Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolios: plants, agriculture, wine, harvest, forests
Races: human, elven, tomanth
Animal Totem: Boar

Physical Description: All who have seen the Harvest God agree on his appearance, regardless of their race. He appears as a moderately-sized man in his mid-fifties, with shaggy hair gone to gray at the temples and in the chin of his beard. His face is lined with the years of weather, and his hands are the callused and gnarled hands of a veteran farmer. Barith wears a simple cassock made of thick white cotton, and has a large straw hat upon his head; coupled with his woven fiber sandles, he appears at first as a simple farmer, but his eyes are unmistakeably those of a god.

History: As their world crumbled around them during the Prizm Wars, the men and women of Gaeleth cried out in anguish, starving and shocked by what had become of their world. In the first year after the end of the Prizm Wars, many priests could pray to their gods, and be answered with nourishment and water, but their prayers were not enough. Too many begged for food and drink, and too many craved the mind-numbing effects of wine and ale. As well, the lands had been devestated by the powers of the mages, and the damnations of the priests; what top soil was left ran away with the rains and the storms. As farmers tended to weak and dying fields, the first Chosen of Barith found the Harvest God's Relic while plowing. Near to death and desperate to feed his family, Zhves Nyar found the strength of faith he needed in the newfound god -- and his fields grew in the cloud-choked sun and the salt-poisoned earth. Zhves went on to become one of the great Chosens of that time, turning an era of suffering into the Age of Survival. Barith's faith spread, from farmers to druids, rangers to herbalists. As each millennium passed, the new order of Barith grew stronger and deeper in faith, spreading its leaves and driving down deep roots. The druids rose under Barith's direction, and began to reshape nature, creating a balance where there had been none before. During the Shaping Wars, the solitary Barith found his church pitted against a variety of nations and causes, fighting each of them to maintain the hard-fought balance. In the end, only Barith remained; the power of the druids, the farmers, and the men of plants was assured. As the Age of Peace slowly rolled on, the power of the Harvest God grew even more. Avard Karatikan, a Sebre druid from the Vadent Mountains, began a slow and peaceful campaign to unite the world under the rulership of the druids, making Barith the dominant god. When Nathel's armies invade, the lightning strike was the first in a storm of strikes that would slowly erode the tree of Barith, withering its roots and cracking its boughs. When the wars were over, the druids' hold had been burned away, both with the destruction of the land, and with the combined power of the other gods. As the Inquisition grew, the Church of Barith held its peace, taking the time to heal itself and the lands themselves, though it would never again regain its former glory.

Relic: The Harvest God's Relic was stolen by the archon Nabrol from its temple housing in the Vadent Mountains. The guardians of the relics were a powerful group of ranger/druids sworn to its protection. They were able to track the Relic to the Dark Continent, Shadareth -- and there the Relic was lost to them. Unable to penetrate the perilous waters surrounding the Dark Continent, the guardians were forced to turn back again and again, even as their numbers diminished through the centuries.

Church: Barith's Chosen lost a great deal of his titular power when Avard Karatikan died at Rhythis Keep, during the formation of Lake Kiriath. Since that time, the Disciples have taken up most of the real power, leading the various cardinals and their congregations from the Nation of the Sebre Druids. The church itself is still quite strong, though it lost its political influence with the heads of nations. Farmers continue to sew their crops and reap their harvests, lending their quiet and gentle faith to the Church of Barith. The druids, however, have been devestated. The once-powerful orders within the church have fallen into disarray, with petty squabbling over leadership consuming the heirophants. Many regions of forests and lands once balanced by the druids are uncontrolled, with the balance of nature established by the druids long ago disintegrating. In the controlled lands of the other gods, their clerics and followers maintain a balance of their own that stands in contrast to that of the millennia-old intent of the Church of Barith. Recruitment continues for more druids to replace those lost by the Storm Wars, and to replace the ranks of the priests. Many temples and monastaries remain closed, overgrown against the day when priests of the Harvest God will return to reopen them. The only bright spot is the priests that specialize in the making of wines, ales, and other spirits distilled from plants; their tithes help keep the church afloat during the hard financial times of the Inquisition.

Clerics: The clerics of Barith are rare. Valient warriors, they are often called in by the druids or the other priests to defend vital interests of Barith, such as the druids' special groves, and the rare herbs used in making klah. While the church originally forbid the use of weapons, its conflicts during the Shaping Wars forced change. The clerics now can use armor of any type, as well as those weapons deemed kosher: scythes, staves, spears and pole-arms, maces, clubs, nunchukas, javelins, bows, and the unique kolmnarin. The kolmnarin is a specially crafted or grown combination of pole-arm, double-ended club, and stave. Unique to each wielder, the kolmnarin is the symbol of the clerics of Barith, and is considered an honor weapon, even when not used.

Specialty priests: Tenders of the land and tillers of the soil are the two primary responsibilities of the clergy of Barith. Though the druids may push for the balance, the specialty priests push for the plants to grow, whatever the conditions and wherever the need. They revitalize weakening fields of crops, encourage the growth of forests, and use their considerable control over plants to bring harmony to the needs of ecosystems and man. To accomplish these diverse and necessary missions, they need to have Wisdom scores of 13 or higher, and a strong devotion to all plant life. Barith grants them major access to the spheres of All, Creation, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Plant, and Protection. Their intense devotion to those spheres limited them to minor access in Charm, Combat, Divination, and Summoning. Through his archons, Barith grants the specialty priests the prayers they need to fulfill their missions: 1) they cast one additional spell from the sphere of Plant for every point of Wisdom above 12, such that one with a Wisdom of 18 casts six additional spells, 2) they are immune to all plant-based toxins, poisons, and attacks, and 3) they gain the ability to regenerate at 1hp/round so long as they are exposed to direct sunlight. The specialty priests of Barith are excellent studies in their respective areas of expertise, often being masters of farming, brewing, forestry, and herbalism.

Monks: For millennia, the monastaries and nunneries of the Church of Barith were havens of knowledge and research. They studied plants of all sorts, and their interactions with the world, animals, the earth, and all of their environments. Several monastaries were all dedicated to brewing various beers and ales, as well as turning out some of the finest wines in all of creation. When necessary, the monks were more than willing to travel to expand their knowledge of the plant world. They were also well-disciplined men, unafraid to defend their often secluded homes from the worst of man or nature.

Druids: The Circle of Druids began early in the Age of Survival, reshaping and reforming nature into a balanced and healthy whole. Though they also followed the elemental pantheon, the druids of Barith were powerful tools to creating a safe, controlled Gaeleth that still had the freedom to change and adapt as circumstances dictated. Drawing their power from plants the world over, their spells and prayers are a mix of their power over nature, and the gifts of Barith.

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