The Tyrant
Deity of Tyranny & Oppression
The Tyrant is a deity of absolute power and punishment. There have been a great many cultural variations in different places over history, but in the past few thousand years there are only two known by the wider population- Maluth, who originated among dwarvish mythology, and the dragon goddess Eresh who likely began as a champion and later Exarch of the Tyrant, later to rise as an independent deity in her own right. This is a divinity who urges people in politics towards fascism, racism and absolute monarchies. They are often the patron of torturers and oppressors as they revel in pain and suffering. They guide civilizations towards slavery and intolerance and a host of other evils that lead a society towards a dark age. They love to assist those who manipulate politics for personal gain and cruel agendas and they are the patron of many of the evil and powerful figures throughout history. They tend to work in the shadows, subtly assisting their champions often without the person's knowledge. They don't require adulation or worship as their payment is the ability to feed on the misery sown by their chosen ones.Maluth of the Common Pantheon
Domains: Death, Order, Trickery Portfolio: Tyranny, Oppression, Slavery, Hopelessness Alignment: LE Alias/s: The Tyrant Symbols: Mistletoe, Barred Door Maluth is the god of enslavement, tyranny, and oppression of the masses. Considered the mortal enemy of Elthran, Maluth helps their followers seize power through manipulation and propaganda- and once they are in power he helps them keep it through fear-mongering, enslavement, and torture. He is the god of fear and hopelessness and feeds on it. His worshipers, when not at the top of the government, often work as torturers and prison guards, as well as general law enforcement. It matters not if the pain and control inflicted is on evil criminals or blameless peasants. Maluth is the harbinger of corrupt kings and cruel councils, often worming his way into established governments in the guise of a benevolent deity (often pretending to be Ghoeth or Danha) with promises of glory, power and prestige. Originally this deity was he who lead the Duergar to become what they are- corrupted dwarves who toil in the deep without hope or happiness.Maluth of the Dwarvish/Duergar Pantheon
Domains: Death, Order, Forge Portfolio: Oppression, Slavery, Hopelessness Alignment: LE Alias/s: The Taskmaster Symbols: Cracked Skull Pierced with a Scepter Maluth was the son of Oroh and Mavrin, and brother to Thodar, Halthan, and Dolbrek. He was originally a deity of law enforcement under the wing of his uncle, Balmir. Maluth did not agree with the fact that the right to rule should lie only with blood- he thought this was unreliable. He and his church made many attempts to sway the early dwarven kingdoms towards a meritocracy but they were met with scathing backlash. He fell out of favor among dwarves who were determined to stick to their blood-driven kingdoms, but he became known and worshiped by some nations of humans. At some point in history, this deity took a sharp right turn and lost his way. According to some myths he was corrupted by the evil draconic goddess Eresh who swayed him into the belief that a dictatorship of the strongest and smartest was the ultimate form governance- the only true way to promote obedience was with swift and brutal retaliation of any who dare speak up against those in power to promote chaos and disloyalty. Whether he was swayed by an outsider god or came to this conclusion himself by watching corrupt human governments, his portfolio changed and his church and their overly harsh implementation of the law began to endanger many dwarvish kingdoms- he was labeled the god of torture and cast out of the pantheon by Balmir. Worship of him was banished in most all dwarven strongholds. He was relatively dormant for awhile, wreaking havoc among humans instead, until the dwarves who had been enslaved in the underdark by the ilithids managed to finally gain their freedom. He then pounced on this new group of hapless dwarves who had been long-removed from their pantheon and shaped and molded them into his perfect worshipers and perfect society. He then turned his gaze upwards, ready and willing to punish the dwarves and their gods them for casting him out. Thus began a long history of duergar raids and the infamous fall of Andun.Eresh of the Draconic Pantheon ***
Domains: Tyranny, Manipulation, Punishment, Absolute Power, Pain Portfolio: Trickery, Death Alignment: LE Alias/s: The Great Enslaver, Queen of Dragons Symbols: Whip or Cat-o-Nine-Tails, Crown & Skull Eresh is the most hated and feared in the entire draconic pantheon. According to myth she was a daughter of Nammu, born a demi-goddess, and was no less cruel and sadistic as he was. When Nammu was banished from the material realm by Danha, Eresh took up his cause and vowed revenge. She believed dragons had the right and responsibility to rule the world and planned to take it by force. She gathered a large number of followers over many years, building power and influence until she ascended to godhood in a proper way. She did not seek to raze all of civilization- but to dominate it through cunning and manipulation. She experimented with magic, and in some myths actually procreated with humanoids to create half-dragons and dragonborn who in turn could infiltrate the ranks of her enemies. Her worshipers and children worked from within a given civilization to seize power through trickery and once that power was won they oppressed and dominated their people, enslaved and tortured their enemies and the weak and then looked for the next area to expand their empires to. Eresh is called the Great Enslaver because there was a period of time when she had conquered and enslaved nearly half the main continent in ancient times. The metallic dragons were nearly annihilated during this time until they too began procreating with humanoids to save their species and mount a rebellion against Eresh’s tyrannical reign. They did succeed in this (in most stories she was only defeated because she enslaved her own dragonborn children and they rebelled), and Eresh was banished much like her father, to another plane. Her worshipers, mostly chromatic dragonkin and dragonborn, have never stopped working tirelessly to return her to the world and pick up where they left off. They have not forgotten the times when they nearly ruled all and they hunger for it still. These Cults of Eresh are widespread but also there are several large country-islands full of dragonborn (particularly black, blue, and red) dedicated to returning her to her former glory- The Chromatic Isles.TEMPLES OF THE TYRANT
The largest temples to The Tyrant are located in the following places.- The Chromatic Isles***
- The Underdark
Children
Worshipers
Most of The Tyrants worshipers are the duergar in the underdark or the Andun mountains or they are dragonborn worshipers of Eresh who live within the cult-compounds of The Chromatic Isles. This deity is worshiped in secret by others of course- generally humans or dwarves- usually politicians or royal figures and nobles with cruel countenance. They are worshiped by those who delight in holding power over others and abusing that power- often members of law enforcement or prison wardens as well as torturers and interrogators- those who delight in causing pain and inspiring fear. Many fallen aasimar and corrupted paladins took the wrong path by following the Tyrant (sometimes unwittingly). Lawful fighters and orderly clerics of all kinds may over time become corrupted by their lives of violence and end up worshiping this god instead. Some wizards who believe the world should be ruled by the most powerful end up worshiping this god as well. On-Brand Worshipers- Barbarian: Path of the Zealot
- Cleric: Order & Death Domains
- Fighter: All
- Paladin: Oathbreaker
- Rogue: Mastermind
- Warlock: Fiend or Genie Patron
- Wizard: Any
- Noble Background
- Criminal Background
- Soldier Background
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