Ruins of Adventure
Silvanus
- Name: Silvanus
- Allegiance: Gods of the Wild
- Portfolio: Wild and Untamed Nature, Patron of Druids
- Titles: The Interloper, The Forest Father, The Old Oak, Old Father Tree, Treefather, The Many Branched
- Symbols: An oak leaf; A wooden staff sprouting leaflets; An oak tree
- Worshipper Alignments: NG, TN, NE, CG, CN, CE
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Core Doctrine: Civilization is weak and decadent.
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Edicts:
- Reclaim cities, towns, and farmlands for nature.
- Defend wild lands from the encroachment of civilization.
- Slay any who would harm wild plants or animals for profit.
- Destroy undead and constructs, for they are the very antitheses of nature.
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Anathema:
- Killing any non-sentient animal save for food.
- Giving any aid to the expansion of “civilized” lands.
- Sleeping in any dwelling constructed by humanoid hands.
- Destroying forests or wilderness lands through malice or negligence.
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Edicts:
- Allied Faiths: Auril, Eldath, Kelemvor Malar, Mielikki, Umberlee
- Enemy Faiths: Chauntea, Cyric, Gond, Grimnir, Mask, Talos, Tyr, The Blessed Afflictor
- Pesudonyms: Rillifane Rallathil (among Elves), Segojan Earthcaller (among Gnomes), Thard Harr (among Dwarves), Ubtao (in Chult)
Base Requirements
- Races: Any
- Classes: Cleric
- Ability Requirements: as Cleric
- Alignments: TN, NE, CN
- Starting Cash: By class
Proficiencies
- Weapon Slots: By class
- Allowed Weapons: Any Bludgeoning
- Allowed Armor: Any Armor or Shields
- Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
- Required Weapon Proficiencies: none
- Non-weapon Slots: By class
- Available Groups: Spiritual, Pastoral, and Survival
- Bonus Proficiencies: Animal Lore, Tracking, Religion
- Required Proficiencies: none
- Recommended Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Herbalism
- Forbidden Proficiencies: none
Priest Spheres:
- Major: All, Animal, Combat, Earth, Fire, Plant, Protection, Weather
- Minor: Air, Divination
Overview: The clerics of Silvanus are devoted to the aggressive defense of both flora and fauna, often to the detriment of “civilized folk” in the area. They see cities, roads, and even farmland, as a threat to nature in its pristine state. Most of the time, these clerics keep an eye on civilized expansion, making sure it does not grow too far too fast.
They aggressively oppose the so-called ‘Gods of Civilization’ (Chauntea, Mask, Gond, Grimnir, and Tyr), but also those such as Ghaunadaur and Talos that would wantonly destroy nature.
Description: Clerics of Silvanus favor leather armor decorated with intricately worked carvings, mostly using a leaf motif, though they will wear heavier armor if necessary. Green cloaks, a bronze neck torc with green gems mounted on the ends, and a simple tan tunic completes the outfit. For weapons, a simple wooden staff is the most common.
Role-Playing: Clerics of Silvanus do not hate humans and demihumans per se, but they simply devote extra favor to the flora and fauna instead. These clerics see nature in the “big picture.” To them, a forest fire set by lightning is a good thing, since that is nature’s way of clearing out deadwood and preventing the overcrowding of tree growth. A wolf pack that has moved into an area is a welcome sight if there is an over-abundance of game. If there’s a human settlement with livestock nearby, well, that’s too bad for the livestock.
The clerics will aggressively protect wildlife to the point where they will sabotage human tools to prevent the land from being cultivated. They will often warn away animals from hunting parties. Since these clerics respect all life, they will do their best not to kill civilized folk, because even the most fanatical clerics see killing for the sake of saving life to be a contradiction in terms.
Clerics of Silvanus are perfectly capable of functioning in cities and towns. They merely have no real desire to do so for any length of time. Urban society and its customs are held in high suspicion since the natural world is moved aside for the conveniences and comforts of civilization. Many clerics of Silvanus see clerics of Chauntea as misguided, half-hearted, and contaminated by too much civilization.
Special Abilities:
- The clerics of Silvanus are surprised only on a 1 when in wilderness areas
- Clerics of Silvanus get the ability to speak with animals at will.
- Clerics of Silvanus also gain the ability to change into an animal once a day. This ability works exactly like the 7th-level Druid ability, but the clerics gain this ability at 3rd level.
- At 5th level, a cleric of Silvanus can speak with plants three times a day.
Special Disadvantages:
- Because of their fanatical defense of wild nature, clerics of Silvanus are not well-liked among city and town dwellers. To reflect this, the clerics suffer a -2 reaction penalty to NPC interactions in non-wilderness settings.
- Because the undead are such a horrible contradiction to Silvanus’ ideas of nature, a cleric of Silvnus must make a save vs petrification every time he meets any undead. If he fails the save, the cleric suffers the effects of a fear spell.
- Clerics of Silvanus cannot turn undead.
Return to Religions.