Information on Garagos [Archive] - Wizards Community

Information on Garagos [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Meldread
03-24-07, 02:26 AM I am seeking some very good information on Garagos. I already know a great deal, but I am attempting to create a heretical cult of Garagos that can trace its roots back to the time of Netheril.

I know that during the time of Netheril he was known as Targus, and Tempus around that time was a member of the Talfiric Pantheon. The two deities came into conflict as the pantheons merged, obviously after -339 DR (Year of Sundered Webs) the year of Netheril's Fall.

However, the real question is there a good date to when Garagos stopped granting spells to his faithful? (That would be the date that he would be considered "dead".)

Second, if he did in fact "die" and was "reborn" when did that rebirth take place? My research would indicate that it would take place around 1368 DR (Year of the Banner)... but that is simply speculation. There is also contradictory information because Garagos was seen in Westgate in 1358 DR (Year of Shadows), a full ten years previous during the Time of Troubles. Was he granting spells during the time of his "death"? Did he even truly die or was he simply reincarnated?

Did Garagos undergo some type of transformation? My research into him indicates that he was different in many ways to his current persona. Is there a reason that he has taken up a new name and identity?

What proof is there that Garagos as we currently know him is in fact (at the core) the same deity named Targus during the reign of Netheril?

Further, is it possible that some aspect of Targus continues to exist within Garagos that could potentially be reawakened, and his bloodlust lifted?
Zanan
03-24-07, 10:49 AM To my knowledge, the main source was and still is Powers & Pantheons, the 3rd book of the F&A series.
Dirty Dan the Laundry Man
03-24-07, 12:03 PM Good questions, Meldread. One of the guys in my gaming group ran into this very same set of contradictions and missing links regarding Garagos ... sometime last summer.

I'll be curious to see how this thread unfolds once the Sages chime in. :whatsthis
Gray Richardson
03-24-07, 11:34 PM Targus the Netherese deity of war was originally a separate entity from Garagos, who I believe to have been most likely the Jhaamdathan aspect of war (although I cannot rule out an ancient origin in the Coramshite or Lake of Steam pantheons). What we know for certain is that his worship was very strong in the Vilhon Reach and in Westgate and in areas dominated by Chondathan peoples up through the time of Myth Drannor, which seems like strong circumstantial evidence at least for a Jhaamdathan origin.

Garagos probably subsumed the identity of Targus after the two gods came into conflict following the fall of Netheril and Jhaamdath, sometime around the Dawn Cataclysm which seems to have been precipitated in part by the Chondathan diaspora. The Dawn Cataclysm was really a metaphor for disparate cultures and religious ideas merging into a greater Faerūnian superculture and pantheon.

As part of this process, the gods of war fought it out for supremacy of the war portfolio. Garagos defeated Targus in battle and the two gods merged with the Garagos personality dominant (spoils of war and all that). Garagos continues to use the Targus alias to this day. Garagos later tried to take Tempus, but lost. Garagos was busted down to demi-god status and subsisted as a minor war god with jurisdiction over a small collection of war-related portfolios such as plunder, destruction of war and skill-at-arms.

The conflict with Tempus occurred over the course of about 100 years and probably took place sometime after the fall of Myth Drannor, maybe sometime around the 700's or 800's. Garagos diminished substantially after his conflict with Tempus, and little was heard of him until he became active again in 1368 DR when he put down a marilith demon that was trying to start a cult in his name.

The Faerūnian creation myth speaks of the concept of War emerging out of the War of Light & Darkness at the dawn of time between Selūne and Shar. It is possible that all the gods of were once fragments or aspects of a single original human war deity that diverged and became separate gods over time as tribes of humanity dispersed around Faerūn and became isolated from one another. As these disparate cultures have merged back together into a greater Faerūnian superculture, these aspects have consolidated and merged back into two remaining aspects. It remains to be seen if someday Garagos will merge into Tempus (or vice-versa) but for now they look to have achieved a stable detente as two distinct gods.
Fabius Maximus
03-25-07, 08:41 AM Second, if he did in fact "die" and was "reborn" when did that rebirth take place? My research would indicate that it would take place around 1368 DR (Year of the Banner)... but that is simply speculation. There is also contradictory information because Garagos was seen in Westgate in 1358 DR (Year of Shadows), a full ten years previous during the Time of Troubles. Was he granting spells during the time of his "death"? Did he even truly die or was he simply reincarnated?

Just a minor nitpick. The Time of Troubles started in 1358, so the emergence of Garagos in Westgate isn't that much of a surprise.
Gray Richardson
03-25-07, 11:18 AM Garagos never went any where. He has been around since his defeat by Tempus, but he has been largely inactive up to 1368. Some people thought he had been slain by Tempus but they were mistaken.

His worship was most predominant in Westgate so when he was thrown down as an avatar in the Time of Troubles, his corporeal form ended up in Westgate. After the Time of Troubles, nothing much was heard from him for a decade until 1368 when his long absence gave that marilith the gumption to start a cult using his name.

Her IP infringement made Garagos painfully aware that trademark protection requires active use of the brand name and so Garagos has been more active in the realms ever since. ;)
Craig C.
03-25-07, 03:55 PM That seems odd that a deity as aggressive and proactive as Garagos would have a period of dormancy/inactivity.

You think that was due to him purposefully laying low so as to rebuild his power base? Perhaps for fear that a visible presence in Faerun while so weak would have invited trouble in the forum of another deity tracking him down and beating him while he was weak?
Meldread
03-25-07, 04:12 PM Thanks for the great information, Gray. Do you have any idea what link Garagos has to Shar? Information I have found states that, Garagos forbids acting against the church of Shar, though he also does not allow his churches to ally with hers. Is it possible that Shar is assisting Garagos behind the scenes in some way?
Gray Richardson
03-25-07, 05:24 PM That seems odd that a deity as aggressive and proactive as Garagos would have a period of dormancy/inactivity.

You think that was due to him purposefully laying low so as to rebuild his power base?I honestly think he was just a sore loser. He didn't take his defeat by Tempus too well. It was really humiliating for him. I think he just took a few centuries off to pout.
Gray Richardson
03-25-07, 05:48 PM Do you have any idea what link Garagos has to Shar? Information I have found states that, Garagos forbids acting against the church of Shar, though he also does not allow his churches to ally with hers. Is it possible that Shar is assisting Garagos behind the scenes in some way?Back in the the Netheril days, Targus was madly in love with Shar and thought of Shar as the most beautiful and gracious being to ever exist. When Targus merged with Garagos during the Dawn Cataclysm, it is unclear how much of the Targus personality remains within Garagos, but it may be that Garagos has some vestigial love or respect for Shar even though Garagos is not an ally of Shar as Targus was.

We don't know the full story, but as a goddess of treachery it might well have been that Shar betrayed Targus or Garagos at some point. Garagos may still sting deeply from that incident. No matter what feelings he may still harbor for her, Garagos is fearful to ever ally with Shar again.

Come to think of it, the Targus/Garagos merger might be an imperfect one. The personalities of Targus and Garagos may still be at war with each other internally, vying continually for control of the Garagos identity. It seems poetically appropriate somehow for a war god to be at war within himself.

Such an imperfect merger might explain Garagos's savage and less-than-sane behavior, and it might also explain why he has laid low for so long, trying to deal with the fall out from a less-than-successful merging of two godhoods.
Meldread
03-25-07, 06:48 PM Wow, thanks for the information again Gray. Garagos just seems to get more and more interesting the more I learn about him. At first glance he seemed like a shallow deity without much depth, but just after scratching the surface there seems to be much more personality there - with tons to explore.

Where did the information about Targus' love for Shar come from - any sources? I highly doubt the feelings were reciprocal, but could it be possible that Shar would aid Garagos in some way - in an attempt to "save" Targus? Especially considering that he could become a willing pawn in her schemes.
customdrapery
03-26-07, 11:46 AM Not to take away Gray's response, but the information on Targus and Shar comes from Netheril: Empire of Magic.

My question is this, the description of Targus in NEoM reads so similarly to Garagos that I question whether or not there was another diety of War that Targus melded with. My read of the situation is that when Targus (Netherese Pantheon) came into conflict with Tempus (Talfiric? Pantheon), Targus was defeated and became Garagos and Tempus became the one diety of War. Just because he changed his name doesn't necessarily mean that he merged with another diety, or does it?
Dirty Dan the Laundry Man
03-26-07, 09:22 PM Come to think of it, the Targus/Garagos merger might be an imperfect one. The personalities of Targus and Garagos may still be at war with each other internally, vying continually for control of the Garagos identity. It seems poetically appropriate somehow for a war god to be at war within himself.

Such an imperfect merger might explain Garagos's savage and less-than-sane behavior, and it might also explain why he has laid low for so long, trying to deal with the fall out from a less-than-successful merging of two godhoods.Agreed. Although such an imperfect union probably spells doom for Garagos' future. I just don't think he has the deific tools to be able to compete and survive against other aggressive and more cunning deities who would want to vanquish or usurp him.
I honestly think he was just a sore loser. He didn't take his defeat by Tempus too well. It was really humiliating for him. I think he just took a few centuries off to pout.LOL! That's an interesting picture. Imagine how humiliating that must have been for his clergy as well! Especially during times of proselytization!
Gray Richardson
03-26-07, 10:30 PM Just because he changed his name doesn't necessarily mean that he merged with another diety, or does it?
I cannot deny the possibility that Targus just underwent a personality shift and changed his name to Garagos. Certainly both Targus and Garagos were very similar. I think there is a strong case to be made though that they were separate gods, but I suppose they could have just been two different conceptions of the same god.

My own explanation is that Targus and Garagos were distinct, separate gods during the age of Netheril and Jhaamdath, but that they had previously fragmented from the same, more ancient god of War, perhaps going back to the original god of War that arose during the War of Light & Darkness between Selūne and Shar. I think it possible that Tempus is also a fragment of that same primal war god.

Thus Targus and Garagos, having fragmented from the same original god, could have still appeared similar to one another and shared many qualities. When they merged back together following the Dawn Cataclsym, they formed a gestalt god that had attributes of both. This new Garagos might not have seemed too different from either of the entities that combined to make him.

This is all just speculation on my part, I don't know the whole story. As Ed Greenwood says: we can never really know the whole truth about the gods, no matter what we are told or think we know.

Personally I see the gods as these unfathomable divine amoebas, splitting off fragments through mitosis, forming avatars and aliases like pseudopods as needed, and consuming or merging back together with other gods in the same way that human cultures and populations split apart, migrate, grow, shrink, change and merge back together over the course of time.
customdrapery
03-27-07, 01:56 PM That makes sense. It's kind of funny that many of the gods started from one source (the various gods of war, for instance) and formed all these different pantheons and are now melded/melding back into one uniform pantheon. What would have caused that original split?

Say, Gray, is your list of all the Faerunian gods and their origins still in the archives somewhere? Oh, I guess I'll just go and look.
Burningspear
04-04-07, 11:24 PM Not to take away Gray's response, but the information on Targus and Shar comes from Netheril: Empire of Magic.

My question is this, the description of Targus in NEoM reads so similarly to Garagos that I question whether or not there was another diety of War that Targus melded with. My read of the situation is that when Targus (Netherese Pantheon) came into conflict with Tempus (Talfiric? Pantheon), Targus was defeated and became Garagos and Tempus became the one diety of War. Just because he changed his name doesn't necessarily mean that he merged with another diety, or does it?

Have to agree here whole heartedly...
Eatable_Dice
04-06-07, 10:07 AM Garagos is a much more interesting War Deity than Tempus, perfectly fit to oppose the Red Knight with two different views of warfare. Plus that with him, I have an excuse to make dozens of Blood Elementals.
The Ubbergeek
04-06-07, 12:09 PM Garagos is a much more interesting War Deity than Tempus, perfectly fit to oppose the Red Knight with two different views of warfare. Plus that with him, I have an excuse to make dozens of Blood Elementals.

Garagos is just really another batdung berzerker, really. Cool, but not unique. I prefer Tempus who is more calm-headed and cool than though.
Eatable_Dice
04-07-07, 02:05 PM Garagos is just really another batdung berzerker, really. Cool, but not unique. I prefer Tempus who is more calm-headed and cool than though.

I understand your opinion, but the feeling I have is that while Tempus´ followers must fight fiercely, their "calm headed" deity does not allow them to employ the most sneaky tactics, and that is why he raised to war mastermind Red Knight to godhood. If I recall correctly, it is stated in the Faiths and Pantheons book that actions such as attacks from the rear should only be used by his clerics if outnumbered or with a smaller force.

So, if I have to face my enemy head on, I prefer to have a deity that grants me the power to overwhelm them through sheer strenght. Thus, I would like to see Garagos showing that two-horse fool who´s the war daddy.;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Meldread 03-24-07, 02:26 AM	I am seeking some very good information on Garagos. I already know a great deal, but I am attempting to create a heretical cult of Garagos that can trace its roots back to the time of Netheril. I know that during the time of Netheril he was known as Targus, and Tempus around that time was a member of the Talfiric Pantheon. The two deities came into conflict as the pantheons merged, obviously after -339 DR (Year of Sundered Webs) the year of Netheril's Fall. However, the real question is there a good date to when Garagos stopped granting spells to his faithful? (That would be the date that he would be considered "dead".) Second, if he did in fact "die" and was "reborn" when did that rebirth take place? My research would indicate that it would take place around 1368 DR (Year of the Banner)... but that is simply speculation. There is also contradictory information because Garagos was seen in Westgate in 1358 DR (Year of Shadows), a full ten years previous during the Time of Troubles. Was he granting spells during the time of his "death"? Did he even truly die or was he simply reincarnated? Did Garagos undergo some type of transformation? My research into him indicates that he was different in many ways to his current persona. Is there a reason that he has taken up a new name and identity? What proof is there that Garagos as we currently know him is in fact (at the core) the same deity named Targus during the reign of Netheril? Further, is it possible that some aspect of Targus continues to exist within Garagos that could potentially be reawakened, and his bloodlust lifted?
Zanan 03-24-07, 10:49 AM	To my knowledge, the main source was and still is Powers & Pantheons, the 3rd book of the F&A series.
Dirty Dan the Laundry Man 03-24-07, 12:03 PM	Good questions, Meldread. One of the guys in my gaming group ran into this very same set of contradictions and missing links regarding Garagos ... sometime last summer. I'll be curious to see how this thread unfolds once the Sages chime in. :whatsthis
Gray Richardson 03-24-07, 11:34 PM	Targus the Netherese deity of war was originally a separate entity from Garagos, who I believe to have been most likely the Jhaamdathan aspect of war (although I cannot rule out an ancient origin in the Coramshite or Lake of Steam pantheons). What we know for certain is that his worship was very strong in the Vilhon Reach and in Westgate and in areas dominated by Chondathan peoples up through the time of Myth Drannor, which seems like strong circumstantial evidence at least for a Jhaamdathan origin. Garagos probably subsumed the identity of Targus after the two gods came into conflict following the fall of Netheril and Jhaamdath, sometime around the Dawn Cataclysm which seems to have been precipitated in part by the Chondathan diaspora. The Dawn Cataclysm was really a metaphor for disparate cultures and religious ideas merging into a greater Faerūnian superculture and pantheon. As part of this process, the gods of war fought it out for supremacy of the war portfolio. Garagos defeated Targus in battle and the two gods merged with the Garagos personality dominant (spoils of war and all that). Garagos continues to use the Targus alias to this day. Garagos later tried to take Tempus, but lost. Garagos was busted down to demi-god status and subsisted as a minor war god with jurisdiction over a small collection of war-related portfolios such as plunder, destruction of war and skill-at-arms. The conflict with Tempus occurred over the course of about 100 years and probably took place sometime after the fall of Myth Drannor, maybe sometime around the 700's or 800's. Garagos diminished substantially after his conflict with Tempus, and little was heard of him until he became active again in 1368 DR when he put down a marilith demon that was trying to start a cult in his name. The Faerūnian creation myth speaks of the concept of War emerging out of the War of Light & Darkness at the dawn of time between Selūne and Shar. It is possible that all the gods of were once fragments or aspects of a single original human war deity that diverged and became separate gods over time as tribes of humanity dispersed around Faerūn and became isolated from one another. As these disparate cultures have merged back together into a greater Faerūnian superculture, these aspects have consolidated and merged back into two remaining aspects. It remains to be seen if someday Garagos will merge into Tempus (or vice-versa) but for now they look to have achieved a stable detente as two distinct gods.
Fabius Maximus 03-25-07, 08:41 AM	Second, if he did in fact "die" and was "reborn" when did that rebirth take place? My research would indicate that it would take place around 1368 DR (Year of the Banner)... but that is simply speculation. There is also contradictory information because Garagos was seen in Westgate in 1358 DR (Year of Shadows), a full ten years previous during the Time of Troubles. Was he granting spells during the time of his "death"? Did he even truly die or was he simply reincarnated? Just a minor nitpick. The Time of Troubles started in 1358, so the emergence of Garagos in Westgate isn't that much of a surprise.
Gray Richardson 03-25-07, 11:18 AM	Garagos never went any where. He has been around since his defeat by Tempus, but he has been largely inactive up to 1368. Some people thought he had been slain by Tempus but they were mistaken. His worship was most predominant in Westgate so when he was thrown down as an avatar in the Time of Troubles, his corporeal form ended up in Westgate. After the Time of Troubles, nothing much was heard from him for a decade until 1368 when his long absence gave that marilith the gumption to start a cult using his name. Her IP infringement made Garagos painfully aware that trademark protection requires active use of the brand name and so Garagos has been more active in the realms ever since. ;)
Craig C. 03-25-07, 03:55 PM	That seems odd that a deity as aggressive and proactive as Garagos would have a period of dormancy/inactivity. You think that was due to him purposefully laying low so as to rebuild his power base? Perhaps for fear that a visible presence in Faerun while so weak would have invited trouble in the forum of another deity tracking him down and beating him while he was weak?
Meldread 03-25-07, 04:12 PM	Thanks for the great information, Gray. Do you have any idea what link Garagos has to Shar? Information I have found states that, Garagos forbids acting against the church of Shar, though he also does not allow his churches to ally with hers. Is it possible that Shar is assisting Garagos behind the scenes in some way?
Gray Richardson 03-25-07, 05:24 PM	That seems odd that a deity as aggressive and proactive as Garagos would have a period of dormancy/inactivity. You think that was due to him purposefully laying low so as to rebuild his power base?I honestly think he was just a sore loser. He didn't take his defeat by Tempus too well. It was really humiliating for him. I think he just took a few centuries off to pout.
Gray Richardson 03-25-07, 05:48 PM	Do you have any idea what link Garagos has to Shar? Information I have found states that, Garagos forbids acting against the church of Shar, though he also does not allow his churches to ally with hers. Is it possible that Shar is assisting Garagos behind the scenes in some way?Back in the the Netheril days, Targus was madly in love with Shar and thought of Shar as the most beautiful and gracious being to ever exist. When Targus merged with Garagos during the Dawn Cataclysm, it is unclear how much of the Targus personality remains within Garagos, but it may be that Garagos has some vestigial love or respect for Shar even though Garagos is not an ally of Shar as Targus was. We don't know the full story, but as a goddess of treachery it might well have been that Shar betrayed Targus or Garagos at some point. Garagos may still sting deeply from that incident. No matter what feelings he may still harbor for her, Garagos is fearful to ever ally with Shar again. Come to think of it, the Targus/Garagos merger might be an imperfect one. The personalities of Targus and Garagos may still be at war with each other internally, vying continually for control of the Garagos identity. It seems poetically appropriate somehow for a war god to be at war within himself. Such an imperfect merger might explain Garagos's savage and less-than-sane behavior, and it might also explain why he has laid low for so long, trying to deal with the fall out from a less-than-successful merging of two godhoods.
Meldread 03-25-07, 06:48 PM	Wow, thanks for the information again Gray. Garagos just seems to get more and more interesting the more I learn about him. At first glance he seemed like a shallow deity without much depth, but just after scratching the surface there seems to be much more personality there - with tons to explore. Where did the information about Targus' love for Shar come from - any sources? I highly doubt the feelings were reciprocal, but could it be possible that Shar would aid Garagos in some way - in an attempt to "save" Targus? Especially considering that he could become a willing pawn in her schemes.
customdrapery 03-26-07, 11:46 AM	Not to take away Gray's response, but the information on Targus and Shar comes from Netheril: Empire of Magic. My question is this, the description of Targus in NEoM reads so similarly to Garagos that I question whether or not there was another diety of War that Targus melded with. My read of the situation is that when Targus (Netherese Pantheon) came into conflict with Tempus (Talfiric? Pantheon), Targus was defeated and became Garagos and Tempus became the one diety of War. Just because he changed his name doesn't necessarily mean that he merged with another diety, or does it?
Dirty Dan the Laundry Man 03-26-07, 09:22 PM	Come to think of it, the Targus/Garagos merger might be an imperfect one. The personalities of Targus and Garagos may still be at war with each other internally, vying continually for control of the Garagos identity. It seems poetically appropriate somehow for a war god to be at war within himself. Such an imperfect merger might explain Garagos's savage and less-than-sane behavior, and it might also explain why he has laid low for so long, trying to deal with the fall out from a less-than-successful merging of two godhoods.Agreed. Although such an imperfect union probably spells doom for Garagos' future. I just don't think he has the deific tools to be able to compete and survive against other aggressive and more cunning deities who would want to vanquish or usurp him. I honestly think he was just a sore loser. He didn't take his defeat by Tempus too well. It was really humiliating for him. I think he just took a few centuries off to pout.LOL! That's an interesting picture. Imagine how humiliating that must have been for his clergy as well! Especially during times of proselytization!
Gray Richardson 03-26-07, 10:30 PM	Just because he changed his name doesn't necessarily mean that he merged with another diety, or does it? I cannot deny the possibility that Targus just underwent a personality shift and changed his name to Garagos. Certainly both Targus and Garagos were very similar. I think there is a strong case to be made though that they were separate gods, but I suppose they could have just been two different conceptions of the same god. My own explanation is that Targus and Garagos were distinct, separate gods during the age of Netheril and Jhaamdath, but that they had previously fragmented from the same, more ancient god of War, perhaps going back to the original god of War that arose during the War of Light & Darkness between Selūne and Shar. I think it possible that Tempus is also a fragment of that same primal war god. Thus Targus and Garagos, having fragmented from the same original god, could have still appeared similar to one another and shared many qualities. When they merged back together following the Dawn Cataclsym, they formed a gestalt god that had attributes of both. This new Garagos might not have seemed too different from either of the entities that combined to make him. This is all just speculation on my part, I don't know the whole story. As Ed Greenwood says: we can never really know the whole truth about the gods, no matter what we are told or think we know. Personally I see the gods as these unfathomable divine amoebas, splitting off fragments through mitosis, forming avatars and aliases like pseudopods as needed, and consuming or merging back together with other gods in the same way that human cultures and populations split apart, migrate, grow, shrink, change and merge back together over the course of time.
customdrapery 03-27-07, 01:56 PM	That makes sense. It's kind of funny that many of the gods started from one source (the various gods of war, for instance) and formed all these different pantheons and are now melded/melding back into one uniform pantheon. What would have caused that original split? Say, Gray, is your list of all the Faerunian gods and their origins still in the archives somewhere? Oh, I guess I'll just go and look.
Burningspear 04-04-07, 11:24 PM	Not to take away Gray's response, but the information on Targus and Shar comes from Netheril: Empire of Magic. My question is this, the description of Targus in NEoM reads so similarly to Garagos that I question whether or not there was another diety of War that Targus melded with. My read of the situation is that when Targus (Netherese Pantheon) came into conflict with Tempus (Talfiric? Pantheon), Targus was defeated and became Garagos and Tempus became the one diety of War. Just because he changed his name doesn't necessarily mean that he merged with another diety, or does it? Have to agree here whole heartedly...
Eatable_Dice 04-06-07, 10:07 AM	Garagos is a much more interesting War Deity than Tempus, perfectly fit to oppose the Red Knight with two different views of warfare. Plus that with him, I have an excuse to make dozens of Blood Elementals.
The Ubbergeek 04-06-07, 12:09 PM	Garagos is a much more interesting War Deity than Tempus, perfectly fit to oppose the Red Knight with two different views of warfare. Plus that with him, I have an excuse to make dozens of Blood Elementals. Garagos is just really another batdung berzerker, really. Cool, but not unique. I prefer Tempus who is more calm-headed and cool than though.
Eatable_Dice 04-07-07, 02:05 PM	Garagos is just really another batdung berzerker, really. Cool, but not unique. I prefer Tempus who is more calm-headed and cool than though. I understand your opinion, but the feeling I have is that while Tempus´ followers must fight fiercely, their "calm headed" deity does not allow them to employ the most sneaky tactics, and that is why he raised to war mastermind Red Knight to godhood. If I recall correctly, it is stated in the Faiths and Pantheons book that actions such as attacks from the rear should only be used by his clerics if outnumbered or with a smaller force. So, if I have to face my enemy head on, I prefer to have a deity that grants me the power to overwhelm them through sheer strenght. Thus, I would like to see Garagos showing that two-horse fool who´s the war daddy.;)