Rampol

Rampol is a god of the sun, healing, fertility and revitalization. He is a good and benevolent god and is married to Thaya. He has a special hatred for the undead as they remind him of his own death.

Rampol manifests as a bronzed smiling man with blonde hair and glowing sunlit eyes. He is usually garbed in white and only those with good in their hearts can look directly at him without being blinded. In battle, he wears archaic plate armor and wields a glowing mace.

Worship of Rampol is widespread and he is favored in most human lands. His priests are healers and farmers, statesmen and craftsmen. They promote peace, purity and goodness and have a special mission to rid the world of the undead

Sun Symbol of Rampol by Chris L

The myth of Rampol's ascension to godhood, the "Romance of the Sun & Moon", is a popular story among mortals. It is the subject of art, books, and songs throughout the millenia. His rise to godhood has inspired many young mortals to seek out a better life for themselves and their families.

Demigod, Warrior, Lover

Rampol is the son of Kotath Nar by a mortal woman. The woman died in childbirth and Kotath Nar gave the child to a widowed farmer to raise. The boy grew up beautiful and strong. He became a mighty warrior and was the general of his king’s armies. He often lay beneath the stars at night and Thaya, goddess of the moon, would come to him.

They were lovers until Rampol died in battle. Thaya grieved and looked for a way to bring him back.

The Moon Seeks Her Lover

She first went to her mother, Balatha, but Balatha was unable to help her. Next she went to Diben Maraud, then Mutarin and finally Molak, the death god. None of them were able to help her.

Son of Storms

Finally, in desperation, she sought out her lover’s forbidding father. She sought out Kotath Nar for a year and a day, and the moon did not appear in the skies while she searched. Eventually, she found the Storm God and discovered why none of the others had been able to help her.

After his death, Rampol’s soul was called to join Kotath Nar’s entourage of followers.

At first, Kotath Nar demanded that Thaya lie with him for a night before he would release Rampol. She refused and the sky remained moonless for another year as she grieved.

The New Sun

Upset by the moon’s absence, Diben Maraud, Mutarin and Balatha decided to intercede. Faced with his brother and sisters, Kotath Nar consented to releasing Rampol, but under one condition. His son was to become a god. The other three agreed and together they resurrected Rampol, elevated him to full godhood and gave him the sphere of the sun as his domain.

The Church of Sun & Moon has gathered together the disparate sects of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess under themselves. The Patriarch of the Sun has ultimate authority over the fractious members of the combined churches.

Despite the Church's supposed domination, the different Sun & Moon sects mostly do as they please and give lip service to the Patriarch in the City of Molndal. Rampol's worshippers venerate him in many different ways throughout the world. Three of the main sects are the Flame of Righteousness, The Source of Light & Life, and the Moon's Lover.

Rampol's aspect as the "Flame of Righteousness' is popular among warriors, politicians, and young men. In this form, he wields a mace of solar fire, wears gold and white plate armor, and bears a shield of sunlight. He flies on four wings, two of white gold and two of solar flame. He rains down fire on the unworthy darkness and burns undead from the world.

Based in the Grand Duchy of Molndal, the "Faction of Flame" composes the warrior arm of the Church and is the leading sect of Rampol worshippers.

The Order of Light is organized under this sect. Although they are known for materialism and ambition, they have so far submitted to the spiritual commands of the Patriarch.

Rampol, the Flame of Righteousness by Chris L - Heroforge

Followers of his aspect as the "Source" focus on Rampol's life-giving light. In this version, his winged form depicted embedded in a living tree, Zernon's Eclipse. His skin is covered in bark and his hair is covered with flowers. He bears the orb of the sun in his hands as a guardian on the Crystal Sphere of Heaven. His sunlight causes plants to grow and drives away the darkness of evil and the shadows of ignorance.

This aspect of Rampol, sometimes called Apolaki, is popular in the Talin Islands where Barong, the Island of the Sun, is a major center of his worship. There they build enormous temples near volcanoes to reach up to his unblinking eye in the sky.

Rampol, the Source of Light and Life by Chris L - Heroforge

Rampol's "Lover" aspect is almost as popular as the "Flame" aspect. The Lover is especially popular amongst young people and those who wish to have children. This version of Rampol carries a harp and a bow, stringed instruments of music and war, that represent his tie to his lost wife Thaya.

In Osiran, he is depicted with a scarab's wings, honoring the dung beetle. Like Rampol, the beetle constantly pushes a ball that symbolizes life, death, and rebirth. The lover also represents the fatherly version of Rampol and the many children that he had with Thaya and others. His aasimar descendants still live among the mortals of Erathia.

Rampol, the Moon's Lover by Chris L

This mysterious cult of Wardens worship Rampol, but hide a dark purpose. They watch over the Tambanakua's Volcano, where the spider-like Celestial Glutton waits. The lava spider wishes to eat the sphere of the sun and these Wardens have been assigned the task of keeping her trapped and sated.

They do this by feeding the Tambanakua the aasimar descendents of Rampol's angel, Solara. A child of Rampol himself, Solara is trapped in luxury in the Warden's complex on the side of the volcano. Whenever one of his children shows signs of being an aasimar, that child is sacrificially fed to the Tambanakua on the next Summer Solstice to keep it sated. The kaiju spider has recently begun to stir because one of her meals, the cleric Lucius Solara, escaped decades ago. Now the Wardens fear that they spider might leave its lair to seek out its lost snack.

The Sun by Chris L

Thaya died at the opening of the War Against the Far Realm and Rampol and his followers swore scorching vengeance on the invading abominations. He and his solar angels fought the Great Old Ones directly in the skes while the mortals of Erathia fought on the ground. The Far War ravaged the world for 25 years until the gods and their avatars made a sacrifice to end it. They dragged the invading Great Old Ones out of the crystal sphere surrounding the solar system and closed the Divine Gate behind them.

Rampol and the other gods withdrew from the world. Since then he has granted the prayers of his followers and continued to bless them. But with the Divine Gate closed, his ability to communicate directly and manfiest Avatars was gone.

Traditionaly, Rampol enjoyed the different types of worship given to his many names by cultures throughout the world. Without his direct guidance the Church of the Sun & Moon has slowly absorbed the rest of the Sun & Moon sects into itself.

The warlock, Tito Apolaki claims to hear the voice of Rampol in his ear. He says that Rampol whispers to him and he has been known to turn up to give cryptic warnings to low level followers of the Sun God. The more powerful members of the church claim that "Tito Apo" is simply one of a number of madmen who claim to speak for the gods. But he says that they're the insane ones or under the influence of dark powers.

You think I'm crazy, I know I sound crazy! All I want is the three "F's"! I just want to eat food, go fishing, and to f... make friends! But the Sun! It whispers in my ear about wanting this and wanting that all the time! It want me to go talk to people! So what else can I do?!?

— Tito Apolaki

With the recent increase in activity by the Celestial Gluttons, followers of the Sun and Moons have become increasingly concerned for the safety of the celestial bodies that they venerate. The group known as the "Pit Patrol Adventuring Company" was investigating the appearance of the Arimoanga in the Kirinal Concordance Zone. Their adventure took them out beyond the Heavenly Crystal Sphere that houses the worlds we know.

There in their battle with the Manticore King, they discovered the titanic skeleton dressed in Rampol's raiments and bearing his symbol. Once they had defeated the Manticore King and tamed the Arimoanga, they turned to the giant skeleton.

The paladin Zernon felt that his was truly Rampol's corpse. He and his friends decided to put a "black acorn" that could raise the dead into the skeleton's mouth.

Vines crawled over the bones and connected them together. Bark formed skin and flowers became hair. Two small suns formed in the eye sockets and Rampol was reborn in his arboreal "Source of Life & Light" form. He named the tree "Zernon's Eclipse, in honor of the paladin who brought him back.

He told the Patrol that he had fallen in the final battle with the Far Realm, but as a god he retained some small awareness even after death. He remembers being happy with his wife before being called back to the realm he had already departed. He feels that he has some part to play in confronting the threat of the Gluttons.

Unsure of how things have changed on the world of Erathia, Rampol sent his four Archons to the world to gather knowledge for him. The Archons of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Eclipse traveled the world. They visited the temples and congregations devoted to the Sun around the world. They noted the existence of the Wardens of Tambanakua and their watch over the Lava Spider.

When they spoke to Carl Malmström, Patriarch of the Sun they asked him what he, as the leader of the Church of Sun & Moon, saw as the greatest threat to the world. The surprised High priest revealed the existence of the cleric Lucius Solara and the fact that the Tambanakua hungered for him. The awakening Glutton was the greatest threat to the Sun that the Patriarch could think of.

The Archons brought Lucius and his friends to the Grove of the Rampol to stand before the great tree, Zernon's Eclipse. They put him to the question, "Is the world not worth the life of one aasimar?"

Eventually the Archons decided that Lucius should be given the chance to face the Lava Spider and decide his own destiny. While standing there, Lucius gave himself fully into the service of Rampol by consuming the Acorn of Change. He triggered the Ritual of Lunar Apotheosis and assumed the mantle of Avatar of Rampol.