At a Glance
| Identity | Jarilo (Yarilo, Jaryło), god of spring growth and renewal |
|---|---|
| Divine home | The Spring Meadows of Iriy, Bytopia, on Dothion |
| Portfolio | Spring, youth, fertility, planting and the returning green |
| Temperament | Generous, impetuous; Chaotic Good |
| Signs | Green bough, flowers, white horse, moist earth after frost |
| Relationships | Mokosh knows the labour of his season; Perun brings storms; Morana guards the winter he must one day yield to |
| Followers | Farmers, orchard keepers, shepherds, newlyweds and healers |
| Relic | The Green Rider’s Wreath, a circlet of living spring buds |
Jarilo awakens the fields, but no harvest survives on spring’s blessings alone. A flower-wreathed rider crosses the muddy ford on a white horse. Behind him the green shoots rise. He asks who will tend the crop after his hoofbeats fade.
Jarilo in the World
Along the riverlands of Poland and Rus’, village riders carry green boughs, bright ribbons and songs to greet the returning warmth. Some call for Jarilo; others remember only a spring custom. He is present among the labourers, repairing a broken plough or leading a lost animal home. He celebrates courtship and new households, but refuses to bless a marriage made by abduction or threat.
In 1454 a mild first week may still give way to killing frost. Food runs short before the new grain ripens. Jarilo’s followers keep seed for the hungry, help one another sow and repair the ditches that winter floods have broken. Jarilo despises a granary full beside fields left untended; he knows generosity without work cannot see a community through the year.
Origins and Divine Relationships
Jarilo’s familiar story is drawn mainly from later Slavic seasonal songs and rites, rather than a securely recorded medieval cult. Modern scholars have reconstructed a spring god whose arrival, marriage and ritual death mirror the agricultural year. Accounts making him a son of Perun, a ward of Veles and a seasonal companion of Morana are debated reconstructions, not a single surviving ancient narrative.
Here those relationships are real but strained. Perun may call him son; Veles knows the hidden road by which warmth returns; Mokosh protects the people who work the earth. Morana guards winter’s necessary rest. Jarilo can challenge her cold, but he cannot abolish the season.
The Spring Meadows of Iriy
Jarilo’s Spring Meadows spread across the sunny slopes of Dothion, within Iriy on Bytopia. White horses drink from thaw-fed streams, and willow bridges lead between the pasture roads and Mokosh’s reed gardens. Trees blossom quickly here, but their fruit still takes a season to grow. A stone beside the eastern ford records each time a warm beginning was followed by disaster; the god does not hide those marks.
At the estate’s gate a visitor is given a seed and asked whose field should receive it. A gift planted for a household in need greens the earth by dawn. Seed kept for private advantage can lie dormant until the bearer agrees to share the work. Jarilo hears petitions while tending his horse or planting with his own hands. He grants fair weather when he can, but asks who will repair the road and gather the crop once the blessing ends.
Meeting Jarilo
Jarilo listens to a clear request before he listens to flattery. He is quick to laugh and quicker to act. If violence breaks out, thorn hedges divide the combatants and open a safe lane for bystanders. A person who releases captives or returns stolen seed is given a chance to leave. Those determined to harm the helpless face the full force of his living roots.
Adventures
Green After the Frost
A village on the upper Dnieper has planted too early. Its seedlings have blackened beneath a night frost, and only one living spring bough remains at a ruined shrine across a snow-blocked pass. The reeve wants the party to fetch it before the next planting. A shepherd sheltering in the shrine refuses to give up the bough: it is keeping his last lamb alive. The characters can carry a cutting, bring shepherd and lamb home or secure another food source while the village replants. The god helps those who save the vulnerable as well as the harvest.
The Rider Without a Face
A rider in Jarilo’s garlands is kidnapping people from wedding processions on a Polish river road. The victims are held in a deserted mill, and a frightened musician must play the same wedding tune each night. A local landowner has hired a shapeshifting vila to clear the road for a land grab. Following the hoofprints, freeing the musician or exposing the landowner can end the abductions. Defeating the creature without finding its employer leaves the captives locked inside.
The Field That Never Rests
A merchant’s wheat ripens every seven days; exhausted labourers are forced to harvest without sleep. Jarilo’s Green Rider’s Wreath hangs above the manor hearth, stolen from a roadside shrine to guarantee endless profit. The miracle is draining the soil. The party can recover the wreath, free the workers and persuade the villages to leave the land fallow. Burning the field stops the growth but risks a winter without bread. Replanting elsewhere and sharing the last harvest earns Jarilo’s blessing.
Worship and the Green Rider’s Wreath
Branches, flowers, clean water and shared seed honour Jarilo. The festival is a promise to do the hard work that follows. His Green Rider’s Wreath is a garland of buds that remain green beneath snow, entrusted to someone protecting a winter crossing or leading spring seed toward a hungry settlement. Its distinct mechanics appear in the four edition panels.
Divine Powers and Encounter Rules
D&D 2024
Jarilo — divine combat statistics (2024)
Medium Celestial (Deity) · CR 27 (campaign epic rules, PB +8) · AC 23 (divine ward) · HP 500 (40d8+320) · Speed 40 ft., Fly 60 ft. (hover), Swim 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 (+9) | 26 (+8) | 26 (+8) | 20 (+5) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) |
Saving Throws: Str +17, Con +16, Wis +16, Cha +18. Skills: Insight +16, Perception +16, Religion +13, Athletics +17. Resistances: Cold, Fire; Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing from nonmagical attacks. Immunities: Force; Charmed, Frightened. Senses: Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 26. Languages: Polish, South Slavic tongues and the speech of Iriy (comprehends other languages through divine perception, not a universal mortal Common).
Actions
Multiattack. Jarilo makes three Spring Bough attacks.
Spring Bough. Melee Attack Roll: +17 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 31 (4d10 + 9) Bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) Force damage.
Green Rush (Recharge 5–6). Jarilo affects a 60-foot cone. Each affected hostile creature makes a DC 26 Strength saving throw, taking 18d8 bludgeoning and 8d8 force damage on a failed save, or half damage on a success. The area becomes Difficult Terrain until the end of his next turn; creatures he chooses instead regain 5d8 Hit Points as the roots knit around their wounds.
Bonus Actions
Step Between Shrines (2/day). Jarilo teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space the god can see; this cannot cross planes or a sealed magic barrier.
Spring Reversal (2024; Bonus Action, 1/day). While Bloodied (at or below half Hit Points), the god creates a 20-foot Emanation until the start of the next turn. Hostile creatures within it cannot take Opportunity Attacks, and an ally entering it gains Temporary Hit Points equal to the god’s Wisdom modifier + 8. This is a campaign action and does not spend a spell slot.
Reactions
Return of the Green (2/day). When a creature within 30 feet takes Cold damage, Jarilo halves that damage and causes one 10-foot square under the attacker to become Difficult Terrain for 1 minute.
Legendary Actions (3/round)
Jarilo takes one Legendary Action immediately after another creature’s turn, regaining all three at the start of the god’s turn; only one option may be used after each turn. Divine Advance: move up to half Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks. Spring Bough: make one Spring Bough attack (cost 2 actions). Portfolio Pulse: one creature within 30 feet makes a DC 26 Wisdom save or takes 4d8 force damage (cost 1 action).
Spellcasting (Magic action). Charisma is the spellcasting ability (save DC 26, +18 to hit). Casting times, components and Concentration follow the listed spell; any spell that takes longer than an action still takes its full casting time. Spellcasting resources: At will (0); 3/day each (1st–3rd); 2/day each (4th–6th); 1/day each (7th–9th).
| Spell level | Personal divine spells | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrips | druidcraft, guidance | At will |
| 1st | entangle | 3/day each |
| 2nd | lesser restoration | 3/day each |
| 3rd | plant growth | 3/day each |
| 4th | grasping vine | 2/day each |
| 5th | awaken | 2/day each |
| 6th | heroes’ feast | 2/day each |
| 7th | regenerate | 1/day each |
| 8th | animal shapes | 1/day each |
| 9th | shapechange | 1/day each |
Divine terrain. Anyone who plants a living seed in the Spring Meadows can ask Jarilo for a single season of fair weather; the answer comes as a flower blooming or refusing to open.
Granted Domains and Spells for Worshippers
A cleric of Jarilo may choose the published 2024 Life Domain. These spells are always prepared at the levels shown; no additional subclass spells are granted. Life Domain rules.
| Cleric level | 2024 Life Domain spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | aid, bless, cure wounds, lesser restoration |
| 5 | mass healing word, revivify |
| 7 | aura of life, death ward |
| 9 | greater restoration, mass cure wounds |
Divine relic: Green Rider’s Wreath
Once per Long Rest the wearer chooses up to six creatures within 30 feet; each gains 2d8 temporary Hit Points and ignores nonmagical Difficult Terrain caused by plants for 1 hour.
D&D 2014
Jarilo — divine combat statistics (2014)
Medium Celestial (Deity) · CR 27 (campaign epic rules, PB +8) · AC 23 (divine ward) · HP 500 (40d8+320) · Speed 40 ft., Fly 60 ft. (hover), Swim 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 (+9) | 26 (+8) | 26 (+8) | 20 (+5) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) |
Saving Throws: Str +17, Con +16, Wis +16, Cha +18. Skills: Insight +16, Perception +16, Religion +13, Athletics +17. Resistances: Cold, Fire; Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing from nonmagical attacks. Immunities: Force; Charmed, Frightened. Senses: Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 26. Languages: Polish, South Slavic tongues and the speech of Iriy (comprehends other languages through divine perception, not a universal mortal Common).
Actions
Multiattack. Jarilo makes three Spring Bough attacks.
Spring Bough. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 31 (4d10 + 9) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) force damage.
Green Rush (Recharge 5–6). Jarilo affects a 60-foot cone. Each affected hostile creature makes a DC 26 Strength saving throw, taking 18d8 bludgeoning and 8d8 force damage on a failed save, or half damage on a success. The area becomes Difficult Terrain until the end of his next turn; creatures he chooses instead regain 5d8 Hit Points as the roots knit around their wounds.
Bonus Actions (campaign ability)
Step Between Shrines (2/day). Jarilo teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space the god can see; this cannot cross planes or a sealed magic barrier.
Spring Trial (2014; Action, 1/day). Choose one creature within 60 feet. It makes a DC 26 Wisdom saving throw or has disadvantage on its next attack roll against a creature other than the god before the end of its next turn. A creature sheltered by a flowering branch makes this save with advantage. This is an original campaign action, not an automatic legendary action.
Reactions
Return of the Green (2/day). When a creature within 30 feet takes Cold damage, Jarilo halves that damage and causes one 10-foot square under the attacker to become Difficult Terrain for 1 minute.
Legendary Actions (3 per round)
Jarilo can take three legendary actions, one at a time, at the end of another creature’s turn; spent actions return at the start of the god’s next turn. Move: moves half Speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Spring Bough (costs 2): makes one Spring Bough attack. Divine Rebuke: one visible target within 30 feet makes a DC 26 Wisdom save or takes 4d8 force damage.
Innate Spellcasting. Charisma is the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 26, +18 to hit). Spells use their published 2014 casting times, components and concentration. Uses: At will (0); 3/day each (1st–3rd); 2/day each (4th–6th); 1/day each (7th–9th).
| Spell level | Personal divine spells | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrips | druidcraft, guidance | At will |
| 1st | entangle | 3/day each |
| 2nd | lesser restoration | 3/day each |
| 3rd | plant growth | 3/day each |
| 4th | grasping vine | 2/day each |
| 5th | awaken | 2/day each |
| 6th | heroes’ feast | 2/day each |
| 7th | regenerate | 1/day each |
| 8th | animal shapes | 1/day each |
| 9th | shapechange | 1/day each |
Divine terrain. Anyone who plants a living seed in the Spring Meadows can ask Jarilo for a single season of fair weather; the answer comes as a flower blooming or refusing to open.
Granted Domains and Spells for Worshippers
A cleric of Jarilo may choose the 2014 Nature Domain, using its published Acolyte of Nature, Charm Animals and Plants, and domain spell progression.
| Cleric level | 2014 Nature Domain spells |
|---|---|
| 1 | animal friendship, speak with animals |
| 3 | barkskin, spike growth |
| 5 | plant growth, wind wall |
| 7 | dominate beast, grasping vine |
| 9 | insect plague, tree stride |
Divine relic: Green Rider’s Wreath
Once per long rest the wearer selects six creatures within 30 feet; each gains 1d8 temporary hit points and ignores nonmagical plant difficult terrain for 1 hour.
Pathfinder 1e
Jarilo — Pathfinder 1e
CR 27 campaign deity; XP not assigned · Medium outsider (extraplanar on the Material Plane) · Initiative +12 · Senses darkvision 60 ft., true seeing 120 ft., Perception +43
AC 55, touch 37, flat-footed 46 (10 base, 0 size, +8 Dex, +18 natural, +8 sacred ward, +10 deflection, +1 Dodge ). HP 435 (30d10+240 + 30 Toughness); Fort +26, Ref +33, Will +33. Saving-throw calculation: Outsider base Fort +10, Ref +17, Will +17; ability modifiers and applicable saving-throw feats, plus a +6 sacred divine ward bonus (campaign rule). DR 15/epic; SR 35; Immune force, fear; Resist fire 20, cold 20.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 (+9) | 26 (+8) | 26 (+8) | 20 (+5) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) |
Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect). Base Attack +30; CMB +39; CMD 76 (10 + BAB 30 + Str 9 + Dex 8 + size 0 + deflection 10 + sacred ward 8 + Dodge 1); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.. Full Attack Spring Bough +42/+37/+32/+27 (4d8+12 bludgeoning plus 4d6 force per hit); weapon counts as +3 for enhancement and overcomes DR/epic (campaign rule).
Feats (15): Improved Initiative; Combat Reflexes; Dodge; Mobility; Spring Attack; Toughness; Iron Will; Great Fortitude; Lightning Reflexes; Blind-Fight; Alertness; Skill Focus (Heal); Endurance; Diehard; Improved Iron Will. Skills (selected): Perception +43, Knowledge (religion) +38, Sense Motive +43, Spellcraft +38; Fly +49. Skill totals use 30 ranks, class-skill bonuses where trained, +2 from Alertness for Perception and Sense Motive, and +8 to Fly from perfect manoeuvrability. Languages: Polish, South Slavic tongues and the speech of Iriy; divine understanding of others.
Green Rush (Su; standard action, once every 1d4 rounds). Each hostile creature in a 60-foot cone takes 18d8 bludgeoning and 8d8 force (force effects), DC 35 Fortitude half; The area becomes difficult terrain for 1 round; chosen allies instead recover 5d8 hit points.
Personal spell-like abilities: caster level 30th; Charisma-based save DC 20 + spell level. At will (0); 3/day each (1st–3rd); 2/day each (4th–6th); 1/day each (7th–9th). Use the edition’s spell-like ability rules for spell resistance and concentration; no components are required.
| Level | Personal powers | Save DC if applicable |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | create water, guidance | 20 |
| 1 | entangle | 21 |
| 2 | barkskin | 22 |
| 3 | plant growth | 23 |
| 4 | freedom of movement | 24 |
| 5 | awaken | 25 |
| 6 | transport via plants | 26 |
| 7 | animate plants | 27 |
| 8 | animal shapes | 28 |
| 9 | shapechange | 29 |
Challenge. Divine terrain: Anyone who plants a living seed in the Spring Meadows can ask Jarilo for a single season of fair weather; the answer comes as a flower blooming or refusing to open.
Granted Domains and Spells for Worshippers
A Pathfinder cleric chooses Plant or Healing (or both) using their native domain spells, slots and granted powers. Plant grants Wooden Fist and Bramble Armor; Healing grants Rebuke Death and Healer’s Blessing. Pathfinder domain reference.
| Spell level | Plant | Healing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | entangle | cure light wounds |
| 2 | barkskin | cure moderate wounds |
| 3 | plant growth | cure serious wounds |
| 4 | command plants | cure critical wounds |
| 5 | wall of thorns | breath of life |
| 6 | repel wood | heal |
| 7 | animate plants | regenerate |
| 8 | control plants | mass cure critical wounds |
| 9 | shambler | mass heal |
Divine relic: Green Rider’s Wreath
Once per day the wreath casts mass bear’s endurance (caster level 11), but its targets must be within 30 feet; it also grants woodland stride for 1 hour.
D&D 3.5e
Jarilo — D&D 3.5e
Medium outsider (extraplanar on the Material Plane; deity) · Divine rank 9 (lesser deity) · CR 27 (epic campaign estimate) · Initiative +12 · Speed 60 ft., fly 100 ft. (perfect).
AC 59, touch 37, flat-footed 51 (10 base, 0 size, +8 Dex, +9 divine, +22 natural, +10 deflection). HP 483 (30d8 maximized + 240 Con + 3 Toughness); Fort +36, Ref +36, Will +36. Saving-throw calculation: Outsider base +17 in each save, ability modifier, divine-rank bonus and applicable saving-throw feats. DR 20/epic (divine rank); SR 41; Divine immunities electricity, cold, acid, energy drain, ability drain and damage, mind-affecting effects, petrification and involuntary form change, disease, poison, stunning, sleep, paralysis, death effects, disintegration, and magical imprisonment and banishment; higher/equal-rank divine exceptions apply where the 3.5e divine-rank rules specify. Fire resistance 14.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 (+9) | 26 (+8) | 26 (+8) | 20 (+5) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) |
Base Attack +30; Grapple +48; Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.. Full Attack Spring Bough +51/+46/+41/+36 (4d8+12 plus 4d6 force per hit); includes the +9 divine bonus on attack rolls and +3 enhancement.
Feats (11): Improved Initiative; Combat Reflexes; Dodge; Mobility; Spring Attack; Toughness; Iron Will; Great Fortitude; Lightning Reflexes; Blind-Fight; Alertness. Skills (selected, 33 ranks): Knowledge (religion) +47, Sense Motive +50, Spot +52, Listen +52. Languages: speaks and understands languages by divine rank; mortal worshippers use regional Slavic tongues, not a universal Common.
Green Rush (Su; standard action; every 1d4 rounds). Each hostile creature in a 60-foot cone takes 18d8 bludgeoning and 8d8 force; DC 35 Fortitude half. The area becomes difficult terrain for 1 round; chosen allies instead recover 5d8 hit points.
Divine qualities: Portfolio Sense (theme: Spring Meadows), Divine Aura (up to 900 ft., Will DC 29 negates fear). The following original salient powers fill all the god’s 9 rank-based and 2 lesser-deity selections.
Eleven salient divine abilities
- First Hoofprint. At will, move action: cross up to 100 ft. between two visible spring-marked places in Spring Meadows; blocked by dimensional anchor and equivalent barriers.
- The Thawing Step. 2/day, standard action: cause spring roots to entangle foes in a 20-ft. radius (Reflex DC 35 or entangled for three rounds); allies can cross unhindered.
- Blooming Lance. 2/day, immediate action: when an ally within 40 ft. fails a Reflex save, grant a new Reflex save at the same DC; the ally must accept the second result.
- Spring’s Due. 1/day, immediate action: a wounded ally within 30 ft. regains 6d8 hp when it moves at least 10 ft. on its next turn.
- Reborn Orchard. 2/day, move action: ride a white mist-horse up to 150 ft. along a visible path without provoking attacks of opportunity.
- Flower Path. 3/day, swift action: the next successful weapon hit this round deals +4d6 untyped divine damage, not multiplied on a critical hit.
- Dancing Fields. 1/day, standard action: open the pasture road for one round, joining two points in the same estate no farther than 300 ft. apart; a planar barrier blocks the opening.
- White Horse’s Leap. 1/day, standard action: awaken a living orchard: trees form a 30-ft. barrier that grants allies cover and can be escaped with Escape Artist DC 25.
- The Green Return. 1/day, immediate action: impose a -4 penalty on one enemy attack roll within 60 ft. after the roll but before its result; allied protection within 10 ft. of a flowering branch reverses that penalty to zero.
- The Last Frost. 1/day, standard action: end one magical winter effect of caster level 20 or less on an opposed caster-level check, leaving flowers in its place.
- Spring Sight. At will, standard action: receive a clear image of a known spring shrine on the same plane for 1 round; no sound passes and lead/planar wards block this vision.
Personal spell-like abilities: caster level 30th; Charisma-based save DC 29 + spell level; includes the deity’s divine-rank bonus. At will (0); 3/day each (1st–3rd); 2/day each (4th–6th); 1/day each (7th–9th). Use the edition’s spell-like ability rules for spell resistance and concentration; no components are required. Native divine domain powers: The printed spells of domains this deity grants are also spell-like abilities at will (caster level 19; Charisma save DC 10 + spell level + Cha modifier + divine rank). This granted-domain repertoire is separate from the limited-use personal campaign powers.
| Level | Personal powers | Save DC if applicable |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | create water, guidance | 29 |
| 1 | entangle | 30 |
| 2 | barkskin | 31 |
| 3 | plant growth | 32 |
| 4 | freedom of movement | 33 |
| 5 | awaken | 34 |
| 6 | transport via plants | 35 |
| 7 | animate plants | 36 |
| 8 | animal shapes | 37 |
| 9 | shapechange | 38 |
Granted Domains and Spells for Worshippers
D&D 3.5e clerics choose two of Plant, Healing or Sun and gain their normal domain powers and spell slots. Plant permits rebuking plant creatures, Healing improves caster level for healing spells, and Sun provides greater turning once per day. 3.5e domain rules.
| Spell level | Plant | Healing | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | entangle | cure light wounds | endure elements |
| 2 | barkskin | cure moderate wounds | heat metal |
| 3 | plant growth | cure serious wounds | searing light |
| 4 | command plants | cure critical wounds | fire shield |
| 5 | wall of thorns | mass cure light wounds | flame strike |
| 6 | repel wood | heal | fire seeds |
| 7 | animate plants | regenerate | sunbeam |
| 8 | control plants | mass cure critical wounds | sunburst |
| 9 | shambler | mass heal | prismatic sphere |
Divine relic: Green Rider’s Wreath
Once per day the wreath casts mass bear’s endurance (caster level 11) on creatures within 30 feet; it also grants woodland stride for 1 hour.
Sources and Licensing
Historical roots. The Jarilo or Yarylo figure is best known through seasonal folk rites documented long after the medieval period. Michał Łuczyński discusses the reconstructed relationship between Jarilo and Marzanna in “Semantics of the Spring Rites Related to Marzanna and Jarilo” (2006). See also the Encyclopedia of Ukraine and a survey of Belarusian spring traditions. Ancient divine lineage and seasonal marriages remain scholarly reconstructions; the living god, estate and adventures are campaign interpretations.
Rules and artwork. The four deity statistics and Green Rider’s Wreath rules are original, unplaytested campaign material, not official publisher deity stat blocks. Rules references: D&D SRDs, Pathfinder 1e domains, D&D 3.5e domains and divine ranks. The painted hero and symbol are campaign artwork.
Return to the Slavic Pantheon; see Mokosh, Perun, Veles, the Slavic Bestiary, and Regenerate.
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