Cormyr and the Dalelands

Halfling Pantheon

The deity Yondalla rules the pantheon of the halfling peoples, and the group takes its collective names from her: Yondalla's Children.

• Arvoreen
  
• Brandobaris
  
• Cyrrollalee
  
• Sheela Peryroyl
  
• Urogalan
  
• Yondalla
  

Arvoreen
The Defender, the Wary Sword

Intermediate Halfling Deity
Symbol: Two crossed short swords
Home Plane: Green Fields
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Defense, war, vigilance, halfling warriors, duty
Worshipers: Halflings, fighters, paladins, rangers, soldiers, warriors
Favored Weapon: "Aegisheart" (short sword)

When a general rides to the battlefront, rarely does he count halflings among his most valuable assets. The inherent wanderlust of the hin grants them little patience for the long marches and dull waiting between battles that characterizes most warfare. However, when invaders threaten a halfling community, residents send prayers to Arvoreen (arr-voh-reen), whose worshipers follow a doctrine of guardianship, stern defense, and aggressive watchfulness. Arvoreen remains ever aware of dangers facing halfling communities, but prefers a reactive rather than proactive agenda. When an enemy strikes, his halfling servants strike back with precision and decisiveness thanks to reconnaissance missions into enemy territory and a strict, almost unhalflinglike regimen of martial training. This philosophy makes him popular with like-minded strongheart halflings, and while lightfoot halflings appreciate his protection, few rush to enter his clergy.

Though their serious outlook and intolerance for jokes and frivolity makes them unpopular in times of peace, all turn with respect to Arvoreen's clergy when the community is threatened. They believe that most of the problems faced by the community are the result of courting enemies by mixing with other cultures (particularly humans), granting them allies among the few isolationist halflings. Clerics spend their days constructing fortifications, signaling systems, beacons and traps that further protect halfling enclaves. They patrol the community, sniffing out possible threats from within, as well as without. Many organize local militias and instruct young halflings in blade craft (particularly as related to the short sword). Arvoreen's temples usually resemble easily defensible keeps or redoubts, and serve as a final fall-back position if enemies breech the community's outer defenses.

Clerics of the Wary Sword pray for spells at dawn, usually before patrolling the enclave's perimeter in search of nighttime enemy incursions. If time permits, the faithful gather at a makeshift field alter prior to an important battle to ask for the blessings of Arvoreen and intone the sacred melody of the Battle Hymn of the Keepers, a living oral record of halfling triumphs in recent centuries. The Festival of the Moon brings with it another ceremony important to Arvoreen's faith--the Ceremony of Remembrance. On this holy day, Arvoreen's followers gather to remember the names of fallen comrades who gave their lives to protect the community. Most of Arvoreen's clerics multiclass as fighters, with those who protect rural communities commonly multicasting as rangers. An elite order of Arvoreen's followers known as Trueswords travel from community to community spreading word of the movements of local enemies and passing on advancements in the defensive arts.

History/Relationships:

Of the halfling gods, Arvoreen is most closely aligned with Yondalla, Cyrrollalee, and Urogalan. He disapproves of the more capricious members of the pantheon, such as Brandobaris. Evil deities, especially the patrons of the goblinoids, incite Arvoreen to great wrath. He opposes Bane, Cyric, and the Deities of Fury.

Dogma:

Vigilance against attack protects the community. Prepare an active defense, drill continuously, and leave nothing to chance. Put down danger before allowing it a chance to rear its head. Seek out allies, no matter how unorthodox. Stealing from other halflings or allies is never acceptable, but thieving is not dishonorable when employed against enemies to better the odds in later combat.

Brandobaris
Master of Stealth, the Irrepressible Scamp

Lesser Halfling Deity
Symbol: Halfling's footprint
Home Plane: Green Fields
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Stealth, thievery, adventuring, halfling rogues
Worshipers: Adventurers, bards, Halflings, risk takers, rogues
Favored Weapon: "Escape" (dagger)

Brandobaris (bran-doe-bair-iss) is the tall races' misapprehensions of the entire Halfling race given divine form. A constantly scheming, meddling, curious, short-attention-spanned rapscallion as interested in the contents of a man's purse as he is in the contents of his character, Brandorbaris nonetheless makes few enemies, as his wit, charm, good looks, and ability to work on the fly get him out of trouble in the few adventures that do go wrong. A rumored romantic dalliance with Tymora may be responsible for Brandorbars's legendary luck, which plays a central role in the countless tales of daring-do traded from halfling to halfling like currency at way stations across Faerun. Such tales tell of Brandobaris tricking dragons, escaping from the clutches of devilish hordes with bags full of treasure, and even sneaking into Myrkul's Bone Citadel to rescue the souls of ten thousand slain innocents, leaving in return a vase of flowers and a box of erotically shaped chocolate candies. Predictably, lightfoot halflings adore him.

The church of Misadventure, as Brandobaris's "organized" religion is known, teems with adventuresome troublemakers who usually emerge from some dangerous endeavor better off than when they entered it. Though most halflings (particularly children) love stories of their exploits, most prefer that such events occur as far away from their communities as possible. Many strong heart communities discourage his worship, and the reclusive ghostwise view Brandobaris and his cult as a perversion of the civilized world. Hands of Misadventure, as clerics of Brandobaris are known, engage in difficult, dangerous pursuits such as adventuring, always valuing the story of a given success far more than the physical treasure such a success might bring with it. Though Hands frequently engage in confidence schemes or larceny, they do so for the thrill, with monetary rewards simply garnishing the pleasure that comes from mastering one's (albeit occasionally illegal) craft. The Church of Misadventure has no temples--in essence, whenever a story is told of Brandobaris's courage, services are in session.

Hands of Misadventure pick one time of day or nigh to consistently pray for spells (those who prefer public displays of bravado usually choose to pray during the day, with the sneakier, more subtle Hands electing to pray under the light of the moon). The Hands have few formal ceremonies, but on the night of a new moon, followers are expected to hide one or more stolen items from the previous month's take in the best hiding place they can find, a ritual known as Brandobaris's Tithe. As might be expected, multiclass as rogues is enormously popular among the clergy, and auspicians are not uncommon. They turn rather than rebuke undead.

History/Relationships:

Brandobaris gets on well with most of his pantheon. He especially enjoys the attention and ministrations of his paramour, Tymora, though the terms of their relationship are perhaps best described as casual. His sense of fun and obsession with putting himself in danger earns him respect and companionship from the likes of Garl Glittergold, Baervan Wildwanderer, Erevan Ilesere, and Vergadain. He respects Mask as a fellow miscreant of unsurpassed skill, but the Shadowlord's cruel streak keeps them from true friendship. Brandobaris's exploits have earned him the enmity of Beshaba and Urdlen. He has no love for Abbathor, who he views as in it only for the money. For his part, Abbathor thinks Brandobaris a base cad worthy of little consideration.

Dogma:

Seek excitement and danger wherever your feet take you, for risk-taking leads to life's greatest rewards. Lust for the thrill, not for the treasure, for greed obscures the true prize of the experience. At the end of the day, the halfling with the wildest tale is the most honored in the eyes of the Irrepressible Scamp.

Cyrrollalee
The Hand of Fellowship, the Hearthkeeper

Intermediate Halfling Deity
Symbol: Open door
Home Plane: Green Fields
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Friendship, trust, the hearth, hospitality, crafts
Worshipers: Artisans, cooks, guards, halflings, hosts, innkeepers
Favored Weapon: "Camaradestave" (club)

For more than a millennia, Cyrrollalee (see-oh-lah-lee) busied herself with overseeing the mundane minutia of the stewardship of halflings' homes. She encouraged camaraderie among her subjects, always with an eye toward ensuring the safety of each halfling's individual dwelling. Of late, however, she has expanded her view of home from the literal to the metaphorical. Scholars long have said that the hin are a race on the rise, a youthful species waiting for a cultural and political blossoming. Cyrrollalee agrees, believing that the time of the halfling is now, and that in order for the hin to ascend to their rightful place of honor and respect, the race needs new homelands beyond the borders of Luiren. Cyrrollalee, naturally, would ward such a homeland, and her clerics lead evangelical missions across Faerun, searching for a suitable location for this homeland and urging all halflings to join the call. The open door of Cyrrollalee's holy symbol has transcended its original meaning as the entrance to a single halfling's comfortable home to represent the open door inviting him from across Faerun to walk the path of their race's glorious future.

Cyrrollalee's change in perspective has swelled the ranks of her faithful and catapulted her from a docile deity whom all halflings nominally honored to a symbol of hin pride, a rallying point for those halflings seeking a better place for themselves and their race. Her clerics, known as home fellows, lead halfling communities, set examples for good-hearted clean living by being exemplars of friendship and good will, and establish temples that serve both as places of introspection and as homes away from home, with ample gust rooms and fully stocked kitchens. Though the bulk of the modern clergy concerns itself with the search for suitable halfling homelands, home fellows advocate the cultivation of strong, respectful relationships with other goodly races. Because their searches so often send them to distant lands, lightfoot halflings, with their pervasive wanderlust, vastly outnumber other hin subraces in Cyrrollalee's clergy.

Homefellows pray for spells in the morning, as they welcome the sun of a new day. Within the last year, many clerics have left their homes to lead the search. Those who remain rooted in their communities (usually, but not always, older halflings for whom travel and exploration bring great physical danger) are known as hearthtenders, and are universally respected as an integral part of halfling society. The church recognizes no official holidays, but Cyrrollalee herself has deemed the forthcoming Day of Discovery as a universal day of celebration for all hin. None know when the new land will be discovered, but nearly all believe it will happen in their lifetime. The hin homeland they seek is not a racial origin point (indeed, spotty archeological evidence supports several claims at such a place), but a location at which all branches of the hin race can come together in harmony and mutual advancement. The church has hence suffered some hits to its credibility in Luiren, whose residents believe they are living in just such a locale. Given that the search continues, however, Cyrrollalee must disagree. Her clerics rarely multiclass.

History/Relationships:

Cyrrollalee enjoys cordial relationships with her entire pantheon, as well as with nearly ever other kindhearted deity of Toril. As such she sometimes acts as ambassador for Yondalla's Children when disagreements arise with other pantheons. She harbors slight disappointment toward Brandobaris, feeling that his frivolous pursuits and adventures distract the halfling people from achieving their full potential. Any god who would stand in the way of the destiny of the hin ranks among her sworn enemies. Happily for her, most of Toril's malevolent deities have either not noticed her recent epiphany or have chosen to ignore it altogether.

Dogma:

Be generous in friendship, and welcome all friends into your home and trust. Never betray the trust of a host, break an oath, or violate the sanctity of another's home. The Day of Discovery approaches, when all hin rally around a new home based upon dignity, companionship, and love.

Sheela Peryroyl
Green Sister, Watchful Mother

Intermediate Halfling Deity
Symbol: Daisy
Home Plane: Green Fields
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Nature, agriculture, weather, song, dance, beauty, romantic love
Worshipers: Bards, druids, farmers, gardeners, halflings, rangers
Favored Weapon: "Oakthorn" (sickle)

The distant, somewhat aloof Sheela Peryroyl (shee-lah pair-re-roil) plays an important role in the culture of ghostwise halflings, representing the balance between the tamed earth of agricultural civilization and the verdant growth of the wild. Sometimes worshiped by agrarian lightfoot halflings, the bulk of Sheela's worshipers dwell under the leafy canopies of secluded forests such as the Chondalwood. Among civilized halflings, Sheela represents balance related to the harvest, for not only does she oversee the dutiful toil of the fields, but also the joyful celebration when work is finished. Patron of song, dance, and romance, halflings send prayers to Sheela Peryroyl during courtship, galas, and weddings. Ghostwise halflings honor Sheela as the providing force of the natural world, making her a more important figure than even Yondalla in their obscure culture.

Constructed of stone and dirt, curtains of fine vines, and carefully balanced rocks and living plants, Sheela's open-roofed temples appear to be woven from the earth itself. Animals roam freely among patches of wildflowers, gardens, and weeds. Those used to the structured rooms of "civilized" regions often find the growth and life here chaotic and disconcerting, but Sheela's clerics and druids, known collectively as Green Children, insist there are patterns in the wilderness, and that these patterns maintain a delicate balance. In the farmlands, Green Children mediate disputes between growers, sanctify marriages, free harvests from natural or unnatural blights, and protect the community from animals and beasts driven to violence by wounds or hunger. In return, they ensure that communities treat the wilderness with respect, that homesteads never encroach too far into natural habitats. The ghostwise consider Green Children the voice of Sheela Peryroyl, and defer to them as the guardians of culture and protectors of the wild fastness.

Green Children pray for spells at dawn. Every month, several of Sheela's faithful convene with their counterparts in neighboring communities to organize moonlight festivals known as Gatherings. All residents of the community are expected to attend and pitch in by bringing some bounty of the most recent harvest, either taken straight from the fields in the warm months or dug from the root cellar during winter. The sites of these Gatherings rotate monthly through local halfling communities, strengthening neighborly bonds. Many of Sheela's clerics and druids multiclass as rangers. They turn rather than rebuke undead.

History/Relationships:

Sheela counts all her pantheon as allies, but is closest to the inscrutable Urogalan, appreciating his aspect as Lord of the Earth. All Toril's nonevil nature deities value her as a cool mind and level-headed thinker capable of disarming tense diplomatic issues with forthright honesty and warming smiles. Such qualities make her the perfect "celestial mediator" when tensions flare between such worthies as Silvanus and Waukeen. This role has transcended to the mortal realm, where even some nonhalflings give honor to Sheela Peryroyl before entering a pact or important negotiation.

Dogma:

Living in harmony with nature requires a careful balance between the wild and the tame, the feral and the tended. The need to preserve wild growth is equal to the need to take in the harvest. While nature can be adapted, it should be evolved, never forced; work within the framework of what already exists.

Urogalan
He Who Must Be, Lord of the Earth, the Black Hound

Halfling Demigod
Symbol: Silhouette of a dog's head
Home Plane: Green Fields
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Earth, death, protection of the dead
Worshipers: Genealogists, grave diggers, halflings
Favored Weapon: "Doomthresher" (any flail)

Urogalan (urr-roh-gah-lan) protects the souls of the halfling dead and acts as Yondalla's advisor and divine judge. Sages claim that the Nurturing Matriarch values his word over that of all others. Urogalan limits his interest in the material world to the space below the surface, an environment foreign to most halflings. Thus, Urogalan remains detached from his people, uncharacteristically morose and pensive for a halfling deity. Despite his outlook, halflings appreciate his role, and know that He Who Must Be will watch over their souls when it comes time for them to make the transition from this world to the embrace of the Green Fields.

Urogalan's clerics preside over the internment of the dead and tend to halfling graces. Aside from their grim duties, they keep records, archive genealogies and note the important deeds of those that have died. They care called upon to bless new constructions and dig sites, and it is a tradition for a cleric of Urogalan to speak a prayer before the first meal eaten in a new building.

Urogalan's clerics, known as grimwardens, pray for spells in the morning. Grimwardens celebrate nights of the full moon as "Earthrisings," a time when followers of the Lord of the Earth gather with the relatives of halflings who perished in the last month for a special ceremony within a natural earth basin. Participants give offerings to the deity, softly chanting funeral dirges and elegies to the percussive pounding of bare feet while making slow rotations around the central stone. Clerics of Urogalan share so many rituals and beliefs with the dwarven deity Dumathoin that they often are welcomed as brothers in temples dedicated to the Keeper of Secrets under the Mountain. Grimwardens seldom multiclass. They turn rather than rebuke undead.

History/Relationships:

Urogalan finds little comfort in the company of his pantheon, keeping up cordial relations but maintaining a certain emotional distance. As his detached, somber mien is as off-putting to the other halfling gods as their frivolity and merry-making is to Urogalan, the arrangements works well for both parties. He finds some companionship with other earth lords such as Grumbar, Callarduran Smoothhands, Dumathoin, and Flandal Steelskin, but is most at home when visiting the Crystal Spire and discussing the nature of death with the likes of Jergal and Kelemvor. The time requirements of stewardship over the dead tax even those worthies, however, and such visits are rare. Urogalan has no time for deities who include necromancy and undead among their portfolios, treating them as sworn enemies.

Dogma:

Earth is the giver and receiver of life, providing shelter, food, and wealth to those whose toes embrace it. The sacred soil is to be revered as the mantle of Those Who Have Been and the shelter of Those Who Will Be. The thanatopsis of He Who Must Be reveals that death is to be embraced as a natural end, thus giving honor to the life that war.

Yondalla
The Protector and Provider, the Nurturing Matriarch, the Blessed One

Greater Halfling Deity
Symbol: Cornucopia on a shield
Home Plane: Green Fields
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Protection, bounty, halflings, children, security, leadership, wisdom, creation, family, tradition
Worshipers: Children, halflings, leaders, paladins, parents
Favored Weapon: "Hornblade" (short sword)

Yondalla (yon-dah-lah) created the halfling race in her own image, and it is due to her charming personality, friendly demeanor, curiosity, loyalty, and sense of mischief that halflings are among the best-tempered of the goodly races. As the matriarch of the halfling pantheon (and indeed the entire race), all halflings revere the Blessed One. Even those few who have rejected the traditional values of the hin respect Yondalla for her guidance of the race as a whole. Yondalla serves as an example to all her people, espousing harmony among halflings, good relations with other races, and the strong defense when faced with the affronts of enemies. It is Yondalla's wish that all her children are safe and prosperous, treat each other well, and live interesting, full lives. Yondalla is forgiving, slow to anger, and kind, but when her charges become threatened she acts with bravery and ferocity that has gained the respect of even her most warlike godly contemporaries. Yondalla knows that her race represents a truly good creation, and does anything within the boundaries of honor to nurture and protect it.

Perhaps surprisingly, Yondalla's clerics build few temples. Worship of the Nurturing Matriarch is so ingrained into nearly every aspect of halfling society that the hin treat the idea of specific services to their goddess once a tenday with bemused dismissal. This isn't to suggest halflings have a theocratic culture, but rather that Yondalla (and by extension, her clergy) presents through her actions (as interpreted through stories taught to all halflings in their youth) the values of a halfling should embrace to live life to its fullest and to benefit the community, namely: acceptance, community, love, gaiety, curiosity, loyalty, diplomacy, tradition, and a well-developed sense of mischief. The fact that many members of the clergy double as community leaders reinforces the influence of Yondalla's credo upon halfling society.

Clerics of the Protector and Provider pray for spells in the morning. Though organized common rituals and celebrations are rare, most halfling communities hold periodic gatherings in which clerics of the Blessed One minister to the public. Even nonhalfings are invited to take part in the festivals that follow these congregations, which often involve a tour through the local enclave that gives village elders the opportunity to share locale lore with the young folk and visitors, strengthening the sense of community. Clerics offer even secular guidance to their communities, often acting in important government roles. Clerics of Yondalla rarely multiclass, though some few with a militant bent decide to become paladins.

History/Relationships:

Over the millennia, Yondalla has cultivated strong relationships with Garl Glittergold, Corellon Larethian, and Moradin, and generally can count on their support for her positions. Though her love for her halfling subject knows few limits, she holds even greater admiration for her fellow members of the halfling pantheon, sometimes known as Yondalla's Children. Though the Blessed One is content to ignore those evil deities who do not threaten her "families" (mortal or divine), she holds deep grudges against certain evil deities who have crossed her in the past. Such beings include Bane, Cyric, Talona, Talos, and the Deities of Fury.

Dogma:

Those who seek to live in accordance with the way of the Provider will be blessed with a cornucopia of riches. Although violence should never be welcomed, the Protector's aegis extends to those willing to fiercely defend their home and community. Lead through example, knowing the activities of those you lead so you can shoulder their burden if need be. Treasure your family, for your parents gave you life and your children are your future. Care for the aged and the weak, for you never know when you may be one of the strong laid low.