d20 Cognizant Chance At Death's Door.pdf

At Death’s

Door

Five Death Gods from

Cognizant Chance

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons,

Third Edition Core Books,

published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc

Table of Contents

Introduction

After Life Clerical Spell Domain

Sefielku

Sefielku’s Unique Spells and NPCS

Saalipal

Saalipal’s Unique Spell and NPC

Jalshmit

Jalshmit’s Unique Spell and NPC

Afayma

Afayma’s Unique Spell and NPC

Anur

Anur’s Unique Spells and NPC

Introduction

This supplement began as a debate. It was not the sort of debate with rules of order

and thirty second rebuttals. It was instead the kind that culminates in such phrases as oh

yeah and fisticuffs. The central point of these early exchanges was what is the alignment

of a death god.

To add fuel to the fire we asked everyone we knew what they thought the alignment

should be and we got answers that covered the gamut from neutral to lawful evil to

chaotic good. Each suggestion came equipped with compelling arguments. It was

amazing to us was how strongly people felt about an issue of such limited importance.

So in the spirit of lively exchange, Cognizant Chance is proud to present At Death’s

Door. This is a collection of death related deities each from a different perspective and

for various races. We sincerely hope that they will prove useful to game masters in their

campaigns but also cast a little philosophy into the role-playing mix.

We have included NPC high priests, unique spells for each religion, and even a few

relics. Each deity’s write up is formatted to provide enough information for game masters

to insert them into already existing pantheons with a minimum of alteration required. It is

for this reason that most of the death gods we’ve included refrain from specific afterlife

promises.

We created a new spell domain because the death domain included in the rules is

obviously intended for an evil or undead type religion. It occurred to us that many death

gods would be completely opposed to the activity of creating undead monsters and

believe it a blasphemous mockery of the god’s power.

The dogma section is intended to explain the cosmology and give an idea of the

fundamental tenants of each religion. This section is where the question what does the

religion believe is answered.

The lay worship section explains who the average member of the church is and what

their customs are. It is also intended to show how the religion fits into the larger society.

As well as provide an idea as to the number of worshipers. Often it explains the nature of

the regular services provided by the temple.

Next is the part called clergy and temples. This section is meant to reveal the workings

of the inner religion. The churches secrets and political roles are explained here. This

section also explains the size and architectural style of the temple buildings. We have

also attempted to throw some light on the lifestyles of the clerics.

The adventurer section is the most hands on section from the point of view of playing

the game. These parts explain how to fit the clerics into an ongoing game. What

motivates clerics to take up adventuring? The answer is in this section.

For simple color and to provide further glimpses of the religion’s philosophy we have

included a short section on each temples funeral practices. In role-playing games

characters die but what exactly becomes of their remains is often vague and unfulfilling.

We hope these practices can add some drama to the game.

We believe all game supplements should suggest actual game sessions and so we

have included plot hooks. These hooks are most obvious in the NPCs. Nearly every one

has some goal or problem looming on their horizon that can easily be used to create an

adventure. Saalipal’s priestess has troubles with a violent sub-sect. Sefielku’s priest seeks

an artifact and a pair of mysterious twins. Subversion threatens the seat of Jalshmit’s

cleric. We hope these hinted at plots increase your enjoyment of At Death’s Door.

In closing, it is our sincerest wish that this supplement entertains you, provides food

for thought but mostly adds something to your campaign. Please feel free to contact us

with any questions you might have regarding At Death’s Door. We can be reached

through our website www.cognizantchance.com .

Joe Preston and Brett Calaway

Afterlife Domain

As we worked on this collection we knew that we intended to include death deities

that were not evil. As we contemplated what these gods would be like it occurred to us

that many of them would take a rather dim view on the creation of undead creatures.

After accepting this notion it was apparent that the death clerical spell domain would not

do for these deities. We decided to create the new domain shown above to reflect the

ideological difference between gods that allow the creation of undead and those that shun

the practice.

Granted Powers: Turn undead creatures as if the cleric were two levels higher than

actual level.

1. Deathwatch

2. Gentle Repose

3. Speak with Dead

4. Death Ward

5. Raise Dead

6. Destruction

7. Resurrection

8. Soul Bind

9. Power Word Kill

Sefielku

God of Judgment and Death

Weigher of Souls

Symbols: A pair of scales or a greatsword

Colors: Black and white

Sphere of Influence: Death, judgment and law

Deity’s Alignment: Lawful neutral

Worshiper’s Alignment: Any lawful

Worshipers: Judges, government counselors, many other humans

Druids/Rangers: None

Domains: Afterlife and law

Favored Weapon: Greatsword

Sefielku is a death god favored by many civilized empires and other sprawling

autocratic states. It is a complicated and esoteric religion that rarely finds acceptance

among freedom loving or barbaric peoples.

The god is depicted as a powerfully built human sometimes with the head of an animal

that national legend associates with wisdom or perception. However, many creatures are

possible. The god is always shown with a greatsword nearby as a symbol of the awful

finality of his judgment.

Dogma

The religion teaches that death is the final reckoning of humanity. In ancient times

there was no death and all peoples lived in peace without sin. Eventually misdeeds crept

into the world. The gods watched theft, dishonesty, and blasphemy spread across the

world in disgust. Their anger grew until at last they judged mankind unfit to share their

immortality. Yet the compassion of the gods was not exhausted. Nearly all of the deities

promised their worshipers an afterlife of some sort. This led to disagreements among the

gods as to who qualified for eternal reward. After much debate they chose the most

dispassionate of their numbers to act as the judge of the dead. Sefielku agreed on the

conditions that he is given control of the new power of death and that his judgments are

irrefutable.

From that point forward everyone who dies must face an exact weighing of their souls.

Those found overly burdened with sin and lawlessness don’t enter paradise but instead

are torn asunder and thrown into the chaos of punishments and violence that is hell.

The rule of law is all that prevents humanity from acting on its repulsive baser

instincts. Law is the only thing that will protect the poor from the oppressive. The forces

of the lawful alone can be trusted to slay threatening monsters without the selfishness that

is as much a danger to the humble as was the creature itself.

The religion has come to regard sets of laws as divinely inspired by the infinitely

greater sets of law that Sefielku uses to judge the dead. Thus they believe detailed study

and codification of the societies’ laws reveals the mind of the god. The mystic and

scholarly of Sefielku’s worshipers pour through the minutia of legal codes in search of

philosophical illumination and practical precedence.

Elaborate funeral rites and embalming practices form a cornerstone of the religion’s

teachings. In most places the temple has a monopoly on death related industries and all

preparation of the dead is performed within the temple.

Lay Worship

Unlike most death religions Sefielku could easily be a dominant state religion. The

cult of civil law is very popular amongst bureaucrats and supports schools to teach law.

These are the very people who come to control autocratic states. The worship is not

uncommon among the poorer classes because of the incorruptible nature of the temple’s

judges. All social classes are drawn to seeking the goodwill of deity with so much power

over their eternal fate.

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