Chauntea, the Great Mother

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Alignment: NG
Domains: Animal, Earth, Good, Plant, Protection, Renewal.
Favored Weapon: Scythe

Chauntea rarely appears to mortals, although the most devout sometimes see her smiling face in their dreams. Her hand is on every place where humans seek to grow things. She is not a goddess given to spectacle or pageant, but rather calls her followers to small acts of devotion. She is immensely popular among gardeners, farmers, and common folk of many nations. Through her blessing, most of Faerûn is fruitful.

Chauntea has a special relationship with the people of the Moonshae Isles, a place which she has dedicated a portion of her being, known as Earthmother, to oversee specifically. Earthmother is a more primitive facet of Chauntea who is representative of the goddess’s nature in eons past and is much more wild and neutral in her outlook; this aspect is also known on the mainland of Faerun as Jannath, where she is one of the quadrumvirate known as the Green Faith.

Dogma: Growing and reaping are part of the eternal cycle and the most natural part of life. Destruction for is own sake and leveling without rebuilding are anathema. Let no day pass in which you have not helped a living thing flourish. Nurture, tend, and plant wherever possible. Protect trees and plants, and save their seeds so that what is destroyed can be replaced. See to the fertility of the earth but let the human womb see to its own. Eschew fire. Plant a seed or small plant at least once a tenday.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: Plant five seeds in fertile earth. The seeds may be those of any plant that can potentially grow in the region, though edible plants are preferred. The seeds don’t need to be from a type of plant that could thrive in that soil — all they must have is a chance at survival. If no suitable earth exists, place a small bundle of seeds (again, those that grow edible plants are preferred), or a small bundle of preserved food in a place where a passerby might see it. Mark your gifts with Chauntea’s sign, and say a prayer for the health and safety of the farmlands in the area and those who may be fed by them. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Survival checks.

Boons
1: Animal Friend (Sp) charm animal 3/day, animal messenger 2/day, or summon nature’s ally III 1/day
2: Farmer’s Bond (Su) Your connection to crops has given you a bond with plants. You can speak with plants for a number of minutes per day equal to your hit dice. You also become immune to poisons from ingesting plants (not distilled poisons, such as assassins use) and any poison from attacks or effects generated by plant creatures.
3: Communal Table (Sp) Your devotion to caring for your community allows you to evoke Chauntea’s divine bounty to feed your friends with a banquet of food and simple beverages. Once per day, you can use heroes’ feast as a spell-like ability. Creatures that eat from this communal table, a process that takes 1 hour, gain a +2 sacred bonus on attack rolls and Will saving throws instead of the usual +1 morale bonus. Whenever you use this ability, choose one teamwork feat; you may select a new feat every time you use this ability, but once it’s cast, your selection can’t be changed. Anyone who eats from the communal table gains the benefits of the chosen teamwork feat. The benefits of the heroes’ feast, including the bonus teamwork feat, last for 12 hours. A character doesn’t need to meet the prerequisites for a teamwork feat granted through this ability.

Paladin Code

The paladins of Chauntea are gruff, strict traditionalists. They seek to preserve the integrity of rural life and communities and they tend to lead simple, unpretentious lives with little decorum. Their tenets include the following affirmations.

  • The lands in my charge come first, and those that dwell within it; I will contribute to it all that I can.
  • I must offer the poor in my community assistance, but I shan’t do the work for them; teaching a man to till the earth, to fish the stream, and to build shelter together with his fellow man is how strong communities are built.
  • I keep to the old ways, the true ways. I am not lured by the luxuries of the city folk, or their prestige. To keep myself simple, is to keep myself humble.
  • I shall never allow tree, nor structure to fall victim to flame by my actions; should I be able to prevent it at other hands, I shall.
  • Reputation is everything. Mine is pure and upstanding, and I will repair it if it is broken or tarnished.

For Followers of Chauntea

Archetypes: Community Guardian (Inquisitor), Forest Preserver† (Paladin)

Specialty Priest: Druids (see the Green Faith)

Divine Fighting Technique: Rose Scythe of Chauntea

Feats: Beacon of Hope, Bestow Hope, Channel Endurance, Green Faith Acolyte, Hands of Valor, Intrepid Rescuer, Nimble Natural Summons, Protective Channel, Purity of Faith, Stone Strider, Thicket Channel

Prestige Classes: Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion (Unchained), Hathran†*
* Hathran caster prerequisites reduced to 3rd level or higher

Magic Items: Magic Seed Pouch

Spells: Hibernate, Peasant Armaments, Summon Elemental Steed, Tripvine

Traits: A Shining Beacon, Bestial Wrath, Child of Nature, Eyes of the Wild, Know the Land, Mighty Protector, Natural Philosopher, Protective Faith, Split-Second Defense, Wise Teacher, Wolf Cub

Unique Spell Rules

  • Spells with the [Fire] descriptor are not available to divine casters of Chauntea
  • Clear Grove can be prepared as a 3rd-level Cleric spell.
  • Plant Growth can be prepared as a 3rd-level Cleric or Paladin spell.

Unique Summons

Clergy and Temples

Chauntea’s priests tend to be folk of all races who have a deep love for the land and an appreciation of natural ways and balances, seeing humans and other intelligent life as part of an ongoing series of cycles. They tend to be gardeners or farmers by trade and training and have an increasing appreciation for the beauty of plants that brings them at last to the veneration of She Who Shapes All.

Chauntea is spoken of as “Our Mother” or “the Mother of All” by her clergy. They know that she is very powerful in a quiet way—and like her, they tend to be quiet and patient in their ways. Many members of her clergy are female. In the communities in which they dwell, they are known for their wisdom and appreciated for their willingness to freely (without fee or obligation) tie up their skirts and pitch in when agricultural work must be done, especially where farmers are ill or injured.

Though Chauntea’s faith has some large, impressive temples and shrines whose granaries ensure that food for all is abundant in their vicinities, the backbone of the Earthmother’s faith is composed of small, local temples. Often these are seed-storage caverns near pure wells. Chauntean services are also held in open fields and druid groves.