Chauntea

Chauntea, The Grain Goddess, The Great Mother or Earthmother, is a fictonal deity of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Chauntea, who is the goddess of is a parallel deity to Silvanus, who is considered the god of Nature, whilst Chauntea herself is seen as being the embodiment of all things agrarian or agricultural.

Some of her worshippers claim that her divine combustion gave life to the natural world, and some contend that she is the creator and source of all mortal races. Her main rival is Talon, the lady of pestilence, since she has a dispositon to wreak suffering, disease and decay upon the natural world.

Overview
Chauntea is, in the hierarchy on the Faerun pantheon, a Greater Deity. She is loving deity, advising the denizens of the world of Toril on how to maintain nature, so as to ensure it's perpetuity. It is contended that her hand guided those of mortality to give up the skeptical nature of the gather for the maintenance of the fields. She rarely displays herself in a physical manifestation.

Alignment
Alignment refers to the moral continuum of all characters and societies in the game of role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Chauntea herself is a "Benefactor", or Neutral Good. The Clerics of Chauntea must subscribe to the alignments typified by their deities, and in this case there is no exception, since all clerics must either be Chaotic Good, Lawful Good, Neutral, or Neutral Good. Her alignment is paralleled by her dogma, which, summarized, basically articulates that growth and fertility are conducive to the natural cycle of life. She resents extirpation or obliteration of any sort, and in this light she is seen therefore as a principled, and loving Deity.

Symbol and weaponry
Chauntea's symbol, as seen above, is a blooming rose on a radiated wreath of golden grain. Commonplace depictions of her, are usually a matriarchal, middle-aged woman with white, flowing hair, with a radiant and affable face. She wields a scythe made of grain, which acts as both a walking stick and weapon. She is not predisposed to violence, but on the occasions that she has found herself in danger, she has managed to defend herself from malefactors.

Domains
Originally a deity of overgrown, wild places and animal life, Chauntea's domains are concerned with that of the Earth, restoration, protection, Good and plants. Her home plane happens to be, characteristically, the House of Nature. She is entreatied to as the "Great Mother of agriculture" by her devotees.

Skills and attacks
As Chauntea is immortal, she automatically is the recipient of the most advantageous result on any attack roll she makes. She is said to be able to see at a distance of approximately twenty miles. She can reflexively, annul the senses of deities below her rank (e.g. Intermediate deities for 19 hours. She can create any magical item that summons creatures, or elementals.  She has a dizzying array of spells, and is 30th level caster.

History


Chauntea as estimated to be one of the eldest gods in Faerun. Other gods such as Shar, are older than her, and gave her life during the creation of Toril. She has battled deities who seek to desecrate and expunge nature, and she opposes "evil" deities such as Malar and Bane, and views the latters resurgence as portentious.

Before her days as the "Great Mother", she is said to have been named Jannath, and in her early days she frequented places of wilderness and packs of animals.

She has strong ties to other deities concerned with nature, such as Shiallia and Mielikki, shares a close relationship with Lathander. As mentioned before, she opposes Talon with the utmost vehemence, due to her malefic intent in spreading poison and disease to the natural world. She is always in conflict with Talos (Forgotten realms god).

Worship
Chauntea is seen by Faerunians as a critical aspect of the assumed cycle of life. Private landowners and destitute (perhaps as a consequence of a unproductive harvest) farmers visit the clerics of Chauntea for any divine suggestions for abetting the harvest. If at any time plague or malnutrition strikes the crops, farmers look to Chauntea, since they hope she will save the harvest, due to her love of nature.

The church is an approachable one, in that it welcomes all irrespective of gender or race. The liturgical doctrine of the church is that it attracts more females than males, due to its preoccupation with femininity, and while female attendees outnumber men, there is still a range of males that worship Chauntea.

Chaunteans maintain simplicity when it comes to apparel. Druids prefer brown robes, and priests prefer wear a brown cloak with more standard livery such as tunic underneath.

Typical worshippers
Though she has a diverse collection of followers, Chauntea is fanatically worshipped by peasants, servants, druids, gardeners, and any others who earn remuneration from working on farmland.

Clerical practice
Clerics pray for their spells at sundown, as do druids. They usually lead dual lifes as either gardeners or farmers, and are industrious people. They are expected appreciate natural beauty and a feeling of meditation. The clergy instruct Chauntea's followers that they should entreaty her every sunrise. Compared to other faiths, ecclesiastics appoint few holidays. One holiday which is observed a festival during Greengrass, which is a festival of almost depravity and indulgence, where excessive consumption and 'uninhibited behaviour' is encouraged. Abundance is an important part of life worshipping the Great Mother. A rite of passage for many of the faith is concerned with holy communion. Newly married couples are instructed to spend their first night in fresh fields, supposedly to guarantee a fertile marriage.

The clergy observe and recognize the dogma set forth by Chauntea herself, and read the 'High Prayers of the Harvest', at a perennial ceremony, which is usually at the start of harvest.

Denominations with the holy order
The divided clergy of Chauntea, is sectarian by nature. Associates of the Chauntean canoncy are divided into two camps. Those who ministerial positions, who advise farmers and workers all over, are named, appropriately, 'Pastorals'. The wilder, untamed conclave, who are charged with tenuating the wilderness, refer to themselves, albeit insouciantly, as 'True Shapers'.

The deaconry has by no means no centralized authortarian bureau governing, and is, not collective. It promotes individuality, and is far less unitary than other faiths.

Doctrine
The church outlines a general set of precepts and forbiddances, though some of these are given to subjective interpretation, since the faith is individualistic. Chauntean's see wanton destruction as antithetical to the cycle of life. They are urged to nourish at least one living thing every day of their lives. They are advised to eschew fire also.

In terms of correct agricultural practice, the church advises that campaigns or replanting, prudent irrigation and crop rotation to ensure that the land is kept fertile. However, followers of Silvanus regard these teachings with derisions. They postulate that these practices are anathema to the natural world and that agriculture is not abettance, but manipulation. They argue that their sect encourages exploitation, overpopulation and this to in contradiction with nature. As a result, some have proselytised to the Silvanite faith, though many "Pastorals" disregard these criticisms.