Gwinna

Alias:

The Oakmother of Equilibrium

• Domain:

Nature & Healing

• Power Level:

Major Deity

• Alignment:

True Neutral

Description: Gwinna, born from the heartwood of the primal world-tree, embodies the delicate balance between growth and decay. As the patron of healing and natural order, she wanders the wilds in search of wounded creatures and blighted forests, restoring life with a touch of her glowing acorn staff. Wise beyond the ages, she speaks only when the tides of nature threaten to tip too far to either chaos or stagnation.

Physical Appearance:

Gwinna appears as a tall, dark-skinned woman whose hair is interwoven with fresh oak leaves and tiny glowing acorns. Her flowing garments are spun from woven bark, moss, and spun silk dyed in earthen greens and autumn golds. Her eyes shimmer with amber light, and her skin bears faint runic patterns resembling leaf veins that pulse when her magic is at work.

Lore:

In the dawn of creation, as the primordial forests rose from raw earth, a single acorn glowed with the life force of the world. From that ember sprouted Gwinna, a natural manifestation charged with maintaining the balance of all living things. Over millennia she has guided woodland spirits, healed dying rivers, and brokered truces between predator and prey. Druids speak of seeing her silhouette beneath great oaks at moonrise, offering silent counsel to those in harmony with the land.

Dogmas:

• Uphold the cycle of growth and decay

Balance demands that what is born must eventually wither, and what fades returns to nourish new life.

• Heal without prejudice or hesitation

Compassion is the root of harmony; no wound is too great and no creature undeserving of mending.

• Intervene only when equilibrium falters

Let nature follow its course, unless extremes of abundance or desolation threaten all living things.

Followers:

• Description

Gwinna’s followers are healers, rangers, and druids dedicated to safeguarding the natural cycle. They revere every plant as kin and view sickness as a wound in the world’s tapestry.

• Types

Herbalists, Forest Wardens, Balance Priests

• Communities

Hidden groves beneath ancient oaks and sanctuaries at the edge of marsh and meadow

• Proficiency

Herbalism Kit, Animal Handling, Survival

Follower Benefits:

• Type: Additional Spells

Spell: Verdant Renewal

Description: This 3rd-level spell restores 4d8 + your spellcasting modifier hit points to a creature, and plants in a 20-foot radius regain vitality (exclusive to druids and clerics of Gwinna).

Components: V, S, M (a drop of fresh oak sap)

Type: Divine Guidance

Advantage: Nature and Medicine checks

Description: The Oakmother’s inner voice guides your hands when identifying plants or treating wounds.

Rituals:

• Name: Sacrifice of the First Acorn

Description: Worshippers offer a single glowing acorn to the roots of a sacred oak at dawn, symbolizing renewal; the acorn’s glow fades only when balance is restored in the surrounding land.

• Name: Offering to the Balancing Waters

Description: Devotees pour purified spring water mixed with crushed oak leaves into rivers, pledging to heal the world’s wounds and ensure flowing mercy for all beings.

Attributes:

• Clerical Attire

Robes of woven bark and moss, simple leaf-stitched tunics, oak-leaf circlets and bone-carved pendants

• Common Worship Practices

Nature Communion: Silent group meditation in living groves, listening to the heartbeat of trees and singing laments for wounded lands; seasonal pilgrimages to ancient oak sanctuaries.

• Sacred Creatures

Unicorn: A symbol of pure healing and natural harmony, often seen as Gwinna’s living avatar in times of dire need.