Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

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 tinker, 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
large 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
temples, 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 engineers, architects
and 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, where 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-
appeared, and since its return the few Lantanese mer-
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, the Tracker

ever Led Astray

Few 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 handler, and a
dedicated foe of rapacious creatures such as trolls and
ores. 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
take 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" 11ELM

SYMBOL OF GoND

addressed 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

wanderers 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 venerated 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 Hoar

SYMBOL OF" 1 1oAR

CHAPTER I I WELCOME TO THE REALMS