Pelor

Pelor is a popular deity, greatly beloved by the commonfolk, especially humans. He is particularly revered in the northern lands of Greywind, where his worship is imposed as a state religion.

Although Pelor's worship is interpreted more autocratically and harsh by the theocratic rulers of Greywind, most humans see him as a benevolent god of the Sun, Light, and Healing. His holy symbol, the face of a sun, has many variations and can be commonly seen as a motif in local folk art.

Pelorian faith is not without its heresies or schisms. Some Pelorians outside Greywind feel that that city's holy order twist worship into something that has helped their holy order maintain political power. Other sects exist that translate Pelorian teachings opposition to evil in an extremely xenophobic, possibly even genocidal form. Father Luiz Ignacio of the Highport area has been especially effective in attracting zealots through that message.

Clergy
Pelor's clergy heal the sick, bless crops, help the needy, and destroy evil and the undead. They are caring and nurturing, with backbones of steel. The Pelorian priesthood attracts many naive youths to his service, but training is rigorous enough to send many of them back to their farms. Pelor's elite priests are called Radiant Servants. Pelor's favored weapon is the morningstar. Vestments are typically yellow or gold.

Druids
Pelor is served by a small number of druids, who behave in ways similar to his clerics, but with a greater emphasis on the care of plants and animals. They usually associate themselves with settlements rather than living as hermits, aiding the community with their hands, spells, and animal companions wherever they can. They are considered to have priest status within the Pelorian church, though they have a separate hierarchy.

Paladins
Pelorian paladins, known as Crusaders, are rare, having appeared in large numbers only in the holy city of Greywind. Pelor's paladins see themselves as the burning light of the sun which scours away darkness and evil and brings strength and comfort to the innocent. Greywind paladins hold separate rites and hierarchies.

Crusaders believe that laws are helpful, but that they are at best a secondary goal and must be tempered with mercy. Their slogan is Equity for the Meek with Perseverance and Strength.

When not in formal dress, Crusaders favor light-colored tunics, particularly sky blues, pale greens, or grays. Some dress in commoner's clothing, especially when serving as community healers or in disguise. On formal occasions, they wear a black cloak emblazoned with the symbol of the sun. They blend into the darkness, only the shining symbols visible to their foes.

Dogma
Pelorians believe that the life-giving sun is the best cure for all of worlds' ills. Justice and freedom are brought about through charity, modesty, and perseverance. Pelor's priests teach that the truly strong don't need to prove their power. Pelorians strive to perform so many good acts that evil has no room in which to exist, though they will fight if necessary. Pelor strength is a spiritual strength, opposed to physical strength like Kord. His strength is the power of will and hope, the need to face evil in the face of insurmountable odds. Pelor is wrathful against the forces of evil, corruption, and darkness, and is especially opposed to the undead. However, Pelor urges his followers to remember that excessive attention to things of evil can blind one to the truly important things: compassion and goodness.

Pelorian dogma has it that the energy and power of life originates in the sun.

Scriptures

 * In the Sun Father's Hand is a controversial text accepted at present by only a handful of Pelorian temples and deemed as heretical by authorities in Greywind. It was written about 676 by a woman named Tephos. Tephos was not a priest, but she believed herself to be Pelor's chosen representative. Somehow she performed miracles, including curing an entire village of plague, before writing about her beliefs and vanishing in front of her disciples in a flash of golden light. Tephos taught that all property should be held communally, that society should return to a more "natural" state like that assumed to exist before the spread of civilization, and that clerics were unnecessary; Pelor could intervene directly instead. Most branches of the Pelorian faith consider Tephos to be gifted but delusional.
 * The Light of Pelor is the most common Pelorian holy book, beginning with Pelor's creation of the sun and telling of how Pelor instructed the first mortals. Some turned against his teachings, thus creating evil, and this evil spirit has waxed and waned over time. Some versions portray Pelor as the sun (Liga) itself, rather than its creator, and tell of Pelor's attempts to win back those who have strayed from his light. The Light of Pelor only has minor variations in it, and all are considered canonical, despite these small discrepancies. The book is often enchanted to glow with a soft solar radiance when it's closed, and some versions are gilded.

Rituals
Pelor's services involve communal prayer, the singing of hymns, and the distribution of alms. Prayers to Pelor are often affirmations in the first person, for example, "I am merciful, just as the Sun of Mercy shines on me." Weddings and rites of passage often take place at the beginning of a new season. Farmers often request a ritual known as the Blessing of the Sun-Kissed Field.

Temples
Pelor's temples are tall, with large windows; many are stained-glass cathedrals. They are arranged so that the sun shines into most of the rooms during the day, and many feature large courtyards. They tend to be airy and blindingly white. Temple trappings are typically yellow or gold. They are always kept clean. Many Pelorian temples have hospital wings.

Relics
Famed relics of Pelor include the maces called Dawnstars and the holy symbols known as the Shards of the Sun. In addition, Greywind authorities have also captured relics of Asmodeus' ancient defeat to Pelor, which they bend to what they believe is Pelor's will.
 * There are said to be four Dawnstars. They were gifts from Pelor to four solars who rescued a paladin from the bowels of Hell. Connor the Meek, Grand Inquisitor of Greywind holds the only known remaining Dawnstar.
 * The Shards of the Sun are described in Pelorian holy texts as "Pelor’s gift,which I carry into darkness—a sun that never sets."
 * Ajira's Rod is a relic of a legendary paladin called Ajira. Some of his bones were placed in the hilt of his mace, becoming the relic. It glows, removes disease, and regenerates its wielder.
 * 'Ronnam's Icon was named for a Pelorian cleric who had been apprenticed to a smith. He created his holy symbol itself; it was flawed, a crude thing of mere bronze, but he wore it as a rebuke to those who revered only beauty. The icon has special qualities against undead, and its solar rays can turn into gold to use to feed the needy. It has been lost since 594, when the cleric Devlim Handorgan disappeared on a raid in the lands of Ibuth Steinum
 * The Eye of Asmodeus is said to be one of the four pieces torn from the evil god by Pelor in the apocryphal tales of the world's beginning. Through divine manipulation, the leaders of Greywind are granted seer like powers from its usage.  Other lost relics of Asmodeus include his Nail, Tooth, and Ear.