, you need to come 
  up with a reason for the group’s involvement. If the 
  characters have ties to the Cult of the New God, 
  consider having a contact send them to investigate 
  the miraculous event at the shrine and verify its 
  authenticity. If they have no such ties, the characters 
  might be passing by the shrine on other business.
  A Faithful Gathering
  The adventure starts when the group comes upon 
  a crowd of people gathered around a small stone 
  shrine bearing the symbol of the New God on its door. 
  The shrine stands on the north side of an east-west 
  road, across from a large building whose signboard 
  proclaims it “The Roadside Inn and Livery.” Farmland 
  stretches for miles all around, and the characters can 
  see barns and houses to the northeast, northwest, 
  east, west, and south. Behind the shrine stands a 
  small wooden shack with an iron stovepipe sticking 
  out the side. The people gathered around the shrine 
  talk quietly to one another, pray, kneel, and generally 
  convey a sense of religious awe.
  The Shrine
  The Shrine of the Errant Mother stands alongside an 
  old road in the western reaches of the Holy Kingdom 
  (see Chapter 8 of Shadow of the Demon Lord). It was 
  built on a site where the prophet Astrid was supposed 
  to have rested en route to Caecras to face her accusers, 
  and where she performed a miracle by driving out 
  demons that had possessed a family living nearby. 
   The shrine is a stone building about 5 yards 
  wide and 8 yards long, with a roof of slate. A single 
  door grants access to a sparsely furnished interior 
  dominated by a towering statue of Astrid (Size 1), 
  which is pierced by real swords. A low wooden barrier 
  divides the area holding the statue from the rest of the 
  room. Candles line the walls throughout, and a small 
  oﬀ ering box hangs on the wall near the door.
   Sister Samanda is inside, permitting no more than 
  eight people at a time to enter the shrine. The people 
  gathered out front are waiting to enter. Unless the 
  characters make a show of being on business for the 
  Cult of the New God or use force to push past the 
  other people waiting, they need to wait about four 
  hours for their turn to enter.
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  51
  MOB OF COMMONERS 
  DIFFICULTY 10
  Size 3 human
  Perception 9 (–1)
  Defense 10; Health 44
  Strength 11 (+1), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 9 (–1)
  Speed 10
  Mob A mob takes half damage from attacks that target 
  individual creatures and double damage from attacks 
  that affect creatures in areas. The mob acts as a single 
  creature, but it counts as 10 creatures for the purpose of 
  choosing targets. A mob makes Strength, Intellect, and 
  Will challenge rolls with 1 boon.
  Creatures can move through a mob’s space, but they 
  treat the area as difﬁ cult terrain. The mob can squeeze 
  through openings large enough to accommodate Size 
  1 creatures and can move through spaces occupied by 
  creatures of any Size.
  Spawn When the mob becomes incapacitated, it dissipates 
  and 1d6 commoners appear in open spaces with the 
  space formerly occupied by the mob. The commoners 
  can take the next available turn.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Clubs (melee) +1 with 2 boons (3d6, or 1d6 if the mob 
  is injured)
  END OF THE ROUND 
  Overwhelm If the mob is not injured, each creature that 
  isn’t a swarm or a mob that is in the mob’s space or 
  within 1 yard of it must get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll or take 2d6 damage.
  The Faithful
  About one hundred people have converged on the 
  shrine to witness the miracle. All are human, and 
  over half of them bear some malady. Some walk with 
  crutches. Others stare vacantly, strings of drool falling 
  from their lips as their caregivers wait to partake of 
  the statue’s blessing. A few people gibber madly, while 
  others show the scars of having survived disease, injury, 
  or some other life-threatening peril. 
   For the most part, the people waiting are friendly and 
  are excited to bear witness to what is clearly a sign of 
  divine favor. Most talk about the hardships of their lives 
  and their hope to receive healing from the statue. If the 
  characters push their way to the front of the line without
  showing authorization of some kind from the Cult of the 
  New God, the atmosphere swings to hostile. The faithful 
  assemble into 4 mobs of commoners and attack as the 
  characters try to press past them.  
  51
  Overwhelm If the mob is not injured, each creature that 
  isn’t a swarm or a mob that is in the mob’s space or 
  within 1 yard of it must get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll or take 2d6 damage.
  
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  The Corrupted
  Of the people gathered at the shrine, the only ones 
  important to the adventure are the six who bear some 
  amount of Corruption. Some have come to the shrine 
  hoping for redemption, while others were drawn by 
  the demonic presence haunting the site. The player 
  characters might interact with some, all, or none of these 
  people before nightfall, as you choose.
   Old Martha: A kindly grandmother, Old Martha (as a 
  high cultist with 6 Corruption) looks after the children 
  of the faithful that have gathered at the shrine, telling 
  them stories and making sure they are clean and fed. 
  Hunched by age, she has a wrinkled face and thinning 
  white hair, wears a homespun dress, and tends to cackle. 
  Under her clothing, a baby’s hand grows out of her belly, 
  grasping anything it can reach. Martha is a devoted 
  cultist of the Demon Lord and believes that her master 
  has chosen this site to communicate his wishes.
   Little Jimmy: A strange little boy with black hair 
  and dark eyes, Little Jimmy (as a Size 1/2 commoner 
  with 3 Corruption) keeps away from the other children, 
  preferring to keep his own company. He came here 
  on his own, and though a few people have wondered 
  about his parents, he never stays around long enough 
  to be questioned. Jimmy lit his house on ﬁ re, killing 
  his parents and two siblings, after his father gave him a 
  thrashing for leaving the family sword outside overnight. 
  Jimmy has come to the shrine seeking forgiveness.
   Lumpen Ment: The brutish Lumpen Ment (as a 
  veteran with 4 Corruption) loves young women too 
  much. He takes them and holds them, crushing the 
  life from them. After killing his fourth victim, he ﬂ ed 
  his home, knowing that he would hang if caught. 
  Unfortunately, the spirit of one of the dead women dogs 
  his steps as a phantom and has tried to kill him several 
  times. Lumpen hopes the blood of Astrid’s statue will 
  cleanse him of his sins and put the spirit to rest.
   August Furth: A man of good looks and ﬁ t body, 
  August Furth (as a mercenary with 2 Corruption) has 
  done terrible things as a sword for hire, and too much 
  innocent blood stains his hands. He feels genuine 
  remorse for what he has done and came to the shrine in 
  the hopes of being redeemed.
   Ula Meeks: After drowning her child in a washtub, 
  Ula Meeks (as a hired killer with 3 Corruption) stabbed 
  her husband ﬁ fty times with a kitchen knife. She ﬂ ed 
  justice and drifted south until she met Old Martha, 
  who took her under her wing and broke her mind with 
  diabolical whispers. A young woman in her twenties, Ula 
  has blonde hair and a pretty face. She tends to stare at 
  shadows when no one is engaging her. She is completely 
  under Old Martha’s control, and would do anything to 
  protect her. 
   Grinning Gill: No one is as deft with a blade as 
  Grinning Gill (as a pickpocket with 1 Corruption). A 
  street thief from Seven Spires, he’s been quietly building 
  a criminal organization under the nose of the Cult of the 
  New God. An attractive young man with bronze skin, a 
  mop of black hair, and a whip-thin body, Gill specializes 
  in kidnapping and in traﬃ  cking slaves from Dis. He built 
  a reputation around providing the less virtuous priests 
  of the cult with pliable courtesans, then disposing of 
  the bodies after they had served their purpose. After a 
  cardinal was stabbed by one of Gill’s young boys, the 
  thief found himself unwelcome in Seven Spires. He was 
  drifting west when he stumbled onto the Shrine of the 
  Errant Mother, and he is now lying low until he can 
  ﬁ gure out his next move. 
  Sister Samanda
  Sister Samanda (as an acolyte of the New God) has 
  tended the Shrine of the Errant Mother for a little 
  over a year. Her youth and inexperience shows in her 
  mannerisms and posture. She has brown skin, a pretty 
  face, and long black hair that she plaits in two braids 
  hanging to the middle of her back. She wears the 
  vestments of her faith—black robes and a wooden disk 
  displaying the New God’s symbol on a leather cord tied 
  around her neck.
   Samanda is overwhelmed by the recent turn of events 
  at the shrine, but she believes in her heart that she 
  had some hand in the miracle. She tends to the people 
  who have gathered at her door but ﬁ nds the attention 
  daunting. If the characters are connected to her faith 
  in any way, or if they waited patiently to enter the 
  shrine, she welcomes them as brothers and sisters. She 
  tells them the story of the shrine and how the statue 
  started bleeding (though she doesn’t initially mention 
  the exorcism or her part in it). If the characters bullied 
  their way inside the shrine, Samanda is unfriendly and 
  encourages them to wait their turn. 
   Samanda doesn’t allow anyone to move beyond the 
  railing, though she can be convinced to let a character 
  have a closer look at the statue with a success on an 
  Intellect or Will attack roll against her Will. Characters 
  aﬃ  liated with the Cult of the New God make the attack 
  roll with 1 boon, while characters Samanda is unfriendly 
  toward make the roll with 1d3 banes.
  Secrets
  Characters speaking with Samanda might sense that 
  she’s holding something back. She won’t say anything 
  in the presence of the faithful or to characters who have 
  not earned her friendship, but if convinced to talk, the 
  acolyte reveals that she thinks she was responsible for 
  the miracle. She tells characters about the “successful” 
  exorcism of young Rein and of how she believes her 
  eﬀ ort won the New God’s favor.
   If asked about the exorcism, Samanda tells the 
  characters that Rein was brought to the shrine three 
  weeks ago by her father Robert, who runs the Roadside 
  Inn and Livery. Rein was always a quiet and strange little 
  
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  girl, who had been obsessed with an invisible friend 
  when she was younger. When Robert brought her in, she 
  had bloated to twice her normal size. Rein shrieked and 
  clawed at her body, as if it were stuﬀ ed with something. 
  After Samanda cast the demon out, Rein’s body deﬂ ated 
  and Robert took her home. Samanda hasn’t seen either 
  of them since.
  The Statue of Astrid’s Passion
  The statue stands nine feet tall and depicts a woman 
  dressed in a shawl and robes. Steel swords pierce her 
  body at various points, and blood dribbles from those 
  wounds. Anyone willing to smell or taste the blood 
  conﬁ rms that it is real. No magical aura emanates from 
  the statue, and any inspection conﬁ rms that it is perfectly 
  ordinary—aside from the blood leaking out 
  of solid stone. 
  The Shack
  About ten yards behind the shrine, a tiny one-room 
  shack with wooden walls stands atop a stone foundation. 
  Wooden shingles cover its slanting roof. A small glass 
  window and door grant access through the front, and a 
  second glass window oﬀ ers access from the east. 
   Samanda lives here, having inherited the shack from 
  the last priest who tended the shrine. The place lacks 
  amenities. A cot sits against the wall under the window, 
  next to a table holding a pitcher, basin, brush, and small 
  mirror. A trunk sits under the cot, holding clothing and a 
  small bag containing 22 cp. A potbellied stove stands by 
  the door, with a pot and a pan sitting on top. An iron bin 
  holds a few logs and a box of matches. On a shelf nearby, 
  enough provisions to allow one person to eat for a few 
  days are neatly stacked. 
  The Farms
  Five farms near the shrine grow wheat and barley 
  alongside small patches of vegetables. Each farm 
  is run by a married couple with the help of 1d6 + 1 
  children and 2d6 farmhands. The farms don’t play 
  into the adventure unless you want them to. One 
  of the possessed pilgrims could run to a farm 
  and attack people working in the ﬁ elds, or a farm 
  family might be descendants of the demonic 
  cultists who once worshipped beneath the inn.
  The Roadside Inn and Livery
  Business has never been better for Robert Croy, owner 
  of the Roadside Inn and Livery. The people coming 
  to see the statue need food, drink, and shelter, all of 
  which Croy is happy to provide. The characters ﬁ nd 
  this large building crowded with people, with a staﬀ  of 
  three servers running to and from the kitchens, and not 
  days are neatly stacked. 
  The Farms
  Five farms near the shrine grow wheat and barley 
  alongside small patches of vegetables. Each farm 
  is run by a married couple with the help of 1d6 + 1 
  children and 2d6 farmhands. The farms don’t play 
  into the adventure unless you want them to. One 
  of the possessed pilgrims could run to a farm 
  and attack people working in the ﬁ elds, or a farm 
  family might be descendants of the demonic 
  cultists who once worshipped beneath the inn.
  when she was younger. When Robert brought her in, she 
  had bloated to twice her normal size. Rein shrieked and 
  After Samanda cast the demon out, Rein’s body deﬂ ated 
  the statue, and any inspection conﬁ rms that it is perfectly 
  shack with wooden walls stands atop a stone foundation. 
  next to a table holding a pitcher, basin, brush, and small 
  mirror. A trunk sits under the cot, holding clothing and a 
  the door, with a pot and a pan sitting on top. An iron bin 
  holds a few logs and a box of matches. On a shelf nearby, 
  
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  a single room left for rent. Furthermore, Croy is just 
  about out of provisions and has sent his stable boy 
  with a wagon to a nearby town to replenish his stores.
   A low wall surrounds the inn and livery, forming a 
  yard in the front for wagons. The inn stands two stories 
  tall, with the main ﬂ oor taken up by the restaurant and 
  bar, kitchens, a storeroom, and quarters for the serving 
  staﬀ , Croy, and Croy’s daughter Rein. A staircase 
  climbs to the second ﬂ oor, with four small rooms able 
  to sleep two guests each and a large common room 
  able to sleep a dozen. A ladder leads up to a stuﬀ y attic, 
  where blankets and pillows have been arranged to 
  accommodate a dozen more. 
   A ladder leads down from the kitchen to a storeroom 
  below. Robert has no idea that a cult of the Demon 
  Lord once occupied the inn, using a secret room 
  beyond the storeroom for dark rituals.
   The livery is not much more than a barn, with stalls 
  for twenty-four horses and a hayloft above. 
  Talking with the Locals
  Characters who approach Croy and his staﬀ  ﬁ nd 
  them too busy to spare more than a few words. Croy 
  apologizes for the lack of accommodations and lets 
  the characters join other pilgrims sleeping on the 
  restaurant ﬂ oor after closing time. He does not allow 
  the characters to see his daughter, claiming she is ill 
  and not able to take visitors.
   The servers include three young women named 
  Maggie, Alice, and Florence. After hours, the three 
  spend time out behind the restaurant, sharing a pipe 
  of tobacco and a bottle of rotgut. If befriended, they 
  reveal that Rein had been acting strangely a few weeks 
  ago, but they haven’t seen her lately. They believe 
  that Robert locked her in her room and can tell the 
  characters which room that is.
   The kitchen staﬀ  includes three cooks, two scullions, 
  and a large, blustering man seemingly incapable of 
  speaking a kind word. None of them know anything 
  about Rein, though one of the scullions thinks she’s 
  nice. They’re too busy and too exhausted to talk, 
  having taken up sleeping on the uncomfortable 
  kitchen ﬂ oor since giving up their barracks to guests.
  Rein
  After the exorcism, Robert Croy brought his daughter 
  back to her room at the inn, hoping that the injuries 
  done to her body would heal. When they didn’t, he 
  planned to take her to Seven Spires, but the inn got so 
  busy that he couldn’t get away. Though he’s wracked 
  with guilt about it, he’s been forced to leave Rein alone 
  for much of the last three weeks, aside from bringing 
  her food and water. 
   If the characters investigate Rein’s room, they 
  ﬁ nd the door locked. Robert has the only key, but 
  any character with a burglar, locksmith, or related 
  profession can easily open the lock. Inside, a horrid 
  stench assails the senses. Rein huddles on her bed in 
  the corner. The sixteen-year-old appears to be covered 
  in a canvas sheet, but the characters soon realize that 
  the material is in fact her loose, stretched skin from 
  when the demon bloated her body. Any character that 
  sees her must get a success on a Will challenge roll or 
  gain 1 Insanity.
   The experience of possession and exorcism has 
  destroyed Rein’s mind, leaving her shattered. She 
  has moments of lucidity, but they are rare. While 
  the characters are present, she asks, “Have you seen 
  him? Have you seen the watcher in the walls? I keep 
  looking, but he’s gone. Into the mother, I guess.” If the 
  characters can calm her down, either with magic or 
  with a success on a Will challenge roll made with 3 
  banes, Rein can impart the following information:
  • She had a friend no one else could see when she 
  was younger. This friend lived in the walls and 
  would tell her secrets.
  • Only she could see this friend, who manifested in 
  the woodgrain of the paneling covering the inn’s 
  walls. He would follow her, creeping across the 
  walls, but became perfectly still when anyone else 
  looked at him.
  • Convinced that she had outgrown her friend, Rein 
  stopped talking to him years ago. He came back 
  a few weeks past to tell her he was trapped and 
  dying. He begged for help, asking Rein to go into 
  the inn’s cellar storeroom through a crack in the 
  wall. When she did, she found a strange room with 
  a lump of wax in the middle of the ﬂ oor and huge 
  worms crawling around it.
  • Rein remembers touching the wax. Then her next 
  memory was of waking up in pain in the shrine 
  with her father and the priestess.
  The trauma to her body and mind has ruined Rein. 
  Unless the characters come up with a reasonable way 
  to help her, she takes her own life a few days later, 
  slashing her throat with a spoon she’s been sharpening 
  while waiting for her meals.
  The Hidden Chamber
  If the characters explore the storeroom under the inn 
  or are directed to it by Rein, they can push the room’s 
  shelves aside to ﬁ nd the crack in the wall, which is 
  wide enough for a Size 1 creature to wriggle through. 
  Inspecting the crack reveals a considerable amount 
  of blood and skin, as if some creature pulled itself 
  through. (This was Rein, bloated by the demon.)
   Beyond the opening is a small dark cave with 10 
  void larvae wriggling around a mound of wax at the 
  center of the ﬂ oor. Charcoal drawings on the walls 
  depict sexual acts involving humans and demonic 
  creatures, ritual sacriﬁ ce, torture, and the eating of 
  a single room left for rent. Furthermore, Croy is just 
  about out of provisions and has sent his stable boy 
  with a wagon to a nearby town to replenish his stores.
   A low wall surrounds the inn and livery, forming a 
  
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  ﬂ esh. Inspecting the room by magical means reveals a 
  faint aura of dark magic, emanating from the wax lump 
  and reeking of Demonology. 
   The waxy substance is tallow made from human 
  fat, which the long-gone cultists who once occupied 
  the inn used to contain the demon they summoned. 
  Trapped in the wax over the years after the cultists 
  disappeared, the demon was able to reach out to Rein 
  but was forced to bide its time until it could manifest 
  strongly enough to fully snare her. In recent weeks, 
  rats in the storeroom began to gnaw at the wax, freeing 
  enough of the demon’s power that it could reach out to 
  Rein once more, then allowing it to possess her when 
  she touched the foul substance.
   Characters searching the room ﬁ nd an assortment of 
  sacriﬁ cial knives, goblets, crumbling robes, and masks, 
  all of which are worth 1d6 gc to a collector. There’s also 
  an incantation scroll containing castings of oﬀ ering 
  of blood, call lesser demon, and possession, all from the 
  Demonology tradition†.
  Am I Demon?
  The demon, known as the Watcher in the Walls, hides 
  within the statue of Astrid in the shrine. Once night 
  falls, it slips free to possess one of the six corrupted 
  pilgrims. You can determine the person it corrupts by 
  rolling on the following table, which also tells you 
  what the demon does while inside its host. The 
  possession changes the character, causing him or her 
  to become huge and bloated. After the character 
  performs the indicated behavior, the demon compels 
  it to ﬂ ee the area.
  Demonic Hosts
  d6
  Host
  Behavior
  1
  Old Martha
  Old Martha tries to kill Sister 
  Samanda and then burn down 
  the shrine.
  2
  Little Jimmy
  Little Jimmy goes to the inn and 
  tries to burn it down. 
  3
  Lumpen Ment
  Lumpen Ment heads to the inn to 
  kill all the women working there. 
  The phantom haunting him goes to 
  the characters to enlist their aid in 
  preventing the murders.
  4
  August Furth
  August Furth attacks any pilgrims 
  outside the shrine, chopping them 
  up with his sword. He stops after 
  he kills a dozen.
  5
  Ula Meeks
  Ula seeks out a man and stabs him 
  ﬁ fty times. She then repeats this 
  process, stopping only after killing 
  her third victim. 
  6
  Grinning Gill
  Gill goes to the inn and kills Robert, 
  and then he searches for Rein and 
  kills her too. He eats their hearts 
  before moving on.
  The characters should run across the possessed 
  pilgrims throughout the night and can hopefully stop 
  them from carrying out the demon’s will. If a host 
  becomes incapacitated—players have to state their 
  intention to avoid killing the victims—the demon 
  jumps to another one of its potential hosts, determined 
  randomly. If the result indicates that the demon will 
  jump to the same body it is leaving or the body of a 
  dead character, it instead returns to the statue in the 
  shrine, causing blood to fountain from the sword 
  wounds for 1 minute. After that time, it attempts to 
  jump to a new body. If the characters destroy the statue 
  (Size 2, Defense 5, Health 40), they release a medium 
  demon with the Foment Discord demonic talent (see 
  Chapter 10 of Shadow of the Demon Lord).
  Conclusion
  The adventure ends when the group kills the demon 
  or the demon escapes in the body it possesses. If a 
  possessed victim escapes, the group might be inspired 
  to chase down that character, possibly leading to 
  new adventures. You might also add 
  additional chambers to the secret 
  room under the inn, posing new 
  dangers or revealing secrets 
  about the old cult, as 
  you decide.
  The demon, known as the Watcher in the Walls, hides 
  within the statue of Astrid in the shrine. Once night 
  falls, it slips free to possess one of the six corrupted 
  pilgrims. You can determine the person it corrupts by 
  rolling on the following table, which also tells you 
  what the demon does while inside its host. The 
  possession changes the character, causing him or her 
  to become huge and bloated. After the character 
  performs the indicated behavior, the demon compels 
  it to ﬂ ee the area.
  them from carrying out the demon’s will. If a host 
  becomes incapacitated—players have to state their 
  intention to avoid killing the victims—the demon 
  jumps to another one of its potential hosts, determined 
  randomly. If the result indicates that the demon will 
  jump to the same body it is leaving or the body of a 
  dead character, it instead returns to the statue in the 
  shrine, causing blood to fountain from the sword 
  wounds for 1 minute. After that time, it attempts to 
  jump to a new body. If the characters destroy the statue 
  (Size 2, Defense 5, Health 40), they release a 
  demon with the Foment Discord demonic talent (see 
  Chapter 10 of Shadow of the Demon Lord
  Conclusion
  The adventure ends when the group kills the demon 
  or the demon escapes in the body it possesses. If a 
  possessed victim escapes, the group might be inspired 
  to chase down that character, possibly leading to 
  new adventures. You might also add 
  additional chambers to the secret 
  room under the inn, posing new 
  dangers or revealing secrets 
  
  56
  56
  A
  Adventure ..................................................................................... 50
  Awaken Tree (spell) .................................................................... 42
  B
  Bearers of the Faith .................................................................... 29
  Beguile (spell) ...............................................................................41
  Blade of Secrets (relic) ................................................................45
  Blizzard (spell) .............................................................................44
  Bowl of Mists (relic).....................................................................45
  C
  Call Spriggans (spell) ................................................................. 42
  Cloak of the Wolf Lord (relic) ...................................................45
  Corruption, Guarding Against.................................................28
  Creating Religions .......................................................................38
  D
  Dark Gods ......................................................................................32
  Dark Lady ......................................................................................35
  Dawn Spear (relic) ...................................................................... 46
  Demon Lord ..................................................................................37
  Devil ................................................................................................36
  Divine Favor (spell) .....................................................................39
  Divine Wrath (spell) ....................................................................39
  Dream Walk (spell) ....................................................................44
  Dwarfen Religion ........................................................................21
  E
  Eternal Soul...................................................................................28
  Eye of the Hunter (spell) ........................................................... 42
  Eye of the Seer (relic) ................................................................. 46
  Expert Path ....................................................................................34
  Gothi ........................................................................................................ 34
  F
  Face in the Forest (spell) ........................................................... 42
  Face of Frost (relic) ......................................................................47
  Father Death .................................................................................. 8
  Fey Lords and Ladies ..................................................................36
  Flames of Passion (spell) ........................................................... 42
  Four Truths (New God) ..............................................................23
  G
  Gate to the Underworld (spell) ................................................43
  Gathering, The (New God)....................................................... 29
  Genies .............................................................................................37
  Gothi ...............................................................................................34
  Grave Visage (spell) .....................................................................43
  H
  Halo (spell) ...................................................................................40
  Hammers of Justice .................................................................... 29
  Hammer of the Stone King (relic) ...........................................47
  Healing Poultice (spell) ............................................................. 42
  Heresies ..........................................................................................28
  Heroic Surge (spell) ....................................................................40
  Holy Days
  Honored Dead ........................................................................................21
  New God ..................................................................................................31
  Old Faith ...................................................................................................6
  Holy Ground .................................................................................. 4
  Dark Gods................................................................................................33
  Father Death ............................................................................................8
  Honored Dead ........................................................................................21
  Horned King ............................................................................................11
  Maiden in the Moon .............................................................................12
  New God .................................................................................................30
  Old Man Winter ....................................................................................14
  Queen of Summer .................................................................................16
  Revel  ..........................................................................................................15
  Seer  ..........................................................................................................17
  World Mother .........................................................................................18
  Holy Sites ........................................................................................ 4
  Honored Dead .............................................................................20
  Horned King .................................................................................10
  I
  Ice Armor (spell) .........................................................................44
  Idol of Nazzan (relic) ...................................................................47
  Incite Madness (spell) ................................................................41
  Invoke Father Death (spell) ......................................................41
  Invoke Old Man Winter (spell) ...............................................44
  Invoke Revel (spell) .....................................................................41
  Invoke the Ancestors (spell) .....................................................40
  Invoke the Dark Gods (spell) ...................................................40
  Invoke the Horned King (spell) .............................................. 42
  Invoke the Maiden in the Moon (spell) ................................40
  Invoke the New God (spell) ......................................................44
  Invoke the Old Faith (spell)...................................................... 42
  Invoke the Queen of Summer (spell) .....................................41
  Invoke the World Mother (spell) ............................................ 42
  
  57
  57
  j
  Jinx (spell) ......................................................................................41
  K
  Keepers of Lore ........................................................................... 29
  Knights of the Temple ............................................................... 29 
  M
  Maddening Revel (spell) ........................................................... 42
  Magic of the Gods........................................................................39
  Maiden in the Moon ...................................................................12
  Maiden’s Hourglass (relic) .........................................................47
  Matriarch (New God) ................................................................. 29
  Mob of Commoners .................................................................... 51
  Myth and Religion .........................................................................3
  n
  New God ........................................................................................ 26
  O
  Oceanus ..........................................................................................36
  Old Faith ..........................................................................................5
  Old Man Winter ...........................................................................14
  One-Eyed Pete ..............................................................................36
  Open Passage (spell) ...................................................................41
  Other Faiths ..................................................................................35
  P
  Pale Horse Statuette (relic) ....................................................... 48
  Pale Horse ..................................................................................... 48
  Peaceful Sisters ............................................................................ 29
  Poor Brethren ............................................................................... 29
  Prayer of the Seer (spell) ............................................................41
  Priests
  Father Death ............................................................................................9
  The Horned King ...................................................................................11
  Maiden in the Moon .............................................................................12
  Old Man Winter ....................................................................................14
  Revel  ..........................................................................................................15
  Queen of Summer .................................................................................16
  Seer  ..........................................................................................................17
  World Mother .........................................................................................18
  Honored Dead ........................................................................................22
  Witchcraft ..............................................................................................24
  New God ..................................................................................................31
  Dark Gods................................................................................................33
  Q
  Queen of Summer .......................................................................16
  R
  Relics ...............................................................................................45
  Religion in Rul ................................................................................3
  Revel ................................................................................................ 15
  Revel’s Die (relic) ......................................................................... 48
  Revive (spell) ................................................................................ 42
  Runic Armor (spell) ....................................................................43
  S
  Seed of Life (relic) ....................................................................... 49
  Seer .................................................................................................. 17
  Serpent of Truth ..........................................................................27
  Servants of the Gods .................................................................... 4
  Seven Orders ................................................................................ 29
  Sisters of Sorrow (Old Faith) ..................................................... 8
  Small Gods ....................................................................................38
  Soothsay (spell) ............................................................................41
  Spells ..............................................................................................40
  Spirit of the Horned King (spell) ............................................44
  Spirits of the Woad ......................................................................36
  Suppress Magic (spell) ..............................................................40
  Swords of Astrid .......................................................................... 29
  T
  Talking Animals ...........................................................................27
  Trees and Forests .........................................................................25
  Troll Hunter (path) ......................................................................18
  Twisted Crown (spell) ................................................................20
  V
  Virtue’s Goblet (relic) ................................................................. 49 
  W
  Wall of Light (spell) ....................................................................40
  Wheel of Life ................................................................................28
  Witchcraft ......................................................................................23
  Wolf Lord ...................................................................................... 46
  World Mother ...............................................................................18
  Wrath of Thanatos (spell) ..........................................................41
  Wyrd ................................................................................................32
  
  www.schwalbentertainment.com
  
  Uncertain Faith is ©2016 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
  Shadow of the Demon Lord, Uncertain Faith, Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated 
  logos are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
  SCHWALB ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
  PO Box #12548
  Murfreesboro, TN 37129
  info@schwalbentertainment.com
  www.schwalbentertainment.com
  For as long as humankind has lived on Urth, people have looked outside 
  themselves for explanations of why they exist and what purpose they ultimately 
  serve. They ﬁ nd the gods in the sky, in the earth, and even in the creatures around 
  them. Uncertain Faith delves into the secrets of the major cults found in and around 
  the Empire, providing players and Game Masters alike with new information to 
  realize these organizations in play. Inside, you’ll ﬁ nd:
  • 
  The Old Faith, including eight sects devoted to the Old Gods.
  • 
  The Honored Dead of the Dwarfs
  • 
  Witchcraft
  • 
  The Cult of the New God
  • 
  The Dark Gods of Blood and Iron
  • 
  A variety of lesser religions, including the cults of the Demon Lord
  • 
  An assortment of new spells
  • 
  Thirteen new relics
  • 
  An adventure for novice characters
  The information contained in this supplement 
  brings to life the cults and religions described in 
  Shadow of the Demon Lord, giving you everything 
  you need to serve or oppose these powerful 
  institutions. Do you have the faith to face the gods? 
  The Secrets 
  of the
  Gods Revealed!
  SKU: SDL1019e 
  PDF $12.00 / POD $24.99
  themselves for explanations of why they exist and what purpose they ultimately 
  serve. They ﬁ nd the gods in the sky, in the earth, and even in the creatures around 
  delves into the secrets of the major cults found in and around 
  the Empire, providing players and Game Masters alike with new information to 
  themselves for explanations of why they exist and what purpose they ultimately 
  serve. They ﬁ nd the gods in the sky, in the earth, and even in the creatures around 
  delves into the secrets of the major cults found in and around 
  the Empire, providing players and Game Masters alike with new information to 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Shadow of the Demon Lord/Supplements/SotDL - Uncertain Faith (dewm).pdf