Deities of Faerûn: A Nontheist's Guide for the Undecided

The following are from, “Deities of Faerûn: A Nontheist’s Guide for the Undecided,” by Lazlo Klen, 1056 DR. The tome’s introduction explains that Klen had decided not to venerate any particular deity and as such felt he was well-suited to present them to those considering their own faith. He also disclaims any inaccuracies and expresses that the opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of associated temples or faiths. 

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ARUMBELLE

The Homesteader, Lady of the Brook, the Joyful Toil, Lady Savor, Clearheart

Arumbelle is the goddess of nature and homesteads, dedicated to self-sufficiency and a life spent in
harmony with nature—and delighting in it. Her followers carve out a lifestyle reflecting her ways wherever they find themselves but most often live near wild places on the borders of civilization. For it is there they more readily find Lady Savor reveals the joys of the quotidian, and faith is found in the simple wonder of existence. 

Arumbelle represents civilization coexisting with nature and the pleasure taken in pastoral life. Faerûnians thank Arumbelle when they catch themselves smiling at some bucolic moment: the first frosty inhale when stepping outside on a crisp morning, sunlight glinting off the dew on wild grasses, placing the last billet on a well-stacked woodpile, the buzzing of bees around an orchard, the anticipation of a swimming hole in a cold clear stream, hanging herbs to dry in the kitchen, stew simmering on the hearth, the spreading warmth while sipping a fine spirit, or exhaustion at the end of a day’s toil. But her followers do not live in hedonistic naivety—pain and sorrow are no strangers to their lives and it is the richness of life’s experiences that are cherished. Death is not hidden, and a loved one’s passing is mourned, but also celebrated, like the end of a good story. Relationships are prized and everyday interactions bring warmth to Arumbelle’s devoted—the imposition of a friend even evokes a kind of delight. 

Few pay homage to Arumbelle in the great cities of Faerûn, though some of rural upbringing who find themselves in urban centers will sometimes band together to build small shrines or temples in her name. For them, The Joyful Toil is celebrated to the cooing of morning doves on the rooftops as the town’s denizens start their day; the familiar hawking of their favorite street vendor; or the sun rising over the spires of the city, casting long shadows on people bustling below. While it is true her followers often do not aspire to riches, benevolent kings have been known to worship the Homesteader as they endeavor to oversee simple and just, bountiful and peaceful, domains. 

Arumbelle is an eminently practical goddess, with major houses of worship serving dual functions: cozy public houses for the devoted, or centers for peat farming or seed storage. Clearheart was originally part of Chauntea’s agricultural pantheon, but as the truly wild spaces receded as civilization expanded, she has been integrated into Silvanus’s domain, reflecting her harmonious relationship with nature. Clerics of Arumbelle are usually confined to administering her major temples while “field priests” are often druids who caretake sacred groves and teach Arumbelle’s ways to those on the frontier, as civilization continues its steady encroachment on the wilderness. 

The Lady of the Brook’s faithful often favor protection spells and incantations that enhance their relationship with and understanding of the natural world—though some also favor illusions for the joy a practical joke can bring. Those most devoted to Arumbelle claim their hamlets have gone unnoticed to passing armies, that rampaging monsters somehow missed the obvious signs that would have led directly to their camp, or that their peatstores and foodstuffs miraculously outlasted a particularly harsh winter. 

Those looking for community in their worship of Arumbelle may want to visit the Homestead temple in the Savage Frontier. 

Arumbelle’s holy symbol is a moon (depicted in various phases), set over a stone hearth and a fire blazing within. The symbol is most frequently represented in abstract, carved with a heated metal implement into a slab of wood. The constellations most often associated with Arumbelle include the Stag, the Heron, the Dagger, the Cross, the Shepherd, the Maiden, and the Ancestor.

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FELAK’DOUN

The Vile Lord, Darkwhisper, Demonfriend, Prince Foul, Shadowsoul, Lord of the Depraved, The
Lurking God

Felak’Doun is the god of vileness and villainy, a dark deity dedicated to depravity. Those devoted to the Vile Lord are vengeful, full of spite and malice, and often bent on sowing chaos and destruction wherever they go.

Felak’Doun represents the powerful prevailing over the weak, the cunning over the simple-minded, and the ambitious over the idle – taking what should be yours with little regard to the fools who could not see the opportunity themselves, or who were too “righteous” to claim it. If there is a clear path to your aims that may not be “legal” or may not be “fair” it is still a clear path and should be taken. He is often associated with revenge and the long, sinister, calculated wait for getting what is desired. His followers delight in vileness and depravity, and do not just want to see their enemies defeated; they want to see them humiliated, tortured, neutered, dishonored, and ruined. The Lord of the Depraved is well-known for the five vile “Rites of Felak’Doun” practiced to channel the Vile Lord’s blessing in achieving ambitions related to each: Power, Murder, Slavery, Terror, and Betrayal. 

Those who most often turn to Shadowsoul are operators who use people for their own ends; plotters and schemers bent on revenge; or people seeking solace for pleasures that society has deemed “taboo” such a murder, rape, torture, or worse—they are natural proclivities that cannot be helped! A prayer may be uttered to Darkwhisper when looking for a blessing for some vile act or seeking comfort for a terrible deed, such as: success in a long-plotted murder made to look like an accident; for a dark desire to come true; when the current partner of a spurned love is publicly dishonored; prior to setting fire to a competitor’s home; after the murder of a family member in a “crime of passion”; for luck in exhorting or blackmailing a rival into indentured servitude; as an offering before an assassination, particularly a revenge-related hired killing; for comfort and rationalization in keeping up the betrayal of a spouse and maintaining the lie of an affair. 

Open worship of Prince Foul and the practice of his Rites are outlawed in many parts of Faerûn, but temples are built and the faith practiced publicly in more lawless or less stable areas. These temples style Felak’Doun as a god to help the wronged, and to find comfort for the morally conflicted, but the full and terrible, corrupting, spectrum of his pantheon is still practiced. He is particularly popular in kingdoms where slavery is lawful, or where the reigning ruler has no clear succession plan—or does, but has many who are unhappy with their spot in the pecking order. 

More often, cults to the Demonfriend spring up shrouded in secrecy, where his power is channeled through some charismatic individual and members pray for the fruition of their sinister goals. These cults will build dark shrines, where the devout bring souvenirs of vile acts they have committed—a charred foundation stone, a severed body part, a ruinous letter—and the priests collect them to offer to Felak’Doun for collective relief, comfort, and more importantly, success in their plots. 

The Lurking God is housed in Bhaal’s Throne of Blood and exists under the murder pantheon, though he is said to be closely allied with Cyric. Followers claim the most effective spells granted by Felak’Doun are those dealing with inflicting terrible wounds, fear, sickness, death, and weakness. He is said to have granted assassins a cloud passing over the moon at just the right moment, or luck needed for the final piece of a long-awaited plot to move perfectly into place.  

For intrigued potential followers interested in Felak’Doun for a particular Rite, the current known locations of each are listed below:  

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Felak’Doun’s holy symbol is the abstract renderings of his five vile Rites, often arranged into a sinister face. Sometimes the symbol will be more abstracted to show a pair of eyes above five hash marks representing the Rites, charcoaled onto a stone or scratched into wood. The constellations most often associated with Felak’Doun are the Nightmare, the Claw, the Gorgon, the Axe, the Chain, the King's Coin, and the Jester.