Torag (TOR-reg)
LG god of the Forge, Protection, and Strategy
The Forge Father (a.k.a. The Father of Creation, The Father of Dwarvenkind)
The head of the Dwarven Pantheon, Torag is the most visible of the dwarven deities, to the extent that Torag is the only dwarven deity most non-dwarves know of. While the other dwarven gods represent specific areas of dwarven life and culture, thus forming an expansive and comprehensive dwarven pantheon, Torag’s areas of concern are those most central to dwarven society. In his own family, Torag models the values of community and protection that have cemented deep-rooted relationships among dwarven clans. His focus on strategy and tactical acumen centers on protection, reflected in dwarves’ impenetrable fortresses and conservative military tactics, including their willingness to use offensive maneuvers as a form of defense. He also represents the forge: the creation of fine works from raw materials, practice and mastery of a craft, and pride in one’s work. His purview extends even to those activities that feed the forge and dwarven artisanship, such as mining the earth for raw ore and gemstones. Torag’s oversight over these core concepts has secured his place at the head of the dwarven pantheon for ages. It was Torag who sent the dwarves on their legendary Quest for Sky during the Age of Darkness, and his worship was long-established even then. Indeed, among dwarves, Torag is often called the Father of Creation.
Worship of Torag centers around the forge, literally and figuratively. Many sites of worship include an active forge, and crafting is incorporated into worship services. The god’s teachings urge the faithful to continually practice and improve their artistry, regardless of their specific craft. Though metalworking is the most iconic skill, Toragdans also appreciate and encourage masonry, leatherworking, gem cutting, cooking, brewing, and virtually every other pragmatic craft. Refining one’s techniques and improving skills are highly valued among Torag’s followers, and this pursuit of quality and betterment is an aspect that draws many non-dwarves to the faith.
A forge means nothing without the community around it, and as a result, Torag’s followers hold family, friends, and the wider society to be of utmost importance. This aspect of Torag’s faith has attracted the worship of no small number of non-dwarves seeking a faith that focuses on bettering or protecting one’s own society.
It comes as no surprise that Torag places a strong emphasis on defense and combat prowess in the name of protecting one’s community. Followers of Torag are expected to train in martial techniques and lead in the defense of the home—including, with no reservations, offense against the community’s enemies. Even so, the emphasis remains on protection, and Torag’s focus on the use of military might for defense rather than conquest and glory is a key component in dwarves’ tendency to remain ensconced in their fortresses and existing territories rather than expanding their borders.
Torag encourages his followers to develop their skills in tactics, planning, and forethought, but he also supports the ability to think on one’s feet and respond in the moment to the chaos of combat. Tales of the god’s exploits in battle tell of his calm and collected demeanor, rarely losing his temper—a temperament that his worshippers seek to emulate.
Torag’s church celebrates family events, such as marriages, births of children, and deaths. Stability, tradition, and orthodoxy are ingrained in the church, with values conveyed through legend and storytelling. Clerics and priests are thus central pillars of a dwarven community. Dwarven champions of Torag thrive, typically as paladins serving at the forefront of a community’s military operations, and these champions’ merciless devastation of their community’s enemies is a terrifying sight. Toragdans believe in destroying the community’s enemies, lest showing mercy lead to further bloodshed down the line, which makes being a redeemer virtually impossible to the faithful of Torag. When a dwarven settlement needs to address a far-off challenge, it is often champions who take up the task. In areas with few dwarves, encounters with these roaming faithful are sometimes the only interactions non-dwarves have with followers of Torag.
Torag is the head of the dwarven pantheon, an extended family of gods and goddesses largely unknown outside of dwarven communities, and which are rarely worshiped individually. Rather than praying directly to these other deities, dwarves ask Torag to intercede with the other gods on their behalf, as the other members of the pantheon defer to him except in matters that lie entirely in their jurisdiction. Of the dwarven gods, only bitter Droskar, Torag's former student turned duergar god of toil and slavery, holds no allegiance to the Father of Creation; the two deities are engaged in a slow-burning cold war.
Torag's focus on dwarves allows his faith to be more insular than most, and his followers largely keep to themselves enough that they need neither know nor care much about other faiths. When they do come in contact with other religions, they see the followers of other faiths as flighty, frivolous, and prone to waste too much of their time on nonessential works. They are most likely to appreciate the attitudes of Erastil's worshipers, who value community and family, and they salute the discipline of Bahamut's followers. Like their god, they find the faithful of Cayden Cailean relaxing-there's something about their geniality that loosens the stiff followers of Torag up a bit. Of course, the Caydenites can take it too far, and affection for them can quickly turn paternalistic and dismissive. Followers of the Father of Creation like to keep busy, and though they'd never admit it, those that do regularly interact with other faiths often find themselves glad of the opportunity to be useful as they improve allies' tools and capabilities.
Worship of Torag centers around the forge, literally and figuratively. Many sites of worship include an active forge, and crafting is incorporated into worship services. The god’s teachings urge the faithful to continually practice and improve their artistry, regardless of their specific craft. Though metalworking is the most iconic skill, Toragdans also appreciate and encourage masonry, leatherworking, gem cutting, cooking, brewing, and virtually every other pragmatic craft. Refining one’s techniques and improving skills are highly valued among Torag’s followers, and this pursuit of quality and betterment is an aspect that draws many non-dwarves to the faith.
A forge means nothing without the community around it, and as a result, Torag’s followers hold family, friends, and the wider society to be of utmost importance. This aspect of Torag’s faith has attracted the worship of no small number of non-dwarves seeking a faith that focuses on bettering or protecting one’s own society.
It comes as no surprise that Torag places a strong emphasis on defense and combat prowess in the name of protecting one’s community. Followers of Torag are expected to train in martial techniques and lead in the defense of the home—including, with no reservations, offense against the community’s enemies. Even so, the emphasis remains on protection, and Torag’s focus on the use of military might for defense rather than conquest and glory is a key component in dwarves’ tendency to remain ensconced in their fortresses and existing territories rather than expanding their borders.
Torag encourages his followers to develop their skills in tactics, planning, and forethought, but he also supports the ability to think on one’s feet and respond in the moment to the chaos of combat. Tales of the god’s exploits in battle tell of his calm and collected demeanor, rarely losing his temper—a temperament that his worshippers seek to emulate.
Torag’s church celebrates family events, such as marriages, births of children, and deaths. Stability, tradition, and orthodoxy are ingrained in the church, with values conveyed through legend and storytelling. Clerics and priests are thus central pillars of a dwarven community. Dwarven champions of Torag thrive, typically as paladins serving at the forefront of a community’s military operations, and these champions’ merciless devastation of their community’s enemies is a terrifying sight. Toragdans believe in destroying the community’s enemies, lest showing mercy lead to further bloodshed down the line, which makes being a redeemer virtually impossible to the faithful of Torag. When a dwarven settlement needs to address a far-off challenge, it is often champions who take up the task. In areas with few dwarves, encounters with these roaming faithful are sometimes the only interactions non-dwarves have with followers of Torag.
Relations with Other Religons
Torag has battled destructive deities and their minions since the dawn of the world. In particular, Rovagug's spawn have long seethed and squirmed in the deeper corners of the earth, drawing Torag's ire. Despite their shared loathing for the Rough Beast, however, Torag's followers find Sarenrae's worshipers too forgiving and too devoted to the sun, both of which are seen as weaknesses by the long-lived, underground-dwelling dwarves. The Father of Creation and his craft-inclined worshipers respect Abadar for his adherence to law and commerce, and Irori for his discipline. Torag likes Cayden Cailean's humor and love of ale, and respects Bahamut's martial prowess and devotion to order and good. He gets along well with Erastil, perhaps the only deity more curmudgeonly than he is.Torag is the head of the dwarven pantheon, an extended family of gods and goddesses largely unknown outside of dwarven communities, and which are rarely worshiped individually. Rather than praying directly to these other deities, dwarves ask Torag to intercede with the other gods on their behalf, as the other members of the pantheon defer to him except in matters that lie entirely in their jurisdiction. Of the dwarven gods, only bitter Droskar, Torag's former student turned duergar god of toil and slavery, holds no allegiance to the Father of Creation; the two deities are engaged in a slow-burning cold war.
Torag's focus on dwarves allows his faith to be more insular than most, and his followers largely keep to themselves enough that they need neither know nor care much about other faiths. When they do come in contact with other religions, they see the followers of other faiths as flighty, frivolous, and prone to waste too much of their time on nonessential works. They are most likely to appreciate the attitudes of Erastil's worshipers, who value community and family, and they salute the discipline of Bahamut's followers. Like their god, they find the faithful of Cayden Cailean relaxing-there's something about their geniality that loosens the stiff followers of Torag up a bit. Of course, the Caydenites can take it too far, and affection for them can quickly turn paternalistic and dismissive. Followers of the Father of Creation like to keep busy, and though they'd never admit it, those that do regularly interact with other faiths often find themselves glad of the opportunity to be useful as they improve allies' tools and capabilities.
Holy Books & Codes
The official holy book of the church is Hammer and Tongs: The Forging of Metal and Other Good Works. As it's meant to be used for reference near forges and in other situations where lesser books might catch fire, it's usually bound in metal, and its leather pages are coated in flame-resistant lacquer. It includes prayers and the stories of the creation and early days of the dwarven race, the destinies they have forged, the Quest for Sky, and the simple need for community that binds dwarves together. It also gives instructions on how to shape stone, build walls, smelt base metals, and forge iron and steel, as well as basic information about various predatory monsters and how to defend against them. The oldest copy of the book in a particular community (typically the one used in the main temple) includes a record of when the settlement was founded, which families or clans were involved in its founding, and other notable events in its history.
Tenets of Faith
Edicts be honorable and forthright, keep your word, respect the forge, serve your people
Anathema tell lies or cheat someone, intentionally create inferior works, show mercy to the enemies of your people
Anathema tell lies or cheat someone, intentionally create inferior works, show mercy to the enemies of your people
Follower Alignments: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral
Anathema tell lies or cheat someone, intentionally create inferior works, show mercy to the enemies of your people
Follower Alignments: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral
Holidays
Dwarves call the last month of the year Torawsh instead of Rova, believing it foolish to name a month
for an evil, imprisoned god of destruction. The church celebrates anniversaries of successful battles, including the breaking of sieges.
Skylost: Dwarven communities with ancestral ties to one of the lost Sky Citadels, such as those who can trace family lineages back to a citadel's founders, mournfully mark the date of its loss. However, each of these daughter communities might have its own specific date for that event, depending on how much information is still known and what those who recorded it considered the most significant date, such as when the last walls were breached, when the order to evacuate was given, or when the community's founders fled that citadel to establish a new home. Therefore, two towns founded by exiles from Koldukar (now Urgir in the Hold of Belkzen) might honor Skylost on different days because their patron clans evacuated the city on different days. On Skylost, dwarves reflect on the lives and accomplishments of slain ancestors. Non-dwarven temples (and those founded by clans from surviving citadels) usually do not observe this holiday.
Skylost: Dwarven communities with ancestral ties to one of the lost Sky Citadels, such as those who can trace family lineages back to a citadel's founders, mournfully mark the date of its loss. However, each of these daughter communities might have its own specific date for that event, depending on how much information is still known and what those who recorded it considered the most significant date, such as when the last walls were breached, when the order to evacuate was given, or when the community's founders fled that citadel to establish a new home. Therefore, two towns founded by exiles from Koldukar (now Urgir in the Hold of Belkzen) might honor Skylost on different days because their patron clans evacuated the city on different days. On Skylost, dwarves reflect on the lives and accomplishments of slain ancestors. Non-dwarven temples (and those founded by clans from surviving citadels) usually do not observe this holiday.
Worship in Taldor
In 547 a Treaty between Taldor and Orzimar made it legal for Dwarves to worship of The Father of Creation inside the kingdom. Temples and shrines to Torag are found in most dwarven setlements in the kingdom.Non-Dwarfs worshiping Torag are subject to a small fine and confiscation of any material symbols.
Aphorisms
Torag’s worshippers can be found uttering the following phrases.Hammer and Tongs! The name of Torag’s holy text is often blurted as an exclamation, typically as a response to something outrageous, surprising, or frustrating. Though the words themselves don’t carry immediate meaning, they usually serve to ground the speaker, reminding them of the larger body of Torag’s teachings and helping them gain perspective on a startling or difficult situation.
An anvil is nothing without fire: Priests use this phrase to teach that working without a goal means nothing and that fighting without purpose accomplishes nothing. The saying reinforces Torag’s directives to wage war primarily as a defensive measure centered around the community, encourages followers to pursue crafting with a goal in mind, and so forth. Many dwarves can recount tales of hearing these words as an admonition after particularly reckless events during their youth.
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