The Soul Forger, Dwarf-father, The All-Father, The Creator
Greater Deity
Symbol: Hammer and anvil
Home Plane: Celestia
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Dwarves, creation, smithing, engineering, war
Worshippers: Dwarves, metal-workers
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, NG
Domains: Creation, Earth, Good, Law, Protection
Favoured Weapon: “Soulhammer” (Warhammer)
Relics: Axe of ancestral virtue, shield of the resolute
The deity of dwarves, Moradin (moar-uh-din), usually appears as a stern-faced male dwarf with a powerful build. His upper body is particularly robust, with a barrel chest, wide shoulders and arms corded with big muscles. He has flowing black hair and a beard to match, and he always wears full plate armour. He carries a shield and a warhammer. Moradin forged the first dwarves out of metal and gems and breathed life into them.
Moradin is an adamant defender of the dwarven people he created and of the principles of law and good. He teaches the value of making goods that last, of loyalty to clan, leader and people, and of meeting adversity with stoicism and tenacity. He tolerates no taint of evil among the dwarves; it was he who drove the derro and duergar out of the dwarven community. It is Moradin’s influence that leads the dwarves towards excellence in craftwork and staunch defence of what is theirs.
Clerics of Moradin are charged with maintaining and advancing the dwarven race in all walks of life. They perform a wide range of public ceremonies (marriages, blessing new ventures, crowning monarchs and the like). They also educate the young, arrange communal defences and sponsor expeditions to settle new lands. They also keep detailed genealogies and historical archives.
Every temple or shrine of Moradin includes an anvil and a forge that the clerics keep perpetually burning. The anvil can be a simple decoration or part of a working smithy, but it often serves as the temple altar.
Many of Moradin’s clerics have parents and grandparents who were also clerics of the Soul-Forger, so they train in their calling from childhood with a parent to guide them.
Defence of dwarven civilization — and the traditions that make it strong — is paramount to followers of Moradin. They can protect new mines from goblinoid invaders, track down a lost line of dwarf warrior-kings, or journey to the Elemental Plane of Fire to light a forge that will temper a new artifact.
Moradin’s prayers are replete with references to metals and smithing. One of the most common prayers for intercession begins, “You burn the dross from me, but the iron remains”.
At the centre of every temple to Moradin is a massive forge, where the weapons and armour that defend the dwarf people are made. The best weapon- and armoursmiths in the world usually work in Moradin’s temples.
Genealogy and heritage are important aspects of Moradin’s rites. A funeral for a Moradin worshipper is a grand, solemn spectacle, with chants that describe the lineage of the deceased, stretching back thousands of years.
Moradin’s herald is a 20th-level celestial dwarf fighter (or 10th-level celestial fighter/10th-level dwarven defender). Allies are hound archons, trumpet archons and planetars.
Source: Deities and Demigods (Page 83), Races of Stone (Page 17), Complete Divine (Page 115)