The Gods of Alnwich: Menes

Mënes

the Fawn-Slayer, the Lamp-Bearer, the Three-Formed, the Untamable Goddess

Greater Deity

Sphere of Influence: Art, Faeries, Luck, Magic, Pathways.

Symbols: Candles, Cats, Cauldron, Chalice, Doves, Knife, Crescent Moon, and Silver.
Favored Weapon: Knife & Magic.

Relationships: Mother of Yaunävä and Mäla.

Mënes is the goddess of a great many things, but primarily of faeries, magic, and pathways. Her ties to the moon link her to darkness, cycles, menses, fertility, and women. She rules the wilderness of land, sea, and air; and is often associates with beauty, war, and death. Mënes appears as a youthful maiden wearing a cloak of falcon feathers and carrying a torch, and she is usually accompanied by a pack of great hounds or scores upon scores of cats.

Morality

Menes is a chaotic deity whose priorities are most in tune with faeries, magic, and wandering. She is a regular patron of faeries and those who work to protect and serve them – Sense of Duty (Faeries) [-10]. Tied in with faeries are the twin ideas of art and magic, and it is through these that she anoints the majority of her priests and priestesses, all of whom typically have Obsession (Perfect My Art) [-10]. Finally, the wild-eyed wandering monk is an archetype among her clergy; such have Vow (Never Sleep Indoors and/or Own No More Than What Can Be Carried). Additionally, Menes is a bloody goddess with ties to menses through her governance of the lunar cycle. This gives her ties to blood and blood sacrifices similar to Yaunävä, who shares similar aspects. Finally, all clerics of Menes may have one of Disciplines of Faith (Mysticism, Ritual Sacrifice, or Ritualism).

Divine Servitors

A great host of spirits attend the Lamp-Bearer, among whom are counted kings and queens, wild elementals, and dedicated servitor spirits. The lattermost of these have a dizzying array of elements, any of which may be appropriate. This includes Light for the Menes’ lunar aspects, Darkness for the night through which it shines, Beauty for the arts and artistry, Deception for faeries, Travel for pathways, and Chaos for luck. Any of these may be combined with each other or with Good or Evil, both of which apply equally to her servitors. Note that Evil servitors are simply more malicious than the typical divine servitor.

Shrines

Dedicated shrines to Menes are usually found on the fringes of civilization where they serve as a point of light in the dark wilderness to which supplicants can flock. These edifices take the shape of rotundas on whose columns hang a torch each outward and whose interior is lit by the moon via an oculus directly above a circular alter. The proportions and exact locations of these shrines are selected to enhance magical energies in the immediate vicinity, and if possible, tap into local ley lines. This, combined with the blessings of Menes, make her shrines potent magical locations (treat the grounds as having High Mana).

Shrines in larger temples have a representation of the goddess crowned with the moon holding a torch whose light is never allowed to be extinguished. For this reason and their connection to magic, everburning torches are often employed. A small alter with a basin for deer blood sacrifices flanked by candles usually sits at Menes’ feet.

Clerics of Mënes

Priests of Mënes should generally be built using the Initiate template with the following modifications:

Advantages: Remove Green Thumb, Licensed Exorcist, Spirit Badge, and Spirit Weapon from the list of optional advantages and add Serendipity 1 [15]. • Add “Optionally, spend some or all of these points on Magery 1 [10] and wizard spells.”.

Disadvantages: Add a required -10 points in any of the disadvantages listed under Morals, above and reduce the -30 points in disadvantages to -20.

Skills: Add Thaumatology (VH) IQ-1 [1]-12 to the list of optional primary skills. • Add Knife (E) DX+3 [8]-14 to the list of optional melee weapon skills. • Remove Blowpipe, Bolas, Lasso, and Net from the ranged weapon options. • Remove Disguise (Animals) and Mimicry (Animal Sounds or Bird Calls) from the list of optional background skills and add Art (Illusion) (H) IQ-2 [1]-11; Area Knowledge (Trollenmere) (E) IQ [1]-13; Poetry (H) IQ-2 [1]-11; Skating (H) HT-2 [1]-9; Skiing (H) HT-2 [1]-9.

Special Abilities and Spells: Choose the following 25-point package:

Cleric of Mënes: Either Power Investiture 2 [20] or Divine Favor 5 [20]. • Choose [-10] points from disadvantages mentioned in Morality, above. • 15 points total in any combination of Power Investiture 3 [10], Divine Favor 6 or 7 [5 or 15], Learned Prayers, or clerical spells.

Holy Warriors of Mënes

Holy warriors of Mënes are usually built using the Squire template with the following modifications:

Advantages: Remove Born War Leader 1 from the list of mandatory advantages and increase the number of points available for optional advantages to [30]. • Add Divine Favor 4, 5, or 6 [10, 15, or 20], Extraordinary Luck [30], Serendipity 1 [15], and “or Learned Prayers” to the list of optional advantages.

Disadvantages: Add a required -10 points in any of the disadvantages listed under Morals, above and reduce first -20 points disadvantages to -10.

Skills: Remove Flail and Two-Handed Flail from all of the optional melee skill packages and add Knife (E) to one-handed packages. • Remove Strategy from the mandatory secondary skills and change Leadership to (A) IQ [2]-10. • Remove Seamanship from the optional background skills and add Hidden Lore (Faeries) (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Poetry (H) IQ-2 [1]-8; Strategy (H) IQ-2 [1]-8; and Thaumatology (VH) IQ-3 [1]-7.

Cleric Spells

Menes grants her clerics the following spells:

PI 1 Aura, Beast-Soother, Complex Illusion, Darkness, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Gloom, Hide Thoughts, Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, Mystic Mark, Peaceful Sleep, Phantom Flame, Recover Energy, Scryguard, Sense Spirit, Share Vitality, Silence, Umbrella, Watchdog.

PI 2 Armor, Awaken, Beast-Rouser, Blackout, Coolness, Dark Vision, Death Vision, Extinguish Fire, Final Rest, Healing Slumber, Hide Path, Illusion Disguise, Know Illusion, Minor Healing, Mystic Mist, Purify Air, Repel Animal, Resist Fire, Scrywall, Seek Coastline, Seek Magic, Seek Pass, Seeker, Sense Life, Stop Bleeding, Summon Spirit, Tell Position, Terror, Turn Spirit, Warmth.

PI 3 Affect Spirits, Animal Control, Astral Vision, Beast Summoning, Blur, Cleansing, Command Spirit, Command, Compel Truth, Dispel Illusion, Dispel Possession, Divination, Flaming Weapon, Fog, Glow, Hide, Know Location, Know True Shape, Light, Loyalty, Magic Resistance, Master, Neutralize Poison, Nightmare, No-Smell, Perfect Illusion, Purify Water, Relieve Madness, Remember Path, Repel Spirits, Resist Cold, Resist Disease, Resist Lightning, Resist Pressure, See Invisible, See Secrets, Shape Darkness, Strengthen Will, Turn Zombie, Vigil, Vigor, Wisdom.

PI 4 Animate Shadow, Astral Block, Banish, Charm, Continual Light, Cure Disease, Dispel Magic, Major Healing, Oath, Pathfinder, Phantom, Relieve Paralysis, Shape Light, Silver Tongue, Strike Barren, Suspend Curse, Weather Dome.

PI 5 Bless, Create Object, Curse, Entrap Spirit, Gift of Letters, Gift of Tongues, Great Healing, Invisibility, Regeneration, Restoration, Scry Gate, Stop Paralysis.

PI 6 Bind Spirit, Body of Shadow, Drain Mana, Pentagram, Planar Summons (Divine Servitor), Remove Curse, Restore Mana, Sanctuary, Suspend Mana.

Divine Favor

Mënes hears prayers concerning magic, the arts, and pathways as general prayers. She grants learned prayers, in addition to the standard general set, mostly based on the following advantages.

Abilities Afflictions that “bless” or “curse” via Advantage, Disadvantage, Negated Advantage, or Negated Disadvantage; Allies (minor faerie spirits), with Summonable; Alternate Form, with Projected Form; Appearance, with Glamour; Chameleon, with Glamour; Damage Resistance, with Limited, Magic (-20%); Detect, for blessed or cursed items, wishes, etc.; Detect, for faeries, faerie magic, etc.; Detect, for magical creatures, spells, wizards, etc.; Duplication, with Construct; Elastic Skin, with Glamour; Energy Reserve (Mana); Enhanced Defenses; Illusion; Invisibility; Jumper (Spirit), with Limited Access, The Veil (-20%); Luck, with Wishing; Magery; Magic Resistance; Mana Damper; Mana Enhancer; Medium, with Specialized, Faeries (-50%); Mimicry, with Glamour; Mind Shield, often with Limited, Magic (-50%); Morph, with Cosmetic; Neutralize (Magic), but not with Power Theft; See Invisible (Faeries); See Invisible; Serendipity, with Wishing; Silence, with Glamour; Spirit Empathy, with Specialized, Faeries (-50%); Static (Magic); and True Faith (Faeries), with Turning.

Jürä • Karalis • Korë • Liekki • Likumä • Malä • Menes • Milä • Pazamë • Sëra • Sieva • Veträ • Yaunävä