Mortem

The Herald of Decay

Mortem, known as the Herald of Decay, is a Chaotic Evil deity who reigns over the domains of Plague, Pestilence, Malevolence, and Despair. As The Blight Lord, The Plague Lord, and The Chaotic Revenant, Mortem embodies the essence of suffering and chaos. His influence spreads disease and decay, bringing about misery and despair. Mortem’s realm, Cryptis, is a nightmarish landscape where the air is thick with the stench of rot and the ground is strewn with the remnants of life. A suffocating haze blankets this desolate land, ensuring that hope is but a distant memory for its inhabitants.
In Cryptis, every breath is a reminder of Mortem’s power, and every moment is a struggle against his insidious reach. His followers, often necromancers, plague doctors, and those who thrive on despair, embrace the inevitable decline into chaos. They revere Mortem as a deity who empowers them through suffering and destruction. Worshippers gather in decrepit temples adorned with symbols of decay and death, performing grim rituals to invoke Mortem’s blessings. These rituals often involve spreading disease, corrupting the land, and inflicting suffering to demonstrate their devotion.
Mortem’s ultimate goal is to spread his malevolent influence across all realms, ensuring that disease and despair become omnipresent forces. By reveling in the chaos wrought by his dark powers, Mortem seeks to create a world where suffering and decay reign supreme, and hope is extinguished forever.

Divine Domains

Mortem embodies his domains through his mastery of decay and suffering. As the Herald of Decay, he revels in spreading plague, pestilence, malevolence, and despair. His presence brings rot and corruption, turning vibrant life into desolation. Followers of Mortem see him as a force of inevitable decline, using disease and decay as tools to instill fear and hopelessness. His influence ensures that suffering and chaos remain ever-present forces.

• Plague
• Pestilence
• Malevolence
• Despair

Artifacts

Mortem's Withered Staff

Mortem's Withered Staff is a powerful and feared artifact, embodying the dread domains of Plague, Pestilence, Malevolence, and Despair. This staff, crafted from the twisted remains of a tree long dead and corrupted, is imbued with Mortem’s malevolent power. The staff is dark and gnarled, its surface covered in lesions and creeping rot. At the top of the staff rests a skull, symbolizing death and decay, with empty eye sockets that seem to glow with a faint, malevolent light. When wielded, it exudes a suffocating aura of decay, capable of spreading disease and withering life with a mere touch. Mortem’s Withered Staff is often used by the highest-ranking priests of the Cult of the Decaying Hand in their grim rituals, invoking the god’s dreadful blessings to inflict suffering and despair upon their enemies.

The Plague Medallion

The Plague Medallion is another feared artifact associated with Mortem. This medallion, forged from tarnished silver and engraved with dark, intricate symbols, is said to carry the essence of Mortem’s plague. When worn, it grants the bearer the ability to spread disease and corruption with terrifying efficiency. The Plague Medallion radiates an aura of sickness, causing those nearby to suffer from debilitating illnesses. It is often worn by plague doctors and necromancers within the Cult of the Decaying Hand, symbolizing their devotion to Mortem and their role as harbingers of decay. The medallion is also used in rituals to summon forth plagues, ensuring that Mortem’s influence continues to spread across the land, leaving a trail of despair and desolation in its wake.

Holy Books & Codes

Followers of Mortem, the Blight Lord, have penned numerous grim texts and tomes in his name, capturing the essence of his domains: Plague, Pestilence, Malevolence, and Despair. One of the most notorious among these is the Tome of Decay, a dark manuscript filled with rituals and incantations for spreading disease and invoking Mortem’s dreadful power. This tome, bound in diseased leather and written in a blood-red script, is considered a sacred text by the Cult of the Decaying Hand. It contains detailed instructions for creating and spreading plagues, corrupting the land, and summoning malevolent spirits.
Another significant text is the Scrolls of Desolation, a collection of prophecies and teachings that foretell the inevitable spread of Mortem’s influence. These scrolls describe the signs of impending plagues and offer guidance on how to harness the power of despair and malevolence. The Necrotic Codex is a compilation of necromantic knowledge, detailing the art of reanimation and control over the dead, furthering Mortem's reach through his followers. These texts are used in grim rituals and ceremonies to honor Mortem and ensure that his malevolent influence continues to spread, bringing suffering and despair to all corners of the world.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

The Decayed Hand

The Decayed Hand is a prominent symbol among followers of Mortem, representing his dominion over Plague and Pestilence. This sigil depicts a skeletal hand, partially covered in rotting flesh, clutching a decayed, blackened heart. It embodies the essence of decay and the spread of disease. Followers of Mortem use the Decayed Hand in various forms of iconography, from carvings on temple walls to pendants and amulets worn as protective talismans. The symbol is believed to invoke Mortem’s favor and protect against the very plagues it represents. It serves as a grim reminder of the inevitable decay that Mortem brings, and a mark of allegiance to his dark power.

The Rotting Skull

The Rotting Skull is another significant symbol associated with Mortem, embodying his control over Malevolence and Despair. This sigil features a skull with hollow, glowing eye sockets, covered in patches of decaying flesh and crawling with insects. It is often depicted with cracks and fractures, emphasizing the fragility and mortality of life under Mortem’s influence. The Rotting Skull is used both openly and secretly among Mortem’s followers. It adorns grim altars, ritualistic items, and even the entrances of temples dedicated to Mortem. As a piece of jewelry, it is worn by cult leaders and priests, symbolizing their connection to the Blight Lord. The Rotting Skull serves as a powerful icon of Mortem’s malevolent presence and the despair that follows in his wake, inspiring fear and reverence among his devotees.

Tenets of Faith

One of the core principles of Mortem's faith is Embrace the Inevitability of Decay. Followers of Mortem, the Blight Lord, believe that all life is destined to succumb to decay and destruction. They see disease and pestilence as natural, even divine, forces that restore balance by erasing the old and weak. This principle drives their actions, encouraging the spread of plague and suffering as a form of devotion. They believe that by embracing and accelerating decay, they honor Mortem and gain his favor. Mortem's followers view despair and malevolence as tools to break the spirit of their enemies, ensuring the dominance of decay and chaos. They see beauty in rot and ruin, finding purpose in the relentless march toward desolation.

Core Tenets of the Faith:

• Embrace Decay: Accept and accelerate the natural process of decay.
• Spread Pestilence: Use disease as a divine tool to cleanse and purify.
• Instill Despair: Break the spirit of enemies through fear and hopelessness.
• Worship Through Suffering: Honor Mortem by embracing and inflicting pain.
• Revere Ruin: Find beauty and purpose in destruction and decay.

Holidays

Festival of Blight

10th day of Mournrain

• The Festival of Blight is a somber celebration where followers of Mortem honor the spread of decay and disease. Rituals include the deliberate spreading of rot and pestilence to symbolize the god's power. Sacrifices and grim ceremonies are performed to invoke Mortem’s blessings, and the air is thick with the stench of decay. Followers believe that participating in these rituals strengthens their connection to Mortem and hastens the inevitable downfall of life and purity.

Night of Despair

25th day of Gloomveil

• The Night of Despair is a dark observance dedicated to Mortem's domain of hopelessness. On this night, followers gather in decrepit temples to perform rituals designed to break the spirits of their enemies and spread despair. They engage in acts of cruelty and malevolence, believing that through these actions they draw Mortem’s favor. The night is filled with chanting, sacrifices, and the telling of tales that emphasize the futility of hope and the inevitability of decay.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Mortem’s divine goals revolve around spreading decay, despair, and chaos throughout the world. He seeks to infest every corner of existence with his malevolent influence, ensuring that disease and rot become omnipresent forces. Mortem aims to create a realm where suffering and hopelessness reign supreme, breaking the spirits of all who oppose him. By fostering an environment of unrelenting despair, Mortem hopes to extinguish any spark of hope or resistance, solidifying his dominion. His ultimate vision is a world consumed by plague and ruin, where life and light are but distant memories, replaced by the suffocating presence of decay and destruction. Through these goals, Mortem ensures that his dark legacy endures eternally.

Divine Classification

God

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Current Location

Cryptis

Realm

Cryptis

Church/Cult

The Brotherhood of Decay

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Mortem is known as The Blight Lord, The Plague Lord, The Chaotic Revenant, The Herald of Decay

A mass in honor of Mortem, held in The Crypt of Decay.

Followers

• Human 
• Goblin 
• Tiefling 
• Half-Orc 
• Elf