The Dark Lord of Baator
From: Alex Roberts
Powers Template, a la Faiths & Avatars
This file is copyrighted 1996 by TSR, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Dark Lord of Baator
(The Adversary, the Dark One, the Wyrm, Great Beast That is Called
Dragon, Master of the Ninth Hell, Lord of the Pit, Angel of the
Bottomless Pit, Prince of Darkness, Father of Lies, Prince of this
World, Destroyer of Kings, Bright Morning Star)
Greater Power (Lesser Power on Toril) of Baator, LE
Portfolio: Baator and the Baatezu, lies, deception, power and the abuse
of power, rulership.
Aliases: Melchiresha, Asmodeus, Asmada'i, Satanael, Lucifer
Morningstar, Apollyon the Destroyer, Abbadon, Iblis, Shaitan.
Domain Name: Nessus (as with the Crown Archons, the whole layer is his)
Superior: None.
Allies: The other Lords of the Nine, Gargauth the Outcast, Ravana,
Ahriman, Bane (dead), Tiamat, Takhisis.
Foes: Almost everyone else, except, bizarrely, Iyachtu Xvim, a power
renowned for hating almost everything.
Symbol: Paired horns, ram's skull, inverted pentagram, heptagram, any
corruption of a good holy symbol (such as a black disk for Lathander or
Tymora, or a broken scythe for the Crown Archon Azrael)
Wor. Align.: LE, NE.
The Dark Lord is an astonishingly secretive character. Ruling the whole
of the Nine Hells of Baator with an iron fist, he is a power of
tremendous influence about whom next to nothing is known for certain.
Indeed, the use of the male pronoun to discuss the Dark Lord is more a
matter of custom among his clergy and by his opponents than any kind of
indication of knowledge about the Dark One. He is often depicted as
resembling a pit fiend, but when he has (rarely) manifested what seemed
to be an avatar, the sight that was (briefly) seen was more like a huge
shadow fiend. The Dark Lord has never been recorded as taking any
direct action, except in religious texts that are usually interpreted
allegorically.
It is persistently rumoured that the Dark Lord was once a Crown Archon,
perhaps even a leader among them, who became obsessed with power (or
jealous of a rival) and fell from Mount Celestia. The only people who
knows for sure are Triel, the Slug Archduke of Maladomini, and the
Crowns. Neither are saying anything certain at the moment.
Within the Realms, the Dark Lord is most often associated with Gargauth
the Outcast, Beherit, Astaroth and Tiamat (all mentioned in Powers and
Pantheons). However, he's not considered Tiamat's superior these days
as Tiamat is apparently not the ruler of the First Hell.
The Dark Lord manifests no measurable avatar, instead exerting
near-absolute power within Baator, and considerable force outside it.
The author Willgan the Dogged imploded shortly after writing a treatise
on the Lords of the Nine (Dragon #223), and in all probability this
resulted from his declared intention to find out more about the Dark
Lord. Reports of a huge earthquake preceding the destruction of the
Dark Lord's enemies may hint at the power of any avatar he might
employ.
Other Manifestations
The Dark Lord manifests himself in many ways. He has many tiefling and
baatezu devotees, who do his fell bidding throughout the planes. As
noted above, earthquakes sometimes herald his displeasure, and he also
sends hurricanes, magical rains of fire and other catastrophes to
celebrate great abuses of power.
"The night has been unruly....lamentings heard in the air....some say
the earth was feverish, and did shake."
- Shakespeare, Macbeth. Lennox describing the night of Duncan's
murder.
To show his favour on his worshippers, he may possess one or more of
the faithful with baatezu spirits, or cause astronomical anomalies such
as blood-coloured moons (on worlds where that would be unusual) or
completely starless but clear nights.
The Church
Clergy: Clerics, speciality priests, crusaders, holy slayers.
Clergy's Align.: LE
Turn Undead: No.
Cmnd. Undead: All except holy slayer.
The church of the Dark Lord is usually secretive, although in
permissive societies it may come to more prominence. Temples to the
Father of Lies are usually basically rectangular, with an apse at one
end, or else round, with a huge pentagram on the floor. Sacrifices are
offered on altars, and black candles are traditionally used for
lighting. The favoured spot for temple construction is at the site of
some terrible happening, such as a mass murder or the destruction of
some good force. The priests of the Lords of the Nine are sometimes
called Flamen.
Dogma: The faithful of the Prince of This World teach that the
proponents of 'good' are weak-willed imbeciles who commit the ultimate
hubris by trying to lord it over the strong thinkers (inevitably
identified with the faithful themselves) and who impose unfair laws to
prevent the true worship of the Dark One. They also teach that
rebellion is a tool for the construction of a strong government, and
that the gullible and the ambitious are valuable tools for the
promotion of their own ends, namely the overthrow of existing 'good'
governments and the instatement of their own agents. Ruthlessness is a
virtue, and spying on others to be encouraged.
Day-to-Day Activities: The most important activity of the churches of
Darkness are their Black Rites, performed usually the day before any
mainstream holy day, or upon any _dies_nefastus_ (bank holiday). These
involve the invocation of the names of the Dark One, the destruction of
good sacred items, the utterance of blasphemies against good
established religions, and the sacrifice of living creatures. For minor
ceremonies, a black cockerel or new-born piglet is used, but upon any
major feast-day, a human (preferably a virgin of either sex) is used
instead. (An elf is even better, but getting hold of them can prove
tricky.)
Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: Any day regarded as a bad day in the
calendars of good religions is especially favoured, as is the first
full moon after an equinox or solstice. Days when the dead are said to
walk are highly auspicious as well. Additionally, the Dark Churches
occasionally get together to perform an act of blasphemy upon some
major feast day of another faith, as when, shortly before the great
upheaval, the Pontiff Akbar Abd-Azra'il was found nailed to the door of
the Spireward vestry at Excelsior Cathedral on the morning of the feast
of Esperance. (This tragic planar event has thankfully not been
mirrored by any similar catastrophe in Faerun. However, a serial-killer
of diplomats on the Rock of Bral in the Tears of Selune was found to be
a practising worshipper of the Dark One a few years ago.)
Major Centers of Worship: Temples to the Dark Lord and to the other
Lords of the Nine are found throughout Baator, where such is the
established religion. Elsewhere, the Temple of Dark Secrets at Ribcage
is the largest such site. (Found on the Mimir at http://www.mimir.com/)
There are no known shrines to the Dark One in Sigil, but that hardly
constitutes proof that there are none at all. Rumours persist of a
shrine to the Prince of This World somewhere on the fourth level of
Undermountain, said to be presided over by a powerful vampire priest. A
small temple to the Dark Lord can also be found in Myth Drannor, in one
of the building complexes presently controlled by baatezu. They pray to
him for help in their escape attempts and their constant scrapping with
Druth Daern, the phaerimm, the baelnorns, and especially the tanar'ri.
So far no supernatural aid has been forthcoming except for spells for
their priests.
Affiliated Orders: There are no known knightly orders dedicated to the
Dark Lord. (However, the FR boxed set Lands of Intrigue and the Powers
and Pantheons book through up one or two interesting snippets of
information...no spoilers here)
Priestly Vestments: Priests of the Dark Lord usually wear robes of
absolute night black, that cover them from throat to foot, perhaps with
a pentagram in silver on the back. The higher-ranking priests wear
visorless helmets with rams' horns attached to the sides.
Adventuring Garb: There is no adventuring garb for priests of the
Father of Lies - they always travel anonymously.
Specialty Priests (Children of Darkness)
The experience progression table for all priest types is found in
Appendix 1: Priest Group Classes in the Faiths and Avatars book, but is
identical with the Druid table, except for the Druid's 'reset'.
Any race may be children of darkness, although those with
predispositions to chaotic alignments (such as all elves) are very
rare.
Requirements: Charisma 14
Prime Req.: There's no bonus for higher scores, but the Prime Requisite
of a Child of Darkness is Charisma.
Alignment: LE
Weapons: Swords, garotting weapons, whips, flails, scourges and staves
only.
Armor: Leather or chain only.
Major Spheres: All, Law, Charm, Elemental, Protection.
Minor Spheres: Combat, Necromancy, Weather, Divination.
Magical Items: Magical items permitted to clerics, plus magical items
with a function involving rulership, as a rod of kingly might, Law's
banner, etc., regardless of their class restrictions.
Req. Profs: Etiquette
Bonus Profs: Religion (Dark Lord and one good faith of choice)
Granted Powers
* At 3rd level, a Child of Darkness may putrefy food and water three
times a day, as per the spell.
* At 5th level, a Child of Darkness may invoke darkness, as the spell,
twice a day
* At 7th level, a Child of Darkness gains a +3 to all saves vs. charm
spells
* At 9th level, a Child of Darkness may seek out a witch, once a month
at most, and demand a augury. This augury will reveal political secrets
of value to the church of the Dark Lord.
Observations:
'Satan' simply means 'adversary', and is not, strictly speaking, a
proper name. All fiends might be called satans.