[2e] Monster Mythology Update Project

[AuldDragon]

Just in time for the spookiest month of the year comes the Queen of the Unseelie Court, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Sister to Titania, the Queen was corrupted by darkness, and has become the antithesis of all the beneficent faeries stand for. She spreads the corruption that brought her down to the lands of the sylvan folk, and in this way also serves almost as a native deity of darkness for the elves of the surface. I attempted to add depth to the Queen for this entry by exploring a bit of what I think she was before her corruption, and how that shaped who she became after encountering the Black Diamond. I also drew some inspiration from other sources of the name Queen of Air and Darkness, and used that to flesh out her character as well.

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Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The last of the neogi deities, P'kk the Dominator is the god of neogi captains, who control their crew and captives through tyrannical fear. It is the only member of the neogi pantheon to live in Baator, the Nine Hells, but it keeps a close eye on its brethren, watching for any weaknesses it can exploit. It is also the only member of the pantheon to have a form other than that of most neogi, as it favors a form that merges the head of a neogi with the body of an umber hulk.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The second of the Derro Twins, banished from the Morndinsamman for their crimes, is Diinkarazan, the Mad God. Betrayed by his brother and imprisoned by Ilsensine, he has been driven mad by the hallucinations inflicted by the mind flayer god. However, he gains lucidity periodically, but not for long enough to effect his freedom.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Originating in The Ecology of the Korred by Ed Greenwood (Dragon #119), Tapann the Undying is referenced occasionally in Forgotten Realms material as the god of korreds of the High Forest. Similar to Damh (and merged with him in later material), he is an interesting sylvan power outside of the Seelie Court, and represents an active force in the preservation of korred life and lands.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The sweet-sounding but dire Lich-Lord Mellifleur is the god of liches, elevated to godhood through a cosmic accident. Due to the circumstances of his elevation, he acts against the villainous deity, or deities, whose power he inadvertently stole, and as such he occasionally can be an ally to some good powers.

Jeff

[Scots Dragon]

This is some spectacular work.

[AuldDragon]

This is some spectacular work.

Thanks! I really appreciate it! :D

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The next member of the younger generation of elven deities originally published in Dragon Magazine #155 (and updated in #236), Kirith Sotheril specializes in the subtle magics of divination and enchantment magic, and represents the piercing of illusions and lies to reveal the truth. She is seen as a bright, enchanting lady who favors scintillating colors and magical lights as well.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

While not a true deity, Cryonax the Prince of Evil Ice and the other archomentals cultivate small followings to further their ambitions against their enemies on the Inner Planes. The cults are small as yet, but may grow with time. As only uniquely powerful near-powers, the archomentals can only grant up to 3rd level spells to their followers on the Prime Material Plane, unless they appear in person.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Another of the Tanar’ri lords elevated to godhood, Juiblex the Faceless Lord is the Demon Prince of Ooze. Patron of aboleths and intelligent amorphs, the Slime Lord has inscrutable and unknown goals, keeping mainly to itself and not even participating in the politics of the Abyss. On the Prime Material Plane, it is also favored by insane cultists or those desiring power.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

An older elven power, but one who has lost much of his status, Mythrien Sarath is the power who oversees mythal magic, abjurations, and protection. With his lone avatar trapped on the Prime Material Plane after a botched ritual to restore his loss of standing, he now broods in his castle in Arvandor.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Another of the Archomentals, Olhydra is the Archomental of Evil Water. She is possibly the closest of all of the archomentals to becoming a true deity, given her diverse array of worshipers. However, she is still not yet a true power, and thus cannot grant spells above 3rd level at this point as with the other archomentals.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Originally published in Dragon Magazine #298 for 3rd Edition, Keptolo the Eager Consort offered a nice alternative to Vhaeraun and Selvetarm for male drow living within the matriarchal societies of Lolth-worshipping drow, and had some connections with another deity I plan to work on Zinzerena. Further, he had no strong connections or contradictions with other material, so he was a great candidate for writing up as a 2nd Editions deity. Enjoy!

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Just in time for the Halloween season comes Kanchelsis the Lord of Vampires! He is a dual-natured deity, both a sophisticated, high-society bon vivant and a wild creature of brutal hunts and violence. This duality is the same as that held by vampires within mortal, living society. Enjoy!

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The third of the evil archomentals, Yan-C-Bin, the Prince of Evil Air, is a subtle and hidden creature. He wages an endless cold war with his rival, Chan, while also wandering, gathering information, and using the destructive power of air on various planes. It is said that one day he and Chan will meet, and only one will survive the encounter.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Patron of the snow elves, Tarsellis Meunniduin is the Seldarine deity of mountains and high-altitude wilderness. Like the Snow Elves themselves, he has isolated himself from the Seldarine due to disputes and a general preference for being alone.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The next of the Princes of Elemental Evil is Ogremoch. The least subtle of all of the archomentals, the Stone Tyrant seeks to inspire and create a great juggernaut of evil who will spread destruction throughout his home plane and many others, although as yet none of his attempts have met with his own satisfaction.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes Shami-Amourae, the Demon Princess of Eros and the Lady of Delights! Originally appearing in Dungeon #5 and updated to 2nd Edition with the Dungeon anthology The Road to Danger, Shami-Amourae is much like the succubi she claims dominion over. In 3rd Edition she was supplanted by another tanar’ri, but that figure does not appear in any 2nd Edition sources that I could find, so I stuck with the Lady of Delights as described in the above two products.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

One of the more interesting and less-developed races in Spelljammer were the stout grav, a race of miners who are able to manipulate gravity. The material presented for them makes no actual mention of a deity or faith that they follow or even priests, but it typically strikes me as unusual when races have no deities in D&D. Since the grav have featured heavily in the current leg of my Spelljammer campaign, it gave me ample opportunity to work on their culture and faith, and so I created the deity Kavor the Lord of Gravity for them.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The ruthless Prince of Evil Fire Creatures is Imix, a warlord who strives to dominate all with his fiery destruction. He plans and strategizes in steps, completing one before moving to the next. it is widely held that should he succeed in his current war against Olhydra, no other archomental would be able to match his power.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

One of the most infamous of Abyssal lords, and star villain of a pair of Planescape modules, Orcus is the Demon Prince of Undeath. Once arguably the most powerful of the tanar'ri, he was slain by Kiaransalee, but perhaps unsurprisingly, he managed to return as the undead Tenebrous. With this loss of status and following, he is now attempting to rebuild his strength in a more surreptitious fashion.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The enigmatic insectare are a race of insect creatures with an elf-like appearance, first appearing in the second Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium appendix (MC09). Little is known about them other than their reclusive nature and desire to rule the spacelanes by undermining the Imperial Navy and other organizations; neither is there much known about their deity, Klikral. I chose to explore what their connection to the elven peoples are in this writeup of that little-detailed instectoid god.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The first of the archomentals of good is Chan, the Princess of Good Air Creatures. She wages an endless information cold war with her rival Yan-C-Bin while wondering the Elemental Plane of Air and the Prime Material Plane engaging in subtle acts of goodness that lead to much larger long-term effects.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The creator of the aboleths, known as Piscaethces the Blood Queen, lives deep in a hidden bog-cavern in Minauros. She is a lethargic power despite her desire to guide her followers to domination of all other creatures. She is, however, known to send her occasional offspring to Prime Material Plane, where they often become among the most powerful of savants.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

Just in time for the spooky season of October is Cegilune, goddess of hags. She rules the night hags of the Gray Waste and conducts trade in larva with diverse dark powers, while also haunting the Prime Material Plane in search of magic and souls to turn into more larva. With her, I chose to incorporate some of the European legends about witches just as I incorporated some similar Eastern information into her potential sister, Ysshara.

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The weakest of the archomentals is Zaaman Rul, the prince of good fire creatures and rumored offspring of Imix. Representing the positive and beneficial aspects of fire, he perhaps naively attacked his father’s forces, but suffered a complete rout, forcing him into hiding until he can rebuild. Nothing like an underdog on the side of good to generate some excellent plot hooks!

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

One of the more interesting elven powers, and one who has estranged himself from his kin, is Darahl Firecloak. Once known as Tilvenar, a debacle with an evil artifact caused a great loss of status and led to him reinventing himself and looking outside the normal elven groups to rebuild his faith. Incorporated into this entry is a tidbit from Eric Boyd’s “Havens of Miyeritar,” available on DM’s Guild. Enjoy!

Jeff

[AuldDragon]

The cold of winter brings the enigmatic and imprisoned god of eternal darkness and decay, known simply as the Dark God. Said to have been imprisoned long ago in order to preserve all of creation, mythology also presents it as a being that will preside over the destruction of all things when he is eventually released.

Jeff