The Great Source, The Mighty Healer, The Radiant Force, The Sun Father, The Shining One
Greater Power of the Blessed Fields of Elysium

Symbol: Stylized sun-face or a golden face of a bearded man with sapphire eyes
Home Plane: Elysium/Thalasia (The Fortress of the Sun formerly Light’s Blessing or Hestavar, the Bright City in Aurosion)
Alignment: Neutral good
Portfolio: Sun, Light, Strength, Healing
Aliases: None
Superior: None
Allies: All good deities (except Pholtus), especially Mayaheine, Zodal, Joramy, Rao, and Kord
Foes: All evil deities, especially Tharizdun, Nerull, Incabulos, Iuz, Vecna, and Kyuss. Also Pyremius, Wee Jas, Xan Yae, and Pholtus
Core Worshipers: Humans, Flan
Worshipers: Bards, rangers, druids, healers, commoners
Worshipers’ Alignment: Any good
Domains: Glory* (CD), Good, Healing, Nobility* (CW, Ss), Purification* (CD), Strength, Sun.
Favored Weapon: Sunscepter (+5 disruption flaming heavy mace)

Description: Pelor (PAY-lor) is the great, Flan Sun God, known throughout the entire Flanaess and source of what is good in all things. Riding the great ki-rin Star Thought, he summons flights of eagles and destroys evils with bolts of sunlight. Depicted as an old man in white, with wild hair and a beard of shining gold, he was until recently a peaceful and gentle god concerned with the alleviation of suffering. Now, he is a more martial deity who brings his wrath to bear on darkness and evil. Now he invigorates and heals those who champion the cause of good, and the stylized sun-face holy symbol is painted on shields and banners across the Flanaess. He is the most commonly worshiped deity among ordinary humans, and his priests are well received wherever they go.

Dogma
Though widely revered as a peaceful and gentle deity who alleviates suffering, Pelor also has more martial aspects. He brings his wrath to bear on darkness and evil, and he invigorates and heals those who champion the cause of good.

“The energy of life originates from the sun. This light brings strength to the weak and health to the injured, while destroying darkness and evil. Do not be afraid to challenge the forces of corruption, but remember that just as staring at the sun can cause blindness of the eyes, relentless attention to the destruction of negative forces can blind the heart to the true essentials of life: kindness, mercy, and compassion.”

Pelor’s Core Beliefs

Pelor’s worship has changed slightly since the end of the Greyhawk Wars. Previously, most people across the Flanaess regarded Pelor as a gentle and peaceful deity whose clerics helped the sick and needy. Those who wish to relieve suffering, or bring warmth and light to the despondent, worship him. Pelor as the creator of many good things, supported of those in need, and was an adversary of all that is evil. However, during the Greyhawk Wars, people turned to the wrathful aspect of his personality, as Pelor’s radiance drives out the great darkness that seems to have befallen the land. Pelor is looked upon as a tower of strength beaming with goodness. This is exhibited by the cult of Mayaheine (demi‐god of protection, justice, valor) who is a servitor of Pelor. Pelor’s strength and healing ability brings hope to those ravaged by the evil that plagues the land, with many warriors and common folk now turning to his faith.

Pelor is a powerful deity whose caring attitude towards all creatures, especially the poor and deprived, has earned him the title of The Great Source. Pelor’s goodness shines through the darkness and brings life and warmth to those in need. Pelor’s charity is unmatched by any other power in the multiverse as he will aid any creature in need. He is highly regarded by the other healing powers in the multiverse and gets along well with Ishtar (greater deity of love, war) and Mishakal (greater deity of healing, beauty, life, fertility, knowledge) on Elysium.

With deities that have a following on Oerth, Pelor “respects” Kord’s (intermediate deity of athletics, sport, brawling, strength, courage) strength and courage in his battles against evil. Pelor is not jealous in sharing this aspect with another Oerth power because he realizes that there is strength in numbers. Pelor also respects Joramy’s (lesser deity of fire, volcanoes, wrath, anger, quarrels) power over fire and how she uses it to burn evildoers and bring light into the dark areas of Oerth where the sun can never reach. He also finds a kindred spirit in Zodal (lesser deity of mercy, hope, benevolence), because they both try to help the less fortunate. On occasion these two powers will work together to help the greater good. This is especially easy since Zodal also has his realm on Elysium’s first layer as well.

Pelor’s largest concern is towards those deities and their servants that employ darkness or try to destroy life. He has a particular hatred for undead of all kinds and attempts to seek them out and destroy them.

The Sun Father’s greatest enemy is Nerull (greater deity of death, darkness, murder, underworld), because he represents the opposite of everything Pelor stands for and finds good in the multiverse. Incabulos (greater deity of plagues, sickness, famine, nightmares, drought, disasters) is also greatly despised because he brings sickness and famine to the people, which Pelor tries to cure. The Lord of Pestilence’s alliance with The Reaper is also another reason for Pelor’s repugnance towards these two abominations of evil.

Tharizdun (intermediate deity of eternal darkness, decay, entropy, malign knowledge, insanity) is considered an enemy as well, but since his imprisonment, Pelor has not had to worry too much about him. But Pelor does take an active role in making sure that Tharizdun stays where he is right now. The multiverse is a much better place with The Destroyer out of the way. Wee Jas (intermediate deity of magic, death, vanity, law) is the least loathed of all the evil powers of Oerth, but because she controls undead forces, Pelor counts her as an enemy as well. Pyremius (lesser deity of fire, poison, murder) is detested because of his carefree attitude towards life, something Pelor cannot stand. Xan Yaeʹs (lesser deity of twilight, shadows, stealth, mental power) power over twilight and shadows annoys Pelor as well. This is a corruption of his gift of sunlight and He is irritated by such a use of his power. Vecna (demi‐god of destruction, evil secrets) and Kyuss (hero deity of creation and mastery of undead) are both reviled for their undead nature. Each has created numerous undead servitors and brought great darkness to Oerth. Iuz (demi‐god of deceit, pain, oppression, evil) has recently been added to Pelor’s list of enemies since the time of the Greyhawk Wars. The great amount of suffering that was caused by the Old One’s armies and the excessive number of undead employed in his tactics has outraged Pelor immensely. All these evil deities are considered perversions and Pelor does everything within his power to see them fall.

Pelor also has an ongoing feud with Pholtus of the Blinding Light (intermediate deity of light, resolution, law, order, inflexibility, sun, moons). Because of Pholtus’s unyielding ways, he has made it an issue to challenge Pelor for the title of sun god of Oerth and will not back down. This rivalry has not turned into an all out battle, but time could spark this into a larger conflict.

Pelor’s realm is known as Light’s Blessing and can be found on Amoria, the first layer of Elysium. A perpetually cloudless sky allows constant sunlight to bathe this huge realm of rolling hills, meadows and woodlands. The bright sun is always in the noon position making it warmer in this realm than the rest of Elysium. It appears from the plant and wildlife that high summer is always in season. Many people believe that they are on Krigilla, the first layer of the Beastlands, and not Elysium until they see the tamed nature of the land. A section of the River Oceanus branches off from the main body of the river and flows through this realm. The branch eventually loops back to the River Oceanus and cuts the realm into sections. These sections comprise mainly agricultural endeavors by the people that live in the realm. The banks of the river are dotted with small villages of petitioners and planar followers of The Shining One. These planar followers include: assimon of all types, many guardinals and a few quasars, humans, elves, halflings and assimar as well as good aligned flying creatures. The constant light of the realm has rejuvenating properties in it. Any time a creature helps another in need, the light that bathes this realm will heal the charitable individual for 1d8 points.

Pelor spends his time flying on a great ki‐rin, accompanied by a flight of eagles, searching out those in need. The petitioners of this realm will aid any traveler that passes through. They will see to the medical attention of any creature that has goodness in their hearts. Everyone is expected to help their neighbors as well as strangers in times of need or crisis.

The Church of Pelor

Clergy and Temples: Pelor’s clerics favor yellow garb. Pelor’s clerics are usually quiet, kindly people with a backbone of steel. They are primarily nurturers and protectors, but when the time comes to bear arms they are not afraid to do so. They use their powers to heal, nourish, and otherwise aid the needy, while practicing the skills needed to protect their charges should they be threatened. Many clerics of Pelor leave their pastoral duties and go to explore far lands in an effort to drive off harmful beings and spread their deity’s gifts to all who need them.

Temples: Temples to Pelor are tall, airy structures and blinding white that often feature large windows, often with decorative stained glass. They are usually placed so the sun shines into most of their rooms throughout the day. They often feature open, sunny courtyards as well. They are always kept scrupulously clean, and many of them have wings that house hospitals. They’re a good source of healing magic and often easy to find because Pelor-worship is so prevalent in civilized lands.

Cleric Training: Because Pelor’s clerics spend a lot of time tending to the sick, blessing crops, and providing for the basic spiritual needs of their communities, they attract a number of earnest, forthright youths who want to make the world a better place. While not unduly harsh, training among the followers of Pelor is rigorous enough to send many well-meaning youths back to their farms and cobbler-shops While not unduly harsh, training among the followers of Pelor is rigorous enough to send many well-meaning youths back to their farms and cobbler-shops.

Quests: More so than adherents of any other faith, the followers of Pelor often find themselves striving against the undead. They also undertake healing whenever they can-whether that healing is physical or spiritual. Quests that break tip a cabal of necromancers, broker a peace accord between rival warlords, or destroy an ancient lich-queen once and for all are good examples of missions for the glory of Pelor.

Prayers: Pelor’s prayers often take the form of first-person affirmations, such as “I am merciful, just as the Sun of Mercy shines on me.”

Rites: As befits a sun god. Pelor’s major festivals take place on solstices and equinoxes, and many weddings and rites of passage take place on the cusp of a new season. The Blessing of the Sun-Kissed Field is a common rite requested by farmers. Pelor’s clerics favor yellow garb.

Herald and Allies: Pelor uses a solar as his herald. Allies are hound archons, astral devas, and planetars.

Relics: Dawnstar, shard of the sun.

Gods of the Flanaess