Author: chatdemon

by Chatdemon (chatdemon@gamebox.net)
Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

Credit notes: This god is the fourth in my group of deities adapted from Module B4: The Lost City (TSR9049) by Tom Moldvay. Further material and inspiration is derived from the Chainmail: The Empire of Ravilla article in Dragon Mag. #285 (July '01). Being that I do not have, or plan to purchase, further material for the Chainmail game, the added details I've come up with may conflict with what is presented as Chainmail canon, but for the purposes of my game and my Forgotten Gods series, such inconsistency is not important.

Esteemed Wiegrof,
Castellan, Keoish Royal Academy of Warcraft, Niole Dra

I am honored and warmed having recieved your request to address the cadets at this year's graduation ceremony. While I have little schooling in the arts of warcraft, I readily understand your desire to inform them of His Majesties official recognition of the clergy of Gorm into the machine of our armies, and to educate them as to the dogma and ceremony of that religion so as to prevent any clashes with the faiths of Tomaari or Heironeous, who are of course both firmly established as favored faiths among our soldiers.

Attached is a rough outline of the points I shall make in my address to the cadets, please feel free to send word if there are any changes deemed appropriate by you or your staff.

Humbly Yours,
Ilbrysis Noltheod,
Librarian Corypheus, Royal Archive at Cryllor

Gorm
The Duelist, The Wardrake, (formerly) Stratis

LN Demigod of Combat, Dueling, Soldiers

Gorm is the newest member of the Suloise pantheon, but my no means the youngest. Worshipped for ages by the Olven people of Ravilla, a realm in western Oerik cut off from the Flanaess by the Suel Empire and now the Sea of Dust, Gorm distinguished himself as the one Olve god that the Suloise folk of the empire's westernmost provinces paid tribute to. Having long been a consort and lover to the goddess Tomaari, Gorm was offered a place in her celestial fortress when his avatar was destroyed by foolhardy mortal heroes and he was cast out of Arvandor by the Olven gods in 587 CY.

Unlike his mistress Tomaari, Gorm represents the primal and brutal aspects of a soldiers life, and stresses the importance of skill at arms in the arena of warfare. Gorm has established relatively stable good relations with the other martial gods of the Flanaess such as Heironeous and Mayaheine, but has earned the hatred and enmity of Hextor, who sees him as a potential threat to his power. Indeed, even before the dusk of his first decade as a prominent power in the Flanaess, Gorm has already begun training and plotting for an eventual showdown with Hell's Herald, who he sees as too bloodthirsty and chaotic to serve as a spiritual champion for the soldiers of Oerth's nations.

While he has no power over the aspect of wind, the dogma of Gorm's faith is often illustrated by comparing the church to four winds; north, south, east, and west. The direction the wind blows across the battlefield is said to represent the four basic approaches to combat, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Unity is the key to victory, while disparity brings only defeat. Forging mind, body and steel into one deadly weapon is the path to glory.

Gorm's faith is growing rather quickly among the armies of the human nations of the Flanaess, and is divided into four factions, or winds. When not at war, the clerics of this faith are often found in academies or training camps run by the military institutions of almost every nation in the Flanaess where the Suloise pantheon has influence, or engaged in dueling or gladiatorial type activities such as the Arena of the City of Greyhawk, or Spite's Pit, a venue for brutal combat that is overlooked and grudgingly accepted by the Count of Cryllor, who secretly enjoys the displays of carnage but is unwilling to endorse such barbarism publicly.

Domains: (identical for all four sects) Destruction, Strength, War, Celeriity, Glory

The North Wind

The sect of the North Wind teaches that brutality and sheer overpowering of foes is the key to victory. The clerics favor large, heavy weapons and devastating attacks when confronting their foes.

Weapon: Two-bladed Sword

Garb: North Wind Gormites wear a grey tabard with white trim over their armor while engaged in combat or ceremony. The holy symbol for this sect is a helmed silhouette with an upright heavy sword chained to it at the breast.

The South Wind

The South Wind clerics teach that quick, precise attacks are the surest way to vitory. They favor light weapons and lightning fast attacks.

Weapon: Rapier

Garb: This sect engages in battle and ceremony clad in grey tabards with red trim. Their holy symbol is the helmed silhouette with an inverted light sword chained to it at the breast.

The West Wind

Gormite of the West Wind pursue archery as their chosen attack method. They swear by the swiftness and deadly accuracy of the bow in combat, and claim that only the foolish would put themselves in harms way by entering melee.

Weapon: Bow or Crossbow (any)

Garb: The tabards of the clerics of this sect are grey with green trim. Their symbol is the traditional helmed silhouette with an upright bow chained to it at the breast.

The East Wind

The final sect of Gorm's church favors a combined missile and melee approach to combat, using ranged attacks to 'soften up' a foe, and then moving into personal combat to finish him off. They choose weapons that can be thrown or used in melee.

Weapon: Spear

Garb: East Wind Gormites wear grey tabards with gold trim. Their symbol is the customary helmed silhouette, with an upright spear chained to it at the breast.