Kord (Kohrd)

The Brawler

Athletics, Sports, Brawling, Strength, Courage

Greater God of the Hall of the Valiant - The Heroic Domains of Ysgard (Gladsheim), Chaotic Good

Origin: Suloise
Domain: The Heroic Domains of Ysgard (Gladsheim)
Allies:Lendor, Phaulkon
Enemies:
Worshiper's Alignment: Any Chaotic
Symbol: Dragon hide gauntlets (white), boots (blue), and a girdle (red) or a star composed of spears and maces

Kord the Brawler is a Suloise deity appearing in two aspects: as a mighty, sword-wielding barbarian with powerful weaponry and armor, and as a muscular wrestler, brawler, and athlete. He is thus a deity of combat and strength.
Although Kord is revered more than any other Suel deity, his dedication has ben declining over the years. Thriving churches dedicated to him can be found in the Barbarian States, northern Ulek, Almor, the Great Kingdom, Hepmonaland, and on Lendore Isle. Small isolated churches may be found among peasants over the entire route of the Suloise migration.
Kord is an incredibly powerful Suel god, second only to his grandfather, Lendor. Son of Phaulkon and Syrul (before she betrayed Phaulkon), he is shown as a hugely muscular man with long red hair and beard, wearing a fighting girdle or red dragon hide (will give frost giant strength), boots of blue dragon hide (boots of speed), and gauntlets of white dragon hide (gauntlets of ogre power although a star composed of spears and maces is popular. He is not diminished by the loss of these items, however. He will sometimes lend them to other fighters during battle. The saving throw of these items vs. all attack forms is 2.
He fights with his intelligent dragon-slaying greatsword Kelmar. He enters a blood rage when severely wounded, and only Lendor can restore him to sanity before he kills all friends and foes nearby; this ferocity endears him to most barbarians. Because of this, a cleric of Kord will always defer to a ranking cleric of Lendor.
He is reputed to be easily distracted by a comely face, and many claim divine lineage due to this lusty god; he prefers humans and elves, but has been known to dally with other demihumans and even giants. Tales are told of the great heroes who are born of such liaisons. The world is full of his sons and daughters, but few, if any, of them can claim demigod status (less than 1%). Any figures who can make that claim must have scores of 18 to 20 in two of these three ability areas: Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity. (See Dragon 87 for more info on determining if one of his offspring is a demigod)

Dogma

The strong and fit should lead the weaker; Bravery is the greatest quality in any ruler; Scorn cowardice.
Kord loves physical challenges and contests, and it is this love that inspires many barbarian tribes to use nonlethal sports as a method for resolving disputes.

Kord's Priests

Kord's clerics must have a minimum Strength of 13.
Kord's clerics are expected to be leaders. They train people to become stronger, organize athletic tournaments, and participate in challenging physical activities.
Kord's clergy must show bravery and leadership in battle at all times. To foster their fulfillment of this role, Kord strengthens his clergy with a bonus on saving throws involving fear and special spells attainable at higher levels.
Doubting their fitness is a grave insult, and they go to great lengths to prove their physical abilities (although they realize the difference between difficult and suicidal challenges).
Kord's priests favor physical prowess over magical might. Clerics believe magic should be used to enhance allies rather than strike directly at foes.
Would-be clerics of Kord come into the faith one of two ways. Most succeed on some feat of strength (often at a local carnival or sporting competition), drawing the admiration of a cleric of Kord. Less often, a youth attains notoriety for his sickly nature, but a cleric of Kord notices how passionately the child craves strength. Either way, becoming a cleric of Kord involves rigorous physical training, including calisthenics, running, and practice in any number of specific sports.
Kord's followers love any quest where they can prove their strength, especially if it involves direct competition with someone else. Winning in a gladiator arena, climbing an unassailable mountain, and slaying a great wyrm dragon are all pleasing to Kord.
Kord favors rhythmic chanting and clapping, the louder the better. Many of his chants feature syllables that exist strictly to maintain the rhythm, such as "Ah re, ah tee, Kord the Mighty..."
A temple to Kord is often a sprawling dwelling open to the air. Some feature gymnasiums, fields for athletic competition, and gladiator arenas. They provide training for nearly every physical endeavor.
Kord's rites are brief, lasting just a few minutes. They're joyous, dancing ceremonies at the end of a battle or a long-term teat of strength, such as raising a barn or moving stones to form a hedgerow. Ceremonial garb includes white, blue, and red clothing.

Specialty Priests (Brawlers)

Priests must be strong, well-armed and trained, and able to maintain fitness and readiness for combat. This is a warrior priesthood, but it does not have aims of conquest, dominion, or strategic goals, since the deity is chaotic. Possession of a magical edged weapon is a major goal for many. If non-weapon proficiencies are used, those such as swimming, running, jumping, and blind-fighting are allowed to this priesthood.

Requirements

Ability Scores: Strength 16, Constitution 15, Wisdom 12
Alignment: Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil
Weapons: any
Armor: any metal
Raiment: red and blue with white trappings Major Spheres: All, Combat, Healing
Minor Spheres: Chaos, Creation, Divination, Protection, Travelers
Spells: detect lawful (variant of detect evil), protection from lawful (variant of protection from evil)

Granted Powers

1) +1 on all saves vs. fear attacks, Enlarge
3) save bonus vs. fear attacks increases to +2, strength
5) Prayer or Protection from Normal Missiles
7) Cure Serious Wounds, save bonus vs. fear attacks increases to +3
10) Strength increases by 1 (maximum 18/00), save bonus vs. fear attacks increases to +4
13) Heal, save bonus vs. fear attacks increases to +5
Turn Undead: No
Command Undead: No

Priestly Garb

The clergy of Kord dress in bright red, white, and blue vestments, but none may duplicate the exact pattern that Kord wears on his girdle, gauntlets, and boots. Only his direct sons and daughters who join the clergy may dare to don dragon-hide armor as Kord does. All others who do this are considered heretics.
Kord's clergy are either chaotic neutral (3 in 6), chaotic good (2 in 6), or chaotic evil (1 in 6).
At levels 1-3, clerics of Kord can only wear white. They get a +1 bonus on saves vs. fear attacks.
At level 4, they can wear white and blue robes, the save bonus is +2, and they receive access to the protection from lawful spell.
At level 7, clerics can wear red, white, and blue garments. They get a +3 save bonus vs. fear and the new spell detect lawful.
At level 10, Kord's clerics wear a red girdle with blue and white trim, they get a +4 bonus to saves vs. fear, and the ability to cast enlarge (on self).
At level 16 and above, clerics wear white boots, a red girdle, and blue trim. Their save bonus is +5, and they can cast Strength (on self).
Saving throws vs. fear apply to all forms of fear, including the auras of demons and devils, fright caused by undead, the effects of very high or very low charisma, and so forth.
Bonus spells are granted cumulatively, so that a 7th level cleric of Kord would have access to both protection from lawful and detect lawful. These bonus spells are simply other choices, in addition to normal cleric spells, and do not increase the spell-carrying or spell-casting capacity of the cleric. They are prayed for the same way that regular cleric spells are received, counting protection from lawful and detect lawful as 1st level spells and enlarge and strength as 2nd level spells. All the bonus spells are cast at the level of experience of the cleric.
Protection from lawful works like protection from evil, except that it serves as proof against those of lawful alignment (while keeping out chaotics as well). The material component is holy water (sprinkled in a circle) or holy incense (burned in the air).
Detect lawful works like detect evil, except that it discovers emanations from those of lawful alignment.
Enlarge and strength work the same as the 1st level magic-user spells of the same names.

See Dragon #87