Keranos, god of storms

Mercurial and temperamental, Keranos personifies storms. Adventuring in the service of the god of storms is often challenging but never dull. Keranos is the god of storms and wisdom. Merciless and impatient, Keranos is equally likely to strike out at mortals with a bolt of inspiration or a blast of lightning. To revere Keranos is to exult in the power of wisdom, clarity of purpose, and the fury of the storm. He is favored by tinkerers, inventors, and sailors as well as those seeking solutions to intractable problems. He doesn’t tolerate the company (or the worship) of fools, and he despises vapidity and indecision.
Keranos’s Influence Keranos is the embodiment of wisdom and insight unhindered by compassion or patience. Just as the storm vents its fury unpredictably and without warning, so does Keranos deliver the wisdom he chooses to impart.
A storm, for all its unpredictability, can still be weathered by those who apply foresight and knowledge. So it is when dealing with Keranos. He rewards those who act with forethought and decisiveness and punishes the reckless for their stupidity.
Those who seek to solve enigmas and create wonders of art and science often invoke his name. The creative process is fraught with frustration, and his insights make short work of such hindrances as easily as the lightning parts a mighty oak.
Keranos dispenses inspiration without regard for the morality of its application. He is just as likely to reward the shrewd general seeking to topple a polis as a gentle healer searching for a cure for a malady. Good and evil don’t color his thinking, only action and the thrill of birthing new ideas into the world. Furthering the act of creating—be it ideas, weapons, art, or magic—is what matters most.

Keranos’s Goals

For good or ill, Keranos exists as a disruptive force. He doesn’t desire authority over other gods and, in fact, doesn’t particularly enjoy their company. Keranos finds satisfaction in investing bright mortals with prescient visions to see how they adapt. Those who prove themselves decisive and intelligent, such as the missing Queen Cymede of Akros, earn his grudging respect and continued blessings of precognition. He finds satisfaction not only in granting insight, but also in expressing the awesome fury of the storm. Where others see only chaos and destruction in storms, he sees them as shaping the firmament in ways that challenge and engage mortals. His blasts of lightning set house and forest ablaze, thus rendering the soil clear for new life and new creations. His is a vision he alone is equipped to see. He is content to watch his divine kinfolk scheme and plot while he looks on, stern and inscrutable.
The Keranos’s Quests table suggests a few adventures the god’s champions might involve themselves in.

Keranos’s Quests

d6 Adventure Goal 1 Help a genius artist who had their inspiration physically stolen. 2 Break down a ruling structure that stifles ingenuity and creativity. 3 Bring together lost icons of power to create an incredible storm with the might to halt a greater threat. 4 Find a long-lost artifact that bestows oracular visions upon the user. 5 Defeat the champion of another god in a battle of wits (perhaps Phenax, Mogis, or Klothys). 6 Find and restore a lost art form, arcane technique, or crafting method for the glory of Keranos.

A Keranos Campaign

A campaign focused on champions of Keranos might involve acquiring oracular visions, unraveling a prophecy, or bringing vengeance down on the storm god’s enemies. He uses his champions as agents of change to bring about a great epiphany, as instruments of vengeance against those he feels have wronged him, or as divine agents sent to aid his faithful.
As the campaign begins, the characters might be summoned by an oracle and told of a dire prophecy threatening the polis. Next, they manage to avert the worst consequences for the polis through their wits and skill at arms. Now, having demonstrated their potential to the polis and Keranos, they become embroiled in ever grander, more dangerous prophecies, potentially drawing in secrets of the other gods or of reality itself.
It is relatively easy for a mortal to lose Keranos’s favor because the god is quick to anger and doesn’t suffer failure or foolishness well. Should the characters disappoint the god, they might have to assuage Keranos’s wrath. They could accomplish this through a great feat of wit, by laying low a powerful foe, by embarrassing a rival god, or by discovering a great insight or secret. Until this is done, Keranos would be a potent adversary.

Divine Relationships

Keranos is neither friendly nor sociable, so his dealings with most of the rest of the pantheon tend to be terse, formal, and brief. This doesn’t mean that no interactions of note take place, however.
Of all the gods, Thassa has the most cordial relationship with Keranos. He enjoys the sea god’s love of ancient lore, introspection, and complex patterns. The two sometimes talk for days at a time debating the flaws in ancient sophistries and discussing the meaning of the stars. Thassa, imperturbable and constant, makes the ideal counter to the wise yet temperamental Keranos.
Another interesting relationship exists with Purphoros. The passions of the divine blacksmith run hot, as does the need to create. The melding of Keranos’s inspiration with Purphoros’s passion is a formidable combination. This partnership resulted in the creation of Epiphany, Keranos’s mighty javelin.

Worshiping Keranos

Keranos’s name is often invoked by those amid a storm who seek safety, or by someone who is faced with a particularly difficult problem. Only the foolhardy call out to Keranos frivolously or in jest, since he might well smite the offender with a bolt from the blue.
In Akros, where Queen Cymede actively promoted the worship of Keranos, elaborate ceremonies are conducted beginning just before the first summer thunderstorm. Intricate, open-framed sand paintings with complex geometric shapes are created by dancers in flowing blue silken wraps. Then, as the rains fall, the paintings are washed away, symbolizing the impermanence of genius and the power of change. Akroan oracles strive to predict the exact time of the first storm in hopes of allowing enough time to stage the celebration. A similar festival in Meletis, called the Lightning Festival, gives its name (Astrapion) to the third month of the year.
On the last day of every month, Keranos’s priests and laity bring offerings of fish and distilled spirits to his temples. The fish are cooked under a skylight open to the stars, with a shot of spirits thrown on the fire.

MYTHS OF KERANOS

The myths and legends told of Keranos’s deeds demonstrate his wisdom and wrath, dispensed in equal measure.

Epiphany.

The lightning bolt is a symbol of both Keranos’s fury and his ability to inspire. Pondering this combination, he entreated Purphoros to create a mighty weapon, a javelin that strikes with the force of the storm. Keranos channeled his anger into a furious storm, which Purphoros then captured and smithed into a gleaming javelin that hummed with power. When Keranos wants to send a message, of either destruction or enlightenment, Epiphany is his tool of choice.

Font of Fortunes.

In ages past, Keranos created a bronze font fed by a pure mountain stream that would grant great oracular power if one drank deeply from it. As Keranos wanted only the wisest and most clever mortals to gain his favor, the font lies at the end of a series of fierce traps and riddles. It exists both in and out of Nyx, hidden to all but the most diligent of seekers.

Lightning Diadem.

Years ago, Keranos received an exquisitely cut sapphire set in a delicate silver diadem as an offering. Deeply appreciative of the skill and craftsmanship required to create it, Keranos imbued the gem with a spark of divine genius. Inventors and philosophers coveted the diadem, for it conferred a fraction of Keranos’s inspiration to the wearer—granting incredible insights or fracturing the wearer’s sanity. Its last owner, the tormented genius Zexso the Unblinking, is said to have created a massive contraption to assure that the lightning diadem wouldn’t shatter the mind of any other mortal. The inventor’s machine launched the diadem into the heavens, where it’s said to have landed upon a griffin-inhabited island floating in the clouds.

Riddle of Lightning.

Once, an arrogant oracle boasted of her infallible insight, which flowed from Keranos himself. Bemused, the storm lord arranged for the oracle to meet a particularly cunning sphinx and engage in an epic battle of wits. The objective set forth by Keranos was to solve the Riddle of Lightning, an enigma devised by Keranos himself. After days of deliberation, the oracle realized the answer, only to be struck down by a bolt from the heavens. Among the faithful nowadays, the term “Riddle of Lightning” is used to denote a question that one is better off not knowing the answer to.

Silent Storm.

Occasionally, Keranos seeks to make his will known with all the subtlety of the master of storms. Should lightning strike the same point multiple times yet never echo with thunder, followers of Keranos claim that is the way their god draws attention to secrets he wishes to share. While repeat lightning strikes would normally cause considerable damage, strikes that convey the god’s will often leave a scorch in the shape of Keranos’s symbol or no mark at all.

Keranos’s Champions

Keranos sees his champions as tools to bring insight and change to the world. He doesn’t contemplate the moral or ethical consequences of his insights, believing that such concerns are beneath a god’s notice. This outlook might put his champions in a difficult ideological situation, stuck between the demands of a wrathful deity and uncomfortable moral choices.
Alignment: Usually chaotic, often neutral
Suggested Classes: Barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, wizard
Suggested Cleric Domains: Knowledge, Tempest
Suggested Backgrounds: Acolyte, entertainer, guild artisan, noble, sage, sailor
Most champions of Keranos are calm under pressure, creative, and clever. They often seek to challenge the status quo and thrill at wielding the power of the storm.

Keranos’s Favor

Keranos chooses champions who are deliberate and wise, yet able to bring the storm’s fury when needed. He expects his champions to be aggressive and self-reliant and disdains the lazy and the foolish, who deserve whatever ill fortune befalls them.
The god of storms is inscrutable at the best of times; thus, it can be difficult to discern why you’ve earned his favor. What prompted him to gift you with foreknowledge of important events? How have you demonstrated your potential? The Keranos’s Favor table offers a handful of suggestions.

Keranos’s Favor

d6 Circumstance 1 You were born amid a great storm that destroyed most of your village. 2 One of your parents was struck by lightning. 3 As a child, you were favored by an oracle of great power who saw Keranos’s spark within you. 4 You solved a riddle, puzzle, or cipher that was previously thought unsolvable. 5 You were born under auspicious stars. 6 You have no idea why Keranos grants you visions, and the burden weighs heavily on your soul. Devotion to Keranos Just as the storm is unpredictable and often dangerous, so is service to the lord of storms. Keranos’s devotees hatch their grand designs always with an eye on the darkening sky. As a follower of Keranos, consider the ideals on the Keranos’s Ideals table as alternatives to those suggested for your background.

Keranos’s Ideals

d6 Ideal 1 Devotion. My devotion to my god is more important to me than what he stands for. (Any) 2 Wisdom. The pursuit of knowledge and insight is the highest aspiration one can achieve. (Any) 3 Foresight. Fortune favors the prepared, not so much the bold. (Neutral or lawful) 4 Fury. I am the storm and will not be denied. (Chaotic) 5 Impatience. Whatever it takes to reach an epiphany, I will do it. (Chaotic) 6 Change. There are no constants in this life. If we don’t innovate and adapt, we are doomed. (Chaotic)

Earning and Losing Piety

You increase your piety score to Keranos when you expand the god’s influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:

• Solving a challenging riddle or puzzle
• Smiting the unwise and foolish in Keranos’s name
• Helping a polis successfully plan for or adapt to a threat
• Building or restoring a temple to Keranos

Your piety score to Keranos decreases if you diminish Keranos’s influence in the world, contradict his ideals, or make him look ridiculous or ineffectual through acts such as these:

• Jeopardizing others through rash or foolish actions
• Willingly subverting or impeding a wise course of action
• Failing to plan appropriately for a challenge
• Giving in to wanton fury and destruction

Keranos’s Devotee

Piety 3+ Keranos trait
As a devotee of Keranos, you have proven your wisdom and your allegiance to the storm lord. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can deal an extra 1d6 lightning damage to the target. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Keranos’s Votary Piety 10+ Keranos trait
When you fail an Intelligence or a Wisdom saving throw, you can reroll the die, and you must use the new roll. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Keranos’s Disciple Piety 25+ Keranos trait
The energy of the storm fills your being, granting you advantage on initiative rolls.
Champion of Storms Piety 50+ Keranos trait
You can increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.

Keranos’s Villains

Inspiration, unguided by morals and ethics, is a dangerous force, but Keranos isn’t usually concerned with matters of good or evil. As such, a charismatic leader, acting on Keranos’s divinely inspired intuition, could find themselves succumbing to megalomania and hubris, with disastrous consequences for a polis.
Keranos’s followers can become too narrowly focused on fulfilling dangerous prophecies without regard for loss of life. If you want to pit the characters against a morally gray antagonist who might have some traits or qualities that they admire, Keranos and his followers would work admirably.
The Keranos’s Villains table suggests a variety of foes that might arise from among the god’s followers.
Keranos’s Villains d6 Villain 1 An oracle (see chapter 6) foretells disaster for a polis unless a number of innocent citizens are sacrificed. 2 An mage servant of Keranos enhances storms as they form, threatening the countryside. 3 An artist (commoner) creates incredible works of art whose subjects come to life and wreak havoc. 4 An archmage who controls lightning rises to power, blasting those who oppose her to smithereens. 5 A wild-eyed oracle (see chapter 6) points to the characters as harbingers of a coming disaster. 6 A living storm deluges an area, taking what it believes is righteous revenge on a community.

Keranos’s Monsters

Keranos is associated with creatures that act as extensions of his volatile temper or his sudden, blinding insights. Adventures that bring characters into conflict with Keranos’s agents might pit them against monsters such as these. The Keranos’s Monsters table presents just a few foes likely to serve the god’s will.
Keranos’s Monsters Challenge Creature Source 2 Centaur MM 3 Akroan hoplite MOoT 3 Blue dragon wyrmling* MM 5 Air elemental MM 7 Theran chimera MOoT 9 Young blue dragon* MM 13 Storm giant MM 16 Adult blue dragon* MM 23 Ancient blue dragon* MM

Keranos rarely appears directly to mortals, preferring to communicate through an epiphany or a crashing bolt of lightning. When he does deign to manifest in the mortal world, Keranos prefers the form of a stout, bearded, male human wearing a purple loincloth girdled in a mithral chain belt with a clasp in the form of a dragon’s skull. His bearing is upright and stern, with a clipped, brusque way of speaking. Particularly clever plans and observations bring a hint of a smile to his face. When interacting with mortals, Keranos sometimes appears in the form of a great horned owl with lightning strikes flashing in its eyes.