Northlandish
Tokiwa-Dai
Land of Five Cities
Southlandish
Demi-human
Titans |
Attrice
(Greater God, CE)
Description:
General Aspect:
God of the Firmament and Vengeance: Attrice governs the sky and the stars, and all that pertains to them. He is
also the Lord of Vengeance, and is the patron of those involved in feuds or ven-dettas. As such, he is a god of
vigilance, always watching for insults and injuries which must be avenged. Finally, as one of the creators of the
Prime Material Plane, he was also father of some of the gods, and of the giants and giant-kin who at one time ruled
the land.
Worshippers:
Those bent on revenge; those unjustly treated. Giants and giant-kin. Fathers whose offspring are disrespectful
or ungrateful.
Holy Items:
Unholy symbol (a diamond or similar colorless stone on a circular field of black); this symbol is always worn as
a ring, never a pendant. Unholy water (collected rainwater, or any water infused with blood).
Holy Areas:
Anywhere with a clear view of the sky. Mountain aeries are particularly desirable.
Restrictions:
Alignment:
Priests: Any non-good.
Worshippers: any
Racial Requirements:
Human, giant-kin (only males are permitted into the priesthood).
Ability Requirements:
Strength: 9
Wisdom: 13
Constitution: 13
Preferred Weapons
(in order of preference):
Any piercing or edged melee weapons. Blunt and non-lethal weapons are not permitted. Distance weapons, including
thrown melee weapons, are also not permitted; nor are polearms, including spears, lances, and the like.
Armor:
Any armor is permitted, but shields and helmets are not. Attrice's priests must leave their face and head revealed
at all times.
Magical Items:
Normal.
Non-weapon Proficiencies:
Required: Etiquette. Preferred: Astrology, Local History, Navigation, Blind-fighting, Reading Lips.
Spheres:
Major:
All
Divination
Elemental Air
Guardian
Protection
Wards
Minor:
Astral
Chaos
Combat
Granted Powers:
Vendetta
The primary granted power of specialty priests of Attrice is to gain certain benefits when acting in revenge for
an offense. This offense must have been committed upon the priest or someone with whom the priest has a close relationship
- a relative, partner, or close friend - or any other priest of Attrice. The priest is compelled to avenge any
offense, from the slightest insult to the most grievous injury, with at least a slightly more than equal retribution.
Thus, if the priest was called a liar, the priest must at least call the offender a liar and a fool. If a man were
to kill the kinsman of a priest of Attrice, the priest must kill the offender and at least wound one of his kinsmen.
Because of this escalation of hostilities, feuds between priests of Attrice inevitably end in the death of at least
one of the priests - usually both, and several of their colleagues besides.
The priest of Attrice focuses his mind so firmly on the vendetta that it cannot be swayed. Thus, enchantment/charm and fear-type
spells cannot prevent the priest from carrying out the vendetta, and the priest is furthermore completely immune to such
spells or spell-like abilities when performed by the person who is the object of the vendetta. Morale checks under these circumstances are never failed.
Furthermore, a vindictive priest of Attrice, when faced with the primary offender of a vendetta,
feels such rage that a tremendous surge of adrenaline rushes through his body. The result is a temporary increase
of 5 points of Strength. If the result is higher than 18, the remaining points are multiplied by 10 and added to
a percentile roll, to give exceptional strength as a fighter. A total of over 00 results in a Strength of 19. Constitution
likewise temporarily increases 4 points, with a maximum score of 19.
Under these circumstances, the priest is additionally able to continue to perform normally even when below zero
hit points in campaigns using the optional "Hovering on Death's Door" Rule (DMG 75). The priest does
not fall unconscious below zero hit points, and although he will continue to lose hit points at the normal rate
until the wounds are bound, he will be unaffected by this loss of blood until the end of the confrontation, as
detailed below, at which point he will fall unconscious as normal. New wounds which exceed the limit of -10 will
result in the priest's immediate death; however, if the priest simply bleeds down to or beyond -10, he may continue
functioning towards the resolution of his vendetta, at which point he will simply drop dead.
The following effects last one round per point of Constitution (including the bonus), or until the encounter is
over. When the Constitution limit is reached or when the encounter ends, the priest's Strength and Constitution
are both temporarily reduced by 5 points from their normal level for a period of time equal to the duration of
the rage. Note that unlike a berserk rage, the priest remains in control of his actions; however, he will feel
compelled to fulfill the vendetta during this time.
If the specialty priest of Attrice dies before concluding his vendetta, there is a base 10% chance of the priest returning to life
as an undead. To this chance should be added one percent per level of the priest, plus a bonus of up to 20% if
the DM determines that the vendetta is serious enough (note that the seriousness of the vendetta
should be graded on a scale that puts the priest's own death at 10%). If the roll is successful, the player should
roll on the following table, using the same bonuses, to determine the type of undead the priest becomes. The single
exception is if the character has the qualities necessary to become a revenant (q.v. FF 75-6), in which case that
is automatically the result.
| 01-35 |
Ghoul |
| 46-55 |
Shadow |
| 56-65 |
Ghast |
| 66-75 |
Wight |
| 76-85 |
Wraith |
| 86-95 |
Spectre |
| 96+ |
Ghost |
Regardless of the type of undead the priest becomes, he will have no purpose for existence except to complete his
revenge, and will ignore all distractions. Once vengeance is done satisfactorily, the undead priest will cease
to exist - either crumble to dust or simply vanish. The undead priest can be turned as normal, except by other
priests of Attrice, who have no effect on their undead comrades. With these exceptions, the undead priest has become
that sort of undead, and loses all his priestly abilities, including spells and granted powers. If the player wishes
to continue playing the undead character under these circumstances and restrictions, he or she should be allowed
to do so.
Attrice's Eyes
This granted power, available at third level, allows the specialty priest of Attrice to look down upon his position
from above, to gain a bird's-eye view of the surroundings. He may look down from a distance no less than 100 yards,
but as far as miles above the planet's surface. The priest's vision is not in any way improved; if the priest is
in a building, he will only be able to see the roof and surrounding area; if the priest attempts to look from too
far, chances are that he will not be able to see in any detail; nor does the ability give any benefit of seeing
in the dark. This power can be used once per day per three levels (i.e., once at third level, twice at sixth level,
three times at ninth level, etc.), and lasts one round per level; during this time the priest may switch between
normal vision and Attrice's Eyes indiscriminately. Attrice's
Eyes cannot be used in conjunction with
any vision-improvement spell, nor with the Starsight granted power, although if the powers or spells are used
simultaneously, the vision-improvement will function when the priest is looking through his own eyes.
Levitate
Specialty priests of Attrice of fourth level and above are able to levitate
as per the second level wizard spell. This
power cannot, however, be transferred to another creature or object. The power lasts one turn per level or the
priest and can be used once per week per level.
Starsight
Using Starsight, the priest of Attrice gains a sort of intensified-light vision in
nighttime. This vision gives monochromatic (black-and-white) vision as bright as if normal daylight, but only under
a clear, starry sky; it does not function indoors, under overcast skies, or under other cover such as heavy forests.
This power is granted to specialty priests of Attrice of sixth level or above, and works automatically any time
the conditions are met. This power cannot be used in conjunction with the Attrice's
Eyes power.
Attrice's Ears
Granted to specialty priests of Attrice of eighth level or above, this power seems to some to be more of a curse
than a blessing. Any word spoken against the priest within 20 feet of his person, no matter how quietly spoken,
no matter how thick the doors or walls that separate the priest from the speaker, will ring as clear as a bell
in the priest's ears. The distance increases by 10 feet for every additional level above eighth that the priest
attains. Furthermore, at tenth level, the priest hears anything spoken, within range, against Attrice himself;
and at twelfth level, the priest will hear any word spoken against any member, specifically or generally, of the
priesthood of Attrice. This granted power cannot be ignored or turned off. Under no circumstances does it enable
the priest to "hear" unspoken thoughts or written words. It does not give the priest any special ability
to determine who said the insult, except as normal hearing would (i.e., by direction, distance, and voice).
This ability tends to have a detrimental effect on the psyche of the priest. High-level clerics of Attrice tend
to avoid cities and other populous places, favoring the wilderness, in order to avoid the continuous onslaught
of insults, jibes, sneers, and mockery that they will inevitably hear among the crowds. At eighth level, when this
power first manifests, the priest has a base 10% chance to go mad, most often experiencing paranoid delusions and
auditory hallucinations. This chance is adjusted downwards, point for point, by the priest's wisdom score, but
increases by a cumulative 5% for every level of experience the priest subsequently gains. This roll must be checked
once per year in wilderness or rural environments, once per month in villages and small towns (pop. 100 or less),
once per week in mid-sized towns (pop. 100-5,000), and once per day in large towns and cities (pop. 5,000+).
Travel to Plane of Elemental Air
At twelfth level and above, specialty priests of Attrice can transfer themselves to and from the Plane of Elemental
Air. They can take only those belongings as they can carry on their person, and can bring no other creatures with
them. The priest may only appear in specific places on the Plane of Air if he has been there personally before;
otherwise, he appears in a random location. On returning to his native plane, the priest will automatically return
to the place from which he departed. This granted power can be used once per day (round trip).
Turning Undead:
Clerics of Attrice may turn or command undead as normal.
Ethos:
At the dawn of history, Attrice, embodiment of the
heavens, and Tarantin, lord of storms and weather, were at war over control of the skies. The pair's fight among
the plane led them to an uninhabited prime material plane, Terra Dyne. Tarantin hastily claimed the oceans and
seas as his domain, seeing that they covered most of the world. Attrice, in response, claimed the dry land. The
two determined to settle their differences on the surface of this world, rather than in the skies, where they seem
too equally matched. Immediately, each began to assemble armies of minions.
Tarantin quickly discovered that his creatures of water could not hold their form longer than a few moments, and
reverted to his old strengths of storms and floods. Attrice, new to the idea of forming creatures from clay, first
created three hideous, immortal monsters as his minions. Horrified at the results and unable to control them or
destroy them himself, Attrice buried them deep beneath the earth. His next effort was better, but still imperfect,
as he shaped the cyclopes and ettins, and as his skills improved, he created the hill giants, the other giant races,
and finally, the majestic titans, his masterpiece warriors. These creatures he set loose upon the earth, where
they lived a golden life interrupted only by the ravages of Tarantin's storms.
The titans, discontent and bored with their idyllic lives, tried their own hand at creation, against the advice
of Attrice. Their results were the goblinoid hordes, deformed creatures with twisted minds who immediately turned
against their creators. The next attempt yielded dwarves and elves, long-lived and beautiful races. These peoples,
however, were too independent, and rather than serve their creators, they fled into the wilderness, the elves to
the forests and the dwarves to the mountains and underground tunnels. The titans' third attempt yielded the miniature
races of the gnomes and halflings, amicable little people who were willing to serve their lords. The titans, however,
found that these tiny men were too small to attend to them properly, and too mild-mannered to afford genuine entertainment.
So the titans shaped their fourth and final version, humans. Humans were tall and strong, and aggressively battled
the defective goblinoid prototypes, pleasing the titans greatly. Attrice, watching the progress of his own children,
accepted the race of humans as his grandchildren.
Meanwhile, the abandoned goblinoid races turned elsewhere for guidance and support. By this time, a coterie of
demon lords, led by the Archdevil Mephistopheles, had discovered the new world, and were searching for a means
to claim it for their own. They took the goblinoids under their wing, and sent them to destroy the beloved offspring
of Attrice.
Attrice continued to cast his eyes down upon mortal men. He was kind and protective, sheltering humans from the
machinations of the demon lords and their humanoid minions. During this time, he was known as Attrice the Ever-Vigilant,
as he could hear without fail the plottings of those who would destroy man, and could see the patterns of conspiracies
as they drew together; and Attrice's was the power to destroy these schemes and devices. At the same time, Attrice
shielded the mortals and their towns and villages from the rampaging might of nature, pushing back hurricanes and
tidal waves, silencing earthquakes, and quenching volcanoes. For generations, this was Attrice's goal and joy,
to bring peace and happiness to all men.
One dark night, however, the god of ill weather and the demon lords plotted together in secrecy, hidden from Attrice's
ears by mystical power. They planned to make Attrice's abilities a curse to him, rather than a blessing. The demon
lords brewed a mystic potion, volatile and repugnant, and the lord of storms brought it to earth. When Attrice
came forth to do battle, the storm god opened the vial of enchanted fluid and, with his strongest wind, blew it
into Attrice's face. That potion seeped into his nose, eyes, and ears, and burned them with the fires of Hell.
Attrice retreated to the skies, defeated. There he waited as his face healed. Blind and deaf, he could not hear
the cries of man as the hordes spilled down on them from the mountains, and the waves crashed down upon them from
the sea.
When Attrice's face had healed, and his sight and hearing returned, Attrice found things changed. Though his vision
was as acute and far-seeing as before, he seemed only to see what was most ugly and hateful - and he found mortal
man to be the most displeasing to behold. When he listened for the plotting of the humanoid hordes and men's cries
for help, he heard only mutterings of discontent and sneers of rejection for himself, from those he loved most,
for the time he had been away and the destruction that had rained down upon them. The demon lords' brew had poisoned
his gifts, turning them to curses.
Attrice gazed down upon men once more, trying to protect them as he had before, but hearing little thanks and seeing
no beauty in his wards. The anguish of this rejection soon drove him mad. He began to lash out against those who
spoke against him - which, in turn, caused more men to turn their backs to him. Soon, all the mortal men of the
earth, and even his own children the titans, renounced their devotion to Attrice, and he began a rampage of devastation
upon the lands.
The titans, seeing his insanity, banded together with a collection of gods from around the cosmos to exile Attrice
from the earth. Although all but a few of the titans were slain in the resulting war, they defeated him in supernatural
combat and imprisoned him in the heavens, among the highest of stars, chained to the firmament. As a final insult,
the first of the titans created by Attrice, leader of the rebellion, castrated him, destroying his creative power.
From there, Attrice still glares down upon the continents, hearing every curse launched at him and seeing every
bit of ugliness that man has to offer. His heart is full of hatred not only for those who exiled him to the skies,
but for every individual thing that gives him insult. In the meantime, he has taken control of his new prison,
and dominates all the things of the upper heavens, everything above the clouds.
Since these early times, Attrice has regained a small but close-knit coterie of followers. These are men who hold
sympathy for their god in the heavens, and seek retribution for the injustices done upon him. Every insult is avenged,
and every injury repaid, with interest. Attrice's cult has grown stronger of late, and many men who seek vengeance
of their own pray to Attrice to grant them the opportunity to strike. Besides these human worshippers are the lesser
giant races, who continue to be faithful to their god even in his changed state.
Because of the vindictive nature of those in the coven of Attrice, each cleric must learn to be careful in his
speech and behavior, lest he should offend one more powerful than himself. Even the less powerful are to be treated
with respect, as vengeance is seldom swift, and one never knows which neophyte may achieve a high level of mastery
before seeking his revenge. Priests of Attrice look upon uninitiates as ungrateful, ignorant swine, who respect
nothing and deserve to be treated with scorn and denigration. But more hateful than these are the humanoid hordes
of the wilderness, against whom Attrice originally fought; for if it were not for them, Attrice could still live
happily among men. The god of storms and ill weather is Attrice's immortal enemy, and the legions of Attrice will
take every opportunity to destroy the followers of this god.
Attrice demands sacrifices from his followers, most often of heretics who profane his name. Any vendetta fulfilled,
though, is a victory for Attrice, and so he smiles upon those who complete their vengeful obligations. Attrice
cares not for the treasures of mortal men, and refuses sacrifices of coins and jewelry; further, he holds himself
above the corporeal needs of mortals, and thus refuses sacrifices of food and drink as well. His only need is the
praise of his followers and the blood of his dissidents.
Hierarchical Organization:
Most priests of Attrice seem to be loners, though
there are increased concentrations of the priests in central Attricia, and rumors suggest an organized church somewhere
in that region. High masters will often have a coven of disciples, seeking to learn the mysteries of Attrice; these
group tend to have a high turnover rate, as the penalty for disrespect of the master is often a quick death.
The levels of mastery of the mysteries of Attrice
are recognized informally among the clergy. A newly ordained deacon (1st and 2nd level) is titled a neophyte. A
cleric who becomes a priest (3rd to 7th level) is called "One who Sees." Superior priesthood (8th to
11th level) is attained when Attrice grants the cleric his divine ears, and the priest becomes known as "One
who Hears." Finally, when Attrice allows one of his most favored to visit his realm in the skies, this high
priest (12th + level) is known as "One who Walks with the Lord." There are almost no ceremonies or rituals
to signify the attainment of these ranks, nor does a priest of Attrice need the recognition of his colleagues;
when the appropriate power is bestowed upon the priest by Attrice himself, he reaches that level of mastery.
Furthermore, priests of Attrice do not wear any outward sign of their religion nor rank; they recognize one another
by means of secret signs, and they recognize rank only by reputation or direct observation. One single characteristic
identifies high priests of Attrice: on attainment of his final gift, they castrate themselves in order to share
the pain of their lord.
Rites and ceremonies of the priests of Attrice are few and simple. As most lay worshippers of Attrice are those
bent on vengeance, a priest's primary instructional task is counseling one or more of the parties in a feud or
vendetta. The main responsibility of a priest of Attrice, however, is the retribution for insults to Attrice, and
thus he spends considerable time listening for foul words and reproving those responsible. In addition, many priests
of Attrice seek to restore Attrice's former place as protector of mortal men, and thus work to encourage the praise
and worship of Attrice. Indeed, rumors are occasionally heard that the upper echelons of the Attrician priesthood
are the secret leaders of a permanent vendetta against all other gods, their worshippers, and the world of men
that turned against Attrice eons ago.
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