Heimdall

Heimdall is an interloper deity of guardianship, loyalty, and light from the Asgardian pantheon.

Description

Heimdall's true form was that of a strapping warrior, standing 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall. An enchanted sword known as Hofud was taken by Heimdall everywhere he went. It was a vorpal, but also carried an enchantment that made it especially effective at fighting frost giants. He garbed himself in a shining suit of white armor that carried a +3 enchantment and an effect similar to gems of brightness. Other sources spoke of his sword being a +5 longsword with the weapon qualities bane, geared towards evil outsiders, and keen.

The most notable belonging of Heimdall's was the legendary gjallarhorn, a signal horn that he was destined to one day blow to announce the long anticipated arrival of Ragnarok, a prophesized final battle for the Norse pantheon against various monsters and giants.

Divine Realm

Heimdall is notably one of the few members of the Aesir to have a divine realm outside the walls of Asgard, situated on a field known as the Plains of Ida. Known as Himinborg, his town sits outside the gates of where the Bifrost is permanently anchored on the Ysgard layer, thus anyone that wants to enter Asgard or the Prime Material through the Rainbow Bridge first has to pass through Heimdall's town. Because of this, the town is the hub of travel and trade in Ysgard, in addition to being the first line of defense against giants and other creatures that would attempt to attack Asgard. However, due to Heimdall's commitment to guarding the Bifrost he rarely acts as his own town's ruler.

Himinborg's watchtowers rise high above the land, manned by ever-vigilant einheriar that strive to emulate Heimdall's own sense of duty, as well as a number of other dutiful petitioners, planar warriors, criminals who volunteer to be sentries in place of being exiled or fined, and priests of Heimdall clad in mirrored steel plate mail. Its warriors are considered to be among the finest in Ysgard. Patrols are always active, watching for raiders and keeping track of the movements of hostile forces close to Asgard. The town is also well known for its finely crafted drinking horns and hunting horns. These are carved from the horns of either bulls, rams, or oxen and typically decorated with imagery of either Heimdall or Odin.

Activities

The primary duty that Heimdall is bound to is guardianship of the Bifrost, the interplanar Rainbow Bridge that connects Asgard to worlds on the Prime Material. He holds a near constant vigil, to the point that it seems to some as though he doesn't sleep. Some claim he doesn't allow anybody to cross it unless they have the express permission of Odin, while according to others, anyone that doesn't worship the Norse pantheon can't physically set foot on the Bifrost to begin with due to magical defenses. Regardless, Heimdall sounds his gjallarhorn whenever anyone approaches, whether they are friend or foe.

Worshippers

The priests of his faith typically wielded spears or swords as weapons. They wore war helmets and a white plate mail as part of their priestly vestments. In addition to being clerics, his clergy were often fighters, rangers, paladins, and more rarely monks. They had access to spells from the spheres of all, combat, divination, guardian, protection, summoning, and sun. Higher ranking clerics notably had the power to see clearly as far as 100 yards (91 meters), without of the time of day or weather conditions, and to hear any sound within 500 yards (460 meters).

Heimdall's priests typically served as guards of rulers or other powerful individuals, though the faith also attracted nobility and officials that believed in strong defense. The clergy taught of authority, responsibility, and self-discipline. Thus guards were expected to be unswerving in their duty, never allowing someone to pass their post unless they had their master's permission. To emulate Heimdall's perceptiveness, temples conducted careful examinations of visitors. The clergy also held bridges to be sacred and would try to avenge the destruction of any that were destroyed.

Temples

On the worlds where he was worshiped, temples to Heimdall were generally built as part of a community's defenses. These temples included a single watchtower at the minimum, had arrow slits for windows, all doors were designed to be easily barred, and they had a sort of "war room" filled with defensive plans and maps. Emblematic of Asgardian culture, temples of Heimdall offered patrons a great deal of feasting, drinking, and drunken revelry. However, they tended to limit such activities to certain times of the day or night, as the clergy were careful on making sure they were fit for their duties.

Relationships

Heimdall and the Norse trickster god Loki considered each other to be sworn enemies. He held Loki in complete contempt, catching him in various plans and often exposing his schemes. Whilst the trickster god mocked him and his unswerving commitment as a sentry, frustrated by his self-righteousness. It was not uncommon for Heimdall to send his avatar to aid mortals that were caught up in one of Loki's schemes. According to some prophecies, in the battle of Ragnarok he was destined to have his personal sword stolen from Loki, to later kill him, and then die from his own wounds.

By contrast, all other members of the Norse pantheon generally felt that Heimdall was quite charming and witty.

History

Heimdall was born simultaneously from nine giantesses sisters, known as the Wave Maidens, daughters of the Norse powers Aegir and Ran. According to some, he was born from a union of the Wave Maidens and Odin.

In the kingdom of Bakar, a survivor state of the Imaskar Empire, deities from a wide variety of pantheons were worshiped by inhabitants of its mighty city Medinat Muskawoon. This included the Norse pantheon, with the deity Balder being particularly popular.

Fifty years after Medinat Muskawoon had fallen into ruin, in approximately the Year of the Hunter, 350 DR, an efreet Pasha by the name of Khalitharius arrived to Toril and settled in the ruined city. There he raised an army of undead, the Malatath, and terrorized settlements far and wide across the Raurin Desert. In response, a powerful Raurin archmage by the name of Martek departed from the city of Zindalankh in the Hordelands with a caravan and headed for the ruined city. After an extended battle, Martek emerged victorious, having bound the efreet into a lead box, though their battle unleashed energies that set the desert for tens of miles around on fire for a score years, creating the Skysea. This magical fire came about from Martek invoking the cleansing flames of Heimdall, Apollo, and Ra.

Over a thousand years later, in the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR,[note 1] a group of adventurers from the city of Ravens Bluff journeyed to the plane of Ysgard in the Great Wheel cosmology in search of the legendary Well of Mimir, having been instructed by the city's Ministry of Art to do so in order to learn how a powerful githyanki artifact known only as the Great Machine could be destroyed. While on the layer of Ysgard they met one of Heimdall's proxies, Reglin.

Heimdall

Intermediate deity

Basic Information

Titles

The Bright God
Eagle-Eye
Golden Tooth
Guardian of the Bifrost
The Ram
Watchman of Asgard

Pantheons

Asgardian

Attributes

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Symbol

Curling musical horn, The Gjallarhorn

Realm

Heroic Domains of Ysgard/Ysgard/Asgard/Himinborg

Portfolio

Hearing, Loyalty, Sight, Watchfulness

Favored Weapon

Longsword

Following

Worshippers

Dwarves
Fighters
Guards
Paladins
Sentries

Alignments

LG, NG, LN

Domains

Knowledge (Espionage)
Law (Loyalty)
Protection (Defense)
Sun (Light, Revelation)

Favored Aspects

Animals/Plants

Eagles

Colors

White