Erebos, god of the dead
God of the Dead
Erebos is the god of death and the Underworld, Lord of all that has ever lived. He presides over the bitterness, envy, and eventual acceptance of those who suffer misfortune. His hoarding of both souls and the treasures the dead carry into the Underworld see him worshiped by those who desire to collect and keep wealth. Erebos’s very presence is stifling, and those who come face to face with him often depart in despair. He is jealous and tyrannical within his realm, but unlike his brother Heliod, he neither blusters nor tries to expand his influence. He waits patiently, secure in the knowledge that everything belongs to him in the end. Erebos most frequently appears as a slender, gray-skinned humanoid with two large, outward-curving horns, wielding an impossibly long black whip (see D&D Beyond). He also appears in the form of a black asp, a cloud of choking smoke, or an animated golden idol.Divine Relationships
Erebos loathes Heliod, who banished him to the Underworld eons ago, forever severing him from the world of life and light. Erebos takes particular delight in profaning Heliod’s temples, defiling the raiment of his priests, slaughtering his worshipers, and claiming the souls of his champions. Erebos believes that Heliod will one day challenge him for control of the Underworld. He looks forward to that day, certain that his lesser brother can’t possibly prevail within Erebos’s own territory. Erebos holds a special grudge against Phenax. Phenax readily teaches others how to escape the Underworld as the Returned and even sneaks into the Underworld to assist them, earning him Erebos’s undying ire. Pharika and Karametra understand, better than many of the other gods, that life and death are closely intertwined. Pharika’s tinctures can either extend a life or snuff it out, and Karametra’s planters know that reaping follows sowing in turn. Although he appreciates what these gods have in common with him, Erebos occasionally feels the need to remind them that the dead are his, and other gods’ acceptance of death’s inevitability doesn’t make them masters of it. Erebos has no true allies but operates closely with Athreos and Klothys. Athreos is one of the few beings Erebos trusts to be as committed as he is to ensuring that the passage into death is a one-way trip. Klothys, too, would see the dead remain dead, concerned as she is with the acceptance of destiny. At least he believes this to be true. Athreos would be willing to grant escape to a mortal if they should present him with his coins upon their death and does help those not yet dead cross into and out of the Underworld for a price. Klothys too understands that the destiny of others can very well be that they do not stay dead or go into the Underworld on a quest. She also forsees the Twilight of the Gods and knows that they too are soon to face their end. The mortals are angry with Erebos disregard of their suffering, with so much of the Underworld being full of torment. He is cruel to the mortals, seeing them as lessen beings, and Klothys knows that this cruelty will be his downfall.Divine Domains
Erebos’s Influence
Born from Heliod’s shadow and then banished to the Underworld, Erebos claimed dominion over that desolate realm. He sees it as his duty and his right to ensure that those who enter his realm remain there for all time. Within the Underworld, only the relative paradise of Ilysia is sheltered from his influence. In the other four realms of the dead, his will is law. Mortals typically fear death, yet death is the inevitable end of each one’s time in the mortal world. Erebos, having long ago come to terms with his own banishment, teaches his followers to accept the inevitability of death and the often unavoidable tragedies of life. Although Erebos forbids souls from leaving the Underworld, some escape his clutches. Generally, such souls are beneath his notice, but he sometimes sends agents to retrieve those he has particular interest in.Holy Books & Codes
MYTHS OF EREBOS
Erebos appears in many god-stories, often as a villain or a foil to the other gods. The stories told by his followers emphasize his power, the wealth of the Underworld, and the inevitability of death. Kytheon’s Escape. Many know the story of Kytheon Iora, an Akroan orphan who took up Heliod’s spear and attempted to kill Erebos himself. The tale ends in tragedy, as Kytheon was struck down along with his friends. Only the high priests of Erebos, however, know that Kytheon’s soul isn’t in the Underworld, having somehow escaped right before Erebos’s eyes. Suspecting that either Heliod or Kruphix knows where Kytheon’s soul went, Erebos will reward anyone who can tell him. Kytheon's soul was in fact reincarnated into the body of his son, Tyrael. It is how Nylea chose to save Kytheon because she saw what he was trying to do to save mortals from his cruelty and together with Klothys, Nylea used the attack on her by Erebos to conceive his destroyer. Menelaia’s Song. Long ago, a master lyrist named Menelaia mourned her lover, Pero. She entered the Winter Nexus, a cave on the edge of Setessa that leads to the Underworld, and played a love song to lure Pero’s soul back to the mortal world. When Erebos saw this, he became furious, and he extended his whip to draw both of the lovers back. But Menelaia was beloved of Nylea, and that god blocked Erebos’s whip with vines. The two lovers lived long lives together. Erebos had the last word, however, tormenting both of the lovers in the Underworld. To this day, this turn of events plagues Nylea, who seeks a way to bring the lovers peace. After this event is when Erebos accosted her and she saw this opportunity to save the lovers, save everyone from his cruelty by using the event to conceive a child. The Return of Daxos. Daxos of Meletis was a powerful oracle who heard the voices of all the gods. Daxos tragically died at the hands of his lover, the champion of Heliod, Elspeth, through the duplicity of the satyr Xenagos. Daxos’s soul passed into the Underworld, and Elspeth sought Erebos’s help to travel into Nyx. After passing Erebos’s test for admittance, Elspeth demanded an additional reward: she would trade her life for Daxos’s. Erebos, always eager to claim a champion of the sun god, agreed. Elspeth died shortly after her triumph over Xenagos, whereupon Erebos kept his word—but in a treacherous fashion, allowing Daxos’s body to go back to the mortal world as a Returned. Bereft of memories, he wanders aimlessly. When defeating Erebos, the players can ask for Daxos's soul to be returned to his body, thus ending his curse. They may also attempt to reunite Daxos's eidolon with his body, which to this day wanders the Skola Vale. His eidolon in another cruel torment is in the Underworld in Ilysia, floating as a glow of light that never leaves the "door" into Ilysia where new souls are welcomed and waiting for his love to join him. His body never attacks or harms anyone, solely a miserable moan and shuffling for eternity that shows his melancholy, and the satyrs there often sing songs of this tragedy to keep their little ones from venturing out too far. Elspeth in her despair over the treachery also chose not to enter Ilysia where heroes go upon their death. Instead, she wanders Phylias and struggles to hold on to her identity and memories of Daxos- a very fitting punishment for such an upstart champion in Erebos's mind. A Shadowed World. Heliod’s followers maintain that their god gave rise to Erebos by casting a shadow in the sun’s first light. Followers of Erebos say that this tale is self-refuting. Before there ever was a sun, the entire world stood in shadow, and the shadow was Erebos—elder to Heliod. Only with the first dawning was Erebos’s form diminished enough that Heliod could overpower him, and the god of the dead has never forgiven his upstart brother. The faithful of both Erebos and Heliod viciously argue the details of their gods’ origins, some risking their lives in battle over which of their gods came into being first. Unfortunately, it was Erebos who came first, existing as the ever-permanent shadow that swept over the entire world. He longs to bring the world back to that place and believes that more souls, more mortals are needed. He has been spending centuries shoring up resources for a war against Heliod, and just recently in the past few years his methods for creating more souls to feed him have become much more direct and his cultists are murdering people left and right.Divine Symbols & Sigils
Serene face with horns
Tenets of Faith
Worshiping Erebos
To many mortals, Erebos is primarily concerned not with death, but with gold. Most of his followers downplay his association with death and misfortune, instead praying to him for material wealth. Others pray to him because they want to be more accepting of their misfortune. These individuals see themselves as beyond hope of improving their lot in life, asking only that Erebos grant them the strength to endure until they enter his realm at their predestined time. A smaller but more dangerous group of Erebos worshipers are those who actively glorify death. These cultists and assassins congregate in secret in communities across Theros, engaging in campaigns of violence. As the players work to undermine Erebos several of his cultists will stand in their way, plaguing them throughout their campaign.Earning and Losing Piety
You increase your piety score to Erebos when you expand the god’s influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:- Convincing a group of people to accept misfortune
- Easing someone’s death or assisting with funeral arrangements
- Retrieving a prominent figure’s eidolon or Returned form
- Thwarting the schemes of Heliod
- Saving a life without securing compensation for Erebos
- Forsaking your duties for personal gain or pleasure
- Allowing a soul to escape the Underworld
Erebos’s Devotee
Piety 3+ Erebos trait As a devotee of Erebos, you have proven yourself an executor of the Underworld’s grim laws. You can call on Erebos’s favor to cast bane with this trait, requiring no material components, a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.Erebos’s Votary
Piety 10+ Erebos trait You can cast vampiric touch with this trait. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.Erebos’s Disciple
Piety 25+ Erebos trait When a soul is sent to its rightful place, you can draw on the energy of the Underworld to empower you. When a creature dies within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your level.Champion of the Dead
Piety 50+ Erebos trait You can increase your Constitution or Wisdom score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.Holidays
The only major festival dedicated to Erebos, called the Katabasion or “the Descent,” features a ceremony in which worshipers make a symbolic journey into the Underworld. The supplicants enter a cave, offer prayers and sacrifices to Erebos in utter darkness, and slowly make their way back to the surface just before sunrise.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Erebos’s Goals
Erebos wants above all to maintain his position of absolute authority over the realm of the dead. He lashes out at anyone who aids souls in escaping from him or otherwise tries to subvert the inevitability of death. Erebos is patient, usually willing to wait for souls to come to him, but he does interfere in the mortal realm on occasion. When the other gods displease him, he sends mortal agents or Nyxborn monsters to kill the worshipers of the offending gods and spread despair. Many of Erebos’s schemes target those who escape his clutches. He regularly sends agents to retrieve the Returned soul or the wayward eidolon of a hero of great renown who has succeeded in returning to Theros. If any of the dead, renowned or otherwise, escape the Underworld fully intact—without identities erased—Erebos will spare nothing to make an example of the fugitive and any who provided assistance. Recently, Erebos has become more and more greedy, seeking more and more souls to give him the power to potentially get rid of or grievously harm Heliod. In doing so, he's taken a note from his enemy, Phenax, and has begun to disguise himself as the god and get Phenax's followers to create strike and death on Earth. One such act takes place as the players meet in Meletis where it is learned that the Deception’s Edge, a dagger that enables the wielder to warp the minds of mortals, is being used not by Phenax against the tritons and people of Meletis but Erebos in his form.
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