Origin of Pholtus - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Origin of Pholtus

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Miles
Dec 13, 2004 16:32:39 Where on Oerth did the Pholtus religion originate before the Oeridians took it to the Pale?

Miles.
#2
cwslyclgh
Dec 13, 2004 17:33:49 IMC Pholtus is a very ancient deity, one that the Oeridians have worshiped since well before the migrations... His religion developed in the ancient Oeridian homeland (Some place around present day Ull). IMC Pholtus is the Oeridian sun god, and was originaly the head of the Oeridian pantheon (and a greater god), but his power has been waning since the great migrations, and he is but a shadow of his former glory... recently his slow decline has come to a stop however, and he has started to once agian grow in power.... I see this as sort of a cyclic thing, as the suns power is diminished in the night, only to rise again the next morning, so Pholtus's power wanes and waxes, though over a much longer time scale.
#3
gadodel
Dec 14, 2004 19:37:59 IMC, he is the son of certain Greek God of the Sun. Obviously, he is a bit more serious than his 'father'. Oerth was chosen as a home for a reason not yet disclosed.
#4
zombiegleemax
Dec 14, 2004 21:35:06 The ancient Oeridians appear to have immigrated from west of Ull and then to have lived in that region prior to and during the start of the cataclysmic war between the Suel Imperium and the Baklunish Empire.

Some fans imagine Pholtus, like Velnius, as one of the oldest of the Oeridian gods. I don't equate him with the sun itself but instead think of him as a prophet and regulator of the Blinding Light, which may (not) be the Positive Material Plane or the ancient god "Sol" -- created by Gary Holian.

During the Great Migrations, the faith of Pholtus spread across the Flanaess, as the Oeridians ventured east. Based on the ancient migration routes, worship of Pholtus should exist in many parts of the Kingdom of Keoland as well as the majority of the former Great Kingdom of Aerdy.

According to the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, the church of Pholtus was invested with control of the courts by the Overking. This coincided with the founding of the See of Medegia. Eventually, however, this control was taken from the church of Pholtus and given to that of Zilchus. This act, and others, precipitated the migration of many priests of Pholtus (and their followers) from Medegia to the region that came to be known as the Theocracy of the Pale.

Besides the LGG, The Marklands has some material on the politics of the Pale in the 580s CY. In the FtA boxed set, there was a good mini-adventure regarding "the Sin Eater," which was the title of a priest from the Pale who specialized in exorcism. A description of Wintershiven was included in the 2e module, Fate of Istus. Issak Haywood, a fan, authored several good pieces on the Theocracy of the Pale, which were published in the Oerth Journal. These are available for download (free of course) at Canonfire! .

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Miles Dec 13, 2004 16:32:39	Where on Oerth did the Pholtus religion originate before the Oeridians took it to the Pale? Miles.
#2 cwslyclgh Dec 13, 2004 17:33:49	IMC Pholtus is a very ancient deity, one that the Oeridians have worshiped since well before the migrations... His religion developed in the ancient Oeridian homeland (Some place around present day Ull). IMC Pholtus is the Oeridian sun god, and was originaly the head of the Oeridian pantheon (and a greater god), but his power has been waning since the great migrations, and he is but a shadow of his former glory... recently his slow decline has come to a stop however, and he has started to once agian grow in power.... I see this as sort of a cyclic thing, as the suns power is diminished in the night, only to rise again the next morning, so Pholtus's power wanes and waxes, though over a much longer time scale.
#3 gadodel Dec 14, 2004 19:37:59	IMC, he is the son of certain Greek God of the Sun. Obviously, he is a bit more serious than his 'father'. Oerth was chosen as a home for a reason not yet disclosed.
#4 zombiegleemax Dec 14, 2004 21:35:06	The ancient Oeridians appear to have immigrated from west of Ull and then to have lived in that region prior to and during the start of the cataclysmic war between the Suel Imperium and the Baklunish Empire. Some fans imagine Pholtus, like Velnius, as one of the oldest of the Oeridian gods. I don't equate him with the sun itself but instead think of him as a prophet and regulator of the Blinding Light, which may (not) be the Positive Material Plane or the ancient god "Sol" -- created by Gary Holian. During the Great Migrations, the faith of Pholtus spread across the Flanaess, as the Oeridians ventured east. Based on the ancient migration routes, worship of Pholtus should exist in many parts of the Kingdom of Keoland as well as the majority of the former Great Kingdom of Aerdy. According to the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, the church of Pholtus was invested with control of the courts by the Overking. This coincided with the founding of the See of Medegia. Eventually, however, this control was taken from the church of Pholtus and given to that of Zilchus. This act, and others, precipitated the migration of many priests of Pholtus (and their followers) from Medegia to the region that came to be known as the Theocracy of the Pale. Besides the LGG, The Marklands has some material on the politics of the Pale in the 580s CY. In the FtA boxed set, there was a good mini-adventure regarding "the Sin Eater," which was the title of a priest from the Pale who specialized in exorcism. A description of Wintershiven was included in the 2e module, Fate of Istus. Issak Haywood, a fan, authored several good pieces on the Theocracy of the Pale, which were published in the Oerth Journal. These are available for download (free of course) at Canonfire! .