Garl Glittergold - Gnomish - Priests - Gods

Garl Glittergold, father of the gnomish race, is a benign and friendly deity, one of the most approachable of all greater gods. His mischievous exploits form the basis of entire cycles of stories which are told and retold around the gnomish hearths in the hills. They laugh at the story of Garl bringing down Kurtulmaks cavern, and fall about at the tale of how Garl dressed up as a deer to lure Grankhul, the bugbear hunter god, out into the open and then trapped him by illusion and left him trussed up like a turkey. Garl steals evil weapons and magic intended for malefic ends from their owners, and does his best to dispose of them. He uses trickery and illusion to overcome physically stronger opponents, and leaves them helpless and humbled, less out of a desire to humiliate them than in the ever-optimistic hope that they might learn a lesson about overweening pride and pomposity. They don't, of course, and Garl has many enemies among the Goblinoid and Underdark gods.

However, while Garl uses trickery and wiles, if forced to fight he is hardly weak. His great intelligent battle-axe Arumdina cleaves through stone as easily as through air, and slices through metal armor as if it didn't exist. Garl's military prowess is virtually always used defensively, but few deities will try to pick a fair fight with him.

Garl is ruler of the gnome pantheon, but is very ready to delegate and share his responsibilities and concerns. Thus, mining and smithing are overseen by Flandal Steelskin; illusions by Baravar Cloakshadow; protection and combat by Gaerdal Ironhand; and so on. The gnomish pantheon is one of exceptional harmony, save for the evil of Urdlen, and all live in the Seven Heavens, Twin Paradises, or Elysium. It is also a pantheon which is unusually active and most involved with its worshipers, as Garl encourages all the deities to be actively preoccupied with gnomish life. As part of the bargain of the creator gods, while other races took strength (dwarves), magic (elves), or versatility (humans), Garl made few demands for the gnomes, but he reserved the right to watch more directly over their affairs than most of the other gods.

Garl is the patriarch of the hierarchy and probably the most approachable of all the Greater Gods. He often travels the worlds looking for mischief to get into. He appears as a gold-skinned gnome with gemstone eyes that shift from sapphire to emerald to ruby.

A master of pranks, Garl is a good-humored jokester who is nevertheless proud and protective of his diminutive followers. His chief concerns are twofold: to see that gnomes every where cooperate and work together and to remind them that while life may sometimes be hard, it's important to always keep a sense of humor.

Garl carries his intelligent two-headed axe, Arumdina, every where he goes; she is more a companion than a possession. Although he is a capable fighter, he prefers to use trickery and illusions to accomplish his goals, and encourages his followers to do the same.

Role-playing Notes:

Garl watches over cooperation among gnomes at all times; he may send omens, even an avatar, to resolve strife and serious disputes. Omens take the form of gentle proddings through trickery, mischievously telekinetically-affected objects bobbing about, or some illusion which makes a gnome appear momentarily foolish. Only if the matter to which Garl wants to alert a worshiper is serious will the omen take a more serious form (spoiling some achievement, breakage of some prized object, shattering of a gemstone, etc.).

Gods Information

Alignment: LG (NG)
Worshiper's Alignment: LG (Non-Evil gnomes)
Area of Control: Protection, Humor, Tricker, Gemcutting, and Smithing
Symbol: a gold nugget

Avatar Information

Garl's avatar appears as a handsome golden-skinned gnome with gemstones of ever-changing hue for eyes. He is well-dressed, usually with a flowing cloak of silk, and always with a significant quantity of gold about his person. He uses spells from all spheres listed for his priests and from the illusion/phantasm school of wizard spells. (Illusionist 12, Priest 14, Thief 16)

Special Att/Def: Garl's avatar is immune to all illusion/phantasm spells. He can cast mirror image, glitterdust, and improved invisibility 3/day each, and taunt and Tasha's uncontrollable hideous laughter one per round at will (saving throws against the latter spell are made at -4). The avatar carries a mithral-steel battle axe +4, fashioned after Arumdina, the weapon used by the god himself. The axe can heal the avatar (and only the avatar) once per day. Garl's avatar always carries a pouch with 3d4 applications of dust of illusion and a bag of beans. Within a portable hole, the avatar carries many props for his practical joking and trickery.

Worshipers Requirements

Requirements: Int 11 or Dex 11
Alignment: LG, NG
Turning: Turn at -2 levels
Armor: Any
Weapons: Any (Axe first)

Spheres
Major: All, Animal, Charm, Combat, Creation, Elemental (earth), Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Plant, Protection, Wards
Minor: Divination, Sun, Weather

Powers:
1st - +5% to all thief skills if priest/thief, else hide shadows and move silently gained at 15% each
5th - Tasha's uncontrollable hideous laughter
7th - save at +2 versus all illusion/phantasm spells
9th - displacement, 1 turn (as if wearing cloak of displacement)

Duties of the Priesthood

Garl's priests are educators and protectors, even those who choose the thief/priest dual-class option (by no means unusual). In their teaching of the young, they combine a very earthy practicality with a streak of humor which keeps their young charges entertained, and their learning is all the better for that. They are expected to take part in mining, smithing, or gemcrafting work irrespective of seniority. As protectors, the priesthood must maintain a careful vigilance towards hostile races, especially kobolds. Finally, the priesthood must maintain a good archive of jokes, jests and (some would say interminable) tales.

Priest Level Limit: 13
Hit Die: d6
Shamans: Yes

Shaman Requirements

Requirements: Cha 10
Alignment: CG, NG
Weapons: as for priests

Shaman Level Limit: 7
Hit Die: d4

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