People from The Islands, and those that have recently journeyed across the Great Sea to the Old Continent and founded the town of Blackengorge, revere a set of eleven deities, led by that of the Radiant Lord, Pelor.
These deities are powerful, although none are as powerful as Pelor, but none of them are omnipotent. They are knowledgeable but not omniscient, neither are they omnipresent. The gods are creatures of thought and ideal, not bound by the same limitations as beings of flesh. They alone of all the creatures in the universe consist of only astral essence, and dwell in the realm of the Astral Sea.
Over the centuries a number of conventions for the depiction and representation of these deities have been settled upon on The Islands. Along wth the constellations in the night sky, the deities are usually grouped round in a circle, with Pelor at the highest seat in the north. To his left is his consort, Erathis, followed by Sehanine. It is the forger Moradin next, seated at the eastern side of the circle, with Avandra and Ioun completing the first half. No-one is seated at the south, just as the void lays in the night sky, and is usually reserved as a place for the worshipper to stand. Completing the circle is Melora, then The Raven Queen before Bahamut to the west, with Corellon and then Kord sat at the right hand of Pelor.
Alignment
Good and Evil
All of the deities within the represented pantheon are of good intention and strive as a whole to protect, nurture and develop all of the Free Peoples. Each deity has a vision of how the world should be, and the agents of the deities, through dreams and visions, seek to bring that vision to life in the world. Even the agents and worshippers of these good gods, however, can come into conflict.
Worship
Idols and Temples
Pelor contributes the most worshippers across The Islands and his acolytes' work on his scriptures lay the foundations for the major faith across the Free Peoples. Particular groups or races do worship some of the other gods, but they tend not to raise temples or cathedrals to the same extent as to Pelor.
Many people carry around charms or brooches with depictions of the symbols of the gods, either simple carvings or sometimes highly decorative and valuable pieces. All of the gods are anthropomorphised to some extent in most of the artworks and statues across The Islands, with the exception of Bahamut who is normally represented as a platinum dragon.
Appearance
Dreams and Visions
The gods are not known to manifest themselves physically in the realm, rather appearing in dreams and visions to their followers and wear countless different faces. Their true nature is beyond any physical form. Bahamut is often depicted as a platinum dragon, but he is no more a dragon than he is a white warhorse — he is a god, and he transcends the physical laws that bind even angels to their concrete forms. This transcendence allows the gods to perform deeds that physical creatures cannot. They can appear in the minds of other creatures, speaking to them in dreams or visions, without being present in physical form.