Ba'Thaal the Hordemaster
The Hordemaster was one of the Discord’s closest allies during the Radiation, and he acted as a high commander able to create a loyal army of nightmarish creatures corrupted from nature itself. This creature acted like a mad scientist, conducting experiments on creatures and testing them in the heat of battle; the stronger models would be improved and evolve, while the weaker models would vanish completely. This leads modern historians to believe that creatures like monstrosities and aberrations who do not fit in with other categories of creatures likely originated from the Hordemaster. As his title implies, the Hordemaster reveled in the unending horde of his own creation, originally earning him the name of Keeper of a Thousand Monsters. However, following his defeat during the Radiation, his abominations had grown to the point that all of them could not be destroyed or contained, and so many of them fled to the Outer Planes and the Far Realms where they could live and grow without interference.
The Scarred
Though the Hordemaster created countless monstrosities, some of which have no similarities between one another, he did manage to create an entire subsect of creature by combining various pieces of other creatures into a completely new form. These monsters, appropriately dubbed as Scarred, were mainly cobbled together entities ranging from simple to complex abominations. These odd experiments have not seen the light of day in quite some time but given the fact that they were some of the Hordemaster’s first creations, some ambitious minds strive to bring back this lost blight upon nature.Enemies of the Hordemaster
The Hordermaster excels in creating hideous abominations that defy nature itself, and therefore, he made a natural enemy out of the Landkeeper during his time serving as the right hand of the Discord. He despises the cycle of nature and created legions of monsters in order to defy this natural order and supplant his will across the world. His followers use his infamous talents as an example to live by and pervert nature with poisons and malicious alchemical reactions. Some with more experience with magic and science even go so far as to fuse different creatures together and continue the Hordemaster’s legion of monsters.Depictions
Many renderings of the Hordemaster show him as a massive protoplasmic worm-like creature with a thousand gaunt humanoid limbs used both as appendages and a form of locomotion. His back is lined with bulbous sacs pulsing with electrical potential, giving life to whatever disgusting monstrosity his twisted mind can conceive. His body is also often shown in a spiraled shape as a reference to the ancient force he grew obsessed over during olden times.Commandments of the Hordemaster
- There is always innate strength in numbers. Instill your command in all those with like ideals to bring your plans to fruition.
- There is always logic in leaving dangerous work for your servants. The commander should be protected at all costs.
- The spiral is all-knowing and all-consuming. Devote your life to feeding this ancient secret and you too can ascend to the next level.
Divine Classification
Deity
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Children
Current Residence
The Spiraled Sepulcher, Hades
Monsters
Nightmares
Envy
Honorary Titles
The Hordemaster
Keeper of a Thousand Monsters
The Dreaming Madness
Holy Symbol
A bloodied needle and coiled thread
Comments