Tempus

Tempus: Lord of Battles, Foehammer

Symbol: A blazing silver sword on a blood-red field
Home Plane: Limbo/Knight's Res
Alignment: CN
Portfolio: War, Battle, Warriors
Domains: Protection, Strength, War, Chaos
Worshipers: Barbarians, fighters, half-orcs, rangers, and warriors
Aliases: Tempos
Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, CE
Favored Weapon: Battle Prowess (battleaxe)

History/Relationships: Tempus (TEM-pus) is random in his favors, yet his chaotic nature favors all sides equally. Lord Tempus may be on an army's side on one day, and against them the next; such is the nature of war. Tempus is prayed to the most of all on the night before battles and regularly venerated by all warriors, regardless of their alignment. As a result, he is a strong, exuberant, and robust god - a warrior's God. Tempus sometimes appears at huge battles an important combats - and on rare occasions to individuals who are in a position to cause great strife by the decisions.

Although mighty and profoundly honorable in battle, Tempus answers to his own warrior’s code. His is quiet and solitary in relationships to others for Faerûnian deities, pursuing no long-lasting alliances or brief flirtations. He is known to love food, drink, and the hunt, though he loves battle best. In recent years, he has sponsored the Red night and godhood. His relationship with her is one of a fond protective father to a brilliant daughter who works hard and successfully in the family business - war.

His diametric opposite him portfolio, Eldath, he considers naive and weak. However, out of respect for her convictions, he punishes those of his faithful who abuse her priests, shrines, or temples. Perhaps he feels that war has little meaning without peace to define and highlight it. Sune, who considers him a foe, he regards as irrelevant and flighty and therefore unworthy of being his foe.

Dogma: Tempus does not win battles - Tempus helps the deserving warrior win battles. War is fair in that it oppresses all sides equally and that in any given battle, a mortal may be slain or become a great leader among his or her companions. War should not be feared, but seen as a natural force, a human force, the storm that civilization brings by its very existence.

A faithful of Tempus are charged to arm all for whom battle is needful, even foes. They should retreat from hopeless fights, but never avoid battle, and slay one foe decisively and bring battle to halt rather than hacking down much overtime and dragging on hostilities. They are to defend what they believe in, lest it be swept away, and remember the dead who fell fighting before them. Above all, they should disparage no foe and respect all, for valour blazes in all, regardless of age, gender, or-race.

Tempus looks favourably upon those who acquit themselves honorably and tirelessly in battle, smiting mightily when facing a foe, but avoiding such craven tricks is destroying homes, family, or livestock when a foe is away or attacking from the rear (except when such an attack is launched by a small band against foes of vastly superior numbers). Tempus believes that warrior's should responsibly consider the consequences of the violence they do beforehand and try not to hot headedly rush off to wage war recklessly. On the other hand, Tempus teaches that people with smooth tongues or fleet feet who avoid all strife and have defend their beliefs wreak more harm than the most energetic tyrant raider or horde leader.

Avatar/Manifestations: Tempus sometimes manifests before battles, appearing to one side or the other. If he rides Veiros upon one side, then that army will succeed in his battle. If he writes Deiros, then defeat is in the offing. Most often he appears riding with one foot on each horse as they gallop across the battlefield, indicating the chaotic nature of battle.

Priests praying to Tempus for spells or guidance may see visions of a god himself, or his mounts, or a famous dead warrior and must interpret what they see is an indication of the god's intent and favour. Only the images of dead warrior's in visions sent to mortals will ever speak the will of the war god directly. Tempus himself only snarls in battle fury or keeps silent. (in fact, he has been never been known to speak while in Faerûn.) lay worshippers praying to the war god usually see Veiros or Deiros. To those requesting aid in battle or self defense, the favour of Tempus may manifest as a weapon appearing beside them when they are weaponless.

Agents/Petitioners: N/A

The Church of Tempus: Tempus is worshipped by those of every alignment and lineage who wage war for all clauses. The Tempurian clergy may be found on both sides of a conflict, as no one can ever truly know whom the war-god will favour. Priests of Tempus tend to be human, male, and have the temperament that enjoys battle, though the clergy is open to all beings that have prayed privately to Tempus and received the blessing of a spell, a manifestation, or direct aid of some sort. In some societies, such as that of the Northmen of the Moonshae Islands and the Barbarians of Icewind Dale, Tempus is served by shamans. Temples of Tempus are usually what are more commonly known as walled military compounds than what most people picture as temples.

Military ranks within the faith are common. Ranks typical of many temples of Tempus are War Priest, Slung Sword, Terrible Sword, Lance of the Lord, Shield of the God, Battlelady/Battlelord, Swordmaster/Swordmistress, and Lady/Lord of the Field - but these are often superseded by titles that go with a position, such as Battle Chaplain of a shrine or Trusted Sword of the Temple. Ranks are assigned by those in authority in the Church in light of service, needs, and situation, and temporary commands are common in desperate situations. Special leaders of a temple or crusade are entitled to wear their heavy battle gauntlet of rank.

Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of the war got are charged to keep warfare a thing of rules, respected reputation, and professional behaviour, minimizing uncontrolled bloodshed and working to eradicate feuding that extends beyond a single dispute or set of foes. At the same time, training and readiness for battle must be promoted if civilized human holdings are to survive in Faerûn in the face of monster raids and orc hordes - and the power of Tempus to aid those he favours in battle must also be promoted. Warriors - especially mercenaries - who employ poison or taint wells, sow fields with salt, kill non-combatants, indulge in torture or wanton destruction of innocents, when they are not at war, or commit similar sins against fair battle are to be denied the favourite of the god, their crimes are to be publicized far and wide, and they are to be made to atone for their deeds or perish.

Where priests must preserve the name of the honoured battle fallen, both on gravestones and other such memorials, in their prayers to Tempus, and in an annual chant at the March of the Dead, wherein priests of the war god go through the streets to call all folk, worshippers and non-believers alike, to the local feast of the Moon hosted by their temple. Priests are also charged to collect and venerate the weapons and armour of famous and respected warriors, even of these are broken or have deteriorated, for they retain something of the battlelust apart would happen and ate at have a higher up and energy associated but the deeds they participated in.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The ritual performed by most of the faithful is a prayer for valiant performance and survival in the fray ahead, made to the war god over the weapon the praying being most often fights with. If a new weapon comes into the believers possession before a battle - particularly in the form of hard won booty - it is taken as a sign of Tempus's favour, and this weapon is the one that used in worship.

The eves and anniversaries of great battles are holy days of the Church of Tempus, and as such vary from place to place. The Feast of the Moon, honouring the dead, is the most important fixed date in the religious calendar. It is also expected that at least once a ten-day worshippers of Tempus bills a few drops of blood (preferably their own or a worthy foe's) and sing the Song of the Sword in Tempus's honour. Regardless of battle anniversaries, clergy perform at least two ceremonies each day: the Feast of Heroes at high sun and the Song of the Fallen at sunset. In most temples, a senior priest also conducts a Song of the Sword ceremony after dark for all lay worshippers desiring to attend.

Major Centers of Worship: The most prominent Tempurian temple is the High House of Swords And Banners ("the Bloodhall") in Ormpetarr, which began centuries ago as a meeting house for the many mercenary companies active in the Vilhon and the lands east and became the first shrine of the Lord of Battles. Its original altar, a gigantic bowl over which an enormous enchanted flaming two-handed sword levitates and slowly rotates, still stands in the heart of the vast central hall. The High House now trains warriors for fees (simultaneously instructing them in the worship of Tempus), and also sells warrior's mounts, armour, and equipment of superior quality. Several raids on its fortified armouries in the past have failed, but such attacks have ceased since the warrior priests of the High House wiped out an orc horde 20 times the number in the year of the Sword (1365 DR).

Since the time the troubles, a site of great holiness in the Church of Tempus has been the Abbey of the sword in Battledale, which marks the spot where Tempus descended to Faerûn during the Time Of Troubles. The site was located after a priest of the war god followed Tempus's back trail away from his appearance at the battlefield of Swords Creek at Mistledale. The Abbey is built on the former site of the hold of the warrior Belarus, a devout worshipper of the war god in times past.

Affiliated Orders: The Tempurian Church has many affiliated orders. Two of note are the Order Of The Broken Blade and the Order Of The Steel Fang. The Order of the Broken Blade honours those warriors and clergy who are injured in Tempus's service and can no longer fight on the front lines. Broken Blades often serve in support functions at temples and shrines and take a personal oath upon joining the order to defend the holy site where they reside o the death as a final line of defense. The Order of the Steel Fang is an elite fighting order within the Church whose members are often assigned to the most hazardous duties. Steel Fang units are led by battle hardened members of the clergy. Many mercenary companies and knightly fighting orders of crusaders also avail themselves of a connection to the Church. One badge of the god seen among his affiliated mercenaries is a rusty brown dagger, shown diagonally with its point to the upper right, dripping catch four it drops of blood. No knightly orders of paladins serve Tempus, however.

Priestly Vestments: When not in battered armour, clergy of the war god wear helms or steel skullcaps, though there are careful never to cover their faces, for such close emulation of Tempus is thought to be affront to Lord of Battles. Some of the fanatical wandering priests never remove all of their armour at any time, but in the temples of the big cities clergy are rarely seen in a armour except at ceremonies held before whelmed armies leave or a siege begins.

The robes of a priest of Tempus always sport trim of the crimson hue of fresh blood, but vary in overall color from place to place and rank to rank. Darker colored robes are worn by those of the lower ranks. Most war Priests West ceremonial garments of brown or purple. Read or amber is worn by senior clergy say, and yellow or white by those of the most exalted rank.

Specialty priests of Tempus, particularly those of high rank, wear a spiked gauntlet as a symbol of office. The gauntlet costs 10 GP, although more elaborate and expensive ones may be found in more important churches. This gauntlet is size S, a piercing weapon with speed factor 2, and inflicts 1d4 points of damage to creatures of any size. To gauntlet is usually worn only by specialty priests with some form of authority - those in charge of temples or leading Crusades.

Adventuring Garb: Adventuring garb is the same for both clerics and specialty priests of Tempus. Most wear the best they can obtain, though it is battle worn and battered as it is for use, not show. They prefer full plate armour or plate mail. A full helm his usual, but it is worn with either an open face plate or no face plate.