Obad-hai

Source: Player's Handbook, p108; Complete Divine, p116; Deities And Demigods, p86.

Intermediate god
Pantheon: Greyhawk
Titles: The Shalm
Home Plane: Outlands
Portfolio: Nature, woodlands, freedom, hunting, beasts
Alignment: Neutral
Worshippers: Barbarians, druids, rangers, hunters
Cleric Alignments: CN, LN, N, NE, NG
Domains: Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, Weather
Holy Symbols: Mask of oak leaves and acorns
Favoured Weapons: Quarterstaff

Obad-Hai rules nature and the wilderness, and he is a friend to all who live in harmony with the natural world. He is most often shown as a lean and weathered man of indeterminately old age, dressed in brown or russet and looking like a hermit, although nonhuman communities depict him as one of their own race. Because Obad-Hai strictly adheres to neutrality, he is a rival of Ehlonna. Obad-Hai plays a shalm (a double-reed woodwind musical instrument, also spelled “shawm”) and takes his title from this instrument. He also carries a staff.

Dogma

Obad-Hai expects his followers to live in harmony with nature in all its variety. Those who destroy or otherwise harm nature deserve swift vengeance in an appropriate manner, says Obad-Hai. Those who are one with nature, however, have little to fear, although the well-meaning but foolish are sometimes brought down by a danger they could not avoid or divert. Obad-Hai teaches that the wilds can sometimes be ugly, dangerous, or terrible, but that these things are a part of nature and should be respected as much as those that are beautiful, harmless, or wonderful, for these characterizations mark a newcomer’s perspective.

Clergy

Clerics of Obad-Hai have no hierarchy. They treat all those of their order as equals. They wear russet-colored clothing and maintain hidden woodland shrines that are usually located far from civilization. They keep to the wilderness and to themselves, rarely getting involved in society.

A wide variety of peoples serve as Obad-Hai’s clerics, including humans, gnomes, halflings, and sylvan fey. They serve as protectors of nature, acting as the agents of retribution when their protection is insufficient or too late.

Obad-Hai's adherents learn to become one with the Shalm in isolation, surrounded by wilderness. Only at the beginning and end of a new cleric's training does he receive guidance from a senior member of Obad- Hai's clergy. The rest of the time is spent living off the land and developing an instinctive connection to Obad-Hai's will. Not surprisingly, Obad-Hai counts more druids among his followers than clerics.

Temples

Groves of oak trees deep in the wilderness mark Obad-Hai's shrines. These temples are defended by dozens of guardian animals and other denizens of the wilderness, many of whom are content to observe visitors from a distance.

Prayers

Obad-Hai's prayers and psalms often start with a reference to birth or growth and end with a reference to death or ending. One common prayer for guidance begins, "Shalm, my thirst for knowledge grows/Lend me your wisdom and bury my doubts."

Rites

Obad-Hai's rites are exclusively seasonal and are triggered by a real-world event: the first songbird of spring and the first snowflake of winter, for example.

Quests

If it takes place in the wilderness, Obad-Hai's followers are interested. Quests that protect a forest from woodcutters, cleanse the corrupted heart of a swamp, or prevent a dwarf mine from unleashing a volcanic eruption are smiled upon by the Shalm.

Aspects

Avatars: Obad-Hai’s avatars vary in appearance, just as he does. He sends them to patrol wild areas and protect them from harm, and to monitor the activities of Ehlonna.

Herald: A centaur 20th-level cleric is Obad-Hai's herald.

Allies: Allies are Medium, Large, and Huge elementals of any type.

Relics And Artifacts

Relics: Armor of the fallen leaves, staff of the unyielding oak.

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