• Name: Grimnir
• Allegiance: Gods of Civilization
• Portfolio: Oaths, Feudalism, Personal Hygiene, Sanitation, Runic Magic, The Blood War, Creation of Abeir-Toril
• Titles: The First God, The Raiser of Mountains, The Returned, The Iron-Faced God, The Oathbinder, Squire of Kryptgarten, Marquis of Its a Long Story, Father of the Blood War
• Symbols: A featureless iron mask; A pumice stone; A rune-encrusted spear
• Worshiper Alignments: LN, LE, TN, NE
• Core Doctrine: The Blood War is Eternal and Everpresent
  • Edicts:
    • Wash thoroughly and often.
    • Let your word be your bond.
    • Let no one question your authority and live.
    • Journey to the Lower Planes at least once in your lifetime.
    • Destroy demons and agents of chaos wherever they may be.
  • Anathema:
    • Breaking an oath.
    • Speaking any lie or falsehood.
    • Participating in any sort of democratic process.
    • Taking orders from anyone other than a monarch or a higher ranking priest.
• Allied Faiths: Chauntea, Mask, Sorassar, The Blessed Afflictor, Tyr
• Enemy Faiths: Cyric, Duvan’Ku, Lolth
• Pesudonyms: none

Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Base Class: Cleric
• Ability Requirements: Leadership 15, Willpower 13
• Alignments: Non-Chaotic, Non-Good
• Starting Cash: by class

Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Allowed Weapons: Any Spears, Staves, or Whips
• Allows Armor: Chainmail or lighter armor. Any shields.
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: none

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Groups: Spiritual, Academic, and Social
• Bonus Proficiencies: Runecraft, Humanoid Grooming, Law, Religion
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Administration, Alchemy, Anatomy, Ancient History, Animal Rending, Bureaucracy, Crude Clothesmaking, Occult Lore, Debate, Diagnostics, Healing, Inquisitor, Netherworld Knowledge, Oratory, Organic Preservation, Planar Sense, Planar Survival, Trailing.
• Forbidden Proficiencies: none

Priest Spheres:

• Major: All, Combat, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Protection, Summoning, Wards
• Minor: Creation, Law

Overview: Grimnir was once a much greater power, being among the first divine beings born in the Realms. He helped shape the world from the corpse of the titan Duvan’Ku, but was lost from the Realms shortly thereafter, becoming involved in the Blood War as a champion of the side of Law, effectively demoting himself from god to Marquis of Hell. Millenia later, Grimnir returned to the Realms in mortal form in order to track down the god Tyr, who had forsaken the metaphysical war against the forces of chaos in his efforts to attract more mortal followers in the wake of the Time of Troubles.

Grimnir is a being of fundamental Law, with power over runic magic, feudal servitude, and the swearing of oaths. Since taking mortal form, Grimnir has had to fight to reclaim much of his status, and has only recently regained the ability to grant spells to his faithful, starting with a small cult based out of Kryptgarten (with the additional divine sponsorship of Chauntea, goddess of agriculture, and Mask, god of intrigue). Because of certain steps taken in his battles against the various manifestations of primordial chaos in the mortal realm, Grimnir’s newest worshipers also attribute cleanliness and sanitation to his portfolios.

Following the events of the Day of Black Sun, Grimnir was among the first to rally a force to oppose Cyric as the self-proclaimed ruler of the Faerunian Pantheon, a position Grimnir believes to be his by birthright. As the leader of the sub-pantheon now known as the Gods of Civilization, Grimnir’s position and visibility in the world has once-again grown to the point that he has thrown off his mortal trappings and ascended to claim his own divine realm in the plane of Acheron.

Description: While Grimnir’s following has expanded beyond the original cult in Kryptgarten, particularly by the workings of his high-priest Kevorkian, much of the trappings and attraction of that original cult remain. Thus most priests of Grimnir look like disaffected youth. The strict cleanliness enforced by the Squire of Kryptgarten is taken to its true extreme by these worshipers. Their skin, where not marred by tattoos and piercings, is always smooth, hairless, and pink from regular, harsh scrubbing. Their vestments are the plain, utilitarian clothes of a farmer, but always kept pristine and free of dirt or grime of any kind.

On ceremonial occasions, priests of Grimnir wear garments made from the skins of oathbreakers that they have apprehended (which may be as simple as a single pair of gloves to as elaborate as full dress suits), and hide their faces behind featureless black-iron masks as signs of their subservience to their lord (sometimes earning Grimnir the appelation, “The Iron-faced God”). They carry pumice stones as the symbol of their faith.

Role-Playing: Grimnir is a harsh god, demand absolute obedience and fealty from his priests, and they, in turn, expect such from any followers they may have. The church of Grimnir requires strict obedience, stringent cleanliness, and harsh punishment for transgressors.

Priests of Grimnir are tasked with hunting down oathbreakers and disobedient servants, the former to be skinned alive and sewn into garments, and the latter to be boiled alive and rendered into soap. They practice numerous daily cleansing rituals, keeping their skin, hair, and clothing free of any semblance of dirt or parasites. They are also merciless opponents of the forces of chaos, hunting demons, curing plagues, and overthrowing dysfunctional governments wherever they are found.

Special Abilities:

• Priests of Grimnir can Command Undead as a Cleric of their level.
• Priests of Grimnir can Cure Diseases of all sorts (though not cursed afflictions such as lycanthropy). This can be done only once per week for each five levels of experience (once per week at levels 1 through 5, twice per week at levels 6 through 10, etc.).
• A Priest of Grimnir can extract a binding oath from a creature. This works exactly as the Quest spell. This can be done only once per week for each five levels of experience (once per week at levels 1 through 5, twice per week at levels 6 through 10, etc.).
• Because of the harsh cleansing rituals of the faith, priests of Grimnir are inured to pain. They are immune to spells that directly inflict pain (such as blast of pain, pain touch, symbol of pain, whip of pain, or the like). In addition, they can remain conscious and continue fighting past 0 hit points, taking normal actions until they exceed negative hit points equal to their priest level.
• A priest of Grimnir of at least 8th level, automatically attracts a body of followers. These special followers arrive whether or not the priest has established a temple or base of operations. These followers will freely accompany the priest on his adventures and aid him in whatever way they can. These followers consist of 1 3rd-level Priest of Grimnir, 2 Wights, and 20 1st-level Fighters. The wights are a gift from Grimnir’s close relationship with The Blessed Afflictor and serve the priest of their own free will. They do not count against the limit on the number of undead that the priest can control.
  If the priest later builds a temple or stronghold, he can also attract followers in the manner of a typical Cleric.

Special Disadvantages:

• From the beginning of time, on through his participation in the Blood War, and down the ages to his mortal incarnation, Grimnir has been the staunchest opponent of the forces of chaos in the planes. Servants of the metaphysical chaos embodied by the Blood War instantly recognize followers of Grimnir and will attack them on sight. This includes all Tanar’ri, Slaadi, and priests of Duvan’Ku (as well as other chaotic extraplanar creatures at the DM’s discretion).
• The methods of Grimnir and his priests are especially harsh and often publicly so. Priests of Grimnir suffer a -2 penalty on NPC reactions against any good-aligned NPCs.
• Any oath taken by a priest of Grimnir is a sacred thing. Should a priest of Grimnir ever break an oath, even the most minor of promises, he will instantly be stripped of all spellcasting ability until such time as he receives an Atonement from a higher ranking priest of the faith.

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