Dugmaren Brightmantle
The Gleam in the Eye, the Wandering Tinker, the Errant Explorer
Just as Marthammor Duin exemplifies the occasional dwarven urge to explore the world beyond the mountain, Dugmaren Brightmantle (dahg.mah-ren brite-man-tuhl) signifies the exploratory striving to blaze the trails of creativity by applying accumulated knowledge to create something new and good. Brightmantle represents the progressive elements of a naturally conservative race that nonetheless prides itself on its infrequent innovations. His ceaseless quest for knowledge and constant tinkering and exploring have a tendency to get him into trouble, and though Moradin (his father), admires Dugmaren's adventuresome spirit, the Dwarffather despairs at his tendency to wander away from a pursuit to follow something else that catches his notoriously fickle attentions.
Dugmaren Brightmantle (DUHG-mah-ren BRITE-man-tuhl) is the patron of dwarven scholars and the embodiment of the chaotic and exploratory spirit that consumes some of the Stout Folk. He is venerated by dwarves and a few gnomes, all of whom are scholars, inventors, engineers, tinkers, and fiddlers. His worshipers are consumed with the acquiring of knowledge simply for its own sake rather than for any practical purpose. Whereas Moradin draws smiths and other craftsfolk to his forge, Dugmaren attracts those free-thinkers who want to create something truly new, not a variation on an old theme.
Dugmaren is thought to be a child of Moradin - a chaotic element split off from his father's stern lawfulness and nurtured by the favor of his mother Berronar. In fact the All-Father relates well to Dugmaren's creative and explorative instincts, but the Wandering Tinker often drifts away from projects before they are completed and usually before he has found a use for the knowledge he has gathered - a trait that irritates Moradin to no end. Dugmaren is always getting himself enmeshed in one exploit or another, and his regular accomplices include Haela or Marthammor of the Morndinsamman and Brandobaris, Erevan Ilesere, Nebelun/Gond, or Shaundakul from the other human or demihuman pantheons.
Aside from Gargauth, who embodies everything corruptive and malevolent in the discovery of lost or undiscovered knowledge, the gods of the illithids, who seek to hoard knowledge for themselves, and Urdlen, who hates everyone and everything, the Wandering Tinker has no true foes. However, Dugmaren finds the company of Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer, and the goblin and evil giant gods trying at best. The Wandering Tinker is tolerated by the lawful members of the dwarven pantheon because his inventions and innovations have proven to have had beneficial aspects.
Dugmaren is a benign, inquisitive, cheerful, and optimistic deity concerned with discovering the unknown. He is an inveterate acquirer of trivia and little-used knowledge, an experimenter and a fiddler. Although he dwells within the Dwarvish Mountain in the Outlands, he often ventures into the planes of Arborea, Elysium, and Bytopia.
The Wandering Tinker sometimes dispatches an avatar to act as an unseen guide for dwarven scholars and travelers, protecting them in their searches and providing hints on where to look for knowledge.
Dugmaren's clerics, known as xothor ("those who seek knowledge") draw from the most creative tinkers and free-thinkers of dwarven communities, on rare occasions even allowing gnomes to join their orders. They follow a doctrine of knowledge for knowledge's sake, seeing equal value in learning a once-lost recipe for toasted zygom stalk and discovering the crucial flaw in an enemy's defensive In fact, since the xothor strongly favor creation over destruction, there's a chance many of them would prefer the recipe. Temples of the Errant Explorer, usually sprawling edifices filled with the scattered- detritus of a half-hundred abandoned experiments and twice as many open books can be found above and below the surface.
Xothor prey for spells in the morning. They observe few official holidays, instead whispering a prayer of thanks to the Errant Explorer upon the discovery of some new bit of lore. On Greengrass and Highharvestide, xothor begin the day with several hours in private meditation, staring at the flame of a candle. Thereafter, neighboring xothor gather to discuss their discoveries and creations since the prior convocation.
Divine Domains
Arcana, Knowledge
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Open Book
Tenets of Faith
The secrets of the world are waiting to be revealed. Travel widely, broaden your mind at every opportunity, and pursue the life of a scholar. Cultivate the spirit of inquiry among the young and be a teacher to all. Seek to recover the lost and/or arcane knowledge of ages past and apply it in the world of today. Try new methods of doing things just for the joy of experimenting. Learn a little of everything, for you never know what might be of use down the road.
Holidays
The church of Dugmaren has little in the way of formal ritual or ceremony. Priests of the Wandering Tinker whisper a prayer of thankfulness to Dugmaren when they discover a piece of forgotten lore or whenever they make a significant discovery of any sort. Greengrass and Higharvestide are the only holy days regularly celebrated by Dugmaren's faithful. Such days begin with several hours of private early-morning introspection, usually spent staring into the heart of a single lit candle. These personal meditations are followed by a day-long convocation of scholars in which the results of scholarly investigations since the last such symposium are presented, defended, and discussed.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Day-to-Day Activities
Priests of the Wandering Tinker spend their days in scholarly pursuits, seeking to learn, teach, and advance nearly every field of knowledge even marginally interesting to the dwarven race. Many Seekers of Truth and Mystery serve as instructors to the young, while others record and archive current dwarven practices for future generations. Dugmaren's clergy members travel widely, seeking new experiences, new ideas, and the recovery of lost dwarven lore.Priestly Vestments
Dugmaren's priests tend to eschew formal religious garb aside from plain, homespun white garments with vibrant sashes the width of a hand. High Old Ones of the faith wear simple silver circlets to denote their status. The holy symbol of the faith is a silver locket Grafted to resemble an open book. Many of Dugmaren's followers keep small bits of lore - riddles, puzzles, command words, etc. - inside such lockets in homage to the god - and also to keep them readily available in unexpected situations.Adventuring Garb
Members of Dugmaren's clergy dress practically when exploring dangerous or unknown territories. Most favor light armor and weapons, preferring maneuverability over defense. Many carry unique weapons; most also have items with defensive capabilities of widely varying usefulness and reliability, which they have invented and wish to field-test.Social
Contacts & Relations
Dugmaren's ambitions ensure that he's always at the center of some exploit, frequently in the company of his loose circle of deific associates. His circle includes Haela Brightaxe, Marthammor Duin, Brandobaris, Erevan Ilesere, Gond, and Shaundakul. Gargauth, who represents knowledge-hunting for illicit and perverse purposes, is among the Gleam in the Eye's most hated foes.
Symbol: Open book
Home Plane: Dwarfhome, Outlands/Dwarvish Mountain (Soot Hall)
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Scholarship, invention, discovery
Worshipers: Artisans, dwarves, loremasters, runecasters, scholars, tinkers, wizards
Cleric Alignments: NG, CG, N, CN
Domains: Arcana, Knowledge
Favored Weapon: "Sharptack" (Short sword)
SUPERIOR: Moradin
ALLIES: Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, Deneir, Erevan Ilesere, Garl Glittergold, the Morndinsamman (except Abbathor, Deep Duerra, Laduguer), Nebelun/Gond, Oghma, Shaundakul, Thoth, Tymora, Urogalan
FOES: Gargauth, llsensine, Maanzecorian, Urdlen
Divine Classification
Lesser Power
Current Location
Children
Aligned Organization
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