Hextor
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Hextor |
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(Champion of Evil, Herald of Hell, Scourge of Battle Intermediate Power of Acheron By Will McPherson Portfolio:
War, Discord, Conflict, Fitness, Massacres, Tyranny Hextor (HEKS-tohr) is the six-armed Oeridian god of war and discord, and the patron of evil warriors. He is commonly worshiped in the lands of the Great Kingdom. Hextor differs from his bloodthirsty ally, Erythnul, in his organized approach to warfare and bloodshed. Additionally, his worshipers tend to be members of the evil eastern armies instead of bandits and raiders motivated by bloodlust. Numerous assassins and mercenaries also worship Hextor, as do many evil nobles and tyrants. The Herald of Hell is said to be fearless in battle, even when outmatched. He is combative and powerful, often moving those around him to strife and conflict with his mere presence. He has an interesting relationship with Erythnul, another god of combative tendencies and great power. The two would seem to be opposites, as one promotes the violence and bloodlust of battle, and the other is a strategic planner and conqueror. Long ago they forged an agreement, saying that neither would move against the other, and if the other fell into times of need, they would be aided by the other. Trust is foreign to these two powers, and both expect the treaty to be broken without warning. At present both are exceptionally powerful, their strength boosted by the chaos and bloodshed of the Flanaess-wide Greyhawk Wars. Hextor is disliked by the Churches of Pholtus and Zilchus, both of whom were greatly reduced in power in the Great Kingdom. The worship of Pholtus was banned completely from the lands of Aerdy (as described in Ivid the Undying) by Overking Ivid V, and the church of Hextor no longer faces any religious opposition within those lands. Zilchus's priests have also been limited within the Aerdy lands, though not to the extent of the followers of Pholtus. Their temporal power remains strong, however, through their influence on the mercantile house of Darmen. It is said that Hextor is also despised by the Lords of the Nine, the Archdukes of Hell. Tales say that he was once (and some say still is) one of their devilish number, but was banished for his metamorphosis into a true god. He fled to Acheron, where he marshals his armies across his iron realm, The Scourge. Other tales tell of the Archdukes aid in Hextor's ascension. His priests neither deny nor confirm these tales, but they do say that their god was not banished from the Hells, but departed on his own accord. It is known that Hextor occasionally travels to the Hells, and even visits the plane of Mechanus, or Nirvana, on occasion. Of all the Champion of Evil's foes, none are more hated by Hextor than Heironeous, his good-aligned sibling. When they were offered a choice of paths to follow by the other gods, Heironeous followed the path of Law and Goodness. Hextor, who had always hated his brother, chose the path of Evil, just to spite Heironeous. The two appeared evenly matched, but Heironeous was continually victorious over his brother. Tales say that the Archdukes, anxious to increase their power, came to Heironeous and offered him their infernal power. Hextor accepted and was granted his six arms and other, less obvious, powers. With these limbs he was nearly invincible in combat, able to stand against Heironeous and any other god. The Archdukes were too clever, though, for with this newfound power, Hextor was quick to break his ties to the Hells, thus depriving the Archdukes of the powerful tool they had desired. Hextor is malicious and spiteful, going to great lengths to harm or slight anyone who has offended him. He is also recognized as one of the foremost generals among the gods, with strategic and tactical skills unmatched save for Heironeous. Hextor's arrogance is great indeed, but he is not so proud that he thinks himself invulnerable to sedition. He sees threats where they do not exist, and will end such "threats" quickly and violently. On the Outer Planes, Hextor resides on an enormous iron block which forever drifts through the void of Acheron. A great iron-clad fortress serves as his capital, and endless armies of his faithful wage war against each other and anyone else that comes within their reach. In a twisted mockery of Valhalla, any who die in these battles are raised again to fight anew - only as skeletons and zombies. The subjects of Hextor's realm live, and die, for battle. Hextor's Avatar (Fighter 32, Thief 24) Hextor loves to travel the Prime Material Plane in avatar form, creating conflict, war, and discord, aiding the forces of law and evil, and opposing good. He especially seeks to overthrow and destroy the temples and servants of his brother and chief enemy, Heironeous. Hextor may appear as a man of comely appearance if he so wishes, hiding four of his arms in illusion. He is light of skin and dark of hair, and his eyes are as black as onyx. In this form Hextor is charming, well spoken, and intellectually well-rounded, able to make conversation on any topic and appearing knowledgeable on any subject. His true form is much more horrific: gray-skinned and lank-haired, with gruesome eyes rimmed with red bulging from a hideous visage. He carries many weapons and wears armor decorated with skulls. In this form he shows all six arms, and fights with all of the deadly power available to him. AC -5 (-8); MV 24; Hp 200; Thac0 -10; #AT 2,4 or 6; Dmg 1d4+8/ 1d4+8 (bucklers)/ 1d8+10 (fork+2)/ 1d8+11 (scimitar +3)/1d6+11 (flail+2)/ 2d4+11 (Morningstar +3) (All weapons: str +6, spec.+2) MR 90%; SZ M (6'6") Str 18/00, Dex 19, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 18 or 1 Spells: W: None P: None Saves: PPDM 3; RSW 5; PP 4; BW 3; Sp 6 Special Attacks/Defenses In
combat Hextor has many weapons at his disposal. He uses two great bows for
missile combat, each of which fires +3 shafts barbed with iron, and inflict
10-15 points of damage on a hit. In
melee he uses two spiked bucklers and four other weapons. If he so wills,
the bucklers may be used as weapons, but otherwise Hextor has four attacks
every round. Typically he wields the following weapons:
two bucklers, military fork +2, scimitar +3, footman's flail +2, and
a morningstar +3. He wears +3 armor, bringing his AC to -8.
Hextor wears his holy symbol around his neck, which can act as a symbol
of Hate and Discord once per day. Hextor
also carries the Trumpet of Acheron,
which can be sounded once every six days. When used, it summons 6d10
skeletons to serve the avatar's will. Once every six years, it can be blown
to summon an undead horde of 60-600 skeletons and 30-300 zombies. Other Manifestations Although Hextor rarely manifests himself outside of his avatars, he is known to send his trumpets of war to faithful priests who are truly in need of his aid. These trumpets play ghostly, haunting melodies. The trumpets cannot be harmed, and their music will animate all those slain by the priest within 30 feet as maximum hit point juju zombies. The zombies will serve the priest for 1 hour, after which they collapse into dust. A priest will never be so aided twice in their lifetime. Other manifestations of Hextor include grisly omens of warning; stones bleeding; strange, haunting melodies played by some vile, ghostly trumpet; the sounds of battle; skulls appearing in the air. Hextor is served by various types of devils; undead (especially those slain in battle), including skeletons, zombies, and lawful evil intelligent undead; spiders; nightmares; hellhounds; myrlochar (soul spiders); reaves; shadowdrakes; sword spirits; tso; hellcats; bonespears; bladelings; and kytons. Furthermore, Hextor still commands the service of some baatezu, although these are generally reviled and hated by those fiends who serve the Dark Eight or Lords of the Nine. The Church
All priests of Hextor are required to have the blind-fighting non-weapon proficiency, which they may learn without penalties from group crossovers. They also receive, free of charge, the religion (Oeridian) and religion (Common) non-weapon proficiencies. At the DM's option, they may also be familiar with the Flan, Suel or Baklunish religions. Although it is neither required or given as a bonus proficiency, many Hextorians have the music proficiency, and are familiar with the playing of various wind instruments, horns, and drums. The clergy of Hextor includes humans (75%), half-orcs (20%), and evil humanoids (5%). The clergy of Hextor is powerful but vile. They are spread across the Flanaess, and cause war and discord wherever and whenever they can. In the Great Kingdom they are the strongest religious (and some say military) force, and have tremendous influence and power. The priests will sometimes rise up in great numbers, leading armies of humanoids and humans into enormous conflicts that result in massive deaths. A few of these forces have even included large numbers of the undead, whom Hextor shows some preference for. Clerics and crusaders are common within the highly structured church hierarchy. The clerics, called the Battleguard, are the defenders of the faith. They have the responsibility of the church's welfare on their shoulders, and make convenient scapegoats for the specialty priests, the Hounds of Hell, whenever something should go wrong. Over the last few years the Battleguard's numbers have greatly declined (they now make up only about 10% of the clergy). Lately, the Hounds of Hell have begun to give the clerics more privileges and positions of power, in hopes of restoring the defensive branch of the church. The crusaders, called the Scourges of Hextor, are the church's most militarily powerful branch. They are the officers and leaders of the church armies, and are thus in a position of great power. They are correspondingly fairly numerous, making up about 35% of the Hextorian priest population. For years the Hounds of Hell have been trying to limit the power of the Scourges, to little or no effect. The specialty priests of Hextor are called the Hounds of Hell. They are the most numerous and visible part of the clergy of Hextor, making up more than half of all of the priesthood, and more than 90% of the top echelon of leadership. Hounds of Hell are masters of strategy and tactic, both in and out of battle. In addition to great skill at arms, they are accomplished at psychological warfare and sabotage. Thoroughly and irreedemably evil, the Hounds of Hell are responsible for much misery throughout the Flanaess. Within the Church itself there is a great schism between two factions. This internal strife began during the Greyhawk wars, when Patriarch Krennden of Medegia supported the Censor of that land in rebellion against the Overking of the Aerdy. After Medegia was razed by the forces of Ivid V, Krennden fled to the northeast. Now he has earned the following of many of the priests of Hextor who dwell outside of Naelax lands in the remnants of the Great Kingdom. Many powerful animuses (evil unliving creations of the priests of Hextor) have sworn allegiance to Krennden, making him a powerful force. Krennden hopes to take Rauxes and make himself the new Patriarch General of the faith, replacing Patriarch General Pyrannden of Rauxes. Pyrannden believes that only the Herzog of North Province, Grenell, has the power to unify Aerdy under the church of Hextor. Grenell has developed his own church hierarchy within North Province, however, and does not desire an alliance with Pyrannden until all the Aerdy lands are restored to some form of order. Outside of the remnants of the Great Kingdom, where his priests and followers are so numerous that any insult or slander to the church could incur their wrath, the clergy of Hextor is widely despised. Even the briefest sight of one of the Hounds of Hell riding through a village is cause for alarm, and prayers for safety are quickly offered to powers of protection. The Hounds have earned this reputation from the battles that seem to follow them wherever they go. At 9th-level a priest of Hextor is permitted to construct a temple or shrine to the Champion of Evil if he has acquired sufficient funds. A temple or shrine must always be built on the site of some great massacre or battle. It is not unheard of for a particularly devout priest to arrange for a massacre at some ideal building spot, and then follow with the construction of the temple. Typical shrines to Hextor are round towers, some forty or more feet high and twenty or thirty feet in diameter. There is never more than one entrance, and multiple arrow slits can be found around the structure's walls. The true shrine is located at the top of the tower, and contains a statue of Hextor in his hellish form. Next to the statue is the sacrificial altar and a long horn hanging from the ceiling by chains. In ceremonies to Hextor the horn is blown after a sacrifice, signalling to the god that a sacrifice has been made. A shrine often serves as barracks to a small military or mercenary force (between 10 and 20 individuals) dedicated to Hextor. Temples are much larger structures, based around a central worship hall. The main hall is a rectangular structure that is approximately 100' long by 40' wide. On the sides of the building are six shrines (see above), all connected to the main structure. Naturally the cost of creating one of these temples is far greater than a simple shrine. Correspondingly, the number of followers attracted by such a temple is much greater. For the purposes of attracting followers, a shrine will bring in about 3d6 first level fighters 50% of the time, while 25% of the time it will attract 2d6 first level fighters and one first level specialty priest of Hextor. 15% of the time it will attract 1d8 first level fighters, one fifth level fighter, and one first level specialty priest of Hextor, and 10% of the time it will attract 1d6 first level fighters, one fifth level fighter, and one fifth level specialty priest of Hextor. A temple gains the same kinds of followers, only about 1d4+2 times as many as a shrine does. Note that creation of multiple temples or shrines does not attract additional followers above 9th level. Novices of Hextor are known as the Weaponless. Full priests are known as the Children of Discord. In ascending order of rank, the titles used by the priests of Hextor are Buckler, Fork, Scimitar, Flail, Morningstar, and Patriarch. The leader of the church is called the Patriarch General. Certain independant and high-level specialty priests, charged with spreading discord, are known as the Arms of Hextor. There are never more than six of these priests at one time. Dogma:
War and conflict are the food and drink of a true life.
Everything as a challenge in which the worthy must prove how fit they
are and how capable and dominant they can be. Only those truly blessed by
Hextor can be completely successful in life, but even they must prove their
worthiness through combat. Once
one has won their place through combat, they must keep it by ruling with an
iron fist. Day-to-day
activities:
On a daily basis all worshipers of Hextor partake in strenuous exercise and
combat practice. They also sing short hymns to Hextor before combat, and
will follow various ceremonies with the blowing of wind instruments (usually
horns and trumpets). Often the lower-ranking priests are required to perform
menial tasks given to them by their superiors.
Disobeying a superior is rare (and usually fatal) unless the superior
is challenged and slain. Favors
are rarely granted by these priests, and on those rare occasions there is
always a price attached to them. Important
Ceremonies:
Holy days are for the weak, say the Hextorians, and thus they make no use of
them (they do celebrate the anniversaries of particularly horrific battles
and massacres). However, their
religion is rich with ceremonies. At least once every month (on any day), a
priest must make a sacrifice in a shrine or temple. If made in the form of
objects, at least 500 gp worth of valuables must be sacrificed. If in the
form of living creatures, one prisoner of war (or any other combat) must be
sacrificed on the altar. Following
any sacrifice, the priest must play a melody on a wind instrument of some
kind (generally trumpets, horns, or flutes). Iron gongs are struck, chants
called out, and unspeakable rituals occur in honor of the Herald of Hell. Major
Centers of Worship:
The Hextorians are at their strongest in the Great Kingdom, where Hextor is
honored and held high amongst the ranks of gods. His temples appear
openly in that land and his priests flaunt their power.
The temples and shrines of the Scourge of Battle are hard to find in
other areas of the Flanaess, but they are present, as are his infernal
priests. Affiliated
Orders:
Naturally, the Church armies of Hextor are vast and powerful.
Most of the warriors in the employ of the Hextorian Church are armed
and equipped with weapons that can be wielded by the specialty priests
themselves. Numerous armies, mercenary bands, and adventuring groups of evil
nature are also in league with this clergy; the Hextorians are more than
generous in their funding of such organizations, and in exchange wield a
great deal of military influence, spread throughout the Flanaess. Priestly Vestments: Hextor's priests wear black robes adorned with white skulls or grey visages embroidered upon them. Only the higher-level priests (8th level and up) have arrows of hate and discord in red, lower level priests are only permitted grey ones. Adventuring Garb: When in action, Hextorians prefer to wear chain mail adorned with metal skulls and images of their god. Specialty Priest (Hound of Hell)
Hextorian Spells In addition to the specialty spells below, certain high level priests of Hextor are able to create the undead being known as the animus. The process cannot be completed without the aid of outer-planar fiends, and involves powerful, undefined magics along the lines of quest magic. Details on individual animus can be found within the Ivid the Undying online sourcebook, available at TSR's website. Hextorians also have access to the spells blood mantle, blood rage (Powers & Pantheons, pg. 21), analyze opponent (Powers & Pantheons, pg. 46), and holy flail (Faiths & Avatars, pg. 160). Hextor�s
Fitness Sphere
: All, Combat When this spell is employed, the caster (or other subject) grows in height, weight, and strength, while at the same time gaining a temporary boost in Strength and Constitution scores. Note that general appearance does not otherwise change, so the individual is recognizable. For every 2 levels possessed by the caster of Hextor's fitness, the subject can, at the caster's option, gain 1 inch of height, 10 pounds of weight, and for every 6 levels one point each of Strength and Constitution - this effective gain does not add to hit points gained from an enhanced Constitution. Higher strength scores grant the recipient bonuses to attack and damage rolls, but enhanced strength and constitution scores cannot exceed 18. Blood
Groove Sphere:
Combat, Necromancy By
casting the blood groove spell, a
Hextorian priest may enchant an edged weapon (sword, dagger, axe, etc.) so
that its surface becomes jagged and lined with blood grooves (hence the name
of the spell). The enchanted weapon becomes far more formidable in combat,
and whenever it hits, the victim must make a save vs. spell at -2 or suffer
from bleeding wounds. Bleeding wounds produced by blood
groove will bleed for 1d6 rounds, and on each round cause an extra 1d4
points of damage to the wounded person per wound. Arrows
of War Sphere:
Combat By means of this spell the Hound of Hell may create 1d6 magical red arrows. These arrows are filled with a powerful magic, and must be fired as normal arrows before the spell's duration ends and the arrows vanish. These powerful missiles will inflict (assuming that all of them strike their marks) a total of 6d6 points of damage. This damage is rolled before any of the arrows are fired, and the damage rolled is divided evenly among the number of arrows created. Thus if the damage rolled was 28, and the number of arrows created was 4, each arrow would inflict 7 points of damage on a hit. Strength and specialization bonuses apply to this damage, but no spells may be cast on the arrows of war to enhance them further. The caster need not be the one to fire the missiles, but no good aligned being may touch them without destroying them (and suffering damage as if struck). Evil
Arm of Hextor Sphere
: Charm While
the Hextorians are all very fond of battle, sometimes there are armies just
too big to defeat with available forces. For such armies the priests of
Hextor use his evil arm, which
robs the priests' enemies of all hope and desire to continue moving against
the forces of Hextor. Hands
of Hextor Sphere
: Combat By
use of this spell the caster causes the immediate growth of two new pairs of
arms, allowing him or her the opportunity to launch a great many attacks on
an opponent. The arms will grow instantaneously, and the caster's clothing
will reshape itself to allow the arms the same adornement(non-magical in
nature, of course) that the priest's real arms have. These four new arms can
be used as the priest wills, and may wield weapons without penalty, subject
to normal proficiency requirements. They may also be used to carry bucklers,
which is often a strategy used by priests casting this spell. Wave
of Carnage Sphere
: Combat, War The
deadliest spell available to the Hounds of Hell is the wave
of carnage, which has the power to destroy large numbers of 0-level,
1st-level, or 1 hit die creatures. All
creatures within the radius of the spell with 1 hit die/level or lower must
make saving throws versus death magic or be slain, covered with bleeding
wounds from head to toe. Note that this spell does not discriminate from one
low-level creature from another; a Hextorian can slay his own allies by
using it. The spell is named the wave
of carnage because the creatures are affected in the order that they are
closest to the caster; creatures closer to the caster are affected first,
giving the effect of appearing similar to a "wave" of slain
creatures. |
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