Religion

The majority of the people on Tellene are polytheistic; that is, they believe in more than one god. A person may or may not worship multiple deities, but they will most certainly acknowledge their existence. Tellene is home to magic, both divine and arcane, and a large pantheon of gods whose clerics, if not themselves, are constantly involved in the affairs of Tellene.

Wizards and sorcerers are not overly abundant and common people accept most unusual and seemingly inexplicable events as the work of one of the gods rather than arcane magic. In smaller communities, the townsfolk easily confuse wizards and especially sorcerers with clerics, and arcane spells may be misconstrued as miracles or portents of the gods. This can work to a spellcaster’s weal or woe depending on which god the commoners believe sent the miracle.

"There is something more powerful than all nations of Tellene; and that is a religion whose time has come" .... The High Peace Maker

The Gods of Tellene

There's a large and diverse pantheon of deities what watch over the lands of Tellene. These gods concern thenselves with the affairs of intelligent mortals.

Frist, each culture or language has its own name for each god. Furthermore, the gods have many names, even among a single culture, each god's priesthood and different titles commensurate with their ranks within the faith's hierarchy.

Note that the gods of Tellene do not segment themselves by region or by race. These deities are vying for worship, most based on specific philosophies and aspects of life rather than being "The God of the Elves", they are far more concerned with thier followers' actions and beliefs than they are with race, gender or physical factors. Because of cultural and race differances, certain deities appeal more to some races or classes.

Most people do not pin all their hopes on one god - unless they have the professional link for that god - but pray to whichever deity seems to be most appropriate for their particular need or situation. There is an extensive list of religious texts - it seems just about every god in the pantheon has either written or inspired one.

Sainthood

Becoming a saint is a matter of more than clerical knowledge, piety and faith. It involves a great deal of opportunity and often the direct favor of the cleric's god. Nor is sainthood something for which a cleric usually strives for, since it requires that the canonized individual to be permanently dead.

While the exact requirements for sainthood vary from faith to faith, all require that the candidate be absolutely dead. The person must be ineligible for resurrection, even with a miracle spell. This requirement stops living saints from walking around causing contradictions for the faith.

The would-be saint must have performed some legendary act.