Editing Nentir Vale (section)

===Dead Gods===
It goes without saying, but, in a war, there are always casualties. Many gods fell either during the Dawn War or the War in Heaven, and a few even perished afterwards due to various machinations. These are generally presumed as being dead, dead, '''dead''', but, [[Dragon Magazine]] #390 covers a small selection of dead gods who are still worshipped, and hints that it may be possible to bring them back.

Not mentioned here are dead gods whose powers are still invoked through [[warlock]]s of the [[Vestige]] pact.

'''Amoth''' - 
Former master of the Dominion of Kalanduren, Amoth was the God of Justice and Mercy during his life.  This presupposes a '''Good''' alignment for him. Needless to say, the [[Demon Prince]]s hated him, and eventually [[Demogorgon]], [[Orcus]], and a forgotten Demon Prince named Rimmon conspired to unite their forces and attack Amoth's Dominion. Despite what you might think, Amoth went down fighting; he killed Rimmon, and would have killed Demogorgon if Orcus hadn't got him with a cheap shot from behind whilst he was dueling the Prince of Demons. Amoth's story is covered in ''Divine Power'', whilst his ruined Dominion is detailed in ''The Plane Above''. Since the skull on the Rod of Orcus is stated to be that of a slain god of Virtue and Chivalry, some have supposed that it might be Amoth's skull, and if you could steal the Rod, you could use it as a way to bring Amoth back to life.

'''[[Aurom]]''' - 
One of several dead gods covered in extensive detail in [[Dragon Magazine]] #390. Aurom, also known as the Shattered One, is one of the most ancient deities in the Nentir Vale setting and one of the first to be displaced by an ambitious mortal. The '''Unaligned''' God or Goddess (nobody really knows anymore; s/he might have even been both) of "The Cycle of Life", Aurom held a disproportionate amount of power due to holding multiple diffuse portfolios, predominantly Life and Death. As such, when Nerull, one of the world's first [[necromancer]]s, slew Aurom, he was able to win the favor of the other gods for his act by letting them divvy up most of Aurom's portfolios amongst themselves and taking only Death for himself. Nerull did his best to erase Aurom's existence to strengthen his powers, and so the Raven Queen reversed this decision to weaken Nerull's own grasp on power. Currently, many different sects of Auromites have risen and fallen, with the longest-lasting being the morose, dispassionate scholars of the Enclave of Dust. These individuals believe Aurom's sigil was a broken or unfinished rune, and that his/her commands were as follow:
* Everything is part of the cycle. We are born. We live. We die. Respect life, and know death to be a part of it.
* We are created from the elements and return to the chaos when it ends. The primordials are our enemies. They seek to undo the cycle, refusing to be part of it.
* Undeath is a punishment and trial. It should be ended for those who do not deserve it, and it should be prolonged or inflicted on those who do.
* Do not fight death. Do not seek to be more than you are. We are all dust.

'''[[Gorellik]]''' - 
God of [[Gnolls]] and Beasts, Gorellik's existence is only mentioned in passing in [[Dragon Magazine]] #364, where [[Yeenoghu]] is said to have slain him and stolen his children, thus dooming gnolls to their lives of evil. From what we know of his traditional animalistic "I don't give a fuck about anything other than eating and mating" mentality, he would probably have been '''Unaligned'''.

'''[[Haramathur]]''' - 
One of several dead gods covered in extensive detail in [[Dragon Magazine]] #390. Known as the Guardian In Stone and the Eternal Watcher, this '''Lawful Good''' God of Guardians was the protector of his fellow deities during the Dawn War, fighting constantly to thwart invasions of the Astral Sea from the Elemental Chaos, and earned the respect of all his kin. When Io was slain, this led to the creation of a mighty rift-gate between the two planes, and Haramathur knew that this couldn't be allowed to stand. Plunging into the rift, he used his powers to turn himself and his surroundings into stone, closing the rift for eternity through an act of self-sacrifice. The other gods do their best to keep this lore secret; if some well-meaning soul were to restore Haramathur, that would re-open the rift and allow the Dawn War to be rekindled. Haramathur's corpse now exists simultaneously in the Astral Sea (as the Dominion of Erishani, detailed in ''The Plane Above'') and in the Elemental Chaos (as Mael Arn’dreygh, or the Sealed Way, an eye of calm in the center of a 20 mile wild maelstrom of rock, ash and molten lava). Haramathur's symbol was a halberd placed before a tower shield, and he offered the following commandments:
* Protect those for whom you care, as well as those who cannot protect themselves.
* Patience is a virtue. Wait for your enemies to move. Stay ever vigilant.
* Do not fear the darkness. Train yourself to be aware of your enemies with all your senses.
* The earth is your friend. Use it to protect yourself and trap your enemies.

'''He Who Was''' - 
The most famous of the dead gods, He Who Was is the deity who once commanded the loyalty of [[Asmodeus]], before the latter murdered his master, unpersoned him, and seized control of his Dominion of Baathion. God of Sky, Kingship and Wisdom, he is rumored to have been the creator-god of humanity, and was probably '''Good''' in terms of alignment. Tantalizing hints say that if one can somehow find a copy of his name, one can bring him back to life. As just his dying curse warped Asmodeus and his followers into the first devils and trapped them in the now-blasted hellscape of Baator, the prospect of this terrifies Asmodeus, even for all his power. So, of course, he's done everything he can to wipe every last trace of his old master's existence from creation.

'''[[Io]]''' - 
The creator-god of the dragons, Io was slain battling the Primordial known as Erek-Hus, King of Terror, who split in half with one downward strike of his mountain-sized adamantine axe. Io's sundered corpse turned into [[Bahamut]] and [[Tiamat]], each of whom got half of Io's traits - Bahamut got his better nature, and Tiamat his baser nature. A vial of Io's blood is a magical artifact-tier relic in the Metallic Draconomicon, and it seeks to assist in recreating the deity by fusing Bahamut and Tiamat back together. Alignment is uncertin; either a flawed '''Good''' or a benevolent-leaning '''Unaligned'''; the latter makes more sense, if we look at metallic dragons in 4e, plus it makes sense he could thusly be split into Good and Evil progeny.

'''Khala''' - 
The Goddess of Winter, Khala was a cruel and evil bitch who sought to claim the world entirely for herself, allying with Gruumsh, Tiamat, Zehir and even some Primordials. She was such a bitch (probably '''Chaotic Evil''') that her own son, [[Kord]], ultimately turned on her and joined with [[Pelor]] to help destroy her. Her downfall is covered in a sidebar in ''Divine Power'', and expanded upon in ''Primal Power''; her behavior was the main thing that convinced the Primal Spirits that they needed to kick the gods out into the Astral Sea once they'd saved the World. [[The Raven Queen]] snatched up her divine portfolio as Goddess of Winter after she bit the dust.

'''[[Laeris]]''' - 
One of several dead gods covered in extensive detail in [[Dragon Magazine]] #390. Laeris was essentially the pre-Baldur Loki of the Dawn War pantheon; a shapeshifting '''Unaligned''' god of Trickery and Deceit, he lived to play pranks on his fellow gods, the primordials, and anyone else who caught his attention. It's generally accepted that [[Vecna]] killed him after Laeris infiltrated Citadel Cavitius and tried to steal a powerful magical elixir called the Final Moment, but many argue that faking his death is just the sort of thing that the Trickster would do, leading to cults dedicated to him being quite active in the world still. Symbolized by a blank-featured mask (traditionally made of white porcelain), Laeris gave the following instructions to his faithful:
* Truth does not exist. Everybody lies. Don’t trust anyone.
* Law is a crutch. Only those who can do as they want are truly free.
* Property is an illusion. Take what you need today, but do not hold on to it tomorrow.
* Hide your activities from others. Lie about your motives. Never reveal your goals. Only those who can see through your deceits are worthy to discover your true goals.

'''Lakal''' - 
The benevolent and '''Good'''ly creator-deity of the [[Quom]], Lakal was an oddity amongst her kin for being a living Dominion - a world within the [[Astral Sea]]. Unfortunately for everybody, Lakal became a casualty during a battle between Bahamut and Nihil, a Primordial incarnation of nothingness. When Bahamut vaporized the living void whilst within Lakal, its scattered droplets fell upon Lakal like a poisoned rain, causing her to splinter into countless fragments. This kind of drove the Quom nuts, and turned them into the psychotic murderhobos they are today.

'''[[Nerull]]''' - 
The original God of Death and the Dead, Nerull was a ''huge'' dick ('''Evil''') who greedily hoarded the souls of the dead for his own pleasure. Eventually, one of those souls rose up and managed to slay him, becoming [[the Raven Queen]], who has replaced him as the Goddess of the Dead. To thoroughly cast him into the dust, she not only forsook his Dominion of Pluton for her own kingdom in the Shadowfell, she cut it completely from the Lattice of Heaven. Nerull's fall is detailed in both ''Divine Power'' and issue #171 of [[Dungeon Magazine]], with a more detailed look at his origins and cult appearing in issue #427 of [[Dragon Magazine]], whilst Pluton is covered in-detail in ''[[Manual of the Planes]]'' and in-brief in ''The Plane Above''.

'''[[Nusemnee]]''' - 
One of several dead gods covered in extensive detail in [[Dragon Magazine]] #390. Known as the Dread Maiden and the Horned Daughter, Nusemness began her existence as a god-blooded fiend; daughter of a mating between Zehir and a powerful she-devil. She served him loyally as an assassin for most of her life, until the day that he abandoned her when she failed to kill a high priest of Pelor and mortally wounded by a Pelorite paladin. Expecting death, the fiendling was astonished when the high priest showed her compassion and mercy, healing her as she lay there bleeding. Intrigued, she swore an oath to stand by and protect the high priest in his holy quest; when she perished in the course of this, to everyone's surprise, her godly blood combined with the faith she had inspired as a living symbol of redemption to elevate her to the ranks of the divine in turn. Nusemness became the '''Good'''-aligned Goddess of Heroism and Redemption, and sought to guide others from the darkness back into the light, a patron particularly of "reformed monsters" like [[drow]], [[orc]]s, [[gnolls]] and [[kobold]]s. Naturally, this pissed off her dad, who had her assassinated using a poison made from his own blood. Ironically, it's whispered that if one could get some of ''her'' blood in turn, one could make a poison strong enough to kill any deity - to prevent this being used against him, Zehir has her floating corpse in the Astral Sea guarded by a battalion of devils and yuan-ti abominations. Nusemness died only recently, so her cult is actually still quite strong, at least by the default Nentir Vale fluff. Bearing the holy symbol of a serpent curled around a kukri, Nusemness offered the following commandments:
* It is never too late to seek redemption.
* True heroism does not come from good deeds. It comes from doing good when it matters.
* Nobody is perfect. Those who seek to be perfect will fail. It is not a shame to fail, and it is not a waste to try.
* Open your heart to possibilities. Never give up hope.

'''[[Sagawehn]]''' - 
One of several dead gods covered in extensive detail in [[Dragon Magazine]] #390. Known as the Winged Mistress and the Hive Mind, this '''Unaligned''' Goddess of Vermin was... well, she was the patron god of bugs. Not exactly glamorous or important, but, hey, there's lots of them. Sagawehn was effectively a [[Lawful Stupid]] goddess, being focused on the survival of the community to the point of hating individuality and wanting to crush all independent thought from others. Also ruthlessly expansionistic; her creedo was essentially "join the hive, or die". She might just have been a take that at the [[Formian]]s... Anyway, she lived in Arvandor, for a time, but eventually the Seldarine and their worshippers got sick of her attempts to convert them all by force and they gathered an army to kill her. After a long and bloody battle, they eventually felled her, although it's rumored that the 4e [[lamia]] - fey-eating hive-minded bugs - may be the remnants of this goddess. "Hive Masters", lunatics who consider Sagawehn's teachings on the good of the colony before the self and the need to expand constantly for survival, still exist, and still worship her. Her holy symbol is a circle comprised of ants, and her commandments are quite simple:
* The community is the greater good. Sacrifice all for the whole.
* A community thrives if those within it do their jobs well—specialize and allow others to benefit.
* Strength is in numbers. Power comes with growth and expansion.
* Seek to expand. Conquer those who oppose you.

'''The God of the Word''' - 
Little is known about this deity; covered in ''The Plane Above'', this Creation God was the ruler of the shattered Dominion of Shom, a former ally of [[Ioun]] who fell in battle during the Dawn Wars, leaving behind his orphaned servitors; the [[Illumian]]s. Unfortunately, according to 4e lore, this race all but destroyed itself in petty, vanity-fueled wars over which of the Symbols of Creation they bore was superior; the Word of Mind or the Word of Soul.

'''Tuern''' - 
A God of Conquest and Fire, Tuern is the former ruler of the Dominion of [[Chernoggar]], until he was murdered by his brother Achra, now known as [[Bane]], and his Dominion stolen from him. What few details we know of him are covered in both the ''[[Manual of the Planes]]'' and in ''The Plane Above'', as well as Bane's dedicated article in Dragon #372.

'''Zorthos''' - 
The God of Doubt and Lassitude, little is known about this deity beyond that he was slain in the Dawn War and his carved-off but miraculously intact face still floats through the Astral Sea, broadcasting a spiritual malaise that makes it a true hazard to encounter.