Monday, August 8, 2011
Gen Con 2011 Haul
OSRIC hardcover from the OSR booth. Figured I should support the cause and I didn't have an OSRIC book anymore.
Call of Cthulhu 30th Anniversary Ed
DC Adventures Heroes and Villains
A bunch of the old Mayfair Role-Aids "Demons" books. Four books and two boxed sets for 15 bucks. All still in their shrink wrap.
It's for 2nd Ed AD&D, but there are a lot of stats on the sheet (including ability scores) that all they are missing are skills and feats for 3.x.
And the Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon to stand in for Tiamat when the Dragon Slayers battle her in the final battle of their campaign.
I spent more on this than I should have and more than my wife wanted me to, but I figure it is for the kids' last D&D 3 game so it should be worth it.
Shown here with Aspect of Tiamat and Orcus. AoT takes up 3x3 squares, Orcus 4x4. The Apocalypse Dragon, or in our game it will be the full manifestation of Tiamat, takes up 7x7.
It will be brutal.
The swag bag this year had magic cards, some True Dungeon tokens and a coupon for the Gen Con d6. Though out of 4 bags we only got one coupon.
Game reviews later.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Dragonslayers: An Epic Epic of Epicness
So I am pouring over the Epic Level Handbook now. This is not something I used back when I was play 3.x, and it has taken this long for the boys to get to this level. I have some issues with it, for example the editing seems bad in places. But man this book is just full of great ideas. Some of which would be great for Epic Level Play in D&D4 or 20+ level in D&D Bacic/BECMI.
Really it is kind of a fascinating book. It takes the rules into places the original designers I don't think expected, but yet there is such an enthusiasm for it that it makes the reality of a 30-level D&D4 a no brainer.
They have not leveled up yet, they are still in the caves. I am merging the 3.x rewrite of the LSotT with the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdûn. I now have the temple far, far underground where the dengerate Norkers dwell and keep millennia old rituals alive to a God no one remembers. There will be demons, monsters of pure chaos and all sorts of evil. Maybe even a rogue Brain Collector. Love those guys.
To keep the sense of evil, dread and most importantly fear, I am still going to use the Book of Vile Darkness (both the 3.0 and 4.0 versions) but I'll also include some elder scariness from the Epic Level Handbook too.
The idea here is to build to something big, apocalyptic even. That is why I bought this thing.
The Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon to stand in for the full Goddess form of Tiamat. That is the 3.x era Aspect of Tiamat and the 4e Orcus. I am not sure how powerful she is going to be, but I am expecting HP in the low 1000 area, at least 30-35 HD and enough magic the stomp a small city-state. I want it to be so epic that the boys will tell their own kids one day. Just like the time that my characters had to defeat Orcus in the original H4 Throne of Bloodstone back in that far off time of 1987 and that mystical land sages once spoke of, Southern Illinois.
But since I also want to make all the battles leading up to this one epic in feel I am also reading other's play experience with these two modules.
Beedo over at Dreams of the Lich House has a great post on his group's battle in the Temple of Tharizdun. This is a great run down and shows that all in not quiet in this so-called Forgotten temple. James of Grognardia gives us his retrospective as well. What both bloggers offer me is something I already knew, but was glad to see it all spelled out again. The Forgotten Temple is not a simple dungeon crawl. Sure it looks like one, but it isn't one. This is alien horror. This is Lovecraft meets the Satan Pit.
There is no over ridding goal to this adventure. This is uncovering a plot and then running the hell away. I'll give them chances to acquire some magic items, even face some ancient, eldritch evils.
If I ever do Tharizdûn it will have to be even bigger than the Tiamat battle.
Tharizdun. Now there is name. You don't need to know anything else about this guy other than his name to know he is up to no good.
In Gygax's Oerth he is the next best (worst) thing to Satan. He is the Source of All Evil, to borrow a page from Charmed. He is the biggest baddie there is. I'll take his "Satan" aspects and his "Thasaidon" aspects and maybe even pepper in a bit of Lovecraft for good measure.
Links I am currently reading for "inspiration".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forgotten_Temple_of_Tharizdun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tharizdun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Ashton_Smith_deities#Thasaidon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghaunadaur#Ghaunadaur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Evils
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tharizdun
http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tharizdun
http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Elder_Elemental_Eye
http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=968
http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/11/retrospective-forgotten-temple-of.html
http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/08/pulp-fantasy-library-dark-eidolon.html
http://ulmo.mux.net/greyhawk/tharizdun.html
Anyone else run an Epic level game? Or take on the Temple of Tharizdun.
Monday, March 6, 2023
Monstrous Monday: Malarea, Outcast Duke of Hell
Last week I posted This Old Dragon #91, which listed many outcasts devils for the AD&D 1st Edition game. Among these was Malarea (an obvious play on Malaria, and pronounced Mahl-ah -ree -ah). Of course, I wanted to learn more about her, but there is precious little about her in the article. So I started my deep dive.
This is almost, but not quite, detailed enough for an In Search Of... style post, but it is perfect for a Monstrous Monday.
What Is Known
The Dragon article reveals that she is a former Duke (Duchess) of Hell. She wanted to be counted among the consorts of the Archdukes of Hell, even to the point where she had assaulted an unnamed Duke's consort and would kill all the other consorts to get her way. She is violent and erratic.
At some point after her exile to Avernus, she sought out the courtship of the up-and-coming Bel only to be rejected by him.
She is described as:
... tall, human-like female with huge black wings, which tower 6 feet above her own head when furled; in short, rather like an erinyes. Her eyes are fiery red, her hair long, greasy, and black, her body sleek but powerfully muscled and of a faintly luminescent, "ghostly" white hue. Her hands have long claws, and she has large, vampire-like fangs.- Dragon Magainze (91), October 1984, p. 24
And...that is largely it to be honest. She has stats in Dragon 91 and a mention in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants Of The Nine Hells for D&D 3.5.
So let me look into who might have been likely to interact with her.
Connections
Bel
The former Archduke Bel was once her quarry, but he had rebuffed her. This had to have made her even more furious than being rebuffed by any of the other Archdukes. After all, Bel was essentially just an elevated Pit Fiend, and she was an Archdevil. I would imagine that she would do anything to see him defeated or humiliated in some way.
Malagard
These two share similar names and some physical appearances, but they are quite different. I mention her here because, for a bit, I considered making them the same person. The deeper lore of both prevents this, really.
Tiamat
We know that Malarea went out of her way to avoid Tiamat. This was back in the AD&D 1st Ed lore when Tiamat was the ruler of Avernus. It has since been retconned that Zariel was the ruler, and Bel overthrew her. So maybe, from this point of view, Malarea avoided Zariel.
Zariel
The former and current ruler of Avernus is the former Angel Zariel. If we follow the 4e and 5e notions that all the Erinyes were former angels, it stands to reason that Malarea was also one. Malarea and Zariel are physically strong, given over to fits of rage and violence, and have similar appearances and backgrounds. Are they the same? Again, I am going to go with no. Both have elements in their backstory that are largely incompatible. Malarea seeks to be counted among the consorts of Hell. Zariel wants to destroy all the devils and rule Hell on her own.
Malarea Today
What would Malarea be up to today? I imagine her status has not changed much. While there have been great upheavals in Hell in the last 40 years, change still moves slowly for the most part.
Malarea, Outcast Duke of Hell
Large Fiend (Diabolic, Baalseraph)
Frequency: Unique
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Lawful Evil]
Movement: 90' (30') [9"]
Fly: 240' (90') [24"]
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 21d8****** (116 hp)
Large: 21d20****** (137 hp)
To Hit AC 0: 6 (+14)
Attacks: 1 weapon or 2 claws, 1 bite, wing buffet
Damage: Weapon +2, 1d4+2 x2, 1d4, 1d12
Special: Baalseraph powers and immunities, magic resistance (70%), regeneration (1 hp/ 2 rounds), spell-like abilities (see below), summoning, +2 or better weapons to hit
Save: Monster 21
Morale: 12 (NA)
Treasure Hoard Class: See Below
XP: 15,250 (OSE) 15,750 (LL)
Str: 17 (+2) Dex: 17 (+2) Con: 13 (+1) Int: 16 (+2) Wis: 14 (+1) Cha: 14 (+1)
From Dragon Magainze (91), October 1984, p. 24-25:
Malarea is a bitter and envious devil. She despises many of the consorts of the Nine Hells and desires (to the point of mania) to join their ranks. If she has to slay them all to claim her rightful place among them, she will do so unhesitatingly, but rude defeats on the occasions of her bold, direct assaults in the past have made her more cautious.
Malarea remains a fiercely combative, fractious devil, given to sudden berserk rages and wild physical attacks. This temperament cost her a consortship or other position in the hierarchy of the hells, and has undoubtedly earned her her present exile. She has learned little, however: if she recognizes an archdevil, duke, or unique greater devil, she will pause to ascertain their situation and intentions before she attacks - but she almost always attacks eventually, except when faced with impossible odds. Lesser devils and intruders are her prey - she will attack any such creatures immediately, swooping at them to bite (1d4 damage) and strike with a lance, spear, or other weapon gained from a previous victim, or bare-handed with her iron-hard claws (1d4+2). Malarea is a strong flyer, and often buffets airborne opponents with her great wings, or rams into them at full speed (1d12 damage).
Malarea can use the following spell-like powers at will, one at a time and once per round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall of fire, detect magic, dispel magic, detect invisibility, hold person, and polymorph self. She can shed fear in a 2' radius at will (save vs. spell to avoid), and can cast a delayed blast fireball (5d6) three times per day.
Malarea appears as a tall, human-like female with huge black wings (28' wing span), which tower 6 feet above her head when furled; in short, she is like an Erinyes. Her eyes are fiery red, her hair long, greasy, and black, her body sleek but powerfully muscled and of a faintly luminescent, ghostly white hue. Her hands have long claws, and she has large, vampire-like fangs. She
is usually encountered wearing some gaudy trophy of a previous victim - a gleaming necklace or jeweled belt, but she cares nothing for the value of such items and will carelessly discard one for another of gaudier appearance
This was Malarea as of the mid-1980s and 1st Edition AD&D. We know from the Fiendish Codex II that she was still an outcast as of the mids 2000s and 3rd Edition D&D. She seems to be too strong willed and angry to have changed her status.
How desperate is she today? Would she even approach Zariel for her consortship? I can see Malarea considering it but not Zariel. Besides, both devils are far too angry at their own situations.
I think if I were to update her some more (and I have an event coming up in my games that would fit the bill) I might make her the captain of the Erinyes. Her name has Latin roots (sorta) so I might rename her into something with Greek roots. Her name is close enough to Megaera ("the jealous one") for me to work with. I have done a lot of work with the Erinyes, the Keres, and the Dirae, so I am "in the market" for a leader of this group of devils. Someone other than Glasya. I just need to figure out who Tisiphone and Alecto are. Alecto, in particular, will be a challenge since some of her myths overlap with Nemesis's.
This works in another way since the Eriyes/Furies were said in Ovid's Metamorphoses to guard the gates to Dis. In D&D geography, this would put them in Avernus.
Now I just need two more unattached archdevils.
Links
- Greyhawk Wiki: Malaera
- Greyhawk Online: Malaera
- Forgotten Realms Wiki: Arch Devils, Malaera (described here as an Archdevil)
Saturday, March 17, 2018
All Hail the Prince of Demons!
Sat Sable-vested Night, eldest of things,
The Consort of his Reign; and by them stood
Orcus and Ades, and the dreaded name
Of Demogorgon
— John Milton, Paradise Lost II. 961-965
Ever since I first picked up the Monster Manual way back in 79 (or 78, I started playing in 79) there were some names that jumped out at me as an invitation to use them in some way; Orcus, Tiamat, Asmodeus, and Demogorgon.
Back when 4e was the new hotness I picked up the Orcus mini. No surprise, he is the bad guy of not one, but two campaign capstone adventures. He is also the "mascot" of both Necromancer Games and Goblinoid Games. So yeah, he is pretty popular.
Before that, I picked up the Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon to stand in for the full Tiamat. Works well.
For Asmodeus, I figure just about any devil will do really. He doesn't even really need to be big.
I have my Tharizdûn and my Lolth.
What I didn't have was a good Demogorgon.
Until now.
Last year I picked up a Demogorgon last year at AdeptiCon. Earlier this year I grabbed the Classic Creatures Collection from WotC which had two Demogorgon figures; a full size and an aspect.
I was ok, though I wished all of them were bigger. THEN I discovered the Loot Crate DX Demogorgon. Well, I wished I hadn't because I became obsessed with finding one.
Finally, this weekend my quest ended.
He is huge!
As you see he compares nicely to 4e Gargantuan Orcus.
He compares even better to his smaller "aspects". That is my demon-hunter paladin there. I hope he is ready!
None are exactly the same and that is a good thing. Demons, especially this demon, should have shifting forms.
Right now I have him hidden. My kids know all about the older Demogorgons (and Orcus and Tiamat), but this one will be a surprise.
My wife saw it too and I told her what I was doing and she is very excited. I can't wait to pull this bad boy out!
Now I all I need is a good Graz'zt mini.
Monday, August 14, 2023
#RPGaDay2023 Favourite CONVENTION purchase
There have been a few to be honest. But my most memorable was the purchase of the Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon back at Gen Con 2011.
Shown here after I got it home with the Aspect of Tiamat and Orcus. AoT takes up 3x3 squares, Orcus 4x4. The Apocalypse Dragon takes up 7x7.
This beast was originally going to be Tiamat in my games. But later on WotC would release their own monstrous Tiamat.
Tiâmat and Leviathan |
What about that Apocalypse Dragon? I still want to get my money's worth out of him. So he has been redubbed as Leviathan. Fitting, given the history my games have had with him. I will need to revisit my stats for him, though.
This gives me a chance to use both dragons.
Gen Con 2011 was also the same year I picked up all of the Mayfair Demons sets for AD&D 2nd Edition. I might need to go back to those and see if they had a Leviathan write-up. Might be fun.
I also should adopt as much as possible from the Mage Knight rules.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Retrospective, Review and Refit: M3 Twilight Calling (BECMI)
Monday, June 4, 2018
OMG: Babylonian, Sumerian and Akkadian, Part 1
And various Idols through the Heathen World.
- Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1
For this posting of One Man's God, I thought it best to go back where it all began for me.
The Babylonian myths in the Deities and Demigods are one of the most interesting collections of characters in the book really. I was fascinated by them and when I got to college I jumped at the chance to take a mythology class and learn more. There Professor Joan O'Brien (yes I remember her 30 years later, she was that good) told the story of Gilgamesh and Marduk and many others in the Enûma Eliš, or When On High. So I am likely to spend a couple of posts on this topic just because it is so rich.
Now I want to clear about one thing. I am not here to dismiss or deride the research done by James M. Ward and Robert J. Kuntz. They did what they did without the benefit of computers, the internet and the collected archeological knowledge I have access too since 1980. For example, there were some pretty significant finds in 1984 and published in 1992 that would have changed some things. Plus they were not writing for historical, archeological, or mythological scholarship. They were writing first and foremost for the AD&D game. So let's keep that all in mind when digging through the rubble of ages.
Alas, Babylon
The myths of the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians represent some of the oldest myths and stories mankind has intact. Dating back to 3500 BCE these are quite old. Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon (the Empire, not just the city) roughly share the same area between the Tigris–Euphrates rivers, they also shared related languages; Sumerian, but mostly Akkadian. They used the same cuneiform writing and they recorded them on clay tablets. They shared gods and they shared a culture. While there is more time (more than twice the time really) between the rise of the Sumerian city-states and the fall of the last Babylonian empire than there is between Babylon and now, we tend to view them as related.
Because of this I am more likely to treat the Babylonian Mythos and the Sumerian Mythos of the D&DG as being one and not two.
Druaga
Let's start with what can only be called the Poster Boy for this series. Druaga, Ruler of the Devil World. We really don't know much about this guy other than he is a real monster. We know he never appears to anyone the same way twice, yet he has a true form that frightens others. He is Lawful evil and can summon devils (except Archdevils) and can turn victims of his mace attacks into devils.
Is it me or does his mace remind you of Asmodeus' Ruby Rod?
I have a lot of issues with Druaga here.
If you thought he doesn't really seem to fit the Babylonian gods then you are right. He doesn't appear to be one of their gods at all. There is a connection to "Druj" which is an Avestan (proto-Iranian) spirit of corruption. But that concept comes from later and further away than Babylon. He appears to be made up whole cloth for this book. The only other reference to him in anything like this form is from a 1984 video game and later anime; Doruāga no Tō or The Tower of Druaga. The game features Gilgamesh and Ki, who seems to be based on the Sumerian Goddess Ki (yeah I have some issues with her too...). Druaga even looks similar to the D&DG version.
There is also the issue that despite his obvious power there is no place for him in the devils' hierarchy. He is more powerful than Asmodeus and can create new devils besides. So what gives?
In my own games, I took Druaga and I put him on the first layer of Hell in place of Tiamat (more on her in a bit). First, I figured he was a better fit since I wanted Tiamat to be Chaotic Evil and he had the look. I had already started dividing my devils into the ruling and serving classes. The rulers were the fallen angels or everyone from a pitfiend up. The servers were the less human looking devils (Eventually called "Shedim" or Demons of Rage in my games) Druaga was their leader.
To steal from the greats I had made my Hell already filled with some creatures. Some the Fallen took over and others they kicked out. I also made my first level of Hell the place where the pagans go, ala Dante's Inferno.
Over the years we have gotten a number of Rulers of Avernus; Tiamat, Bel and now Zariel. Maybe Druaga was there first.
Looking at his stats he is pretty powerful. Strength at 24, Intelligence at 18, Dexterity at 23, Constitution at 25, and a Charisma of -4. Only his 13 Wisdom fails to be godly.
He is listed as a 15th level fighter, 15th level magic-user, and 15 level assassin. If we give him 15 HD and maximum hp (d8+7 for Con) then that gives us 225 hp. Not far off from his 230.
He has 75% magic resistance as well as being immune to breath-weapons.
So why is he not ruling hell?
If we go with the Politics of Hell article as a guide, Druaga was the ruler but was deposed when the Angels fell and became Devils.
For starters, I am happy with 15 HD, though higher is also nicer. The 1e AD&D Monster Manual sets the Pit Fiend at 13 HD, so 15 HD for a former ruler, reduced in power works for me.
Druaga, Former Ruler of Hell
FREQUENCY: Unique
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVE: 12"/24"
HIT DICE: 15 (230 hp)
% IN LAIR: 95%
TREASURE TYPE: J, R
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 6-15/6-15 (1d10+5)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +3 or better
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil
SIZE: L (9' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
When the Angels fell after the War in Heaven, Druaga was already there. When faced with the legions of the Fallen, Druaga surrendered his ruby mace to the leader of the Fallen. Eventually, it came into the possession of the Arch Duke Asmodeus.
Druaga still holds considerable power. He lives in a giant ziggurat temple on Avernus where the souls of the damned still perform service to him. He can summon any devil of Pit Fiend status or lower to his aid once a day in numbers from 2-20.
Druaga has all the same immunities as do other Devils, he is also 100% immune to the effects of all breath weapons.
Next time we will talk dragons.
You can read Part 2 here.
You can read Part 3 here.
Thursday, October 28, 2021
This Old Dragon: Retrospective, Devils and the Nine Hells
It's the last full week of Halloween (October to you mundanes out there) so what better topic than the go over all of the Devils that have appeared in the pages of Dragon Magazine.
This Retrospective could go on for a long time, so I think I am going to limit myself to mostly 1st Edition treatments. Thanks to TSR bowing to the moral panic of the time we got exactly one article about Devils proper that I can find for the 2nd Ed days. They pick back up for D&D 3rd Ed, but that is getting beyond the scope of "This Old Dragon."
"The Dragon" Days
These were some of the earliest discussions on the Devils and the Nine Hells. They typically coincide with the release of the AD&D 1st Edtion Monster Manual when we introduced devils to D&D for the first time. Demons had already been added in Eldritch Wizardry for OD&D and had become a staple as these articles show. This also set the divide of Chaotic Evil Demons and Lawful Evil Devils that persists to this day. But before we get to devils proper, let's have a look at some early articles on Demons.
The Dragon #13
This issue comes to us from April 1978. This issue is notable in our discussions for two reasons. First is an ad in the back for the Monster Manual and secondly, there is the brief one-page article on Demon creation. Ok, so not devils, but the same logic could apply.
The Dragon #20
I covered this one in a proper This Old Dragon a little bit back. In this issue we have Demonology made easy; or, How To Deal With Orcus For Fun and Profit by Gregory Rihn. This expands the above article and makes it more AD&D than OD&D. Again these are demons, but the same rules can apply to devils.
The Dragon #23
This is the third attempt at a random demon system, this time from Gary himself. This one draws from the first two. Random Generation of Creatures from the Lower Planes is exactly what it says on the tin really. We should make a note here. This is for creatures of the Lower Planes, not just demons.
The Politics of Hell
Dragon #28, or more specifically for me, The Best of Dragon Vol. II gave us a landmark article that is almost entirely fluff; The Politics of Hell by Alexander von Thorn. Mr. von Thorn's only other contribution to Dragon would be 10 issues later with some skill for Traveller. He continued working, mostly on GURPS, and is still active online.
This was a landmark article that among other things it lets us know why Asmodeus, a lesser demon from the Tobit originally, was the ruler of Hell and where Satan was. The mythology presented here is extremely Judeo-Christian, so that may or may not work for a lot of games and gamers. It did however introduce me to Astaroth and by extension Astarte.
Dragon #42 would make a good choice for a future This Old Dragon. I'll have to see if I have it in my big old box of Dragons. This is the October 1980 Halloween-themed issue and has a few articles on Devils and even features on of the most famous pictures of Orcus ever.
The article "Demons, Devils and Spirits" comes to us first from Tom Moldvay. This one features four new spirits that are Lawful Good, Neutral, Chaotic Evil, and Lawful Evil. So a full house! Ashleigh Parker is next with The Possessors, or demons that can possess others. Lewis Pulsipher wraps it up with Patron Demons, a forerunner to what we will see in warlock pacts
The Nine Hells by Ed Greenwood
Not since Dragon #28's The Politics of Hell did Devils and Nine Hells get as much attention as they did in the pages of Dragons #75 and #76. There is a faint hint of the Realms here, but not so much that I felt this was world-specific. In fact, in the summer of 1983, we were still a couple more years away from the Forgotten Realms being a thing for the rest of us.
These two articles cover every layer of the Nine Hells in descending order and discuss the Dukes that rule them, their consorts, their advisors, and even some of the other devils that can be found here. There are shades of Dante's Inferno here but this is pure D&D.
This series casts such a long shadow that one would be forgiven if they forgot that Gary opened the series with the Devils that would appear in the upcoming Monster Manual II. This includes the Abishai devils, which are the spawn of Tiamat. Even though in my personal campaigns I have taken Tiamat out of Hell, the Abishai remain and are still her spawn.
Combining these we can see there is a certain level of world-building that has gone on past the publications of books like the Deities & Demigods. In particular, all non-Devil Gods have been kicked out of the Hells. I took this a step further and even removed Tiamat and placed her on her own plane.
The articles are long and just filled with great information. It would not be until the later AD&D 2nd Ed years that we would get this much detail on Devils.
For Dragon #400, Wizards reprinted the entire series, with AD&D 1st ed stats.
Dragon #91
Greenwood (and Gygax) are back a little more than a year later. Gary has a revised Goristro demon from Monster Manual II. But the big news is Ed has more Nine Hells with some details left out of the original series. It is quite a long one to be honest. Of note for me there is a devil "Gargoth" that should replace "Astaroth" from the Politics of Hells article. We are told that Astaroth is a demon prince, but that is all. Astaroth/Astarte just can't catch a break at all.
This is followed by Eight Devilish Questions, something of a FAQ about devils.
Interestingly enough, this is also the issue that Ed gives us the sword that would change my campaign in very profound ways; Demonbane.
What the Hell is a Baatezu?
Dragon #223
It will be a little more than 10 years before we get anything else about Devils in the pages of Dragon. This time it is a similar article to Politics of Hell but the new Lords of the Nine only have a little connection to old lords. Some are the same like Dis, others are related, like Fierana, and others still are new or so heavily disguised they might as well be new (Levistus and the Dark Lord respectively).
Honestly, it wasn't until Wizards of the Coast bought TSR that we ever got proper Devils back. These lords though have been woven back into the history of the Devils since 3e. Even in this article the term "Devil" to mean these fiends is never used.
Final Thoughts
Doing a retrospective like this is mostly just time-filling fluff unless I want some takeaways from it all.
Cosmic Chicken
There seems to be a game of cosmic chicken going on in the early depictions of devils. While there are some that are different in their mythological origins, Geryon from Dante's Inferno and the Erinyes from Roman Myth to name two, the vast majority of these creatures, especially the ones in Dragon, are from Judeo-Christian sources. That is of course except for The Devil himself. The authors are willing to pour through all the Medieval demonologies for names, but when it comes to Satan they blink. That is except for one article. I get it. There is a lot of baggage with "The Devil" both for religious and cultural reasons. If you are going to mine "The Inferno" and "Paradise Lost" then why leave out one of the main characters?
Though I will admit I have also struggled in using the Big D in my games, only because it needs to be something special.
Worlds Apart
While a lot of "game rules" can be applied to both demons and devils equally, I am reminded in this retrospective that they are not, and should not be the same. So while I was mentally looking over the differences and resorting (something that D&D 4e tried to do as well and met with some successes but most criticism from the fans) them into different categories, one category began to show itself in a surprising way.
Gary was better at creating demons and demon-like devils, Ed Greenwood was better at devils. So for this reason I have decided that in my games demons take a larger interest in the world of Oerth (Greyhawk) and devils take more of an interest in the world of Toril (Forgotten Realms). There are some exceptions of course. Orcus has tried to make headway into the Realms many times. But generally speaking in the games I have run and the D&D novels I have read, this seems to hold true.
Monday, July 15, 2019
Monstrous Monday: Scorpion Men
We used them a bit back then, often as reskinned Driders, using the Necronomicon name, "Akrabu".
Later they popped up again in 2nd Ed under the name Tlincalli and Manscorpion. Though I never really used them then since I was deep into Ravenloft and these creatures didn't fit what I was doing at the time.
Much, much later I revisited these guys and used them in my Buffy/Willow&Tara/Unisystem game The Dragon and the Phoenix. Here I went past the rather thin details in the Simon Necronomicon and included more detail from Babylonian/Sumerian/Akkadian myths. Here they were called Aqrabuamelu or Girtablilu, names later picked up by later D&D authors and homebrewers.
Whatever the name these creatures all shared a number of traits. They were huge scorpions with the centaur-like upper bodies of men, covered in red chitin like that of giant scorpions. Some had human hands, others had the pincers of scorpions. The first ones were created by Tiamat to avenge the death of her consort Apsu. They are one of the creatures that were responsible for her name "Mother of Monsters". Later it is said they guard the gates of Darkness so the Sun God may enter at the end of the day. Their site is terrible to behold and they cause death with a glance.
Additionally, there were the "Tzitzimime" of the Aztecs which were believed to be the spirits of fallen gods (demons?) that took the form of scorpion men. Hedetet of the Egyptians was a scorpion headed goddess who would later be absorbed by Isis.
Here are the Scorpion Men for the Blueholme Journeymanne Rules, my current "Basic" of choice these days.
SCORPION MEN
AC: 3
HD: 10d8
Move: 45
Attacks: 2 claws, 1 sting, or 1 weapon
Damage: 1d6 (claw) x2/ 1d4 (sting) or 1d8 (weapon)
Special: Sting save vs. Poison 4d8 (half with save)
XP: 1,700 (2,200 xp for Scorpion Women)
Alignment: CE
Treasure: None
Abilities: +2 Strength, -3 Charisma
Climb Surfaces +15%, Hear Noise +5%, Read Languages +5%, Read Scrolls +5%, Use Wand +5%
And for D&D 5e.
Scorpion Man
Large monstrosity, chaotic evil Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 90 (10d10 + 40) Speed 45 ft., climb 45 ft.
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +9 Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15 Languages Draconic, Undercommon Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Spider Climb. The scorpion man can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. Web Walker. The scorpion man ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing. ACTIONSMultiattack. The scorpion man makes three attacks, either with its longsword or its longbow. It can replace one of those attacks with a sting attack.Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage plus 18 (4d8) poison damage. Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage, or 8 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage if used with two hands. Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage. Description Scorpion Men (and Women) are horrid creations from the dawn of time. Believed to have first been created by the Goddess Tiamat, they have since moved on into the service of other gods. Set is known to employ many of these creatures and ones that are less evil serve Hedetet. Standing over 7 feet tall and 9 feet long these creatures are large and strong. They can attack with their claws or weapon as some (50%) have scorpion claws for hand and others (50%) have humanoid hands that can hold weapons. All possess a stinging tail like that of a scorpion that can sting one attack per round. The attack does 1d4 points of damage plus poison. The poison of the attack can do 4d8 points of damage or half with a save vs. poison/Constitution. Those immune to poison attacks take no poison damage. Scorpion Men are often used as elite guards. They typically armed with a long spear, a khopesh sword or a longbow. Scorpion Women: These creatures appear as their male counter-parts save for a scorpion's head on top of a female torso. Their lower parts are still that of a scorpion. Due to their connection to both Tiamat and Hedetet, they make excellent magic-users and witches. They may cast spells as a 7th level witch or magic-user. Scorpion women are much rarer than males, being outnumbered 1 to 10. |
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Going (Up) to Hell? Cosmology
I was reading a very interesting post by Mike Mearls the other day about dropping the structure of the planes in favor of something more local. Read his post here, http://kotgl.blogspot.com/2010/01/kill-planes-abyss.html.
Ok? good.
I think his reasons of course are sound and fit nicely with something I have wanted to do forever. When I first picked up that 1st Ed copy of Deities and Demigods I loved the Planes. It had so many interesting places and so many things to do. I got very attached to the Great Wheel cosmology that I began to evaluate fantasy and later horror on how closely it fit that model. Then I began to get lazy. Not in the sense that would not write, quite the opposite, I would come up with elaborate schemes to make things fit the model or not. Whether it needed to or not. Even in my AD&D Grand Opus Adventure the characters went to Hell to confront the evils that invaded their world there was still the Great Wheel. It worked, then, but now I feel it's limitations. Well along came 3rd Edition and suddenly the planes are mutable, changing and even expected to be different depending on how you look at them; 4E changes this even more.
Mike Mearls mentions in his blog that one of the issues of the planes being "out there" that they lose some of their value. History tells us that demons, devils and other bad things came from under-ground, or beyond that mountain or from across the sea; here there be monsters. Monsters come from "beyond the sky" in Lovecraft related fiction, which is fine for tentacle horrors, but devils at least are concerned with the same things humans are. Devils need to be close. They need to be something the common man, woman and child fears. Not just because they are evil, but because they are nearby.
Mike says move the Abyss to your world, I say move Hell.
Hell in 4e now seems to be a planet floating somewhere in the Astral Sea. This puts it on par with everything else, even Heaven. Now I am not a religious person, but doesn't Hell lose some of what makes it Hell if it just a planet with bad environmental conditions? They describe it as planet some 7,000 miles in diameter with the "layers" lower and lower subterranean continent sized caverns. Like Mearls, I say take all that and shove it inside your world. Drill down a few hundred miles and there is the entry way to Hell. Just like Dante described. What keeps the devils in? Same thing that keeps them there now, gates. Like the roach motel it is, it is easy to get, impossible to get out. Or nearly such. Of course the point between the Underdark and Abyss sharing a nature is sound, I think I can get the same thing with the Nine Hells really. In fact I might even make Lolth more like a devil (she is more devil like than demon like anyway) given her status as former Goddess, cast out and down. Sound familiar? It certainly fits with what Hell is supposed to be better, an underground dungeon for the damned. The Abyss is a maelstrom of evil and chaos, it fits better in the planes.
Of course this is not without issues. First, and the one that concerns multi-versal games the most, is that Hell inside a planet means that for every copy/twin/multiverse that planet is in there is a corresponding Hell. This might be fine really. I don't care for some of the changes made to some of the Arch Dukes in the last few books (3 & 4), but I can write that off as that is just the way things are in that universe. Which is something we all do anyway, I am just making it explicit. Of course the new 4e cosmology also gives us the Shadowfell and the Feywild, which I like, but if they are dark and twisted reflections of our own world then what about the Hell for those worlds? I say that their Hells are ours. That if you drill down in the Shadowfell you end up in the same Hell as if you did it in the Feywild or the campaign world.
Back in the day there was a great series of Dragon articles about the various Arch Dukes and Dukes of Hell. The article began with a bit of fiction about a Paladin (a holy warrior for good) marching on to Hell to defeat evil at the source. This scene works better today than it even did then with Devils now generally evil rather than exclusively "Lawful Evil". And it works better if the Paladin is marching to Hell, not paying a wizard for an Astral Projection spell.
Sure *where* it is physically located might mean little to PCs and DMs with access to magical means of travel, but the world should make sense to normal people too. What is there to fear about a creature, evil and immortal or not, if it takes a great amount of magic to get them here.
Gygax was a reader of Dante, Milton and of Ovid. These authors, as much as anything and maybe more so, shaped what we think of when we think of Hell. "Planet Hell" inside the Earth/World then fits very well with all these writers. More than a plane "out there" somewhere. Which does bring up an interesting point. Here is a quote from Milton's "Paradise Lost",
So. Lucifer is cast out of Heaven and down into Hell, he meets up with these demons in some…what, ante-chamber of Hell, a place where Chaos rules with Night. Sounds like the Abyss, but where is that again? I have often wanted to merge Hell and they Abyss into one place where demons are the masses of creatures and devil are the upper-class. If I put Hell inside my world (or the Abyss like Mearls) then do I have room for both? Do I need both? Are they the same thing with different names? Then there are other issues I have avoided because of the aforementioned laziness. Tiamat is described in myth as "chaos" and her body is destroyed to make the firmament of the Earth. But then she gets tossed into Hell? Sure, it fits the outcast god model, but Tiamat is chaos. Lilith is also cast out, but she wants order, her own order, but order all the same; at least that is how I read it. Grazzt looks like a Devil, but is a Demon or maybe he is not. And there is the bit from Milton. So what is a world builder to do? And where is this antechamber of Hell were Demogorgon and Orcus act as the Welcome Wagon for Lucifer and the cast out Angels, now Devils? Hell has the River Styx, where the souls of the dead are ferried across, but now the souls of the dead move through the Shadowfell. This makes me want to break out the WitchCraft RPG seprioths and see if I can't make it all work.
At the bottom there is a dark chasm who feeds into the elemental chaos. I like the description of the Abyss in the new Manual of the Planes, it makes it sound like a black hole in the Astral.
It needs some work to be sure. Demons, like Demogorgon, Orcus, Pazuzu and others have more interest in human affairs than the mindless hoards of demons because they are more devil like, and thus, more human like. Older demons such as Dagon are more elemental chaos. Even Tiamat now is more demonic than diabolic. This helps explain the Bloodwar a bit better, explains the similarity between demons and devils and why in popular parlance (in the world) they are often confused. It also helps explain why some seem to switch sides every now and then. Or simply put, devils are the cast out immortals of good that betrayed or otherwise became evil. Demons always were evil.
Of course I could keep the Abyss as is in 4th Ed. There are plenty of good reasons to keep it in the elemental chaos in the Astral. Demons are more elemental, more chaotic obviously and more alien. Of "demon" can just be a term to refer to anything that is evil that is not a devil. If I go that route then "Devils" would refer only to the Fallen and things like Ice Devils, Malebranche and the like are demons, just a different kind. After all, Succubi were demons and now they are devils, so it's not like there isn't precedent.
What does removing the demons and devils from the "outer planes" rob us of in D&D? Well, Planescape to a large degree would need to be rethought. To a lesser extent the nature of Tieflings will need to be changed, though maybe not. Typically to get to those outer planes takes characters of some power, so there is the build up to go to their home turf and fight that is now gone; ie. anyone can find the opening to Hell and stumble in.
OR maybe demons come the "Hells" of the Shadowfell and Feywild.
Of course there is one huge advantage of reshaping the planes. I can shape them in a way to work with either my 4th Ed game or my OSR/Basic game or even something like Ghosts of Albion.
That is the fun thing about fantasy cosmology, it can be a mutable as I need it to be.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Goddesses of the Witches
Names of the Goddess
The Goddess is known by many names, but each is but an aspect of the true goddess. What follows is a listing of Goddesses from Earth’s mythologies. In each case a possible or likely alignment is included as well as areas of domains for clerics and witch coven spells. Descriptions of that Goddess’ coven might also be included.
Artemis
Witches who worship the Artemis aspect of the Goddess are on good terms with druids. These witches are common in amazon societies. As a witch of Artemis a woman pledges never to copulate with a man. These witches are both chaste and celibate. These witches may also choose to take the bow and arrow as their weapon.
She is part of a trinity of Artemis (maiden), Hestia (mother), and Hecate (crone).
Alignment: N or CG
Areas of Influence:Hunting, Moon, Women
Astartë
Astartë (Ah-star TAY) is the goddess of love, fertility as well as war and lasciviousness (lust) to the ancient peoples of Canaan and Phoenicia, she was worshiped as far West as Carthage, Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus. Her name and cult were derived from Babylonia, where as Ishtar, she represented the evening and morning stars and was accordingly androgynous in origin. Under Semitic influence, however, she became solely female, although retaining a trace of her original character by standing on equal footing with the male divinities. She represents the productive power of nature. She is also a moon goddess. Her symbol is the crescent moon with “horns” turned up.
She is related to the devil Astoroth, some say that she is now this devil, others say that that Astoroth is her son/consort. Astoroth has also been associated with the Canaanite god of Thamudzi/Damuz.
Alignment: N or LN
Areas of Influence:Fertility, Magic
Athena
The Goddess of War and Wisdom sprang fully grown and armored from Zeus’, her father, head. She represents wisdom in matters of life and war.
Her worshippers are normally generals fighting just causes. The witches of this sect are usually on good terms with those of Artemis. This witch is favored in the Craft of the Wise tradition because of Athena’s renowned wisdom. They may choose the spear as their weapon.
Alignment: LG
Areas of Influence: War, Wisdom, Women
Bast
Bast is an ancient Goddess and the mistress of all cats. Nearly every Find Familiar spell known invokes her name. Witches of Bast, few as they are, live a cat-like life style. They prefer the comforts and leisure life that cats enjoy. Then spend long afternoons lying in the sun and enjoying the sensuous side of life. Regardless, do not confuse leisure with laziness. Witches of Bast are dedicated fighters of evil, in particular the workings of the minions of Set. Witches of Bast may choose weapon mastry in one edged weapon at the loss of one feat. They also gain a +1 to hit and damage when fighting snakes.
Her consort is Aelurus, who appears as a tanned human male with a cat’s or lion’s head.
Alignment: NG or N
Areas of Influence: Cats, Good, Hunting
Brigit
Brigit, also known as Brigantia, Bridget, or Brigid, is the Celtic Goddess of the rivers and rural life. She is also the Goddess of Healing, Midwifery and Wisdom. She was raised on the milk creature of the other-world, a white, red-eared cow. Brigit is one of the great Triple Goddesses of the Celtic people. She appeared as Brigit to the Irish, Brigantia in Northern England, Bride in Scotland, and Brigandu in Brittany. Many legends are told about Brigit. Some say that there are three Brigits: one sister in charge of poetry and inspiration who invented the Ogham alphabet, one in charge of healing and midwifery, and the third in charge of the hearth fire, smithies and other crafts. This actually indicates the separate aspects of her Threefold nature and is a neat division of labor for a hard-working Goddess. Indeed, various interpretations of her name exist including, “Bright Arrow,” “The Bright One,” “the Powerful One” and “The High One,” depending upon the region and the dialect.
Her coven is known as the Daughters of the Flame. These lawful good witches keep a holy flame burning at all times.
Part of a trinity of Brigit (maiden) and Danu (mother), Morigann is the crone.
Alignment: NG or LG
Areas of Influence: Fire, Healing, Wisdom
Cardea
Often called the Roman Hecate, Cardea is the goddess of doors and the knowledge behind those doors. Cardea is a capricious Goddess, often requiring her witches to memorize a section of poetry or building a center of learning in exchange for Her gifts of knowledge. Cardea is open to all who wish to seek her out, but she makes no guarantees that her knowledge will be helpful to the seeker.
Alignment: CN or CG
Areas of Influence: Knowledge, Paths, Wisdom
Cerridwen
Celtic Goddess of wisdom, intelligence, magic, divination and enchantment. She is the Goddess of the cauldron. Popular among the Celtic Classical and Craft of the Wise Traditions.
Cerridwen’s cauldron has the power to return the dead to life.
Alignment: N
Areas of Influence: Intelligence, Magic, Wisdom
Danu
The Celtic Mother-goddess known as Danu to the Irish and Don to the Welsh (and simlar to the Greek Demeter below). The race of the Tuatha deDannan means “The Children of Danu”. She is also the mother of many Irish Celtic gods Diancecht, Lir, Lugh, Oghma and others. Dagda is alternately mentioned as her son or father. She is fierce protector of home and hearth.
She is part of a trinity of Brigit (maiden), Danu (mother), and Morigann (crone).
Alignment: N
Areas of Influence: Earth, Fertility, Nature
Demeter
Also known as Kore. The great Greek Earth Goddess. She is the Goddess of grain and of the harvest. Her witch cults are among the oldest known. She goes down to the underworld to retrieve her daughter. During this time winter covers the land. Origin of most of the “Descent of the Goddess” legends.
Alignment: NG
Areas of Influence: Earth, Fertility, Nature
Diana
Diana is the Roman Goddess of fertility, the hunt and forests. She is the roman equivalent of the Greek Goddess of Artemis. But unlike Artemis, the witches of Diana are not required to be chaste or celibate. In the celebration of Beletane the witch copulates with a druid priest in order to bring fertility back to the earth. Some have even become Tantric witches. Obviously these witches are on very good terms with Druids. Their religious practices are very similar to Druids and to that Artemis.
The covens of Diana are often very old and very popular. The Amazon tradition is often known as the Cult of Diana because of their fervent devotion to the Goddess.
Alignment: N or CG
Areas of Influence: Hunting, Moon, Women
Eir
Eir is the Scandinavian Goddess of Healing, and handmaiden of Frigg. No one is Her equal when it comes to healing. Her worshipers are all healers, either clerical or as herbal healers. Her clerics and witches must never pick up a weapon in anger or vengeance.
She is depicted as been a slight woman with reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes. Her arms are muscular. She commonly wears blue and red. Fires always light her temples and covens, which are known as centers of healing and succor. She is known for her patience.
All her worshipers must take the healing and profession (herbalist) skills.
Alignment: NG
Areas of Influence: Healing, Peace
Gaea
Gaea (Gaia) is an Earth Goddess of Greek origin. It is she who is ultimately responsible for all life. It is claimed that she emerged from darkness and mated with Uranus (the Sky god) and bore the twelve titans.
Alignment: N
Areas of Influence: Earth, Fertility, Nature
Hathor
Egyptian fertility Goddess. She is the celestial cow who created the earth and the sun. As a cow goddess she ruled love, joy, merriment, music and dance. She nourished the living with her milk , suckling Pharaoh and all others. She is also known as the Goddess of love, music, song, and pleasure. In this aspect She has many followers among Lorelei and Tantric witches. She was one of the Egyptian gods that help guide the dead to the other side.
She is a Goddess that represents life, thus all her witches must be forces of life. While some celebrate life, like the Lorelei and Tantric witches, others actively pursue careers to destroy those that threaten or mock life, such as the followers of Set or undead.
Alignment: CG
Areas of Influence: Creation, Fertility, Life, Magic
Hecate
Hecate is, in Greek mythology, the Goddess of darkness, magic and witchcraft. She is the daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria. Unlike Artemis, who represented the moonlight and splendor of the night, Hecate represented its darkness and its terrors. On moonless nights she was believed to roam the earth with a pack of ghostly, howling dogs. She was the Goddess of sorcery and witchcraft and was especially worshiped by magicians and witches, who sacrificed black lambs and black dogs to her. As Goddess of the crossroads, Hecate and her pack of dogs were believed to haunt these remote spots, which seemed evil and ghostly places to travelers. In art Hecate is often represented with either three bodies or three heads and with serpents entwined about her neck.
Of all the deities who have covens, Hecate’s covens are the most widespread and well known. Hecate was once a fairly benign goddess in early Greek times. She later became the dread Greco-Roman Goddess of ghosts, a close confidante of Persephone and a patron of witches. The brutally wronged Hecuba of Troy was reincarnated as one of Hecate’s black dogs, which accompanied her on her night walks. When Hades kidnapped Persephone in the later Greek myth, farseeing Hecate was the only one who witnessed it. Hecate was worshiped at three-way crossroads at night even by ordinary Greek families and could ward off ghosts if properly propitiated. But Romans also believed She had more sinister worshipers; the witches and sorceresses who could coerce even the gods to do their will.
Alignment: LE or LN
Areas of Influence: Ghosts, Magic, Moon, The Crossroads
Hel
One side of Hel’s face was that of a beautiful woman. The other half was that of a rotting corpse, green and black, or of a skull. She ruled the realm of Niflheim, a huge black canyon in icy mountains, where those who did not die gloriously in battle went when their span of life was up. Niflheim was not burning but icy cold, filled with sleet, icy slush, cold mud and snow. Garm, the horrible hound whose breast was splattered with the blood of the dead, guarded the entrance. Her hall was called Damp-With-Sleet. Her plate was Hunger, Her knife Famine; Her two servants were both called Slow-Moving. Her bed was Sick-Bed, the stone at the entrance to her hall Drop-to-Destruction. So the Vikings described Her and Her home. Though the Vikings regarded her with horror, the common people worshiped her.
Alignment: NE
Areas of Influence: Death, Destruction, Evil
Hestia
Hestia is one of the Grecian hearth goddesses. The Romans later called her Vesta. Hestia was said to preside over all sacrifices. One of the prohibitions was that should her fire ever go it, it could not be rekindled by an ordinary fire but only by the sun’s rays or by the friction of two pieces of wood. As Vesta, the leaders of her cult were the Vestal Virgins (these were six girls from ages six to ten) who entered her college and stayed there for thirty years. Those breaking their vow of chastity were whipped to death or entombed. Her witches will be the older women who have completed their temple service.
She is part of a trinity of Artemis (maiden), Hestia (mother), and Hecate (crone).
Alignment: LG
Areas of Influence: Hearth, Healing, Home
Holda
Holda, or Frau Holt, is the Goddess of Teutonic witches and Hags. She is seen as both a caring mother and a frightening hag—a witch that calms children’s fears or eats them. These polar opposites are common in many of the guises of the Goddess. Classic witches typically honor her “good” side and Hags her “evil” one. Holda is often depicted as riding a broom or a giant flying goose. She can appear as a kindly old mother, a small child wearing all white or a viscous hag-like monster. She is the goddess of spinning, vegetation and children. She is also a fertility goddess and her consort is known as the Wood Man.
The Oskorei, or the Furious Horde, a legion of fallen heroes and others, who have died before their time, similar to the Wild Hunt of the Celts or the Valkeries of the Norse, follow her on her nightly rides.
It is also believed that Frau Holt is the model for the children’s storybook character “Mother Goose”.
Alignment: CG or CE
Areas of Influence: Night, Mysteries, Witches and Hags
Ishtar
Ishtar of the Babylonians, and alternately Inanna of the Sumerians, represent the duality approach to the female deity, both are to be considered Nature deities; that is, human nature. Both are the chief goddesses of their pathos, both are the goddesses of love, and therefore sexuality. Also both are the goddesses of War, and therefore violence. Their witches tend to have mercurial, almost chaotic personalities. Covens tend to be very ancient and set in their ways. Rituals will usually be consisted of old, lengthy litanies and sacrifices. Ishtar’s witches are also as likely to pick up a weapon, as they are to use magic.
Alignment: CN
Areas of Influence: Love, Nature, War
Isis
Covens of Isis are old and represent ancient powers of the universe. These witches are in tune with the fundamental powers and forces of the universe. Isis’ name is called in rights of fertility. She is also the patron Goddess of Magic. There is much rivalry between Hecate and Isis in this category. All of Isis’ covens are the paramount of good. Isis is also a feminine ideal. With Osiris, Isis and Horus (the divine child) made up a Holy Trinity. She is the Goddess of marriage, motherhood, fertility, magic, healing, reincarnation and divination, to name but a few. Isis is the patroness of priestesses. One myth has Isis poisoning the Sun God Ra, offering to save him only if he would reveal his secret name. At last, at the brink of destruction, Ra gives Isis his heart, with the secret name it held, and his two eyes (the Sun and the Moon). Isis quells the poison and ends up with Ra’s supreme power. In time the great Eye was passed along to her son Horus. Proclus mentions a statue of her which bore the inscription “I am that which is, has been and shall be. My veil no one has lifted”. Hence, to lift the veil of Isis is to pierce the heart of a great mystery.
Alignment: NG or LG
Areas of Influence: Healing, Magic, Women
Kali
Kali is the supreme Dark Goddesses. It has been claimed that Her name is derived from the Hindu word for Time, yet also means, “black”. She is also called Durga.
Her very appearance is meant to terrify. She is black and emaciated, with fangs and claws. She wears a girdle of severed arms, a necklace of skulls or severed heads, earrings of children’s corpses, cobras as bracelets or garlands. Her mouth is smeared with blood. Often She is shown standing or dancing on the corpse of the god Shiva; here, She feasts on his intestines.
Yet even Kali is not always dark. She also is a loving mother, and especially in that aspect is worshipped by millions of Hindus and her witches.
Her witches also see Kali as an Earth-Fertility Goddess, is thus worshiped by many Tantric witches. There are many parallels between the witch’s view of Kali and that of Ishtar. Kali’s regular priests (Thuggee) see her as the destroyer and a Goddess of death. Her witches, however, view Kali as the Force of Nature, a mother who can give life and take it away. Witches of Kali generally have several Thuggee males in their covens as their strong arms. Slaves are kept and human sacrifice is common. Kali’s holiest nights are on the new moon and Wednesdays.
Alignment: CE
Areas of Influence: Death, Destruction, Fertility
Lilith
Lilith is many things, first woman, wife, mother of demons, consort to men, demons, devils and gods, witch, demon and Goddess.
Lilith was the first wife of Adam, the first man. Adam and Lilith never found peace together, for when he wished to lie with her, she took offence at the recumbent position he demanded. “Why must I lie beneath you?” she asked. “I also was made from dust, and am therefore your equal”. She became proud and refused to lie beneath him during intercourse. This violated the command to be fruitful and multiply, since she was not being impregnated. Some traditions hold that she was impregnated and bore demons from him. Others claim She had two daughters with Adam. Naamah and Tubal are referred to as Cain’s sisters. Naamah is the mother of many devils. He pushed the issue of her submission, and she uttered the Holy Name of God and flew away.
It is said that soon after Lilith left Adam he stood in prayer before his creator and said: “God of the World, the woman that you gave me has run away from me”. God tried to force her to return to Adam and sent therefore the death-angel Azrafil to her in the desert at the Red Sea, where she dwelled with the djinns, giving birth to countless demons. Then God dispatched the three angels, Sanvai, Sansanvai, and Semangelof to bring her back. They caught up with her in the desert near the Red Sea, a region abounding in lascivious demons, to which she bore Lilim at the rate of more than one hundred a day. “Return to Adam without delay,” the angels said, “or we will drown you!” Lilith asked: “How can I return to Adam and be his woman, after my stay beside the Red Sea?” “It would be death to refuse!” they answered. “How can I die,” Lilith asked again, “when God has ordered me to take charge of all newborn children: boys up to the eighth day of life, that of circumcision; girls up to the twentieth day? Nevertheless,” she said, “I swear to you in the name of God who is living and exists, that if ever I see your three names or likenesses displayed in an amulet above a newborn child, I promise to spare it”. To this day they agreed; however, God punished Lilith by making one hundred of her demon children perish daily, and if Lilith could not destroy a human infant, because of the angelic amulet, she would spitefully turn against her own. As late as the 18th century, mothers and children across many cultures took advantage of the protection offered by these amulets. Charms and rituals accompanied the use of the amulets, protecting mothers and infants from the retribution of Lilith. Baby girls were considered vulnerable in their first three weeks of life. Boys, on the other hand, were believed to be vulnerable for longer periods of time. Any boy under the age of eight was possible prey.
Alignment: CE
Areas of Influence: Evil, Moon, Women
Lovitar
Of the Finnish, “the people who ran from the woods,” few Goddesses are as evil and sadistic as Lovitar, Maiden of Pain. Witches of Lovitar dispense pain to all of their enemies. Typical garb is white and all kinds of daggers are allowed as weapons. Her coven spells deal primarily with pain and cold.
Alignment: NE
Areas of Influence: Cold, Evil, Pain
Mabd
The Queen of the Sidhe. Mabd is the prototypical elven Goddess of Celtic lore. Her high time is the Summer Solstice. She is also known as Mab, Meave and to the Briton Celts, Titania. She is a mercurial Goddess that reflects the nature of the forest; life giving to some, deadly to others.
Witches of the Faerie Tradition honor Mabd and many of the Classical Traditions also pay her honor.
Alignment: CG or CN
Areas of Influence: Elves (Sidhe), Mysteries
Morigann
The Raven, the Celtic goddess of war. Known as The Morigann, Morigan, Macha and Morigu. She is the Goddess of war, battle and death, but not evil.
Part of a trinity of Brigit (maiden) and Danu (mother), Morigann is the crone.
Alignment: CN or CE
Areas of Influence: Chaos, War
Rhiannon
This Welsh Goddess is well known for her appearance in the Mabinagion. In penance for a crime that she did not commit, she sat for seven years outside Pwyll’s palace and offered to carry any visitor on her back like a horse. The singing of her three magic birds could be heard over the sea, could wake the dead and could lull the living to sleep. She was also identified with Epona (a horse cult). The Roman Calvary favored Epona and her shrines were covered with roses.
Alignment: CG
Areas of Influence: Horses, Fertility, Women
Tiamat
Tiamat is the great creation Goddess of water and chaos to the Sumerians. She gave birth to all of the Sumerian (Babylonian) gods and ruled them all, until the god Marduk defeated her. He used Her body to create the sky and earth. She was described as a great dragon or a being of chaos. Like so many other destructive Goddesses, Tiamat is a Goddess of creation. It is believed by the Sumerians that she created the world. In Babylonian myths, Tiamat is a huge, bloated female dragon that personifies the saltwater ocean, the water of Chaos. She is also the primordial mother of all that exists, including the gods themselves.
The Cult of Tiamat is extremely far reaching. The primary duties of her witches are to venerate Tiamat and destruction in any way they can and to spread the word of the cult. Often “spreading the word” implies random acts of violence and attributing them to Tiamat herself. It is her capacity as the dark Goddess of chaos and creation that attracts so many witches to her cult.
Her witches tend to belong to the Malefic or dark Tantric Traditions.
Alignment: CE
Areas of Influence: Chaos, Creation, Dragons, Water
Tlazolteol
Aztec witches who worship Tlazolteol, the Goddess of vice, are often tantric or malefic witches. They spend a great amount of time on their appearance and try to look as desirable as possible. Once they have someone alone they will attempt to corrupt or kill them. Most prefer to corrupt others. Bards speak of a particularly successful witch of Tlazolteol who had been in the bedrooms of many of a particular country’s politicians. Single handedly she had very nearly toppled the government through jealousy and deceit.
Tlazoteol is also seen as a necessary evil. She takes in filth and sin so it may be disposed of. It is this aspect that she is most often worshiped and served by her witches. Confessing ones sins to her or to her witches, one would be purified of those sins. Mothers in childbirth often called on her aid. Her witches, learned in all manners sexual, are also skilled midwives and nursemaids, after all birth is a natural consequence of sex. Her witches are believed to be adulterous and women born under her sign (The Ocelot) were believed to become her witches.
She is seen as lustful maiden, mother or priestess and crone, devourer of youth, depending on her mood. She is always depicted nude in all of her aspects, as the Mother she is seen having just given birth. She wears a gold and turquoise necklace and her temples are adorned with gold bells. Of note she is also sometimes depicted as wearing a conical “witch’s” hat.
Alignment: CE or CN
Areas of Influence: Chaos, Fertility, Trickery, Vice