Delleb (DELL-eb)

The God Scholar, Sage of the Gods, The Good Savant

Reason, Intellect

Lesser God, Lawful Good

Home: Mt. Celestia (aka the Seven Heavens)
Domain Name: Solania/The Great Library
Origin: Oeridian
Superior: None
Allies: Boccob, St. Cuthbert, Lirr, Zuoken
Foes: Syrul, Hextor
Symbol: Open book
Worshipers' Alignment: LG
Delleb is the god of sages. He stands for knowledge, freely given and freely received. As a god of intellect, he believes that all of his followers should hone their minds to the fullest extent and then teach others to do the same. He is sometimes called the most honest of gods, for he neither lies nor speaks a half-truth.
He and Syrul, the Suloise goddess of lies and deceit, have long been rivals. The two have warred among themselves since long before the Rain of Colorless Fire and Invoked Devastation over a thousand years ago.
Delleb loves riddles and puzzles, though they take him little time to solve. He has never been tricked, though many have tried. Delleb never tires of outwitting his enemies, although he yearns for a true mental challenge.

The Church

Clergy: Clerics, specialty priests, monks, paladins
Clergy's Alignment: LG
Turn Undead: Clerics: yes, specialty priests: yes, monks: no, paladins: no
Command Undead: Clerics: no. specialty priests: no, monks: no, paladins: no

Temple-schools of Delleb can be found throughout the Flanaess along the routes use by the Oeridians during their migrations. They are most prevalent in Furyondy, Veluna, Nyrond, the Urnst States, and Keoland. Sages throughout the Flanaess give respect and prayer to Delleb.
The temples themselves are stout structures built of stone and wood, almost always having a protective wall around them (though they are open to anyone most of the time), Some of the greatest libraries in the land are contained within the temples, and whole wings are devoted solely to teaching. Most temples have a special building or two on their grounds reserved for the teaching of children, who are allowed to learn for free. Those cities and towns lucky enough to have a temple of Delleb have some of the highest literacy rates in the world.
The clergy of Delleb is divided into the scholars, librarians, and knights, The scholars of Delleb are the largest group and consist of the best thinkers, philosophers, mathematicians, historians, scientists, alchemists, and sages of the church. There are even a few necromancers counted among the clergy. They are divided into the learners and the teachers. The learners revere learning for its own sake and study all they can on one or more subjects, usually becoming experts or sages in that field. Bards often seek out scholars for information about local or ancient history. Some scholars are scientists who run careful experiments in an attempt to discover more about the world they inhabit. (A scholar of Delleb is credited with the invention of the crossbow.)
The teachers represent a smaller sect of the scholars. These are the men and women who run the various schools of the church, spreading knowledge to as many as possible. Some of them work the temple schools while others roam the lands, teaching wherever they end up. The teachers are divided into assistants (acolytes who are still learning), mentors (full time teachers), and savants (who teach at the highest levels, sometimes to other scholars).
The librarians are in charge of the books in the libraries of the temples. These must be indexed, cross referenced, and copied for distribution to other temples or to those who wish to purchase the knowledge. The acolytes of this order invariably end up in the scriptorium, copying and illuminating such works as accurately as possible. These scripters are the lowest of the librarians and are closely watched bv the bookkeepers who run the libraries. They, in turn, pay heed to the Chief Librarian.
The knights of Delleb are a noble order of warriors who defend the church and spread knowledge as far as possible.
The church is also known for its doctors. A few temples in the Flanaess are dedicated solely to healing (magical and mundane). The hospitals of Delleb are often run by the scholars. Those unfortunates who do not survive treatment still further the cause of science and medicine through autopsy.
Dogs are revered by the church as "man's most intelligent, honest, and loyal friend." Most temples have at least a few dogs on the premises, often taking in strays and giving them a good home. Black labs are the most important breed and thought of as the smartest of all dogs. They are preferred by the church over others.

Dogma

The philosophy of Delleb teaches that knowledge is the most important thing of all, though even the hunt for knowledge does not supersede the sanctity of life. The clergy emulate their all-knowing god by searching for knowledge and then spreading it far and wide. Secrets that contain true knowledge are seen as a blasphemy, as information belongs to anyone who is willing to seek it. Those who covet secrets are the greatest enemies of the church. Even evil knowledge is sacred to the church, though they try to keep the worst of it out of the hands of those who would use it to spread suffering. This hypocritical double standard (the keeping of secrets when truth belongs to everyone) is often overlooked or ignored by the lay brothers. Only Delleb himself (acting through his highest priests} can authorize the destruction of any bit of writing that imparts knowledge. Debates on the nature of good and evil (and what constitutes "evil knowledge") rage constantly between members of the scholars and other sects.
The church also teaches its clergy and followers to hone their intellects. Riddle and pun contests are common and important. Those who win are usually rewarded with elevation in the church or access to the more delicate books. Logic puzzles are also well regarded.

Day-to-Day Activities

Members of the clergy spend their days doing What their sect finds most important, This includes copying and sorting books, spreading information to other libraries, teaching, or experimenting. Followers of Delleb see it as their daily duty to think up some new thought, preferably something no one has ever thought of before.

Holy Days & Important Ceremonies

The Mass of Knowledge is performed each Godsday. In it the priests of the church follow a strict ceremony of worship and speak of new learnings. The ceremonies usually last the better part of a day, the rest of the holy day being given over to discussion of the new ideas by members of the clergy.
On the eve of Freeday, scholars of the church visit taverns or inns, listening to stories and hearing the general gossip or news. Many hours ate spent listening to what the local people have to say and copiously committing it to memory. For these priests, Freeday morning is usually spent writing notes on what they heard. The following week, the priests try to determine which of this information is true and which is false, taking notes about both. This practice has upset more than a few people. but since the priests are usually willing to pay for verification of rumors or hearsay, complaints are usually put aside.

Major Centers of Worship

The Savant's Hospital, once called simply the Library Temple, in Chendl (Furyondy), is the largest of Delleb's temples in the Flanaess. The library (except for the more important medical texts) has been moved east to Rel Mord (Nyrond). The priests in Chendl worry little about the daily activity of the city, usually deferring to the priests of Rao and working to learn and teach as much about the healing arts as possible.
The University Temple in Rel Mord, Nyrond is another scholarly hold, and is by far the largest library in the Flanaess. This temple is closely connected to the Royal University, and quite a few of its priests (savants) teach at the school. The temple is thought to hold some of the most knowledgeable and intelligent men in the land.

Affiliated Orders

The Church of Delleb has a knightly order of paladins called the Knights of the Book. These warriors protect temples as needed, serve as military advisors and leaders of levied troops to protect the church and lands around it, and even act as teachers of military strategy and history. They will also adventure or travel the lands in search of new or forgotten tomes or scrolls to bring back to the clergy at teh library for verification and preservation or translation as needed.
Some knights will form the protection detail when clergymen decide to leave one of the temples to attand to busoiness, either in their home country or in another kingdom.
An honorary order of the church for those sages and philosophers who are not clergy is the Silver Savants. Membership in the group is restricted to those who have made great discovery or unearthed long-lost knowledge. These men and women are held in high esteem by the church.

Priestly Vestments

Clergy of the church generally wear black scholarly robes. Mortarboards are typical headdresses of the church, and these are also black and have long tassels of gold, silver, or white dangling from their centers. These denote scholars, librarians, or members of the Silver Savants respeclively. Knights of the Book wear dark armor and their helmets usually have long, black tassels attached to their tops.

Adventuring Garb

Worshipers of Delleb wear whatever is most appropriate for adventuring and are known for planning ahead. They generally stick to black clothing or armor, though their helmets usually resemble, at least slightly, a mortarboard. A tassel is always worn from the top of the helm.

Specialty Priests (Tomesages)

Requirements: Wisdom 15. Intelligence 16
Prime Requisites: Wisdom, Intelligence
Alignment: LG
Weapons: Any
Armor: Any
Major Spheres: All, Combat, Divinalion, Healing, Law, Numbers, Thought, Time
Minor Spheres: War
Required Proficiencies: Modern Language, Reading/Writing
Bonus Proficiencies: Ancient History, Local History, Religion

All tomesages are allowed to specialize in one non-weapon proficiency and are considered to have considerable knowledge in this field. Proficiency checks are considered 19 regardless of the actual ability score.
All tomesages gain the same bonus as the Academician to Intelligence and Wisdom for proficiency checks.
Tomesages can cast Zone of Truth once per day
At 6th level, a tomesage can cast Confusion once per day.
At 10th level, a tomesage can cast True Seeingonce per day.
At 15th level, a tomesage can cast Divine Inspiration once per day.