Ptah

Ptah, the Opener of the Ways, is a creator god and god of artists, artisans, craftsmen, and travelers from the Pharaonic pantheon (also known as the Egyptian pantheon). He is also the founder (and nominally a member of) the Mulhorandi pantheon from the crystal sphere known as Realmspace. As a creator god, Ptah is believed to have created the universe.

Overview

Ptah is the god of artists, artisans, craftsmen, and travelers. Legends suggest that he existed even before Re and Apep, and that he may have founded the Egyptian pantheon. Despite this, he remains aloof from the struggles and rivalries of the Pharaonic pantheon, spending his time wandering the vast expanses of the planes.

Ptah personifies artistic inspiration, the fire of creation, as well as the cosmos as a creative force. He is a clever, dynamic god who encourages works of art and beauty and smiles upon craftsmen who produce works of great quality and will sometimes go out of his way to ensure that such a person receives the recognition they deserve.

Description

Ptah appears as a small shaven-headed man with jet-black skin like polished marble, and large black eyes filled with stars (or the fires of inspiration).

Abilities

• Ptah can force any creature onto another plane of existence (as per the spell plane shift) merely by gazing at them or touching them.
• As a master of planar travel, Ptah may teleport anywhere in the multiverse with accuracy.

Holy symbol

Ptah's symbol is a bull (specifically the Apis bull), or a mummified hand.

Favored weapon

Ptah wields a heavy mace, known as the Sceptre of the Gods.

Realm

Ptah prefers to reside within the Ethereal plane, choosing to wander the vast expanse of the outer planes.

Worship

Priests of Ptah are expected to exercise their god-given creativity in arts or crafts, travel widely, and strive to maintain order. In the eyes of many of his faithful, Ptah is considered to be the creator of the universe. On those worlds where the Pharaonic pantheon is worshipped, Ptah has few clerics and is not widely worshiped even among the pantheon as a whole. His priests defy common Pharaonic practice by wearing black vestments adorned with glittering white stars, though males still shave their heads in accordance with tradition.

Ptah’s temples tend to be small but elaborate structures, usually built in remote locations. Their ceilings are commonly decorated with images of the night sky full of stars.

In Spelljammer

Ptah is known and worshipped widely across wildspace and in practically every known sphere in the universe. As such, his priests are not limited in any way when casting their spells. When entering the Flow, priests of Ptah are able to cast spells as per normal, however, they are unable to recover any spells until they return to wildspace. In spheres where the Mulhorandi or Pharaonic pantheons are not worshipped, priests of Ptah are unable to recover mid-to-high level spells.

The Temple of Ptah on the Rock of Bral is without question the most influential and the wealthiest on the Rock. Ptah has been around as long as humans have been spelljamming, and has been present on Bral since its first days as a pirate haven. The temple features a large hostelry as well as a small shrine, and serves the needs of travellers and spacefarers of all descriptions, ensuring they receive comfort and aid in return for a small donation.

Realmspace

Ptah is believed by the Mulan of Toril to have founded the Mulhorandi pantheon, and as such is considered to be a native deity of Realmspace.

Millenia before, the godless wizards of the Imaskari Empire of Toril opened two gates to another world and in a number of lightning quick raids, abducted countless slaves and brought them back to Toril before permanently closing all connections between those lands and the Realms. These newly arrived people were of two distinct cultures, but over time they intermarried amongst themselves and the Imaskari, creating a new human race known as the Mulan. Despite harsh repression by the wizards, the Mulan maintained their faith in the deities of their homeworld and offered up countless prayers for salvation and emancipation.

Ao, the overgod of Realmspace, heard these prayers and summoned the god Ptah, whose faith originated amongst the ancestors of the Mulan. At Ao's request, Ptah returned to his homeworld and informed the two relevant pantheons of what had occurred to their faithful, and extended Ao's invitation to expand their sphere's of influence into Realmspace. However, because the Imaskari sorcerers had erected a permanent magical barrier between the two worlds, the only way for the deities to reach Realmspace was to send powerful avatars through wildspace, accompanied by Ptah.

The patriarchs of the two pantheon's agreed to Ao's offer. The deities of what would become the Mulhorandi pantheon built a huge war galley, known as the Matet, while the deities of what would become the Untheric pantheon decided to travel in a vessel known as the Galley of the Gods. Ptah led both vessels through the darkness of wildspace with a powerful artifact known as the Beacon of Light, until they reached the world of Toril. Both vessels landed on the highest peaks of a range of mountains known as the Godswatch Mountains, at the edge of the Imaskari Empire, and the gods then went amongst their long forsaken people. Although Ptah remained aloof from the resulting rebellion by the Mulan against their Imaskari oppressors, he is forevermore remembered by the Mulan as the founder of the Mulhorandi pantheon.