Tyr (Forgotten Realms)

Tyr is the Faerûnian deity of Law and Justice in Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms fictional world of Abeir-Toril. His dogma is primarily concerned with the punishment of wrong-doers, and the general furthering of Law and Good in the world.

Overview
Tyr holds great prominence in the Faerûnian pantheon due to his position as leader of the Triad, a trio of lawful good gods that are collectively devoted to the concepts of courage, justice, perseverance, relief of suffering, duty, obedience, honor, and to some extent righteous martyrdom. Not coincidentally, these values are ones held by most paladins and any given paladin in Abeir-Toril is more likely to follow the Triad than not. The two gods who serve Tyr as part of the Triad are Ilmater, deity of healing, suffering, and martyrdom; and Torm, god of paladins and personification of courage, dutiful service, and obedience.

Tyr is blind and missing his right hand, for which he bears the title "The Maimed God." Ilmater, true to his ethos, works to teach Tyr to live with these disabilities, though in truth they are not a great hindrance in view of his power as a greater god.

History
Tyr first came to Toril in a campaign to pacify the remnants of the fallen empire of Jhaamdath in -247 Dale Reckoning, the Year of the Striking Lance. This stroke is known as the Procession of Justice, in which the god himself appeared on Toril and personally led a host of archons and angels against the chaotic and evil forces arrayed in the remains of the fallen empire.

Ilmater aligned himself with Tyr in -243 DR (the Year of the Rack). Torm joined them to complete the Triad some years later.

Tyr lost his right hand to Kezef the Chaos Hound, and his eyes were put out by Lord Ao for questioning the Overgod's decision to punish all the deities for Bane's theft of the Tablets of Fate.

In 1384 D.R., according to The Grand History of the Realms, Tyr kills Helm in a duel. The other deities suspect Cyric is somehow behind the situation that led Tyr and Helm to such a confrontation.

Domains
In the latest version of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Tyr has the domains of Good, Knowledge, Retribution, Law, and War.

Favor
To keep Tyr's favor, one must respect fallen enemies, never make sacrifice of a corpse, and keep one's alignment lawful good. Tyr considers slaying agents of evil to be honorable and worthy of the highest praise.

Knights of Holy Judgement
The Order of the Knights of Holy Judgement tends to attract the paladins who emphasize the "lawful" part of their dedication to Tyr.

Knights of the Merciful Sword
The Order of the Knights of the Merciful Sword tends to attract the paladins who emphasize the "good" part of their dedication to Tyr.

Hammers of Grimjaws
The very elite of Tyr's paladins, members of the Hammers of Grimjaws are chosen from the best of the Knights of the Merciful Sword and Knights of Holy Judgment. The choosing of the order's members is in part done by Tyr himself; as part of the process of ascending to the order's ranks, a candidate must pray and receive a vision from Tyr. A vision of Tyr's warhammer shows the god's favor and permits immediate acceptance into the order. A vision of Tyr's sword, a traditional sign of the god's disfavor of the viewer, means that the aspiring Hammer has failed in some way and must go on a quest to atone before entering the ranks of the Hammers. (This does not mean that he has lost his powers as a paladin; he simply did not meet the far more stringent requirements to become a Hammer.) A successful atonement quest allows the aspirant to join the Order as though he had seen the vision of the warhammer. Currently, only 13 Hammers are in active service, a testament to the purity and power required to become one of the order.

Trivia
In the Second Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Tyr originally came from Earth (see Tyr). This was omitted from the Third Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.