When I started doing these entries summarizing suitable deities for naked characters, I figured it would just be 3 or 4 posts (plus 3 or 4 more for celestials, fiends, and fey combined). Silly me. Since this portion of the blog is looking to be a lot more expansive I’ve made two decisions.
Firstly, I’m going to try to intersperse more of the homebrew lore content in between entries.
And second, I’m going to spice up the entries a little more with some character hooks to spark the imagination and hopefully keep things more focused on the topic instead of turning into “Mal summarizes parts of Faiths and Pantheons”
That second change is also retroactive, but so you don’t have to go sifting through the old posts I’m also reposting the collected character hooks here:
Deities, Part 1
Sune
- An individual blessed by the Lady of Love with unearthly beauty and magic linked with it—magic which is most effective when the beauty is fully on display.
- A member of the clergy serving a very impoverished community who, in order to demonstrate that wealth and luxury are not required to cultivate the beauty of Sune, has taken to wearing no status symbols like jewelry or clothing and maintaining a simple but effective beauty routine which they teach to their congregation.
Eilistraee
- A ranger who had no particular skill with fighting, magic, or the like until they started performing the nude sword-dancing rituals of the church of Eilistraee and found that within that practice they could wield swords and magic with remarkable skill.
- A drow monk who attempts to overcome suspicion against their kind in surface society by openly carrying no weapons and wearing nothing that could conceal so much as a knife upon their person.
Sharess
- A mage who seeks to entice people into the greater worship of Sharess, but recognizes that any sort of mind-effecting magic used for that purpose would violate the freedom which Sharess promotes, and so they studied transmutation in order to make themself an object of lust and desire rather than enchantment.
- A good-aligned thief who prays to Sharess for catlike stealth and agility. After one theft from a slave-trader almost went wrong due to a keen-eared guard hearing the faint creak of leather armor, the thief swore to do their sneaking in the nude as a cat does.
Lliira
- An innocent soul raised in a pastoral rural area by a family of Lliirans, this folk hero was never taught taboos against frolicking naked in the meadows, and is a nudist purely for the sense of freedom and airy serenity.
- A celebrity thespian who also led public revels on feast days of Lliira, who began wearing the nothing-but-body-paint wardrobe of the revels during their performances as well and once it became a personal artistic trademark, they began “dressing” in that manner on a day to day basis.
Lurue
- A white-haired centaur warlock with a unicorn-like horn who stubbornly insists that since unicorns don’t wear clothes, neither will they.
- A former Malar cultist Path of the Beast barbarian who was redeemed by Lurue’s Chosen, and whose primal magic was taken over by the Unicorn Queen. The fur they grow when transforming is now pure white and glitters in the moonlight.
Deities, Part 2
Nobanion
- A barbarian who strives to embody Nobanion’s natural ferocity and bravery by fighting in a way that relies solely on their hide and natural weapons rather than constructed weapons and armor.
- A ranger of the Fellowship of the Purple Staff who was raised in a centaur community and thus has simply never worn clothing and found it very uncomfortable when they tried.
Lathander
- A wrestler who learned to fight by training for and competing in the various athletic competitions that are part of many of Lathander’s festival days—which are always held in the nude. As a result, they find clothing and especially armor far too hot and restrictive for activities involving exertion like long distance jogging, climbing, or fighting.
- A character who glows with Lathander’s radiance (via the light cantrip) and believes it would be wrong to hide the Morninglord’s light from the world under clothing (ways to obtain the light cantrip include: aasimar, high elf, or half elf (half sun elf or half moon elf variants); a level in artificer, bard, cleric, sorcerer, or wizard; the pact of the tome [warlock], or blessed warrior fighting style [paladin] abilities; or the artificer initiate, or magic initiate feats)
Persana
- A triton far traveler who disdains surface world fashion (insisting it would become a waterlogged hindrance after even a few moments underwater) and being trained to fight underwater without heavy armor to weigh them down, typically wears only a traditional net-like triton belt to hang useful items from.
- A storm sorcerer who wears “clothes” which are made entirely out of magically controlled fog or water spray (via prestidigitation or a common magic item).
Nathair Sgiathach
- A draconic bloodline sorcerer fairy who only even thinks to consider clothing as a costume to use as part of some kind of prank.
- An archfey warlock whose pact with the trickster god causes near-constant wardrobe malfunctions for both the warlock and those under the effects of their spells.
Hanseath
- A superstitious zealot berserker who believes their skill in combat grows in proportion how many of the rows upon rows of divine runes they have tattooed into their skin are visible as they fight.
- An unusual military chaplain who maintained morale among the troops by serving as a nude festhall dancer in addition to the common Hanseathean clergy specialties of brewing and cooking.
Deities, Part 3
Alobal Lorfiril
- A member of a religious order who strive to be pleasing to the eye, pleasing conversationalists, and pleasing in bed as freely and openly as possible at all times, in order to lift the spirits of the people and take their minds off of the troubles of the world for a little while.
- An illusionist who is absolutely convinced that the future of fashion is clothing woven from illusions and enchantments and thus made ideal within the mind of each viewer based on their own individual tastes.
Iallanis
- A human diplomat who was taken in as a child by a firbolg community. They recognize that Iallanis’ divine opposition to xenophobia and prejudice saved their life, and dedicated that life to being a champion of her faith. They wear only flower garlands—the symbol of Iallanis—to introduce their goddess’s message of harmony, mercy, beauty, and fertility to those they meet, but are still willing and able to fight against those who threaten peace.
- This goliath bard struck out to be an adventurer because they were sick of their community’s attitude that the followers of a goddess of tender things like sex and beauty must be weaker than followers of gods of battle, and seeks to prove themself while striving to still epitomize Iallanis’ values of pleasure, beauty, and freedom being greater than mere talents for violence.
Surminare
- A druid sailor who is the offspring of a selkie and a humble human fisher. Since their magic comes in part from their shapeshifter heritage they are unable to transform non-magical clothing when they wild shape, so they work their ship in beautiful nakedness like a true selkie while calling upon the goddess of the seal-folk to protect the vessel from the wrath of the ocean.
- This swift sea elf paladin lived among selkies for a century before traveling to the surface world to combat a threat to their community and in the process discovering new friends to adventure with. Since selkies do not bother with clothing and armor is only a hindrance when learning to fight underwater, the paladin travels and fights in the nude. Being a walking advertisement for their goddess’s divine beauty is just a welcome side benefit.
Aasterinian
- A draconic bloodline sorcerer who strives to emulate the dragon goddess’s fondness for disrupting the status quo simply to keep things from being boring and relying on one’s own wits, by being a streaker.
- A dragonborn monk who has taken to heart that the greatest sin in the eyes of The Messenger is not trusting in oneself, and as a result refuses to let any object become a crutch but instead trains their body to increase their natural capabilities.
Silvanus
- A member of the Emerald Enclave who is a naturist as a way to “experience the world as beasts do” in order to better understand them.
- A former noble who abdicated their authority and threw away all of their clothing in an attempt to renounce the influence of civilization when they converted to the worship of Silvanus.
Deities, Part 4
Sharindlar
- Unable to magically dismiss elegant clothing for battle as their goddess does and unwilling to dress in any manner intended for utility rather than to inspire desire, this worshiper of the Shining Dancer simply remains undressed any time they suspect a fight may occur.
- A Paladin who wears only the diaphanous veils and scarves of certain Sharindlaran courtship ceremonies and considers it a holy mission to personally assist communities struggling with fertility rates or difficulties related to lack of available companionship.
Rillifane Rallathil
- A wild elf who had never worn clothing before venturing outside their home forest and finds the garments to be unbearably distracting.
- A Circle of the Moon druid who would rather use the forms of natural creatures for protection or defense when necessary than utilize products of mortal artifice.
Sehanine Moonbow
- A mysterious swashbuckling warlock with the Faceless background and countless romantic rumors who wears vestments and a mask formed of intangible moonlight which just barely manages to (or doesn’t, if you prefer) conceal their nudity beneath it.
- One moonlit night a romantic individual was forced to flee a rendezvous without time to dress, and discovered Sehanine had blessed their audacity and their stealthy amorous endeavors, as they managed to narrowly escape dozens of guards and evade capture in the crowded city the entire night. Now whenever they engage in adventurous pursuits, they do so naked and if possible under the moonlight to show their trust in Sehanine to guide them.
Auppenser
- An amethyst dragonborn psi warrior or monk (or draconic sorcerer with a houseruled ancestry for amethyst dragons—with an associated damage type of either force or thunder) practicing ancient techniques passed down through their secretive clan. They set themself apart from the foolish modern world which has all but lost the Invisible Arts by disregarding its standards of dress and conduct, instead following a mysterious and convoluted code which they will not explain to anyone not initiated in their tradition.
- This rogue found a psionic training manual from ancient Jhaamdath and is working diligently to be able to manifest knives of psychic force as the manual describes, but finds that the absolute mental discipline to create them is too difficult to achieve when their natural sense of balance is disrupted even a tiny bit by clothing or armor.
Shiallia
- A wandering acolyte who as an act of dedication wears only an acorn chaplet and carries only a staff of oak and a simple bag of basic necessities, trusting themself to the harmony of nature and the good will of the faithful.
- A druid of the Tall Trees circle who “clothes” themself in decorative druidcrafted plant vines that are intended only to accentuate their attractiveness, and who is hesitant to use tools or objects that cannot be obtained directly from nature or through the combination of nature and magic.
Fiends, Part 1
Malcanthet
- Any non-magical clothing or body coverings this cleric of the Succubus Queen attempts to wear will quickly singe and crumble to ash as if burned by an unseen fire.
- A warlock who must regularly incite lust in others to access their magical powers, and finds that wearing only clothing that call attention to their effective nudity is a reliable way to passively fulfill this requirement.
Graz’zt
- The price of this warlock’s pact with Graz’zt is that they must regularly indulge a sexual fetish which he implanted within their soul, in this case an intense arousal at the embarrassment of being seen naked.
- An extremely rare abyssal-sponsored paladin, granted power to smite evil to do battle against cultists of Demogorgon, Orcus, or the forces of the archdevils should they be encountered…so long as they keep to oaths that are perverse inverted parodies of many common paladin oaths of modesty, humility, and chastity.
Baphomet
- An aberrant Mind sorcerer whose powers are the result of a now-deceased Baphomet cultist’s bizarre experiments on captured commoners. They are accompanied, however, by an ineffable psychological inability to don clothing.
- A former urchin goliath/half-orc/bugbear/minotaur who discovered a secret chamber under a burned-out house that had been the sanctum of a Baphomet worshiper and studied the arcane lore collected there. Despite being a wizard, they learned from the foolish assumptions people make that Baphomet is a being of mindless violence, and so cultivates a false image of being a hulking, bestial brute with no grasp of civilized society (including clothing or manners).
Fierna
- A tiefling (Fierna variant) knight descended from a long-exiled noble family who forged pacts with the archdevil generations ago in a failed bid to retake their position of power. The knight has a powerful subconscious drive toward lascivious dress and behavior. As a result, they have no difficulty attracting squires and retainers despite having no true authority.
- A folk hero who freed themselves and many others from slavery in Thay thanks to Fierna’s influence replacing their shame and repression with pride and confidence. They wear only their old slave collar as a sign of what they overcame and that they won freedom with their skill at seduction and their bare hands. It also serves as an effective disguise when infiltrating slaver rings to free their captives.
Glasya
- A fragile-seeming nude dancer at the lowest rung of the noble hierarchy and no apparent prospects, who has been trained to be an exceptional criminal by a thieves guild that exclusively targets powerful nobility and secretly spreads the teachings of Glasya.
- An extremely attractive warrior who caught Glasya’s capricious ire while fighting her cultists and was cursed to be unable to wear clothing or armor (or even cover themselves with their hands to preserve their modesty) and to be a constant object of sexual desire by others. However, through sheer force of will, the warrior was able to draw power through this magical link, gaining the powers of a warlock, paladin, or cleric.
