Gods of Argaenothruzil: DALL-E

AI is getting more and more impressive, and it is downright astounding to see things that have been in my own head come to life with fewer and fewer uncanny issues! This week I got into using the DALL-E AI image generator at bing.com/create, which is free and very impressive! (in short, the only thing I'll ever use Bing for). With its impressive grasp of descriptions, I was able to breathe new life into the gods of my fantasy settings once again.

Deities of Hearth: Artifacts

Among the legendary magic items of Hearth, none are more renowned than the possessions of the gods themselves. These artifacts embody divine will and the power of the Pentatheon. Where they appear, these weapons change the tide of wars and the course of history.

Typically a deity bestows their weapon only on a favored champion or devotee. Depending on the champion’s piety score, the mortal can tap into hidden properties of the weapon. Alternatively, those who don’t worship the weapon’s divine owner often find themselves cursed for their lack of proper devotion.

EDIT 2023: AI art illustrations added!

Deities of Hearth: Lawbringer

Lawbringer

God of Order

Lawbringer is an ambiguous, androgynous god of absolute order, the deity of cities, civilization, technology, crafting, and nobility. Lawbringer does not care for mercy or circumstance: only justice and equality. Lawbringer is the patron god of judges, kings, and those who crave justice, or sometimes even vengeance, and are sometimes called even to settle disputes among the gods or devils. Lawbringer finds beauty only in straight lines and hard angles, never in shades of gray or in wavering. Lawbringer is also the god of fire, which refines metals and turns the wood of the wilds into warmth and light for civilization.

Lawbringer is depicted as a bald, androgynous being with brassy skin holding scales in one hand and a hammer in the other, wearing a robe with geometric symbols across it.

Deities of Hearth: Deepwarden

Deepwarden

God of Death

Deepwarden is the god of the ocean, darkness, treasures beneath the earth, secrets, and death. He is the overseer of dying souls who pass through the underworld, the patron god of underground peoples and monsters in dark places, and the merciless deity who stirs up nations to war against each other. Warriors on both sides of battles pray to him for guidance, and he often favors those who sacrifice to him or who have secrets of their own to share with him or tribute to pay his churches.

Deepwarden is depicted as a stern man with ashen skin, eyes that glow like blue embers, and golden armor studded with diamonds. He is often shown holding two black swords or riding his giant skeletal dragon, Kalsedne.

Deities of Hearth: Moondancer

Moondancer

Goddess of the Wilds

Moondancer is the daughter of Skyfather and Hearthmatron and the goddess of animals, the chaos of the wilds, the moon, and the hunt. She is the patron goddess of hunters, herders, rangers, and those who live far away from civilization. She is also the goddess of revelry, lust, and wine, as well as the patron goddess of thieves, who pray to her when sneaking about by moonlight.

She is depicted as a beautiful elven woman with pale skin covered with markings of many colors across her body, wearing a suit of skins and holding a bow and arrow. Her pet, Silversong, is said to be able to take any bestial shape, but is most often a silvery falcon, leopard, stag, or zebra.

Deities of Hearth: Hearthmatron

 

Hearthmatron

Goddess of Life

Hearthmatron is the mother of all living, the soul of Hearth itself. She is the patron goddess of midwives, farmers, and families, and the force of unselfish good in the world. Peasants pray to her for fertility, both in themselves and in their crops, and all those who are sick beseech her healing powers. Of all the gods, Hearthmatron has the most clerics, all of whom wander the land ridding it of disease and purging it of undead. 

Wise and even-tempered, Hearthmatron values community, stability, and the balance of nature. She is the god of maternity, family, orphans, domestication, and agriculture, as well as defense of the home and territory.

Hearthmatron is depicted as a pregnant, middle-aged woman wearing green robes and flowers in her hair.

Deities of Hearth: Skyfather

Skyfather

God of the Skies

Skyfather is the embodiment of the uncaring elements from above. Sunlight, snow, lightning, wind, and rain do not distinguish between law and chaos. They merely exist to run their course, and so does Skyfather.

Pride and self-assurance radiate from Skyfather as light floods from the sun. He is cheerful and sociable, forming bonds easily with those who prove themselves strong and honorable. His friendship can be as easily lost, though, turning him from ally to enemy as the consequence of a single misstep or perceived betrayal.

He is often depicted as a strong, bronze-skinned warrior with clouds for a beard, eyes as bright as the sun, and wielding a spear of lightning and a swirling shield of wind.

The Pentatheon: Deities of Hearth

In this new series, I'll be exploring the aspects of the five gods of my homebrew D&D world, Hearth, collectively known as The Pentatheon. I've organized each article like the sourcebook Mythic Odysseys of Theros, so consult that book if you're not sure how things like piety work. I personally highly recommend limiting your homebrew pantheon to just a few gods like this. It's much easier for the players to remember and much simpler for fleshing them out as the DM.

The World of Hearth

With the start of my very first and very amazing weekly D&D group, I decided to make a new world for it to take place in. This is mainly because a) I have very little knowledge of and interest in the geography of the Forgotten Realms (which D&D canonically takes place in), b) Argaenothruzil is dated and unrealistic, c) the World of Warcraft would be a bit too limiting on creativity (and I want to use the creatures found in the Monster Manual without having to reskin them), and d) I wanted to exercise the techniques explained in the worldbuilding chapters of the 5th edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide. As I started to create a world from the ground up, I came up with a few key goals for my new world:

1. To make a unique, open, explorable world with endless adventure potential for future games
2. To base the framework of my world off of one I was already familiar with (in this case, Azeroth) to propel my creativity foreward
3. To make a simple and memorable world that didn't require too much "name inventing" on my part that was easy for players not too well versed in fantasy to feel comfortable in
4. To make a world that feels unlike earth in as many ways as possible without making the world too confusing