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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
 Posted - 26 May 2022 : 20:17:50
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After hearing about Gelf Darkhearth and reading his depiction in Races of Stone, I thought I would clear that up a bit with regard to the Realms. I don't have the rest of it done yet but I thought I would get your reaction to Gelf's story and how it could fit into canon Realmslore.
Gelf is Garl Glittergold’s brother and gadfly to the Lord of the Golden Hills’ ideas for the gnome race. Originally, their relationship was congenial with Garl trusting to his brother to point out any weaknesses in Garl’s plans. However, after the loss of the gnome’s homeland, Gelf was convinced that it was Garl’s short sightedness that led to that loss, so he is now actively working against his brother. Gelf believes this active opposition will lead to a stronger and more resilient race of gnomes.
Because of his distain for his brother, Gelf is now depicted as a grey-skinned dwarf with a black beard. Nothing has been revealed for this change from his previous gnome appearance but there has been speculation that it is to call out the gnomes’ almost dwarf-like industriousness and suppress the “frivolity” that Garl has inspired. Gelf’s church leaders often say that gnomes will only truly be in charge of their destiny if they focus on their industrious natures.
That being said, things are a bit different in Realmspace. When the gnome pantheon first gained access to The Realm’s crystal sphere, Garl was able to prevent Gelf’s access. This allowed Garl to act more freely and without worry about interference in his plans. Garl could not, however, prevent knowledge of his brother and aspects of his worship from being had within Realmspace.
Garl became concerned over the following millennia as Gelf was gaining more and more worship though casual, day-to-day prayers even though he had no church or organized devotion. He knew it would only be a matter of time before there was enough devotional energy to allow Gelf access to Realmspace. He also knew that if he actively tried to stamp out these prayers to Gelf, it would only make him more widely known and actually speed up when he would again be a thorn in Garl’s side. However, to Garl’s benefit, happenstance provided a solution to Garl’s dilemma.
This happenstance would have it that after The Deepspawn Wars, the dwarven gods (who are also brothers) Diirinka and Diinkarazan found themselves having a run in with the illithid god Ilsensine (the details of this encounter are detailed elsewhere). It was during this incident that Diirinka stabbed Diinkarazan in the back and left him to the mercies of Ilsensine. Filled with a fear that Ilsensine would destroy him utterly, Diinkarazan split himself into two parts: a demigod to be left behind as a distraction for Ilsensince and a lesser god that was able to flee and thus survive.
The fractured but free part of Diinkarazan almost instinctually sent an avatar to Toril to the area of the Jewel Kingdom of Korolnor, a subkingdom of Deep Shanatar, where he used to be the patron god. It was there that his avatar ran into a group of gnomes. Based on his appearance, they believed that they had just encountered an avatar of Gelf Darkhearth. Seeing into their minds, Diinkarazan knew he had found a place to hide so he quickly modified his avatar and let them believe he was indeed Gelf Darkhearth. After helping them gain revenge on the group of trolls they were hunting, he recalled his avatar to ponder on his newly discovered hiding place.
It was then that, while Diinkarazan was receiving the devotional energy from that group of gnomes, that Garl became aware of “Gelf’s” arrival in The Realms. He was quickly able to determine the true nature of his appearance. Garl realized that if a god of The Realms did seize Gelf’s aspect, it would permanently remove the true Gelf’s ability to gain access Realmspace. He also knew that this Gelf would not have the drive to oppose Garl’s plans like his brother would want to.
And so it was that Diinkarazan became known as the mad god trapped in the Abyss and Gelf Darkhearth would randomly and infrequently answer the prayers of gnomes living in The Realms. It also allowed for the enchantment of the throne of Korolnor so that Diinkarazan would never be forgotten. Finally, it allowed for vengeful actions be planned and carried out against Diirinka without him ever guessing that his brother was the source of these setbacks.
Over the centuries since, Diinkarazan’s disguise has provided a couple benefits. The first of which is that the devotional energy from the gnomes has restored him back to intermediate god status. It also allowed him to expand his portfolio from just revenge and sorrow to include both entropy and magical artifice. However, Diinkarazan has resisted efforts by his followers to create a Church of Gelf Darkhearth. He would rather be an obscure and lesser-known gnome god than to fully abandon his dwarven roots.
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"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
954 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2022 : 17:20:12
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I posited something similar on these boards several months back too. Glad to see I wasn't the only one who picked up on the similarities.
Diinkarazan
The Mad One is now a chaotic evil power of vengeance, murder, and madness, what his portfolio may have been before his entrapment is unknown. Because Diirinka erased most memory of his brother from the minds of the derro, Diinkarazan is a name found only among stray and lost bits of lore, a befuddled memory among some derro, and a horror screamed by other derro every several decades. Diinkarazan is incapable of sponsoring clerics.
Diinkarazan was once the patron of the Jewel Kingdom of Korolnor, and he is still venerated by a few members of Clans Eaglecleft, Kuldelver, and Titanbane for that reason. Most of these followers are shield dwarf warlocks, (who have struck their bargain with a Great Old One patron and taken up the pact of the blade) who seek vengeance against everyone from humans to dwarves to illithids to other horrors of the depths, for Moradin exiled Diinkarazan from the Morndinsamman and his "church" is closely affiliated with the derro.
Gelf Darkhearth. Some few have also noticed similarities between Diinkarazan and the little-known gnomish legend of Gelf Darkhearth. Gelf is said to be Garl’s reflection and twin with gray skin and a dwarven mien. He is perceived somewhat more benignly than Diinkarazan as a chaotic neutral god of anger, entropy, frustration, rebellion, revenge, destruction, and regret, who takes obsessive delight in opposing everything Garl attempts. This compulsion puts Gelf in the tragic position of tearing down the gnome society he allegedly loves, just to thwart Garl. The gnomes rarely speak of him, and some planar sages have suggested it is because, too much like Diinkarazan, Gelf only makes his presence felt so rarely, about once every 50 years or so…. Most gnome followers of Gelf are crazed rock or deep gnome warlocks who have struck a pact with a Great Old One and have taken up the pact of the blade, opting for warhammers.
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2022 : 21:05:23
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| It was that conversation that we had last Sept that actually prompted this. Well, that and the fact that I need a non-good, non-Urdlen gnome god for something else. Since Gelf is not part of the Realm's gnome pantheon on any level, I needed a way to include him without actually including him. So, based on your pointing out the similarity between Diinkarazan and Gelf, I came up with a way for "Gelf" to be in the Realms without upsetting the gnome pantheon's structure and with the tacit approval of Garl. Since this isn't really Gelf, there is going to be a slight difference with the real one. I would guess that in the Realms, Gelf would be considered apocryphal as far as the gnome pantheon is concerned. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6643 Posts |
Posted - 29 May 2022 : 02:33:50
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I don't think you should hesitate to use Gelf as part of your FR gnomish pantheon. That's never been "set out" in Realmslore and even the ones that have (e.g. the dwarven pantheon) has seen Ed depart from the list in FR11 and add other dwarven deities from non-FR sources - as he did recently on Twitter (9 Feb 2022) with Hanseath. Go for what suits you.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 29 May 2022 : 16:33:12
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| Thank you, George. I didn't know about (or remember) about Hanseath. Of course, he IS Ed so he can really say anything he wants. By comparison, I am merely a "groupie" so I try to keep things as close to canon as I can. That doesn't mean that I won't try to add another layer where things are not necessarily what they seem. That provides an even larger fertile valley for adventures. A horse is just a horse except when it is two guys in a costume and that is where things can get interesting REAL fast. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
954 Posts |
Posted - 29 May 2022 : 22:46:04
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| We also have scant gnome lore, so adding to it shouldn't upset any existing apple carts. |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2022 : 00:12:10
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Yep, I hit that when I was doing a standalone update for Hardbuckler (if your curious, you can get a copy at the link in my sig). The funniest thing I discovered in my research is that, despite his distain for gnomes, Eric has actually contributed more Realms lore about gnomes than any other writer (outside of Ed, of course).
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"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6643 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2022 : 02:17:05
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quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
Yep, I hit that when I was doing a standalone update for Hardbuckler (if your curious, you can get a copy at the link in my sig). The funniest thing I discovered in my research is that, despite his distain for gnomes, Eric has actually contributed more Realms lore about gnomes than any other writer (outside of Ed, of course).
He's just faking for appearance's sake. He's a gnome fanboy.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2066 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2022 : 14:13:43
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
Yep, I hit that when I was doing a standalone update for Hardbuckler (if your curious, you can get a copy at the link in my sig). The funniest thing I discovered in my research is that, despite his distain for gnomes, Eric has actually contributed more Realms lore about gnomes than any other writer (outside of Ed, of course).
He's just faking for appearance's sake. He's a gnome fanboy.
-- George Krashos
To fight your enemy, you have to understand them first. |
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2066 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2022 : 23:25:59
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So in general, I'm a fan of adding some of the obscure deities that appeared in Dragon magazine or the various "Races of ..." splatbooks from 3e.
The "way" I like to add them is similar to what George and I did in Havens of Miyeritar. Specifically, we created an alternate pantheon for the early days of Jhachaulkyn.
In other words, assume that the "standard" elven / dwarven / halfling / gnome pantheon is the one that's in books like Demihuman Deities. But assume other cultures of that race have a different subset of deities. Try to build an alternate pantheon that is coherent and flows logically from that alternate culture.
Thanks to this thread, I just figured out how to introduce Gelf Darkhearth into my campaign. ;-)
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
Edited by - ericlboyd on 08 Jun 2022 23:26:17 |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jun 2022 : 01:18:08
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Glad to be of help. :D
Your suggestion is kinda how I pictured the gnome's home crystal sphere but I was going to block the non-standard gnome gods from coming over to the Faerun crystal sphere. You just gave me a better idea that the "alternate gnome pantheon" is going to be where the female gnome gods went and it is why the standard gnome gods won't talk about them. I hadn't intended on having to create new gods but this idea is much better than what I had before.
Eric/George/AuldDragon, would you have any advice on how to approach the creation of gods? |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Races of Stone: Gelf Darkhearth
