Yondalla (Yon-DAH-lah)

The Protector and Provider, the Nurturing Matriarch, the Blessed One

Protection, fertility, the halfling race, children, security, leadership, diplomacy, wisdom, the cycle of life, creation, family and familial love, tradition, community, harmony, prosperity

Greater Goddess of Mount Celestia, Lawful Good

Aliases: None
Domain Name: Venya/Green Fields
Origin: Halfling
Superior: None
Allies: Berronar Truesilver, Corellon Larethian, Garl Glittergold, Moradin, the halfling pantheon
Enemies: The goblinoid deities, Urdlen
Symbol: Shield with cornucopia
Worshipper's Alignment: Any good, any neutral
Yondalla is the Protector and Provider of halflings and the chief matriarch of the halfling pantheon. She is responsible for the race's creation and for blessing them with peace, comfort, and plenty. As the goddess of protection, Yondalla fends off evil influences and intrusions into the homes and lives of halflings. Yondalla gives her people the strength of character and the determination to defend themselves. Her protection is part of the very souls of her creations, for of all the demihuman races, the halflings have most rarely succumbed to evil. As a provider, Yondalla is a goddess of fertility and growing things, of birth and youth, of nature and plants. She can make barren places and creatures fertile and increase the growing rate of plants and animals, almost as she chooses, although she uses such powers sparingly and almost never confers such benefits on other demihumans or humans for fear of giving offense to their deities.
Yondalla's concerns can be interpreted to somewhat overlap those of Sheela Peryroyl, Cyrrollalee, Arvoreen, and Urogalan, but in truth this is mainly as she is their leader and both directs their efforts and works with them in harmony to provide for both the good of the divine and the mortal halfling communities. Only Brandobaris walks his own path, but even he works closely with the Nurturing Matriarch in ensuring the peace and security of halflings throughout the Flanaess. The Protector and Provider has forged strong alliances with the patriarchs and matriarchs of the other demihuman races to ensure the mutual survival of their charges, and she is closely allied with agricultural and guardian deities of all the goodly races.
Yondalla is a kind and merciful goddess to her people. Although she brooks no evil, she despises no part of her creation, and always seeks to guide halflings who have lost their way in the world, physically or spiritually, back to their homes and friends. Although Yondalla is tolerant of thieves among her people, she does not approve of them and tries to have her priests guide such errant folk to use their skills more usefully. However, appropriating an extra share for oneself from the big folk is no great sin if no real harm or damage is done. Yondalla has given plenty of gifts to her worshipers, not the least of which is her temperament. From her, the halflings have learned to stand up for themselves, to defend their homes and families, and to seek peaceable solutions — or else turn their foes against each other and slip away unnoticed. Yondalla is a charming and persuasive power of peace, and though she can take life and health as easily as she gives it, she never seeks out opportunities to harm those who do not richly deserve it. When she is aroused to ire, however, Yondalla is a truly fearsome goddess, for all her apparent gentility and diminutive stature. Although not a power of war, Yondalla is a skilled warrior that other deities do not readily seek to challenge. If a community of halflings is faced with extermination, Yondalla acts first through her priests and with manifestations and then by having Arvoreen dispatch his avatar. If all else fails, Yondalla is very likely to send an avatar herself to defend her charges. If she does this, she fights within the area of the halfling communities and homes rather than venture attacks outside of that area.

Other Manifestations

Yondalla commonly manifests as a warm, golden radiance that envelops a creature, item, or region. If Yondalla's radiance envelops a halfling, her power cloaks them in the power of an Armor spell, cures 1d8 points of damage, and grants them invisibility and/or free action. A hollowed-out horn or other container enveloped in Yondalla's aura spills forth great quantities of food and or drink, like the effects of a horn of plenty spell, in sufficient volume to feed every worshiper or ally present. A weapon bathed the goddess's manifestation is wrapped ina nimbus of soft light anci attacks with a +3 attack and damage bonus for the next turn. If Yondalla manifests in a region of open space, any halfling touching her manifestation passes through or into an extradimensional space or tunnel such as that created by spells such as Rope Trick, Dimension Door, or gateway.
She demonstrates her favor through welcome but sudden changes in the weather or natural surroundings. Conversely, the Protector and Provider indicates her displeasure through unwelcome, but sudden, changes in the weather or natural surroundings. Her favor is also demonstrated through the discovery of amber pellets, daffodils, dlarun, malacons, meerschaum, peridots, pipestone, serpentine, silverbark trees, star rose quartz, and telstang.

The Church

Clergy: Clerics, mystics, specialty priests
Clergy's Alignment: Any good, Lawful neutral
Turn Undead: YUes, except mystics
Command Undead: No
All clerics, mystics, and specialty priests of Yondalla receive religion (halfling) and reading/writing (common) as bonus non-weapon proficiencies.
The church of the Protector and Provider, under all the guises by which she is known, plays a central role in halfling society. Throughout the Flanaess, communities of the Small Folk are led by members of clergy, and they are widely credited for their efforts in ensuring the safety and prosperity of halflings across Oerth. Among the other human and demihuman races, Yondalla's priests are respected for their determined defense of halfling communities and their defensive skill, belying their diminutive natures.
Temples of Yondalla are remarkably rare, despite the goddess's widespread veneration by halflings. The Provider and Protector is most commonly worshiped in small shrines and in the home, and her formal houses of worship are usually little more than the home of the local priest or priestess. In those few halfling communities where churches of Yondalla do exist, they are usually carved into an earthen hillside, resembling a halfling burrow more than anything else. Although smoothly blended with the surrounding environment, such temples serve as fortified redoubts, well stocked with arms and food to allow the halflings of the community to hold out indefinitely against invaders. Gardens, armories, cisterns, and granaries are nestled among chapels, residential quarters for the resident priests, and bubbling springs.
Novices of Yondalla are known as the Blessed Children. Full priests of the Protector and Provider are known as Revered Councilors. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by Yondallan priests are Blessed Sister/Brother, Sacred Guardian, Revered Nurturer, Blessed Mother/Father, Eminent Prodigal, August Warden, Hallowed Provider, and Exalted Protector. High- ranking priests have unique individual titles. Specialty priests are known as horn guards. The clergy of Yondalla includes hairfeet (55%), stouts (30%), and tallfellows ( 15%). Yondalla's clergy is nearly evenly divided between specialty priests (37%), mystics (33%), and clerics (30%). Women (60%) slightly outnumber men (40%) among the clergy.

Dogma

Those who seek to live in accordance with the way of the Provider will be blessed with a cornucopia of riches. Seek peace and comfort, for a life lived with both is true wealth. Although violence should never be welcomed, the Protector's aegis will extend to those willing to fiercely defend their home and community. Lead through example, and know the activities of those you lead so that you can help shoulder their burdens when need be. Treasure your family, for your parents gave you life and your children are your future. Care for the aged and the weak, for you never know when you may be one Of the strong laid low.

Day-to-Day Activities

Priests of Yondalla are concerned with all spheres of halfling life, save thievery. They protect halfling communities from outside threats. They serve as ever-vigilant sentinels overseeing fields and burrows. Many double as secular leaders of their communities as well as religious authorities. Yondalla's priests officiate at weddings and funerals, the latter in conjunction with members of Urogalan's clergy. The primary mission of the priesthood of the Provider and the Protector is to pass Yondalla's teachings on to the community at large and to knit such communities tightly together. Areas of instruction include collective and self-defense, concealment, agriculture, brewing, wine-making, gardening, and cooking. Spells granted by the goddess are used to demonstrate or enhance such activities. Communities are brought together through regular feasts, revels, and celebrations with few spiritual overtones other than a celebration of the collective purpose of the community.

Holy Days/lmportant Ceremonies

Halflings set aside one day per week — the fifth day (Waterday)—for worship of Yondalla. Safeday, as it is known among the halflings, is a day that is mostly spent in rest and play. In the morning, families gather together in the home, collectively offer up the fruits of the goddess's bounty in homage to the Provider, and then spend several hours preparing a feast from those offerings. During these activities, local members of the clergy of Yondalla go from house to house to lead each family in brief devotions, offer the goddess's blessings, and share any concems a family may have. When the feast is prepared, each family, sometimes joined by a local priest, joins together in eating, laughing, and the telling of tales. In the late afternoon, the Small Folk emerge from their homes and assemble in the central square. The highest ranking priest of Yondalla (or in the absence of a priest, a pious lay representative) then leads the assembled Small Folk on a walk around the central community, symbolically joining Yondalla in her defense of the settlement. Such tours are hardly armed patrols; they usually involve contests to see who can pick the most perfect apple or the like and other gentle reminders of how bountiful are the goddess's gifts. When the promenade retums to the central square, the community-wide dinner feast begins. Extra food prepared during the morning hours is heated and served, while the community elders relate traditional tales of halfling folklore. Such festivities can last far into the night as the community reforges their communal bonds. Unlike the religious ceremonies of other races and deities, allies and even strangers are often invited to contribute and partake in the feasting and merriment, although those unknown to the community are discretely observed just in case.

Major Centers of Worship

As noted above, large temples of the Nurturing Matriarch are few and far between, for most halflings worship in the home, and most communities are served by at most a handful of priests who tend the local shrine, if any exists outside of individual homes. Nevertheless, Yondalla's priesthood has found it expedient to found the sprawling Temple of the Bountiful Cornucopia in the town of Creekside in the southern, more hilly sp[ur of the Lortmil Mountains iun the Cpounty of Ulek. The temple and the town of Creekside are led by the aging matriarch, Mother Shaena Goldsun and her lifelong mate, High Marshal Taviras Fernmeadow (a fighter/specialty priest of Arvoreen). Under their combined stewardship, both town and temple have bloomed with gardens and other signs of the goddess's bounty, masking the extensive defensive fortifications that have been erected in every home and burrow and along every path and stream. Like the town itself, the temple is far larger and more extensive than it initially appears. The temple is dug into the side of a large hill on the western edge of the town, and its earthen tunnels honeycomb the heart of the hill and connect with most of the burrowhomes of Creekside. This deception enables Yondalla's numerous resident priests to blend in among the surrounding community, dwelling in individual burrows with their families, but in times of war to assemble in the temple's heart into small guerrilla bands and then emerge from countless holes to defend the town from attack.

Affiliated Orders

The Sheriff's of Yondalla are a loosely organized fellowship of Yondallan priests stricken with wanderlust who wish to see the world. Estranged by choice from forming a long-term relationship a single community, Sheriffs serve the Provider and Protector by coming to the defense of besieged or threatened halfling communities in need of additional protectors.

Priestly Vestments

Members of Yondalla's clergy dress in loose-fitting green and brown robes and a saffron overcloak, keeping their heads bare. Priests typically wear their hair long, dying it golden blonde if it is not naturally that color. Yondallan priests always carry a shield, usually wooded, emblazoned with the cornucopia symbol of the goddess. The holy symbol of the faith is an animal hom of any type.

Adventuring Garb

When expecting combat, Yondallan priests wear the best armor available and always carry a shield, again usually emblazoned with Yondalla's cornucopia. They favor short swords, hand axes, slings, short bows, spears, small lances, hammers, and morningstars.

Specialty Priests (Horn Guards)

Requirements: Wisdom 13
Prime Requisite: Wisdom]
Alignment: Lawful Good
Weapons: Any
Armor: Any, but must always carry a shield
Major Spheres: All, animal, astral, combat, creation, divination, elemental (air, earth, water), guardian, healing, law, necromantic, plant, protection, summoning, sun, wards
Minor Spheres: Weather
Magical Items: As clerics
Required Proficiencies: Short sword, agriculture, local history
Bonus Proficiencies: Ancient history, cooking

• Hom guards must be halflings, but they can be of any halfling subrace.
• Horn guards are not allowed to multiclass.
• Hom guards receive a +2 attack bonus, in addition to the normal halfling thrown-weapon bonus, when using rocks they have selected. Thrown rocks do 1d4 points of damage, and horn guards can hurl three rocks per round.
• Hom guards can cast Protection From Evil or Shield or Magical Stone once per day. Note that the shield ability horn guards use has no problem working in conjunction with nonmetallic armor, but it cannot work in conjunction with any metal armor save elven chain mail.
• At 3rd level, horn guards can cast Bless (with twice the normal duration) or Wyvern Watch once per day.
• At 5th level, horn guards can cast Create Food & Water or Efficacious Monster Ward once per day.
• At 7th level, horn guards can cast Animal Growth or Plant Growth once per day.
• At 7th level, horn guards gain immunity to paralyzation and to fear effects of any kind.
• At 10th level, hom guards can cast Heroes' Feast or Restoration once per month.
• At 13th level, hom guards can shapechange (similar to the druid ability) into a mammalian form. They are restricted to assuming the form of burrowing mammals, mammals that live above the ground but not in trees, and mammals that live in water. Hom guards are not allowed to become reptiles or avians, nor do they heal damage when shapechanging.

Yondallan Spells

Fourth Level

Badger Form
Horn of Plenty

Fifth Level

A Day in the Life

Seventh Level

Curse of Yondalla

[Demihuman Deities]