Syrul
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Syrul |
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(The Forked Tongue, The Night Hag, Oathbreaker) Lesser Power of the Gehenna, NE (LE) PORTFOLIO: Lies, deceit, treachery, false promises Every lie, every deceitful act, every betrayal empowers the evil goddess Syrul. She is shown as a dirty old hag in ragged clothing, although this visage is supposedly an illusion and she looks quite nondescript beneath this disguise. Syrul is worshipped by those who use untruths to advance their cause, whether personal, political or magical. Those who make and break promises also follow her, for the goddess rewards those who can deceive others. She doesn't mind her followers telling truths and making promises they intend to keep, for it's much easier to trick people with a lie after lulling them into a false sense of trust. Suspecting the other gods of the Suel are hiding something, Syrul doesn't associate with most of her pantheon; while she can perceive deception instantly, she isn't sure if this ability works on gods or if the other gods simply don't reveal enough to be detected as a lie. Pyremius is the exception to her aversion; the fiery murderer is her sort of being, and she has worked with him on many interesting projects. MANIFESTATIONS: Syrul commonly manifests on Oerth as black smoke, dank fog, black horses and a great ringing noise that drowns out other sounds. She can cause people to assume her face temporarily, and she often breaks or shatters simple items such as pottery, swords and doors. Vegetation may wither and rot or appear whole on the outside only to be found full of insect larvae. Apparently, “beauty is only skin deep” is a common theme for the goddess of untruths. The Church CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests Clergy of Syrul gain a modern language proficiency as a bonus nonweapon proficiency, as well as a “doublespeak” language similar to thieves' cant where words do not mean what they seem to mean, allowing secret communication in the open. There are few obvious temples to Syrul outside of the Tilva lands, although most major cities in the Flanaess have at least a small shrine to the goddess hidden somewhere in the thieves' quarter. Her temples are strange affairs made of gnarled wood and tortured-looking stone. The walls are carved with weird designs that resemble one thing from one angle and something different from another. Unusual paintings hang from the walls, such as two dark figures standing between a pair of trees which — if observed long enough — resolves into an image of a skull. Spinning wooden disks with pleasant and ugly images on either side hang from the ceiling. Syrul's followers are called “forktongues,” with priests of 4th level and above taking the title “perjurer.” 6th-level priests are “fabulists,” and those of 10th level and above are “equivocators.” Syrul's following is 90% human, with the balance being evil humanoid leaders, thieves and assassins; equal numbers of human men and women worship her, while the humanoids are almost entirely male. Most of her human worshippers are Suel (70%), with Oeridians most of the remainder (20%). Of her clergy, clerics and specialty priests are about equal in number. Dogma: Protect what you know by shielding it in a lie. Your tongue is a weapon more deadly than any blade — the greatest and smallest fall with a well-spoken untruth. Give your word when it is needed, and break it when it is no longer useful to you. Trust is for fools; betraying a fool is the greatest gift you can give them. Day-to-Day Activities: Syrul's clerics work in places where their ability to lie can be put to its best advantage — in merchant stalls, courtrooms, embassies and fortunetellers' booths. Many forktongues are accomplished actors, performing in plays of their own creation that suggest terrible things about current authority figures. They hone their dissembling skills in debate, both public and private, and are hired to distract suspected spies and unwanted ambassadors with a maze of half-truths and outright fabrications. Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The eleventh day of each month is a holy day for the forktongues, although there is no formal ceremony at these times. Instead, the forktongues are not permitted to tell any truths that day, though they must craft true-sounding lies and get others to believe them. Younger priests mostly keep silent on this day, watching and learning from their elders. Any forktongue speaking a truth on this day has his legs broken and reset askew as a warning. Major Centers of Worship: Hesuel Ilshar Affiliated Orders: There are reports from the temples of Syrul of several bands of Syrul-worshipping assassins specializing in disguise; other reports deny existence of these master spies. The fact that numerous assassins — including the Father of Diplomacy, Foster Uncle Pramas — claim to be members of this group only confuses the issue. Supposedly these assassins have eliminated and replaced key officials in Greyhawk, Nyrond and the Yeomanry to make work easier for the Brotherhood in enemy lands. Priestly Vestments: Priests of the Oathbreaker wear golden robes — often sewn with actual gold thread — adorned with a large, forked-tongue symbol; the inner lining of the robes ranges from medium brown to near-black. This garb is complemented by an elaborate wooden staff that cleverly conceals an ornate dagger. A forked-tongue amulet of red metal, preferably red gold or lacquered rusted iron, is worn over the robe. Adventuring Garb: Adventuring priests of Syrul wear golden-yellow robes with a red forked-tongue symbol. Even when these robes become ragged and dirty, the tongue-symbol must remain recognizable.
Specialty Priests (Prevaricator) REQUIREMENTS: Intelligence 13, Wisdom 9
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