Pan (deity)

Pan was an interloper deity of nature who originated from another plane of existence. His avatar was barred from entering Realmspace.

Description
Pan's form was that of a tall satyr with small horns and shaggy legs.

Personality
Pan was a mercurial, reflecting his role as a deity of nature. At times he could be benevolent, while other times he was fierce and destructive.

He was a very carefree person, known for his unbridled passion and pursuing his desires avidly, whose only creed in life was freedom.

Abilities
Pan was uniquely able to cause an effect similar to the fear spell with his voice, out to a range of.

Due to his portfolio Pan was able to instantly sense any event that affected five hundred or more shepherds, goats, sheep, or sylvan creatures,

Spellcasting
Some of the many druid spells that Pan was capable of casting in his avatar form included the following:


 * animal shapes, animate objects, antilife shell, barkskin, calm animals, changestaff, chaos hammer, cloak of chaos, command plants, commune with nature, control plants, creeping doom, dispel law, dominate animal, entangle, hold animal, magic circle against law, plant growth, protection from law, repel vermin, repel wood, shambler, shapechange, shatter, summon monster IX, wall of thorns, and word of chaos.

Some of the many bard spells that Pan was capable of casting in his avatar form included the following:


 * cause fear, cat's grace, charm person, confusion, darkness, daylight, detect magic, dimension door, displacement, fear, flare, ghost sound, haste, hold person, improved invisibility, light, mage hand, read magic, sleep, and ventriloquism.

Possessions
Pan possessed a set of enchanted reed pan pipes that acted as a rod of beguiling, which he often played when leading sylvan creatures in wild dances. His pan pipes scould also inspire goodwill among all mortal creatures within of them when played, making them consider Pan to be a comrade and dear friend.

History
The exact details of Pan's early life were a mystery, with three histories being widely circulated. The first claimed that Pan was born to the sky deity Uranus after his blood spattered the earth. The second history claimed that Pan was born to the Olympian deity Zeus from an unnamed wife. And the third claimed that Pan was born to the Olympian deity Hermes, after mating with a dryad.

At some point he performed an unknown service for Apollo and in return was gifted a set of musical pipes.

By the mid–14th century, following the Time of Troubles, both Hermes and Pan sent avatars out across the cosmos in search of the truth of the Olympian goddess Tyche's demise. However, they were unable to send their avatars to Realmspace proper. Eventually, they would resort to sending priests through portals to Toril to uncover the truth.

Activities
Pan lived his life in a carefree manner. Spending most of it prancing through high mountains, tending to sheep, playing his pipes, as well as dancing and singing.

Realm
Pan lived on the outer edges of the divine realm of Olympus, rarely visiting Mount Olympus.

Relationships
Pan had an intense dislike of his fellow Olympian Apollo, who in the past had usurped many of his portfolios (particularly music) and took many of his worshipers in the process. He would often play practical jokes on him.

Among the members of his pantheon, Pan had the best relationship with Hermes, the two finding common ground with their mischief-making. His second favorite among the Olympians was Dionysus, who considered the kindred spirit like a nephew, having partied with him many times. The rest of the pantheon welcomed his presence, but appreciated that his visits were infrequent, finding his revels to be exhausting.

His proxy was a satyr by the name of Marsyas, a brash fellow with a gift for satire that on many occasions came close to being killed by other deities.

Worshipers
Pan was typically worshiped by centaurs, satyrs, nymphs, fey, and shepherds.

The priests of his faith wore olive-colored tunics or fur clothing with a laurel wreathe as part of their priestly vestments. They had tense relations with the clergy of Apollo, were friendly towards those who respected nature, and sought to emulate their god's unbridled passion. Priests of either sex were also notoriously amorous.

All of his followers learned how to play the pan flute early on, had an interest in wilderness-related skills, and learned how to speak the racial language of satyrs. Some of his wandering shepherd followers became bards that followed their flocks as they made the circuit from winter to summer pastures. They dressed in simple tunics and sandals, using their panpipes to cast various spells. These spells included blink, blur, distance distortion, haste, plant growth, protection from evil, polymorph other, and polymorph self.

Much like Dionysus, this deity taught no dogma to his followers, instead seeking to show them a way of life through example. The priests worked independently from one another as protectors of nature, keeping far from civilization and worshiping him in forest glades or mountain glens.

Rumors & Legends

 * Though Dionysus was typically blamed, some believed that Pan may have been partly responsible for the existence of the petitioners known as bacchae.
 * On the world he originated from, the worshipers of the Olympian pantheon believed that Pan was responsible for the creation of the panpipe after a nymph he was chasing was turned into a reed.