The world began with an idea, which began with a being. At first, darkness covered the land and stayed that way for a long time. But then the being had an idea, and made another of themself. She noticed they couldn’t see each other and created light.
“Oh,” she said.
And the first one said,”That’s so much better. Who are you?”
She mulled the question over before replying with, “I shall be Leita. What about you?”
“Call me The.”
“Thee?”
“No, The. As in theory or with.”
“Brilliant. That will confuse all the beings that come later.”
The two of them got on well, and The found they had quite a skill in creating plants and animals and all sorts of living things, while Leita came and went checking on progress with her illuminating presence.
One day Leitha came back with another. The asked, “Who’s this?”
The new being waved in greeting, “Hello, I’m Okil. Think of me as a consultant.”
The frowned. “A consultant? I should think we’re doing fine as we are.”
“And you are. Simply smashing what you’ve done here. What with the rocks and trees, and birds and bees. But what if we mixed things up a bit?”
Leita beamed, “Like trocks and beerds!”
Okil smiled, “Sure, but maybe we let The do what they do best. Maybe things that talk, and walk. Oh, what if they could make things?”
The continued to frown. “Let me think this over.”
In time, strange creatures populated the land. Leita came by and noticed Okil sitting on a rock watching a herd of somethings being herded off a cliff by different somethingd. “What are those?”
Okil answered, “Beats me. There’s a lot of new things here. What if we had someone to manage all this?”
Leita lit up with a new idea, “I know just the thing!” She reached into herself and drew out a new being, and then another. “This is Konoa, he can identify all these things. And Nasumei can care for the, all.”
Time passed, and The didn’t comment on the increase in beings. Much later, Konoa and Nasumei were arguing about there not being enough room for all these creatures or what their role in the cycle of life should be. Nasumei waited patiently for Konoa to get done explaining something she’d taught him a millenia ago when Okil happened by.
“Excuse me, I couldn’t help notice your disagreement.”
Konoa leapt to explain the facts of the matter, but Nasumei held him off. “I’m sure Okil doesn’t want to actually get involved in any of this. What is it that you do again?”
“Hey, I’m just a consultant. Sorry. I’ll go. Maybe all this will blow over in the morning.”
That night, things did blow over. A huge swirling cloud of powerful winds and rain and thunder swept the land. Many things died. It was very sad.
The next day, the The called a gathering at the Circle, a bit of land they carved out in the beginning for such meetings. Everyone attended, standing inside the circle around The. The noticed a new being, standing just on the edge of the Circle. “And who might you be?”
“I am Thyell.”
The, appreciating the finer points of a well-executed ‘th’ sound, said, “Well, why don’t you join us in the Circle?”
“If it’s all the same, I’d rather not.” And thus the Bringer of Storms, always appeared on the edges of things. The quickly figured out Thyell was behind the new goings on, something Okil volunteered the name “weather”. Always helpful that one.
Much later, after more plants and animals grew back, and then died or had their homes destroyed, life in the world settled into a pattern and many of the surviving life figured out how to weather such storms. One day, Konoa and Nasumei were arguing yet again, when Okil happened by, as he usually does.
“You know, you too argue so much, maybe you should try hugging it out.” So they did. And nothing good came of it, for Masumei gave birth to an angry spirited being, whom she named Garn. For a time, things were fine, especially among the plants and animals. But Garn spent a lot of time amongst the tool using creatures. Soon, squabbles amongst them began to be solved with rocks, then rocks on sticks, and eventually pointy rocks on pointy sticks.
The hunted Okil down at a small pool where he was pretending to be a fish. “You did this,” they declared.
The fish bobbed up to the surface and turned into Okil, standing on the water. “I did? I don’t recall doing anything.”
“You’ve made a mess of things.”
“Life is messy. You should know. But it’s also more interesting this way. Who knows what could happen next.”
The acknowledged his point. They hadn’t anticipated anything like this. Perhaps they would allow Tychaios to continue a bit longer. And thus the world also got its name.
The Gods Themselves
The D&D Player’s handbook lists seven sample domains and I didn’t feel like inventing more. So, I need at least as many gods to represent them, plus another one because a player made one up when we played the first game and none of this was made up yet.
The
Domain: Life
Symbol: sapling wood grown into the shape of a triquetra
Appearance: a rust skinned person with long, black, flowing hair that undulates in celtic knotwork patterns, and dark, green eyes.
They created the world and is the first ancestor of the gods
Leita
Domain: Light
Symbol: a candle in a housing
Appearance: a black skinned woman with an afro crown of hair, and deep, brown eyes.
She comes and goes, thus creating the day and night cycle, though even then, she is reflected in the moons.
Okil
Domain: Trickery
Symbol: A dreamcatcher-like working representing a spider web
Appearance: a pale skinned man with a shock of flaming red hair and glittering green eyes
He seldom acts directly, but sets things in motion. His followers appreciate working behind the scenes to get things done.
Nasumei
Domain: Nature
Symbol: A leaf, feather, tied with a tuft of hair
Appearance: a well rounded, tan skinned woman with curly auburn hair, and hazel eyes.
She tends to the plants and animals of the world, trying to keep a balance so ecosystems can thrive. Her followers seek to do help.
Konoa
Domain: Knowledge
Symbol: a clay tablet with cuneiform of the god’s names
Appearance: a mahogany skinned man with greying dreadlocks, and bright blue eyes.
He seeks all knowledge, and over the eons has learned to guard some of it and consider whom he shares it with.
Thyell
Domain: Tempest
Symbol: A glass ball with dark oil suspended in clear water, always in turmoil
Appearance: Though covered in a tangle of rags, their ashen skin is obvious despite the cowl over their head their turbulent blue eyes peer out from.
They are behind all storms, which foment in the in-between places. Their followers also work more in secret or on the outskirts.
Garn
Domain: War
Symbol: a ring with two beads banging into each other freely
Appearance: A hodgepodge of armors and weapons adorn him. Only his glowing red eyes are visible through his spiky helmet.
He is a child of conflict and seeks glory in battle. His followers view conflict as the ultimate test of who is right.
Apolaphys
Domain: Travel (not in PH)
Symbol: a tiny shoe or sandal
Appearance: Tanned and weathered skin show amidst the worn but care for sandals and travel garb. She carries a walking staff and her sun blond hair hangs freely to frame her warm brown eyes.
She yearns to see more of the world’s marvels. Her followers travel when able and support others to do the same.
Travel Domain Spells
1st: Comprehend Languages, Expeditious Retreat
3rd: Find Steed, Pass without Trace
5th: Fly, Leomund's Tiny Hut
7th: Freedom of Movement, dimensional door
9th: teleportation circle, passwall
Gain the History and Survival skills
Brisk Walker
At 1st level, your speed increases by 10 feet
Channel Divinity: Together Faster
At 2nd level: After invoking your deity’s name and holy symbol, you party (WIS bonus plus proficiency bonus) gains a +10’ in movement speed for an hour without exhaustion.
Nimble Gait
At 6th level: you ignore difficult terrain and can move normally.
Channel Divinity: Know the Way
At 8th level: After invoking your deity and holy symbol, knowledge of the area comes you as if you’ve been here before. Any common, non-secret map information known to the locals is know to the cleric. Hand them a copy of the map the DM is using (without the secrets).
Well Traveled
At 17th level: any cleric spell involving movement is costs a one spell slot lower. Movement related cantrips are effectively free.
Travel Domain Details Inspired by:
Domain Spell Rules Clarification
The question of how domain spells related to memorization and slot usage came up, so here’s how it appears to work for those of us using pre-5E terms.
After each Long rest, you can reset the list of spells you have prepared. Unlike prior editions, you aren't filling in spells to slots. You can prepare a number of spells equal to your WIS modifier plus level. So at 17 WIS and 2nd level, that's five total spells. You are limited in spell level by what spells slots you have (level 2 spells in this example). If you have spell cards, you're literally choosing a number of cards from the Cleric spell list. Do NOT pick any of your Domain spells for this list, those are "free" as in they don't count against this prepared list.
When casting, the spell slots determines how many of each spell level you can cast. So if you have 3 first level spell slots, you can pick any from your prepared list or the Domain spells. But you can only cast 3 first level spells in total until your next long rest.
This is different than the older editions, which threw us off (and in fact, I had to come back here and edit this because I'd gotten it wrong again).
Religion In the Realm
For those of us in the US, there aren’t often working examples of polytheistic religions to understand how people have many gods in a culture. Most people do not dedicate their life to a single deity. They pray and give thanks to whichever applies at the time. A smaller town might have a temple for all the gods. Larger might split it out because of the sheer volume. None of the gods here are specifically evil, though some like Thyell may need to be placated rather than appealed to.
Days of the week
These align with our classic days of the week, but with fun names for flavor. On Thesday, people visit a shrine for each god and make an offering.
Thesday (Sunday) remember all that you have to be thankful for
Garnday (Monday) attack the new week with vigor
Leisday (Tuesday) a bright day is ahead
Konsday (Wednesday) know that the week is halfway over
Meiday (Thursday) smell the flowers
Kiilday (Friday) as the work week ends, the fun begins
Apoday (Saturday) take a walk, explore
Holidays
The Renewal - a new year festival
The Harvest - thanks for the bounty from Nasumei
The Wittening - stay crafty for pranks and jokes
The Remembering - honor those who came before and sacrifice to Thyell
The Sojourn - a weeklong pilgrimage to holy sites within range
The Exchange - a midwinter sharing of gifts and resources
The Respite - a day of merriment amidst the summer’s work
Prayers
Before Meal
We honor The, source of all we have and all we will be. As was shared with us, we share with those gathered, Let us dine in fellowship. Amen.
Before Bed
The darkness and we pray a safe journey to Leita as she makes her way through the night to find us in the morning light.
Before a Storm
Let they who walk between, come not betwixt my family, my home, and friends. May the coming storm pass amidst the lands where no one dwells.
Before a Battle
Garn lend me strength to see this through and I shall drink to your name on the other side.
Superstitions
Saying Thyell’s name might attract their attention, so few will invoke it except priests.
Okil’s reputation has some communities wary of him as a troublemaker, others embrace change and mischief. Almost like a lawful vs chaotic alignment divide.
Some say Thyell is Okil’s daughter, but that’s not in the common Origin.
Some people take Origin more serious than others.
There’s rumor to be more Gods than the Eight, but they must be bad.
Holy Fini
I am sure I’ll come up with additions to this document, but it’s a good start. I think I’ll crib the term “Origin” from the later seasons of SG-1 for the religion. I don’t think the priests are teaching specific doctrines, but there’s going to be anecdotal stories that demonstrate a good or bad behavior. Stuff for the cleric players to trot out in pious moments.