Are there religions in ravenloft? does this god fit?

[NykylaiHellray]

Hiya people, still working on my wild west/steampunk domain.

One thing which is kinda been bugging me is gods, which my players want.

So I have been creating deities to fit in this mixture of ravenloft and the wild west.

This is the first idea.


Baelus the Wheel
Lord of the Wastes, Desert King, Master of the Sands

Name: Baelus the Wheel
Alignment: Lawfull Neutral (good)
Symbol: An 8 spoked Wheel
Home Plane: The Desert of Turning
Worshippers: Paladins, Monks, Clerics
Cleric Alignment: LN, LG
Domains: Law, Earth, Knowledge

Baelus (Bae-lus), god of deserts and the wastes is a lawfull neutral god, with a slight alignment to good. Baelus is a deity of the act of belief itself. A lord of philosphers and hermits, he has no form accept the idea that he exists.

Appearance: Baelus is a concept made manifest, the only proof of his existance is in the spells he grants, and within the sands themselves. He has no form which can be defined by mortal definition, or any form that can be defined by any immortal one.
He is Baelus, and that is the only description of his form which is correct.

History: It is unknown when Baelus appeared, though some suggest that he was born the moment the elemental plane of earth touched the negative energy plane. Though others say he was a hermit, who transcended through a thousand years of meditation, transcending mortal to undead, and undead to god.

Nature: He is the lord of the wastes, and sees the dessert as the truest form of order. A desolate landscape where there is no taint. No existance to even think of sin.
Therefore it is order, and it is good.

Followers:
The followers of Baelus follow a simple set of rules, which like the wheel is circular.

"We believe in Baelus, so Baelus exists.
Baelus believes in the world so the world exists.
The world believes in us, so we exist."

His followers are beings lost in eternal thought. Known as the silent ones, they wander the deserts in rags ringing a but a bell endlessly, as a symbol of the eternal medititation. Till the moment the bell stops ringing, and they are mumifed alive. As a grim testement to there belief.

Followers of Baelus, see the desert as a personifcation of there god, and believe the world desires to be like Baelus. For the desert is order, and the desert is without sin, and thefore the desert is perfection.
They believe that the dessert was the source, the nothing from which things came, and eventually all things will come back to the dessert.

Baelus has no church, accept random piling of stones, dotted across the wastes. The followers of Baelus, dont believe in fine robes and ornamental jewerly. Believing that the plainer one is, the more closer to Baelus the follower will be.

Paladins of Baelus, are unusural in the sence, that they achieve a state of undeath, not unlike the lich. Though unlike normal followers of Baelus who usually take a more pacifist role in there beliefs. Paladins of Baelus, activly pursue to make things more like Baelus, and doing anything to wipe out chaos and sin. Hence there lawfull good alignment. Many of these belong to a set of extremist Baelus beliefs known as the order of the sword and bone.

Due to there love of deserts, and seeing the absence as a form of perfection, they share a slight kinship with the negative energy plane. With the realm of Baelus situated between the elmental plane of dust, and Arcadia.
This for obvious reasons makes the followers of Baelus distrusted by other followers of good or lawfull deities, who find the Baelus idea of perfection lunacy.

The eight aspects of the sands
The Sons and daughters of Baelus, are unlike Baelus in that they poscess forms, but are less powerfull then there father. Though at the same time they are rumpured to be mearly aspects of him, mere limbs created by his will.

Lady of Mazes, Lord of Keys, Lady of Clocks, Lord of Bones, Lady of Doors, Lord of swords etc.

[alhoon]

Well enough I think. Although I would prefer him True Neutral. Thoughts are without ethical alignment IMO. Also the desert itself is in turmoil, dunes moving etc. I don't think it bothers itself with ethical alignment or order either.

[NykylaiHellray]

Interesting you say that, as me and my co designer where wondering true neutral or lawfull neutral.

We went with LN, as we wanted to attempt to make a lawfull deity which aligned party with the negative energy planes.