Hi.
Iwant to know a litle about this Deities ,dogmas , spheres of influence , current whereabouts, can anyone help me!?
Pre-spellplague?
Gargauth is the tenth lord of nine, cast down from the nine hells to Toril for an unspeakable betrayal. Worshipped by powerbrokers such as the Knights of the Shield.
Ghaunadar is a elder evil of slimes and power unfettered by form worshipped by crazed drow, dopplegangers and slime cultists.
These two are described in detail in the 3.5 tome Faiths and Pantheons including their dogma. Their allied organisation are also described in Lords of Darkness.
Ilsensine is the metamind diety of Illithid or Mindflayers.
Piscaethces, is the source or elder evil origin of Aboleths.
Their dogma is unfathomable by most non abberant minds. Not much has been written on them.
Thanks in advance.
I´m interested in post-spellplague developments.
Thanks in advance.
I´m interested in post-spellplague developments.
In that case, be aware that Ghaunadaur revealed himself to be a much more powerful and ancient deity than anyone previously thought, and became the Greater God of Abominations. Gargauth is gone, possibly slain. Ilsensine and Piscaethces are still around somewhere, but their influence is probably no more or less great than before (even though Xxiphu is here now, it makes no mention of the Piscaethce's role in that city).
It's a pity Gargauth is missing from the 15th century recorded list of dieties. I had great fun using him in my campaigns. I liked his calculated moves on Toril. Lord Huhne, the leader and speaker of Gargauth in the Knights of the Shield had some great plans set in motion to achieve greater power among the nobility in Thethyr.
Perhaps Siamorphe or some other member of the Triad such as Torm have managed to slay this antedelivian devil while he was wandering the Forgotten Realms. I always was intrigued by the gauntlet Gargauth carried, with which he managed to absorb other fiendish or divine beings to achieve his own divinity. I can see Siamorphe might have held on to such a device.
Ilsensine and Piscaethces both are likely to be travelling the Astral planes as they usually do, with Ilsensine trying to (re)build the multiversal psionic empire for his cerebromorphing spawn and the Blood Queen just corrupting everyting it touches and spawning more aboleths on her passing.
It's a pity Gargauth is missing from the 15th century recorded list of dieties. I had great fun using him in my campaigns. I liked his calculated moves on Toril. Lord Huhne, the leader and speaker of Gargauth in the Knights of the Shield had some great plans set in motion to achieve greater power among the nobility in Thethyr.
Perhaps Siamorphe or some other member of the Triad such as Torm have managed to slay this antedelivian devil while he was wandering the Forgotten Realms. I always was intrigued by the gauntlet Gargauth carried, with which he managed to absorb other fiendish or divine beings to achieve his own divinity. I can see Siamorphe might have held on to such a device.
I seem to recall something about the location of Gargauth's lair being caught in the expansion of the Underchasm. It was mentioned a long time ago, but supposedly that system of caverns where Gargauth dwelled was right in the path of the shake-up, so he might have been crushed to death. To be honest, while I thought Gargauth was intriguing, I still axed him in my own game during the time-jump by having Asmodeus and Bane forge an alliance, team up to slay the Tenth Lord, and then divide the spoils. The divine spark Asmodeus absorbed was Gargauth's, not Azuth's (who is still around in my games, and has replaced Mystra). That being said, Gargauth's spark was too small to propel Asmo to divine levels, but it's made him the most powerful non-divine being in the cosmos (to all appearances).
Ilsensine and Piscaethces both are likely to be travelling the Astral planes as they usually do, with Ilsensine trying to (re)build the multiversal psionic empire for his cerebromorphing spawn and the Blood Queen just corrupting everyting it touches and spawning more aboleths on her passing.
I'd like to see something done with either of them. I haven't read City of Torment, but I'd like the Blood Queen to get a mention in Key of Stars if she hasn't already in CoT.
I consider Gargauth to be one of the most unique villains, he's perfect for diabolical conspirators and occultists. Enjoyed playing in the Pit of Peleveran. Other beings mentioned should be elder evils rather than gods.
Other beings mentioned should be elder evils rather than gods.
-I disagree. I don't like the...concept, for a lack of better words, that just because something looks and/or acts like something, it should be labeled as such. In other words, just because Ghaunadaur has a misplaced emphasis on "Far Realmsian Aberrations" all of a sudden doesn't mean that it should be a Far Realms entity (Elder Evil). Just because someone like Lurue has a heavy emphasis on Fey creatures doesn't mean that she should be an Archfey. And, conversely, just because something is a very powerful entity doesn't mean that it needs to be a deity- take Ilsensine, for example. I agree that Ilsensine shouldn't be a deity, but instead, a massivley powerful, to the point that it's power matches that of other deities, Elder Brain.
However, upon Asmodeus's ascension to greater divinity, all his plans and projects most certainly changed. It is possible that Gargauth was recalled to the Nine Hells, where he could be
a) an exarch in service to Asmodeus;
b) busted down to arch-devil;
c) busted down even further to some lesser rank of devil;
d) imprisoned;
e) devoured along with Azuth to fuel Asmodeus's ascendancy to greater godhood.
I suppose also he could have been killed when the underchasm formed, collapsing his lair, which was indeed located right in the midst of where it formed. But that seems kind of anti-climactic. Although, on second thought, he could perhaps now lie buried deep beneath the stone of the underchasm floor, where his followers and cultists search for him to this day. That might make for a good adventure seed.
But another possibility occurs to me. As a deity, Gargauth had accumulated a number of souls through the years upon the deaths of his followers. Now, most gods have (had) an Astral dominion where their followers went to upon their deaths. Gargauth did not. Where the souls of his followers went was never revealed, although it was a source of some speculation on the boards aways back. Gargauth's lair was a Material Plane location. It was speculated that his petitioners ended up on the Material Plane in his lair, or alternatively could have been devoured by Gargauth in order to increase and/or maintain his divine rank. Or maybe he was saving those souls in a container or artifact of some kind. That "souler" energy could have been used by Asmodeus to power his level-up in divine rank. I don't know if Gargauth supplied those souls to Asmodeus willingly, or had them taken from him forcefully. But it is a strong possibility that Gargauth's entire faith was built on a scam to help Asmodeus ascend to greater godhood.
Thus, I think it's likely that Gargauth has simply been reclassified as an archfiend, rather than imprisoned or killed. He's too useful a villain to be rid of entirely.
The 4th edition Forgotten Realms campaign guide suggests very strongly that Ghaunadaur originated in the Far Realm, an idea I have no problem with. He fits the bill, in my opinion. He's still considered a god, however, perhaps because 4th edition has no other term for the god-like entities of the Far Realm, or perhaps because he currently dwells in the Astral Sea.
"Elder Evil" once (in Lords of Madness) referred exclusively to the god-like entities worshiped by the aboleths, for example Piscaethces, but the hardcover book Elder Evils watered the term down to the point where it can refer to pretty much any extremely powerful and ancient villain, whether connected to the Far Realm or not. Hargut of the Gray Pestilence is an Elder Evil, but apparently originated in the Barrens of Doom and Despair.
