Moander

An ancient deity of rot, corruption, and decay, whose origins predated the empire of Netheril. Some believed that the Darkbringer was an elder god. Despite being banished from Toril on many occasions, the Jawed God always slithered back. Moander had been depicted and described in ancient texts as a masculine deity, a feminine power, or simply referred to as "it." The Darkbringer's most renowned avatar was called the Abomination of Moander, a massive pile of animated rotting mass of animal carrion and putrified vegetation. The Abomination had some superficial resemblance to shambling mounds and gibbering mouthers. The entire surface of the avatar was covered in vines, lichen, moss, tendrils, eyes, and fanged maws of different shapes, sizes and belonging to different creatures. All mouths mumbled, cracked, screeched, and emitted deafening uncontrollable chaotic ravings and chanted Moander's name in a demented chorus. The Abomination, a lumbering mountain of rot, produced putrid black slime, shedding it behind everywhere it went. It absorbed any living or dead matter, increasing the Abomination's body size.
"Old Moldy" appeared to his worshipers in an intangible image of a red-eyed giant rotting male humanoid head that sprouted 20 feet (6.1 meters) long tendrils instead of hair and had a maw filled with fangs. This manifestation allowed Moander to communicate, manipulate objects with the tendrils, and create a mental link with the individuals the deity touched with the tentacles. The link remained even after the contact was broken, and the dark god continued whispering in the individuals' minds until the effects were negated via remove curse or remove disease spells. As the god of decay, Moander could manifest through any type of rot. The deity created long tentacles of rotting matter that sprouted from the spots of decay. Each tendril was 20 feet (6.1 meters) long and could freely manifest and move from one stop of rot to the next, within reach. These putrid tentacles could slam at the god's enemies and implant immobilized or sleeping creatures with the seed of Moander. These tendrils could feed on decaying matter, and after devouring enough, they sprouted a bulb that matured into another independent tendril. These manifestations died and disintegrated when left without food after one-to-eight months.
The Darkbringer was a cruel deity who reveled in controlling its subjects. The tyrant delighted in the torment and destruction of lesser beings; it sought to force mortals' hands to ruin those they held dear. Moander sought to corrupt anyone who refused to bow down to it. The Jawed God used lies and half-truths to cause emotional distress to those it tortured.
In his Abomination avatar shape, Moander was unable to cast spells. However, that was compensated by the sheer power and resilience of the creature. The rotting hulk could freely move across vertical surfaces or float on water. The entirety of its putrid mass could sprout tendrils, eyes, or mouths to communicate or to land devastating attacks on its enemies. Despite being an easy target, the Abomination of Moander had thick natural defenses, absorbing most attacks into its rotting mass. The Abomination had to be created by the hands of its servants, and the decaying mass that became the vessel of the Jawed God had to be at least 30 feet and 0 inches (9.1 meters) in diameter. The Abomination needed to continuously absorb organic matter in order to grow or simply exist. If left without access to new matter, the Abomination eventually rotted away within one to four months and turned to dust and foul slime. The Abomination's main mode of attack was via tendril slams and sprouting a massive fanged maw that devoured all who stood in front of the avatar. Moander's rotting body also often used huge tree trunks as spear-like projectiles or entangled its enemies. The avatar could also implant the seed of Moander into captured living creatures, taking full control over them.
Those who were unlucky enough to be swallowed by the Abomination were crushed as endless tendrils rotted away their equipment, clothes, eventually killing them and adding the carcasses to Moander's avatar. Some who survived within the creature could be infected with the seed of Moander. The deity gained knowledge of all those "blessed" with the seed. That connection worked both ways, granting the victims a brief look into the god's mind. Moander could cast any spells it knew through any of the seeded victims. Each enslaved victim shared their mind with the deity, making the Abomination permanently smarter and wiser.
This avatar was vulnerable to fire due to flammable gasses and fumes that the giant carcass constantly produced. Smaller sources of magical or mundane flames could damage the creature very little and were quickly snuffed out but the Abomination's wet oozing body. Bigger sources of flame, such as dragon's breath, could detonate the Abomination, instantly destroying the avatar in a colossal blaze. The cold was harmful to it, damaging it and halting the rotting.
Moander's core could move between piles of filth of big enough size through exuding a relatively small flying egg-shaped pod. These pods contained the essence of Moander and allowed it to possess another rotting body, creating a new Abomination. Given enough putrified matter, the Jawed God's avatar could vomit a shambling mound twice per day and a gibbering mouther once every three days. These spawns were under the god's control for the one-to-twelve following days. After that, the creatures were granted autonomy and they wandered away from the creator. Lastly, the Abomination could open a gate at will, sacrificing about a month's worth of rot that sustained it.
During cold months, the Abomination of Moander retreated to warm lands or into lava-filled hot cavers of the Underdark, where it was fed and guarded by the dread god's clergy.
Moander's divine realm–Offalmound, was located in Rarandreth, the 223rd abyssal layer, both in the Great Wheel and the World Tree cosmology. Adherents of the latter worldview speculated that with the deity's demise his realm was either pushed outside the Astral Plane without any connections remaining or collapsed altogether.
Moander especially reveled in corrupting, enslaving, and rotting beholders and similar creatures. Sages thought that to be tied to ancient rivalry with fellow god Bane, while others thought that it was due to Moander's ancient bitter enemy Phalse, who resembled a monstrous beholder with a single eye in the center and mouths in place of smaller eyes. Another ancient enemy of Moander's was Tyranthraxus the Possessing Spirit, who, in the days of antiquity, attempted to take over the Jawed God's hold in the Realms.
Among gods, Moander had several allies and significantly more foes. Unlike Ghaunadaur, Lolth was an enemy of Moander who lusted after its portfolio. Many of the elven pantheon opposed dark gods, putting them at odds with Moander. This included Corellon Larethian, Hanali Celanil Rillifane Rallathil, and Solonor Thelandira. The halfling deities Arvoreen and Sheela Peryroyl considered Moander their deadly foe.
The Darkbringer gained many bitter rivals among the gods of Netheril, the feuds that lasted for millennia. These ancient foes included Jannath–an aspect of Chauntea, Jergal, Mystryl–the goddess of magic, Selûne, Targus–aspect of Garagos, and the goddess of luck Tyche, who eventually fell by the Darkbringer's scheme. However, Moander made allies of Kozah–ancient aspect of Talos, with whom, Moander sought to destroy anything that Mystryl had a hand in creating. Shar became allied with both Moander and Kozah against her sister Selûne.
Moander's presence and worship have been chronicled in many ancient texts. Some were older than his first recorded organized worship in Netheril. Moanderite worship was predatory dogma that preyed on lonely folk adrift in the world. Those desperate enough to join worship welcomed the firm direction it gave their life. Moander has never been flush with worshipers. However, numerous cults have been dedicated to the deity. Individuals who joined Darkbringer's clergy were put through a ceremony where a seed of Moander was planted inside their bodies. The godly seed grew inside, slowly turning the entirety of their insides into rotting plant matter and eventually dried dead greenery. The clergy of Moander was identifiable by a small flowering tendril protruding from the ear and wound through the hair. This seed allowed the god directly assume control of any creature infected by it.
Moander was served by and could manifest itself as several intelligent non-human creatures, such as algoids, dark trees, gibbering mouthers, shambling mounds, and vegepygmies created by russet mold. Moander and his cultists used giant toads, and giant slugs, for their nefarious purposes, and the deity summoned its loyal black or green dragons to serve the Mouth of Moander. The Jawed God's hate of beholders led to the deity transforming dead enslaved aberrations into rotting death tyrants, fully subservient to it. In the late-14th century DR, Moander received worship from some of wild elves who stood in fear of encroaching civilization. These elves believed that the god of decay could protect them from farmers, ranchers, and loggers.
Typical temples of the Rotting God were constructed as sprawling underground complexes or atop sharp hills away from prying eyes in the secluded wilderness. The temples were marked by circled of sharp fang-shaped rocks arranged in the shape of Moander's open jaws, surrounding an altar. The underground temples could be found in places with rot, waste, and decaying sewage. The temple complexes' walls were carved with delicate images of elves frowning trees, tortured humanoids, and people being melted by dragons' acid.
The oldest pace of Moanderite worship in Faerûn was an underground temple known as the Abyss of the Abomination, in the city of Yûlash in the Moonsea region. The temple complex was over 1,000 years old by the 14th century DR. Another shrine of note was the Hill of Fangs, outside the city of Westgate. The hilltop was surrounded by a ring of eight plinths of red stone that resembled curved inward fangs. More obscure places of worship were mere rumors to most. The forests outside of Ylraphon were rumored to shelter shrines of several evil powers, including the worship site called the House of Moander. Another temple of Moander could be found proudly standing in the City of a Thousand Temples–Bezantur in Thay. Following the Jawed God's death during the Time of Troubles, the main well-hidden active place of worship was the Hidden Glades temple by the town of Torsch in Chondalwood. The faith was led by the Mouth of Moander Dalchatha Maereegh. She ran a wide spy network and guided cultists to capture, slay, and rot enemies of the church, turning them into new bodies for Moander to turn into Abominations.
Brindul Alley in Waterdeep was haunted by a strange flying hand that greatly resembled the holy symbol of Moander. There were many theories of the hand's origin. However, none were confirmed.

"Question not the words of Moander, lest you be stricken by the Eating From Within. Go forth and possess beings of power and influence for me. Slay, and let the rot cover all. Fear me, and obey." - Moander