Gods in Freeport
Scholars of theology believe that all the world actually only worships a single pantheon of gods; it's just the names and representations of them that differ, as well as regional importance of one god over another. Be that as it may, these are the gods that have temples in Freeport, as well as a handful of others that are also worshipped. Although, honestly, Freeporters in general are better described as "superstitious" rather than "religious." Offerings and invocations are tossed off out of habit, and Freeporters have a healthy respect for the ability of a displeased god to give you a really bad day, but they don't often otherwise pay particular respects to them. Pick whatever domains or favored weapon you think are appropriate for your cleric, and I'm not going to worry too much if they don't match the actual deity write-up exactly. The names given are the regional names common in Freeport; they differ slightly by dialect on the Continent, or may have entirely different names in some regions.
The Pirate God - The patron of Freeport is a god of pirates. Despite the fact that Freeport long ago applied a veneer of legitimacy and civilization, worship of this god is still very common. He's seen as a representation of the more romantic notion of pirates, but nobody forgets that piracy is an inherently nasty business. By superstition, he's rarely named aloud although his name is well known (Grazazat) and is instead usually called the Black Pirate, or the Six-fingered Man. His image is common in small statues or icons across the city; he's tall, handsome has six fingers on each hand and has a "crown" of six small horns pushing up through his hair. His icons are always made of obsidian or basalt, or some other black stone, and other images are always painted pure black.
The War God - The god of war is named Bel (hence the expression casus belli). He is seen as a large, powerful figure with a sword in one hand, a whip in the other, and wreathed in flames. His temple has been the source of some scandal in Freeport in the past, and a dark god named Abaddon supposedly had his priests infiltrate the temple and poison some of the high ranking priests. These were then discovered and killed; the clergy is therefore relatively young or new to the area; few of the older priests still reside here.
Goddess of Knowledge - A relatively respectable god with a lavish temple is Astaroth, the Great Librarian. It's said that in the Last Days, her library will burn, heralding the end of civilization, but in the meantime, Astaroth is quite proud of her library and encourages her clergy to seek for whatever knowledge they can find. Dark whisperings say that the more forbidden the knowledge, the more highly it's prized, and occasionally scandalous rumors come from this temple, but by and large it is seen as one of the more respectable in the city, and is justly considered a point of pride to its residents. Astaroth herself is depicted as an angelic human with large feathery wings, a serpent in one hand and a book in the other, often seated on a coiled dragon for a throne.
God of Death - Urkas is not much worshipped or revered in Freeport, but since his temple has charge of preparing dead bodies for funerary rites, it remains important nonetheless. Ironically, the priests of Urkas are notorious for trying to escape death---urban myths of the priest of Urkas who turns to dark necromancy are common bogeymen that Freeport mothers use to frighten their children. Urkas himself is never pictured out of superstitious fear; nobody knows what he's supposed to look like---or if they do, they're not saying.
God of the Sea - One of the most respected and revered gods of Freeport is Dagon, the Lord of the Sea. Since literally everyone in Freeport depends on the sea to some degree or another---either for food, livelihood, or at least in the hopes that it won't rise up in a tropical storm and wipe the city off the map---Dagon's ceremonies are the most attended of any in the city, and icons of him appear in almost every singly building. He's usually shown as a merman with a flowing beard, but he's also occasionally pictured otherwise; one popular variant is a shark-like creature with grasping tentacles.
Minor Gods - few have actual temples, but smaller shrines exist
Goddess of Magic - Abraxas is the God of Magic, and few are the arcane spellcasters who don't at least give her some nominal votive offerings from time to time. Her priests are famous for selling charms that protect the faithful from minor harm and bad luck. Most people agree that they do indeed work, although some decry the practice as charlatanism.
Goddes of Travelers and Roads - Ahrimanes is the ultimate traveler. Most people about to embark on a long journey will stop by the temple district and touch the hem of the robe of her statue. She does not have a temple in the city, but a few clerics clean and polish the brass statue daily. It is, in fact, starting to lose some of its detail and definition because of the constant polishing.
God of Strength - Bafometh is a bull-headed god famous for his feats of strength. He has a small shrine in the Temple district that is simply a roof supported by four pillars with a granite altar in the center.
God of Nature - To most Freeporters, "nature" means the sea and therefore is the province of Dagon. To them, the concept of worshipping a god associated with the jungles that surround Freeport of grow on the other small islands seems incredibly bizarre, but travelers or immigrants from the continent occasionally set up small shrines to Yinigu, or preach his virtues in the street.
God of Penitance - Not a popular god, but one that you occasionally hear about from those who have had to spend time in one of Freeports many prisons. Azazel encourages extremely dilligent penitance and flagellations, so his followers are at least easy to spot.
God of the Sun - Kardum is the god of fire and the sun. He's not well known in Freeport, but is given more due on the Continent. There is a strange group of half a dozen men and women, who come to the temple district every day during the hottest part of the day when the sun is highest, take off all their clothes and lie on the plaza in the shape of a spoked wheel, their heads touching. Although nobody knows for sure who they are or where they come from, and nobody can claim authoritatively to have even ever heard them speak, the mysterious novelty of these strange worshippers is increasing Kardum's importance in the city, at least for now.
God of Thieves - While never openly worshipped, Frezur Blue is very commonly given a quick prayer by the cities many less than upstanding citizens. Many invoke his name only to make fun of it, and ask what part of him is blue (usually with a randy joke about his sex life) which causes the priests of Astaroth no end of frustration. They simply roll their eyes, comment that "Blue" in this case is merely a mispelling of his proper name anyway, and although Frezur Blue may seem to be an easy-going god who doesn't mind a few jokes made at his expense, only the truly foolish think that it is wise to upset the god who can take away everything that they own, and even steal their very souls.
Also, as I mentioned, many other gods exist, but these are the ones that are most important in Freeport, and that everyone will know.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
