Hey everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent.
First off thanks for watching all these crazy deity videos.
They’ve been fun to make and on a personal note I’ve learned so much about the realms
through making them.
It’s given me tons of ideas for future campaigns, too many probably but that’s ok.
Today we’re covering two somewhat similar deities; Talos the deity of storms and destruction
and Tempus the god of war.
Talos and Tempus go all the way back to the beginning of Realmspace.
When Selune and Shar fought over the future of Faerun and thus created Mystra they actually
created more deities in that great battle.
Both Talos and Tempus were formed from the conflict of that battle.
One focusing on destruction, and the other on war and fighting.
Talos also known as the Storm Lord, the Stormstar, the destroyer and the raging one.
He is the deity of storms, forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and general destruction.
He is a chaotic evil deity and is motivated by rage, anger, and the desire to not appear
weak.
Talos is served by Auril, Malar, and Umbrelee and collectively they are known as the Gods
of Fury.
He is quite flirtatious with Auril and Umbrelee, but works with Malar only out of necessity.
The two would happily kill the other if they only had the power.
Talos appears as a broad shouldered bearded man with one eye, his other empty eye socket
is filled with whirling stars covered by a dark eye patch.
Much like the other evil deities Talos’ name is invoked to escape his attention.
Those wishing to avoid destruction will ask pity from him hoping his gaze will pass over
them.
Because of this Talos doesn’t have too many followers, but much like other evil deities
like Talona or Loviatar there are those that devotely worship him.
Talos is more feared that worshiped for the most part.
His clergy run around preaching the doom and destruction that will come for us all.
It can be said that the clergy or followers of Talos are self-destructive.
And often will try to take as many people down with them if they head to a destructive
path.
The Storm Lord can protect an individual, so many worship Talos for these protections.
People seeking power worship Talos or just people who like to watch the world burn.
There are few clerics of Talos and most of the clergy are known as Stomrlords.
Stormlords are divine spellcasters of Talos, a subclass in DnD 3.5.
They wielded lightning and had a resistance to electricity.
Maybe for 5th edition you could be a storm sorcerer that worships Talos.
Talos goes by numerous names in Faerun.
Known as Bhaelros in Calimshan the clergy there would fight with the clergy of Talos
over which personfication is the true deity.
Talos finds this conflict entertaining, but relations between the two factions have calmed
in the last few decades.
Talos doesn’t have many temples and shrines strictly due to the reputation of the church.
In fact the worship of Talos is outlawed in several countries.
When there are public temples they take the form of defendable castles or walled compounds.
The dogma of the church is a warning to the ultimate destruction that awaits us all.
His faithful believe Talos protects them and walk directly into storms without danger.
His clergy preach that one should pray to Talos energetically and thus will avoid the
destruction and fury of their deity.
Protecting people and locations from gales, hail storms, blizzards, and hurricanes.
However prayers are also offered up to use these natural forces against their foes, such
as an advancing orc hoard.
If Talos deems the place or person worth defending he might interfere with a destructive force.
The major center of worship is the Gulf of Storms in eastern Amn.
This is a naturally formed deep, narrow cleft valley between the mountains of Assar’s
Peak and mount Thalangar.
The iron ore outcrops and electrical crystals make the valley prone to leaping lightning
across the ground.
Many Talassans will visit this location and cast lightning spells to see their magic cascade
throughout the valley.
Up next is Tempus the god of war.
A similar feel to Talos but a very different deity.
Tempus also known as Lord of Battles and Foehammer is not only the god of war but of battle and
warriors.
Barbarians of the north worship Tempus.
He is a chaotic neutral deity and his devotion to a battle can be fickle.
One day he’ll back a large army only to abandon them mid battle for the opposing force.
Tempus is prayed too by most warriors, especially on nights preceding a battle.
He is directly opposed to the deity of Eldath who represents peace but will often protect
her followers.
Perhaps realizing that the battle means nothing if there isn’t a peace to follow.
People of any alignment worship Tempus, anyone who wages war for a cause.
It’s not uncommon for both sides to pray to Tempus during a conflict, because neither
will know which side the deity will favor.
Priests of Tempus tend to be human males who enjoy battle.
The temples to Tempus are more commonly known as military compounds and not how one would
picture a temple to a deity.
Military ranks within the clergy of Tempus are common.
Tempus is interesting because he does not win battles in a generic sense.
You don’t pray for victory with Tempus.
Rather he helps the deserving warrior win battles.
It is about the fight not about the victor.
War is balanced because it oppresses all sides equally.
At any moment a mortal may be slain or rise up to become a great leader.
War should be seen as a natural force, the storm of civilization.
The dogma of the church is battle, but more specifically being smart in battle.
Faithful of Tempus should retreat from hopeless fights, but are never to avoid battle.
Victory should be decisively won and not a blood bath dragging on hostilities.
It is in this way that Tempus varies greatly from gods like Malar.
In battle one should avoid destroying homes, family, or livestock.
Although battle is violent the fight is beautiful.
And unnecessary violence is never accepted within the church of Tempus.
Uncontrolled bloodshed should be avoided.
The more I talk about this the more I think Tempus is the gods of Klingons.
Maintain Honor in your life and in death.
The Tempuran church has many affiliated orders.
The Order of the Broken Blade honors those warriors and clergy who were injured in the
service of Tempus and can no longer fight.
Broken Blades often serve as support in the temples and shrines.
The Order of the Steel Fang is an elite fighting squad within the church whose members are
assigned to hazardous duties.
And that’s it for today.
These deities would be great for Barbarians, or maybe a Goliath Cleric of Tempus or Talos
could be interesting.
Or a Storm Sorcerer who gets his power from Talos!
Maybe a powerful army general who is a Paladin of Tempus, or a Tempest Cleric of Talos.
Thanks for watching everybody, and special thanks to my patrons on patreon who make these
videos possible.
I’ll see you all next Wed with another Forgotten Realms Lore video.