Savior of the Drowned

Savior of the Drowned

The Oarsman of Scur is a minor deity devoted to rescuing lost sailors and ensuring a safe return voyage. 
Unlike Scur, the chaotic goddess of sea and storm, The Oarsman is a reliable and benevolent force - a rock in the uncertain and dangerous sea. He appears as a towering giant with dark blue skin - his long beard tangled with starfish and mollusks, with barnacles stuck to his arms and legs. On his back he carries a massive black oar, which serves as his holy symbol. The Oarsman is a god of windless skies and safe voyage. He encourages his followers to be calm in the face of chaos, prepare for life’s dangerous voyages, and trust in the wind.
As the god of safe voyages, many legends of The Oarsman also give the god a romantic nature – responsible for pulling brave sailors from watery graves in answer to the prayers of far-off loved ones.
Old tales say The Oarsman began as a mortal and was rewarded his divinity by the mighty Scur. Giant lore tells the tale of a sea giant named Skajkaia falling in love with the moon, and pursuing her across the sea to the end of the night’s sky - ever apart, but ever following. His devotion and prowess impressed Scur, who drew the giant up and made him the steady captain of her great ship, allowing him to continue his endless pursuit of the moon. While Scur leans forward from the prow, whipping up torrents and gales across the world, Skajkaia stands ever in the aft, calmly sailing it through.
Whether this tale is true or not, The Oarsman does not share Scur’s predilection for wrath, and has pity for mortals separated from their true loves. He is known to pluck up sailors sunk by Scur's wrath with his great oar, returning them to safety. The Oarsman does not save all lost to the sea - the unprepared, foolish and weak never receive his grace, and only the worthy are saved.

Shrines and Worshipers

Lifelong sailors are the most common members of The Oarsman’s followers, and most active worship is confined to coastal communities that depend on the sea for their survival, where he is worshiped on par with Scur.
Worship of the The Oarsman is particularly prominent among the fishing villages that dot the Highland Reaches and the kingdom of Blackrift, where life depends on taking to rough seas and frigid waters.
Cities that have temples devoted to Scur often include a shrine to The Oarsman, but worship is lest fervent in places where commerce or trade can provide a life apart from the sea. Outside temples to Scur, worshipers of The Oarsman create simple shrines near the water, often without roofs, believing the rainfall amplifies the message of the sermon.
It's not uncommon for a ship to contain a small shrine to The Oarsman. Even sailors who do not formally worship Scur may keep a shrine for making offerings. Pirates, explorers and anyone else who spends their lives on a ship’s deck know an offering to The Oarsman before a long voyage is a prudent practice. All sailors can tell stories of sudden shifts in the winds after a prayer over one of his shrines.
Many of The Oarsman's clergy are not clerics - a few are druids, but many are mariners who’ve seen The Oarsman’s power first-hand. These lay clergy cannot use spells, but their faith in The Oarsman is nevertheless believed to ensure a safe voyage and return to port, giving them favored positions in seaside villages.
Clerics devoted to The Oarsman begin as worshipers of Scur, who feel called to the demigod after some prophetic event at sea. Those who hear the calling must undertake a pilgrimage across the sea in a small vessel by themselves. Those who survive are said to be blessed by The Oarsman.
Clerics of The Oarsman often take the Tide Domain, gaining a supernatural sense of the power of tides and the sea.

Holy Sites

The holiest location of The Oarsman is the great monolith known as Giant's Spur. Famed across the Great Sea and beyond, this island rises from the ocean like a great tower of rough stone - reaching miles above the waves until it vanishes into the clouds above.
Giant's Spur has served as a holy site and gathering point for seafarers for ages. Legend says that it has no peak, and that it rises all the way to the Astral plane itself. The most often told story about the Spur is that anyone who manages to climb all the way to its top will be reunited with their lost love.
The legends surrounding the Spur have made it a natural focus for worshipers of The Oarsman. The faithful maintain a way house far up the side of the great tower, providing lodging and succor for the pilgrims and wayfarers that undertake the climb - whether it be for personal or religious purposes.
Apart from Giant’s Spur, there are several locations throughout the Greenwold important to The Oarsman and his faith. A great rock formation near Harpy Coast is said to be the capsized remains of Moon Chaser - The Oarsman's boat from his mortal days. Shaped like a great ship's bow - with its ancient stone prow pointing straight to the sky - aligned with the position of the full moon.

Type

Religious, Cult

Location

The Great Sea