Deneir, the Lord of Glyphs

Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Good, Knowledge [Education], Protection, Rune [Language]
Favored Weapon: Dagger

Deneir is the god of literature and literacy, the patron of the artist and the scribe. His is the power to render accurately and describe, to write and to read, and to pass on information. As patron to artists, illuminators, cartographers, and scribes, the Lord of All Glyphs and Images oversees all written creation. He works for Oghma making sure that all that is known and true is accurately recorded in the Great Library. He counts as his foes all who destroy, hide, or distort knowledge.

Dogma: Information that is not recorded and saved for later use is information that is lost. Punish those who deface or destroy a book in proportion to the value of the information lost. Literacy is an important gift from Deneir; spread it wherever you travel, that it might couch the hearts and minds of all Faerûn. Fill idle hours with the copying of written work, for in such a manner do you propagate knowledge and aid the pursuit of the Metatext. Information should be free to all and all should be able to read it so that lying tongues cannot distort things out of proportion.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: Each day freely offer to scribe a letter, note, or whatever is required for at least one person, or enough people that you spend at least an hour fulfilling requests. Take no payment, seek no reward, merely speak forth on the quiet glory of Deneir as you write, and the importance of writing. If none need your skills, ask someone to share a story or song that you can put to pen in order to bring to the nearest temple for preservation. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Liguistics checks and Use Magic Device checks with scrolls.

Boons
1: Calligrapher’s Talent (Sp) divine favor 3/day, augury 2/day, or glyph of warding 1/day
2: Restore Lost Learning (Su) Deneir is an embodiment of the sanctity of text, and the written word is of tremendous importance. You have a sacred connection to books and other written records that allows you to commune with them, even when they have been irreparably damaged. Given a fragment of a written or etched text, you can divine the missing portion of the text at the rate of one page per day. Magical or cursed texts have a chance resist this effect or return incomplete results at the GM’s discretion.
3: Warding Runes (Su) Once per day, you can summon 2d6 shimmering runes that trail in your wake. The runes dart around you during combat, intercepting deadly attacks. At your discretion, each rune can absorb a single damage die from either a sneak attack or a critical hit that would normally hit you. For example, if you would be hit by a sneak attack dealing an extra 3d6 points of damage and you had two runes remaining, you could reduce the sneak attack damage to 1d6 (these dice are removed before being rolled), or if you are hit with a critical hit with a weapon with a 3x crit modifier, you could expend two runes to reduce the crit modifier back to normal. Once a rune absorbs a damage die, it disappears. Unused runes disappear at the end of each day.

For Followers of Deneir

Archetypes and Alternate Class Features:

Specialty Priest: Glyphscribe† (Cleric)

• A Glyphscribe is proficient in light armor and not proficient in shields; his weapon proficiencies are that of a wizard. This alters the cleric’s proficiencies
• A Glyphscribe’s base attack bonus progresses at +1/2 levels, and his hit die is d6.
• A Glyphscribe must choose the Rune domain, or Language subdomain as one of his domains.
• Runic Knowledge: In addition to spontaneously casting curing spells, a Glyphscribe can spontaneously cast any of the following spells by sacrificing a prepared cleric spell of the same level or higher: Glyph of Warding, Greater Glyph of Warding, Symbol of Dispelling, Symbol of Healing, Symbol of Persuasion, Symbol of Scrying, Symbol of Sealing, Symbol of Stunning, Symbol of Revelation, Symbol of Slowing, and Symbol of Vulnerability. This alters spontaneous casting.
• Liguist (Ex): A Glyphscribe adds half his cleric level to Linguistics checks, and he may make Liguistics checks untrained. At 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, a Glyphscribe may learn an additional language, as if he had added a rank in Linguistics.
• Discern Glyphs (Sp): At 1st level, the Glyphscribe can spend one minute to discern a carved or written rune of any sort without actually triggering it, as the Rune Trace spell, usable at-will.
• Bypass Rune (Su): At 2nd level, when a Glyphscribe successfully uses his discern glyphs ability to identify a magical rune, as a standard action, he can make a Spellcraft check against the caster level of the rune or symbol to bypass the rune for one minute. He gains a bonus to his Spellcraft check equal to half of his cleric level for the purpose of bypassing runes.
• Advanced Runic Knowledge: At 4th level, the Glyphscribe’s understanding of magical runes and glyphs expands beyond that of an ordinary cleric. He chooses a symbol or rune spell from another class that isn’t on the Cleric spell list, and adds it to his spell list as a Cleric spell of one level higher than it appears on the other class’ spell list. This spell must be of a level that the Glyphscribe can cast at its adjusted spell level. At 8th level, and again at every 4th level thereafter, he chooses another spell from another spell list and adds it to his spell list accordingly.

Feats: Beacon of Hope, Bestow Hope, Hands of Valor, Intrepid Rescuer, Master of Knowledge, Protective Channel

Prestige Classes: Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion (Unchained).

Traits: Eternal Understanding, Loreseeker, Seer of Reality, Mighty Protector, Protective Faith, Split-Second Defense, Thirst for Knowledge, Trained Symbologist.

Unique Spell Rules

• Arcane Mark may be cast as an orison.
• Codespeak may be prepared as a 2nd-level Cleric spell.
• Decrypt may be cast as an orison.
• Sepia Snake Sigil may be prepared as a 3rd-level Cleric spell.
• Steal Book gains additional benefit when cast by a worshipper of Deneir.

Clergy & Temples

Priests of Deneir are found throughout Faerûn, as are shrines and temples in Deneir’s name. Most of the temples of Deneir could best be described as libraries with attached sanctuaries and living quarters, for the preservation of written knowledge is the focus of Deneir’s faith. Clergy members are known as Deneirrath. Only about 15% of clergy members are specialty priests. However, specialty priests occupy all the high positions within the church hierarchy. Clerics and monks are welcome, but even if they attain high levels, they are not usually awarded the leadership of temples. Monks may be promoted to the head of an abbey or monastery; however, they are always attached to a temple and rank beneath its high priest. As a result, there is some grumbling among nonspecialty clergy memhers of the faith, and many turn to adventuring to give them advancement in other areas.

Many common folk through the Realms see Deneirrath as the scribes of the people because they take a special vow of charity; they will write letters and transcribe information upon request, usually at a modest price for the individual petitioning their help. Large projects must be negotiated, but in slow times, priests of Deneir can be found in the local commons and in bars, writing letters for those unable to do so, charging no more than a few coppers, or performing the service for free to the needy.  Also because of this vow, priests of Deneir often gain information that is otherwise sensitive, dangerouse, or potentially lucrative. While a sizable donation to the faith will help keep such matters secret for some time, priests of the faith may gain a quick understanding of the lay of local landscape from talking to their neighborhood parish priest. There is a saying, “Remember that the pens of Deneir also have ears.”