|
|
Matta Rho, The Elder
Goddess of Family
Seventh among the Elder Gods, Matta Rho is a visually the least impressive of all. She is chubby, even by the stoic standards applied to dwarves, with massive forearms and her hair swept back from her plain, but not unattractive face. In dwarf legend it is said that Matta is the mistress of the Great Hall where all dwarves go to feast when they die. She is the wife of Durruk Bha, the mother of the whole dwarf race and a staunch defender of the dwarven people. Whether they know it or not the human race also owes its prosperity to Matta Rho, for it was she who instilled the family spirit that binds humanity together, and it is from a corruption of her name that the humans derive the word mother.
After the battle with Miradros, Matta Rho and Verdun Jin carried the injured body of Durruk Bha beyond the Firmament of Heaven so that he might survive the wounds inflicted on him. From her elevated position Matta has since taken a very serious interest in both the dwarves and the humans, whom she regards as her own flesh and blood.
The Powers of Matta Rho
Matta is the Elder Goddess of Family, the home and hearth and of kinship. She is the Goddess of Bakers, Brewers, Cooks and all domestic workers and chores. As such Matta is an extremely powerful Goddess even in lands where she has no priests and no places of worship. Among the Elder Gods Matta is fourth in power, behind Baeandar, Bethanine and her husband Durruk Bha and above all the Mortal Gods. But her power is not as straightforward as that statement makes it seem. Matta is the absolute ruler of the family and the home and outside of those areas her powers are weak – but if she wished to, within the confines of a home where she was venerated, she could easily countermand the powers of even the Mother herself. Matta believes that Family is stronger than life and death, more enduring than the bones of mountains and a force not to be trifled with by even the greatest of gods. As Goddess of the Hearth, Matta is not to be trifled with either, for while her humour is easy and her demeanour welcoming, when the things she loves are threatened she is the very incarnation of fury; her wrath is unstoppable and relentless – nothing on all of Saas, including the gods, is able to withstand the anger of Matta Rho.
When Durruk Bha, the Elder God of Constancy, was struck down by Miradros, it was Matta who broke the supposedly unbreakable Shield of R’Tepp and made the God of Pride vulnerable to the magic of the Ferendel, which shattered his immortal spirit and destroyed him.
Matta is a heroine of both the dwarves and elves, recognised as one of the true champions of good and a positive influence on the world of Saas.
The Avatar of Matta Rho
The Avatar of Matta is in appearance identical to Matta herself. She is a large dwarf woman who smells strongly of baked goods. The avatar’s presence is calming and comfortable, simply being close to it is sufficient to ease the sharpest of pains and refresh the weariest of travellers. Matta’s avatar, who is called Matta, only ever appears within a home and is immune to all attacks, even those of divine origin. She has appeared to protect children on many occasions, but the Goddess is not omnipresent and much evil happens that she learns of only when it is too late. If angered, Matta is capable of anything and more than one dragon has met its end by Matta’s hand as it sought to terrorize a dwarven keep – there is no need to roll to hit or damage; if Matta wills it then the interloper will die.
Clerics of Matta Rho
Clerics of Matta Rho are 99.9% dwarves. A non-dwarf cleric of Matta is exceptionally rare. Also her clerics are 99.9% female. The alignment of these clerics with respect to law and chaos is variable, but they are always absolutely good.
Allowed weapons: Clerics of Matta Rho may use only weapons which could be found in a home – the axe, the knife, the club and the hammer.
Recommended NWP: Cooking is essential, recommended is fire building and any other domestic skills.
Clerics of Matta Rho have major spell access to the following spheres: All, Creation, Elemental: Earth, Healing, Guardian, Protection, Travellers, Wards.
They have minor spell access to the following spheres: Elemental: Fire.
Holy Symbol: The holy symbol of Matta Rho is the wooden spoon.
Turning Ability: Clerics of Matta Rho turn undead at 3 levels above their current level.
Role-playing Notes: Clerics of Matta Rho are generally very matronly women. They are concerned with children and often act as midwives and marriage guidance counsellors. As a general rule they are also quite fond of domestic work, though an adventuring priest will still spend more of her time scouring the land of monsters than she will scouring pots. Matta’s clerics have a special dislike of the undead. Because they are usually unwilling animations of somebody’s family they are an abomination to Matta Rho and her clerics are thus extremely capable at turning undead.
[Main] [Players] [Groups] [Forum] [Tomb] [Tools] [Links] [Contact the Imp]
