All-Father, Father of the Slain, God of the Hanged, God of Prisoners, God of Cargoes, The High One, The Inflamer, Swift Tricker, Father of Victory, the Blind One, Shifty Eyed, One with a Magic Staff, Destroyer, Terror
Greater Deity
Symbol: Watching blue eye
Home Plane: Asgard
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Knowledge, magic, supreme, war
Worshippers: Bards, fighters, sorcerers, wizards, philosophers, sages, nobility, gnomes
Cleric Alignments: CG, LG, NG
Domains: Air, Knowledge, Magic, Travel, Trickery, War
Favoured Weapon: Shortspear
Odin (oh-din) has one eye that blazes like the sun, having lost his other eye in payment for a drink from the well of Mimir. He once stole the mead of poetry, and some myths say he grants poetic ability and inspiration to mortals. Odin hanged himself on Yggdrasil for nine days, pierced by his own spear, until by virtue of his suffering he was able to reach down and seize magical runes that were the source of wisdom and magical lore. His suffering so impressed the son of the giant Bolthor that he taught Odin nine magical songs that allowed him to master eighteen magical spells previously unknown to any man or woman. Odin is fated to be swallowed by Loki’s son Fenrir at Ragnarok, but his own son Vidar will avenge him.
Wearing a dark, wide-brimmed hat that casts a shadow over his face, Odin travels as a mortal wanderer. As a god of magic, war and wisdom, he visits Midgard to distribute knowledge and victory in battle. His many titles hint at his various roles.
The cult of Odin places a premium on canny strategy and cunning solutions to problems. Followers of Odin constantly seek new knowledge as an advantage over their foes. Paradoxically, the cult promotes self-reliance by relating tales of Odin turning against favoured kings and generals in the midst of battle. The cult practices ritual hanging and piercing by spears in emulation of their patron deity, but in reality the hangings and injuries are purely tests and cause no lasting harm. Purposely destroying or removing an eye to emulate Odin is shameful to the cult, though an eye’s loss in battle is considered a mark of favour from Odin.
The cult makes and loses allies easily. If a ruler takes an advisor from the cult lightly or disregards advice, the advisor may leave without warning or even switch sides to the ruler’s enemy.
Odin’s clerics generally wear dark, wide-brimmed hats, cloaks decorated with or made entirely of raven’s feathers and patches over their (intact) left eyes. They permit no one to lift or touch these patches. They share their knowledge sparingly, and generally only to those who demonstrate that they come to the cult as a last resort, after all other avenues have been explored.
Odin’s temples are generally large, raucous halls. Those not distracted by the noise, carousing and brawling notice the thickness of the walls, the lack of windows and the heavy bars ready at each door. If the faithful close and bar the doors, the halls become sturdy forts. Private areas of the temples include libraries and extensive collections of scrying devices. Outside civilized areas, shrines to Odin are common in wild places that offer wide vistas of the surrounding country.
Visitors to Odin’s temples receive a warm welcome, a tankard of mead and a plate of food. They rarely attract more attention than that unless they’ve come to sell or trade spells, knowledge or magic items. Consequently, sorcerers and wizards receive the best treatment and can usually find free meals and a free place to sleep as long as they can demonstrate their contributions to the advancement of magic.
Source: Deities and Demigods (Page 167)