Khepri Pantheon
After the events of the Ravening and the Tragic Crossing, the surviving khepri attempted to eradicate all cultural knowledge from their collective memory, but religion is a tenacious subject. While most of the khepri pantheon has indeed been lost to time, there are some ancient deities who remain with the khepri to this day, including Awesome Broodma, the Artspitter, the Nurse, and the Tough Sisters.
The spiritual void that was left surrounding these lone goddesses cried out to be filled, however, and a number of radical and less savory goddesses have spawned strange cults that are slowly gaining in popularity.
Awesome Broodma
Greater Deity
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Magic, Protection, Community, Family
Favored Weapon: Shortsword
Awesome Broodma is the central deity of the khepri pantheon. In short, she is seen as the guide and guardian of the khepri race as a whole, and as the mother of all khepri and all other goddesses. She is perceived as the ultimate mother figure – always kind and loving to her daughters, but capable of terrible wrath as well. She is credited with ensuring the survival of the khepri after the Ravening. Statues and temples devoted to her worship are very common sights in all khepri communities.
Artspitter
Intermediate
Deity Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Humility, Lust, Charm, Joy
Favored Weapon: Light Hammer
The act of manipulating khepri-spit to create works of art is one of the most deeply ingrained aspects of khepri society, and has survived the Tragic Crossing and all of the subsequent strains placed on khepri society. As such, the matron goddess of art has also thrived in modern khepri society. Known as the Artspitter, she is heavily praised in khepri society, from the greatest of sculptors to the lowliest construction workers.
Nurse
Intermediate
Deity Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Healing, Purification, Charity, Generosity
Favored Weapon: Longspear
The goddess known as the Nurse is said to watch over and heal any injured or sick khepri. Her presence is particularly felt in hospitals and other locations devoted to healing the sick, and her most devout worshippers are healers by trade, although nearly all faithful khepri recognize her importance and revere her accordingly. Her only form of worship is the act of caring for those who physically cannot care for themselves.
The Tough Sisters
Intermediate
Deity Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Protection, Strength, Pride, Endurance
Favored Weapon: Stingbox
The Tough Sisters are a trio of inseparable sister goddesses whose sacred duty is to guard and protect the faithful. In almost every aspect, they are treated as a single entity – they do not even have individual names. They are traditionally depicted bearing specific arms: one with a hooknet and spear, one with a crossbow and flintlock, and one with a khepri stingbox. Actual khepri guardswomen often model themselves off of the Sisters, working in groups of three and using the same traditional weapons. Any khepri who are guards, fighters, or warriors are likely to revere the Sisters.
Air Harvester
Demigod
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Death, Night, Repose
Favored Weapon: Bastard Sword
One gaping hole left in the theology of the khepri is the absence of a goddess dedicated to death and the prospect of an afterlife. Whispers of one such deity, the Air Harvester, have begun to circulate in certain khepri neighborhoods. It is said that when one’s time has come, the Air Harvester slips in, riding the breeze, and steals the unfortunate soul’s final breath. Those who directly worship the Air Harvester are obsessed with the process of death and must hide their fledgling faith.
Elyctric Devil
Demigod
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Trickery, Storm, Zeal
Favored Weapon: Lance
Just because a natural phenomenon can be explained by thaumaturgy and the physical sciences doesn’t mean that the mysticism surrounding it vanishes from thought. Some individuals believe that the elyctric currents that power many modern contraptions, such as the khepri stingbox, are fragments of a divine being. They worship in secret, often using machinery to induce small elyctric shocks.
Insect Aspect
Demigod
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Bestial, Chaos, Evil, Madness, Tyranny, Wrath
Favored Weapon: Club
In short, those few khepri who revere the Insect Aspect believe that their own female natures are fundamentally flawed and inferior, and that the male khepri are actually the superior beings. Practitioners of this cult think that the simple, insectile nature of the male khepri represents divine perfection. They believe that their human-like bodies are slow and cumbersome; that their minds are clouded and clogged with burdensome rational thought; that they have lost the simple purity of the insect. The practice of worship to the Insect Aspect involves being completely subservient to the mindless male khepri, seeing to their every comfort and acting as literal slaves to the males.
Wingsister
Demigod
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Fate, Envy, Sky,
Favored Weapon: Javelin
The cult of the Wingsister believe that in the most ancient past of the khepri, they had been blessed with the gift of flight. This gift was supposedly stripped from the khepri as a punishment for some ancient misdeed, resulting in the useless beetle-wings that all khepri now possess tucked inside their head-scarabs. Those who pray to the Wingsister “sing” hymns into the night sky, praying for flight.
The spiritual void that was left surrounding these lone goddesses cried out to be filled, however, and a number of radical and less savory goddesses have spawned strange cults that are slowly gaining in popularity.
Awesome Broodma
Greater Deity
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Magic, Protection, Community, Family
Favored Weapon: Shortsword
Awesome Broodma is the central deity of the khepri pantheon. In short, she is seen as the guide and guardian of the khepri race as a whole, and as the mother of all khepri and all other goddesses. She is perceived as the ultimate mother figure – always kind and loving to her daughters, but capable of terrible wrath as well. She is credited with ensuring the survival of the khepri after the Ravening. Statues and temples devoted to her worship are very common sights in all khepri communities.
Artspitter
Intermediate
Deity Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Humility, Lust, Charm, Joy
Favored Weapon: Light Hammer
The act of manipulating khepri-spit to create works of art is one of the most deeply ingrained aspects of khepri society, and has survived the Tragic Crossing and all of the subsequent strains placed on khepri society. As such, the matron goddess of art has also thrived in modern khepri society. Known as the Artspitter, she is heavily praised in khepri society, from the greatest of sculptors to the lowliest construction workers.
Nurse
Intermediate
Deity Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Healing, Purification, Charity, Generosity
Favored Weapon: Longspear
The goddess known as the Nurse is said to watch over and heal any injured or sick khepri. Her presence is particularly felt in hospitals and other locations devoted to healing the sick, and her most devout worshippers are healers by trade, although nearly all faithful khepri recognize her importance and revere her accordingly. Her only form of worship is the act of caring for those who physically cannot care for themselves.
The Tough Sisters
Intermediate
Deity Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Protection, Strength, Pride, Endurance
Favored Weapon: Stingbox
The Tough Sisters are a trio of inseparable sister goddesses whose sacred duty is to guard and protect the faithful. In almost every aspect, they are treated as a single entity – they do not even have individual names. They are traditionally depicted bearing specific arms: one with a hooknet and spear, one with a crossbow and flintlock, and one with a khepri stingbox. Actual khepri guardswomen often model themselves off of the Sisters, working in groups of three and using the same traditional weapons. Any khepri who are guards, fighters, or warriors are likely to revere the Sisters.
Air Harvester
Demigod
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Death, Night, Repose
Favored Weapon: Bastard Sword
One gaping hole left in the theology of the khepri is the absence of a goddess dedicated to death and the prospect of an afterlife. Whispers of one such deity, the Air Harvester, have begun to circulate in certain khepri neighborhoods. It is said that when one’s time has come, the Air Harvester slips in, riding the breeze, and steals the unfortunate soul’s final breath. Those who directly worship the Air Harvester are obsessed with the process of death and must hide their fledgling faith.
Elyctric Devil
Demigod
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Trickery, Storm, Zeal
Favored Weapon: Lance
Just because a natural phenomenon can be explained by thaumaturgy and the physical sciences doesn’t mean that the mysticism surrounding it vanishes from thought. Some individuals believe that the elyctric currents that power many modern contraptions, such as the khepri stingbox, are fragments of a divine being. They worship in secret, often using machinery to induce small elyctric shocks.
Insect Aspect
Demigod
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Bestial, Chaos, Evil, Madness, Tyranny, Wrath
Favored Weapon: Club
In short, those few khepri who revere the Insect Aspect believe that their own female natures are fundamentally flawed and inferior, and that the male khepri are actually the superior beings. Practitioners of this cult think that the simple, insectile nature of the male khepri represents divine perfection. They believe that their human-like bodies are slow and cumbersome; that their minds are clouded and clogged with burdensome rational thought; that they have lost the simple purity of the insect. The practice of worship to the Insect Aspect involves being completely subservient to the mindless male khepri, seeing to their every comfort and acting as literal slaves to the males.
Wingsister
Demigod
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Fate, Envy, Sky,
Favored Weapon: Javelin
The cult of the Wingsister believe that in the most ancient past of the khepri, they had been blessed with the gift of flight. This gift was supposedly stripped from the khepri as a punishment for some ancient misdeed, resulting in the useless beetle-wings that all khepri now possess tucked inside their head-scarabs. Those who pray to the Wingsister “sing” hymns into the night sky, praying for flight.
