Deities & Faith
Three pantheons across the ages, religion and how it all started
Religion in Evindale
Overview
Religion in Evindale is built on a simple but profound idea: any possibility, once truly achievable, gives rise to a deity. This comes from the Tirsar, the source of all realities. Its dreams, known as tirsar’rg, turn abstract concepts into living, divine beings. Over thousands of years, people have recognized more than forty of these deities, but there are certainly many more.
An important aspect of Evindale’s gods is that they don’t rely on mortal belief to exist. Instead, they embody fundamental truths of reality. If something like farming, war, or even murder exists, then its deity exists as well. People often mistake the benefits they receive after rituals—like good harvests or victory in battle—as direct responses from the gods. But, in reality, these rituals trigger natural metaphysical processes set up by the Tirsar, and enacted upon by Sythlia, much like turning gears in a cosmic machine. The gods themselves might not even notice these rituals at all.
As societies change, their pantheons evolve. One culture may worship a deity of peace and prosperity, while another might revere gods of conflict and conquest. When older traditions fade, ancient gods recede, and new ones emerge based on what becomes important—such as technology or survival after disasters.
Temples don’t sustain gods but serve essential social roles: providing communal spaces, distributing resources, and offering moral guidance. Clerics and priests lead these rituals, uphold traditions, and help communities understand their faith.
Religious Orders: Vyers
Religious orders may exist with specific goals in mind. The clerics and priests of these are called vyers, with the head of larger religious organizations called an archvyer
They are responsible for both practical administration and spiritual leadership across the order which often span large regions.
Alternative Practices
Some cultures, like those in Sta’abri, reject traditional worship altogether, instead seeking power through discipline and mastery over elemental forces, collectively called the Eight Elements.
In advanced Ages, religion may wane under scientific progress or oppressive governments, but it often resurfaces when collective needs or cosmic events demand renewed faith.
Lore: The Tirsar
(“Old Masters”; Tira, masters; -sar-venerable. TEER•sarr)
Neutral in all ways, the Tirsar are the semi-sentient proto-deities of all existence from which all other deities come. They simultaneously never were and yet always were, defying reason and understanding. They are, in short, all of possibility both realized and unimagined.
Tirsar’rg: Dreams Made Manifest
From the dreams of the Tirsar, called the tirsar’rg, come concepts and ideas of what may be, each contained in their own sphere of existence. Yet for every bit of a seemingly arbitrary bit of possibility made manifest, there is one inviolable rule of the Tirsar: each possibility is personified, and it is that personification which mortals call deity. In Evindale, action begets deity.
The Pantheons of Evindale
The Aldri’har
Over many eons, the dreams were repeatedly created, refined, or destroyed. Those that interact with the incredibly limited physical planes of reality have been called the Aldri’har. These divine aspects of the original Tirsar would soon enough be given individual names by the mortals who recognized their presence. Scholars claim, however, that no mortal can pronounce or even conceive of the real name of any one of the Aldri’har, for encoded in their real names is the very blueprint of reality.
This page is dedicated to the Aldri’har and their demi-deities.
Demi-Deities
Breaking from the literary tradition that demi-deities are part-human/part-divine, the Evindale demi-deities are divine creatures created in the realm of another deity, emerging as a facet rather than separate entity.
For example, Fayan and Fayer were created from Death’s appearance in Sythlia’s realm and are, therefore, demi-deities in Evindale.
Erithian
At the end of the Fourth Age, mortals had discovered and assembled pieces of the Caldra’da Helix, the only remnants of the first physical universe. When placed in a particular configuration, the nature of reality was rewritten and Nor’dagha rose as the predominant deity of the physical universe.
This Interregnum passed and during it, the belief systems of mortals changed. They found purpose in the creation of new deitis that more closely mirrored their own fears of a destroyed world. Names like Nor’dagha, Sythlia, Benos, and even the Tirsar fell to the wayside.
These gods came to be known as the Erithian deities, the gods of the Fifth Age.
The Erithians
Cylzin
Daedras
Erithis
Faylan
Hesseth
Kaedral
Saset
Tylan
Vaelan
The Unspoken
The Unspoken emerged from the depths of a tirsar’rg like malignant growths of thought—aberrant, diseased, and discarded fragments of reality from a time preceding R’shlidal. Beyond the boundaries of our known reality, they murmur in secretive whispers about their own realms and creations, far surpassing the scope of even the gods’ dreams.
What little is known comes from a Talan who died in the search for their knowledge:, Ilyas Ja-Mahdawi.
List of Known Unspoken
Ath’Shagoth – Darkened Serpent of Noghtlig
M’narcthul – Abyssal Sphinx of N’lyxanar
Ot’Acth – Black Ram of the Eternal Void
Noghtligoth – Lightless Sun of N’garset
N’saatathat – Sunless Witch of Saathot
N’thulanix – Void Whale of Og’morat
Qua’Goloth – Silver Moon of Y’ha’nthlei
Qu’thalic – Iridescent Spider of N’zaathoth
R’lythraac – Shadowed Tower of P’thagon
Sha’Zuuleth – Endless Labyrinth of T’saathe
Shognotet – Eternal River of N’gahth
Xa’Ngoroct – Crystal Skull of Ulthartog
Xoth’Omoth – Prismatic Eye of R’ly’noght
Zoth-Ommok – Timeless Leviathan of the Starless Depths
Pathfinder 2e Domains
Spirit
Associated Deities (Evindale): Any deity or demi-deity representing consciousness, manipulation of matter, essence of life, or the ethereal realm (e.g., Ignimir for healing/freedom, or other Spirit-aligned powers).
Granted Skill: You become trained in the Occultism skill (or another skill of your deity’s choice if you’re already trained in Occultism).
Domain Spells:
- Initial Domain Spell (Focus 1): Commune with Spirit
- Advanced Domain Spell (Focus 4): Ethereal Guardian
Commune with Spirit <Focus 1>
[two-actions]
Cleric Conjuration Divine Domain Emotion Incapacitation Occult Spirit
Range 30 feet; Targets up to 2 willing or unconscious creatures or 1 unoccupied space if contacting a free-roaming spirit
You whisper a call into the immaterial plane, seeking insight from a spirit or ephemeral echo nearby. Choose one of the following effects:
Contact a Free-Roaming Spirit (Unoccupied Space): If a spirit or incorporeal undead lingers within 30 feet (even if out of sight), it momentarily appears in the target space and communicates with you for up to 1 round (as if using Speak with Dead, though the spirit need not be deceased flesh; it might be a ghost or echo). It can convey brief visions or emotions but may refuse to help if hostile.
Bridge Between Willing Creatures: You link the consciousness of up to two willing or unconscious creatures. For 1 minute, they gain a +1 status bonus to saving throws against emotion effects and can sense one another’s general emotional state (calm, fear, pain, etc.). If one creature recovers from the unconscious condition while under this effect, it immediately senses the other’s current condition.
If you cast Commune with Spirit again before its duration ends, the new casting ends the previous effect.
Heightened (+1): The duration increases by 1 minute.
Ethereal Guardian <Focus 4>
[three-actions]
Cleric Abjuration Conjuration Divine Domain Spirit
You call forth a protective guardian formed of intangible, swirling essence. Choose one ally within 30 feet or yourself. The guardian hovers near the target for up to 1 minute, granting the following benefits:
- Spiritual Shield: The guardian imposes a –1 status penalty to attack rolls made by incorporeal or spirit-based creatures (like ghosts or wraiths) against the target.
- Soothing Presence: Whenever the target Regains Hit Points, it Regains 1 additional Hit Point per 2 of your levels (minimum 1 extra HP).
- Guardian’s Interposition [reaction] (Trigger: The target would be hit by an attack while within 15 feet of you; Frequency: once per round): The guardian swiftly interposes itself, granting the target a +1 status bonus to AC against the triggering attack. If this causes the attack to miss, the guardian flickers and cannot use this reaction again until the next time you Cast a Spell (of 1st level or higher).
After the guardian’s duration ends (or if it is dismissed as a free action), its faint outline dissipates into motes of spirit light.
Heightened (+2): The penalty to attacks from incorporeal or spirit-based creatures increases to –2, and the bonus to AC from Guardian’s Interposition increases to +2.
Domain Benefits
- Edicts: Seek a deeper understanding of consciousness and immaterial energies, promote free will and the integrity of souls, and guide wandering spirits to their rightful place.
- Anathema: Willfully corrupt or enslave souls, distort consciousness through malevolent magic, or deny living beings their sense of self without just cause.
Like other domains, the Spirit domain emphasizes your connection to an aspect of the divine that governs immaterial essence and consciousness. The spells Commune with Spirit and Ethereal Guardian grant unique ways to protect and guide allies, communicate with unseen echoes, and defend against incorporeal threats—harnessing the raw potential of Evindale’s Spirit element.
The Aldri'har
