Heironeous v. Hextor [Archive] - Wizards Community

Heironeous v. Hextor [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Demarest
02-02-07, 11:15 AM Hello everybody. I wonder if everybody could help me out with something. I have all the information I can find about both deities from the Core Books and Complete Divine, but don't have access to other information, unless you guys can suggest web sites with information.

What is the rift that caused these two brothers to be at such extremes with each other. Or was it already there when they were born? Does anybody know any information they can give about this subject? I am working on some tales of the deities for their followers to worship, for example, the Word of Hextor, and I don't feel that these would be complete without an idea as to why the two brothers hate each other so much.

To give you guys an example of how this is used in a campaign, I have two cities, opposing port cities (one on an island and one on the mainland). Both are half-ruled by theocracies, one of Heironeous, one of Hextor. What the people of each city believes, sets the mood of the NPCs, etc.. Especially the personalities of the respective clerics/priests.

Thanks in advance!
Ordbyrht
02-02-07, 01:49 PM Hello everybody. I wonder if everybody could help me out with something. I have all the information I can find about both deities from the Core Books and Complete Divine, but don't have access to other information, unless you guys can suggest web sites with information.

The Living Greyhawk Campaign (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/welcome) has some material on the two brothers. Of particular interest is Living Greyhawk Deities v.2.0 (http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LG_Deities.zip), which lists material that can be found in Deities & Demigods, Complete Divine and Complete Warrior. It also includes a nice little description of each god.

The following list is from the Heironeous Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heironeous), I don't know if it is a complete list of all the products that he and Hextor appear in but it looks like it covers the most important.

Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/greyhawk/v5748btpy7meh&source=search) (TSR, 1983).
Gygax, Gary. "The Deities and Demigods of the World of Greyhawk." Dragon #67 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/1982/67&source=search) (TSR, 1982).
Holian, Gary. "Paladins of Greyhawk." Dungeon #104 (http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/magazines/polyhedron/2003/104&source=search) (Paizo Publishing, 2003).
Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/867270000) (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
Moore, Roger E. The Adventure Begins (http://paizo.com/store/downloads/wizardsOfTheCoast/aDAndD2/greyhawk/v5748btpy7mnc&source=search) (TSR, 1998).
Niles, Douglas, and Carl Sargent. The City of Greyhawk (TSR, 1989). (Can't find this one)
Noonan, David. Complete Divine (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/880360000) (Wizards of the Coast, 2004).
Redman, Rich, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. Deities and Demigods (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/881650000) (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).
Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (http://paizo.com/store/downloads/wizardsOfTheCoast/aDAndD2/greyhawk/v5748btpy7mn7&source=search) (TSR, 1992).

What is the rift that caused these two brothers to be at such extremes with each other. Or was it already there when they were born? Does anybody know any information they can give about this subject?
I don't ever remember reading what caused this and I didn't come across it while I was putting this together. I'm sure someone more knowledgable in the world of Oerth will come across this thread and answer your question more fully. ::Aims his Ripvanwormer signal into the sky::
ripvanwormer
02-02-07, 03:50 PM What is the rift that caused these two brothers to be at such extremes with each other. Or was it already there when they were born?

Pretty much. Heironeous, at birth, was annointed with a magical salve that made him invulnerable to harm. Hextor, not favored with such gifts, was jealous of Heironeous' physical and martial superiority, so when Heironeous chose the way of lawful good, Hextor allied himself with the Lords of Evil in exchange for four extra arms. The hosts of Hell laughed, and schooled him in greater corruption.

However, they were rivals, rather than actual enemies, for the first few millennia of their existences. The rivalry between their respective worshipers encouraged both groups to achieve great heights of military prowess.

Still, things got worse and worse. Hextor corrupted one of Heironeous' greatest saints, turning him into a death knight. The creature was imprisoned in a crypt beneath a cathedral dedicated to Heironeous, and this became a deadly secret of the order.

Then came a civil war among their mortal followers. The House of Naelex, allied with the forces of Hell, came to power, outlawing the worship of Heironeous and accepting only Hextor, Tiamat, and the Lords of the Nine.

What really sealed their mutual hatred was Hextor's kidnapping of Heironeous' daughter (with an angel), known as the Chalice, giving her to Dispater to keep imprisoned in his tower. An order of Heironean knights called the Order of the Chalice formed to fight fiends and try to find a way to free the imprisoned demigoddess. From then on, there could be no quarter given and no forgiveness.
The Serge7
02-02-07, 04:07 PM Is this all "official," rip?
ripvanwormer
02-02-07, 04:13 PM Is this all "official," rip?

More or less. The bit about the salve, about Hextor's inferiority complex, about Hextor allying himself with evil in exchange for his arms, about the House of Naelex, are all from the deities' original descriptions. St. Ferrante, the imprisoned death knight saint of Heironeous, is from Bastion of Faith. The Chalice and her imprisonment by first Hextor and then Dispater are from the Player's Handbook II.

The stuff about them being originally rivals rather than open enemies is from Ivid the Undying.

I made a few inferences - the bit about the Lords of Nine "schooling him in corruption" (he is the Herald of Hell, so it's not much of a stretch; I suspect it was the Nine who gave him his new arms, but it doesn't say so specifically) and the bit about Tiamat being worshiped by the House of Naelex (I was looking for a way to add in the Draconomicon's implication that Hextor and Tiamat have a pact, as Heironeous and Bahamut do).

If I were to add more, I'd take inspiration from the story of Jacob and Esau, and of course Hector and Achilles.
ripvanwormer
02-02-07, 04:36 PM Here's a completely unofficial myth, though, with completely unofficial deities:

In the beginning, Anaeus the Powerful wooed and won Herame the Plentiful. Their union brought forth many children, the first of whom were Procan of the Seas and Velnius of the Skies, both tempestuous deities and forces of nature in their own right. The lesser gods of the wind and the currents came shortly thereafter.

Next born were Kodos, god of the dead, and Mereter, goddess of magic.

The next two were gentle Myrha, goddess of the fresh waters, and mercurial Paesus, the hermaphroditic deity of passion.

Toreun's birth and parentage are a secret. She appeared one day out of nowhere, although Herame adopted her as her own. Some say the secret is that she was actually Myrha's twin, her introduction delayed because Paesus' chaotic, bizarre birth shifted her in time and space.

Next were Luscera, goddess of love and beauty, and Alia, goddess of war and culture.

Next were Mellios, god of civilization, and Ranseur, goddess of nature.

Shortly thereafter, Herame bore Anaeus two more children; easygoing Kelizan, the god of success, and brutal Dellemnus, god of monsters.

Finally, Herame bore savage Erythnul the Many, first war god of the Oerids, and his brother Delleb, the Reasoner.

Time passed, and the children of Anaeus and Herame came to have children themselves. Velnius took to wife Mereter, and she bore him Celestian and Fharlanghn, twins born to the call of the wind and the land beneath the skies.

Kelizan took to wife mysterious Toreun, who bore him Zilchus the Merchant and Kurell the Thief; twins as opposite as night and day.

Grim Kodos married Myrha of the fresh waters, and she bore Merikka, goddess of the harvest.

Wild Paesus bore cheeky Finneghan by self-fertilization. Ralishaz was Paesus' child too, some say by Dellemnus.

Mellios wed beautiful Luscera. Their sons were Bleredd, god of the forge, and Pholtus, god of light.

Dellemnus mated with beasts and demons, and sired many horrors that still plague the world and the gods.

And in the last days of the Age of the Gods, Erythnul, who had long coveted the fair Alia, forced himself upon
her and held her captive for the length of her pregnancy.

When his son Hextor was born, he spirited him away to study the arts of war at his father's hand; but Erythnul failed to realize that Alia carried a second son as well. Alia, brokenhearted by her brother's assault, fostered her second son with her sister Luscera and Luscera's husband Mellios. Young Heironeous grew to manhood alongside Pholtus, and the two youths learned of war and justice together.

In time, Heironeous and Hextor would meet again; of all the twins born to the Oeridian pantheon, no hatred is stronger than that between these two brothers.

The act of rape, however, doomed the Age of the Gods. Anaeus decreed that for his crime, Erythnul must die. Erythnul hid with Hextor and Dellemnus, with demons, giants, and monsters. The armies of horrors marched upon the gods, determined to overthrow them. The other gods stood firm, determined that justice would prevail.

Ronseur and Delemnus fought. Ronseur's beasts were evenly matched with Delemnus' horrors.

Erythnul and Pholtus fought, and Erythnul's blood became the first orcs, goblins, ogres, and trolls. Pholtus' blood became the first elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and men. These new mortal races fought each other as well, and continue to fight to this day.

Heironeous and Hextor, now grown youths, fought. Heironeous triumphed with the aid of his mother's magic salve. Hextor fled to the Nine Hells, where the Lords of Evil granted him new arms, and thereafter the brothers fought to a draw.

Still there was no clear victor. Then Toreun, the Liar, betrayed the gods of good, showing Erythnul a secret passage to Anaeus' throne. Erythnul killed his father where he stood, and Toreun and Erythnul fled back to the demons' camp, pausing only to steal the sun and moons from the sky.

When the other gods discovered what Erythnul and Toreun had done, their morale was shattered. The demons fought them with more fervor and zeal than ever before. Kodos was killed by Orcus, who turned the spirits of the dead against the gods. Myrha was raped and killed by Dellemnus. Paesus was devoured by Demogorgon. Mereter was killed in magical combat with Graz'zt. Mellios was destroyed by a mechanical horror of his own creation. Finneghan was torn limb from limb by hundred-handed giants when he tried to sneak into his enemies' stronghold. Luscera was ripped apart by the wolves of Karontor. Finally, Erythnul ripped open the belly of Herame, feeding her entrails to his beasts when he had satiated his own demented hunger. Ronseur died with the strain of preventing all living things from dying with their mother.

The gods rallied. Heironeous slew Dellemnus. Pholtus rescued the suns and moons. Toreun was executed by Kurell, her own son, who was so much like his mother. Celestian rescued the spirits of the dead, bringing them safely into the heavens with the souls of the dead gods.

Still the land was covered in darkness and death, ruled by demons and horrors. Among the mortal races, a prophetess called Johydee and a priest named Arnd helped free the lands of the last of the servants of evil, but Johydee told her people that they must go eastward, and find new fertile lands untouched by the godswar. Eventually they came to the valley of Ull, where Merikka made the first crops bloom.
Mirtek
02-02-07, 05:00 PM without an idea as to why the two brothers hate each other so much.

It's an OLD hate (http://www.greyhawkonline.com/wogcomic/title/wogstrip6.htm)
Demarest
02-02-07, 05:27 PM Oh my gosh! Thank-you guys so much. This stuff is perfect!
Tarascon
02-02-07, 08:39 PM If you're looking for more myths there's a vestige in Tome of Magic that relates to Hextor and Heironeus when they were still just rivals. Of course I'd keep vestiges in general, especially this one, a juicy a little secret for later on in the campaign.
ripvanwormer
02-04-07, 03:35 PM If you're looking for more myths there's a vestige in Tome of Magic that relates to Hextor and Heironeus when they were still just rivals. Of course I'd keep vestiges in general, especially this one, a juicy a little secret for later on in the campaign.

Ah, yes. Savnok the Instigator.

Apparently, when Heironeous and Hextor had not yet come to blows and still lived at home, they were told to watch the arms and armor of their mother, Stern Alia, while she went out with her many lovers. While she was gone, Savnok convinced the half-brothers to let him watch the armor, with predictably calamitous results. When it was all over, Hextor had killed Savnok with one of his mother's arrows (since nothing else could harm someone wearing the armor of Stern Alia). The two gods put the weapons and armor back where they found them and swore never to tell Mom about what had gone on. Heironeous has always felt really guilty about that.
Doom_Linnorm
02-04-07, 03:45 PM But I thought the Order of the Chalice fought Demons not Devils.
(Complete Warrior)
ripvanwormer
02-04-07, 04:28 PM But I thought the Order of the Chalice fought Demons not Devils.
(Complete Warrior)

Nope. "Demons and other evil outsiders." (Complete Warrior, page 53). They don't restrict themselves to demons by any means. Player's Handbook II expands this to say they seek to stamp out the influence of "devils, demons, yugoloths, and other slavering fiends."

The Order's founder, Arbinget Ibenay, founded the order originally to recover the Chalice of Heironeous from the Iron City of Dis. In the ages since, the mission of the order has broadened to include opposing all fiends, not just devils.
Doom_Linnorm
02-04-07, 04:31 PM Once again, Rip awnser the question and scores a hundred points!
spncrbrrtt
02-24-07, 02:32 PM I didn't worry about this in my campaign, and just had trhem duke it out. they both died... so I just made a new god of honor. still need a new god of tyranny though.

I don't feel like making one right now because my current obsession is with demons and drow. Anyone know an easy alternative?
katkov
02-24-07, 06:10 PM not the root of the hatred but explains a few things

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20061020a

Shows how they hated each other before at least Heironeous became a god.
Thanael
02-25-07, 12:50 PM Seems i really have to read up on PHBII and this Chalice person.

As for the link that katkov supplied: Erythnul saw no greater way to check Hextor's progress against his territory than to see that his hated brother, the aasimar paladin Heironeous, ascend to godhood as well.

Aasimar paladin ?!? WTH?

Rip you mention Johydee as a prophetess. I have only seen references to her being a high priest sofar, are there any sources i have missed? And if not why do you see her as a prophetess?
ripvanwormer
02-25-07, 02:36 PM Aasimar paladin ?!? WTH?

It does say that's unofficial. To me, the idea that Heironeous is an ascended aasimar is less strange than the idea that the Olman gods ascended him.

are there any sources i have missed?

No, that's just personal interpretation. I got the idea from someone else, I forget who.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Demarest 02-02-07, 11:15 AM	Hello everybody. I wonder if everybody could help me out with something. I have all the information I can find about both deities from the Core Books and Complete Divine, but don't have access to other information, unless you guys can suggest web sites with information. What is the rift that caused these two brothers to be at such extremes with each other. Or was it already there when they were born? Does anybody know any information they can give about this subject? I am working on some tales of the deities for their followers to worship, for example, the Word of Hextor, and I don't feel that these would be complete without an idea as to why the two brothers hate each other so much. To give you guys an example of how this is used in a campaign, I have two cities, opposing port cities (one on an island and one on the mainland). Both are half-ruled by theocracies, one of Heironeous, one of Hextor. What the people of each city believes, sets the mood of the NPCs, etc.. Especially the personalities of the respective clerics/priests. Thanks in advance!
Ordbyrht 02-02-07, 01:49 PM	Hello everybody. I wonder if everybody could help me out with something. I have all the information I can find about both deities from the Core Books and Complete Divine, but don't have access to other information, unless you guys can suggest web sites with information. The Living Greyhawk Campaign (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/welcome) has some material on the two brothers. Of particular interest is Living Greyhawk Deities v.2.0 (http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LG_Deities.zip), which lists material that can be found in Deities & Demigods, Complete Divine and Complete Warrior. It also includes a nice little description of each god. The following list is from the Heironeous Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heironeous), I don't know if it is a complete list of all the products that he and Hextor appear in but it looks like it covers the most important. Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/greyhawk/v5748btpy7meh&source=search) (TSR, 1983). Gygax, Gary. "The Deities and Demigods of the World of Greyhawk." Dragon #67 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/1982/67&source=search) (TSR, 1982). Holian, Gary. "Paladins of Greyhawk." Dungeon #104 (http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/magazines/polyhedron/2003/104&source=search) (Paizo Publishing, 2003). Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/867270000) (Wizards of the Coast, 2000). Moore, Roger E. The Adventure Begins (http://paizo.com/store/downloads/wizardsOfTheCoast/aDAndD2/greyhawk/v5748btpy7mnc&source=search) (TSR, 1998). Niles, Douglas, and Carl Sargent. The City of Greyhawk (TSR, 1989). (Can't find this one) Noonan, David. Complete Divine (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/880360000) (Wizards of the Coast, 2004). Redman, Rich, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. Deities and Demigods (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/881650000) (Wizards of the Coast, 2002). Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (http://paizo.com/store/downloads/wizardsOfTheCoast/aDAndD2/greyhawk/v5748btpy7mn7&source=search) (TSR, 1992). What is the rift that caused these two brothers to be at such extremes with each other. Or was it already there when they were born? Does anybody know any information they can give about this subject? I don't ever remember reading what caused this and I didn't come across it while I was putting this together. I'm sure someone more knowledgable in the world of Oerth will come across this thread and answer your question more fully. ::Aims his Ripvanwormer signal into the sky::
ripvanwormer 02-02-07, 03:50 PM	What is the rift that caused these two brothers to be at such extremes with each other. Or was it already there when they were born? Pretty much. Heironeous, at birth, was annointed with a magical salve that made him invulnerable to harm. Hextor, not favored with such gifts, was jealous of Heironeous' physical and martial superiority, so when Heironeous chose the way of lawful good, Hextor allied himself with the Lords of Evil in exchange for four extra arms. The hosts of Hell laughed, and schooled him in greater corruption. However, they were rivals, rather than actual enemies, for the first few millennia of their existences. The rivalry between their respective worshipers encouraged both groups to achieve great heights of military prowess. Still, things got worse and worse. Hextor corrupted one of Heironeous' greatest saints, turning him into a death knight. The creature was imprisoned in a crypt beneath a cathedral dedicated to Heironeous, and this became a deadly secret of the order. Then came a civil war among their mortal followers. The House of Naelex, allied with the forces of Hell, came to power, outlawing the worship of Heironeous and accepting only Hextor, Tiamat, and the Lords of the Nine. What really sealed their mutual hatred was Hextor's kidnapping of Heironeous' daughter (with an angel), known as the Chalice, giving her to Dispater to keep imprisoned in his tower. An order of Heironean knights called the Order of the Chalice formed to fight fiends and try to find a way to free the imprisoned demigoddess. From then on, there could be no quarter given and no forgiveness.
The Serge7 02-02-07, 04:07 PM	Is this all "official," rip?
ripvanwormer 02-02-07, 04:13 PM	Is this all "official," rip? More or less. The bit about the salve, about Hextor's inferiority complex, about Hextor allying himself with evil in exchange for his arms, about the House of Naelex, are all from the deities' original descriptions. St. Ferrante, the imprisoned death knight saint of Heironeous, is from Bastion of Faith. The Chalice and her imprisonment by first Hextor and then Dispater are from the Player's Handbook II. The stuff about them being originally rivals rather than open enemies is from Ivid the Undying. I made a few inferences - the bit about the Lords of Nine "schooling him in corruption" (he is the Herald of Hell, so it's not much of a stretch; I suspect it was the Nine who gave him his new arms, but it doesn't say so specifically) and the bit about Tiamat being worshiped by the House of Naelex (I was looking for a way to add in the Draconomicon's implication that Hextor and Tiamat have a pact, as Heironeous and Bahamut do). If I were to add more, I'd take inspiration from the story of Jacob and Esau, and of course Hector and Achilles.
ripvanwormer 02-02-07, 04:36 PM	Here's a completely unofficial myth, though, with completely unofficial deities: In the beginning, Anaeus the Powerful wooed and won Herame the Plentiful. Their union brought forth many children, the first of whom were Procan of the Seas and Velnius of the Skies, both tempestuous deities and forces of nature in their own right. The lesser gods of the wind and the currents came shortly thereafter. Next born were Kodos, god of the dead, and Mereter, goddess of magic. The next two were gentle Myrha, goddess of the fresh waters, and mercurial Paesus, the hermaphroditic deity of passion. Toreun's birth and parentage are a secret. She appeared one day out of nowhere, although Herame adopted her as her own. Some say the secret is that she was actually Myrha's twin, her introduction delayed because Paesus' chaotic, bizarre birth shifted her in time and space. Next were Luscera, goddess of love and beauty, and Alia, goddess of war and culture. Next were Mellios, god of civilization, and Ranseur, goddess of nature. Shortly thereafter, Herame bore Anaeus two more children; easygoing Kelizan, the god of success, and brutal Dellemnus, god of monsters. Finally, Herame bore savage Erythnul the Many, first war god of the Oerids, and his brother Delleb, the Reasoner. Time passed, and the children of Anaeus and Herame came to have children themselves. Velnius took to wife Mereter, and she bore him Celestian and Fharlanghn, twins born to the call of the wind and the land beneath the skies. Kelizan took to wife mysterious Toreun, who bore him Zilchus the Merchant and Kurell the Thief; twins as opposite as night and day. Grim Kodos married Myrha of the fresh waters, and she bore Merikka, goddess of the harvest. Wild Paesus bore cheeky Finneghan by self-fertilization. Ralishaz was Paesus' child too, some say by Dellemnus. Mellios wed beautiful Luscera. Their sons were Bleredd, god of the forge, and Pholtus, god of light. Dellemnus mated with beasts and demons, and sired many horrors that still plague the world and the gods. And in the last days of the Age of the Gods, Erythnul, who had long coveted the fair Alia, forced himself upon her and held her captive for the length of her pregnancy. When his son Hextor was born, he spirited him away to study the arts of war at his father's hand; but Erythnul failed to realize that Alia carried a second son as well. Alia, brokenhearted by her brother's assault, fostered her second son with her sister Luscera and Luscera's husband Mellios. Young Heironeous grew to manhood alongside Pholtus, and the two youths learned of war and justice together. In time, Heironeous and Hextor would meet again; of all the twins born to the Oeridian pantheon, no hatred is stronger than that between these two brothers. The act of rape, however, doomed the Age of the Gods. Anaeus decreed that for his crime, Erythnul must die. Erythnul hid with Hextor and Dellemnus, with demons, giants, and monsters. The armies of horrors marched upon the gods, determined to overthrow them. The other gods stood firm, determined that justice would prevail. Ronseur and Delemnus fought. Ronseur's beasts were evenly matched with Delemnus' horrors. Erythnul and Pholtus fought, and Erythnul's blood became the first orcs, goblins, ogres, and trolls. Pholtus' blood became the first elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and men. These new mortal races fought each other as well, and continue to fight to this day. Heironeous and Hextor, now grown youths, fought. Heironeous triumphed with the aid of his mother's magic salve. Hextor fled to the Nine Hells, where the Lords of Evil granted him new arms, and thereafter the brothers fought to a draw. Still there was no clear victor. Then Toreun, the Liar, betrayed the gods of good, showing Erythnul a secret passage to Anaeus' throne. Erythnul killed his father where he stood, and Toreun and Erythnul fled back to the demons' camp, pausing only to steal the sun and moons from the sky. When the other gods discovered what Erythnul and Toreun had done, their morale was shattered. The demons fought them with more fervor and zeal than ever before. Kodos was killed by Orcus, who turned the spirits of the dead against the gods. Myrha was raped and killed by Dellemnus. Paesus was devoured by Demogorgon. Mereter was killed in magical combat with Graz'zt. Mellios was destroyed by a mechanical horror of his own creation. Finneghan was torn limb from limb by hundred-handed giants when he tried to sneak into his enemies' stronghold. Luscera was ripped apart by the wolves of Karontor. Finally, Erythnul ripped open the belly of Herame, feeding her entrails to his beasts when he had satiated his own demented hunger. Ronseur died with the strain of preventing all living things from dying with their mother. The gods rallied. Heironeous slew Dellemnus. Pholtus rescued the suns and moons. Toreun was executed by Kurell, her own son, who was so much like his mother. Celestian rescued the spirits of the dead, bringing them safely into the heavens with the souls of the dead gods. Still the land was covered in darkness and death, ruled by demons and horrors. Among the mortal races, a prophetess called Johydee and a priest named Arnd helped free the lands of the last of the servants of evil, but Johydee told her people that they must go eastward, and find new fertile lands untouched by the godswar. Eventually they came to the valley of Ull, where Merikka made the first crops bloom.
Mirtek 02-02-07, 05:00 PM	without an idea as to why the two brothers hate each other so much. It's an OLD hate (http://www.greyhawkonline.com/wogcomic/title/wogstrip6.htm)
Demarest 02-02-07, 05:27 PM	Oh my gosh! Thank-you guys so much. This stuff is perfect!
Tarascon 02-02-07, 08:39 PM	If you're looking for more myths there's a vestige in Tome of Magic that relates to Hextor and Heironeus when they were still just rivals. Of course I'd keep vestiges in general, especially this one, a juicy a little secret for later on in the campaign.
ripvanwormer 02-04-07, 03:35 PM	If you're looking for more myths there's a vestige in Tome of Magic that relates to Hextor and Heironeus when they were still just rivals. Of course I'd keep vestiges in general, especially this one, a juicy a little secret for later on in the campaign. Ah, yes. Savnok the Instigator. Apparently, when Heironeous and Hextor had not yet come to blows and still lived at home, they were told to watch the arms and armor of their mother, Stern Alia, while she went out with her many lovers. While she was gone, Savnok convinced the half-brothers to let him watch the armor, with predictably calamitous results. When it was all over, Hextor had killed Savnok with one of his mother's arrows (since nothing else could harm someone wearing the armor of Stern Alia). The two gods put the weapons and armor back where they found them and swore never to tell Mom about what had gone on. Heironeous has always felt really guilty about that.
Doom_Linnorm 02-04-07, 03:45 PM	But I thought the Order of the Chalice fought Demons not Devils. (Complete Warrior)
ripvanwormer 02-04-07, 04:28 PM	But I thought the Order of the Chalice fought Demons not Devils. (Complete Warrior) Nope. "Demons and other evil outsiders." (Complete Warrior, page 53). They don't restrict themselves to demons by any means. Player's Handbook II expands this to say they seek to stamp out the influence of "devils, demons, yugoloths, and other slavering fiends." The Order's founder, Arbinget Ibenay, founded the order originally to recover the Chalice of Heironeous from the Iron City of Dis. In the ages since, the mission of the order has broadened to include opposing all fiends, not just devils.
Doom_Linnorm 02-04-07, 04:31 PM	Once again, Rip awnser the question and scores a hundred points!
spncrbrrtt 02-24-07, 02:32 PM	I didn't worry about this in my campaign, and just had trhem duke it out. they both died... so I just made a new god of honor. still need a new god of tyranny though. I don't feel like making one right now because my current obsession is with demons and drow. Anyone know an easy alternative?
katkov 02-24-07, 06:10 PM	not the root of the hatred but explains a few things http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20061020a Shows how they hated each other before at least Heironeous became a god.
Thanael 02-25-07, 12:50 PM	Seems i really have to read up on PHBII and this Chalice person. As for the link that katkov supplied: Erythnul saw no greater way to check Hextor's progress against his territory than to see that his hated brother, the aasimar paladin Heironeous, ascend to godhood as well. Aasimar paladin ?!? WTH? Rip you mention Johydee as a prophetess. I have only seen references to her being a high priest sofar, are there any sources i have missed? And if not why do you see her as a prophetess?
ripvanwormer 02-25-07, 02:36 PM	Aasimar paladin ?!? WTH? It does say that's unofficial. To me, the idea that Heironeous is an ascended aasimar is less strange than the idea that the Olman gods ascended him. are there any sources i have missed? No, that's just personal interpretation. I got the idea from someone else, I forget who.