Maru — War Atua of Taranaki
Māori tradition · Taranaki · War · Defence · Lineage · Aotea
Maru is a well-known Māori war atua associated especially with Taranaki. Te Ara records a tradition in which Maru was brought to Aotearoa by Turi, captain of the Aotea waka. His identity is therefore regional and ancestral as well as martial: Maru belongs to particular histories, journeys and communities rather than serving as a generic duplicate of Tūmatauenga.
Maru at a Glance
| Tradition | Māori; especially associated with Taranaki |
|---|---|
| Divine role | War, martial protection, lineage, regional power and defence |
| Game alignment | Lawful Neutral |
| Suggested domains | War, Protection, Order |
| Sacred signs | War preparations, ancestral weapons, mountain weather, waka traditions and successful defence of people and land |
| Ancestral association | Turi and the Aotea waka |
| Pantheon plane | Hawaiki — The Ancestral Isles, within Ossa — The Living and Remembering Sea in Arborea |
Divine Mechanics
Encounter role: Defender / martial commander. Each edition is standalone; use only the rules tab for your table.
Maru, Greater Deity — Large Celestial, Lawful Neutral; suggested CR 31.
| Armor Class | 25 | Hit Points | 610 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 50 ft. | Proficiency Bonus | +9 |
| STR | 30 (+10) | DEX | 22 (+6) |
| CON | 30 (+10) | INT | 24 (+7) |
| WIS | 28 (+9) | CHA | 28 (+9) |
Saving Throws Str +19, Con +19, Wis +18, Cha +18. Damage Resistances thunder. Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks. Condition Immunities charmed, frightened. Senses truesight 240 ft., passive Perception 28. Languages all languages he chooses, telepathy 240 ft.
Legendary Resistance (4/Day). If Maru fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Defender of the Line. Allies within 60 feet cannot be frightened while they can see Maru. A creature defending its home, kin or ancestral sacred place also gains +2 AC within the aura.
Multiattack. Maru makes three Weapon of the War Line attacks: +19 to hit, reach 15 ft.; 35 (4d12 + 9) slashing or bludgeoning plus 18 (4d8) force damage.
Break the War Party (Recharge 5–6). Maru strikes the ground or a weapon against his shield. Hostile creatures in a 90-foot cone make a DC 27 Constitution saving throw, taking 66 (12d10) thunder damage and becoming Deafened and knocked prone on a failure, or half damage on a success.
Call the Ancestral Line (Recharge 6). Spectral warriors appear around up to six allies within 120 feet. Until the start of Maru’s next turn, each target has resistance to all damage and may make one weapon attack as a reaction.
Challenge the False Claim (1/Day). Maru chooses one creature within 120 feet claiming authority, lineage or divine sanction it does not possess. The creature must make a DC 27 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, magical disguises and false symbols around it end and it cannot benefit from advantage for 1 minute.
Mythic Trait — The War Line Holds. The first time Maru is reduced to 0 hit points, he regains 305 hit points. Allies within 120 feet may immediately move up to their Speed without provoking opportunity attacks, and Maru uses Call the Ancestral Line.
Intermediate deity; alignment LN. Suggested divine encounter CR 30. Domains: Community, Protection, Strength, War. Subdomains: Defense, Family, Resolve, Tactics. Favoured weapon: taiaha.
Ancestral War Line (Su). Allies within 60 feet gain a +4 sacred bonus against fear and compulsion. When defending a designated community or sacred place, the bonus also applies to AC against attacks of opportunity.
War Challenge (Su). Three times per day Maru may challenge one creature as mark of justice, except the effect lasts 10 minutes and applies only while the target continues the declared aggression.
Complete Pathfinder 1e Statistics
Init +10; Aura divine presence 120 ft.; Perception +34.
DEFENSE AC 53, touch 30, flat-footed 47; hp 620; Fort +37, Ref +33, Will +36; defensive abilities divine resilience, freedom of movement; DR 25/epic; SR 44; immune disease, fear, poison; resist acid 20, cold 20, electricity 20, fire 20.
OFFENSE Speed 50 ft.; Melee Legendary Resistance (4/Day) +56/+51/+46/+41 (divine weapon damage plus portfolio energy); Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.; Special Attacks divine aura, mythic surge, portfolio powers.
STATISTICS Str 30, Dex 22, Con 30, Int 24, Wis 28, Cha 28; Base Atk +43; CMB +54; CMD 70; Feats Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (Legendary Resistance (4/Day)), Weapon Focus (Legendary Resistance (4/Day)), Greater Weapon Focus (Legendary Resistance (4/Day)), Quicken Spell-Like Ability; Skills Acrobatics +31, Diplomacy +34, Intimidate +34, Knowledge (planes) +32, Knowledge (religion) +32, Perception +34, Sense Motive +34, Spellcraft +32, Survival +34; Languages all, telepathy 1 mile; SQ divine rank 14, immortality, portfolio sense, remote communication.
Intermediate deity; Divine Rank 14; alignment LN. Portfolio: regional war, defence, lineage, martial obligation and ancestral authority. Domains: Protection, Strength, War, Community. Favoured weapon: spear or taiaha.
Appropriate salient divine abilities include Alter Reality, Divine Battle Mastery, Divine Inspiration, Divine Shield and Power of Truth.
Complete D&D 3.5e Statistics
Initiative +10; Speed 50 ft.; Armor Class 53, touch 30, flat-footed 47; Base Attack/Grapple +43/+57; Attack divine taiaha +56 melee; Full Attack divine taiaha +56/+51/+46/+41; Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft..
Special Attacks salient divine abilities, portfolio powers, spell-like abilities; Special Qualities divine aura 1 mile, divine immunities, DR 25/epic, fire/cold/electricity resistance 20, SR 45, immortality, remote sensing, portfolio sense.
Saves Fort +37, Ref +33, Will +36; Abilities Str 30, Dex 22, Con 30, Int 24, Wis 28, Cha 28; Skills Acrobatics +31, Diplomacy +34, Intimidate +34, Knowledge (planes) +32, Knowledge (religion) +32, Perception +34, Sense Motive +34, Spellcraft +32, Survival +34; Feats Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (Legendary Resistance (4/Day)), Weapon Focus (Legendary Resistance (4/Day)), Greater Weapon Focus (Legendary Resistance (4/Day)), Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Epic Prowess, Overwhelming Critical.
Environment divine realm and portfolio-aligned sites; Organization unique; Challenge Rating 31; Treasure divine relics; Alignment as listed; Advancement —.
Maru in Taranaki
Maru’s strength is inseparable from place. He is remembered as a major war atua in Taranaki, and tradition links his arrival with Turi and the Aotea waka. In a campaign, this means his influence should be strongest where lineage, inherited obligation and defence of ancestral land meet.
Maru is not simply “another god of fighting.” Tūmatauenga represents war and humankind at a much wider mythic scale. Maru belongs to a more regional religious landscape in which different communities may call upon different atua before conflict.
War as Obligation
Maru’s favour does not automatically follow aggression. A war undertaken for vanity may receive no answer. A community defending burial places, homes, food stores or ancestral land can experience his presence very differently.
Before battle, the most important question may therefore be not “Will Maru make us win?” but “Does Maru recognise this cause as ours to fight?”
Worship in the Living World
Maru’s worship is regional and ancestral rather than a universal doctrine of warfare. In Taranaki traditions his power is tied to community, inherited authority and the memory of the Aotea voyage. A request for victory means little without the question of what is being defended and whose obligations are being invoked.
War leaders seeking Maru’s favour therefore prepare through genealogy, consultation, weapons, inherited places and the legitimacy of the cause itself. Defence of people and land can call forth a very different divine response from aggression pursued for prestige alone.
Pantheon Plane: Hawaiki and Ossa
The wider Māori and Polynesian divine network reaches into Hawaiki — The Ancestral Isles, an independent ancestral archipelago within Ossa — The Living and Remembering Sea, Arborea’s second layer. Hawaiki is a realm of origin, voyage, ancestral return and remembered routes across the living sea.
Hawaiki’s ancestral beaches and voyaging routes make the pantheon plane especially relevant to Maru’s Aotea associations. In Ossa, lineage can be followed as an actual remembered route across living water rather than merely a name preserved in mortal genealogy.
What Is Maru Doing Now?
Across Taranaki, old weapons displayed in meeting places have begun turning toward the mountain during the night. No one sees them move.
At the same time, scouts report war parties travelling under banners that belong to lineages thought extinct. The strangers leave no footprints after rain and vanish whenever challenged about their ancestors.
Maru’s mediums warn that someone is using the memory of old wars to create authority they do not possess.
Domain Spells and Divine Gifts
1st: bless, shield of faith · 2nd: aid, warding bond · 3rd: crusader’s mantle, spirit guardians · 4th: death ward, freedom of movement · 5th: circle of power, commune · 6th: heroes’ feast, blade barrier · 7th: divine word, regenerate · 8th: holy aura, antimagic field · 9th: foresight, invulnerability.
Divine Relic — Te Rākau o Aotea
The Weapon of Aotea is an original game relic associated with the ancestral voyage. Its exact form changes according to the bearer’s lineage and fighting tradition, but it is always recognisable as a weapon meant to defend rather than conquer.
While defending a community the bearer cannot be frightened. Once per week the relic can summon spectral defenders for one minute, granting allies within 60 feet resistance to weapon damage.
Use Maru Tonight
- The Borrowed Ancestors: a war leader claims descent from an extinct line and carries weapons that answer to him.
- The Weapons Turn: ancestral arms repeatedly point toward the same hidden valley.
- Aotea’s Missing Relic: an object linked to the ancestral voyage disappears before a major gathering.
- War without Cause: Maru’s priests receive no signs before a campaign everyone assumes he supports.
- The Defenders Return: spectral warriors appear at night around an undefended settlement and refuse to leave.
Relationships
Tūmatauenga: Tū represents war and humankind broadly; Maru is a regional war atua whose power is especially tied to Taranaki traditions.
Uenuku and Kahukura: fellow war atua whose celestial signs and rainbow associations distinguish them from Maru’s regional and ancestral emphasis.
Turi: tradition connects Maru’s arrival in Aotearoa with Turi, captain of the Aotea waka.
Deep Link Dive
Hawaiki and Ossa
Enter the pantheon’s ancestral isles within Arborea’s living and remembering sea.
Polynesian Gods & Sacred Traditions
Return to the wider Māori god cluster.
Uenuku
Compare war authority expressed through celestial signs.
Kahukura
Compare a second rainbow-associated war tradition.
Cleric
Build priests and divine defenders around Maru’s portfolio.
Bless
Connect martial divine favour to a core support spell.
Shield of Faith
A natural defensive spell link for Maru’s role.
Salient Divine Abilities
Continue into divine-rank rules.
Lawful Neutral
Read the alignment framework used for Maru’s mechanics.
Sources and Licensing
Maru’s identity as a war atua associated with Taranaki and the tradition that Turi brought him to Aotearoa aboard the Aotea waka derive from documented Māori traditions. The mechanics, relic, supernatural incidents and adventure hooks are original fantasy roleplaying adaptations.
Te Ara — Atua and the origins of wars · Te Ara — Aotea canoe and Maru
The cultural and mythological material is presented from the cited sources. Encounter statistics, relics, domain selections and adventure material are original fantasy-RPG adaptations. Edition names identify rules compatibility; they do not claim the traditional narratives originate in those systems.
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