Siamorphe

Goddesses of the Forgotten Realms Part Six

The Divine Right, the Noble

Symbol: A silver chalice with a golden sun etched on the side

Home Plane: Arcadia

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Portfolio: Rulership, order, law and balance

Worshipers: Rulers, nobles, officers of the realm, loyal servants

Common Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, NG

Domains: Life, Light

Favored Weapon: “Noble Might” (mace)

Doctrine: Defend the rightful order of society, obey your lords, protect those below you.

Raiment: Deep purple and dark blue robes of the finest materials, embroidered with metallic threads and adorned with elegant jewelry. All of Siamorphe’s clergy wear silver circlets marked with a golden sun.

Ritual: Anointing and investiture of rulers, blessing of royal heirs, noble children, and important officers of the realm.

“Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly.”

Siamorphe is the goddess of nobility, the right of nobles to rule and the responsibilities that come with rulership. She has a small following, largely limited to royalty and nobles as well as those who advise them. Many believe Siamorphe is simply a divine excuse for those born under a lucky star to indulge in their power without consequence. There are even some nobles who think that way, but they inevitably suffer a rude awakening. Siamorphe is the patroness of rulers, not those who simply live with a crown on their heads or a title before their names.

The current Siamorphe is just the latest in a long line of deities holding the same name and duties. The first Siamorphe was a princess from the long-gone human kingdom of Anauria, one of mighty Netheril’s successor states. She was elevated to divinity by unknown powers in order to offer humanity an alternative to the destructiveness of arcane rulership. Some believe this first Siamorphe, and all her successors, to be a shard of Amaunator’s power — certainly the accounts of the original Siamorphe depict her as very focused on legalities and authority compared to her successors. Today’s Siamorphe has been a deity for some 250 years, ever since the previous incarnation chose her after she was slain in a riot in her native Waterdeep. Her following is still strong in that city, as well as in Tethyr, Cormyr and the Moonsea, especially the city-state of Yûlash. There is also a small but tolerated branch of the church in the kingdom of Thay, where Szass Tam was quick to see it as another layer of respectability and authority.

As a minor goddess, Siamorphe is entangled in few divine conflicts. Siamorphe is closest to Torm, the god of duty and loyalty, virtues that she holds dear, and Oghma, the god of sages and scribes, often unsung pillars of the nobility. Other ‘civilized’ gods such as Azuth, Chauntea, Deneir, Eldath, Helm, the Red Knight and Waukeen, are also well-regarded by Siamorphe and her followers. She opposes Bane, the lord of tyranny (one of the Three Anathemas of the Church of Siamorphe), as well as the corrupting powers Asmodeus and Cyric. Wantonly cruel deities such as Bhaal, Gargauth, Loviatar, Malar, Myrkul, and Talos are also shunned by Siamorphe, who advises her followers to check their rampages as much as possible. Most of those deities by their very nature direct their own faithful against all Siamorphe holds dear even if they don’t regard the goddess herself as especially threatening.

The Church of Siamorphe is often regarded by non-nobles as little more than a prop for aristocratic rule. It is true the Church supports both royals and nobles as the pinnacle of the social order, but as said earlier, not without demanding they make use of their authority for the common good. There are many Siamorphan clerics (collectively known as Scions) who go out away from the capitals of their homelands and see that landed nobles in the country are not exploiting their people. Curiously, those who are found to be neglecting or abusing their responsibility often run afoul of the avenging hand of Hoar the Doombringer. Within the circles of nobility, clerics of Siamorphe generally serve either as advisors of the current rulers or teachers of the next. Their services are much in demand in both respects and sensible nobles are willing to both pay their priest a generous stipend and fund the construction of often lavish chapels on their estates.

Siamorphe has a few knightly orders that pay homage to her, but most of those orders are primarily devoted to their homelands. The Order of the Silver Chalice in Tethyr is probably the most renowned. They were established more than a century ago and played a major role in the restoration of the Tethyrian monarchy after decades of civil war. Today, they help defend both the borders and the ideals of Tethyr. The Silver Chalice is the ideal Siamorphan knighthood to most.

LAWS, ADMONITIONS AND ANATHEMAS

There is no centralized hierarchy to the Church of Siamorphe, nor any firm canon of holy texts, but there is a vast body of literature on the topics of rulership, nobility and anything even remotely related to them. Scions love debating in person and on paper, and entire libraries have been filled with their primary texts, commentaries on primary texts, commentaries on those commentaries, and so on.

Some of the most important texts and sayings of the Scions are as follows.

The Learned Arts

The classical tradition of education goes back to the early days of Netheril, whose sages took even more ancient ideas from the elves and shaped them to suit the ideals of their arcane culture. The learned arts, the foundation of education then as now, are Cosmology, Law, Logic, Magic, Mathematics, Philosophy, and Rhetoric. Each one has its place in the proper exercise of rulership. Cosmology is the proper understanding of creation and the hierarchy of being, from the greater gods down to the beasts of land, sea and air. Law is the armor of civilization which, properly formed and obeyed, protects the humble from the mighty. Magic is the lifeblood of the world and must be understood even if one cannot master it. Mathematics is of great practical concern, useful for managing both armies and accounts. Philosophy gives a ruler more than mere whim to guide their actions. Rhetoric is a tool of great value and crucial to making a ruler more than a tyrant.

The Three Ideals

While Siamorphe and her Scions preach the enlightened monarchy as the ideal form of government, they also recognize a historical succession of benevolent societies, each one building off that which came before, and a hierarchy reaching from the village to the kingdom. The first is the community, or rule by the many, which persists in much of Faerûn as the government of villages and smaller settlements. Here, a group of elders, generally representing all or most of the families of the community. The next is the aristocracy, rule by the few, which governs towns, cities and provinces. Nobles rule their domains and serve as the intermediary between family elders and the monarch. Finally, there is the monarchy, rule by one. A kingdom or city-state needs a single focused leader who can both protect and direct their subjects for the good of all.

The Three Anathemas

Where there is good, there is also bad. The opposite of community, aristocracy and monarchy are ochlocracy, oligarchy and tyranny. Ochlocracy is mob rule where the whims of the majority trample the rights and decency of all. It inevitably decays first into the rule of the strongest and then collapses completely, almost always doing its greatest harm in its fall. Oligarchy is the misrule of the few who have concern only for their own interests, not the greater good. This, unlike ochlocracy, can fester for decades or even centuries, grinding generation after generation under the heel of oppression. Finally is tyranny, rule of the one unfettered by laws, honor or any other constraint on their desires. Ochlocracy, oligarchy and tyranny are all the targets of the Church of Siamorphe, usually indirectly (in cooperation with groups such as the Harpers, for instance) but sometimes on its own.

The Lex Anaurinus

This ancient body of law was composed in the Netherese successor state of Anauria. Siamorphan tradition claims that the first Siamorphe wrote the Lex Anaurinus either on her own or as part of a small council advising the king. It was, in the words of one later commenter, “a new palace built on strong foundations” – much of the Lex Anaurinus drew on Netherese precedent, which itself was a combination of ancient tribal law, the largely unwritten laws of the elves of Cormanthyr and Illefarn, and the innovations of various Netherese mage-lords and priests of Amaunator. Two notable characteristics of the Lex Anaurinus are the harsh penalties inflicted on those who violate the numerous, ironclad laws against ‘misuse’ of magic and a general leveling of both laws and punishments in favor of the common folk instead of the high and mighty (essentially a synonym for ‘powerful wizards’ even after the fall of Netheril). Very harsh penalties are mandated for rulers who abuse their political and arcane power at the expense of the common good. The Lex Anaurinus long outlasted the realm that created it and had a major influence on the laws of later human realms such as Cormyr, the city-states of the Moonsea and the settlements of the Sword Coast from Luskan down to Baldur’s Gate. Halruaan and Nimbrese laws, which spring from the same Netherese root, bear a strong resemblance to the Lex Anaurinus. The code is still held as the ideal by the Scions of Siamorphe, who often champion this or that law in realms with different systems.

THE FIRST CHURCH OF YÛLASH

The city of Yûlash is one of the most long-suffering in the Moonsea. It was battered by a rage of dragons, a civil war exploited by Hillsfar and Zhentil Keep, and then the rampage of a mad god’s avatar. All of that was more than a century in the past, but the tragedies cast a long shadow on Yûlash. Up until a few years ago, it was ruled by a petty tyrant with an especially brutal way of solving problems. He was overthrown by a band of local adventurers and their mercenary allies, offering the city the first glimpse of hope in a long time. The adventuring company, the Lion’s Claws, were led by a warrior devoted to Siamorphe. This same warrior, Lady Menesa, now rules Yûlash and is trying to do so in a manner that pleases the goddess. Thus her funding the Fane of the Crown, once the local temple of Bane and now one of the grandest temples of Siamorphe away from the Sword Coast. It is under the watchful eye of Lady Scion Calitha Sokol, a younger daughter of one of Phlan’s old noble clans and part of the city’s ruling Council of Nine. Lady Scion Calitha is a close friend and ally of Lady Menesa, serving as an advisor on matters both political and spiritual. She is young and ambitious, but also sincere and eager to increase Siamorphe’s influence — to that end, she supports Lady Menesa against the hostile nobility, a stance not entirely approved of by her handful of fellow clergy in the region (even some of her own in Yûlash regard Lady Scion Calitha was reservation). One of the young priestess’ schemes for securing enlightened monarchy in Yûlash is to hire bold adventurers to face down the many threats all around the city – Netherese mages and their summoned beasts lurking in the fringe-forests of Cormanthor, Zhentarim plots to put Yûlash back under the boot of the Black Network, the ambitions of the hateful rulers of Hillsfar, and more! (Never mind the fact that Yûlash has the city watch, the mercenary Blue Brand army, and Lady Menesa’s own agents, the Orphans, all dedicated to the same missions.) Lady Scion Calitha also has plans for a school for local children, nobles, merchants and talented commoners alike, as well as vague dreams of making the temple in Yûlash the center of a web of Scions advising monarchs from the Moonsea to the Inner Sea.

THE ORDER OF THE SILVER CHALICE

The Order of the Silver Chalice was established in Tethyr about fourteen decades ago, during the height of that realm’s civil war. Then, as now, its knights were drawn from the nobility of Tethyr. Their original duty of restoring the aristocracy to its former role has long since been fulfilled. Today, the Order consists of both hereditary members (descendants of the founding Knights) and active members (nobles from a mix of ‘ancient’ and newly ennobled families). They maintain peace and safety in the kingdom alongside the nation’s army and guards. The most talented and respected knights are used by Queen Anais as her special agents, trusting the Order to rise above the kingdom’s internal conflicts and work for the good of the realm and its people. The Queen and Duchess Scion Ulisa Valmeyjar often see eye to eye on the need to defend Tethyr beyond its borders – cults and conspiracies rarely respect lines on a map, after all, and deadly criminals have a habit of fleeing abroad.

Knights of the Order are rarely welcomed in Tethyr’s neighbors of Calimshan and Amn, whose rulers regard them as annoying meddlers, but they have a better reputation in most of the lands of the Sword Coast and realms such as Cormyr, the Dalelands, and the nations around the Inner Sea. An honorable reputation isn’t the same as official sanction, though, and Knights whose duties take them outside Tethyr often work discreetly. Some issues of particular concern to the Order are the presence of well-equipped bandits and ruin-raiders in Memnonnar, the abandoned and decaying portion of the great Calimshite city of Memnon, rumors of a secret cult of Asmodeus corrupting the noble houses of Darromar (the capital of Tethyr), and strange druids worshiping unfamiliar powers stirring up the beasts, intelligent or otherwise, of the wilderness of Tethyr.

The Order’s headquarters is at the High Hall of the Divine Right, the huge and lavish temple of Siamorphe in Darromar, but their true home is at the Ten Towers of Noble Obligation, a fortress temple situated upriver of the capital, halfway between it and Iltarghal Keep. Both sites are well guarded by junior Knights, priests of Siamorphe, and volunteers from the household guards of various noble families.

CELUMAGHU

Celumaghu is Siamorphe’s celestial realm and palace in Arcadia. It is a young domain, as Siamorphe only rose from Toril to Arcadia a few generations ago, but one that is all the more vibrant for that fact. The realm covers an area the size of a mortal kingdom while the palace is almost as large as a city. The realm of Celumaghu is dotted with grand castles, each built to be the perfect manifestation of their occupants’ vision, with circles of perfect gardens, fields, meadows and wilderness surrounding them. Beneath Siamorphe’s watchful eye, the realm is governed by a strict hierarchy of nobles and monarchs, a hierarchy based on Siamorphe’s judgment instead of lineage and historical renown – much to the surprise and dismay of a few pompous rulers.

Equally surprised at their placement were Leya Wallindehra and Sehren Vadren, two young Tethyrian noblewomen of middling rank who found themselves as junior stewards of the Citadel of Summer Dawn, one of seven great fortresses on the periphery of Celumaghu. The two of them were rivals in life and remain so after their untimely deaths in a balloon accident. At the moment, they are vying for the favor of Siamorphe’s appointed Castellan of Summer Dawn, the scholarly Duke Refranyor. Neither of the ladies were inclined to the learned arts in their mortal lives and both are quite desperate for someone who will help them impress the Duke. Not by teaching them history or philosophy, alas (this would impress the Duke), but by finding a suitably ancient text about such topics (this would not impress the Duke). Their increasingly desperate antics are beginning to disrupt the smooth order of the citadel, which may have consequences for the two young noblewomen if the matter comes to Siamorphe’s attention. She is far from a cruel ruler, but she has little patience for those who don’t take their duties and demeanors seriously.

Fortunately for the planar debutantes, Siamorphe’s attention is fixed on weightier matters at the moment. Celumaghu is not far from the domain of Vandria Gilmadrith. The two deities have rarely interacted but get along well enough (as do most powers in Arcadia – the plane itself inspires cooperation). This peaceful co-existence has been upset over the last several day-cycles. Outlying settlements on both sides of the border between the two realms have been visited by a mysterious wanderer who calls himself Bolvasmiðr, a wanderer who has subtly spun a web of lies insinuating that the other power is corrupting Arcadia and guiding it along the same path that long ago caused the third layer of the plane to shift into Mechanus. The peaceful and trusting Arcadians are beginning to believe these lies. Bolvasmiðr is an alias of Loki, the Norse trickster god, but that is a lie, too – he is actually Ubh Farmaðr, a giantish demigod who has an ancient hatred of Loki and seeks to see him blamed for the divine dispute. A war between the Arcadian powers would be delightful, too.

SURASIÐ

Surasið is a fiend of Gehenna, one of the ultroloths that dominate that wretched place. She is one of the weaker ultroloths, although still quite powerful by mortal standards, and thus largely left out of the schemes of her peers. Those who regard Surasið as easy prey find out why she has survived so long, though. Many of these reckless fools adorn the walls of her citadel; many more are part of the walls of her citadel.

Among those wise in the ways of the planes, Surasið is known as the Mistress of the Bleeding Crown, a daemon who delights in relentlessly corrupting rulers and bringing about their downfall. She is too weak at heart to try and overthrow the Oinoloth, so she instead tears down other sovereigns. The Mistress will spend a week crushing a village elder or a century undermining an imperial dynasty, finding just as much pleasure in a swift and effortless victory as in a campaign lasting generations. Some Torilian sages believe the word of 14th century Tethyr are her doing — then again, blaming a daemon instead of human folly is very easy as it explains the lack of evidence. This may or may not be true, but Surasið did indeed come into conflict with Siamorphe in the background of the Tethyrian civil war. This conflict became an obsession for Surasið, who spent the better part of a century working to corrupt, weaken and destroy the Church of Siamorphe. Her handful of cults in Faerûn have lasted long enough that they spin their own schemes without any guidance from Surasið. The cultists believe the Mistress’ silence is a sign that they are doing as she wishes. The truth is that Surasið is more concerned with affairs in other worlds and has largely forgotten her grudge with the Divine Right. Siamorphe, on the other hand, considers it a grave threat and urges her followers to be supremely vigilant for any sign of the Mistress of the Bleeding Crown.

As for Surasið’s cults, they have no typical ‘plan of attack’ for undermining Siamorphe and her followers. Whatever happens to appeal to the head of a particular cult is their orthodoxy. Surasið’s followers in Darromar are hidden within an exclusive brothel and use their influence over frequent clients to subtly steer them towards ever more violent hedonism, then expose them in such a fashion the people demand justice. When possible, they manipulate the courts and judges to treat such offenses lightly. Otherwise, they use puppet voices to loudly cry out for the most ghastly punishments and insinuate that all those of noble birth are brutal deviants in disguise. The leader of the cult is Agrina Aensley (NE female Tethyrian bard). Agrina is herself the neglected third-born child of a minor count and delights in stabbing ‘her kind’ in the back, all in service to a daemon who is barely aware she exists and wouldn’t care if she ceased to exist. The cult of the Mistress of the Weeping Crown in Waterdeep, in contrast, is a band of sewer-dwelling wererat cannibals who took Surasið’s distracted comment to a long-dead cultist that they should ‘devour the nobility’ as a literal demand. There is little subtlety to their efforts and no great plan. They abduct careless or unlucky nobles, drag them back to a hidden lair below the streets, and conduct their grotesque rituals, then begin again a few years later – somehow, a few of the ratmen always survive the vengeance of Waterdeep’s Watch.

NEW SPELLS

Loyal Vassal

3rd-level abjuration (paladin)

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (holy symbol of Siamorphe)

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You protect a willing creature against mind-affecting magic. The creature has advantage on all rolls against spells and effects that cause the charmed condition. The target cannot be compelled to harm you, either. When the target makes an attack roll or a saving throw while you can see them before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the attack roll or saving throw. If the target willingly attempts to harm you, the spell ends.

Resounding Word

Enchantment cantrip (bard, cleric, paladin)

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You touch a creature and that creature’s voice can heard clearly by all creatures within 300 feet for the duration. This has no effect on magic – it will not penetrate a spell such as silence nor will it extend the range of a spell such as power word kill.

NEW MAGIC ITEMS

Faith Token

Wondrous item, rare

Faith tokens are minor magic items attuned to one of the gods of Faerûn. They are normally imbued with a cantrip linked to the deity’s divine responsibility. They are usually given as gifts to devout followers of a particular deity. A faith token can only be used once per day, even though it contains two cantrips. All damage is treated as if cast by a 1st level character regardless of the character’s actual level.

Siamorphe’s faith tokens are generally stainless steel discs with her holy symbol on them. They can cast friends or word of radiance.

Quill of Eloquence

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

Mastering the art of the written word is something that can often elude even intelligent folk, but it is a crucial skill all the same. After a young King Rhiigard of Cormyr nearly caused a major incident with the Lord of Chancelgaunt over a poorly-worded letter, High Wizard Thanderahast and Lord Scion Uxel of Siamorphe created the first Quill of Eloquence for him. When you use a Quill of Eloquence, it subtly refines the text to remove any offensive wording and make it more persuasive to the intended audience. You gain advantage on any Charisma (Performance) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made with anything written using the Quill.

Ring of Leadership

Ring, rare (requires attunement)

Rings of Leadership come in many different styles, some being simple copper bands and others extravagant mithral rings studded with rare gems. While wearing this ring, you gain the following benefits:

* your Charisma score increases by 1, to a maximum of 20

* you have advantage on all Charisma ability checks.

Rod of Diplomacy

Rod, legendary (requires attunement)

This magical item, said to come from the kingdom of Furyondy in another world, is a prized possession of rulers and messengers. While holding the rod, you gain advantage on all Charisma (Intimidation) or Charisma (Persuasion) checks. While holding the rod, you can use an action to cast suggestion from it once per day.

The Scepter of Anauria

Weapon (mace), legendary (requires attunement)

This ancient weapon was once part of the regalia of the rulers of Anauria. There is some debate over who created it – Siamorphe’s followers hold to an ancient tradition that the original goddess forged it in her mortal life, while most sages believe it was the product of an anonymous Netherese arcanist. It disappeared when Anauria was destroyed by an orcish army around 111 DR. Since then, the scepter has resurfaced a few times, most recently as part of the arsenal of Manshoon of Zhentil Keep. It may have been claimed by the Netherese when they sacked that city. It may lie in some hidden armory in Zhentil Keep. It may have been lost in the near-destruction of Myth Drannor. Wherever it is, the Church of Siamorphe would pay a dragon’s hoard to regain it.

You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.

The scepter has 10 charges. It has all the properties of both a rod of rulership and a staff of healing. You can also use an action to cast thunderwave from it (expends 3 charges).

The scepter regains 1d6+4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, the scepter will not regain any charges for 7 days.

The Sword of the New Crown

Weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)

This magnificent weapon has a slightly curving blade of snowy white mithral and a crescent hilt of magically hardened gold in the shape of a lion’s leg and claws. It was forged for the kings of the ancient realm of Delimbiyran by one of the last elves to depart that land for Evermeet.

You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this sword. In addition, when you attack a creature with this sword and roll a 20 on the attack roll, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. Additionally, you can speak the sword’s command word (“Cyneblæd”) to cause the blade to shed bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. Speaking the command word again or sheathing the sword puts out the light. While you are holding or wearing this sword, you can detect evil and good as per the spell.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Aside from the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual, this work also draws from the following sources:

Encyclopedia Magica, volume 3, by slade

Magic of Faerûn by Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell and Angel McCoy

Powers & Pantheons by Eric L. Boyd