Pholtus
 | |
| Pholtus | |
|---|---|
| Titles | Pholtus of the Blinding Light The Blinding Light |
| Alignment | Lawful Good[1] |
| Divine Rank | 15 (intermediate power) 6-10 (lesser power) (at one point)[2] |
In Greyhawk, Pholtus, also known as Pholtus of the Blinding Light or simply the Blinding Light, is the god of light, law, order, the sun, and moon.
Pholtus is well known for being a rigid, unbending, idealistic, and unpragmatic god, and, as such, he has many rivals and enemies among the gods, even among other Good gods.
Meta
Pholtus was, alongside his rival Saint Cuthbert, one of the first two gods Gary Gygax ever came up with for D&D. Basically, one of his players was playing a cleric and expressed confusion about the origin of his powers, and was like, "If I'm a priest, which god am I drawing power from? Who are the gods of this world?" And Gary improvised and literally just made up two random names on the spot: he said "Pholtus" and "Saint Cuthbert" right off the top of his head. Then, later, he figured out who they were.
Alignment
Pholtus is Lawful Good, but has Lawful Neutral tendencies.
Realm
Pholtus dwells on Mount Celestia.
Personality
Pholtus has an iron will and an iron heart. He's been described as moralistic, puritanical, and uncompromising.
Relationships
His chief rival is Saint Cuthbert. He also does not get along particularly well with Trithereon. His only close allies are Heironeous and Pelor.
Rivalry with Saint Cuthbert
Pholtus's rivalry with SC is legendary. It is not a friendly rivalry, either. What's surprising, though, is that their alignments are actually about the same: Pholtus is LG (with LN leanings), while SC is LN (with LG) leanings.
So it's not like Heironeous and Hextor, or Bane and Cyric, or Corellon Larethian and Gruumsh, where they differ greatly on an axis. Pholtus and SC are basically the same in terms of alignment, and yet they're constantly at each other's throats. The two are both hardheaded moralists who have great difficulty seeing how they could be wrong, and thus they have a very hard time getting along.
Worship
Devotees of Pholtus call their religion the One True Way. Which is also what Cyricists call their religion. Take that how you will.
Here's a passage from one revered Pholtan religious text:
"The One True Way is a strict path, but it guarantees rightness. Show no tolerance for those who do not give all for the cause of Law. Fanaticism in the name of the Blinding Light is praiseworthy, and Law's champions shall be rewarded in the era when chaos has been vanquished."
Interdasting.
Mandate
Dogma
Pholtus teaches that those who hold to chaotic or evil notions are never to be shown the slightest tolerance. and all should aggressively spread the perfect order of law across the Material Plane.
As one revered text puts it: "The One True Way is a strict path. but it guarantees tightness. Show no tolerance for those who do not give all for the cause of Law. Fanaticism in the name of the Blinding Light is praiseworthy.'and Law's champions shall be rewarded in the era when chaos has been vanquished."[3]
Power Ranking
| Level | 49 (Fighter 9, Paladin 20, Cleric 20)[3] |
|---|---|
| CR | ~36.75 |
| DR | 15 (intermediate power) |
