Artio

Intermediate Goddess
 * Symbol: A woman and a bear
 * Home Plane: The Great Wood
 * Alignment: True Neutral
 * Portfolio: Nature
 * Clergy Alignments: Any Neutral
 * Domains: Animal, Plant, Protection, Water, Weather
 * Favored Weapons: Fist claws, sickle

Some gods teach only the beauty and stillness of nature. Others embody only its feral savagery. Artio is both.

Artio manifests herself in two ways. One is the form of a beautiful but strong woman, which represents nature's beauty, endurance, and calm. This form is the babbling brook, the swaying tree, and the gentle squirrel. The other is the form of a rampaging bear, which represents nature's savagery, violence, and rage. This form is the drought, the thunderstorm, and the savage beast.

Dogma
Artio sees and balances all, meting out wild water and drought, fire and ice, life and death. Hold your distance and take in the total situation, rather than latching on to the popular idea of what is best. All is in cycle, deftly and beautifully balanced. It is the duty of the devout to see this cycle and the sacred balance as clearly as possible. Make others see the balance and work against those that would disturb it. Watch, anticipate, and quietly manipulate. Resort to violence and open confrontation only when pressured by time or hostile action, but fight with the ferocity of a savage beast. Fight against the felling of forests, banish disease wherever you find it, defend the trees, and plant new flora wherever possible. Seek out, serve, and befriend the dryads and learn their names. Kill only when needful, destroy fire and its employers, and beware orcs and others who bring axes into the forest.

Clergy and Temples
The main goal of Artio's clergy is to protect the balance of nature. To this end, they only use natural clearings and meadows as churches. To build a temple to Artio would be counter to her entire philosophy.

Priests of Artio have few requirements, as she does not have a very strictly organized religion. Most commonly, priests will be granted divine power by direct communion with the goddess. Her teachings are passed down by oral tradition. Priests are not usually called upon for moral guidance except in circumstances that relate to mortals interacting with nature.