Hei Feng

From PathfinderWiki
Hei Feng
Religious symbol of Hei Feng.
(Deity)

Titles
Duke of Thunder
Adjective
Hei Fengan
Realm
Alignment
Areas of Concern
FoG: Sea, Storms, Thunder, Wind
TXWG: Sea, Storms, Tengu, Sailors
Worshipers
Edicts
Follow your passions, make token attempts to apologize to those you have wronged, respect the power of the sea and sky, encourage flashy entertainment
Anathema
Fake friendship with those you despise; disrespect Hei Feng or his estranged wife Lady Jingxi; ignore an affront to you, Hei Feng, or Lady Jingxi
Follower Alignments (1E)
Domains (1E)
Air, Chaos, Destruction, Water, Weather
Subdomains (1E)
Catastrophe, Cloud, Ocean, Protean, Storms, Wind
Follower Alignments (2E)
Domains (2E)
Air, indulgence, lightning, water
Alternate: Destruction, travel
Favored Weapon
Symbol
Lightning bolt arcing out of a dark storm cloud
Source: Faiths of Golarion, pg(s). 22—26 (1E)
Tian Xia World Guide, pg(s). 28 (2E)

The Tian Xia god Hei Feng (Hēi Fēng; pronounced hey fon1 or Tengu as hay fehng),2 also known as the Duke of Thunder, is the god of the sea and the sky—whether either brings one good fortune or ill.34

Appearance

See also: Category:Images of Hei Feng

Hei Feng is depicted as a powerful tengu swordsman whose black feathers smoke with power. He wields a nine-ring broadsword whose blade flashes with lightning and whose nine rings crashing together causes thunder. Depictions of Hei Feng also show him being accompanied by divine servants known as the Counts of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning.34

Religious symbol

Hei Feng's religious symbol is a lightning bolt arcing out of a dark storm cloud.3

Relationships

The Duke of Thunder is emotionally tempestuous, alternately cursing his foes with profanities in battle cries and exuberantly praising street performances. He is a legendary imbiber of alcoholic beverages, and his cackling laugh is equally legendary.4

Hei Feng is married to Lady Jingxi, who was once known as the Lady of Lightning, but in a drunken stupor the Duke of Thunder destroyed his wife's beloved plum tree garden with lightning.5 The two have been separated for centuries since, and neither wishes to reconcile. While Hei Feng was a poor husband, it remains anathema for anyone—and particularly followers of Hei Feng6—to disrespect Lady Jingxi.4

Church

Hei Fang is the god of storms, wind, and the sea and has an unpredictable dualistic nature. He is both the gentle rains that nurture the village crop and the driving storm that can easily destroy that same village. Those whose lives depend on the wind and the weather pray to Hei Feng, farmers commonly ask for favourable weather, and sailors beseech him for fair winds and a safe journey.3 His most devoted followers share their patron's often reckless lust for life and passionate pursuits.4

Patron of tengu

Hei Feng is also the patron deity of tengu and is worshipped wherever they live. Due to both of these factors, Hei Feng is widely worshipped across all Tian Xia with the most notable centres of worship including: Tang Mai, Goka, Hwanggot, the tengu nation of Kwanlai, Lingshen, the islands of Minata, Minkai, Wanshou, and the aquatic nation of Xidao.3 Many are also adventurers, and their wandering ways have brought the faith of Hei Feng to distant lands.4

A group of tengu Hei Fengan priests known as the Sunderstorm Covenant were key contributors to the establishment of the tengu nation of Kwanlai, though their creed of overwhelming response to any slight has caused their faith to lose influence.7

Tian Xia celebrates Hei Feng annually in the Festival of Sea to Sky, and nowhere stages the festival with more fervor than Kwanlai, where Hei Fengans parade down the nation's coast with palanquins depicting the Duke of Thunder and his Counts. This procession visits every statue and shrine devoted to Hei Feng to pray loudly and drink the burning, potent rice liquor known as cloudless lightning before scattering firecrackers and enduring the pain of marching recklessly through their explosions. Hei Feng then rewards his favorites with fair weather during their next voyage by sea.4

References

Paizo published a major article about Hei Feng in Faiths of Golarion.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. Eren Ahn, et al. “Religion” in Tian Xia World Guide, 21. Paizo Inc., 2024
  2. Eren Ahn, et al. Kwanlai” in Tian Xia World Guide, 117. Paizo Inc., 2024
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 James Jacobs, et al. “Life in the Dragon Empires” in Dragon Empires Gazetteer, 60. Paizo Inc., 2011
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Eren Ahn, et al. “Religion” in Tian Xia World Guide, 28. Paizo Inc., 2024
  5. Eren Ahn, et al. “Religion” in Tian Xia World Guide, 32. Paizo Inc., 2024
  6. Sean K Reynolds. “Magic of the Gods” in Gods and Magic, 63. Paizo Inc., 2008
  7. Alexander Augunas, et al. “Acolytes of Apocrypha” in Divine Anthology, 24. Paizo Inc., 2016