Deity Information
Greater Deity
Aliases: Sol (in the former Great Kingdom); the Shining One, the Sun Father, the Invincible Sun
Portfolio: Sun, Strength, Light, Healing.
Symbol: Sun face
Plane: Elysium
Alignment: NG
Worshippers: Farmers, commoners, healers

Pelor is the sun god of the Flan people, and one of the most popular deities in the Flanaess.  Pelor's worship was adopted by the Oeridian peoples in their migrations across the Flanaess, and he was considered to be the same as their sun god, Sol.  In fact, one can see the influence of the cult of Sol in the heraldry of the former nations of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy (such as Nyrond, Almor, Ahlissa, North Kingdom, Ratik, Sunndi, and the Great Kingdom proper), many of whom still utilize the Oeridian sun disk in their national devices.  Though most of these nations today have reverted to the use of the sun god's Flan name, Pelor is still referred to as Sol by many people in Ahlissa, the North Kingdom, Rel Astra, and the Sea Barons.

The most ancient depictions of Pelor in the Flanaess, found in ancient sites in Tenh, portray him as a bronze-skinned, lion-headed man, wearing little more than a loincloth.  Later depictions, found throughout the Sheldomar valley, portray the sun god crossing the sky in a burning chariot of fire drawn by equally fiery horses. Pelor is sometimes portrayed alone in these images, while other times a charioteer guides the chariot while Pelor destroys evil with bolts of sunlight.  The image of the sun god in his chariot was (and still is) quite popular in the Sheldomar valley, as well as Oeridian lands. This image is popular even among adherants of the Old Faith, which sees Pelor as an anthropomorphic manifestation of the Sun itself.  In fact, eyewitness accounts of powerful druids summoning flaming chariots drawn by fiery horses are not uncommon, leading some sages to speculate the forms taken by divine magic are influenced by culture as much as by the Divine Powers themselves. Other depictions of Pelor portray him riding across the sky on the back of a mighty ki-rin, a creature whose name in the language of the Rover tribes translates as "Star Thought." In earlier times (other than his archaic lion-headed aspect) Pelor appeared as a dynamic, bare-chested man in the prime of life.  However, the sun god of today is shown as an older man in white, with wild hair and a beard of shining gold.  One thing that all depictions of Pelor have in common, however, are his eyes, golden orbs that glow like fire.

Some of the earliest creation myths of the Flanaess regard the Sun as one of the first gods to emerge from Darkness, along with his brother, Death, and their sister, the Oerth.  Together, the Sun and the Oerth had many children, among them the Moons (Luna and Celene), Light, and the Sea.  But Death grew jealous of his brother, and coveted the Oerth for himself.  So Death bribed the Moons to hide him from his brother's glare while he fathered his own wicked children upon the Oerth.  For this reason are Death and the life-giving Sun ever at war with one another.

A number of Pelor's servants have went on to acheive divinity or near-divinity.  Best known are Mayaheine, demigoddess of protection, justice, and valor; Johydee, Oeridian hero-goddess of deception, espionage, and protection; and Saint Bane the Scourger, patron saint of those who hunt undead.

Dogma
There are two basic tenants of the faith of Pelor: "Aid Those in Need" and "Vanquish Evil." The two tenants are meant to compliment each other, and a priest should never, for example, sacrifice compassion in his urge to see evil brought to heel.

"Aid Those in Need": Nurturers and protectors, the priesthood of Pelor is heavily involved in charity work and caring for the needy, the sick, the injured, the suffering, and the unfortunate. Priests of Pelor will the community by building orphanages, acting as midwives, providing education, officating at funerals and weddings, orany number of charitable works.  They are also expected to lend their strength to the weak, and to aid in the defense of their flocks.  They view kindness, mercy, and compassion as virtues which all must aspire to.

"Vanquish Evil": The priest is expected to be ever vigilant against the forces of evil, especially undead. Pelor considers undead to be abombinations, and his priests are expected to do their utmost to bring about the destruction of undead creatures.  After destroying undead, priests of Pelor will often say the last rites over the remains in order to lay the creature's soul to rest.

Appearance
Priests of Pelor favor yellow garb of varying shades, though many accentuate their yellow garb with accessories of gold, orange, white, and red.  For official services, priests dress in yellow robes, those of 7th level and above trimmed in gold.  Many wear their hair long and loose in imitation of the rays of the sun, but it is often tied back or otherwise secured in situations where it could be dangerous or a nuissance.  Males priests, especially the older ones, often wear long beards.

Game Rule Information
Alignment: NG, CG, LG, N
Race:  Human, Half-Elf, Elf, Halfling, Gnome, Dwarf, Half-Orc, others
Hit Die: d8
Multiclass: Not required.  Adept, Commoner, Fighter, Warrior most common.
Spheres: All, Charm, Community, Creation, Divination, Air, Fire*, Sun, Guardian, Healing, Protection, Summoning*

Class Skills
Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana, religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language, and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) * 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Priesthood Information
Portfolio: Sun, Light, Strength, Healing
Sex: Any
Color: Yellow
Vestments: Yellow robes, with those of 7th level and above trimmed in gold.  Lay members of the church usually wear white robes trimmed in yellow.
Holy Days: Winter Solstice (Needfest 4) and Summer Solstice (Richfest 4).
Holy Texts: Book of Lothan
Duties: Guidance, marriage, healing, charity, funerals, births, coming of age, education
Animals: Ki-rin, eagle, lion
Enemy/ Rival Priesthoods: Nerull, Incabulos, Tharizdun, Iuz, Vecna.
Allied Priesthoods: Mayaheine, Rao, Koriel, Beory, Myhriss, Allitur, Lydia, Johydee, Saint Bane. 

 

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the priest of Pelor.

Armor and Weapon Proficiency: All simple weapons, all types of armor, all shields.  The mace is the priesthood's favored weapon.

Spells:1A priest of Pelor casts divine spells.  The DC for a saving throw against a priest of Pelor’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the priest’s Wisdom modifier.

Deity:1A priest of Pelor devotes himself exclusively to Pelor, God of the Sun, Strength, Light, and Healing.

Spontaneous Casting:1Priests of Pelor, like clerics, can “trade” out a prepared spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same level or lower.

Turn Undead:1Priests of Pelor can turn undead, and receive bonuses to do so at 1st, 5th, and every five levels thereafter.  A priest of Pelor may also take the Extra Turning Feat.

Lay on Hands:1At 2nd Level, priests of Pelor gain the power to heal wounds by touch, much as a paladin can.  Each day the priest can cure a total number of hit points equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) times his level.  The priest may cure himself or others.  He may choose to divide the curing among multiple recipients, and doesn’t have to use it all at once (but unused points do NOT carry over to the next day).  Lay on Hands is a spell-like ability whose use is a standard action.  Alternatively, the priest can use any or all of these points to deal damage to undead creatures.  Treat this attack just like a touch spell.  The priest decides how many cure points to use as damage after successfully touching the undead creature.

Pelor’s Blessing:1At 3rd Level, a priest of Pelor gains a +2 on all saving throws against disease.

Pelor’s Touch:1At 4th Level, all cure spells cast by a priest of Pelor heal at least median damage (½ of die used).  For example, a cure light wounds cast by a 4th Level priest will cure 4-8 (treat all 1s, 2s, and 3s rolled as 4s) +4 points of damage.  All cure spells used to deal damage to undead creatures are treated normally.

Remove Disease:1Beginning at 4th level, a priest of Pelor can use this spell-like ability once per week.  He can use this ability more often as he advances in levels.

Pelor’s Greater Blessing:1At 12th level, the priest of Pelor gains a +4 on all saving throws against disease.

Bonus Languages:1In addition to bonus languages available by race, a priest of Pelor may also choose Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal.