Gozreh

gozreh

Introduction

“Respect the sea and the sky, lest we bring you ruin.”

—Hymns to the Wind and the Waves

Gozreh is timeless. Born when the first breeze caressed the ocean, she is ever-changing, tempestuous, unpredictable, yet also prone to periods of constancy, stillness, and routine. He is the storm cloud one day and a clear sky the next, spring following winter, and reliable winds that allow for easy trade by seagoing ships. She is the great wave that capsizes those ships, the gentle current that deposits sailors on safe shores, and the predictable tides. Those who ply the waters or rely upon the rains know this better than most, and are sure to placate gozreh and honor him when the wind and waves are favorable.

Présentation

Gozreh
(Déité)
Titres	The Wind and the Waves; Ioz'om, the Sky Father; Hyjarth & Tourithia; She Who Guides the Wind and the Waves
Adjectif	Gozren
Home	Material Plane
Alignement	Neutral
Portfolio	Nature Weather The sea
Adorateurs	Druids, sailors, woodsmen, farmers
Cleric Alignments	Modèle:Alignment grid
Domaines	Air, Animal, Plant, Water, Weather
Sous domaines	Cloud, Decay, Growth, Oceans, Seasons, Wind
Arme de prédiléction	Trident

Gozreh has two aspects, equally depicted in art and sculpture. When at sea or over water, Gozreh is a woman with wild, flowing green hair, whose body transforms into endless waves. In the sky and over land, Gozreh appears as an aged man with a long white beard, emerging from a mighty storm cloud.

Gozreh is moody and brooding, able to spend weeks in a glowering quiet only to explode in a fury ofwater, wind, and lightning. He is an elemental force, refusing to be confined by the work of mortals and only reluctantly abating his wrath when they appease him with gifts and flattering words. Many cargo ships throw a crate or two overboard in the deep ocean in the hope she will be satisfied and not take more by force. Gozreh is the amoral side of nature, that which brings life but may take it away unexpectedly. As a being of either sex, Gozreh represents both male and female, as well as the necessity of both sexes for life to continue. Grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, eternal and ever-changing, the Wind and the Waves are echoes of, and forces that shape, the countless living things on Golarion.

Gozreh refers to himself or herself as “I” or “We” interchangeably. He loves to race the wind, tearing clouds in two with his passing, or sculpting them into islands and palaces for his pleasure. She hides under the waves and plummets to the crushing depths of the ocean, chasing whales and building grottoes only visible by the light of the glowing creatures that live there. She hates those who defile the sky with smoke, taint the waters with mortal filth, or abuse the bounties of land and sea. Her official church is small, but her lay worshipers are countless. He particularly likes seabirds, flying fish, and frogs, both as living specimens and as sacrificial offerings. He is known to watch the world through the eyes ofbeasts, whether on the wing or under the earth, flitting from the body of a solitary bear to the countless beating hearts of a flock of starlings. She senses the day and night through green plants and pale fungi, drinking deeply through the roots ofthe mighty oak or clinging to a stone as the tiniest moss or lichen.

Gozreh’s interests lie entirely in the realm of weather and living things. He has little interest in earth except in the form of soil or as a foundation for living works. She cares naught for fire but for how flame and ash provide opportunities for new life to grow in their wake. These materials are not taboo to her faithful, just inconsequential. Likewise, she accepts that some creatures must die so that others may survive and still others be born, but the mystical aspects of death and its cycles do not concern her, and she leaves these things to entities such as Pharasma. Like nature itself, Gozreh can be cruel and indifferent, allowing a storm to ravage the land or sink a dozen ships, or a plague to wipe out an entire herd of animals; yet she pushes trading ships across the world, multiplies animals in springtime, and brings gentle rain to thirsty fields. She is beyond morals and ethics—as long as life survives in some form, water exists to support it, and weather keeps the world itself dynamic, Gozreh is satisfied. Though his priests and priestesses may have personal ideas about which creatures should live and which should not, or visions of what Gozreh wants protected or destroyed, they accept that their beliefs are just one facet of their deity’s infinite perceptions.

The Wind and the Waves may be intractable one moment and sympathetic the next. She does not do this to be deliberately contrary or mischievous, or in the interest of chaos; it is simply because he perceives every living thing, every drop of water, and every gust of wind, at all times. Events distant and unrelated may draw her attention, and the outcome ofthose events may change her mood, whether because a potential tornado disperses too soon or a rare type of fox births a dozen healthy kits. He is a great monarch, constantly beseeched by courtiers and commoners, listening to each argument simultaneously and shifting his attention and emotion to each in turn. To one unaware of the cacophony, she may appear flighty or distracted, but the truth is that she perceives all.

Gozreh’s avatar is a colossal humanoid whose lower half trails away into a mass ofroiling elemental matter. In male form, he becomes a storm cloud and always remains flying; he has been known to gather storm clouds to himself and merge them with his body. According to one old legend, he can stretch from one horizon to the other, darkening the entire sky with his fury. In female form, her body blends with the water of a lake or sea. She sometimes rises from a waterspout, but may pull all the nearby water upward as a great wave, emerging from the top as a nymph-like shape, a crone, or a vaguely humanoid construct of pure water.

Statues of Gozreh are usually made of driftwood or lightning-scorched trees tied together into a human-like shape or carved to resemble either incarnation; a few are carved of ice and either magically preserved or allowed to melt and then replaced as needed. Stone and brick are never used for religious imagery. Holy symbols and small idols may be made of coral, polished shell, lacquered wood, whalebones, and other natural materials.

Signs of Gozreh’s favor include a sudden but gentle breeze that carries a scent of flowers, the appearance of large numbers of her favorite animals, the unexplained sound ofwaves crashing on a distant beach, and dreams ofa specific, recognizable animal (such as a white wolf, a frilled lizard with glowing blue eyes, or a ghostly raven). Omens of his displeasure include being watched and shrieked at by wild birds or beasts, sudden rainstorms localized over a specific building or individual, or an unending taste of blood in the mouth. He may foul fresh water, or afflict offenders with terrible smells or excruciating joint pain when the weather changes.

Formal raiment varies by temple but usually includes feathers, green or blue cloth, a rope belt, and a hoodless cloak of thin, oiled leather. In coastal areas, at least one garment is made of kimle, a linen-like cloth made of a sea plant the church cultivates.

Male priests are expected to grow long beards; those with patchy growth often braid or knot their facial hair into tangled masses. Female priests must keep long hair, and hair that nearly reaches the ground is common. The cutting of hair and beards is not forbidden, and what constitutes “long” varies from region to region but is always at least 6 inches. Both sexes weave dried seaweed, strands of white cloth, kimle fibers, feathers, and other decorative items into their hair. When an old priest or priestess dies, snippets of this long hair are cut and given to his or her successors, who tie or weave it into their own locks.

gozreh_avatar

It is not unusual for zealous priests to remain celibate, devoting all their energy to Gozreh; these priests have been known to “embrace” their deity naked in high places or shallow waters (called “sky-clad” and “sea-clad”), writhing in passion. Priests have a habit of finding discarded things washed up or left on the shore, including infants orphaned by shipwrecks or abandoned to die from exposure; in most lands, such children are traditionally raised by the church (which offsets the low number of children born to priests because of their high celibacy rate).

Gozreh is neutral, and his portfolio is nature, weather, and the sea. His favored weapon is the trident. His holy symbol is a green leaf with a drop of water pouring from the lower end. Her domains are Air, Animal, Plant, Water, and Weather. Most ofGozreh’s priests are clerics, but about a tenth are druids, with a few rangers (“weather-hunters”) and adepts taking active roles in the priesthood.

His worshipers are typically sailors, naval merchants, and farmers. Seagoing barbarians ask her to speed them to their prey, fisherfolk pray for favorable currents to bring them heavy catches, millers ask for consistent winds to power their mills and well pumps, and travelers seek good weather on their journeys. Wise generals ask Gozreh’s blessing before transporting soldiers by sea; wiser ones ask her priests if a blessing would do any good.

Worship services include chanting, wind instruments, chimes moved by wind or water, salt, perfume, smokeless incense, and drinking clear water or other clear liquids. Farming communities offer sacrifices of meat and grain by leaving the tribute exposed on a high rock to allow the deity’s servants to claim it. Fishing communities string together bones from the greatest fish caught during the previous month and tow them behind their boats, releasing them as offerings to the goddess. Some civilized folk perpetuate stories of the church encouraging human sacrifice in lean times (often by burning victims encased in wicker effigies or drowning them in tidal pools), but no records of this are found in the modern era.

The church does not have a strong preference for or against marriage, reflecting how in nature some creatures mate for life while others mate only for a season or until offspring are mature. They are very tolerant of “nontraditional” families, including same-sex and polyamorous unions, and individuals interested in such relationships often join the priesthood because of this tolerance (though it is actually more akin to indifference, as the bonds that humanoids make between their own kind and the gender roles they choose to play are irrelevant to the forces of nature).

Because of the deity’s many roles and areas of interest, there are countless splinter cults ofGozreh. Some embrace the deity’s entire area of influence; others choose one particular aspect (such as weather) or a handful of specific interests (such as birds and wind, or fish and the sea, or storms and plants). A few extreme or isolated groups develop fringe beliefs or practices not present in the more mainstream churches, such as belief in beast totems or reincarnation, pursuit of lycanthropy, veneration of spirit animals or intelligent plants, eunuchs, fertility and crossbreeding cults, ritualized baptisms or dream quests, “mushroom cults” that seek to commune directly with the god by ingesting strange fungi, and diets restricted to fruits, nuts, and leaves. Despite such radical beliefs, members of these sects continue to receive spells from Gozreh, and the church as a whole makes no attempt to eliminate these unusual groups as long as they continue to respect the wind, the waves, and the natural world.

Temples and Shrines

Gozreh’s temples are always open to the sky and often contain some sort ofpool or open water at their heart. Coastal temples are usually made of driftwood, and are often just a wooden wall with lean-tos on the outside rim. Some temples incorporate water wheels, windmills, lighthouses, or other structures that harness the wind and waves or are essential to a community that relies on the sky and sea for survival; for these locations, tending the mechanism of the structure is a hereditary, traditional role, and priests who assume such a position tend to have remarkably advanced knowledge of the necessary engineering despite the church’s general preference for wildness and nature over civilization.

Shrines are incredibly simple, often just a flat stone at a high elevation or on a secluded beach, a large whale bone jutting from a cleft on a rocky shore, or a place where the waves crash against a crevice to create a high-arcing spray. Some shrines remain underwater most of the time and only appear in years when stellar conjunctions cause especially low tides. A few ancient, large-scale shrines tied to Gozreh’s faith still exist on Golarion, primarily circles or triangles of standing stones (though one circle north of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings is composed of blocks of nearly indestructible ice rather than stones). These standing stones function as a calendar, tracking solstices, equinoxes, and other celestial events; most are also burial sites for priests or devout members of the faith.

A Priest’s Role

gozreh pretre

Les Prêtres de Gozreh recherchent la volonté de la déesse dans l'eau , les nuages ​​et le mouvement des regroupements d'oiseaux et de bancs de poissons. Ceux qui sont associés avec les communautés humanoïdes servent comme devins ou conseillés pour la pêche , la météo, ou pour prendre soins des oiseaux domestiques . Certains vivent sur des navires , vendant leurs services aux pirates , la marine ou aux commerçants , dans l'espoir de garder le beau temps et éviter les tempêtes mortelles. D'autres se consacrent à soigner et nourrir les lieux abimés dans le monde ou de détruire ce qui cause ces plaies , avec un peu de mal à combattre la corruption de la Plaie du Monde, des radiations mortelles de certains endroits en Numeria , ou les pollutions côtière des grandes villes humaines. D'autres se voient comme des agents de la colère de dieu contre les dommages causés par la civilisation , envoyant des fléaux de chauves-souris , corneilles et sauterelles pour ravager les villes et les terres agricoles , en éloignant les bancs de poissons loin des ports , et convoquant des tempêtes afin de couler les flottes construites à partir de bois volé. Quelques-uns sont des explorateurs , déterminé à profiter de la beauté de la déesse autant que possible. Les prêtres ont généralement des rangs dans Premier secours, Connaissances ( nature ) , et survie , ainsi que Diplomatie ou Intimider en fonction de leurs intérêts et de leur personnalité . Vol et Natation sont des choix ordinaires de la prêtrise et des objets magiques qui permettent la respiration dans l'eau ou de voler sont recherchés . La plupart des Gozrens évitent les armure d'acier , car elle rouille , préférant le bois , le cuir , ou le mithral , et certains ont même portent des armures de glace durcie (voir le sort d'armure de glace à la page 71). Les Druides de Gozreh sont souvent solitaires , rarement vu entrain de parler avec d'autres êtres , et ne laissant leurs refuges que lorsque la déesse les appels ou qu'une localitée locale les prie de faire de la pluie . La plupart se contentent de vivre de la terre , rassemblant parfois des trésors de la mer comme des perles , du corail et des coquillages d'ormeau , ou de la vente d'ivoire de mer ou Scrimshaw . Certains passent toute leur vie sur les bateaux , d'autres s'exile dans des îles éloignées pour communier avec leur divinité .

L'église a tendance à avoir des périodes de stabilité compensée par des tourments soudains et se réorganisant au niveau local , mais sur le long terme un prêtre charismatique et puissant est susceptible de rester au sommet de l'organisation de son temple. Quand un prêtre meurt, ceux en lice pour son grade se concurrence dans des cérémonies traditionnelles avec les fidèles de leur région, mais cela varie grandement selon les régions. Dans les régions côtières escarpées, il est demandé de plongée nu d'une falaises et de nager vers l'océan loin des côtes, le premier à retourner devient alors le nouveau prêtre . Dans les pays de rivières et le long des côtes douces , récupérer de lourdes pierres dans l'océan ou le lit de la rivière est un critère commun . Dans les forêts , les prétendants peuvent grimper en haut du plus grand arbre de la forêt puis se jeter du sommet, le survivant ayant tomber du plus haut est le nouveau grand prêtre . À travers d'autres cieux , soi-disant les successeurs font des randonnées éprouvantes et la mort de visage dans les mains des éléments , avec ceux qui endurent prouver leur attachement à la foi une qualité plus importante que la faveur imprévisible de leur divinité . Les Prêtres inexpérimentés et trop ambitieux sont connus pour mourir à cause de ces concours , mais dans la plupart des cas, le pire est que quelqu'un souffre de blessures et d'épuisement sévère .

Dans l'église, un prêtre respecté est celui qui réagit rapidement aux circonstances changeantes, interprète les présages avec précision, et sont de bon travailleur avec les plantes, les animaux ou les deux (selon l'objectif spécifique du temple du prêtre). Pour les églises dissidentes, des traits tels que le sens du monde des esprits ou des rêves prémonitoires peuvent être plus importants.

Holidays

In addition to various regional holidays based on harvests, seasonal high and low tides, and similar phenomena, most members of the church celebrate two common holidays.

Currentseve (7 Gozran): The original meaning of this holiday’s name is lost to time, as it doesn’t refer to any specific event relating to water or wind currents. In modern tradition, it is a day-long fast in anticipation of the first sprouting plants of the year (in planting and gathering communities) or fish spawning season (in fishing communities). It represents the fact that feast and famine are natural cycles; by abstaining from food, worshipers redirect spiritual energy to other lives so that they may multiply and provide food when needed.

Firstbloom (Vernal Equinox): Honored primarily in farming communities, this holiday marks the start of the planting season. Traditionalists of the faith consider Firstbloom the start of the year, even though the common calendar starts the year 2 months earlier in Abadius.

Aphorisms

Les adeptes de Gozreh sont souvent brusque et bourru, et leurs paroles reflètent cette tendance.

Boire beaucoup, Pensée rapidement: À bien des égards, l'église de Gozreh est une religion d'une époque plus simple, et certaines de ses traditions découlent des jours avant la civilisation, quand les races humanoïdes vivaient en tribus de chasseurs-cueilleurs. La présence d'eau et la capacité de réagir aux prédateurs inattendus étaient à la fois vitale pour la survie, et des phrases comme celle-ci resurgissent à l'oreille à ces moments. Pour les fidèles, cet aphorisme signifie essentiellement «rassembler vos esprits, soyez prêts, et faite le meilleur de ce que vous pouvez."

Tempête et sel: Un serment commun, utilisée pour deux événements fortuits et calamiteuse. Dans la plupart des temples, quand un prêtre rejoint le clergé, il jure «d'obéir au vent et aux vagues, à la venue de la tempête et au sel, à la sécheresse et les inondations, la plume et l'écaille, jusqu'à ce que le ciel ou la mer revendique ma chair morte."

Holy Text

Gozreh’s Hymns to the Wind and the Waves is a collection ofprayers and rules for personal behavior and respect for the natural world. The exact message varies from temple to temple, which only preserve the parts relevant to local needs (certain bardic colleges have large collections of church teachings, but no known temple bothers with all of them). Most excerpts from the text are carved on wood plaques or walls, as paper and parchment tend to mold and rot after decades in the vicinity of salt and water magic.

Relations with Other Religions

Gozreh is indifferent to other deities unless they threaten her domain or existence. She squabbles with Abadar when his farms encroach too much on wildland, and the Master of the First Vault takes it as a personal affront when one of his cities suffers because of severe weather. Gozreh hates Nethys and Rovagug for their urges to destroy the world, and Urgathoa for bringing undead abominations to the natural world; complete destruction and undeath itself are abominations to her. He is alternately affectionate and cool with Desna, for while the sky and stars are a good match, Gozreh can be jealous of travelers’ prayers to the Song of the Spheres. He is genuinely friendly with Erastil, for he believes only Old Deadeye fully appreciates all aspects of nature; informally, Gozreh considers the beasts of the earth and crops planted by humanoids to be Erastil’s, while the sky, sea, fish, birds, and wild plants belong to her.

New Divine Spell

Clerics, druids, oracles, and rangers may prepare whispering wind as a 2nd-level spell, and have an aquatic variant for communicating with creatures that are underwater. Druids may prepare water walk as a 3rd-level spell. Rangers may prepare create water and purify food and drink as 1st-level spells. In addition to Gozreh’s trident (see Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Gods and Magic), his priests have access to the following spell.

Ice Armor

School transmutation [cold, water]; Level cleric 1, druid 1 (Gozreh)

Casting Time 1 minute

Components V, S, F (5 gallons of water)

Range 0 ft.

Effect a suit of armor made of ice Duration 1 hour/level or until destroyed Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

You create a suit of armor made of ice. While cold to the touch, it does not harm the wearer, especially if worn over normal clothing (though it can hasten the effects of exposure in cold environments). It offers the same protection as breastplate armor, except it has hardness 0 and 30 hit points. If the intended wearer is submersed in water when you cast this spell, you may form the armor around the wearer (who may be you); otherwise the wearer must don the armor normally. Attacks against the wearer that create heat or fire degrade the armor, reducing its Armor Class by 1 for every 5 points of fire damage the wearer takes; when the armor's AC reaches 0, the spell ends. Because the ice is slightly buoyant, the wearer gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Swim checks, except when swimming downward. This armor is freely wearable by druids.

Planar Allies

All of Gozreh’s servitors have an air or water aspect; if a creature can neither swim nor fly, she has no use for it as a supernatural minion. Few true elementals serve Gozreh, as most oftheir kind feel allegiance to the elemental lords. Many cloud and storm giants are native to her planar realm. Her herald is Personification of Fury, an ancient elemental that appears to be a fusion of air and water.

The following are well-known servitors of Gozreh, suitable for conjuring with planar ally or similar spells.

Hargle: This easily distracted air elemental looks like a dark storm cloud with flickering lightning for eyes. It is equally comfortable high in the air or deep in the sea (where it looks like a roiling mass of bubbles). It strongly dislikes dwarves, offerings of metal, and speakers who take too long to get to the point.

Kraz'Tesh: This creature resembles a giant dragonfly with icy hairs and dexterous claws. Frequently called upon to carry travelers in inclement weather, it is immune to electricity, as is any passenger it carries. It enjoys eating fat larvae from bug-like creatures and gibbering mouthers.

Saltbeard: Like an old sailor, this snaggletoothed, white-bearded male triton has a foul mouth, fouler breath, and an even fouler temper. He enjoys wielding his trident to moor ships in ice, then stabbing the landlubbers who try to chip their vessels free. Hot rum is his favorite drink.

Customized Summon List

Gozreh's priests can use summon monster and summon nature’s ally spells to summon the following creatures in addition to the normal creatures listed in the spells.

Summon monster II Merfolk*

Summon monster VII Young frost giant*

Summon monster VIII Frost giant*, Young cloud giant*

Summon monster IX Cloud giant*, Young storm giant*

• This creature is summoned with the celestial template if you are good, or with the fiendish template if you are evil; you may choose either if you are neutral.