Daramis
The Dancing Rogue, King of Thieves, Lord of Laughter, The Reveler, The Scoundrel
The Master of Wine and Wit, Master of Thieves, The Two Faced God
| Status | Lesser God |
| Domain | Thievery, Adventure, Risk, Luck, Gambling, Revelry, Fellowship |
| Ethos | Wealth belongs to whose who can hold it. Life belongs to those who enjoy it. |
| Typical Worshipers | Thieves, adventurers, bandits, gamblers, minstrels, merchants, whores, drunkards, tavern owners. |
| Head of the Church | None |
| Demographics | 33% Grum, 30% Human, 12% Orc, 10% Sayune, 8% Ogre, 4% Elf, 3% Other |
| Geographic Regions | Found in all major cities and towns, except in the far west. |
| Allied Faiths | None. |
| Opposed Faiths | The Dark Lords, Drenmoragin and Barrinor. |
| Holy Symbol | See below. |
Description
Daramis is the Two Faced God. On the one hand, he is the god of thievery, adventure, risk, luck and fortune. Thieves and criminals pray to him for a good haul and a quick getaway. He is also the god of gambling, storytelling, revelry, wine, music and dance. When the thieving is done, all that is left is to celebrate with wine and friends and recount the tale.
Daramis is one of the most popular deities in the cities, especially among the middle class and the poor. He is seen as the defender of the poor, the vindication for the oppressed and the bringer of wine and music and joy into the otherwise bleak lives of the miserable. He steals from the rich because he can and shares with the poor because it angers the rich.
Myths and Legends
There are hundreds of stories about Daramis, mostly about daring and outrageous thefts. Far-fetched tales seem to be a tradition of the faith. In these stories, he has stolen the three moons from the sky, the silver staff of Imarus, the echos from a canyon, the shadows from the sun and a maiden's virtue are just some of his infamous misadventures.
Overview of the Church
Daramis is the most popular of the Celestial Lords. The faith of Daramis saturates the underbelly of every major city and town. He is worshiped by thousands from every segment of society. Whether it be a toast, a curse, a drinking song or a prayer, his name is uttered in every tavern a dozen times a night. Some taverns even display shrines to him.
The religion of this god is far from organized. There are no temples or churches to Daramis. No mass, no rituals or organized prayers. No great books of wisdom, shining altars of gold or such things.
Instead, followers worship on a personal and individual basis. The closest thing this religion has to ritual is when a half dozen thieves will hit the taverns after a successful job and drink the night away singing the praises of Daramis. Likewise, most preaching and teaching of the faith of Daramis is done over a tankard of ale.
Geographic Placement
Due to the nature of this religion, it can be found in almost every city, town and village. Taverns, thieves and the worship of Daramis go hand in hand.
History and Origins
The faith of Daramis has been strong for many centuries. It was already a major and widespread faith before the rise of the Thullian Empire. Some historians have found records from the Myratz Empire of a god of thieving named Daram and a minor cult of a "minstrel wine god" names Aramus. Most believe these two merged after the fall of the Myratz Empire.
After the World Storm, suffering and misery was everywhere. The need for revelry was great. And during those dark years, there were more thieves than rats. It is no wonder this faith has become so popular.
Goals
The followers of this faith have few goals beyond the next job and the next drink. The "church" of Daramis, such as it is, has no organized goals.
Temples, Churches and Holy Sites
The religion of Daramis is a very loose and unorganized faith. It has no grand temples, but every tavern is his shrine. It has no elaborate ceremonies, but every night of drinking and debauchery honors him.
Worshipers
Worshipers of Daramis believe that you should take what you can from life and enjoy life to the fullest. If that means stealing from another then that’s all right. Daramis' followers are usually poor even if they are good thieves because they spend their ill-gotten wealth so freely. And this is the typical lifestyle of such a worshiper – steal what you can, fence it, spend the loot and enjoy it while you’ve got it, then when the money runs out, go do it again. For true followers of Daramis, life is an endless game of adventure and luxury. Such followers are usually only one step ahead of the law and love the thrill of it. It’s not just enough to get rich, most followers of Daramis are in it for the thrill of the hunt. They want to find traps and locks so that they can overcome them. They want to encounter guards so that they can elude them. What good is the perfect heist if you can’t brag about it the next day to your friends? What good is it to make the perfect escape undetected when you could wave to the guards from the top of a wall as you leave carrying the master's jewels with you?
Even those thieves who steal only to survive and aren’t in it for the thrill of the score still offer up a prayer to Daramis in hopes that he will hear them and grant them another good haul and one more day free from the city stockade.
Daramis is worshiped by all sections of the underworld... thugs, bandits, con men, fences, prisoners, swashbucklers, assassins and all who make their living in the shadows and outside the law. Surprisingly, there are also a fair number of business men, traders and merchants who pray to Daramis.
Daramis is also revered by all who would raise a tankard and be merry and forget their troubles for the night. Tavern owners, bartenders, gamblers, whores, commoners, beggars, travelers and drunkards all praise his name.
Finally, Daramis is the god of music and the arts. He is the dancing rogue. He is revered by artists, dancers, bards and minstrels. He is also quite popular with sword tongues and all others who make their living by speech and oratory. He is widely and openly worshiped in the city of Vogue because of this.
Humor, tricks and illusions are a part of his repetoire. Because of this, he is sometimes worshiped by those who use such tools. Some wizards who specialize in illusion claim Daramis as their god.
Among the nobles and highborn, Daramis is considered “vulgar” and it is unseemly for them to worship him. Even so, there are a few highborn nobles who maintain secret shrines to him and whisper prayers to his name in the night.
Allied and Opposed Faiths
Daramis is loosely allied with most of the gods of the realms, but there are a few exceptions. The church of Daramis opposes all the Dark Lords for their faiths are filled with death and hate runs contrary to much of this faith. The church of Daramis is often at odds with Drenmoragin as the latter is focused on hard work and honest profit and opposes thievery. Worshipers of Daramis often find themselves pursued by the faithful of Barrinor who are trying to bring them to justice
Tenets
Although Daramis has no official laws or commandments, there exists an unwritten code of behavior for those who follow him. It is summed up as follows:
Scripture
There are no holy books of this faith. This is a faith of spoken stories told to tavern crowds. Priests of Daramis tend to be very good story tellers and can enchant an audience for hours. The faithful, likewise, share stories of Daramis and their own over ale and food.
Symbols
Daramis has no one holy symbol, but many symbols are associated with the faith… a broken key, a crystal wine goblet, a pair of dice, a dagger, a mask, a rose, a lyre, a drinking flask, an empty coin purse and several dozen more.
Rituals
Thieves, before going out into the night on a job, will "bless" their blades with wine and ask Daramis to come with them in spirit.
Daramis is often called upon to bless a party, a new friend, an old acquaintance or any other social relationship. It is a tradition that someone buy a glass of wine, offer it to Daramis and then to sacrifice both wine and glass by throwing it into the fire. Some taverns keep cheap glasses on hand for this very purpose.
Holy Days
None.
Artifacts
None.
Overview of the Clergy
Priests of Daramis are rare and these jovial vagabonds tend to be part thief, part minstrel and part priest. Some wander endlessly, moving from city to city. Others settle in and become a permanent member of a gang of thieves. Priests of Daramis do have some limited spell ability which they learn from other priests and which is said to be granted to them by Daramis himself. Such spells are always useful for thieves – spells of silence and invisibility, spells to detect traps and mechanism, spells to undo locks, spells to detect defensive spells which might protect the loot, spells of healing to help a fellow thief. Daramis priests often cast these spells before and after a job both for themselves and any thieves who are with them. The priests advocate the life of thieving and spending and will do what they can to encourage other thieves. Always, in the end, it is for the glory of Daramis and they spread his name and their message as they move from city to city, teaching thieving skills and blessing thieves with their magic.
Priests of Daramis are usually found by other thieves through word of mouth. Since Daramis priests are wanted by the local authorities from time to time, they often find themselves on the run, moving from tavern to burglary job to city sewer. They may preach the blessings of Daramis while standing knee deep in filth of the city sewer to a ragtag group of cutpurses or cast spells of stealth upon himself and others before committing the perfect burglary.
It is tradition for priests of Daramis to never buy anything. Everything in their life must be either stolen or a gift.
This website was last updated August 9, 2023. Copyright 1990-2023 David M. Roomes.