Ah Salaam and good evening to you, Jorphdan here the PH is silent.
Let’s talk about the deities of Zakhara.
One would think the gods of Faerun would make their presence known in the Land of Fate but
you would be wrong!
Well except for a few.
Zakharans actually have their own deities and gods; foreign gods to this pantheon are
known as Ajami, or coming from the outside.
This can be confusing because Ajami is also the word for outsider wizards in Zakhara.
At its core it means a foreign divine or arcane power.
The ajami gods are many (too many, say Zakharans) and are seen as a burden upon the person that
brings them into Zakharan culture.
Gond for example was brought to Zakhara from Lantan traders.
Seen as a poor god that makes devices, non-worshipers almost piety him and his small portfolio of
making things.
Perhaps there was nothing else left at the table of the gods for him to represent.
Yet in Lantan Gond is highly worshiped and respected, perhaps Zakharan culture just doesn’t
fit the Faerun deities.
Most of the Faerun gods that have come through Zakhara have left not so much as a ripple.
The faithful of these deities felt it right to convert Zakharans to the “right way”
of thinking.
Some even managed to create religious communities but it was rare that anything was lasting;
especially after they returned back to Faerun.
Arcane power is different for wizards in Zakhara.
Your Faerun wizard might have mastered the fireball spell in faerun, but attempting to
learn the Zakharn equivalent would prove most difficult.
Even though the effect would essentially be the same, the spell is different.
This is because the Zakharan fireball, and most Zakharan magic, is based on elemental
magic; which although not unique to the Land of Fate isn’t super common in the rest of
Toril.
If you were to travel to Zakhara you could potentially learn some of the unique spells
that exist for that campaign setting.
Many of them deal with commanding the elements.
This is known as Sand, Sea, Wind, and Flame magic.
There were new divine and arcane spells found in Al-Qadim’s Arabian Adventures.
Spells like Sand Sword where you crate a Jambiya from nearby sand.
Or Waterbane which would keep you from getting wet.
Wind Compass put a whisper of wind in your ear to point you in the right direction.
It’s possible to update these spells for 5e if you wish, could be fun if your players
have the PHB memorized to incorporate some new magic into your campaign.
The gods of Zakhara are divided up into three groups.
Major or Great gods, Local or Common gods, and Savage or heathen gods.
Everything ties back to enlightenment and the Loregiver.
Savage deities are not recognized in the teachings of the loregiver, but have an influence on
Zakhara all the same.
Savage gods include the forgotten deities of the Nog and Kadar empires (see my previous
video for more information on them), and the unfeeling elemental gods.
I’ve mentioned these gods in earlier videos; found in Faerun they are Akadi the air god,
Grumbar the earth god, Istishia water, and Kossuth the fire lord.
They are known as the unfeeling gods because they do not care for their worshipers, and
generally are uncaring towards mortals.
Most Zakharans would say their chaotic nature is counter to Enlightenment culture.
A good deity for your Zakaharan villain to worship.
The major gods have organized churches and are the most recognized throughout the Land
of Fate.
There are eight of them known as the Eight Great Gods and they don’t have a precise
portfolio like Faerun deities but instead exemplify a characteristic or trait important
to Enlightenment.
Hajama the god of bravery, Hakiyah, goddess of honesty and truth.
Haku, god of freedom.
Jisan, goddess of fertility and productivity.
Kor, god of wisdom.
Najm god of courage.
Selan, goddess of beauty.
And finally Zann the god of knowledge, learning and intellect.
The great gods are neither evil nor good, lawful nor chaotic; which is very different
from the hard alignment most Faerun gods have.
A lawful paladin could be brave but so could a black-hearted assassin.
Hajama would not necessarily turn his ear from either of them.
Now a certain church may worship one of the Eight Great Gods with an evil focus; but that’s
the church not the deity.
In retrospect some of these deities might also be connected with Faerun deities.
Just worshiped under a different name.
Selan the goddess of beauty is linked to the moon, and shares a similar name with Selune.
But the connection remains a mystery if there is one at all.
Local gods are recognized in the Land of Fate, in the world of the Loregiver; but they are
not worshiped universally across Zakhara.
Localized, hence local gods, to a specific region or sometimes city.
This deity might be worshiped in one area but is unrecognized just a mere 20 miles away.
Local gods include Jauhar, goddess of wealth.
Bala goddess of music, Jarmik, god of sharing and generosity.
And Vataqatal, god of war of duty.
There is an unusual faith in Zakhara known as the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
The idea behind this religion is that each local deity, and even the Great Eight were
only facets of one supreme divine being.
That the divine spark exists in every creature so it’s credo was tolerance and acceptance.
The symbol of the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods is a nautilus shell, and although there
are temples dedicated to it, it wasn’t so much one Temple but an idea that flourished
in the minds of Zakharans.
It honors every deity that has ever existed or will exist in the future.
There are those that believe this is more of a philosophy than a true religion, but
the priests, or clerics, of the Temple of Ten Thousand gods do gain spells from their
god just like a normal cleric and their deity.
Mentioned in earlier videos Fate plays a large role with Zakharan religion.
Fate is not worshiped directly and Fate does not grant spells, but it is a natural force
that is part of everyone’s future.
Fate is not a goddess but she does aid those who succeed, and she may comfort those who
fail.
Finally the Savage gods, excluding the uncaring elemental lords are considered wild and often
worshiped by un-Enlightened tribes in Zakhara.
Or the people that have never heard of the Law of the Loregiver.
They don’t recognize the law or the existence of other gods, in most cases.
Usually there are not organized churches and their clerics are considered outland priests.
A few examples are Kiga the Predator, who is worshiped by were-leopards.
Lotha, the Zakharan name for Lolth worshiped by evil elves.
Migal the god of teaching but also assassins.
The Faceless God who is the evil god of the yak-men in the World Pillar Mountains.
And Thasmudyan the god of undead.
That’s my look at the deities of Zakhara.
I like them a lot because it’s a different style of thought when it comes to gods in
the Forgotten Realms.
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Morning D&D Show, and I’d love for you to come check it out.
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Thanks for watching and sharing this video with your gaming group, I’ll see you next
week with more lore!