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Gardner HarvesterMoot God of Harvests, Gardens, and FarmersDear Claudius: I hope the weather is as nice where you are as it is in Ostland this time of year. The worst of the heat is over and the rainy season has started. Personally, this is my favorite time of year. I find nothing more enjoyable than sitting down to a good text while rain pitters on the thatch. I hoped you enjoyed the translation on Rolondo that I sent you. Frauline Zehenkraus has proved a most formidable ally in my attempts to wrest more information from these sorry texts. Furthermore, she cooks a fine bloodsausage pie. Morr's Stars! My mother would not recognize me, I look positively like a burgher now! My stomach is far cry from my starving student days in Nuln. I so wish you could visit Bugeldorf. I have spoken of you often with my generous and kind employer, who you may recall is the Baronet Von Mossbacher, a man of great honor and of no little consequence hereabouts. I have not mentioned before his three darling children, for whom I am responsible to educate. Lovely children, I assure you, without a speck of remorse or responsibility among them. Now I wander to far a-field! As I said, with the help of Frauline Zehenkraus, I have been able to decipher another section of the Puddlefoot Manuscripts. They describe, in fascinating detail, the Cult of Gardner Harvester. DescriptionGardner Harvester is the god of halfling farmers and all halflings who work the soil or profit directly from its fruits, including vintners and brewers. Quiet and introspective in the spring, he becomes raucous and extroverted during the harvests when the bounty of the fields is gathered, the beer is mashed, and the wine grapes are stomped in great vats by happy halfling children. His relation to the other Esmeraldan deities is unclear, for his followers claim he is the oldest among them. He is both aloof and subordinate, regal king of nature and salt of the earth, and halfling religious scholars find no end in the pleasure of debating this god's personality and position within the pantheon over a good pipe and a stout mug of ale. Gardner is always depicted as a chubby, always cheerful halfling dressed in the simple clothes of a halfling farmer. He carries a flail or thresher in his right hand. Atop his head, he wears a wreath of golden-green hops. Between his smiling lips, a huge, curved smoking pipe dangles down. Sometimes, as a sort of halfling joke, he has a cucumber in his pocket. Area of WorshipGardner is worshipped within the Moot. Large halfling settlements outside the Moot which have not completely adopted the ways of the Big Folk will still revere him. TemplesAny farmed field, orchard, or vineyard is a temple to Gardner. Most halfling fields have scarecrows dedicated to Gardner in them. Halfling orchards and vineyards will always have one tree or vine considered the Gardner Tree, usually the first and oldest tree in the orchard. Gardner Trees are the hearts of halfling orchards and among the most sacred of halfling places. Friends and EnemiesGardner is an fine terms with the other Moot Gods. He is friendly to the Dwarven God of Brewing, having taught the dwarves the secret of beermaking for which they owe Gardner an eternal debt. He is on excellent terms with the elven Liadriel, since they both share a love of wine and song. Among the human gods, he is closest to Rhya and followers of the Old Faith, whom he treats with distant respect. He is neutral to all other gods, except any god of War, Violence, or Murder and the Lords of Chaos, all of whom represent nothing but destruction and death to Gardner. He holds all such gods in contempt. Holy DaysThere are two major festivals dedicated to Gardner: Planting Week and Harvest Week. Planting Week occurs in the spring when all halflings in the village come out to help sow and seed the farmer's fields. It is a time of quiet singing and thoughtful work as prayers are given up to Gardner for a bountiful harvest. Harvest Week occurs during the last week of Summer when the village once again returns to the fields to harvest Gardner's Bounty. Totally unlike somber Planting Week, Harvest Week is a boisterous time of shouting, drinking, grape stomping, eating, rough-housing, and dancing. Each day the halflings descend on the farms, orchards and vineyards, singing happy, rousing songs at the top of the voices while pulling, plucking, and cutting the harvest. Children to small to do heavy work at given the playful chores of stomping grapes or threshing wheat. When the sun sets, the Priestesses of Esmeralda bring forth that day's cooking efforts for the villagers to indulge in until late at night. On the last night of the Harvest Festival, the ribald Cucumber Comedies are held after the children have been safely put to bed. AlignmentGardner Harvester is neutral. SymbolGardner's symbol is a bunch of hops above a horizontal bundle of wheat. Cult RequirementsThe Cult of Gardner is open to all adult halflings. StricturesAll Initiates and Clerics of Gardner must abide by the following restrictions:
Spell UseClerics of Gardner may use all Petty Magic and all Elementalist spells. In addition, the Cult provides the following spells:
The caster may instantly ripen a single unripe fruit or vegetable. He may also restore an overripe fruit or vegetable to its ripe state. This spell cannot reverse the effects of spoilage, however.
This spell allows the caster to remove weeds and small pests from his garden. The caster sprinkles the pests or weeds with a dash of vinegar while invoking Gardner's name, instantly and precisely shriveling undesirable weeds or driving off the pest. Each casting protects a radius of 3 yards for 1 week/level.
This spell allows the caster to generate complex and artistic shapes with blown pipesmoke. The caster can make a WP test per blow (+10 Art) to achieve the desired shape. During Harvest Festivals, the Clerics of Gardner hold contests to see who can blow the most artistic smoke-shapes.
This spell allows the caster to bless a scarecrow so that it Causes Fear in the small birds and animals which threaten the farmer's fields. The spell lasts 1 week for every magic point the caster expends on the blessing. The scarecrow will protect a 1 acre field from any non-sentient animal under 10' tall that tries to eat or destroy the crops, such has crows and fieldmice. Unfortunately, it has no effect on insects (see Summon Spiders ).
This spell allows the caster to till, by hand and by himself, 1 acre of land per hour. The caster can turn 1 acre of fallow field or pasture into tilled, arable farmland ready for planting. The hoe or tiller used for the casting is not consumed by the spell.
This spell allows the caster to fortify 1 gallon of beer or wine, making it twice as strong as normal.
This spell allows the caster to summon an Swarm of Harmless Spiders under the caster's control. The spiders appear over 1D6 minutes. The spiders will obey the caster's instructions for 1D6 minutes after they have all arrived, which is enough time to instruct the spiders to enter a field and protect it from insects and other small vermin. The spiders are always beneficial to the farmer and non-poisonous to humanoids. Although the priest could order them to attack a person, the spiders are too slow to prove much of a threat and too small to cause any damage. However, they are also too numerous to kill efficiently (although any attack which does 1 W to a 6 square yard area will kill most of them). Furthermore, these little beasties can terrify creatures with arachnophobia and make a general nuisance of themselves (-10 to all tests for the duration of the spell). After the spell wears off, the spiders do not vanish, but continue on their normal spidery ways, uncontrolled by the caster.
In times of great need, the clerics of Gardner can call upon the god to physically protect a field from harm. The god manifests himself in the field's scarecrow. The caster must prick his finger and wipe the blood on the scarecrow as he invokes Gardner. The scarecrow will immediately animate and obey the cleric's commands.
The scarecrow Causes Fear in creatures under 10' tall. The scarecrow is Immune to Fear and cannot be forced to leave combat. The scarecrow may Dodge Blow once a round. It does not bleed or feel pain and can only be "killed" by completely destroying it, usually by burning it. The scarecrow is extremely Flammable. If the controlling cleric is killed or incapcitated, the scarecrow becomes Subject to Stupidity. It's power is limited to the confines of the field it was originally blessed to protect (see Bless Scarecrow). Every minute it spends beyond its field, the scarecrow takes 1W (no T, criticals result in Instant Death rolls). When the spell duration is over, the scarecrow returns to its field by the most direct route, ignoring any attacks made upon it. SkillsInitiates and Clerics of Gardner may gain one of the following skills while an Initiate and one at each level: Animal Care, Brewing (may be taken twice), Concealment - Rural, Dance, Dowsing, Herb Lore, Identify Plant, Silent Move Rural, Sing, Specialist Weapon - Flail. TrialsTrials set by Gardner might involve finding and restore a farm that has been abandoned, finding a rare variety of cucumber, developing a hardier strain of peas, inventing a new style of beer, or making a special blend of wine. BlessingsSkills favored by Gardner are Brewing, Dancing, Herb Lore, Sing, and Identify Plant. The god favors Fel, S, and T tests. |
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Created by Claycle