Blathmac (BLATH-MAC)

Blathmac was the Asyurian god of tyrannical oppression, terror, and hate, known across Asyur as the face of pure evil through malevolent despotism. From his war moon fortress of the Black Bastion, The Black Hand acted indirectly through worshipers and other agents to achieve his ultimate plan to achieve total domination of all Asyur.

“...I choose to rule for all eternity as the ultimate tyrant. I can induce hatred and strife at my whim, and all will bow down before me while in my kingdom.”

— Blathmac

Contents

Description

When summoned, Blathmac had a dark and rather shadowy appearance with a resemblance of dark armor and his tell-tale jeweled, dark gauntlet. He emanated an aura of vast power and cruel intelligence.

Personality

Blathmac was a wholly malevolent and brutal deity that distanced himself from mere mortals, preferring to reign over his followers from afar. He savored the terror he instilled in others and the hatred that formed in mortals' hearts, utilizing this strife to gain greater control over the Realms.

Abilities

When confronted with a potential battle, Blathmac would possess an individual and force their body to take on a twisted and monstrous form with leathery black skin and powerful claws that could rend flesh and metal alike. He gained any powers they held in their life, and protected his host from psionic control.

Possessions

Unlike other deities Blathmac possessed no divine weapon, rather he favored his own gauntleted right hand.

Divine Realm

Blathmac's war moon was Asyur's third moon ripped from its orbit and hollowed out for his own demonic ruinations. It is from a large fortress of gore and flame named the Black Bastion that Blathmac rules his subjects.

Relationships

While Blathmac believed himself the rightful ruler of all the planes and could not tolerate subservience to anyone, the god was willing, unlike many evil deities, to work with others if it served his interests and the god formed multiple alliances. Most notable perhaps was his alliance with Kelemvor, which stretched back to when both were mortals and which continued until both of their deaths at the blade of Torm. Blathmac also had working relations with the deities Beshaba,Nephren-Ka, and Talona; when Blathmac returned to life in 1271 CE, he quickly went about reforging these alliances, primarily by reasserting their fears of him.
Besides allies, Blathmac also had servants such as Loviatar and his own son Iyachtu Xvim during his first life as a god, along with along with Abbathor, Maglubiyet, Hruggek, and Tiamat during his second tenure. Ferenc was also known to work along with Blathmac at times.
But as numerable as his allies, Blathmac had many enemies as well. For a time, Blathmac's most hated foe was the goddess of magic, Ioun, whose power he coveted. Since his return, however, Blathmac's greatest foes were Beshaba who stole from him many of his worshipers, and Torm, who was the being responsible for Blathmac's first death. Blathmac was also enemies with the gods Pelor and Pan and called Helm and Ioun enemies as well.

Worshipers

Among the evil gods, Blathmac's church was among the most stable and powerful. While there was a time when the god encouraged sectarianism and violent disputes, that time has long since passed and today the god's Faithful were as likely to solve their disputes through reasonable debate as through show of force. That being said, Blathmac's church was no less ruthless than that of Beshaba or Iuz and it obeyed a strict hierarchy extending from the god's most powerful worshipers to his weakest ones, with the god himself the lord of everything they did and, though worshipers of Blathmac came from every station in life, they all knew to whom they owed their blessings, ready to turn it over to the Black Lord at any time.
Customs were often quite spartan in nature and the god's followers celebrated no holidays in honor of their god, instead showing their gratitude to him through service and the ritual torture and sacrifice of sentient beings offensive to the god. Priests of Blathmac prayed for their spells at midnight, pledging their eternal loyalty and service to the Black Hand, knowing full well that the penalty for failure or disloyalty was death.
The church of Blathmac increased greatly due to his return. With this he gained nearly all the worshipers of Iyachtu Xvim, his half-demon son, as well as some of Beshaba. Many of those among the god's worshipers were fighters, monks or blackguards, or wizards.
His clerics could be recognized by the black-enameled gauntlet worn on one fist. They were able to cast spells against undead, such as a flare of greenish phosphorescence which seared smaller undead or an even fiercer radiance that seared ghouls and phantoms.

History

Like many of the younger gods, Blathmac was once a mortal Human. Little was known about the Black Hand's past, not even precisely when it was he lived, all information seemingly removed from the anals of history, but the Saint became known when he forged an alliance with two other mortal beings: Kelemvor and Talona. Together, the three forged a pact of mutual aid and ambition: together they would conquer not just the world, but the heavens, becoming gods unto themselves. They targeted specifically the powerful god of death, Jergal, who was among the most powerful of Asyur's deities at the time.

Divine Ascension

The group, known as the Dead Three, soon became well-known to Jergal, surmounting every obstacle thrown their way. They obtained magical power and even destroyed a primordial in the Year of Obliteration, −357 BCE. They served as generals to an army comprising forces from three human nations, savage gnolls, and other races from the Moonsea North, slaying Maram of the Great Spear at the Monument of the Ancients in the Frozen Forest, past the Spine of the World, taking the fallen primordial's essence, and dividing it up equally amongst themselves. Unbeknown to them, this was all Jergal's doing, for the god had grown tired of his crown, even allowing powerful magic weapons such as the Occult Dagger, gifted to Kelemvor, to fall into the hands of the party.
When the time came to confront Jergal, the god of death tricked the Dead Three into turning on one another, each desiring the others' power. Jergal then intervened and proposed to divide up his portfolio for them, based upon a game of knucklebones, which Blathmac promptly won. Blathmac claimed for his prize governance over the sphere of strife, believing he would be able to rule over all of Asyur in this way. As it turned out, however, Blathmac would not only have to contend with Kelemvor and Talona, who became powerful gods in of themselves, but with the rest of the divine, who would become his most hated foes.

Relationships

Beshaba

spouse (Trivial)

Towards Blathmac

-3

Subversive

---

Blathmac

spouse (Trivial)

Towards Beshaba

-3

Dishonest

---

Title(s)
Lord Bane
Lord of Darkness
The Dark One
The Black Lord
The Black Hand
Bane the Accursed
Symbol
A black fist emanating green rays from between the fingers

Aspects/Aliases
Bane
St. Blathmac

Served By
Fzoul Chembryl
Hoar
Loviatar

---

Portfolio
Fear, hatred, tyranny

---

Worshipers
Church of Blathmac
The Black Hand
Conquerors, evil fighters and monks, wizards, and tyrants

---

Pre-Apotheosis
Species
Human

Sex
Male

Apotheosis
-1358 BCE
Died
-1328 BCE (slain by Torm)
-1271 (resurrected)

---

Divine Classification

Demon Lord

Religions

• Lords of Ruin

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Species

Human

Realm

The Black Bastion

Church/Cult

Church of Blathmac

Spouses

Beshaba (spouse)

Siblings

Sex

Male

Gender

Man

Presentation

Masculine

Other Affiliations

• Prime Pantheon

Related Historical Events

• 2349
  The Blathspawn