their folds gears, locks, hooks, and bits of steel, tin, and
wood that might prove useful in a pinch. They also wear
belts of large, linked metal medallions and enormous
sun hats. A traveling priest of Gond offers services to
distant villages as a tinke r, a carpenter, and a civil engi-
neer rolled into one, ready to help build a better paddock
gate , dig a new well, or mend pots or furniture that
might otherwise go to waste. All priests of Gond keep
journals in which they record ideas, inventions, and in-
novations discovered in their travels, and take great de-
light in meeting fellow priests and sharing their finds. In
la rge cities, the Gondar construct temples that serve as
great workshops and inventors' labs. Wandering priests
turn their journals over to the resident scribes at such
te mples, who then record the priests' observations for
posterity and the benefit of all.
Most who favor G9nd practice time-honored crafting
professions: they are smiths and e ngineers, architects
a nd weavers, leatherworkers and jewelers. Even so, this
faith has a well-earned reputation as a haven for crack-
pot inventors and visionaries.
The center of Gond's worship on the Sword Coast lies
in Baldur's Gate, whe re the faithful have erected two
huge structures in honor of the Wonderbringer: a tem-
ple called the High House of Wonders and a museum
of craft and design called the Hall of Wonders. Lantan
had been the preeminent place of Gond's worship in the
world until a century ago, when the island nation dis-
a ppeared, and since its return the few Lantanese m er-
chants seen in Sword Coast ports have said little about
the present state of their homeland.
GWAERON WINDSTROM
The Mouth of Mielikki, the Master Tracker, th e Tracker
e ver Led AstrayFew aside from rangers of the North pray to Gwaeron
Windstrom. Said to have been a mortal man elevated to
godhood by Mielikki, Gwaeron serves rangers as their
intercessor with Mielikki. He is seen as a master ranger,
the perfect tracker, a peerless animal handle r, and a
dedicated foe of rapacious creatures such as trolls and
o res. He is said to look like an old man with a long white
beard who is still hale and mighty, and he is believed to
ta ke rest and sleep in a stand of trees near Triboar.
Rangers pray to Gwaeron because he represents
much of the work they do, and because he can speak
to Mielikki on their behalf. In the North, most rangers
view Mielikki as too mysterious, holy, and wild to be
SYMBOL OF" 11ELMSYMBOL OF GoNDaddressed directly with their requests, but they consider
Gwaeron Windstrom to be one of them and thus under-
standing of their needs.
Gwaeron has no temples, but shrines dedicated to
him can be found in many places that serve wilderness
wande rers as trail markers. Each one is denoted by a
carving of Gwaeron's symbol, a paw print with a star on
the palm, on a prominent tree or stone.HELM
The Watcher, He of the Unsleeping Eyes, the Vigilant
One
The god of vigilance and protection, Helm is seen as the
epitome of the guardian, the watcher, and the guard. He
is vene rated by those who need to remain watchful for
enemies or danger. Helm is a favorite deity of people
who make a living by protecting someone or something,
such as bodyguards, members of the city watch, and the
guards of a treasury vault.
Helm embodies the spirit of watchfulness without
regard to good or evil. In legends, he is honorable and
keeps his word to a fault, such as when he guarded
the celestial stairways during the Time of Troubles,
preventing the gods from ascending them and continu-
ing the chaos of that period, until the Tablets of Fate
were found.
Although his faith has known dark days, worship of
Helm never truly faded away. Most of his followers be-
lieve that the Watcher can never be vanquished utterly,
and recent events have borne out that assertion.
Helm's priests teach that one must be ever vigilant,
ever aware, ever prepared for one's enemies. Patience,
clear thought, and careful planning will always defeat
rushed actions in the end. Those who favor Helm strive
to be alert, clear-headed, and true to their word. These
traits don't necessarily make them nice people, however,
and as such many consider the faithful of Helm to be
inflexible and merciless.HOAR
The Doombringer, Poet of justice
Hoar, known in the lands along the Inner Sea as Assu-
ran, is a god of revenge and retribution. He isn't typically
worshiped habitually, but his name is invoked by those
who seek vengeance. When a guilty party falls prey to
fate-such as when a murderer escapes prosecution,
but is then accidentally slain himself-the hand of HoarSYMBOL OF" 1 1oARCHAPTER I I WELCOME TO THE REALMS