Surtur
“In Muspell, at the edge of the flame, where the mist burns into light, where the land ends, stood Surtur, who existed before the gods. He stands there now...It is said that at Ragnarok, which is the end of the world, and only then, Surtur will leave his station. He will go forth from Muspell with his flaming sword and burn the world with fire, and one by one the gods will fall before him.”Surtur, also spelled Surtr or Surt, is a deity in the Norse pantheon. He is god of fire giants, and is worshipped as such on many worlds.- Odin
Surtur is a gargantuan fire giant, with burning red hair and skin as dark as coal. His hair and eyebrows burn like flame, and he wears iron armour that is hot enough to seriously burn any human who touches it. He is rarely seen without his enormous flaming iron sword.
Surtur has a powerful hatred of the Aesir gods of the Norse pantheon. He eagerly awaits the day of Ragnarok, when he can destroy the Aesir. Surtur is more clever than Thyrm, and revered as a skill craftsman.
Surtur is lawful evil in alignment.
Surtur is called the Lord of the Fire Giants, King of the Fire Giants, and Lord of Muspelheim.
Abilities
As a deity, Surtur has numerous abilities. He is immortal, and while he can be slain, he is invulnerable to old age, disintegration, poison, transmutation, and cold. He cannot be banished or magically imprisoned.He is an exceptional warrior, possessing incredible strength and skill at arms even for a giant. His favoured enemies are the gods of Asgard, against whom he excels at fighting, though he is also skilled at hunting fey, humans, and wild beasts.
He can conjure fire and fire elementals, and has particular mastery of fire. He can cast numerous spells, and readily craft all but the most extremely legendary of magic weapons, armour, or items related to fire or metalworking. He can see, hear and otherwise sense at a distance of 14 miles from any of his worshippers, holy sites, holy objects, or anywhere his name is spoken, and automatically senses events related to giants or large fires.
Holy weapons are particularly harmful to him.
Portfolio
Surtur is a god of fire, war, and strength. He is the particular patron of fire giants. His primary concern is the fortunes of fire giants. He is also known as a god of craft and knowledge.Worship
Dogma
Followers of Surtur revere fire as a vital, yet dangerous force. They believe that fire is an important cleansing agent, such as when a forest fire allows for new growth. It can be used as an important tool, but must be respected, as it is dangerous when uncontrolled.Followers of Surtur sometimes carry statues of their deity, and will wage war in his name.
Worshipers
While the people of Midgard typically worship the Norse pantheon as a collective group, Surtur is particularly followed by fire giants and other giants. Fighters also revere him.A few cults to Surtur exist among humans, where they collaborate with Loki's followers. They seek to oppose and undermine Thor's followers at every opportunity, and are unfriendly toward Thrymm, god of frost giants.
Clergy
Surtur's clerics are almost all giants. He accepts a small number of human clerics, who carefully conceal their dedication to the destructive fire god. Surtur accepts lawful evil, lawful neutral, and neutral evil clerics.Fire giant shamans of Surtur often carry a severed human head dipped in molten steel. They are forbidden from being defeated in personal combat; those who do are marked upon their face with the silver symbol of a flaming sword. They are skilled in the summoning of fire elementals.
Witch-doctors dedicated to Surtur exist, but they are rare.
Surtur's clergy keep the magical secret of producing firestone, a form of rock which remains hot, and can be used as a holy alternative to Flamestone.
Holy sites
Surtur's temples in Muspelheim are grand fortresses, where the giants prepare for Ragnarok.Some temples are guarded with a password, changed weekly. Even among the lands of humans, such temples commonly feature an environment favourable to fire giants, such as burning braziers which create heat and thick smoke. They are depicted with images of warfare and violence, with Surt destroying his various enemies.
Like Loki's temples, Surtur's temples in human lands are hidden and highly secretive. They produce and store weapons and tools for the cult, so that they will constantly be ready to fight alongside Surtur at Ragnarok. Visitors are treated with hostility unless they can quickly prove their devotion to Surtur; if they fail, they are quickly executed to prevent them from revealing the temple's location. Even most fire giants are not permitted to know the location of such secret lairs. Shrines to other giants sometimes see additional use to honour Surtur. Crude shrines to Surtur have been found which bear connections to the four princes of Elemental Evil, including Imix. Shrines exist in the City of Brass, tended by efreet, although those fire genies do not worship him. Fire giants there guard the Smoking Hammer Shrine, a looming, dangerous iron construction.
The Rift of the Fire Giants is visited to invoke the blessing of Surtur. There is a lava pool here known as Surtur's Pool, where fire giants are known to worship. Items of value are thrown into the lava as offerings to the Surtur, while his name is loudly chanted.
Holy symbol
Surtur's holy symbol is a flaming longsword.
Favoured weapon
Surtur favours the longsword.History
Surtur was born the son of Annam, ancient progenitor god of the giants. According to legend, he is the twin brother of Thrym, god of frost giants, and the two immediately had begun competing over who could be the first two cry, walk, and talk. They have been rivals ever since, although some legends tell of them adventuring together at times.Surtur's step-brother Skoraeus Stonebones taught him the knowledge of smelting. Surtur showed promise in craft, while his brother Thyrm showed better promise in violence. However, Annam was more impressed with Surtur's gifts than his brother's.
Relationships
Muspellverd
Weapon, (Heavy, Reach, two-handed Greatsword) Legendary (Requires Attunement)With one mighty swing, the sword's flames will consume the world and scorch Asgard. It marks the Ragnarok, the downfall of the gods, but amidst the ashes of the old world, the seeds of hope start to sprout.
As an action while you are wielding this weapon, you can expend a charge to consume half of your maximum hit points (if this damage would kill you or knock you unconscious, you cannot use this ability) and perform a large flaming slash. All enemies in a 15 foot wide and 10 foot long area in front of you must make a DC16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 fire damage and taking 1d6 fire damage at the end of each of their turns for 3 combat rounds, and taking half damage and no continued damage on a successful save. After you use this ability, you gain temporary hit points equal to 75% of your maximum hit points that last until you finish a long rest.
Proficiency with a greatsword allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Divine Classification
God
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Current Status
To slay all of the Aesir Gods
Church/Cult
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Sex
Male
Gender
Male
Presentation
Masculine
Relationships
Family
Surtur is a son of Annam, an ancient, quiet giant god whose role in the creation of the world and the giants has been re-interpreted differently across human cultures.By Annam, Surtur is a brother to Thrym, god of the frost giants; and Skoraeus Stonebones, god of the stone giants. They are the second generation of Annam's children; the first being Hiatea and Stronmaus, and the third Grlantor and Karontor. He is also a brother to Memnor and Iallanis.
Starkad the Sorcerer claims to be related to Surtur.
Surtur is an enemy of the dwarf deity Clangeddin Silverbeard, the Seldarine deity Rellavar Danuvien.
Surtur is the enemy of frost giants.
Surtur is destined to lead the fire giants and other giants against the Aesir gods at Ragnarok.
He has at least one demigod servant, a spellcaster whose name is unknown, and about who little else is known except for his conflict with the trickster goddess Diancastra, who stole his spellbooks.
Surtur is served by a number of red dragons.
He has the allegiance of six balors, who he can call upon once each year.
The titan Uldrak serves Surtur.
Legend says that Surtr created the merchurions, originally a race of fire giant metalsmiths who were transformed into living metal.
Enemies
Surtur's primary enemy are the Aesir gods of the Norse pantheon, whose most famous members include Odin, Thor, and Tyr.Surtur is an enemy of the dwarf deity Clangeddin Silverbeard, the Seldarine deity Rellavar Danuvien.
Surtur is the enemy of frost giants.
Allies and Minions
Surtur is allied with Kossuth, a fire deity of Faerûn.Surtur is destined to lead the fire giants and other giants against the Aesir gods at Ragnarok.
He has at least one demigod servant, a spellcaster whose name is unknown, and about who little else is known except for his conflict with the trickster goddess Diancastra, who stole his spellbooks.
Surtur is served by a number of red dragons.
He has the allegiance of six balors, who he can call upon once each year.
The titan Uldrak serves Surtur.
Legend says that Surtr created the merchurions, originally a race of fire giant metalsmiths who were transformed into living metal.
Realm
Surtur makes his home in Muspelheim, a fiery range of the fire giants. Here, the Spire of Surtur, the Forges of Surtur, and the Surtur's Scourge Foundry are named for him.In the Great Wheel cosmology, Muspelheim is found on the second layer of Ysgard, also called Gladsheim, as it borders Asgard, or Ysgard.
In other cosmologies, Muspelheim is located in Midgard.
He is also said to reside in Jotunheim, land of the giants. Here he occupies Meerrauk, though he returns to Muspelheim often.
Comments