AuldDragon's AD&D Blog

The bloodthirsty and rapacious patron of werewolves and seawolves, Daragor is a wanderer who delights in nothing but sating his bloodlust. While he wanders the Lower Planes butchering the fiends and travelers he finds there, he sends his avatars to do the same on the Prime Material Plane.

Daragor (PDF Version)
(The Wolflord, Lord of Wolves, Marauder, the Shape-Shifter)
Lesser Power of the Planes, CE

Portfolio:                 Marauding beasts, bloodlusts, pain, werewolves, seawolves
Aliases:                     None
Domain Name:           Wanders
Superior:                   None
Allies:                       None
Foes:                           Balador, Eshebala, Ferrix, Gorellik, Malar, Mielikki, Oberon, Solonor Thelandira, various animal lords (especially the Wolf Lord), the Seelie Court, virtually all sylvan deities
Symbol:                     Werewolf’s head
Wor. Align.:             LE, NE, CE

Seemingly existing simply to kill and destroy, Daragor the Wolflord has an essential savagery almost unrivaled across the multiverse. A constant desire to kill courses through his veins, keeping him on the move throughout the Lower Planes and slaughtering whatever crosses his path.

Daragor’s origins are obscure, but like his sibling Eshebala, he appears to be a primal entity that has existed perhaps since the dawn of time. Unlike his sister, he seems to have no clear connection to the Seldarine, although arguably his lust for killing and death is a dark mirror of the creative and life-loving elements of Corellon Larethian. Regardless, the elven powers refuse to accept any such proposed connection even as they are silent on the possible connection between their pantheon and the Vixen Queen. However, for all of elven history, myths have described the Wolflord as a dark stalker of the forests, an ever-present if remote danger lurking beneath the forest boughs. More significant is his role in the myths of the small sylvan children of the Seelie Court, who do not have the organization or military prowess of the elves with which to defend themselves. His presence in their myths is much akin to that of the Queen of Air and Darkness, a dark and lurking terror that all must be vigilant for, even while they enjoy life.

Contrary to the common theory of Daragor’s ancient origin, some sages have speculated that he was originally a Wolf Lord of the Beastlands, who became too human to continue in that role while also garnering a mortal following. Other sages point out that this is a common theory for many animalistic powers, and it can’t be true for all of them; they further point to the solid mythological connections between the Marauder and Eshebala and the lack of any myths portraying him simply as a divine animal. He does seem to hold enmity towards the current Wolf Lord, however, although this is easily explained as a simple rivalry between entities with similar concerns.

Daragor is a restless but masterful hunter, addicted to the thrill of a kill and the pleasure of inflicting pain. He stalks the Lower Planes, often appearing on the battlefields of the Blood War in order to wreak havoc; he is one of the few deities who appear able to interfere in that war between fiends, since he favors no side and slaughters combatants indiscriminately. Sighting his lean form loping across the plains toward a melee is one of the few circumstances that can lead to a truce between the baatezu and tanar’ri, as both sides recognize the great danger of being around when he arrives, although a few individuals are brave enough—or stupid enough—to try and use the situation to advance themselves in the fiendish hierarchy. He also actively stalks the waning gnollish power Gorellik, hoping to slay him and absorb his power.

The Wolflord is very active on the Prime Material Plane, a frightening prospect only alleviated by the fact he can’t send many avatars. When they appear, they roam wilderness lands and oceans, hunting anything he can feast upon. When he catches his quarry, he favors attacks designed to disable in order to prevent fleeing before he proceeds to rend them alive. Daragor stalks werebears for sport, but flees avatars of Balador out of a healthy respect for that deity’s physical strength rather than fear. Of all the prey he stalks, his favorite are paladins and priests of lawful good deities and powers of peace, as well as followers of sylvan gods, for consuming their flesh brings about a stimulating euphoria for the Wolflord.

Daragor’s Avatar (Fighter 29)
Daragor’s preferred forms are that of an enormous grey-furred wolf or a monstrous seawolf. His eyes glow with a malevolent red light, and his paws and tooth-filled jaws are perpetually stained with blood. Rarely has he been known to appear in an upright wolf-man hybrid form with grey fur, but he has never been known to take on a fully humanoid form.

AC −1; MV 36 (12, Sw 27); HP 177; THAC0 −8; #AT 2
Dmg 4d6 (bite)
MR 20%; SZ L (12 feet long)
Str 18/00, Dex 17, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 1
Spells none
Saves PPDM 3; RSW 5; PP 4; BW 4; Sp 6

Special Att/Def: Daragor is a savage combatant, favoring ambush tactics and hit-and-run strikes against his prey. He opens combat by biting the limbs of mobile opponents with called strikes; any successful such attack tears the tendons of that limb, rendering it useless until it heals naturally or a repair injury or more potent healing spell is applied. Once a creature is disabled and unable to flee, the Wolflord takes his time slaying them.

If Daragor kills a creature of 6 HD/levels or more and spends one full round rending its flesh and drinking its blood, he regains 1d8+3 hit points of damage he has sustained. Should the slain creature have been a paladin or a priest of a deity of lawful goodness, peace, or sylvan realms, he gains the effects of a potion of invulnerability for 3d10 turns that also grants him immunity to silver weapons of any enchantment. He is able to charm lupine at will (effect includes even winter or mist wolves, but not wolfweres, any dogs, or undead wolves). Three times per day his howl can instill fear (as the wand) to all creatures within 120 feet with a −4 penalty to the saving throw. In wolf, he is able to summon 3d8 wolves, 2d4 werewolves, and 1d4 winter wolves once per day each, and in seawolf form he can summon 2d4+2 lesser seawolves and 1d4+1 greater seawolves once per day each; the creatures summoned must be within one mile or the summoning fails.

The Wolflord is immune to poison, paralyzation, disease, and nonmagical weapons not made of silver. He cannot be entangled or have his movement hindered by nature-affecting spells (such as a wall of thorns or interposed plant growth but spells such as web or slow affect him normally) while in wolf form. As a seawolf, he can water breathe freely, and once per day he can water walk for 12 turns.

Other Manifestations
Daragor never manifests his power in aid of his followers, for he pays little attention to him. It is said that some of his essence leaks through to those who are especially devout, instilling in them near-berserk bloodlust (mimicking the 5th-level priest spell rage) when they are hunting or attacking powerful creatures, especially those of a good nature. Followers affected in this way who have great success in a short time may accidentally draw forth an avatar of the Marauder; one popular legend among werewolves is that a clan of six were so entirely in the thrall of this bloodlust that when they came to their senses, they had slaughtered a thriving town of five hundred residents without so much as a scratch, all in the course of one night, and this is frequently attributed to an appearance by Daragor himself.

Daragor is served almost exclusively by wolves and other canids, especially normal wolves, worgs, dire wolves, winter wolves, death dogs, and shadow hounds. He may also work through incarnates of anger, quasits, and the occasional tanar’ri with shapechanging powers. He is never served by wolfweres, jackalweres, or foxes of any kind. The Marauder does not display his favor or displeasure in any way, but may send omens in the form of an ephemeral scent and taste of blood, indicating some special prey nearby.

The Church
Clergy:                      Clerics, specialty priests
Clergy’s Align.:      LE, NE, CE
Turn Undead:           C: No, SP: No
Cmnd. Undead:         C: Yes, SP: No

All clerics and specialty priests of Daragor receive religion (lycanthrope) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency.

Daragor’s clergy are rare and not well known by other faiths, but almost universally feared or despised by those familiar with them. His followers seek nothing else but to revel in slaughter and pain, seeking to kill weaker creatures for the sake of it. They have no friends or allies, even amongst other faiths with a similar bent, for they are indiscriminate in their killing. Due to the great danger they pose to wild beasts and civilized races alike, they are often hunted by followers of powers of balance and nature when their presence is discovered.

The Wolflord’s clergy are not temple builders, in part because few of them ever settle in one place for long. They are wandering hunters who move on when their chosen prey has been depleted or learns to avoid them, so there is little point in setting up permanent places to venerate their deity. Similarly, they maintain no shrines, not even small portable altars that they can carry on their travels.

The priesthood of Daragor uses no titles or special terms of address, nor do they distinguish between novices and full priests. Powerful priests may create special titles for themselves, but this is uncommon. Specialty priests of Daragor are called garulfar (singular garulf). The Marauder’s clergy is heavily dominated by specialty priests (85%), with a small remainder of clerics (15%). Of the lycanthropes who are drawn to his worship, werewolves (including loup-garous; 55%) and seawolves (lesser and greater; 25%) dominate, with the remainder consisting of other normally evilly-aligned lycanthropes (werebats, werefoxes, werehyenas, werelions, wererats, etc.; 10%), normally neutral- or goodly-aligned lycanthropes (werebears, wereboars, wereravens, etc.; 3%), and normal humans, demihumans, and humanoids (including loup du noirs; 7%); many of this latter group willfully seek to contract lycanthropy. Wolfweres and jackalweres are never found among his priesthood. A substantial majority of the Wolflord’s clergy are males (79%), with females (21%) more common among his werewolf clergy than any other group save werefoxes.

Dogma: Kill and rend the flesh from your prey. Devour their lifeblood and gain strength from it. Revel in moon-madness and bloodlust, and relish the fear prey feels before it is killed. Inflict pain on the weak and crush those who would interfere in the pleasure of the hunt. Seek out the small followers of the foul gods of the sylvan lands and slay them for the joy of it. Kill the pathetic followers of Squerrik, Balador, Eshebala, and Ferrix, for they are but pale shadows of the true God of changing shape. All creatures of the world are livestock waiting to be feasted upon.

Day-to-Day Activities: Followers of the Wolflord are marauders, pure and simple. They live to wreak havoc and take what they desire, leaving few survivors of their depredations. They are unconcerned about predator-prey balances, often hunting areas well past sustaining before moving on to another area. They are not stupid, however, and will conceal or limit their activities should they become aware of powerful forces that would do them harm. They perform no regular religious services save the prayers necessary to gain spells, and there is little to distinguish them from especially destructive members of their race—which may in itself be a distinguishing element.

Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: Daragor’s priesthood observes no holy days and holds no major ceremonies. Living life by the Wolflord’s example is seen as enough of a religious rite to satisfy their deity.

Major Centers of Worship: The only known temple of Daragor is located in The Lady’s Ward of Sigil, the City of Doors. Known as the Evershifting Halls of the Wolflord, the temple is overseen by a family of werewolves headed by Lady of the Hunt Lycia Volik. Surprisingly for followers of the Marauder, the sprawling, shadowy gothic structure is said to welcome all travelers, but its reputation as a favored stop for tanar’ri in disguise tends to keep travelers of a non-malicious nature away. Rumors abound that the temple rests on top of catacombs that are used for blood sport hunts, although nothing has been proven. In addition to the resident werewolves, a clan of werebats also lives within the temple, serving as lay followers of Daragor.

Affiliated Orders: Daragor’s priesthood has no organizational structure, and thus sponsors no martial or monastic orders, nor are there any independent orders that follow his tenets.

Priestly Vestments: The Wolflord’s clergy has no formal garb, although non-traditional worshipers may adopt some sort of raiment in which they make their prayers; most often this is a wolf pelt worn about the shoulders and over the head. The holy symbol used by the clergy is a broken or small bone from a humanoid or large animal personally slain by the priest, or a dried wolf paw.

Adventuring Garb: There is nothing besides their holy symbol to separate a priest of Daragor from a typical member of their race. Weapon, armor, and clothing choices are all practical, with no religious preference.

Specialty Priests (Garulfar)
Requirements:          Strength 12, Constitution 11, Wisdom 9
Prime Req.:                Strength, Wisdom
Alignment:                CE
Weapons:                   Any
Armor:                       Any
Major Spheres:         All, animal, combat, healing (reversed only), necromantic, summoning, sun, travelers
Minor Spheres:         Chaos, divination, elemental
Magical Items:         Same as clerics, druids, and rangers
Req. Profs:                Survival (choose terrain)
Bonus Profs:             Hunting, tracking

• Garulfar may be any lycanthrope or humanoid capable of contracting lycanthropy. Non-lycanthropes must contract some form of lycanthropy to advance past 2nd level, gaining no more experience than what is necessary for that level until they do.
• Garulfar can select nonweapon proficiencies from the priest and warrior groups with no crossover penalty.
• Garulfar can track as well as a ranger, and do not suffer the −6 penalty that other characters do with the proficiency.
• Garulfar can hide in shadows and move silently as well as a ranger of the same level in wild outdoor settings. They have no ability to do so underground or in settled lands, unlike rangers.
• At 2nd level, garulfar can cast pass without trace (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day. This rises to twice per day at 6th level, and three times per day upon achieving 10th level.
• At 2nd level, Daragor may choose to grant the power of protomê (as the 3rd-level priest spell) to a non-lycanthrope garulfar. Use of this power can be intoxicating, and the garulfar must make a saving throw vs. spell on any morning if they didn’t use the power on the previous day. If the save is failed, the garulfar will be compelled to use the power at some point during the day; failing to do so results in a cumulative loss of 1d6 maximum hit points for each time day fail to use the power. Using the power immediately restores lost maximum hit points and associate current hit points; thus a garulfar that has lost 5 maximum hit points regains them, and the associated 5 current hit points, even if they were not currently at their modified maximum.
• At 4th level, garulfar can command lupines once per day, lasting 1 round/level and affecting 1 creature per 3 levels the garulfar has attained. Any living lupine save wolfweres can be affected by this power, although only normal and dire wolves are automatically affected. Worgs suffer a −4 penalty to their saving throw, while winter wolves, werewolves, and all others make their save normally; nonmagical dogs can also be affected by this power (i.e., wild, war, and death dogs, but not blink or moon dogs). The lupines obey simple commands of no more than four words to the best of their ability for the duration, but at the expiration, they act normally towards the garulfar.
• At 6th level, garulfar can cast blood lust or jaws of the wolf (as the 2nd-level priest spells) once per day.
• At 8th level, garulfar can cast rage (as the 5th-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 10th level, garulfar can cast howl or free action (as the 4th-level priest spells) once per day.

Daragite Spells
In addition to the spells listed below, priests of the Wolflord can cast the 2nd-level priest spells blood lust, detailed in the Priest’s Spell Compendium Vol.I, jaws of the wolf, detailed in the Priest’s Spell Compendium Vol.II, and the 5th-level priest spell rage, detailed in Faiths and Avatars in the entry for Malar.

2nd Level
Blood of Life (Pr 2; Necromancy)
Sphere:                    Necromantic
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S
Duration:                 1 turn
Casting Time:          5
Area of Effect:         The caster
Saving Throw:        None

By casting this spell, a priest is able to reinvigorate and heal himself upon the death of his foes. For the turn following the completion of this spell, the caster gains 1 hit point for every full hit die of creatures he personally slays. He need not deal all the damage to the creatures, but he must land the final killing blow to gain the benefit. For example, if the caster slays a 5 HD brown bear, he will be healed for 5 hit points of damage instantly, while he would need to slay two kobolds to gain even 1 hit point. Bonus hit points are ignored for determining how many hit points the caster gains. In addition, if the caster slays a creature of at least 6 HD and spends a round feasting on its blood, an additional 1d6+1 points of damage will be healed. This spell cannot grant hit points beyond the caster’s normal maximum; any excess hit points are lost.

Summon Lupines (Pr 2; Conjuration/Summoning)
Sphere:                    Animal
Range:                     60 yds.
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          1 rd.
Area of Effect:         Special
Saving Throw:        None

When this spell is cast, it summons a pack of lupine creatures that appear on the following round at any point within range designated by the caster. The type of creatures summoned depends on the level of the caster as follows:

Level                   Creatures summoned
3rd                       2d6 wolves or lesser seawolves
5th                       2d6 worgs
8th                       2d4 dire wolves or werewolves
10th                     1d4+1 winter wolves
14th                     1d4 greater seawolves

The caster can chose to summon any lesser creatures if desired. The summoned lupines will attack creatures as directed by the caster for the duration; if there are no foes to fight, they may assist the caster in any way they are able, provided the caster has a means to communicate with them. Slain creatures disappear immediately, as do any still alive at the expiration of the spell.

The material components for this spell are the priest’s holy symbol and a large piece of fresh meat or a pint of fresh blood.

3rd Level
Protomê (Pr 3; Alteration)
Sphere:                    Animal
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1 turn/level
Casting Time:          5
Area of Effect:         The caster
Saving Throw:        None

This dangerous spell allows a priest to tap the raw natural power of an animal by donning its protomê—its head and mane. When the spell works properly, the priest’s Strength score becomes 18/00, his hit points are increased by 20, and he is immune to fear, whether natural or magical. These bonuses apply regardless of the kind of skin donned by the priest.

There are several complications involved in the spell, however. First is the possibility that the priest might undergo an actual physical transformation when he casts the spell. This chance is 10%/daily use of the spell (i.e., 10% the first time the spell is cast in a day, 20% the second time, and so on). When this transformation occurs, the priest actually becomes a large and aggressive specimen of the animal type represented by the protomê. The priest has no control over his actions during the transformation and is in a state of bloodlust similar to that found in lycanthropes. The spell still expires at the end of its duration.

The second complication is that the spell lingers in the priest’s memory after it is cast. Each time the spell is cast, there is a 5% chance (non-cumulative) that it remains in the priest’s memory, while another spell of the same level, chosen randomly, is erased from memory—without the priest’s conscious knowledge. After that point, if the priest attempts to cast the spell that was wiped from his memory, he inadvertently casts protomê instead. Similarly, once a priest has learned and cast protomê, he must make a successful saving throw vs. spells at the beginning of every day if he does not wish to memorize protomê. The power that comes from donning the animal skin is dangerously addictive.

If a priest using protomê should change to beast form 10 times, then he becomes an actual lycanthrope, similar to the loup du noir (described in the Monstrous Compendium Annual, Volume One). His alignment changes to chaotic evil.

The material component of the spell is the head and pelt of any carnivorous animal, such as a lion, a bear, or a wolf.

4th Level
Howl (Pr 4; Illusion/Phantasm)
Sphere:                    Animal
Range:                     Earshot
Components:           V, S
Duration:                 Instantaneous
Casting Time:          6
Area of Effect:         The caster
Saving Throw:        Neg.

This spell allows a true or infected lycanthrope to let loose a piercing, bloodcurdling cry while in hybrid or beast form that strikes terror into the hearts of those who hear it. When a lycanthrope casts howl, it is immediately compelled to throw back its head and bay; the effect cannot be put off or subdued, although it can be magically silenced.

Any creature within hearing range of the howl must make a successful saving throw vs. spell or be gripped in magical fear, as per the 4th-level wizard spell. Victims of this effect most likely drop whatever they are holding and flee at maximum movement rate as far as they can or until the fear dissipates. Creatures of low or animal intelligence receive no saving throw; they immediately fall under the effects of the fear. Lycanthropes are immune to this effect.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 1st, 2019 at 11:18 am and is filed under Deities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.