Vortain

Ruling vast swaths of the Abyss from a colorful vortex of vapor is the god Vortain. Considered the cruelest and most malicious of gods, Vortain is chaos fused with evil, existing for one purpose: to watch the civilize world crumble in on itself, smashed in a storm of sin. The Divine Record lists him as a refugee from The Great God War, while Eshsalqua’s Songs of Power condemns him as an upstart demon lord, crude and worthless. Perhaps both are true. Whatever the case, Vortain experiences pleasure perverting the minds of mortals. He invokes primal instincts of fear, lust and anger, preferring his victims destroy themselves in a never-ending spiral of chaos. To aid his first worshipers in corruption, Vortain revealed secret drug recipes. These concoctions serve two purposes within his church. Worshipers consume drugs to commune with Vortain, believing their hallucinations are a visitation to the Abyss. The drug trade is used by his priests as a tool for sowing disorder among stable societies and attracting criminal elements. Ultimately, Vortain understands that order and chaos coexist, but he delights in clogging courthouses with lawbreakers, mortuaries with corpses and his domain with self-sent servants.

Structure

Vortain’s priests are predominantly clerics, supported by bards, wizards, sorcerers and witches. Clerics oversee the church’s illicit drug trafficking and perform psychedelic rituals. Bards and wizards supplement these rituals with colorful illusions. Sorcerers channel Vortain’s chaos into destructive energy, destroying their foes and prying law enforcement. Witches use their powers to concoct potent drugs and potions for the church’s use. Temples of Vortain maintain a lavish public presence where drugs are legal to sell. Each temple is unique and chaotic in construction, containing stairways to nowhere, roofs at odd angles and columns supporting nothing. They are full of strange colors and thick incense haze. In drug-intolerant societies, Vortain operates out of shadowy complexes in the underworld, often with the compliance of Shadeling operatives. They help subvert normal society by overloading the economy with contraband and trick leaders into dangerous addictions.

Public Agenda

He despises the Citadels power and is the primary face behind the GDC's drug peddlers.

Assets

He has his clerics peddling in the slums but mostly resides in hidden places among the GDC's borders. Although it is kept secret many suspect he has strong ties and influences among the gifted elite.

Demography and Population

His clerics thrive on making new drugs in the GDC's boarders. His power is notably destroying the slums and slowly corrupting rich aristocrats.