Faerûnian pantheon

The Faerûnian pantheon was the most worshiped pantheon on Faerûn, a continent on Toril.

Membership
The Faerûnian pantheon was a pantheon of deities. Pantheons were a group of deities who were worshiped by people who shared one characteristic, for example sharing the same cultural or racial background. In the Faerûnian pantheon's case the believers' shared characteristic was a geographic one, people who lived in those parts of the continent Faerûn where other pantheons did not hold sway were the believers.

Hierarchy
The Circle of Greater Powers were the ones who led the pantheon. The leadership was a loose matter and was more of administrative nature. Apart from this, there was little hierarchy in the Faerûnian pantheon except for the one the gods created among themselves. A unique trait of the Faerûnian pantheon was that deities with similar portfolios clustered in a hierarchic relationship. The reason they did this, or to be more precise the reason why the highest deity did not just kill the lower-ranking ones and assume their places, was surmised to be either a bargain where the lower-ranking deity helped the higher-ranking one at increasing its influence in return of protection or blackmail where the higher-ranking one bullied the lower-ranking ones for divine energy and servitude. It was assumed that the exact nature of such arrangements varied with the personalities of the involved deities.

Activities
The Faerûnian pantheon was a very fractious one that fought among themselves and had no overarching goal. When it expanded its physical sphere of influence, it usually did so at the expense of other pantheons.

The aforementioned Circle of Greater Powers regulated the deities according to the rules as set by Ao, the overgod of Toril to whom all pantheons worshiped on Toril were subject to. However, this the leaders rarely if ever met to do their jobs and even when they did their reaction time was very long, not because they needed a lot of time to think, but due to internal strife.

Tactics
As mentioned above, the Faerûnian pantheon was a single-sphere pantheon. The reason why gods deliberately concentrated their work on one single world at the exclusion of others was that this way they could shut out deities from other worlds entering and infringing on their home turf.

Base of Operations
The Faerûnian pantheon had&mdash;as it was normal for single-sphere pantheons&mdash; no base of operations. The members held their divine realms where it suited them most. The closest to a base of operations the pantheon owned was Cynosure, a pavillon on a demiplane, where the Circle of the Greater Powers met.

Relationships
As mentioned above, the Faerûnian pantheon was subject to Ao and tried to execute his rule of Balance.

As mentioned above, single-sphere pantheons were good at defending themselves from infringement from potential external rivals. This came at the cost of interplanar unimportance, Toril's deities were, as deities who were worshiped only on a backwater plane like Toril, unimportant deities on the interplanar political landscape. However, the rate at which their importance grew was equal to that of the most vibrant of pantheons. That said, the Faerûnian pantheon ever becoming an important force on the interplanar landscape was considered unlikely at best.

The Faerûnian pantheon as a whole had special relationships with the Chultan pantheon. The pact between the two was quite simple, Ubtao would look out for Dendar while the Faerûnian pantheon would leave Ubtao's turf alone for this service.

History
The Faerûnian pantheon was created out of the merging of at least four pantheons, the Coramshite pantheon, the Jhaamdathan pantheon, the Netherese pantheon, and the Talfiric pantheon. These pantheons were all geographically divided human pantheons. In ancient times, human pantheons were loosely geographically divided because the humans' population density and area was such that they did not border each other. Over time, the human cultures and borders intermingled with each other and their pantheons intermingled too. When this happened, deities of similar portfolios had to fight each other for supremacy to get rid of the other one. Over time, the pantheons merged together and the Faerûnian pantheon was born. For example, Garagos and Tempus, both war gods of the Netherese and Talfiric pantheon respectively, fought each other and the former lost. It was not clear when exactly the various pantheons merged into the Faerûnian pantheon. Various gods entered and dropped out of the pantheon.

For example, Jergal split his portfolio among three mortals, Bane, the new god of strife, Bhaal, the new god of murder, and the Myrkul, the new god death, the last whom Jergal served. Other mortals who arose to godhood were Azuth, who needed to fight over his position with Savras, Gwaeron Windstrom, the Red Knight, Torm, and Uthgar.

As mentioned above, the Farûnian pantheon was a single-sphere pantheon. Gods formed such with the objective of shutting out other world's deities from Toril. That said, various deities managed to sneak into the pantheon of Toril and the number of such deities was expected to increase. That world was a favored destination of foreign deities who were losing influence for one or the other reason. Examples included Oghma and Silvanus from the Celtic pantheon, Tyr from the Norse pantheon, and Loviatar and Mielikki from the Finnish pantheon, all entering the Faerûnian pantheon to cling to life and/or some degree of influence. Another example was Tyche from the Greek pantheon who split in two deities Beshaba and Tymora over the course of the Dawn Cataclysm.

Era of Upheaval
The gods, not only of the Faerûnian pantheon but all of them, were cruel creatures who exploited mortals while not pursuing their duties on levels that horrified Ao, who was losing his patience with them because of it. The last straw was the theft of the Tablets of Fate at the hand of Bane and Myrkul, two deities of the Faerûnian pantheon. The Time of Troubles was started by Ao as a response. During that time, Toril's deities had to possess mortals or walk in avatar form on the world.
 * Time of Troubles

During that time, a deity's avatar's death could mean the death of the deity. Among the deities who died were Bane, Bhaal, Myrkul, Mystra, and Torm, the last one was reinstalled, the first three's positions were overtaken by Cyric, and Mystra's was overtaken by Midnight. Other deities who arose over the course of the Time of Troubles were Iyachtu Xvim and Finder Wyvernspur by killing an avatar of Moander. Shar killed two deities, Ibrandul and Eshowdow. The latter had potential to become important for the Shadow Giant was a member of the Chultan pantheon and Shar making inroads into that pantheon was an action that did potential harm to the agreement between the Faerûnian pantheon and the Chultan one.

A pantheon that stopped working as one because of the Time of Troubles was the Untheric pantheon. Its surviving members, Hoar and Tiamat, signed up with the Faerûnian one. The end of the Untheric pantheon had another effect too for Unther's territory was up for the taking by either the Faerûnian or Mulhorandi pantheon. Both pantheons' stance regarding the matter could be summed up as "stand by and watch", but the smaller Mulhorandi one feared to be swallowed up by the bigger one.

Another presumed effect of the Avatar Crisis was that the gods of the Faerûnian pantheon started to look out for other sources of faith outside of Toril to become more powerful.

The troublesome time for the Faerûnian pantheon did not end with the Time of Troubles. Cyric tried to increase his power. He killed Leira for that goal and ordered the writing of the Cyrinishad, a book that made the reader belief that Cyric was the greatest person in existence, and completed it. He read it himself and fell into a delusional hubris. In the wake of his madness, he lost the portfolio of death to Kelemvor and that of tyranny to Iyachu Xvim. Cyric later came back to his senses in 1371 DR.
 * Interim Years

In 1368 DR, Velsharoon became a deity and in 1372 DR, Bane returned by killing his son Xvim.

In 1374 DR, Daelegoth Orndeir cast Amaunator's eternal sun and with it heralded the transformation of Lathander to Amaunator. In the same year, Mask handed his power and life over to Shar.

In 1384 DR, Tyr killed Helm over the misunderstnading that the latter wanted an adulterous relationship with his wife Tymora. in 1385 DR, Tyr abdicated and died fighting a demon horde.

In 1385 DR, Cyric murdered Mystra and with it the Spellplague happened. On the divine side, Savras died with Dweomerheart, Azuth fell into the Nine Hells and was eaten by Asmodeus who became then became a deity. Deneir built himself and the Metatext into the Weave or what remained of it and ceased to exist.

After the Spellplague, various formerly racial deities made inroads into the Faerûnian pantheon and various racial deities turned out to be Faerûnian deities' aspects ad vice versa.
 * Post-Spellplague

Examples of gods who had aspects in the form of racial deities were Akadi, actually a primordial, turned out to be Aerdrie Faenya, or Sune, as Hanali Celanil. A reverse example was Talos who turned out to be Gruumsh, the orcish head deity.

Members of racial pantheons who made inroads into the Faerûnian one were Corellon, Ghaunadaur, Gruumsh, Lolth, and Moradin.

Lolth tried to become the deity of magic in 1480 DR. She failed and Mystra returned to power.

Second Sundering
In the wake of the Second Sundering, a number of deities made their return. Drasek Riven put on the mantle of Mask. The formerly racial deities left the Faerûnian pantheon for their racial ones.

Members

 * Amaunator:Amaunator was the god of the sun. He was prayed to for desirable weather, but was also the object of worship when keeping laws and oath was the matter at hand for he was viewed as a strict deity to whom the rule of law was very important.
 * Asmodeus:Asmodeus was the god of indulgence. Belief lived from the fact that when mortals did not follow their patron deity's edicts, they had a longer time to wait on the Fugue Plane or might stay there for eternity. People prayed to him to be provided entertainment during the waiting time or cover their transgressions up so they had a chance to leave the Fugue Plane.
 * Auril:Auril was the goddess of winter. Her worship was done in cold regions in the hope of her making winter easier to live through.
 * Azuth:Azuth was the god of wizardry. He was the god of the practice of magic but not of magic itself. Worship of him was done when wizardry was practiced in some way like scribing scrolls, memorizing spells, and so on.
 * Bane:Bane was the god of tyranny. Bane stood for the notion that "might makes right". Worshipers of his were culpable for violent acts, but the majority of his adherents were so because Bane stood also for order and were viewed as problem-solvers. However, even that often had a dark touch to it.
 * Beshaba:Beshaba was the goddess of misfortune. Worship of her was done to appease her and with it spare misfortune for themselves.
 * Bhaal:Bhaal was the god of murder. Naturally, praying to him was not something average people did. It was something who killed, either for a living or for other reasons, did.
 * Chauntea:Chauntea was the goddess of agriculture. She had two aspects, one agricultural one that was almost exclusively prayed to in rural areas and onw as a mother goddess, in whose aspect she collected faith from everybody who felt secure at home.
 * Cyric:Cyric was the god of lies. He stood for the notion that no bond was permanent.
 * Deneir:Deneir was the god of writing. His adherents believed that unrecorded information would eventually get lost. He was customarily invoked when people wrote or created works of art.
 * Eldath:Eldath was the goddess of peace. A substantial part of her base consisted of pacifists or those scarred by violence.
 * Gond:Gond was the god of craft. His worshiper-base consisted of craftsmen like blacksmiths, engineers, weavers, and so on. It was believed that he was at his happiest when people invented something.
 * Gwaeron Windstrom:Gwaeron Windstrom was the god of tracking. His worshiper-base consisted of rangers in the North. He was prayed to as exemplar among rangers and as the one who would made his worshipers' needs heard by Mielikki.
 * Helm:Helm was the god of watchfulness. His worshiper-base consisted of people whose jobs revolved around protecting like bodyguards. He was a god who preached vigilance and preparedness.
 * Hoar:Hoar was the god of revenge and retribution. Normally, he was not prayed to at all. However, he was frequently invoked by wronged parties who wanted retribution on the wrongdoer and by people like bounty hunters or those who pursued vengeance against wrongdoers by themselves.
 * Ilmater:Ilmater was the god of endurance. His worshipers often worked to diminish suffering in the world. This included both doing chartable work to tend to victims of calamities like plagues or war, but also stopping violence by force.
 * Jergal:Jergal was a god who worked as Kelemvor's scribe. People who directly prayed to him were rare except by those who had the custom of putting parchment with the dead's name on it into his or her mouth.
 * Kelemvor:Kelemvor was the god and judge of the dead who sent their soul to their final destination. His followers tasked themselves with three duties. Preparing people for death by ordering their affairs, prevent things that prevent people from dying naturally, and destroying undead.
 * Lathander:Lathander was the god of dawn and renewal. He was worshiped when something began, be it a new business, marriage, entire community, and so on.
 * Leira:Leira was the goddess of illusion. Regular worship to her was solely done by illusionists and con artists. Other occasions to pray to her was done by people who had secrets or wanted to protect themselves from deceit while doing something important.
 * Lliira:Lliira was the goddess of joy. Celebrations were the occasions at which she was invoked.
 * Loviatar:Loviatar was the goddess of pain. According to her teachings, the ability to deal and endure pain were the measure for power. She was prayed to by sadists, masochists, and people who pursued jobs that included dealing pain like torturers.
 * Malar:Malar was the god of the hunt. Worshipers of his were primarily people who had something to do with hunting. He was prayed by those who hunted for success at it or to scare away competition.
 * Mask:Mask was the god of thieves. Regular worship to him came from two groups, actual thieves and normal people who tried to appease him so he let their valuables alone.
 * Mielikki:Mielikki was the goddess of forests. She was rarely prayed to, even by rangers whom she patronized. She was viewed as protector of good people in her terrain, for example, people who were looking for children who got lost in forests prayed to her for their protection until found.
 * Milil:Milil was the god of poetry and song. He was the patron of bards and entertainers of all stripes prayed to him.
 * Myrkul:Myrkul was the god of death. People who regularly prayed to him were rare, he was more an object of fear and considered the culprit behind aging symptoms.
 * Mystra:Mystra was the goddess of magic. Her worshiper-base consisted of people who regularly dealt with magic, be it by spellcasting or magic items. In fact, she was the one who made magic possible for the denizens of Toril and her adherents tried to spread the use of it.
 * Oghma:Oghma was the god of knowledge. People who dealt in some form with knowledge and ideas like clerks, inventors, sages, and the like form his worshiper-base. Anathema to his belief was the spreading of lies and ignorance.
 * Red Knight:The Red Knight was the goddess of strategy. As such, average people did not pray to her. However, people who dealt with strategy of war be it in teaching or executing them, were often followers of her.
 * Savras:Savras was the god of divination and fate. Aside from people who needed the truth, like investigators, judges, or diviners, worship of him was very rare.
 * Selûne:Selûne was the goddess of the moon. She was worshiped by three groups of people. First, by women in her function as a mother goddess who held sway over reproductive cycles. Second, by navigators and sailors in her function as a goddess of navigation. Third, by people who needed some form of protection or guidance in darkness.
 * Shar:Shar was a darkness and loss. She was regularly prayed to by people who worked in darkness and required protection like miners. In her loss aspect, she was prayed to by people who wanted to lose certain memories, wanted to recover their lost objects, or fell in deep despair.
 * Silvanus:Silvanus was the god of wild nature. He stood for the notion that the untamed state was the state of nature that should be. His regular worshiper base consisted of explorers, travelers in wild areas, and denizens of rural areas.
 * Sune:Sune was the goddess of beauty and love. It was believed that pleasurable sensations were the touch of her and her followers, believers in true love, pursued such sensations.
 * Talona:Talona was the goddess of poison and disease. She was held responsible for all kind of negative matters that involved disease and poison like crop failings. This made her one of the most invoked deities but invoking her was mostly done as appeasement and her regular worshiper-base was small.