Wreitedes (3.5e Deity)

Summary::Followers of Wreitedes strive for enlightenment through war, knowing that if they die they will be reincarnated to fight once again.

Created by the combined rage of a million bloodthirsty and idealistic warriors, and tempered by the mourning of a million widows, Wreitedes aims to perpetuate endless warfare. Seeing that those who succeeded in battle often gained powers to match the minor gods themselves, he encourages his followers to join his pantheon.

Wreitedes himself has rather limited godly power: he can hear and respond to statements and questions addressed to him, he can observe his immediate surroundings, and he can ensure that the souls of his followers don't dissolve into the formless mass that the souls of most creatures do eventually.

Dogma
Wreitedes encourages his followers to participate in as much combat as possible, starting from an early age. Since Wreitedes likes battle, not victory, he frowns upon those who kill the helpless. Followers who defeat enemies in battle are allowed to keep their enemies as slaves to do with as they wish for three years, before releasing them with a small amount of food and equipment. Keeping a slave for more than three years, or killing or permanently crippling a slave, is an capital crime, and if Wreitedes's attention is called to this crime he will not reincarnate that follower.

Wreitedes likes his wars big and impressive, so having lots of children and sending them into combat early is an ideal way of life. For this reason, female worshippers are encouraged to learn combat arts that are not significantly hampered by being pregnant, primarily those of the magical or psionic variety. The early adulthoods of Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, Humans, and constructs make them the most common worshippers of Wreitedes.

Mechanical Effect: If a creature who worships Wreitedes dies, 10 years later, if the creature is still dead, the next child to be born of a worshipper of Wreitedes will be born with that creature's soul. Unfortunately, this process isn't very efficient, so the creature loses all of its levels and only possesses about 1% of its memories of its past lives, regained while growing to adulthood. This means that spells like resurrection don't work on worshippers of Wreitedes who have been dead for more than 10 years, and any worshipper of Wreitedes who is a child of a worshipper of Wreitedes gets a +1 competence bonus on Knowledge (History) checks.

Clergy and Temples
Wreitedes's temples are often little more than carts filled with magic weapons and books of spells and military history, although Wreitedes is amenable towards the occasional artfully arranged pile of skulls.

Due to Wreitedes's particular social strategy, all of his clergy are female.

Pantheon
Wreitedes's tactic of accumulating followers with godlike power is likely to be frowned upon by other deities. His support of endless conflict is obviously problematic to those who like pleasant comfortable peace.