Rulers of the Open Sky

Followers of Horus

Much like the Lovecraftian Outer Gods and Great Old Ones, the Osirian pantheon is representative of real world deities. The gods of the desert kingdom are the same gods as our ancient Egyptian pantheon. The question becomes how to we translate these real world divine entities into fantasy gods. Today we are going to look at Horus, the Osirian Deity of rulership, the sky and the sun.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game that we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Horus. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of The Distant Falcon. What character do you make?

For more information on Horus

Horus’s Pathfinder Wiki Page

Horus’s Archives of Nethys Page

The Kingmakers

Altough the Ruby Prince and his line will always be the leaders of the Osirian Empire, there are many other nobles and leaders within the borders of the great nation. The Kingmakers are a sect of Horus worshipers who seek to guide their country back to the days of greatness, before the Keleshite occupation. This group seeks to raise the fortunes of those who could aid Osirian and eradicate those who cannot.

The core of the sect is made up for clerics and oracles of Horus. There are a number of sub members including a small group of Paladins who see the insidious evil that tries to influence the Ruby Prince and defend him from it. Although none of the noble houses truly know of this sect’s existence many work for them indirectly.

Order of the Sun

The Order of the Sun are a small group of Horus worshipers – mostly paladins – who gained prominence during the rise of Khemet I. This sect worked closely with the Cult of the Dawnflower to over throw the independent Keleshite sultan who ruled the country of their birthright. To this day they claim to protect the royal line, even if not officially.

Members of the sect are chosen from the church of Horus. They are tested with the baptism of the sun, a grueling journey through the desert during the midday. Since their goal is protection of the Pharaoh and growth of the empire, traitors are dealt with harshly. Much like their Dawnflower allies this cult is quite militant.

Wings of Horus

Not every sect of Horus is bend on defending or manipulating the rulership of Osirian. Some of his followers love the freedom of the desert and the open sky above it. The Wings of Horus are a group who seeks to protect the natural wonders of Osirian. They have become very concerned in recent years of the Ruby Prince’s edict to open historical sites to outside interlopers.

This sect is made up mostly of those with connection to the sky. Falconers of all types are common as are anyone who can shapeshift into a bird to really feel the wind in their feathers. This sect acts as guides leading caravans across the sands. Although they generally make attempts to deter treasure hunters, especially foreign ones.

The king of rulers has many followers, who is your disciple of Horus? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to The Distant Falcon Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

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All In A Days Work

Followers of Khepri

Illustration by Luis Perez

Many gods have portfolios that represent heroes and great good or evil, but the little guy needs a little divine representation as well. Khepri is a god of the Osirian pantheon whose purview is freedom, the rising sun, and work. His followers are mostly laborers and peasants, but how do this trickster god’s followers organize themselves? Today we find out.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Khepri. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the Humble Hand. What character do you make?

For more information on Khepri

Khepris’ Pathfinder Wiki Page

Khepri’s Archives of Nethys Page

The Crop Tenders

Work is paramount to the followers of Khepri but that doesn’t mean that those who toil can’t use a helping hand every once in a while. This small sect of Khepri followers are mostly clerics and druids who use their abilities to help those who work the fields to better produce their crops. They respect those who work hardest and will grant their aid first and foremost to those who are willing to put in the work.

There are no strictures on who can join this sect. Although they are mostly of classes that can use magic to aid in crop growth, those aren’t the only members. Innovators in irrigation, agriculture, and animal husbandry also find a home among these followers of the Humble Hand.

The Little Bites

Peasants may be on the bottom rung of society but that doesn’t mean they should be treated like less than animals; at least not according to the followers of Khepri. The Little Bite is a sect of followers of the Humble Hand who seek to humble those who abuse the people who put in hard work on their behalf. When calamity befalls you after you whip a farmer who actually put in a good day’s work, that is probably a work of the Little Bites.

The Little Bites uphold the trickster nature of their deity. Rogues, bards, and clerics are all common, but anyone who can successfully cause trouble for overreaching nobles is welcome. The tricks of the Little Bites are usually not deadly, just an inconvenience. Only when someone’s superiority over those who serve causes too much pain for their underlings does whole sect take notice and cause that person to fall from grace.

Dawncallers

Undead revel in the darkness and fear the rising of the sun. As Khepri takes the sunrise itself as part of his domain, many of his followers despise the undead who fear it. The Dawncallers cleave to this ideal and were formed to destroy the undead things that so often attack the poor and helpless first.

Clerics, warpriests, and paladins of Khepri make up the largest portion of this sect. One of the few sects that has a requirement for entrance in that its supplicants must have done battle with the undead before applying for entry. The Dawncallers often use fire as their most potent weapon against the walking dead.

Even those who toil must be divinely represented. Who is your follower of Khepri? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the Humble Hand? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

If the CRB has inspired your next character please consider showing support and become one of my patrons by donating to my Patreon. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Google +, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

The opening illustration was created by a fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter and on Instagram at luisperezart.