Centaurus

"I tracked the stag to a clearing in the forest. As I readied his bow, I saw the creature in full for the first time. It had a shimmering white coat the color of pure starlight, and in place of its head was a flickering flame dancing upon its neck like a candle. The stag's horns branched high around the flame like the crooked branches of a tree, shimmering slightly as it turned to look at me. Realizing this was no ordinary stag, I quickly lowered my bow and the stag vanished like a fine morning mist. I approached the place where it stood and looking to the floor I found a child, swaddled in soft greenery and sleeping peacefully."

- "The Grove of Centaurus," Menkent Ziir

Centaurus is the First One deity of guidance and the wild. Those that follow her path are usually people with strong ties to forests and who have shown themselves to have strong empathy towards others. Centaurus' followers rarely gather in organized cults, rather, she seeks out hunters, rangers, or other wild folk in order to further carry out her will and tenants. The largest instance of a cult to Centaurus was the wood elf town in the Grove of Centaurus, a town carved from an ancient behemoth of a tree in the middle of the Taekrako Jungle.

Appearances
Centaurus primarily appears as a massive centaur with the body and antlers of a deer. Her fur is made of forest greenery, and her skin in patterned like the night sky. She is cloaked in leaves and wooden armor and carries a bow and quiver slung across her back and a candle or lantern in one hand. One of her eyes is visible from behind her hood and it glows like a beacon in the night. Centaurus uses this form when communicating to her followers in drams and visions, and it is generally accepted to be her "true" form.

Centaurus has also been said to appear to travelers as a robed hermit wearing a deer mask and carrying a large backpack laden with lanterns of various sizes. "The Lantern Hermit" appearance is used when going undercover to test or aid mortals. Another humanoid form that Centaurus is said to take on in the mortal realm is "The Huntress," which is either Centaurus herself or one of her champions depending on the legend. The Huntress is a woman cloaked in leaves and wearing wooden armor carrying a bow. her face is either obscured in shadows or covered by a mask and she often appears in moments of divine intervention.

Finally, "The White Stag" is an instance of Centaurus that takes the form of a shimmering white stag with a candle flame in place of a head. Its antlers branch in intricate patterns around its head, like the branches of a tree. The White Stag often appears as an omen, either as a warning or a guiding force of Centaurus' will.

Tenants of Centaurus
Centaurus' goals are twofold; the staunch defense and protection of the wild places of the world, and the aid and guidance of those who are lost. Followers of Centaurus are called to guide travelers through particularly treacherous environments, defend and cleanse wild places that have been corrupted or affected by outside forces, and push back against those that would upset the natural balance of the world. This could mean defeating unnatural monsters such as the undead, aberrations or fiends, or discouraging intrusion by those who would harm or destroy valuable natural environments.

Centaurus' goal of guiding the lost is much more nebulous, but also is what calls most would be followers to take up her mantle. While on a surface level, "guiding the lost" means helping travelers through areas that are difficult to navigate, "lost" also refers to a person's emotional or mental state. Centaurus will often grant favor to those who help those with no home or family, or who strive for the redemption of people lost along the wrong path.

Organizations
Though there is little organization amongst the ranks of Centaurus' followers, there are a few small conclaves of rangers or druids who follow Centaurus as a unit. For the most part they live in communities who take in and welcome outcasts and people trying to escape their old lives to turn over a new leaf. Some may also run orphanages or run programs to assist those displaced by great natural or supernatural tragedies. Still, most of those who follow Centaurus are individuals who foster deep connections with forests and wild places and are guided by Centaurus to be at the right place at the right time.

The Grove of Centaurus, the largest and possibly first community dedicated to Centaurus, is located in a grove of stonewood trees; massive and rare trees that can grow to be tall as mountains. The community was built around a beacon of radiant energy in the center of one of the oldest trees, and the whole area is thought to be a nexus of Centaurus' power. The Grove was abandoned in the early years of the Dead Wars, as the Green Blight had begun to take the Taekrako Jungle and the inhabitants were forced to flee. Refugees leaving the jungle later formed the city of Hartwood, where the worship of Centaurus continued albeit less widespread as it had been.

Centaurus' Champions
Alignment: Usually neutral, often good

Suggested Classes: Cleric, druid, ranger

Suggested Cleric Domains: Nature, Light

Suggested Backgrounds: Hermit, outlander, sage

Centaurus' Favor
Centaurus seeks those who would defend the wild and who value it as closely as one would hold a child. She may also seek out those who have done great acts of selfless service to others. The following table offers suggestions on how you may have gained Centaurus' favor or otherwise chose to follow her.

Devotion to Centaurus
Centaurus calls upon her followers to defend the natural world and oppose those who would bring it harm through cruelty or greed. As a follower of Centaurus, consider the ideals on the Centaurus' Ideals table as alternatives to those suggested for your background.

Earning And Losing Piety
You increase your piety score with Centaurus when you expand the god's influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:


 * Slaying an aberration, fiend or undead
 * Helping a sick or injured wild animal
 * Offering wisdom or guidance to a troubled soul
 * Stopping those who would hunt for fun or destroy the wild for their own gain

Your piety score to Centaurus decreases if you diminish Centaurus' influence in the world, fail to defend nature, or fail her ideals through acts such as these:


 * Killing and animal or wild beast for any reason other than necessity
 * Killing a criminal or being that could have been redeemed
 * Denying basic aid to someone who is suffering
 * Desecrating natural wonders for any reason

Centaurus' Devotee
Piety 3+ Centaurus trait

As a devotee of Centaurus you gain advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to navigate wild and natural environments.

Centaurus' Votary
Piety +10 Centaurus trait

You can cast Animal Friendship using this trait once per short or long rest.

Centaurus' Disciple
Piety 25+ Centaurus trait

You can cast the Ceremony spell once per long rest with the following effect: You designate an area with a 10 ft radius in which to bestow Centaurus' blessing. Creatures inside this radius cannot be surprised, and when rolling to regain hit points, roll the maximum number on the die.

Centaurus' Candle
Piety 50+ Centaurus trait

You can increase your Dexterity or Wisdom score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.

Myths of Centaurus
Most myths about Centaurus center around strange encounters in the woods, or cautionary warnings about taking advantage of the wilds.

The King of Seven Cities. Once, long ago there was great dwarvish emperor who had founded and created seven successful cities during his long and prosperous rule. Upon the building of his seventh city, however, the king sought to expand his city into a local jungle, which would involve destroying the jungle entirely. On the eve of this construction, the King saw a headless white stag standing on the edge of the jungle but thought nothing of it. The moment the first tree was cut down, the entire jungle sprung to life, consuming the entire city within the day. The king withdrew his men and abandoned the city, but his rule was forever tainted. Through the coming years, various seemingly unconnected misfortunes befell the rest of is cities, and the King's once expansive empire was entirely abandoned by the end of the century.

Alnair and the Discovery of the Grove. A wise old hunter was traveling the woods one day, when a mysterious light guided him to a clearing, where he found a child. The hunter raised the child as his own and the child grew into a powerful sorceress. The child was named Alnair, and she was considered to be blessed by Centaurus herself, growing a set of elegant antlers and tapping into powerful divine magics. Alnair became a great champion, destroying evil creatures wherever they sought to corrupt the land. One of her accomplishments was also the discovery of the Grove of Centaurus, where she found the beacon and eventually helped found the village around it.