Saint Regina of the Bow

Origins. St. Regina of the Bow was a noblewoman from the Crossroads who journeyed to the Northlands in search of adventure and became one of Sif’s most prominent and popular saints. Known for her uncanny skill with the bow, Regina is also known as the patron saint of archers and is praised by most archers throughout Midgard.

Regina grew up in the town of Peltzenheim as a pampered but lonely child. When she turned 15, she was married off to the son of another noble and went to live in Zigistad. The marriage was not an unhappy one, though Regina found the trivialities of noble life boring in the extreme. Just 2 years into her marriage, Regina’s husband was killed in a local dispute before she had any children, and she found herself a widow. Without any heirs to look after, she was freed from the burden of having to watch over her husband’s affairs by her in-laws and was sent back home. This did not sit well with Regina, and instead, she took a sum of coin and made her way north to the city of Stannasgard.

Highly adept with the bow from an early age, Regina quickly found employment as an archer in one of the many mercenary guilds operating in the area and made a name for herself with her fierce temperament and remarkable battle prowess. During these years, Regina found love and companionship with an elfmarked ranger named Erkil Koldasson and bore him several children. She also became a cleric of Sif after a chance encounter with the goddess herself while traveling through the wilds on a cold, moonlit night.

It was not until her forties that Regina truly came into her own, and stories of her exploits during this time are the stuff of legend. They include felling the mighty green dragon Lookingdeath with a single arrow to the creature’s eye while it soared hidden behind a cloudbank; cutting a rope from over a thousand paces, thereby sending an entire platoon of over fifty hobgoblins tumbling into a ravine; and competing with the little-known demi-god Uller in a contest to strike a flea off of the back of a hound, which ended in a controversial draw.

Regina died like a true warrior-priest of Sif—in battle protecting a group of children from a band of rapacious jotun (see Tome of Beasts) looking for slaves. Shortly after her death, Regina was ordained as a saint.

Followers. St. Regina’s followers are split into two distinct camps: those who praise her as an outstanding mother and cleric of Sif, and those who revere her as the patron saint of archers. The latter group is much larger and is rather vociferous in its praise of the saint. Unfortunately, this group is often involved in bitter rivalries with the followers of other famous archers, including the legendary elven prince Elevandur, who it is said once shot an arrow into the moon, and Sif’s own son, the demi-god Uller. Generally, these rivalries are resolved with a simple contest, but more than one of these events has deteriorated into open warfare.

Blessings and Miracles. An image of St. Regina will sometimes appear before an archer going into battle against the forces of evil or before a mother protecting her children, granting them the use of a spell such as bless or cure wounds. Very rarely, a valkyrie (see Tome of Beasts), matching Regina’s description and wielding a longbow rather than a spear, will appear beside the person and aid them in battle.

Regina’s legendary deeds are seen as miracles by the faithful since many of them cannot be attributed to her skill with the bow alone. Her detractors claim that several of these tales are made up, but the fact that many were witnessed by hundreds of people speaks volumes about their accuracy.

Holy Relics

The relics of the saints are items of renown and power, vitally important to those of the same faith and zealously sought after and guarded.

BOW OF THE FAITHFUL WARRIOR

Weapon (longbow), very rare (requires attunement by a cleric or paladin)

This longbow of white ash appears featureless, but once you attune to it, the symbol of your god appears burnt onto the leather grip.

This magic bow grants a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls made with it. When you hit with the bow, the target takes an additional 1d8 radiant damage.

Once per day, as a bonus action while firing this bow, you can cast a spell at a target using the bow’s range instead of the spell’s normal range. You must hit with the bow for the spell to take effect, but the target has disadvantage on any saving throw it is forced to make. Even spells with a range of touch can be cast this way, though the spell must only target a single individual. This property can’t be used again until the next dawn.

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