The Divines

Upon the surface land, traditionally, there were three great pantheons of gods, with somewhat varying membership. The first of these three were the gods of the Giants, also known as the Dwarven-Ettin Pantheon, who were worshiped widely by the creatures born of earth and stone or those that dwelt within the mountains and caves of the world. This pantheon paid little attention to the skies, but focused instead on the small miracles of hearth and home and good works. The second of the three ancient pantheons were the gods of Fey, also known as the Elven Pantheon, who were worshiped by the creatures born beneath the stars and any spirits with restless wandering natures. This pantheon paid little attention to the earth, instead finding power in the joys and sorrows of life and death and of the exigencies of fate. The third pantheon were the gods of Humanity, or simply the Human Pantheon, who arriving upon the world at the appointed time, crafted man to bring forth a new era of change to the stagnant world. Though initially worshiped primarily by humans, as human kingdoms rose to predominate much of the world, soon many of other races would come to venerate these new gods as well.

Today, in the aftermath of the Dark Lord's war of conquest, the boundaries that kept worship of the gods of these three pantheons separate have fallen away, giving rise to a popular syncretic view of the three pantheons as one group known as the 12 Divines. This group incorporates the most popular cults of the three major predecessor pantheons into a cohesive whole fit for the new multicultural world in which the survivors live. Though the 12 Divines is the most popular view of divinity in the modern age, several other views exist. In Brightfall, only four of the twelve divines are worshiped, forming the pantheon of the High Holy Gods. In the Republic of Grund and outlying regions, a different syncretism of the predecessor pantheons has taken root. Known as the Elder Circle, the gods of the wilds are widely served by those living upon the fragile savage edge of the frontier.

Below the surface world, the concept of transcendent godhood itself is widely considered somewhat alien. The "gods" of the Verdant Hollow are the Primordial Gods, beings of magic and awoken power whose footsteps shake the very foundations of the world. Most of the primordials worshiped by undersider cults take the general forms of ancient sleeping dragons, titanic elementals, massive life-giving trees, and mysterious abyssal powers from below the lightless seas.

This diverse set of religious traditions has given rise to its fair share of both conflict and religious acceptance and tolerance. In most lands, a person's beliefs in gods, or lack thereof, has little effect upon their standing in society or treatment at the hands of others. Cults and new religious movements abound, with many worshiping only one or two divine powers to the exclusion of others or incorporating elements from both surface and underside religions together into strange new pantheons. Some religious movements, such as the Animism of the firbolgs within the Summer Court do away with gods entirely, instead venerating the spirits of all life, be they found in flesh, or stone, or sky. All this said, none can deny the power of the followers of the gods, nor their heralds, the celestials, who are called upon regularly in places such as the Kingdom of Brightfall for aid or judgement.