Ortho's Gods: Divergent faiths of the Harmonium

Divergent Religions of the Harmonium

The Harmonium is an organization that would like to see all the universe worshiping the Lords of Order. Religion is a simple and effective way to unite a given populous under one set of rules. Unfortunately, the Harmonium also realizes that they run the risk of alienating many potential allies by opposing Lawful and Good gods that might otherwise be inclined to aid the organization's goals.

Against the advice of Ortho's clergy, which had always been actively supported in religious orthodoxy by the government, the Octave instituted a blanket religious freedom for members of the Planar Harmonium with a limited religious freedom for citizens of the OCA. This helped diffuse tensions back on Ortho since the Beholders insisted upon worshiping the Great Mother as a divinity in her own right, rather than an aspect of the Lords of Order. Furthermore, it allowed the Hobgoblins to continue their worship of Hextor.

This situation is a patch on a very troublesome issue. The clergy of Ortho is continuing to forward the idea that foreign gods of order are nothing more than aspects of the Lords of Order but this is undermined by the government's policy. Also, the acceptance of divergent faiths has opened up the Harmonium to religious controversy. Planar Harmonium members from Oerth were shocked to discover Hextor was an accepted god amongst the Harmonium when they brought their worship. For example, both Paladine and Takhasis' believers supported the Order of the Harmonium but bitterly opposed the other's interpretation of it.

Thus far, the Harmonium has managed to keep the peace but it is quite likely that they'll soon begin cracking down upon foreign gods and restricting the dogma of the clergy. This has the potential to backfire badly. The Harmonium was able to get away with persecution of Chaotic and Evil gods without much difficulty. If they persecute Lawful and Good deities, they may find that their own ordered populous will begin reacting with considerable ire.

Approved Gods

These gods have undergone rigorous dogma checks by the Ortho government and are permitted to evangelize on the planet. Not coincidentally, the clergy has noted that these gods are amongst the easiest to potentially subsume the worship thereof into the Lords of Order. Unfortunately, for the clergy of the Lords of Order, some of these gods have found themselves developing followings that may someday rival the state faith.

- St. Cuthbert

Saint Cuthbert is a deity that has the largest following on Ortho after the Lords of Order. The uncompromisingly martial nature of the religion appeals to many Harmonium soldiers. The removal of war from Didairdin's portfolio allowed the Oerth deity to fill the resulting vacancy. The god's popularity is such that some clergy have advocated he be added to the pantheon of the Lords of Order in official clerical materials. This is viewed as heretical by many.

- Torm

An import from the realms of Toril, Torm's worship on Oerth is almost unrecognizable thanks to Harmonium alterations. No mention is made of Ilmater or Tyr (both Lawful Good gods that were deemed incompatible with pure Ortho ideology). Torm finds his chief devotion amongst paladins and individuals devoted to the ideals of honor on the battlefield. It is a small faith that does little proselytizing.

- Bahamut

The Dragons of Ortho still revere the Draconic pantheon, one of the few remnants of the vast number of racial pantheons before the mass conversions of the Harmonium, but tend to accent the worship of Bahamut when visiting human cities. Many human beings, admiring the Dragon race a bit too much, have started revering the god. Most Dragons are just bemused by the act and do little to discourage or encourage it.

- Koriel

The Ki-Rin God of Learning, Protection, and Vigilance against evil enjoys a small cult to him in Shoryko. While it has lasted for several generations, Harmonium infiltrators have 'discovered' he is but an aspect of Iathiphos. The clergy is likely to be soon converted back to mainstream worship of The Lords of Order with references to the actual god likely to be destroyed.

- Paladine

A god from a world called Krynn, Paladine briefly managed to find a surge of favor in some quarters. The Church has floundered recently with most of it's clerics losing their magic. Those Clerics that believe Paladine is just an aspect of Didairdin or Bahamut have maintained their spells, however. This has lead to the church, more or less, dissolving on Ortho.

- Heironeous

Heironeous is a surprisingly unpopular god on Ortho. Immigrants from Oerth and Harmonium allied Paladins from his Realm were shocked to find that Ortho sported so many Hextor worshipers. Their attempts to spread the message of their god has been blackened by constant negative propaganda from Hobgoblins in the OCA mixed with belief they don't need another god like him. Only determination keeps the church barely functioning on Ortho.

- Marduk

Another God of War that has been brought back from the Outer Planes. Marduk's faith is enjoying a current vogue thanks to so many of his worshipers lending aid to retake the Plane of Nemausus. Daneel, a Paladin of Marduk, is the chief inspiration for the faith. His heroism in moving the Gate Town of Fortitude into Arcadia is widely known on Ortho [As detailed in the module Fires of Dis].

- K'ung Fu-tzu

A god from a Prime Material Plane called Terra (or something like that), the deity is widely revered in Shoryko. Actual worship of K'ung Fu-tzu is fairly rare but his teachings are taught by the state as a matter of course. The Harmonium is at a loss to discourage a figure that doesn't proselytize but forwards philosophical ideas that have become extremely wide spread. Many believe that he will be the second god to be added to the Lords of Order after St. Cuthbert.

Controversial Gods

While the Harmonium would prefer only Lawful and Good Gods to be preached on Ortho, it hasn't been entirely successful in this. Some churches have taken root despite disapproval in many circles. These churches include some that are officially tolerated but disliked by higher-ups while others are outlawed but spreading anyway.

-Athena

One of the oddest choices for a controversial goddess. Athena is a widely beloved figure in Omospondia with evidence indicating that she's been worshiped there since before the Harmonium. In truth, The Harmonium bitterly resents her ties with the largely chaotic Olympians. The cult is officially proscribed from being practiced despite being a Lawful Good one. This has only lead to public resistance and large scale resentment from an otherwise docile populous. It is likely a shade of what is to come with other persecutions planned.

-Bane

Bane is a surprisingly popular god on Ortho. The God's unabashed militarism, glorification of conquest, and advocating of a ruthlessly firm hand has made him popular with many Harmonium troopers who believe force is the best way to solve problems. Despite many of his clergy having callled him 'Xvim' for a few decades, the god has otherwise been unchanged since his arrival more than a century ago. While not as popular as St. Cuthbert, the religion is steadily growing on Ortho despite the best efforts of the OCA to discourage it. Currently, Bane is a legal church of the OCA with his followers having successfully campaigned for admittance.

- Devil Worship

While the Planar Harmonium has treaties and alliances with the Baatezu, veneration of them or the Lords of the Nine is absolutely forbidden on Ortho. Unfortunately, this hasn't prevented the horrific practice of diabolism from spreading to the planet. The religion is primarily found in the region of South Thaera where citizens are inducted in secret by Devils in exchange for gifts to ease their horrible lives. The Harmonium would be horrified to find how many have sold their soul to Hell on the homeworld.

- The Great Mother

The Great Mother embodies the hypocrisy of the Harmonium's religious policies. A Chaotic Evil Goddess that lives in the Abyss, The Great Mother's worship is allowed because the Beholders are staunch allies of the OCA. The Beholders wield such a tremendous influence from their myriad positions through the OCA's hierarchy that any attempt to forbid or limit the Great Mother's worship would cause the entire Harmonium to come grinding to a halt. Thus, she is allowed to sit proudly with the Lords of Order as one of Ortho's most well-respected gods.

- Tiamat

Tiamat is mostly worshipped by Evil Dragons on Ortho. The Harmonium is aware of her veneration but chooses not to press the issue. Unfortunately, Ortho's alliance with a Prime group called the Knights of Takhasis, lead to a mass-conversion to Tiamat when that goddess was destroyed. The Evil Dragons have been slowly cultivating a human religion in Tiamat's name, hoping to get her worship legalized in the same way that Bane's veneration has been.

- Hextor

A god almost exclusively worshiped by Hobgoblins and Otaki, Hextor has been on Ortho since before the Harmonium's beginnings. The refusal of the race to conform, despite early Harmonium predictions they'd eventually see the glories of the Lords of Order, has been a long standing point of shame for the OCA. While Hextor's church on Ortho is 'tame' by comparison to his worship elsewhere, it's still a hot bed of evil and promoting the worst excesses of the Harmonium.

Extinct Faiths

There is some debate amongst Ortho scholars whether the Lords of Order and Chaos were the only 'Creator' Gods or were part of a much larger set of pantheons. The official ruling from the OCA is that the Lords of Order and Chaos were the original gods of Ortho with all others being interlopers.

The Dark on Extinct Faiths

The Council of Ortho actually have it right, for once. Ortho was created totally by the Lords of Order and Chaos. However, that doesn't mean that various faiths weren't allowed by the gods or that there wasn't plenty of inter-planar exchange before the Harmonium rose to power. Some races, like the Hobgoblins or Beholders, were outright migrants from other worlds that brought their gods with them. Others, like Dwarves and Elves, chose to adopt foreign gods despite being native species. Most scholars, secretly, agree that the early Ortho peoples didn't really see a reason not to worship multiple gods.

Thus, on Ortho, you can still find artifacts that showed Elves worshiping Corellon Lantheon and Kabajij the Lord of Tricks. The Dwarves were also known to revere Moradin in addition to Tyerusus. Hundreds of gods were once venerated on Ortho but the majority of their idols and religious scriptures have been destroyed in the Harmonium's purges.