Oghma

Oghma is a god of knowledge, thought, and ideas. His holy symbol, a blank scroll, is ubiquitous in places of learning. Oghma has an unbridled enthusiasm for knowledge, and he shares it with the people of Faerûn.

Oghma carries a great deal of wisdom behind his carefree demeanor. Should an existential threat to knowledge arise, he doesn't intervene immediately. Instead, he mulls and puzzles over complex plots before taking action, consulting his associated deities—Deneir, Milil, and Gond. If Oghma needs to interact with mortals, he sends an Owl. On rare occasions, he speaks directly into a mortal's mind while they're deep in thought.

Oghma's followers include sages and academics. Students pray for him to fill their minds, and teachers pray that he might guide their instruction. People in Faerûn casually invoke Oghma's name while trying to remember something, and they curse him when something in their memory is just out of reach. Oghma's passionate followers believe he vets every new idea that enters someone's mind. Since criminals use this as an excuse for their actions, this way of thinking has fallen out of favor.

Oghma's temples accumulate and distribute books, scrolls, knowledge, and lore. His clergy includes cloistered sages and archivists who analyze, file, and copy the temple's archives, as well as traveling scholars who seek out new learnings. Oghma's priests believe knowledge is the greatest tool of the mortal mind, and they oppose those who try to keep people ignorant.

Most temples of Oghma double as public libraries. These temples hold a daily evening service called the Covenant, during which clergy and laypeople read works of wisdom, songs, and new knowledge aloud for the sake of Oghma and all others present. Temples financially support themselves by selling maps, Spell Scrolls, and other works of scribes. They partner with priests of Deneir to provide these services, since Deneir has few temples of his own.

Chosen of Oghma have supernatural memories that allow them to memorize vast quantities of lore. In communities with oral histories or in places where libraries have burned down, Oghma's Chosen serve as living fonts of knowledge.