Hel, Goddess of Death

At first glance, Hel the Lady of Death can seem like a wholly evil entity. This is not quite the whole truth. She grants passage to departed souls, guiding them to whichever afterlife they are destined for. Without her grim work, death would be the final end.

Hel is the daughter of Loki by Angrboda the giantess. She appears as a young woman, half of her face serenely sleeping, the other half skeletal and rotten.

Helheim

Those souls who are not claimed by other gods arrive in the frozen wastes of Helheim, at the bottom of the world. Here, they hibernate until the end of days.

Burial Practices

Followers of Hel embalm their dead. It is not unusual for a corpse that is several hundred years old to look like it just died, if kept in a well-tended grave. They do this out of a belief that the spirits that Hel keep will one day return from Helheim.

Hel's favor

Ideals of Hel

• Devotion My devotion to my god is more important to me than what they stand for. (Any)
• Vengeance Those that have wronged me will suffer. (Evil)
• Judgment Just as the gods judges souls, so will I do in this life. (Lawful)
• Oblivion In the cold embrace of death, there is no more pain. (Chaotic)
• Passage Upon death, all must come before the Deathqueen. (Any)
• Inevitablity In the end, no one can escape death. (Neutral)

Earning and losing piety

You increase your piety score to Hel when you expand the influence of death by committing acts such as these:

• Performing funeral rites for the fallen
• Ending a life when it is the merciful thing to do
• Comforting the friends and family of a recently deceased person
• Thwarting the schemes of those that seek to avoid death
• Destroy undead created by magic not granted by Hel

Your piety score to Hel decreases if you diminish her influence, contradict her ideals or otherwise ridicule her through acts such as these:

• Helping with or performing a resurrection without trading an equal soul to Hel
• Leave bodies on the battlefield without giving them their proper rites
• Forsaking your duties to Hel for personal gain or pleasure

Hel's Devotee

Piety 3+ Hel trait

The cold embrace of death protects you. You can cast False Life at will.

Hel's Adherent

Piety 10+ Hel trait

You are granted some power over the passage of souls. You can cast Speak With Dead once per long rest, and you have advantage on death saving throws.

Hel's Disciple

Piety 25+ Hel trait

The White Lady extends her favor to you, allowing you to bypass her rules. You gain resistance to cold and necrotic damage. You can also cast Raise Dead with this trait, without the need for a material component. When you do so, you cannot cast the spell again using this trait for 9 (2d8) days.

Champion of the Dead

Piety 50+ Hel trait

You can increase your Constitution or Wisdom by 2 and also your maximum for that score by 2.