Fyro (FIGH-roh)
The All-Consuming, The Fire Tyrant, Burning One
Chaotic Evil Elemental Prince
Depicted as a massive column of intense flame, with darker areas suggestive of glowering eyes and a grimace near the top, unsubtle and uncomplicated. Fyro's most common symbol is a square standing upright on one corner diamond-like, crowned with three rays at its upper tip and with a slim rectangular portal centered upon its inverted tip (representing passage to the Elemental Plane of Fire).Like that of the other Elemental Princes, worship of Fyro has come and gone many times over the eras in a cyclic fashion as the powers of Elemental Evil have found purchase upon the world via the opening of elemental portals, only for them to eventually be defeated and become temporarily stymied by the closing of their portals. The names of the cults and churches dedicated to him have borne various names over the centuries, and in some cases more than one has existed at the same time.
In the modern era the most recent incursion of Elemental Evil has been quietly growing for a handful of years. Fyro's return to mortal affairs started among scattered descendents of the Cult of Furious Flames. This fell cult has grown in size and influence with the return of Fyro's influence, and has started to spread membership beyond its original roots. However other lesser factions, spin off sects, and strains of Fyro's worship exist as well.
Devotees of Fyro evoke the passion, impulsivity, and endless appetites of elemental fire. They tend to be charismatic, emotional, and bold, but volatile, intense, and easily distracted. They are unsubtle and hold nothing back, putting everything they have into everything they do. But patience and sustainment are beyond their ken; the all-consuming rush is their only tactic. Their short attention span and distractibility makes them easily manipulated, and thus they sometimes end up as the pawns in someone elses games. Classically, alliances with air and earth cults tend to see servants of Fyro in the role of shock troops and fodder, easily maneuvered by the more clever air and more patient earth devotees.
Followers of Fyro generally lack deception and artifice and thus are not devious or tricky per se, but they are entirely unpredictable which makes it difficult to guess what their next moves might be...they typically don't even know themselves. Of all the followers of the Evil Elemental Princes they are the most prone to direct violence and rampant destruction for its own sake, favoring a "burn it all down" strategy, and their activity in a given region often leaves swathes of destroyed municipalities and scorched earth.
Fyro does not have clerics; however druids of the Circle of Furious Flames serve as priests of the faith and act to spread the conversion of new believers and swell the numbers of the cult. Some sorcerous scions whose bloodline carries the taint of elemental fire find places of special favor among elemental fire cultists, though there are certainly others who have no allegience to (or even awareness of) Fyro and seek their own destiny. Some swear service to Fyro in return for his dark patronage and arcane secrets (notably, it is usally such a fool who opens a portal to allow Fyro back into the world in the first place), and while such warlocks might follow an independent path most are cult leaders. Finally, a few practitioners of the esoteric wizardly School of Pyromancy worship (or at least venerate) Fyro, and when such learned devotees are encountered they tend to be in positions of power or leadership among the elemental fire cults.
The Cult of Furious Flames
Various volcanic sacrificers, deranged pyromaniacs, and nihilistic cultists have kept the worship of Fyro alive since his last incursion upon the world. Some of the warriors of these septs are favored with fiery blessings by their patron; most notably their mastery over flames increases as they grow in Fyro's favor.
The firebrands and shaman of these scattered septs are effectively the priests of the cult. This Circle seeks followers among the dispossesed, rebelious, and resentful downtrodded living in the fringes of practically any society, rabble rousing and stiring up any existing populist sentiments along the basest tendencies of people such as racism and nationalism. Once they've whipped up a mob or inspired acts of random destruction empowered by the Burning One, the rush of power can become addictive and subvert such useful idiots to the worship of Fyro.
- The Barbarian subclass Path of Furious Flames is available to player characters with DM permission; however this cult has a villanous agenda and those who follow this path are among its most prominent foot soldiers.
- The Druid subclass Circle of Furious Flames is available to player characters with DM permission; however this cult has a villanous agenda and these fell druids are prominent furtherers of it.
Elemental Fire Origin
Some sorcerous bloodlines trace their magical origin back to an elemental entity or power from one of the Elemental Planes, and fire is no exception. During the long years between incursions of Elemental Evil such sorcerous potential tends to remain dormant and unrealized (though a very rare few elemental sorcerers do manifest their abilities even during such times) and such scions live out their lives without ever realizing their magical potential. But when portals to the Elemental Plane their bloodline is attuned to remain open upon the world, the manifestation of such abilities are much more common. Consequently, there has been a noticeable spike in sorcerers of this kind in recent years.
- The Sorcerer subclass Elemental Fire Origin is available to player characters. Such characters' bloodlines might ultimately trace their arcane potency back to Fyro, or some other entity or power native to the Plane of Elemental Fire. Either way, such characters might or might not have any knoweldge of Fyro and / or any of his various cults and followers, and they might or might not be entangled in Fyro related concerns, as their player prefers.
Fire Tyrant Patron
Extremely uncommon but among the most insidious and effective of Fyro's servants, such warlocks gain great power from Fyro's patronage. But at what cost? Some are part of or are at least affiliated with the Cult of Furious Flames, while others work alone or lead a cult or sect of their own.
- The Warlock subclass The Fire Tyrant is available to player characters who have accepted Fyro as their patron and seek to increase the influence of Elemental Evil upon the world, with DM permission. However, a player character with such a nefarious agenda may not be appropriate in some campaigns.
School of Pyromancy
An esoteric school of wizardry which specializes in studying the Elemental Plane of Fire, how to draw and channel arcane power from it, and better ways to summon and control it's native denizens.
- The Wizard subclass School of Pyromancy is available to player characters. While a few practitioners of this art worship or venerate Fyro, most do not, and a few actively oppose Fyro and his servants. An Pyromancer actively crusading to expose and eliminate servants of Fyro could be a particularly fun and thematic character in a campaign that encompasses the looming threat of this latest incursion of Elemental Evil.