As I've previously noted, while the traditional D&D campaign is more medieval the world of this campaign is a little more renaissance. In the human lands, education and learning are common among all but the poorest, and the people are inclined toward science and magic rather than magic or religion.
Largely, this is because the people of the world had to learn to be more self sufficient. It is believed that there was a war among the gods over a thousand years ago, a war in which the forces of good defeated the forces of evil, but at great cost to themselves. Divine power became scarce, leading to the Dark Age. Ingenuity and innovation have allowed humanity to flourish without the gods, as have gnomes, who tend toward scientific pursuits. The more traditional elves, halflings, dragonborn, and minotaurs have suffered more. Elven territory has shrunk, halflings have gotten by mostly by integrating into human society, and dragonborn are nearly extinct. Orcs are held back by their own savagry. Dwarves have managed to maintain their traditions and support their society through a robust economy based on mining and smithing.
The average human is not particularly pious. However, there are still gods that are recognized, especially on holy days, and some even have churches and clergy in the human lands. Clerical magic, though, is rare. And, as they were the defeated, evil deities are very rare in the human lands.
The following is a list of known deities:
Chislev, the goddess of nature (N). She is acknowledged by humans, but rarely worshiped by them outside of druid circles. She is the primary deity of elves.
Pholtus, the god of law and civilization (LG). The primary deity of humans.
Shinare, the goddess of commerce (N). Merchants among humans, halflings, and dwarves alike honor her. Halflings are especially fond of her.
Solinari, the god of the sun (NG). Humans tend to honor him only on his holy day. Like Chislev, he's revered more by elves.
Lunitari, the goddess of the moon (CG). Like Solinari, humans honor her on her holy day, and she's more popular with elves.
Oghma, the god of knowledge (N). He's respected among most races as a keeper of history. As a god of learning, humans consider him second only to Pholtus, and as the patron of science he is the primary deity of the gnomes.
Ozryel, the god of death (LN). Ozryel has very few worshipers, but members of most races pray to him as part of their funerals or death rites. Ozryel is the grim reaper, who collects and judges the souls of the dead.
Habbakuk, the god of the sea (CN). Human sailors honor him, lest they be lost at sea and drowned. Habbakuk is venerated by races that live in the sea, like sea elves.
Talos, the god of storms (CN). Talos is honored as a force of nature by elves. Humans tend to pray to Talos in one of two scenarios: either to be spared from a violent storm, or to bring rain in times of drought. Talos is sometimes worshiped by barbarians of all races, though, who hope to tap into a storm's fury during combat.
Mishakal, the goddess of healing and medicine (NG). While human doctors tend to rely on science, prayers to Mishakal are not uncommon among humans, elves, halflings, gnomes, and dwarves alike.
Garagos, the god of strength and battle (N). Garagos is worshiped mainly by human nomads and less savage orcs who enjoy battle as a sport and see physical strength as a virtue. Human soldiers will occasionally say a prayer to Garagos before battle, but more often than not will stick to praying to Pholtus.
Bhaal, the god of murder (NE). Open worship of Bhaal is scorned at best, prohibited at worst. His worship persists, however, in various assassins guilds.
Mask, the god of thieves (NE). Like Bhaal, the worship of Mask is taboo, although not to the same degree. He is sometimes worshiped by rogues of all races, especially in Thieves Guilds.
Moradin, the god of smithing (LG). Rarely worshiped by humans, he is considered the primary deity of the dwarves.
Dumathoin, the god of mining (NG). Another important dwarven deity largely ignored by humans. Some gnomish jewlers will honor him.
Auril, the goddess of winter (NE). Her name is cursed more than honored by humans. Elves honor her as a part of nature, however.
Lolth, the goddess of chaos (CE). Most humans are unaware of Lolth's existence. She is the primary deity of the drow, however.
Gruumsh, the god of conquest (CE). It is said that Gruumsh was a popular deity in the time before the war of the gods. Today, Gruumsh is seen as an enemy of Pholtus and civilization, so the only humans who worship him tend to be evil barbarians. He is the primary deity of the orcs, though.
Sargonnas, the god of vengeance and fire (LE). Like Gruumsh, it is believed that the worship of Sargonnas was more prevalent in the time before the war of the gods. Humans who seek revenge will sometimes swear an oath to Sargonnas, and he has some followers in those who believe that vengeance against the guilty is a necessary part of law. He is the primary deity of minotaurs.
Bahamut, the god of justice (LG). Bahamut is the primary god of good dragons and dragonborn. He's tolerated by humans, but humans see justice as a matter of law, and therefore Pholtus.
Tiamat, the goddess of avarice (LE). Worship of Tiamat is unheard of by elves, humans, and gnomes. She is rarely worshiped by evil dwarves and halflings, as well as some drow and kobolds. She is the primary deity of evil dragons and dragonborn.
In addition to these deities, from time to time a cult will spring up, claiming to worship one of the old gods killed or forgotten during the dark ages after the war of the gods. They tend to die out quickly. Those that don't are, more often than not, actually worshiping demons or devils, such as Orcus or Asmodeus. Such cults are almost universally condemned as evil and/or heretical, although worship of the demon Yeenoghu has become the primary religion of the gnolls.
