Jergal (/ˈdʒɛrgʊl/ JER-gul)
“The throne is yours. I have grown weary of this empty power. Take it if you Wish—I promise to serve and guide you as your seneschal until you grow comfortable with the position. Who among you shall rule?”
Description
Jergal was frequently depicted as a member of an ancient alien race that resembled a cross between a humanoid and a praying mantis. He was a wizened and insubstantial creature, mummy-like in appearance with gray, tightly taut skin. His elongated skull hosted bulbous, yellow eyes devoid of life and insectoid mandibles, as well as a nose and ears barely distinguishable from the rest of his head. Jergal's lengthy, claw-like hands and forearms were covered by a pair of white gloves. Most of his form was also covered, hidden behind a gray, shadow-filled cloak that seemed to absorb the very atmosphere around it and moved as if blown in a wind, even if none was present. Its outer surface was a Gate to the Negative Energy Plane. In his clutches was a quill with fresh ink and a thick scroll covered in an intricate and incomprehensible script. When Jergal spoke, his voice was chilling and seemingly disembodied, echoing with the dry whisper of a tomb that had long been forgotten. Jergal was also known to take on the form of an old mortal man with a great white beard and sunken eyes that still held the spark of energy and betrayed his sharp intellect. He could take the form of any undead creature, amplifying the form's abilities with his gear and enervating touch unless the creature had such a power of equal or greater potency.Manifestations
Jergal's favored manifestation was simply the sound of a closing book, carrying a chilling feeling of finality. No matter the manifestation, when Jergal spoke, his voice was chilling and seemingly disembodied, echoing with the dry whisper of a tomb that had long been forgotten.Worshipers, Clergy & Temples
Jergal has only a handful of Living worshipers, but it is believed that many of his priests still survive as mummies and greater mummies in long-sealed tombs. Buried in long-forgotten crypts, they do nothing but scribe the fate of all Living things on cracked parchments. Some are served by zombies and skeletons, but never by sentient undead. For eons Jergal has whispered to his mummified clergy an unending litany of names and fates that they then dutifully record on scrolls until Jergal grants them eternal rest. It is said that when the world finally grinds to a halt and passes away, the last mummified Scrivener of Doom will lay down its pen and crumble to dust. Such undead priests sometimes attack and sometimes ignore interlopers who invade their dusty tombs, depending upon whether or not such beings have reached their appointed hour of death. They always attempt to drive off and if necessary destroy any being who disturbs their sacred tasks, since order in death is as important as death itself in the teachings of the faith. The small cult of Living Scriveners of Doom spend their days maintaining and extending vast archives of scrolls listing how sentients under their purview passed away and their destination in the Afterlife. Despite their near hopeless Task, they toil on undaunted, knowing they have eons to complete their appointed Task. They also tend to serve as scribes, funerary workers, and morticians. Many keep careful records of births, deaths, and taxes for the kings and rulers they served. Some clerics multiclass as monks or necromancers.Vestments
Jergal's clergy shave their heads smooth and garb themselves in unadorned gray robes and long, white gloves. At all times they carry a satchel of scrolls, inks, and quills. They also carry a desiccated Human skull with the openings plugged that they use to contain the simple mixture of ash and powdered bones employed in Sealing rituals. This skull also serves as their holy Symbol. Jergal's priests only very rarely adventure, and then only at Jergal's bequest. Adventuring Scriveners of Doom seek out those who attempt to prolong their lives beyond their appointed time through magic and then terminate their existence. Jergal's priests may wear any Armor that they Wish to protect themselves—it is irrelevant to the Lord of the End of Everything since every Living being will die at its appointed time, regardless of what protections it takes to the contrary. Jergal's priests are trained in bludgeoning weapons so that they can powder the bones of their opponents for use in future Sealing rituals.Hierarchy
The Church of Jergal is small and secretive, a rigidly organized, almost monastic order of scribes known as the Scriveners of Doom. Within their ranks, the high priest of each temple is known as First Scrivener of Doom, but otherwise the faith eschews titles or ranks. The faith has always been evenly split between clerics, monks, and specialty priests, known as Doomscribes.Temples
Jergal's few temples are typically lifeless stone mausoleums or dry, dusty crypts. Its members spend their days maintaining and extending vast archives of scrolls listing how sentients under their purview passed away and their destination in the Afterlife. Animals and Plants never live long in these dreary, bleak houses of endless drudgery. Sentients who toil daily in Jergal's dusty temples quickly age and grow weak, yet never die before their appointed time, dooming them to a life of venerability. Rare visitors to such shrines find long rows of scribes dutifully recording the affairs and fates of the short-lived mortals in the surrounding lands.Rituals
Clerics of Jergal pray for their spells at dusk, a time of day representative of the end of life. The only ritual Jergal's clerics are required to perform is called the Sealing. After recording each and every creature's demise, form of death, and destination in the Afterlife, Scriveners of Doom are required to sprinkle a Light dusting of ash and powdered Bone over their inscribed words to blot the ink and mark another small step toward the world's end. Some seek church-sponsored undeath to allow them to continue their archiving careers. On the last night of the year, Jergal's clergy cease their endless toil for a full night. On this holy night, known as the Night of Another Year, the clerics read every name whose death they have recorded from the scrolls they have carefully inscribed over the past year. With a cry of "One Year Closer!", all the scrolls are then filed, and Work begins the next day.Orders
The Jergali church has grown exceedingly small, and it no longer sees a need for a fighting branch of the faith or other affiliated orders. All creatures shall die at their appointed time whether or not the clergy of Jergal assists in that process or not, so the Scriveners of Doom spend their days toiling at the more important Task of recording the fates of the Dead rather then actively delivering death themselves. Records of the Jergali church speak of two now-extinct affiliated groups: the Companions of the Pallid Mask and the Hand of Jergal. The Companions of the Pallid Mask were a group of Jergali priests who specialized in combating or commanding the undead. They eliminated Undead Creatures whose existence was not sanctioned by the church or who had proved to be troublesome. They also supervised nonsentient undead Work crews that the church sometimes ran for profit long ago. The Hand of Jergal was an elite group of fanatic priests who led others under their Command to avenge slights upon the Church of Jergal at the direction of a high priest. They acted against those of other faiths who raised or resurrected someone without paying due tribute to Jergal or who violated or looted a tomb under the protection of the church.Dogma
Each being has an eternal resting place that is chosen for him or her at the moment of Creation. Life is a process of seeking that place and eternal rest. Existence is but a brief aberration in an eternity of death. Power, success, and joy are as transitory as weakness, failure, and misery. Only death is absolute, and then only at its appointed hour. Seek to bring order to the chaos of life, for in death there is finality and a fixed state. Be ready for death for it is at hand and uncompromising. Life should be prolonged only when it serves the greater cause of the death of the world.Appearance, Manifestations
Jergal can take the form of any undead creature, gaining all its innate abilities in doing so. He can also take the form of a mortal man with a great white beard, bent with extreme age yet holding intelligence and a driving energy within his sunken eyes. Jergal's preferred manifestations is the sound of a heavy tome being closed with chilling finality. This manifestation often occurs upon the death of an exceptionally long-lived mortal, particularly one who has extended his or her life with potions of longevity and like manipulations—such as the magic of an archwizard.Relationships & History
Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul inherited most of the portfolios of Jergal when he wearily stepped down from his position and then faded into near-obscurity. The death of those Deities left Jergal in service to Cyric and then Kelemvor. Although his nature is that he must be loyal to the office of death, he can subtly undermine the holder of that office if he or she is not true to the office's responsibilities. Jergal works well with Kelemvor, but retains his scorn for Cyric and spends much of his efforts combating Velsharoon's efforts to prolong life into undeath.Divine Domains
Jergal: God of fatalism, proper burial, guardian of tombs
God of Eternal Darkness, Decay, Entropy, Malign Knowledge, Insanity, and Cold.
Worshipers Alignment: LG, LN, LE
Domain: Knowledge, Death
Portfolio: Records of the dead
Worshipers: Undertakers
Artifacts
The Crown of Horns
The Crown of Horns is a legendary artifact dating back to the waning years of the Silver Age of Netheril. During the course of its millennia -long existence, it has existed in at least four incarnations, has served the fell desires of at least two gods, and has been shattered and reformed into vessel for Myrkul’s lingering divinity. In its original form, the Crown of Horns was an electrum helm fully covered with small horns with a row of black gems around its edge. After it was shattered by Khelben Arusun and reformed by Myrkul, it became an electrum circlet with four bone horns mounted around its edge and one large obsidian-hued, translucent diamond centered over the wearer’s brow and alive with energy. For most of its existence (-2237 DR to 1358 DR), the crown’s powers included sowing discord among those in its immediate vicinity who did not worship Jergal (later Myrkul) while causing them to covet the crown. All who wore the crown were gripped with madness and then gradually transformed into a lich. In addition, the crown had a ray of undeath power and some method of cursing those who opposed Jergal’s (later Myrkul’s) will by binding their name to daemons of the Lower Planes.Scepter of the SorcererKings
This seemingly innocuous scepter was fashioned of blueshine mithral and some two feet in length. One end of it was capped by a hollow circlet while two curved horns projected from the other end. Some descriptions suggest the haft was studded with seven jewels: amber, fiery red, jet black, reddish-black, smokey dark gray, swirling light gray, and transparent. The scepter had the size and heft of a heavy mace, but the current composition of its components is currently unknown. Although currently shattered and lost, the scepter of the sorcererkings is an ancient artifact first forged by the artificers of ancient Imaskar and then reforged by a Netherese sorcerer-king. Also known as the scepter of Khotan and the shattered scepter of Imaskar, it has the power to banish the influence of the gods, making it an object of fear and loathing to the gods of Toril whilst coveted by the primordials of AbeirHolidays
On the last night of the year, Jergal’s clergy ceased their endless toil for a full night. On this holy night known as the Night of Another Year, they passed in procession to a crypt, mausoleum, or graveyard carrying all the scrolls and books containing every name whose death they had recorded over the past year. At midnight each priest began reading aloud every name whose death they had recorded over the past year.
When the last name was intoned, all the priests invoked Jergal, crying “One year ended; one year closer,” three times, bowed their heads, and returned to their duties, taking the scrolls and books to be properly filed.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Jergal was an ancient deity, older than many of the greater gods of Faerûn. In the time of Netheril, he was a greater deity himself, with the portfolios of the Dead, Murder, and Strife. With the long aeons, he became bored with his position of power, and allowed for three mortals, known as the Dark Three, to each take up parts of his divinity. Bane assumed the portfolio of Strife, Myrkul the rulership of the Dead, and Bhaal the portfolio of Murder. Jergal himself faded from his great stature, and became a seneschal to Myrkul, a position he kept even after his master perished and first Cyric and then Kelemvor assumed his place.
During the events surrounding the rise of the cult of the Absolute in the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, Jergal manifested an avatar called Withers in a temple dedicated to himself that had lain abandoned for over a century—or rather, interred his avatar within the temple at some point in the past so that the adventurers from the nautiloid would eventually awaken it. As Withers, Jergal provided magical support to the adventurers, in exchange for a pittance of coin compared to the usual cost of such services. He accompanied the group on their journey, but aside from resurrecting dead allies and summoning additional help when asked for, he did not intervene directly. However, he might have shown great kindness to the tiefling sorcerer girl named Arabella, soothing the girl when she was distraught over the death of her parents, showing her a glimpse of her destiny that filled her with joy.
After the war the Absolute rained on the city of Baldur's Gate and many of its citizens suffered ceremorphosis, Jergal-as-Withers confronted a mural of his three inheritors—Bhaal, Myrkul, and Bane. Jergal explained that the souls of mortals vanished when they were transformed into Mind Flayers, thus failing to bolster their power, a fact that other gods had noticed. He expressed contempt for them, called them fools and finally dismissed them as "vermin". The god walked away from the mural claiming that the Dead Three's time as gods was at an end.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Personality
Although his nature was that he must be loyal to the office of death, he could subtly undermine the holder of that office if he or she was not true to the office's responsibilities.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Relationships
Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul inherited most of the portfolios of Jergal when he wearily stepped down from his position and then faded into near-obscurity. The death of those deities left Jergal in the service of Cyric and then Kelemvor; he worked well with Kelemvor, but retained his scorn for Cyric. He spent much of his efforts combating Velsharoon's efforts to prolong life into undeath.
Jergal (jer-gull), the god of fatalism and proper burial, is lawful neutral. He is also known as the Lord of the End of Everything and the Scribe of the Doomed. He is an old and little-known deity, having been the lord of the dead in ancient times, but later having stepped down to become the seneschal of the realm of the various lords of the dead who have succeeded him. He inscribes the names of the dead on his scroll as each soul arrives in the afterlife. He and his followers believe that the time of death is predetermined and strive to make that moment as orderly as possible. The domains associated with him are Death and Knowledge, and his favored weapon is the scythe.
Divine Classification
Former God of Death
Realm
Church/Cult
Children
Related Reports
5E Statistics
Tharizdun
| Title(s) | Lord of the End of Everything The Pitiless One The Forgotten One The Final Scribe Scribe of the Doomed The Bleak Seneschal Seneschal of the Crystal Spire Formerly: Lord of Bones Lord of the Dead Protector of the Names of the Dead King of the Walking Dead Guardian of Tombs Judge of the Damned The Grim Reaper |
| Aspects/Aliases | Nakasr |
5th Edition Statistics
| Power Level | Exarch |
| Alignment | Lawful Neutral |
| Symbol | A skull biting a scroll |
| Serves | Kelemvor |
| Portfolio | Records of the dead |
| Domain(s) | Knowledge, Death |
| Worshipers | Undertakers |
| Channel Divinity | Knowledge of the ages Read thoughts Touch of death |
| Plane | Fugue Plane |
| Weapon | A white glove (scythe) |