Kord (god of Athletics, Sports, Brawling, Strength, and Courage)

Title: The Brawler

Symbol: An eight-pointed star composed of spears and maces.

Portfolio: Athletics, Sports, Brawling, Strength, Courage

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Worshipers alignment: Any

Domains: Chaos, Competition, Good, Luck, Strength 

Favoured Weapons: Sword

Kord is depicted as a hugely muscular man standing nine feet tall, with a red beard and long red hair. He wears a fighting girdle made from a red dragon's hide, gauntlets from a white dragon's hide, and boots from a blue dragon's hide. He wields the greatsword Kelmar in battle; he also carries an ordinary two-handed sword that he may wield in one hand while Kelmar is dancing.

Kord's followers are urged to scorn cowardice, and taught that the strong and fit should rule the weak. To Kord's faithful, a leader's best quality is bravery. Kord loves physical contests, and this inspires many barbarian tribes to use nonlethal sports as a method for resolving disputes. Because battle claims the weak and cowardly alike, there is nothing to lose by seeking battle; indeed, battle determines who is most worthy of life, and ensures a place at Kord's side after death. Those who flee from battle are often publicly excommunicate.

Kord's faithful often undergo tests to prove their strength, such as winning in a gladiatorial arena, climbing a mountain, or slaying a mighty dragon. Kord's clerics may be chosen after winning some athletic competition or, conversely, occasionally they are particularly sickly and weak people who a cleric of Kord notices craves strength enough to be worth training. All initiates must undergo extensive strength training, including calisthenics and other hard physical exercise. 

Many tales are told of Kord's dalliances with humans, elves, and even giants, and the sons and daughters born from such unions. When his children reach the age of 17, if Kord finds them worthy, he appears before them and gives them some great task involving fighting. Some few, if they pass their father's tests, may be considered "demigods" in his eyes and gain special powers. If his children do not enter their father's clergy, do not become fighters, or are otherwise considered to be cowards in their father's eyes, Kord may show up in person to kill them.

Kord is the most powerful of the savage gods and is the most widely worshipped.

Tenets of the Faith: 

Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction. Strength (and other forms of athletic prowess) is considered an indicator of worth in Kord’s eyes. He encourages his followers to pursue physical perfection in one or more forms, whether involving warfare or athleticism. Kord teaches the value of building strength and vitality at all life stages. At the same time, strength is a gift that should be used for honorable purposes. Just because you are strong or powerful does not give you any rights or privileges. If you waste your strength on pointless violence, needless cruelty, or in dishonorable ways, you have squandered the gift and are unworthy. Kord has no problem with violence or conflict; these concepts stand at the foundation of his beliefs. Kord does, however, refute the use of violence for its own sake, or using it against those of lesser talent and skill. Besting a weakling or beating a helpless victim is unworthy of true competitors.

Be brave and scorn cowardice in any form. Defeat, although unpleasant, teaches many lessons – perhaps more than victory teaches. How you face defeat is more important than how you face success. If you surrender, flee, or give up in the face of obstacles, you have failed far worse than simple defeat. In Kord’s eyes, courage is another kind of strength, a form of strength worthy of recognition and respect. Cowardice, regardless of its form, deserves nothing but scorn.

Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown. Although the term “battle” often refers to actual combat, it also refers to any form of competition – a sporting event, surviving in the wilderness, or even raising a crop. A challenge (a physical challenge, that is) represents the purest way to demonstrate your abilities and skill. You should seek out physical challenge and take every opportunity to prove yourself. Once you find success, take joy in it and allow others to take note, so that they may follow your good example.