Games - Gond

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Gond is a fictional deity in the Forgotten Realms
Dungeons & Dragons
campaign setting. Ed Greenwood created Gond for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, very loosely inspired by the Greek deity Hephaestus. Gond is the deity of invention: he transforms ideas into form and inspires mortals to create new things. He cares only for the act of creation and pays no heed to the consequences of his inventions. Gond is worshipped by gnomes, who know him as Nebelun
, and humans. Worshippers of Gond are known as Gondar.

Gond is an enigmatic deity who serves under Oghma and alongside Deneir and Milil as a Deity of Knowledge and Invention. His independence leads many to forget his relationship with his superior. Gond is friendly with Lathander, Waukeen and Tempus, for his inventions benefit their portfolios. His only enemy is Talos, whose indiscriminate destructiveness threatens Gond's dominion over creation and devices of destruction.

Gond sometimes appears as a short, slight man with straw-blond hair, other times as a burly, red-faced smith, and other times as a gnome. In all his avatars he has sharp, dark eyes, a forge-scarred face, and alert, inquisitive features. He wears a scorched smith's smock over leather clothes. He wields a mighty hammer called Craftmaster, which he uses for smith work and as a weapon. Gond's avatars are rarely seen outside his temple; he prefers to manifest before mortals in a lesser manner.

Clergy and dogma

Gond's faith is the state religion of Lantan. The church of Gond is tolerated across Faerûn. Members are found in both good and evil aligned human populations. He has an increasing following in rock gnome communities. In Durpar, Estagund, and Var the Golden, he is known as Zionil, patron of craftfolk, inventors and creators. The church of Mystra opposes Gond, believing he holds technology above magic, but in truth he views magic as a tool to further his creativity. Merchants cultivate relationships with Gond's clergy in the hope of profiting from trading in Gondar inventions. Periodically, an invention of the followers of Gond will have an adverse economic effect, resulting in hostility from other faiths.

The heart of Gond's church is the High Holy Crafthouse of Inspiration in the city of Illul in Lantan. This monastery is run by Danactar the High Artificer, Most Holy Servant of Gond. Danactar is the highest ranking mortal cleric of Gond; he is the supreme voice in ecclesiastical matters and he serves in Lantan's ruling council, the Ayrorch. Lantanese expatriate merchants along the southern seas of Faerûn follow Danactar's rule. They usually receive his edicts from the Lantar (the travelling envoy of Lantan). The current Lantar is the Gondar cleric Bloenin. Gondar of mainland Faerûn nominally acknowledge Danactar, but due to his distance few pay him much heed. The recent destruction of Tilverton, which housed the most prominent Gondar church in mainland Faerûn, has further contributed to their independence from Danactar.

In recent years, the church of Gond has been the target of hostility across Faerûn because it introduced smokepowder (a magical item equivalent to gunpowder) and firearms. Rulers view such weapons as a threat to their authority because it grants commoners power to rival magic spells. The church has maintained good relations in most cities by working to preserve their proprietary control of smokepowder.

The church of Gond consists mostly of wandering clerics who travel from settlement to settlement, finding work as artisans and engineers. Settling in one area is only encouraged in centers for innovation that warrant constant observation, such as Zhentil Keep, Waterdeep, Athkatla, and Suzail. The church encourages wealth, as it demonstrates the benefits of following Gond. As they travel, clerics take samples of any inventions they discover and assist innovators they encounter, filing regular reports to their superiors.

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