Argsal is the Realm Between— the borderland between day and night, life and death, ... Its gods are a very peculiar lot. They are relatively obscure, but call many of their followers to be archimages.
| Name | Attributes | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Rylus | Artistic inspiration, knowledge in breadth, intuition, riddles | Dragon |
| Yolas | Revelation, uncontrolled power, fertility | Lightning bolt |
| Parm | Study, helpfulness, caution | Book |
| Sar | Fixing, diplomacy, trickery, bribery, connections | Wildcat |
| Borss | Truth, construction, violence | Volcano |
The gods are in a mythic cycle:
Rylus creates a dangerous riddle that Yolas wishes to solve. Yolas’ risky quest for revelation trigger’s Parm’s caution, which causes Parm to seek an alternative method. Parm talks it over with Sar, who manages to think of a series of connections he knows that will achieve Parm’s goal, and a way of presenting so that Borss will be interested. Borss’ directness and violence bothers Rylus, who makes a riddle about it...
Alcohol is important in the religion, and beer is sacramental.
Drinking ritual: achieving ecstatic visions.
Drinking ritual: getting out of control.
Drinking ritual: curling up with a good book and paying attention to the night’s dreams.
Drinking ritual: getting sloshed in good company and telling tales.
Sar is about stories. No particular act is forbidden, but one must exercise discretion when going to extremes of any sort. Necromancy, for instance, is best practiced as poetic justice. Simply animating a village full of peasants because you want some troops is just cruel. Animating a bunch of necromancers or slavedrivers, on the other hand, is just fine. Creativity is encouraged, as are signature touches.
Proper service of Sar involves doing something cool in his name: if it involves a profit, you spend the profit on spreading the word, building temples, etc. You don’t have to mention his name for all steps of the operation, just turn over the final glory. (e.g.: put together a network of people to solve a problem and ask them to praise Sar each day they feel grateful.) In return, he’ll help you set up cool stories and send opportunities your way.
Sar is not about small change. If you get involved with his power, drama will ensue. You don’t ask him for help with this year’s crops unless they’re already been burned by marauders or devoured by locusts and you are willing to do something impressive to make sure you can feed your family through the winter and sow in the spring.
You can make Bets and Dares with Sar. If you make a Bet, you have to define equal forfeits, and if you make yours too small, the god might be insulted and demand something of you. If you make a Dare:
He doesn’t make clearly defined Deals, though. Negotiation gives too much information away; you’re supposed to learn.
Nifty techniques that are taught by priests of Sar to those who have earned them:
Drinking ritual: drinking contest.
Lessons for the followers of Borss from the other deities: