Kord

The Storm Lord, God of Storms

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For more information on all Prime Deities, see: Prime Deities

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Where thunder booms and conflict rises, prayers to the Storm Lord are shouted into the maelstrom. Reveling in all tests of strength, Kord blesses those who prove themselves on the battlefield. Worshiped by athletes and warriors all across Iolcus, he exalts those whose force of spirit and desire for victory call his attention. He brings tumultuous storms over land and sea, and those who wish for clearer skies offer their praises and prayers to appease him.

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Physical Description

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Within his temples, Kord is shown as a quintessential warrior, often nude with a beard and short, curled hair. As the epitome of muscle and strength, most art depicts the Storm Lord in a stance of dominance, and perhaps wrestling a terrible beast.

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Divine Realm

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Kord dwells among the roving storms and chaos within the rugged realm of Limbo. Kord's realm, Gladsheim, floats atop a mass of stone inside the eye of Limbo's largest tempest. Here, his petitioners compete at the Hall of the Valiant; a place where struggle, victory, and celebration shape the landscape and those who reside there.

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Tenets of Faith

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• Bravery above all. There is no glory in cowardice.


• Strength is the path to greatness, but greatness is the responsible use of strength.


• The glory of the Storm Lord lives through your own glory on the battlefield.

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Divine Goals & Aspirations

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Kord loves physical challenges and contests, and he promotes nonlethal sports as a method for resolving disputes among his followers. His teachings say that the strong and fit should lead the weaker, and that bravery is the greatest quality anyone can have, ruler and citizen alike. Everyone should scorn cowardice. Kord is also famous for being a hedonist who accepts challenges just for fun and who is easily distracted by a pretty face, taking many partners in his time. Many mortals claim to be from the line of this vigorous god.

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Worshipers

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Aside from athletes and barbarians, Kordite worshipers are often fighters who mock the law, but have a certain sense of honor. Barbarians who are not badly aligned commonly worship Kord, feeling that they have a close spiritual connection to him.
Kordite priests, referred to as the Fists of Kord, are not known to be great thinkers, but must be strong, well-armed and trained, maintain their exceptional physical condition, and always ready to fight. It is a warlike clergy, but without the objective of conquest or domination, and the chaotic actions of its members have hardly any strategic aims. The Fists of Kord are known for their courage, but also for their ability to cause trouble. Priests never take offense that a stranger is better than them; it simply provides them with a new challenge. However, doubting the physical fitness of a priest of Kord is considered a grave insult to them, and they will go to great lengths to prove themselves. Priests believe "the strongest is the best", and it is the bravest and most athletic that command respect. The Fists of Kord are always searching for challenges, heroic quests to accomplish, and new adventures. They will not accept missions that seem impossible to them but, if there is even a slight chance of success and a certain promise of glory, then they will undertake it without much hesitation. The Fists of Kord are leaders at heart who must lead by example, leading the troops and showing unfailing courage in all battles. Some consider them reckless, stupid, or suicidal, but they are none of that. They can make whatever preparations they think necessary, and consider the magnitude of the problems or challenges before taking action. They sometimes become enraged when those they have sworn to defend are bruised, but it is usually a conscious decision on their part, when they feel it is the best course of action.
Any priest who shows cowardice (by conscious act and not under the influence of a magic fear or any charm) is immediately deprived of all his clerical abilities, and must seek a higher level priest to atone for his fault. The disgraced priest will likely have to complete a heroic quest to prove his worth to Kord and his clergy. One of the main motivations of the Fists of Kord is to resist any authoritarian rule. They disdain any questioning of free will and despise those who lead by force and fear. Within the clergy of Kord, capturing an enemy rather than killing them is highly regarded. A priest who manages to defeat a powerful opponent by non-lethal combat techniques will be praised. This custom is also a source of income for priests, a reward that can be given for the capture of a criminal whom one wishes to bring to justice. Priests, however, accept such commissions only when the motive and the nature of the crime collide with their own principles.
Wherever the opportunity arises, the Fists of Kord seize it to prove their strength and skill, especially if it takes the form of a sporting competition. It is sometimes a source of frustration for their companions, because such challenges can distract the priest from an urgent mission, and it is not without difficulty or whining that they can convince him not to participate. In addition, the priests of Kord often have the same romantic disposition as their god towards attractive members of the opposite sex encountered on the road, which can also be a source of trouble for their companions, especially when they are not want to attract attention.
Kord's clergy help train those under their charge to become stronger. They organize athletic competitions and eagerly participate in challenging athletic activities. They also participate willingly in the work of the community which requires strong arms. Would-be clerics of Kord come into the faith one of two ways. Most succeed on some feat of strength, 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.
The Fists of Kord usually dress in blue and white, possibly with some ornaments. However, if the weather permits, they are most often shirtless, even during religious ceremonies. They almost always wear a belt, preferably blue.
In the territories where the cult of Kord is well established, the temples dedicated to it are generally arenas in which the priests train and organize sports tournaments. Sometimes it is only a simple enclosure around which are arranged some wooden bleachers. The most important temples include ammenities to train one's body.

Divine Traits

General Information

Alternative Name(s)
The Brawler
God of Storms
Lord of Battle
The Storm Lord

Alignment
Chaotic Neutral

Pantheon
Prime Deity

Areas of Concern
Athletics, battle, competition, atorms

Favored Weapon
Greataxe

Sacred Animal(s)
Bear

Sacred Color(s)
Blue, white

Symbol
Four bolts of lightning radiating from the center of a shield

Worshipers
Athletes, druids, fighters, gladiators, shamans, warpriests, warriors

Worshipers' Adjective(s)
Kordite

Plane
Limbo

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D&D 5e

Domains
Tempest, War

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Pathfinder 1e

Domains
Air, Chaos, Glory, Strength, War, Weather

Subdomains
Competition, Duels, Honor, Legend, Lightning, Revelry, Storms

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Pathfinder 2e

Domains
Ambition, Confidence, Lightning, Might

Alternative Domain(s)
Perfection, Toil, Zeal

Divine Ability
Strength or Constitution

Divine Font
Harm or Heal

Divine Skill
Athletics

Cleric Spells
1st: True Strike
3rd: Heroism
4th: Stoneskin

Divine Boons

• Minor Boon
  Kord grants you a weapon whenever you need one. You can use an Interact action to draw a 0-level non-magical iron weapon, even if you have no weapons on your person. Such a weapon lasts only as long as you continue using it to attack, and it can’t be sold, given away, melted for scrap iron, or the like.
• Moderate Boon
  Your blows become unstoppable, carrying the momentum of Kord’s thrill for battle. Your greataxe Strikes gain the forceful trait.
• Major Boon
  Kord feeds you the zeal of his undying warriors, allowing you to draw upon your own life force to fight on and on without falling. Whenever you would be reduced to 0 Hit Points, you are instead healed to half your maximum Hit Points and become doomed 1 (or increase your doomed condition by 1).

Divine Curses

• Minor Curse
  Kord rewards cowardice with frailty. Any armor you wear and shield you wield reduces its item bonus to AC by 2 (minimum 0) and its Hardness, Hit Points, and Break Threshold by half.
• Moderate Curse
  Kord’s displeasure breaks your competitive edge, causing you to fail at the cusp of success. If your check result exactly equals the DC, you fail instead of succeeding.
• Major Curse
  The Storm Lord’s ire follows you wherever you go. The weather in a 500 foot radius around you is always stormy. Roughly twice each minute you are outside, you are struck by a bolt of lightning that deals 10d6 electricity damage (DC 40 basic Reflex save).