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• Gwyrae
• The old religion of the human folk of Dolmenwood, before the arrival of the Pluritine Church (around 1,200 years ago) largely swept it away. Gwyrae is an Old Woldish word meaning “sacred glade.”
• Deities: A pantheon consisting of dozens of deities—called Wood Gods—of greater or lesser importance. They are regarded as manifestations of the spirit of Dolmenwood. In modern times, the Green Man—god of feast, ale, revelry, and hunting—is the only Wood God that remains prominent in folkloric memory.
• Origin: Lost to time.
• Cosmology: Remnants of Gwyrae mythology can be found in local folk belief in Dolmenwood. For example, locals still speak of a “world tree” on which all known realms of existence are placed, with Fairy as the tree’s root. Belief in reincarnation into plants or animals also lingers in folklore.
• Tenets: Lost to time.
• Practices: A number of folk practices in Dolmenwood can perhaps be traced back to Gwyrae: for example, the belief in a state of merry inebriation as a means of communion with greater powers.
• Holy Symbols: The symbol of the Green Man—a cruciform oak—can still be spied carved on old buildings or in graveyards that were appropriated by the Pluritine Church. In ancient times, adherents would wear cruciform or Y-shaped pendants of oak wood or root, but such symbols are seldom seen in the present day.
• Holy Texts: None known.
• Membership: It is said that the witches of Dolmenwood still worship the old gods in secret.
• Relationships: The Pluritine Church suppresses any remnants of Gwyrae. Otherwise, as a virtually dead religion, it has little contact with other faiths or folk.

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• Aud Frengd Hlerr
• The system of ancestor worship practiced among breggles. The name roughly translates as “praising the ancestors.”
• Deities: None. A multitude of ancestors are venerated, ranging from personal family members to great heroes of myth. The semi-mythical ancestor Hraigl is commonly revered, as mother of the longhorn noble houses.
• Origin: The practice of revering ancestors originates in the Passions of Ghrygaile—the tale of an ancient breggle warrior-chieftain who attributed his glory in battle to the aid of his ancestors, who fought by his side.
• Cosmology: Aud frengd Hlerr teaches that the world (this includes Fairy) is a testing ground. Individuals who prosper and honour their families gather in an afterlife of eternal feasting, along with their ancestors. Those who lead craven or spiritless lives enter a dismal realm of torment where their souls are annihilated by gnawing worms.
• Tenets: Honouring and furthering the position of ones family is utmost. Personal misdeeds can be redeemed by sufficient propitiation of the ancestors.
• Practices: Daily prayer to ancestors. Occasional sacrifices of valuables to ancestors. Pilgrimages to the graves of venerated ancestors.
• Holy Symbols: A ring of horns, often those of honoured ancestors.
• Holy Texts: The Hlerrllaindr—a set of books recounting the deeds of the most esteemed breggles.
• Membership: Most breggles practice Aud frengd Hlerr. There is no formal priesthood.
• Relationships: Breggles regard Aud frengd Hlerr as a philosophy of living, rather than a religion per se. It is not contradictory to also follow another religion, for example the Pluritine Church. The cosmology of Aud frengd Hlerr is broadly compatible with that of the Church.

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• Mogba
• The traditional religious practices of the mosslings of Dolmenwood, called Mogba in their own language (meaning something like “holy decay”).
• Deities: A multitude of deities of the deep forest and fecund underworld, too numerous to list in full. Each settlement has its own local deity, and many homes have their own god of the cauldron, trough, or compost heap. All are regarded as inhabiting the mortal world as divine siblings, part of a pantheon. Some of the most widely known deities are Mbombre (the clay god), Blosquom (fungal god of the village of Orbswallow), and Splobgra (the worm god).
• Origin: Mogba goes back to the unrecorded mists of time in Dolmenwood. Mossling mythology does not speak of a founder of the religion.
• Cosmology: Visions sent by the Mogba deities reveal that the world sits atop a cosmic puffball on the back of a toad named Hwogra. At the end of time, the puffball will explode, releasing the spores of the next cosmic cycle.
• Tenets: The cycles of nature are sacrosanct, especially those around ageing, death, and decay into the soil. Individuals are but temporary manifestations of the whims of the soil. The unfathomable mystery of life is to be savoured.
• Practices: Psychedelic communion with the Mogba deities. Questing to consult with mould oracles. Fertilising sacred plants with the compost of beloved ancestors.
• Holy Symbols: A toadstool with one or more eyes.
• Holy Texts: The evolving body of myths and legends known as Hwogm is primarily passed down orally, but the mould oracles do maintain written copies of various vintages.
• Membership: Mould oracles act as hermit-priests and spiritual guides. Otherwise, there is no formal religious structure.
• Relationships: Mogba is virtually unknown to other Kindreds and the religion has nothing to say on the subject of the religions of other folk.

Austerus

The Shining One

Deity of redemption and holy light, formerly the fiendish deity of searing radiance, now turned to Order. Seeks to bring all of humanity under one rule.

Depiction: A tall androgyne, with bronze skin, golden eyes, and feathered wings of silver. Crowned with a spherical halo of golden light, wields a flaming sword.

Domain: Phandyne, the golden plains of crystalline radiance.

Alignment: Lawful.

Worshippers

Cults of Austerus seek to construct a gold-clad pyramid-temple in every settlement in the known world, offering redemption to the wicked and balm to the wretched. They ultimately aim to destroy all fiends and to absorb other religions by incorporating their myths and presenting their deities as aspects or servitors of Austerus.

Alignment: Lawful or Neutral.

Holy symbol: Rays of light emanating from a pristinely faceted diamond.

Holy garb: Pure white robes and a golden cape (15gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 1st level spells, a worshipper may wear a veil of quartz tears (50gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 3rd level spells, a worshipper may wear a platinum halo that magically hovers above their head (250gp).

Prayer: Worshippers of Austerus can only pray for spells in daylight or within a circle of blessed candles.

Strictures: Worshippers of Austerus must make the sign of the halo and recite holy psalms in the presence of other religions.

Alternative Spells

See Carcass Crawler Cleric Spells

• Order: 2nd level, replaces speak with animals.
• Halo of protection: 3rd level, replaces growth of animal.
• Searing radiance: 4th level, replaces sticks to snakes.
• Redemption: 5th level, replaces insect plague.

Marks of Servitude

When a worshipper of Austerus gains the ability to cast spells of a certain level, they also gain an associated trait:

• 1st level spells: White streak in hair.
• 2nd level spells: Clear, unblemished skin.
• 3rd level spells: Lustrous, silver-white hair.
• 4th level spells: Gold irises.
• 5th level spells: Heart emanates a warm, golden glow visible through skin.

Klath-Karnath

The Lady of Troubles

Goddess of insane danger, perils, and risk. Revels in seeing mortals overcome impossible odds, and so endlessly creates them.

epiction: A four-armed giantess with blood-red skin and twin lion heads that bite at each other. Her upper arms hold a flail and a wavy-bladed sword, the lower arms strangle a writhing serpent.

Domain: Karnath, an ever-changing realm of roiling storms and fiery cataclysms.

Alignment: Chaotic.

Worshippers

Cults of Klath-Karnath seek to strengthen themselves by facing adversity. Their goddess goads them to seek out the most dangerous dungeons and strip them of their treasures, then hoard the wealth in temples founded in perilous locations.

Alignment: Neutral or Chaotic.

Holy symbol: A bronze fist.

Holy garb: A leather snake bracelet (5gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 1st level spells, a worshipper may wear a bejewelled snakeskin choker (100gp or more). Upon gaining the ability to cast 3rd level spells, a worshipper may wear a lion-skin cape (100gp).

Prayer: When praying for their spells, worshippers of Klath-Karnath must declare the dangerous activities they will embark on that day. Failing to uphold this promise could lead to deity disfavour.

Strictures: Worshippers of Klath-Karnath must invoke her name before doing something potentially fatal.

Alternative Spells

See Carcass Crawler Cleric Spells

• Tempt fate: 1st level, replaces purify food and water.
• Bless the foolhardy: 2nd level, replaces bless.
• Defy death: 3rd level, replaces locate object.
• Enrage: 4th level, replaces speak with plants.

Marks of Servitude

When a worshipper of Klath-Karnath gains the ability to cast spells of a certain level, they also gain an associated trait:

• 1st level spells: Always fidgeting.
• 2nd level spells: Red irises.
• 3rd level spells: Red, serpentine tattoos appear on limbs.
• 4th level spells: Claw-mark scars appear on both cheeks. 5th level spells: Bulging veins on the neck and head.

The Black Alderman

The Smiling God

Grimacing god of skulls, dentistry, and organ dirges, the Black Alderman drives worshippers to collect and tend to myriad skulls on his behalf.

Depiction: A skeleton in kingly robes of midnight black trimmed with black fur. Wears a black iron crown and a necklace of yellow skulls. The Black Alderman’s own skull is pristine white and always smiling.

Domain: Cromlech, an endless half-buried mausoleum.

Alignment: Neutral (favours non-reversed spells).

Worshippers

Cults of the Black Alderman seek out the skulls of rare monsters and influential figures to preserve in their temples. Some cultists are taught the healing arts to better care for the skulls of the living; known as Bonesmiths, these cultists work as travelling dentists and bone-setters.

Alignment: Lawful or Neutral.

Holy symbol: A skull made of silver or ivory.

Holy garb: A mask carved from a human skull (10gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 1st level spells, a worshipper may wear black linen robes with silver trim (35gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 3rd level spells, a worshipper may wear a necklace of ivory prayer beads, each carved into the shape of a skull (200gp).

Prayer: Worshippers of the Black Alderman must play a sacred song on an instrument made of bone to pray for their spells.

Strictures: Worshippers of the Black Alderman must collect a tooth from defeated foes. For particularly worthy foes, they must collect the whole skull.

Alternative Spells

See Carcass Crawler Cleric Spells

• Skull speech: 1st level, replaces purify food and water.
• Skull sentry: 2nd level, replaces speak with animals.
• Danse macabre: 4th level, replaces speak with plants.
• Control skull: 5th level, replaces create food.

Marks of Servitude

When a worshipper of the Black Alderman gains the ability to cast spells of a certain level, they also gain an associated trait:

• 1st level spells: Pallid complexion.
• 2nd level spells: Sunken, skull-like facial features.
• 3rd level spells: All hair on the head falls out.
• 4th level spells: Withered muscles and taught skin (does not affect ability scores).
• 5th level spells: Solid black eyes.

Moumb

The Hidden Lord

God of the weird deeps of the Underworld, where the logic of the surface world recedes.

Depiction: A corpulent, purple-skinned man with a single, great, yellow eye and a ring of horns around his crown. Moumb wields a mighty mace of black stone and wears a cloak of burning chains.

Domain: Urbald, vast obsidian fortress carved in the Underworld’s fundament.

Alignment: Neutral (favours reversed spells).

Worshippers

Cults of Moumb seek to found subterranean temples and kingdoms honouring Moumb, make contact with obscure Underworld civilisations, and unearth the secrets of the deep places of the world.

Alignment: Any.

Holy symbol: A dodecahedron or icosahedron of lead, obsidian, or hematite.

Holy garb: A red cloak interwoven with iron chains (5gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 1st level spells, a worshipper may wear a helm inlaid with a golden eye (50gp). Upon gaining the ability to cast 3rd level spells, a worshipper may wear a crown of ram horns (50gp). Prayer: Worshippers of Moumb can only pray for spells underground, in pitch darkness, or blindfolded.

Strictures: Worshippers of Moumb may only speak his name underground. In the surface world, they often use the epithet “the Hidden Lord”.

Alternative Spells

See Carcass Crawler Cleric Spells

• Deep vision: 1st level, replaces light.
• Secret room: 3rd level, replaces continual light.
• Find exit: 4th level, replaces sticks to snakes.
• Pass-wall: 5th level, replaces insect plague.

Marks of Servitude

When a worshipper of Moumb gains the ability to cast spells of a certain level, they also gain an associated trait:

• 1st level spells: Ragged black fingernails.
• 2nd level spells: Eyes reflect light in the dark like a cat’s.
• 3rd level spells: Violet-hued skin.
• 4th level spells: Presence causes light sources to flicker and waver.
• 5th level spells: Shadow appears larger, monstrous.