Kuliak

When they speak of her at all, clerics of the goliath pantheon say that Kuliak was once the deity of mountain springs, but the other deities spurned her when she overslept and forgot to lead the goliath tribes to water. Now Kuliak is venerated only when a goliath dies. Additionally, exiled goliaths find comfort in Kuliak’s tale, and many worship her rather than the rest of the goliath pantheon.

Except as part of a burial rite, it’s considered bad luck for non-exiled goliaths to even mention Kuliak’s name. Clerics of the goliath pantheon memorize the words to the rite and try not to think about Kuliak after that. But unlike the other deities that comprise the goliath pantheon, Kuliak is served by exiled goliath clerics who worship her and her alone. Because they are so widely scattered, her clerics have few specific teachings to impart and are eager for lore about their goddess.

The Dead Goddess

Kuliak looks like a rail-thin, starving goliath. Her herald is an goliath ghost barbarian, and her allies are water elementals of various sizes.

Favored Weapon: Morningstar

Portfolio: The dead, exiles. Domains: Death, Magic, Travel, Water.

Kuliak’s prayers are often sung, and even if spoken they have a singsong quality. They have no regularity in meter or theme, because worshiping Kuliak is such an individual pursuit.

As a counterpoint to the shunning that precedes most decisions to exile a tribe member, Kuliak offers a brief “rite of welcoming,” in which someone is embraced three times when he or she enters a home or joins a group.

Kuliak has no formal shrines, but her worshipers sometimes gather at the graves of goliaths who died particularly heroic deaths.

The dead occupy relatively little of Kuliak’s attention, so she acts as a shepherd for goliath exiles. If exiles are endangered, her followers spare no effort to rescue them and keep them safe.