Gorm Gulthyn

Gorm Gulthyn was a lesser dwarven deity of vigilance and defense, patron of those dwarves that protected their home and kin from external attack. Guardian of all dwarvenkind throughout Faerun, Gorm watched over battlefields, established traps in tunnels, and tirelessly teleported across the Realms to protect the Stout Folk from their foes, prepared to fight until the fire in his eyes was fully extinguished.

"Paying Gorm's greatest price."

- The Gormite term for sacrificing one's life to protect their charge.

Description
Gorm appeared as a or  tall dwarf clad in golden-brown, full plate armor decorated with red runes that constantly changed and crawled across the suit. The Sentinel spoke with a stern, booming voice, and divine flames constantly licked the eyeholes of his mask.

Personality
By those of a chaotic bent, Gorm was often written off as the classic dour dwarf, with even most dwarves themselves perceiving the Sentinel as surly and humorless. He had little patience for those he distrusted, little interest or tolerance for distracting foolishness, little use for sentimentality that could disrupt the dispassionate performance of his duty, and generally little to say. Ever-consumed by his demanding role as the dwarves' defender, he was on constant alert for threats to the Stout folk to thwart, even coming to the defense of the duergar if their own evil was dwarfed by that of the enemy force.

Powers
Gorm could fire thin, twin beams of intense heat from his eyes, each searingly hot enough to burn holes through steel in a minute and even in most stone after about two minutes. He required two minutes to recharge after firing his ruby-red lasers and the blast shots themselves lasted only briefly, but could hit two targets at once from up to away. A second beam striking the same object or area would cause a metal object to melt, and if the target was clad in armor, not only would they be scorched by the rays themselves, but by the heated metal they were wearing, Gorm himself was immune to all heat and fire, magical or otherwise, and his touch by itself could also heat metal.

Gorm's touch could also dissipate the effects of fatigue caused by exertion or lack of sleep to restore someone to full alertness. Gorm could never be surprised, could detect the presence of creatures, living or undead, within of himself with pinpoint accuracy, and couldn't have his mind mentally tampered with, whether by spells, psionics, or illusions. Only significantly enchanted weapons could strike Gorm, and he was constantly under the effects of protection from normal missiles, a ward that couldn't be dispelled, temporarily negated, or interfered with by his own magical powers.

Like some of the other dwarven gods, the death of Gorm's avatar would create a ghost-like anima able to use magic, become invisible at will, and which couldn't be turned, though was far less sturdy than its previous incarnation.

Manifestation
Gorm couldn't manifest an avatar in the same area twice in a 24 hour period, but battles lasting more than one day could see him manifest multiple times. He could manifest himself by granting a dwarf a protection from good and evil aura, as well as immunity to a certain kind of spell or attack (such as fire). He could also enchant a weapon, making it more powerful until the end of the current battle or the end of the next.

Other manifestations of Gorm included a glowing hand with two burning eyes in the palm that possessed Gorm's full strength. He was also known to manifest as a disembodied metal gauntlet that would strike any metal shield or breastplate nearby to warn of intruders or impending attack, causing a terrific, rolling, gong-like noise to ring throughout the air and the object to sport two burning eyes for the next ten minutes, leaving two eyeholes burnt into the metal when it finally faded.

Gorm demonstrated his favor through the discovery of alestones, amaratha, azurites, fire agates, fire opals, flamedance, jacinths, rubies, and scapras. He conveyed displeasure through the appearance of shattered shields, upside-down helms, and fleeting footprints that quickly faded if followed.

Possessions
Gorm's personal weapon was Axegard, his heavily enchanted, two-handed battleaxe that gave its wielder the power of a robe of eyes.

The runes inscribed on Gorm's armor acted as a ring of spell turning, allowing him to, by silent act of will, reflect the effects of any spells, spell-like abilities, and magic items back at whoever sent them. He could only activate this effect once every ten minutes, but the power worked instantaneously, regardless of any physical restraints or strikes used against him, and could reflect any number of effects used simultaneously.

Realm
Gorm's nominal home was Watchkeep, a tower he and his avatars only returned to when they needed access to his amassed armory or his magical Seat of Healing, which could restore all injury done to him or anyone else he allowed to sit on it and could regenerate extensive physical damage in somewhere under an hour.

Watchkeep was said to be in Bytopia, in the blizzard-whipped mountains of Shurrock, and at others times to be built on a distant foothill in Dwarfhome. In Dwarfhome, Gorm was said to keep constant watch over all the rest of the plane from the top of the tower, immediately knowing if a portal opened. Many dwarven defenders hoped for the privileges to stand guard there after death, believing that those who died fighting superior forces in the line of duty would be granted the right.

Activities
Gorm had a preference for direct action, and so conserved his power for personal combat, seldom manifesting in other ways except to bestow individual dwarfs with temporary fighting powers. However, even though Gorm could have two avatars acting simultaneously, there were always so many battles required his attention that he could rarely send them to a single location for more than around ten minutes. As such, Gorm manifested on the Prime Material Plane far more often than his companions in the Morndinsamman, always shifting from place to place to help protect dwarven realms from armed invasion or dangerous monsters.

Only when dwarves were already in an engagement and in need of his aid did Gorm appear, holding nothing back in a frenzied attempt to do as much harm to the enemy as possible before vanishing to deal with some other conflict. Those who saw him fight to defend dwarven communities relayed his stunning battle prowess and evident millennia of diligent training, but also commented that his combat maneuvers showed an increasing desperation, as if he believed each battle might be his last.

When forced to leave a battle while the dwarves still faced grace danger, Gorm would later manifest as a glowing hand and proceed to assist the dwarves in battle, the hand doing things such as breaking ropes, pushing away siege ladders and punching opponents. He also took preemptive measures like keeping vigils on battlefronts and creating deadfalls in passages neighboring enclaves. On occasion, he roused dwarves from sleep or alerted them of issues in disembodied gauntlet form.

Relationships
Gorm was often considered one of the younger members of the Morndinsamman, though older than those such as Haela Brightaxe. He had always been a member in good standing and had excellent relations with the nonchaotic and nonevil dwarven deities, considering his superior Moradin, as well as Clangeddin Silverbeard and Marthammor Duin, his closest friends. When a spellcaster duplicated the symbol Marthammor used to warn dwarves of imminent, unstoppable disaster, and had a trap planned for the Wanderer, Gorm was one of the friends he brought with him to confront the individual. Berronar Truesilver worked closely with Gorm, Clangeddin, and Moradin to ensure the safety of dwarven settlements.

Gorm had established positive relations with gods of other pantheons that held similar worldviews, including Helm of the Faerunian pantheon, Arvoreen of the halflings, and Gaerdal Ironhand of the gnomes. Also among his allies were Cyrrollalee, also of the halfling pantheon, and Garl Glittergold, leader of the gnome pantheon.

Conversely, Gorm was suspicious of entities like Mask, Brandobaris, and Baervan Wildwanderer. He remained eternally vigilant of Abbathor, though for all the Trove Lord's suspected treachery, Gorm was never able to prove it. He also counted among his foes the duergar gods Laduguer and Deep Duerra, the hateful gnome god Urdlen, and the various deities of traditionally dwarvish foes, including orcs, goblins, kobolds, and evil giants. Despite his regular contests with such beings, the Sentinel's greatest hatred was reserved for the orcish deity Shargaas, for the Night Lord was the only being to have ever successfully stolen something Gorm was actively guarding.

Worshipers
Clerics of Gorm were known as barakor ("those who shield") and organized the defense of dwarven communities. They also acted as bodyguards, and taught locals the value of alertness and vigilance. When they entered the church, each barakor was assigned a charge they were to protect with their lives. Gorm's more powerful clerics often chose to defend important clan members, but lower ranked barakor seemed to have their charges determined randomly. These included children, elderly, and infirm clan members. Regardless of their charge's status, they were all willing to sacrifice themselves, also known as "paying Gorm's greatest price" in the church. Gorm's temples were typically plain stone constructions, which featured a central altar that contained the remains of a fallen barakor. Most of his temples also contained a small armory and were well defended from possible attackers.

Rituals
Barakor prayed for spells in the morning, usually followed by a tour of their community to ensure that no incidents happened at night. Each festival they celebrated with tedious procedures containing formal salutes, rhythmic grounding of weapons, and didactic, chanted prayers. Barakor frequently multiclassed as dwarven defenders or fighters. Dwarven defenders in the clergy of Gorm were offered the highest possible honor.

History
By the late 14th century DR, Gorm Gulthyn was dying. Over the centuries, as he kept using his essence to create avatars to defend dwarven kingdoms, his very existence had somehow become tied to their fates. Something inside him died with each clanhold to fall, the fire in his mask's eyeholes fading out by nearly imperceptible increments with each loss. With each new manifestation, the Golden Guardian became ironically more reckless in his defense, perhaps planning to end his degenerative condition at the hands of a foe. He had confided his condition only with his closest friends, and all hoped for the Thunder Blessing and the resurgence of ancient dwarven bloodlines to restore his strength.

Gorm, along with Haela Brightaxe, died in the Morndinsamman's battle with the duergar deities Laduguer and Deep Duerra in 1383 DR, his divinity finally spent. However, it was possible that he still had influence outside of Realmspace. After the Second Sundering, he was once again present and revered by the dwarves, but the exact circumstances of his return were unknown.

Appearances

 * Video Games


 * Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor