Taking on Glass Candles GLoGtober '23, challenge #2 is from a list by Locheil - "Information about a small, local god" - and for this I steal formatting from Orbital Crypt and their Small Gods and Stone Soup: Deities made for Dungeon Crawling and Small Gods 2.
Name - Lady Deephome
Description - The Lady of the Under roads, once a stalwart minor dwarven deity now worshipped by many minor cults centered around her altars throughout the Underdark. Recognised as a protector and a herald of shelter. The nature of worship has diverged so much there is no longer a singular Lady Deephome but many individual small gods who all answer to the name in their location.
Altar - A statue in an weed-filled pool, arms spread in welcome, dressed in dwarven travelling clothes.
Followers - Once, dwarves, now all sorts that live in the deeps. The infrequency of travel along the under roads these days means a high diversity between local cults with very little commonality in practice. This has lead to the adoption of outfits that resemble dwarven travelling clothes by all who move around along the under roads as at least then you get the chance to claim hospitality. The observances of the dwarves are not known, lost when the dwarves left. The current followers have created a faith from stories, best effort reading of dwarven runes and interpretation of what they have taken as omens and divine signs.
d6 These followers of Lady Deephome are:
1. - Pool dwelling crocodilians - watch through the weeds and quick to take offense as missed offerings
2. - Keepers of a reliquary - a split geode shrine the insist wept from a rock face and revealed a gem vein
3. - Hospitable weretoads - dressed as dwarves, attempting to replicate dwarven mores, offer generous portions of strange tasting food
4. - Jittery, pale surface dwellers - willing to share their gleanings from the old dwarven works including honey they have tapped from the preservation vats
5. - Fierce underdarkers - speak quickly to invoke hospitality before you become supplies for them
6. - Heterogenous ritualists - a welcoming mix of many local peoples who insist on teaching you all about their very idiosyncratic interpretation of Her Ways
Conduct - Lady Deephome appreciates adherence to rules of hospitality both by and toward travellers. A quirk of dwarven design lead to trade boards with prices for staple commodities being posted near the shrines where they connect to the under roads and thus while the adherents of Lady Deephome do not agree on much, they all agree for a half silver you get a loaf of bread. The size and ingredients vary considerably between settlements.
In practice this means that very loud and noticeable declarations of expectation of hospitality have become the norm when approaching any end-point on the under-roads with drums, trumpets and other noisemakers being played. Display of things available to trade is also commonplace, all to ensure Lady Deephome is clearly invoked.
For those in good standing with multiple locations, the local cultists will happily stand credit. Should particular serendipitous benefit befall a group while such debts are held, it is viewed as the Lady herself paying the debt. Through this means she is seen as encouraging continued traffic and trade along the under roads as best she can. Ceremonies are held around the pool, usually short. Most rituals are personal sacrifices of valuables into the pool and short prayers of coming and going.
Special boon - Those favoured by Lady Deephome are not disturbed during their rest, no matter how exposed.
Gifts - as from Orbital Crypt "Doing the things your god appreciates will grant you Piety, which gives you access to god powers" - being good givers and receivers of hospitality and also defending and sheltering travellers typically win Lady Deephomes favour. Any piety earned from these agreeable deeds can be spent for:
1 Know direction - she grants you immediate understanding of your depth and facing
1 Navigate dwarf roads - you can unerringly find your way to your destination along the under roads or their next best equivalent in case of damage. Accounts for monsters and hazards.
2 Find cache - you can find a well preserved cache of dwarven survival goods; basic supplies not great valuables
3 Walk through traps - you and you alone can pass through any trapped under road area - the pendulum blade will miss you by a hairs breadth, the crumbling floor will fail to fail beneath your feet, etc.
Punishment - Should you break hospitality, desecrate a shrine or interfere with someones journey the results include nightmares, hallucinations, curse of wandering lost.
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