Nekrutan

Nekrutan is lord of death, disease, and the Devnar. His greatest goal, hardly hidden, is to kill every living thing in existence and raise them as undead. With His power over death and undeath, His duties are many. But when He can get away with it, He bends the rules for His own followers, keeping their souls on this side of the divide.
He is the only one of the six gods to no longer appear as the race that was based off of him. Instead, His form is often seen as a shadowy mass in the vague humanoid shape. His eyes are orbs of sickly green that float around His head, never appearing where eyes normally would. Balls of magical energy, the same color as His eyes, float around both Him and the souls that serve as His attendants.
Nekrutan is shrewd, but impatient. Often His schemes are not given enough time to ripen before he executes them, leading to failure after failure. Despite His own failings, however, He is quick to blame them on His followers, who He is never lenient with. Often, those who fail Him are sent to His chambers of motivation, but those who are sent there know that only torture awaits them. Despite His harsh mannerisms, the god also takes His duties seriously, and ensures that while His schemes might fail, His duties will never be unfulfilled.

Nekrutan’s Influence

Due to His power-hungry nature and the fact that his own followers are unable to reproduce, due to his own actions, Nekrutan has had to recruit others into his church. Often these are mortals who also hunger for power, or who want to cheat death. He is also a god of truth and secrets, holding onto the last words and thoughts of the dying.
Those who follow him include barbarians and fighters who have recurring brushes with death, wizards who long for more time, rouges after the hidden treasures of those long past, and paladins of other gods that have left their oaths behind them.
Criminals and assassins gather in his churches alongside doctors seeking to cure disease and those haunted ones who have already seen so much death.

Nekrutan’s Goals

Death of all that is living. Undeath of the dead. These are what Nekrutan wants, more than anything else. Finding a way for death to beat life, for his necromancers to breath unlife into lifeless bodies without using their souls, and to gain power at any expense are the ways that Nekrutan expends his energies. his latest attempt, what became known as the Nekrutan Crisis, resulted in the creation of the deadlands: the perfect place for he and his followers to continue their dread experiments. He has already succeeded in purging and raising his own race, the Devnar. Now, he works to extend that success across the world.

Divine Relationships

Nekrutan has worked with many other gods, but they largely regretted the experience for one reason or another. While it might have been unpleasant, Nekrutan works to make sure that they do get something out of it, so they will agree to work with him again in the future. 
That said, there are several gods that Nekrutan refuses to work with. Jakular and his creation of life form after life form irks the lord of undeath, as he must find new ways to corrupt the life force of each one. Because of this, Nekrutan only works with Jakular if he absolutely cannot avoid it. The other god he has no taste for is Chenravo. Her near singlehanded ruining of his plans for the Nekrutan Worm left a stain on his pride that he will work hard to avenge. He has made a few furtive attempts on the goddess, but she always seems like she is harboring more power than he expects. Soon she may be out of his ability to control, which could force him to make a desperate and dangerous course of action.

Worshipping Nekrutan

Nekrutan, like the Overgod he follows, has no month of worship. Instead, any who seek his knowledge, guidance or assistance often entreaty him as needed. There are many ways to call upon him, but some of the more popular include sacrificing an animal or person, getting oneself as close to death as possible without crossing over, or dedicating years of one’s life, or afterlife, to his service. Many of his devout study the boundary between life and death, looking for new ways to pervert and abuse it. 
Many others offer him strength by purposely getting sick, spreading disease, or by helping his agents. Nekrutan is a brutal god, and expects brutality from his followers.

Aspects of Nekrutan

The gods often represent more than one facet. The gods’ facets are defined by their worshippers, so that the gods suit the needs of the people. No aspect is ever gone, however, and any facet that was created in the past still lurks somewhere in the god’s personality, waiting for when it is needed again, or perhaps plotting a situation that might make it relevant once more.
Nekrutan is undoubtedly the god best at managing their own aspects, offering worshippers their deepest desires in exchange for directing the prayers that they make.

Aspect of the Devnar

Of all of the aspects focused on Elder Races, this one is perhaps the most brutal. The Devnar killed all of His own people, only to tie their souls back to their cooling bodies, turning them into a race of semi-liches. Each one is trapped in a constant cycle of rotting and renewal. He has gone to great lengths to ensure that the Devnar are hard to kill. Their condition leaves them unable to have children, so The Devnar has a vested interest in keeping the remainder around.

Aspect of Death

This aspect is tasked with ensuring that souls freed from their bodies are escorted to the proper afterlifes. This is the strongest of Nekrutan’s aspects, and the one that he has been unable to modify, despite extensive efforts. As much as he would like to highjack souls for use in blackmail, torture, or revenge, the mortal will to ensure death is respected is too strong for the god to resist. Not that he doesn’t still try.

Aspect of the Undead

The Undead is one of the driving aspects of Nekrutan, the aspect with the dream of turning all life on Chenravo to unlife. It reasons that this would provide him with enough power to do as he wished unilaterally. It plots and schemes endlessly, working to see its will done at any expense. This aspect draws its power from those seeking to bring back those who were lost, raise minions, or otherwise disrupt the standard process of death, as well as from other aspects of Nekrutan.

Aspect of Power

The Power is sought out by those who want to be stronger, from tyrants to the bullied. He offers all comers what they seek, for a price. Many are wise enough to see that the cost is rarely worth what the god offers in exchange. Even though many leave the deals on the tables, enough take them to make the aspect a powerful influence amongst the rest of Nekrutan’s abilities. It is the dealmaker, the broker, and the inspiration of the Devils.

Aspect of the Plague

This aspect is simultaneously the sickness and the cure. It derives power by causing the very problems that it is asked to solve. The Plague spreads sicknesses and diseases, then collects prayers from the afflicted and their loved ones asking to help them. Often, the former is done at the request of those who want to see their enemies suffer.

Aspect of Dying Words

This aspect is always witness to the last words a mortal speaks, and sometimes is the only witness. It offers these words to the dead’s loved ones at a steep cost through the The Power. Many whose last words contain secrets, information, or answers to questions nearly forgotten unintentionally fuel this aspect’s power.

Aspect of Servitude

This aspect is primarily tasked with managing all of those who have pledged service in a deal with Nekrutan. The Servant is one of the most despondent of any aspect. He is as much a servant to the other aspects of Nekrutan as those it is master over. Some suspect that The Servant was formed from the soul of the first individual to pledge themselves fully to Nekrutan, forced into this position against their will. With what little autonomy The Servant has left, he actively works against Nekrutan, causing gaps in his planning or errors in his judgement. A quiet, solitary, and hopeless rebellion.

Aspect of Secrets

The Secret collects his namesake and hoards them like a miser and his coins. Waiting for the right moment to exploit them or use them to exploit. This aspect sees nothing as sacred and will use anything it can find to its needs, twisting people into doing things they never imagined themselves capable of.

Religions

• Templum Nekrutan

Related Myths

• The Defection

Nekrutan's Champions

Alignment: Almost always Evil, usually Lawful
Suggested Classes: Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Warlock
  Suggested Cleric Domains: Death, Knowledge, Twilight, War
Suggested Backgrounds: Criminal, Investigator, Mercenary Veteran, Soldier, Urchin, Urban Bounty Hunter

Nekrutan's Favor

People who are desperate, power hungry, or with an unhealthy fascination with death are those that the Lord of Death finds amongst his devout. How did you initially attract the god’s attention? The Nekrutan’s Favor table offers a few suggestions.

d6	Circumstance
1	You killed animals for fun as a child.
2	You abandoned your morals out of desperation.
3	After learning that you had an incurable sickness, you pleaded with him for a cure.
4	Your skull glowed with pale green light when you were born.
5	You have a birthmark somewhere that shows the bones under it.
6	You have no idea why Nekrutan showed interest in you, and you might sometimes wish He hadn’t.

Devotion to Nekrutan

Nekrutan’s devoted are often exemplified by either their unbreakable spirit, or resigned nature. As a follower of Nekrutan, consider rolling on the Nekrutan’s Ideals table as alternatives to those suggested for your background. Nekrutan's Ideals

d6	Ideal
1	Devotion. My devotion to my god is more important to me than what he stands for. (Any)
2	Servitude. I only serve Nekrutan as part of a bargain I made with him. (Good)
3	Power. Once I am strong enough, no mortal will be able to stop me. (Evil)
4	Hierarchy. I know my place within the ranks of Nekrutan’s devoted. (Lawful)
5	Unlife. I refuse to pass from this world. (Evil)
6	Self-Interest. I serve Nekrutan for my own benefit, not for his. (Evil)

Earning and Losing Piety

You increase your piety score to Nekrutan when you expand the god’s influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:

• Ritual sacrifice.
• Raising the undead.
• Spreading disease.
• Offering servitude to Nekrutan.

Your piety score to Nekrutan decreases if you diminish Nekrutan's influence in the world, contradict his ideals, or make him look weak and cowardly through acts such as these:

• Curing sickness.
• Restoring life.
• Killing undead.

Nekrutan’s Devotee

Piety 3+ Nekrutan Trait
You can cast Inflict Wounds with this trait a number of times equal to either your Intelligence or Charisma modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. The ability chosen above is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Nekrutan’s Votary

Piety 10+ Nekrutan Trait
You can cast Wither and Bloom with this trait, requiring no material components. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. The ability chosen for Nekrutan’s Devotee is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against being afraid.

Nekrutan’s Disciple

Piety 25+ Nekrutan Trait
As an action you can summon your choice of a zombie, skeleton, or ghost, with the following changes. Your summon has 1 hit point, and cannot gain more. It has a bonus to AC equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down). It gains a bonus to hit equal to your proficiency bonus. It gains extra necrotic damage toeach of its attacks equal to your proficiency bonus plus your ability modifier of the ability chosen for Nekrutan’s Devotee. You can command this summon with a free action on your turn. This summon acts on its own initiative. Only one summon may be active at once.

You can use this trait a number of times equal to your ability modifier of the ability chosen for Nekrutan’s Devotee (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Champion of Death

Piety 50+ Nekrutan Trait
You can increase your Intelligence or Charisma score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.