Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest

Goddess of agriculture and fertility

• Pantheon: Greek Pantheon
• Deity Title: Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest
• Deity Symbol: Sheaf of Wheat or Cornucopia
• Home Plane: Mount Olympus
• Deity Level: Greater Deity
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral
• Aliases: Ceres, Mother Earth
• Superior: Zeus, King of the Gods
• Traditional Allies: Dionysus, Persephone, Hestia
• Traditional Foes: Hades, Poseidon, Zeus (during Persephone’s abduction)
• Divine Artifact: Cornucopia of Abundance
• Servants: Dryads, Nymphs, Satyrs, and nature spirits
• Servitor Creatures: Harvest Golems, Plant Elementals
• Sacred Animal: Pig
• Manifestations: Bountiful harvests, sudden growth of plants, gentle breezes, nurturing warmth, visions of fertile fields
• Signs of Favor: Abundant crops, healthy livestock, fertility in nature and among worshippers
• Worshipers: Farmers, gardeners, agricultural communities, those seeking abundance and fertility
• Cleric Alignments: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good
• Specialty Priests: Crop Whisperers, Harvest Guardians
• Holy Days: Harvest Festival (celebrated during the autumn equinox)
• Portfolio: Agriculture, Harvest, Fertility, Grain, Nurturing, Seasons
• Domains: Life, Nature, Knowledge
• Favored Weapon: Sickle
• Favored Class: Druid
• Favored Race: Humans, Halflings
• Duties of the Priesthood: Overseeing agricultural rituals, performing blessings on crops, teaching farming techniques, ensuring the fertility of the land
• Major Cult/Temple Sites: Eleusis, Delphi, Athens, Sicily
• Benefits: Blessings of abundant harvests, ability to commune with plants and nature, access to agricultural knowledge and techniques, protection from famine and blight

The earth goddess who brings forth the fruits of the earth, particularly the various grains. She taught mankind the art of sowing and ploughing so they could ended their nomadic existence. As such, Demeter is also the goddess of planned society. She was very popular with the rural population.

Demeter is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea and sister of Zeus by whom she became the mother of Persephone. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, lord of the underworld, Demeter wandered the earth in search of her lost child. During this time the earth brought forth no grain. Finally Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld, ordering Hades to restore Persephone to her mother. However, before she left, Hades gave her a pomegranate (a common fertility symbol). When she ate from it, she was bound to spend a third of the year with her husband in the infernal regions. Only when her daughter is with her, Demeter lets things grow (summer). The dying and blossoming of nature was thus connected with Demeter.

The Eleusinian Mysteries are annual initiation ceremonies for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis. They celebrate Persephone’s return each year, for it is also the return of plants and of life to the earth. She had gone into the underworld (underground, like seeds in the winter), then returned to the land of the living: her rebirth is therefore symbolic of the rebirth of all plant life during the spring and, by extension, all life on earth.

Appearance

Pleasant-looking mature woman, generally with a veil over her head though her face is visible. Often carrying wheat.

Used with permissiom from Palindrome

As seen in Palindrome thread at Dicefreaks

Demeter
Druid 60
Medium outsider (Extraplanar)
Divine Rank	13
Hit Dice	60d8 (druid) plus 660 (1040 hp)
Initiative	+13 (+13 Dexterity)
Speed	60 ft.
Armor Class	77 (+28 natural, +13 divine, +13 deflection, +13 Dexterity), touch 59, flat-footed 64
Base Attack/Grapple	+35/+58
Attack	+66 Chrysaoros or melee touch +58 or ranged touch +61
Full Attack	+66/+61/+56 Chrysaoros (1d6 plus +15/19-20/x2) or melee touch +58 or ranged touch +61
Space/Reach	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	salient divine abilities, spell-like abilities, spells
Special Qualities	Divine aura (13,000 feet, DC 39), divine immunities, DR 25/epic and silver, godly realm (100 miles outer plane, 1300 ft. Material Plane), greater teleport at will, plane shift at will, remote communication, resistance (cold) 35, +4 save against poison, speak, and read all languages and speak directly to all beings with 13 miles, SR 75, wild empathy (1d20 plus +44), wild shape (16/day, Huge elemental, plants, Tiny to Gargantuan), woodland stride
Saves	Fort +56 Ref +52 Will +60
Abilities	Strength 31 Dexterity 36 Constitution 33 Intelligence 35 Wisdom 41 Charisma 37
Skills	Appraise +35 (+37 metalwork, woodwork), Balance +56, Bluff +56, Concentration +59, Craft (metalwork, woodwork) +65, Diplomacy +67, Escape Artist +42, Gather Information +28, Handle Animal +89, Heal +68, Intimidate +50, Knowledge (arcana) +55, Knowledge (geography) +55, Knowledge (local-[Olympus]) +45, Knowledge (nature) +92, Knowledge (the planes) +55, Listen +68, Profession (farmer) +91, Ride +82, Search +45, Sense Motive +58, Spellcraft +82, Spot +58, Survival+63 (+65 avoid getting lost/natural hazards, find/follow tracks, +67 extraplanar)
Feats	Animal Control, Animal Defiance, Augment Healing, Combat Reflexes, Enlarge Spell, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Fast Wild Shape, Heighten Spell, Improved Critical (sickle), Maximize Spell, Mounted Combat, Natural Spell, Oaken Resilience, Persistent spell, Plant Defiance, Plant Control, Quicken Spell, Ride-By Attack, Weapon Focus (sickle)
Epic Feats	Epic Weapon Focus (sickle), Gargantuan Wild Shape, Ignore Material Components, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Heighten Spell, Improved Metamagic(x2), Intensify Spell, Multispell, Plant Wild Shape, Spell Opportunity
Salient Divine Abilities	Allies of the Fields (Unique Salient Divine Ability), Alter Form, Alter Size, Command Plants, Deny Portfolio, Divine Fast Healing, Divine Recall (harvests), Divine Shield, Divine Spellcasting, Gift  of Life, The Good Earth (Unique Salient Divine Ability), Grow Creature (Plants, 13/day), Life or Death, Mind of the Beast (Fort save DC 46), Power of Nature, Shapechange
Environment	Olympus or The Mortal Coil
Organization	Solitary (Unique) or Chariot (Demeter and Two Drakones)
Challenge Rating	55
Treasure	Chrysaoros
Alignment	Neutral
Advancement	—
Level Adjustment	—

Alter Reality (Su): Demeter exerts a considerable measure of control over reality itself, and her presence can command the very essence of the world around her. This warping of reality manifests in a number of ways. Demeter can use wish when doing so could help her to improve the growth of plants, foster or create fertility, or promote agriculture. Note that in the situation where Demeter and another deity both try to Alter Reality in opposition to each other, an opposed rank check may be necessary to determine how reality is actually altered.

– Demeter can use Alter Reality to cast any cure spell at will as a standard action; Demeter can apply metamagic feats to the spells if desired, but doing so requires her to forego using Alter Reality for 1 round for each level the feat would normally add to the equivalent spell.

– As a free action, Demeter can assume any size from Fine to Colossal. Demeter can also change the size of up to 100 pounds of objects she touches. This ability allows Demeter to assume any proportions from the size of a grain of sand up to as much as 1,600 feet tall. A radical change in size can have great impact on Demeter’s combat ability. Demeter’s Strength, Armor Class, attack bonus, and damage dealt with weapons changes according to the size the deity assumes. Demeter’s Strength score can never be reduced to less than 1 through this ability. Also note that use of this divine ability does not affect all of Demeter’ characteristics.

Divine Immunities: Ability damage, ability drain, banishment, binding, death effects, dimensional anchor, disease, disintegration, dismissal, electricity, energy drain, fire, imprisonment, mind-affecting effects, Paralysis, poison, repulsion, sleep, soul bind, stunning, Temporal Stasis, transmutation, Trap the soul, and turning and rebuking.

Domain Powers: Casts Conjurations at +1 caster level; can calm emotions 13/day as a 13th level cleric; casts divinations at +1 caster level and treats all Knowledge skills as class skills; rebukes plants 16/day and treats Knowledge (nature) as a class skill.

Spell-like abilities: At will animate plants, barkskin, bless, chain lightning, charm monster, command plants, control plants, create food and water, create water, cure critical wounds, daylight, entangle, fire storm, greater dispel magic, heroes’ feast, hold monster, invisibility, invisibility purge, levitate, mages magnificent mansion, major creation, mass heal, minor creation, minor image, pavilion of grandeur, permanent image, persistent image, plant growth, polymorph (humanoid forms only, duration 1 hour), prayer, refuge, remove curse, repel wood, shambler, status, tongues, telepathic bond, true creation, wall of thorns.

3/day: etherealness, summon nature’s ally IX.

1/day: gate, greater restoration, maze, meteor swarm.

Cast at 73rd level, except for conjurations and divinations, which are cast at 74th level. Saving throws against Demeter’s spell-like abilities are DC 49 + spell level. The saving throw DC’s are Charisma-based.

Allies of the Field (Unique Salient Divine Ability): Demeter’s strengths lie in her ability to call on her allies of the field; the plants upon which mortal life depends. Accordingly, Demeter may call upon their assistance in the following manners:

Animate: Each round that Demeter remains in a given location, she may animate up to 13 different plant creatures within the radius affected by her that have 13 HD or less. These plant creatures, once temporarily Awakened in the manner, are considered to be generally friendly to Demeter unless controlled by a creature more powerful than Demeter on a successful rank check, and will fight for her as long as she commands them to.

Nectar: All of the plants within the area affected begin secreting a sweet substance with an intoxicating scent, forcing beings that have to breathe to make a Fort save DC 46 or else become extremely drowsy and sluggish, causing them to take a -6 penalty to their attack rolls, skill checks, and saves as long as they are within the affected area. Demeter may designate 13 allies to be immune to the secreted Nectar.

Thamnus: Demeter may cause a spurt of woody growth in plants. Tangles formed in this manner are stubbornly difficult to get rid of and impede movement efficiently, halving movement speeds of any creature caught within the area and simoultaneously preventing flight due to the tangle existing overhead as well. Beings larger than Huge in size are unaffected.

Druidic Spells (Sp) (0th-15th level) 6/9/9/9/8/8/7/7/6/6/5/5/5/5/4/4 Demeter casts her Druidic spells at 60th level and at 73rd level for the purposes of Spell Penetration. Saving throws against her Druidic spells are DC 25 + spell level. The saving throw DC’s are Wisdom based.

Typical Spells Prepared: 0th level: create water(x2), naturewatch(x2), read magic(x2).

• 1st level: charm animal(x2), entangle(x2), longstrider, magic fang(x2), pass without trace(x2)
• 2nd level: green blockade, resist energy(x2), soften earth and stone(x2), tree shape, warp wood(x2), wood shape.
• 3rd level: quickened entangle(x2), protection from energy, resist energy (mass)(x2), enlarged soften earth and stone, speak with plants(x2), thornskin.
• 4th level: control water, cure serious wounds(x2) quickened green blockade, quickened soften earth and stone(x2), extended speak with plants(x2)
• 5th level: baleful polymorph(x2), commune with nature, death ward(x2), quickened resist energy (mass), vigor (greater), wall of thorns.
• 6th level: Crumble, dispel magic (greater), energy immunity (x2), persistent green blockade(x2), liveoak
• 7th level: quickened baleful polymorph(x2), heal(x2), transmute metal to wood, wind walk(x2)
• 8th level: animal shapes, quickened dispel magic (greater) (x3), quickened transport via plants(x2)
• 9th level: cure critical wounds (mass)(x2), quickened heal, regenerate, quickened transmute metal to wood, Unyielding Roots
• 10th level: intensified cure critical wounds, persistent, quickened green blockade(x2), extended shambler, extended Unyielding Roots.
• 11th level: heightened (to 11th level) baleful polymorph, intensified Crumble(x2), quickened cure critical wounds (mass)(x2).
• 12th level: persistent animal shapes (x2), persistent nature’s avatar (x2), heightened, persistent Phantasmal Disorientation.
• 13th level: heightened (to 11th level), quickened baleful polymorph, intensified cure serious wounds (mass)(x2), persistent Unyielding Roots(x2).
• 14th level: heightened (to 14th level) antipathy, maximized, quickened regenerate, intensified regenerate (x2)
• 15th level: heightened (to 13th level), quickened baleful polymorph(x2), heightened (to 13th level), quickened Phantasmal Disorientation(x2).

The Good Earth (Unique Salient Divine Ability): Demeter has a wide array of powers in order to increase the fertility of land, or of creatures that are raised upon it. Her powers over the land itself take the following forms:

Demeter may choose to increase the nutritive value of up to 13 different animals in a single day. Any mortal that eats meat harvested of that particular animal heals at double their normal rate for that particular day, and is considered to be so full that they do not need to eat for the next 1d4 days.

Alternately, Demeter may also choose to improve the fertility of any field of agricultural land up to 13,000 square feet in size. A field improved in this manner lasts twice as long before the soil is exhausted and needs to be replenished, and any grain or produce harvested from such a field lasts twice as long before rotting or otherwise becoming unfit for consumption.

Other Divine Powers:

– As an intermediate deity, Demeter receives the best result on any check. Demeter is not considered to be permanently dead unless she is killed in Olympus by a deity of higher divine rank than herself, and otherwise reforms in Olympus after 60 years.

– Senses: Demeter can see (using normal vision or Darkvision), hear, touch, and smell at a distance of 13 miles. As a standard action, she can perceive anything within 13 miles of her worshippers, holy sites, objects, or any location where one of her titles or name was spoken in the last hour. She can extend her senses to up to five locations at once. She can block the sensing power of deities of her rank or lower at up to two remote locations at once for 13 hours.

– Portfolio Sense: Demeter is aware of any event involving the planting of a field, agriculture, or fertility up to 13 weeks in the past.

– Automatic Actions: Demeter may use Knowledge (nature), Handle Animal, or Spellcraft as a swift action of the DC for the task is 30 or lower. Demeter may take twenty swift actions per round.

– Create Magic Items: Demeter may create any magical item that enables her to control plants, domesticated animals, or improve fertility if it worth less than 200,000 gp.

Possessions: Upon those rare occasions in which Demeter is forced to go into combat, Demeter is armed with Chrysaoros, is a +5 brilliant energy sickle. Otherwise, Demeter possesses a wide array of magical items that enable to her augment her already formidable powers at manipulating or communicating with plant life.

Avatars:

Demeter sends Avatars often to the Mortal Coils upon which she is worshipped. Most of the time when these Avatars appear, they appear as women with dark eyes and dark, curly hair and a cloak dyed the same tone. Typically upon these visits, Demeter’s Avatar offers various blessings upon various fields and regions that she passes through. However, during the periods of time in which her daughter, Persephone is in The Underworld with Hades her Avatar accordingly appears as a morose, elderly woman with white hair and rent garments. Demeter’s Avatar always carries a weaker replica of Chrysaoros although she almost never has cause to use it.

Demeter’s Avatar
Medium outsider (Extraplanar)
Divine Rank 0
druid 30
Hit Dice	30d8 (druid) plus 270 (510 hp)
Initiative	+17 (+9 Dexterity, +8 Superior Initiative)
Speed	60 ft.
Armor Class	45 (+15 natural, +10 deflection, +10 deflection), touch 30, flat-footed 35
Base Attack/Grapple	+20/+28
Attack	+29 +1 brilliant energy sickle melee or +28 melee touch or +30 ranged touch
Full Attack	+29 +1 brilliant energy sickle (1d6 plus +9) or +28 melee touch or +30 ranged touch
Space/Reach	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Domain powers, salient divine abilities, spell-like abilities, spells
Special Qualities	divine aura (1300 feet, DC 20), divine immunities, DR 10/epic, Endurance, greater teleport at will, plane shift at will, resistance (cold) 20, SR 47, wild empathy (1d20 plus +22), wild shape (9/day, Huge elemental, plants, Tiny to Gargantuan), woodland stride
Saves	Fort +26 Ref +21 Will +29
Abilities	Strength 26 Dexterity 30 Constitution 28 Intelligence 30 Wisdom 35 Charisma 31
Skills	Appraise +15 (+17 metalwork, woodwork), Balance +25, Bluff +25, Concentration +27, Craft (metalwork, woodwork) +18, Diplomacy +45, Escape Artist +18, Gather Information +12, Handle Animal +43, Heal +32, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (arcana) +25, Knowledge (geography) +21, Knowledge (local-[Olympus]) +15, Knowledge (nature) +45, Knowledge (the planes) +19, Listen +20, Profession (farmer) +35, Ride +41, Search +20, Sense Motive +27, Spellcraft +45, Spot +24, Survival +27 (+29 avoid getting lost/natural hazards, extraplanar, find/follow tracks)
Feats	Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Fast Wild Shape, Heighten Spell, Natural Spell, Persistent spell, Plant Defiance, Plant Control, Quicken Spell
Epic Feats	Ignore Material Components, Improved Heighten Spell, Intensify Spell, Plant Wild Shape
Salient Divine Abilities	Alter Form, Divine Spellcasting, The Good Earth
Environment	The Mortal Coil
Organization	Solitary (unique)
Challenge Rating	32
Treasure	+1 brilliant energy sickle
Alignment	True neutral
Advancement	—
Level Adjustment	–

Divine

Immunities Ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting effects.

Domain Powers Casts Conjurations at +1 caster level; can calm emotions 3/day as a 13th level cleric; casts divinations at +1 caster level and treats all Knowledge skills as class skills; rebukes plants 13/day and treats Knowledge (nature) as a class skill.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp) At will: chain lightning, charm monster, cure critical wounds, fire storm, greater dispel magic, hold monster, holy smite, invisibility, invisibility purge, levitate, persistent image, polymorph (humanoid forms only, duration 1 hour), remove curse.

3/day: animate plants, barkskin, bless, command plants, control plants, create food and water, create water, entangle, etherealness, heroes’ feast, mages magnificent mansion, major creation, mass heal, minor creation, minor image, pavilion of grandeur, permanent image, plant growth, prayer, refuge, remove curse, repel wood, shambler, summon nature’s ally IX, true creation, status, tongues, telepathic bond, wall of thorns.

1/day: gate, greater restoration, maze, meteor swarm.

Demeter’s Avatar uses these abilities as a 30th level caster, except for divinations which she uses as a 31st-level caster. The save DCs are 20 + spell level.

Spells (Sp) (0th-12th level) 6/9/9/9/8/8/7/7/6/6/5/5/5 Demeter’s Avatar casts her Druidic spells at 30th level. Saving throws against her Druidic spells are DC 22 + spell level. The saving throw DC’s are Wisdom based.

Roleplaying Elements from

Liber Mysterium

The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

Full netbook can be found on the followng website

Dom of D20 / D&D 3e Netbooks and Downloads.

Also known as Kore. The great Greek Earth Goddess. She is the Goddess of grain and of the harvest. Her witch cults are among the oldest known. Goes down to the underworld to retrive her daughter. During this time winter covers the land. Origin of most of the -Descent of the Goddess- legends.

Alignment: TN, NG, CN, LN

Areas of Influence: Earth, Fertility, Plant

The Eleusinian Mysteries

Deities & Demigods

By Rich Redman, Skip Williams, James Wyatt

Demeter is the center of an extremely important mystery cult centered in the city of Eleusis. The central myth of this cult, far more important than any tales of Zeus’s escapades or the labors of Hercules, is the story of Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, and her abduction by Hades.

According to this myth, Zeus gave Hades permission to take Persephone as his wife, which he did by kidnapping her as she gathered flowers with her friends. Her carried her into the underworld and made her his bride. Hearing Persephone’s cries of distress, Demeter ran off in search of her daughter, searching the earth for nine days before learning that Hades had taken her. Upon learning Persephone’s fate, Demeter went into mourning, wandering listlessly until she came to Eleusis. There, disguised as an old woman, she entered the household of the king, Keleos, and reared his infant son, Demophoön. She anointed the baby with ambrosia and tucked him into the blazing fire at night, planning to make him immortal. His mother, Metaneira, discovered the baby in the fire and cried out, not realizing what Demeter was doing. Angered, Demeter left the household and ordered a temple to be built in her honor in the city.

She brooded in that temple, preventing any crops from growing on the earth, for a year. Finally, by ordering Persephone to be brought up from Hades, Zeus persuaded Demeter to rejoin the company of gods on Olympus. Because Persephone accepted food (a single pomegranate seed) in the underworld, she was bound by the laws of hospitality to return there. By Zeus’s decree, Persephone was to spend one -third of the year in the underworld with Hades, and the remaining two thirds in Olympus with the other gods. While Persephone remains in the underworld, Demeter mourns and the earth bears no fruit. For the rest of the year, Demeter allows crops to grow and flourish.

This myth is the fundamental doctrine of the Eleusinian Mysteries, but even more important are the series of rites performed in the Mysteries that recreate the myth as a personal experience for each initiate. The acolytes dance and celebrate as Persephone gathers flowers; then word comes that Persephone has been abducted, and all revelry ceases. Carrying torches, the acolytes act the role of Demeter searching for her daughter. In the central act of the rite, the acolytes identify with Demophoön, nurtured in Demeter’s arms and primed for immortality. They reenact descending to the underworld with Persephone and rising to Olympus with Demeter. Demeter’s avatar is said to appear to the acolytes and bestow her blessing upon them at the climax of the ritual. Acolytes of the Mysteries live their lives under Demeter’s blessing. They believe that when they die, they will not become mere shades in Hades, but will dwell on Olympus with Demeter in eternal bliss.

The rituals of the Mysteries are utterly secret. No initiate may speak of what occurs in the inner sanctum of the temple during the rites, under penalty of death.