The last of the good archomentals, Sunnis, is the closest thing to a leader the group has. She advocates for a united front against the evil archomentals, but has not yet had much success, especially with the obstinacy of Ben-hadar. To he followers, she is a motherly figure who embodies steadfastness and support.
I want to thank everyone for their support these past few months. I really appreciate it!
Sunnis (PDF Version)
(Princess of Good Earth Creatures, the True Stone, Lode Mother, the Steadfast, the Archomental of Good Earth, the Matriarch of Stone)
Near Power of the Elemental Plane of Earth, NG
Portfolio: Elemental earth, firmness, support, strength, beneficence of earth
Aliases: Entemoch (rumored)
Domain Name: Elemental Earth/Sandfall
Superior: None
Allies: Ben-Hadar, Callarduran Smoothhands, Chan, Darahl Firecloak, Entemoch (rumored), Geb, Segojan Earthcaller, Skoraeus Stonebones, Urogalan, Zaaman Rul
Foes: Cryonax, Imix, Ogremoch, Olhydra, Unguliustûk, Urdlen, Yan-C-Bin
Symbol: Length of a solid, sloped stone wall
Wor. Align.: LG, NG, CG
A steadfast and implacable opponent of evil, Sunnis (SOON-nihs) is the archomental of good earth creatures. She rules from a citadel near an endlessly falling column of sand, treating her followers with kindness and mercy. She is a motherly figure who believes that true strength lies in good character and courage of convictions. She teaches her followers the importance of standing tall and firm in the face of adversity and never backing down from one’s convictions.
Sunnis never speaks of her origins, holding that such things are unimportant when actions speak for themselves. The most commonly held belief is that she is a child of the Elder Elemental God and thus sister of Ogremoch. This is contradicted by stories that portray Ogremoch as having a twin by the name of Entemoch, however; most sages believe that this is a misunderstanding of Sunnis’s nature. A minority hold instead that there is in fact a hidden twin of Ogremoch on the Plane of Earth, and that Sunnis herself has a less-powerful twin in the form of the evil elemental being Unguliustûk; none know for sure what the truth is. The parentage of the Princess of Good Earth is similarly debated, with either the Elder Elemental God or the Boss of Earth, Grumbar, seen as her sire. Whatever the case, she gets along with neither power, opposing the evil of the former and disapproving of the stern neutrality of the latter.
Whatever her familial relationship is to Ogremoch, it is clear that the Matriarch of Stone hates the Prince of Evil Earth. Much of her attention is reserved for watching his actions and planning her eventual final confrontation with the Stone Tyrant. Sunnis does what she can to prevent his failed experiments in evil from wreaking too much havoc on their shared plane, which has garnered quite a following among the elemental creatures of the plane. While she has not sought out this following, she never turns away those who genuinely wish to serve her. These followers, and her reputation, are responsible for the majority of her faithful.
If there is a leader among the archomentals of good, it is the Lode Mother. She maintains solid alliances with each of her beneficent counterparts, even the brusque Ben-hadar, much as he tries her patience. She encourages cooperation between the archomentals to combat their evil counterparts, although as yet this has borne little fruit. Sunnis laments that Zaaman Rul never requested her aid in his ill-fated attack on his sire, but she is gladdened that his loss seems to have opened his eyes to greater cooperation. Currently, she is trying to sway Ben-hadar from his parochial isolationist outlook, but his boorish behavior seems unlikely to change in the near future. Sunnis actively engages with powers outside of the Plane of Earth and encourages her compatriots to do the same. Her alliances now include many other powers tied to earth and stone, particularly among the dwarven and gnomish pantheons.
The Princess of Good Earth possesses many treasures, some of which are said to have been gifts from suitors. It is widely believed that the great cascade of sand that names her citadel was a gift from one such suitor from the Plane of Dust, although none know for sure. It is also rumored that the heart of her citadel contains an enormous gleaming crystal that is said to shed a brilliant, blinding light. Most believe it to be the finest gem to have ever been mined from the Plane of Mineral and is another suitor’s gift, while there are others who believe it to be the heart of a star or the source of all earth magic.
Sunnis rarely travels to the Prime Material Plane, concerning herself far more with events on her home plane. She travels often, both to keep tabs on her foe Ogremoch and dispose of his failures, as well as searching the plane for priceless treasures or great heroes. It is said throughout the Inner Planes that anyone who can offer her a truly unique treasure will win themselves her favor and a powerful but mysterious boon. No one knows what this boon might be, and no one is known to have earned it, but this does little to discourage those who wish to earn it from trying.
Sunnis’s Form (20-HD Elemental)
Sunnis appears as a 12-foot-tall female humanoid with features and muscles chiseled from stone. Her crystalline hair shimmers in light and her eyes gleam with warmth. Full details of her physical form can be found in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III. Should Sunnis become a demipower or more powerful, she is likely to continue to use a modified version of this form for some time.
Other Manifestations
While the Lode Mother does not actively seek out followers, she cares deeply for those who do choose to embrace her tenets. She prefers to send warnings to members of her cult when they are entering areas of instability and try to draw their eyes to dangers. In particular she causes mica flecks in stone to glint and shimmer briefly to warn that the stone nearby is fragile or likely to collapse. She also causes stone to shiver or vibrate underfoot to warn that a strong-looking path is likely to collapse. Finally, on very rare occasions she can grant a follower strength of stone for up to one hour if they need to move stone by hand, such as when a tunnel collapse needs to be cleared. She communicates through dreams and omens rather than through clear and direct messages.
Sunnis is served primarily by earth elementals and pechs, but also works through the actions of earth fundamentals, earth mephits, galeb duhr, khargra, krysts, sandlings, stone maidens, xaren, and xorn. Her favor is displayed through the discovery of perfectly formed crystals of any mineral type, natural stone columns, and outcroppings of strong, erosion-resistant stone. The Princess of Good Earth displays her disfavor through ominous sounds of stone shifting and cracking where there should be none, mineral crystals that appear to be perfect but hold fatal flaws that cause them to crumble upon examination, and the discovery of recent collapses and rockfalls in otherwise stable stone environments.
The Church
Clergy: Clerics, specialty priests, crusaders, shamans, wizards
Clergy’s Align.: LG, NG, CG
Turn Undead: C: Yes, SP: No, Cru: No, Sha: No, W: No
Cmnd. Undead: C: No, SP: No, Cru: No, Sha: No, W: No
All clerics, specialty priests, crusaders, and shamans of the Princess of Good Earth receive religion (Sunnis) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. As Sunnis is only a near-power, she can only grant 3rd-level spells to her followers on the Prime; if she appears in person, or for those on the Elemental Plane of Earth, she is able to grant 4th-level spells as well.
On her home plane, the Princess of Good Earth has amassed a considerable following, but her Prime Material faith has been slow to grow. Nevertheless, Sunnis’s faith is respected by other clergies that hold close ties to earth and stone. Her followers do the work of expanding her faith, but her care and benevolence carries much weight with those who fight against evil, and this reputation often does as much work as her faithful do at bringing new creatures into her fold. However, this reputation also has the opposite effect on the more malevolent creatures who live under the earth, and many evil races seek to destroy any cults of the Matriarch of Stone they discover.
Temple and shrine architecture vary considerably among the disparate cults dedicated to the Princess of Good Earth. They are almost always built within caverns or tunneled out of solid stone, and the priesthood favors making their temples veritable fortresses, although specific styles depend on the preferences of the architects. These temples are designed to function as defendable communities, able to withstand monster assaults and prolonged sieges so they can be safe havens deep within the earth. They also work to create warm and inviting interiors that are pleasant to dwell within, regardless of how severe or spartan their exteriors are. The interiors are also typically decorated with artwork and statuary created to glorify and praise the Lode Mother.
The work Sunnis’s followers have done to increase her faith has created a much more uniform structure than those of her kin. As such, most Prime Material cults follow the same structure as that found on the Plane of Elemental Earth, with novices of the True Stone known as Pebbles and full priests of the Matriarch of Stone known as Lords of the Bedrock. Her specialty priests are called steadfasts. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by the clergy of the Princess of Good Earth are Child of Pumice, Child of Sandstone, Child of Basalt, Child of Marble, and Child of Granite. High-ranking priests have unique individual titles. Shamans (67%) dominate the Prime Material priesthoods of Sunnis, with the remainder, as well as those on the Plane of Earth, consisting of clerics (13%), specialty priests (10%), wizards (8%), and crusaders (2%). Quaggoth tribes (30%) are among the most common to worship the Princess of Good Earth, followed by giants (primarily stone and mountain giants; 12%), humans (12%), galeb duhr (8%), alaghi (6%), svirfneblin (5%), dwarves of all sorts (5%), rock gnomes (3%), goblin-kin (primarily goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, and orcs; 2%), mongrelmen (2%) geonids (1%), and other subterranean races (drow, grimlocks, rockseer elves, troglodytes, etc.; 4%); on the Elemental Plane of Earth, her priesthood also includes pechs (4%), shads (3%), earth genasi (2%), and other planar races (1%). The faith of Sunnis is quite egalitarian, with males (52%) and females 48%) found in similar numbers, although many shamanistic traditions limit the priesthood to one gender or the other for their tribe.
Dogma: Earth and stone bring stability. They are strength and sturdiness, and only with great effort can they be brought down. Bring such durability to your people and community; be the rock upon which they depend. Earth also nourishes life, allowing crops to grow. Be like this life-giving soil for your people and nourish their minds and spirits. Stand firm against those who would do harm to you and yours, and bring the full weight of the earth down on those who would work evil.
Day-to-Day Activities: In most communities, priests of Sunnis work to ensure a spirit of cooperation and peace. They strive for patience and understanding but are firm when they must. When their faith is suppressed, they work in secret to steer their fellows towards goodness and kindness. However, they also train themselves to be strong defenders and are willing to put their lives on the line to protect others and defend their ideals, and this strength is often surprising to those who are only familiar with their kindness.
Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: Local cults rarely have special holy days, favoring instead regular ceremonies that bring rhythm and stability to their communities. These ceremonies are held bi-weekly and serve not just to celebrate the Princess of Good Earth but also are a time for the community to come together and firm up their bonds and relations. In communities that suppress her faith, these ceremonies are held in secret and keep the hidden cult tightly bound to each other.
Major Centers of Worship: No wide-spread holy sites are recognized by the church as a whole, but most cults have local sites that they consider holy, such as naturally beautiful caverns or locations where the Lode Mother has appeared.
Affiliated Orders: On the Elemental Plane of Earth, Sunnis’s followers maintain an elite order of crusaders and specialty priests called the Buttresses of the Lode Mother. This order is tasked with defending her realm of Sandfall, as well as protecting her other followers on travels outside the realm. They are especially trained to confront Ogremoch’s Fists of the Black Earth.
Priestly Vestments: The religious garb worn by most of the Lode Mother’s Prime Material Followers tend towards robes that are colored to mimic the mottled grey appearance of granite, although high-ranking priests may adopt less common granite shades such as red, pink, or green. The fringes are always a sandy yellow shade with these robes, although a small minority of cults adopt robes of this same sandy yellow shade that are fringed with glossy black cloth. Hoods are never used, and all priests keep their hair fairly short. Those whose hair turns grey with age, but not white, are seen as favored by the Princess of Good Earth. The holy symbol used by the priesthood is a small medallion of stone carved to appear like a castle or fortress wall.
Adventuring Garb: Members of Sunnis’s clergy must wear metal armor, favoring the best protection they can acquire. They utilize heavy, bludgeoning weapons such as maces, sledges, and morning stars, although they also use military picks and long piercing weapons such as spears. Many members of the clergy also strive to be experts in punching skills while wearing heavy metal gauntlets.
Specialty Priests (Steadfasts)
Requirements: Strength 12, Constitution 10, Wisdom 13
Prime Req.: Constitution, Wisdom
Alignment: NG
Weapons: All bludgeoning (wholly or partially type B) weapons, plus adze, pick, and spade
Armor: Any metallic plus shields
Major Spheres: All, astral, combat, elemental (earth), healing, protection, summoning
Minor Spheres: Elemental (fire, water), guardian, wards
Magical Items: Same as clerics
Req. Profs: Endurance
Bonus Profs: Close-quarter fighting (PHBR10)
- Steadfasts can be of any flightless race capable of becoming priests, although most are dwarves, earth genasi, galeb duhr, pechs, shad, and svirfneblin. Until Sunnis becomes a true power, only those trained by another specialty priest or those who travel to the Elemental Plane of Earth to train directly with her or her servants can become a specialty priest.
- Steadfasts are not allowed to multiclass.
- Steadfasts make all saving throws against earth and stone attacks with a +2 bonus. Further, they are more resilient against impacts from earth and stone, suffering one less damage per die (to a minimum of 1) from falls, landslides, collapsed ceilings, falling boulders, and the like. This benefit only applies to situations involving unworked earth and stone. A fall onto ice or metal, or the collapse of a castle wall upon the steadfast deals normal damage.
- Steadfasts can cast wizard spells from the school of elemental earth as described in the Limited Wizard Spellcasting section of “Appendix 1: Demihuman Priests” in Demihuman Deities.
- Steadfasts can gain a +1 bonus to hit when attacking with their fists or when using a shield-punch attack; this bonus is chosen at character creation and cannot be changed later.
- Steadfasts can cast strength of stone or weighty chest (as the 1st-level priest spells) once per day.
- At 3rd level, steadfasts can cast earthfists or steadfastness (as the 2nd-level priest spells) once per day.
- At 5th level, steadfasts can cast armor of earth or stone shape (as the 3rd-level priest spells) once per day.
- At 7th level, steadfasts can cast stoneskin (as the 4th-level wizard spell) once per day. Currently, this power is limited to those steadfasts who operate on the Elemental Plane of Earth; should Sunnis eventually become a demipower, this and the other powers listed hereafter will become available.
- At 9th level, steadfasts are immune to harmful earth and stone magic, and suffer one less damage per die from all attacks made with worked or unworked stone (but not metal or crystal), including thrown stones, boulders, sling stones, and stone weapons. Further, their protection against falls, landslides, and collapses improves, so that they suffer half damage and protection extends to all falls and collapses of even worked stone. They suffer an additional +1 point of damage per die from all air, wind, and gas attacks, however.
- At 10th level, steadfasts can summon 1d4 earth mephits or pechs who serve faithfully, even laying down their lives, for 6 turns. The creatures appear anywhere designated within a 30-yard radius on the round after the summoning. This summoning can be performed once per week.
- At 16th level, steadfasts can summon a 16-HD earth elemental once per week. The elemental is utterly loyal and control cannot be wrested by another spellcaster. The elemental serves for one turn per caster level, until dismissed by the caster, or until dispelled by the appropriate magic.
Sunnisan Spells
2nd Level
Earthfists (Pr 2; Alteration)
Sphere: Elemental Earth
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 3 rds. + 1 rd./level
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: Caster’s hands
Saving Throw: None
When this spell is cast, the priest’s hands turn into hard, packed earth. They still retain all the dexterity of normal hands but gain substantial strength when punching or smashing. For the purposes of any such actions, the earthfists are treated as if they have 18/75 Strength, and any Knockout chances (see Table 58: Punching and Wrestling Results in the Player’s Handbook) are doubled. In any combat situation, the caster may make an attack with each fist with no penalty for dual-wielding or lack of proficiency. Total immersion in water or exposure to heavy rainfall turns the hands to thick mud, making it impossible for the priest to cast any spells with a somatic component, grasp or hold objects, or punch and smash with the fists, although the caster suffers no other ill effects.
The material components for this spell are the priest’s holy symbol and a clump of earth.
Steadfastness (Pr 2; Alteration)
Sphere: Elemental Earth
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 rd./level
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: The caster
Saving Throw: Special
By means of this spell, the caster gains supernatural resistance to being knocked down. By keeping both feet planted on earth or stone, they are entirely immune to the knockdown effects of weapon attacks, spells, or psionics. For example, they cannot be pulled down by overbearing attacks or knocked down by a shield rush, although all damage is applied normally. To gain this benefit, the caster must not move at all in a round in which they are subject to such attacks, losing any Dexterity bonuses they may normally receive. If subject to such an attack or a trip maneuver while walking normally or carefully, they receive a +6 (or +30%) to any saving throws or checks to keep their footing, or an unmodified saving throw versus paralyzation if none is normally allowed. Finally, if running or otherwise moving swiftly and not carefully, the caster gains a +2 (or +10%) to any relevant checks or saving throws to stay on their feet. These benefits are only gained when traversing earth or stone (worked or natural) surfaces; wood, ice (including the sleet version of an ice storm), and other surfaces void the protection. The benefits of this spell are gained even if a stone or earthen surface is affected by a grease spell or oil of slipperiness. Note that the caster can still collapse from exhaustion or fall to the ground when put to sleep magically; only those actions that directly cause the caster to fall to the ground are protected against.
3rd Level
Armor of Earth (Pr 3; Conjuration/Summoning)
Sphere: Elemental Earth
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 rd./level
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: The caster
Saving Throw: Special
With this spell, the caster creates a suit of armor around themselves composed of earth and stone. The armor of earth grants the caster an AC of 3, equal to plate armor. This armor is surprisingly light, weighing only 20 lbs., although its lack of flexibility reduces the wearer’s Dexterity score by 2 points. All movement in the armor of earth is accompanied by a soft, gritty, grinding sound and it constantly sheds a small amount of dirt and sand, making stealth all but impossible. However, every successful melee strike against the caster releases a spray of this same grit back at an attacker, forcing a saving throw versus breath; failure indicates the grit has gotten into the attacker’s eyes and blinded them until the end of the following round.
The caster can end this spell at any time with a thought, and upon its end, either in this manner or when the spell expires, the armor of earth bursts into a brief cloud of sand and dirt in a 5-foot radius sphere around the caster; all those caught in the area other than the caster must make a saving throw versus breath to avoid being blinded for 1d3+1 rounds. Creatures without eyes are immune to the blinding effect of this spell.
The material components for this spell are the priest’s holy symbol and a handful of dirt or sand mixed with 10 gp worth of diamond dust.
Thank you, and welcome back, man! Hope you are way better now!
Well, let me put it this way: My car was stolen (and recovered with damage) on Wednesday, so things are, shall we say, not the best. But I’m making steady progress on the next deity at least!