AuldDragon's AD&D Blog

With a title like The Peacekeeper, one might expect Bargrivyek to be an exile from the goblin pantheon. One could not be more wrong, however; he preaches peace, not between all races, but between goblin tribes so they can more effectively wage war on non-goblins. His priesthood is of particular importance in large goblin and hobgoblin kingdoms, keeping tribal disputes to a lower key or subtly directing blame from goblins to humans, elves, dwarves, or other nearby enemies. Enjoy!

Bargrivyek (PDF Version)
(The Peacekeeper, the Unifier, the Mediator)
Lesser Power of Baator, LE

Portfolio:  Cooperation, territory, unification of the goblin races
Aliases:  None
Domain Name:  Avernus/the Peaceable Lands
Superior:  Maglubiyet
Allies:  Hextor, Khurgorbaeyag
Foes:  Hruggek, Kurtulmak, the orc pantheon, the Seldarine, the dwarf and gnome pantheons
Symbol:  White-tipped flail
Wor. Align.:  LN, N, CN, LE, NE, CE

Despite his portfolios and epithets, Bargrivyek (BARG-riv-yeck) the Peacemaker is just as bellicose as the other goblin gods. He stands for the unity of all goblin tribes and subraces, for unity is strength. It is this unity that will allow the goblins to expand their lands and slaughter and rule their foes, the Unifier teaches. The Mediator keeps internal conflicts to a minimum, resolving such disagreements swiftly and turning anger and aggression outward.

Bargrivyek is utterly loyal to Maglubiyet, and the Lord of the Flaming Iron Throne values the Mediator’s ability to resolve intertribal war and turn the goblins onto outside enemies. Bargrivyek’s skills really came to the forefront when he advocated a temporary alliance with the orcish pantheon during the elven aggression of the first Unhuman War that spread across wildspace. However, Bargrivyek is deeply afraid of angering the Mighty One, and never disagrees or opposes him, even if Maglubiyet goes against the Mediator’s advice. Similarly, the Peacekeeper is terrified of Nomog-Geaya’s battle prowess, and does anything he can to avoid bringing down the General’s wrath on his head. He leaps to obey commands from either deity, and completes them as quickly as he can. Bargrivyek works closely with Khurgorbaeyag, and they have a strong alliance, although the Peacekeeper fears it is becoming strained with the influence Hruggek has been exercising over the Slave-Taker of late. He argues against this outside influence, believing that bugbears rightfully should worship the goblin pantheon, and he does not believe Hruggek has either this goal or Khurgorbaeyag’s best interests in mind. The Peacekeeper takes great pleasure in sending his goblins to attack Kurtulmak’s realm of Draukari, taking out his pent-up fear of Nomog-Geaya and Maglubiyet on the smaller kobolds.

Bargrivyek never sends his avatar into a situation that could lead to a conflict with Maglubiyet or Nomog-Geaya. Even most intertribal wars are not strong enough to override such a fear; only if the tribes are in danger of being wiped out from their wars or from an unnoticed outside force does he send his avatar to mediate on his own initiative. He will often send his avatar to support the goals of Khurgorbaeayag, so long as they do not bring him into conflict with the other goblin gods. He will always send an avatar into a situation if ordered to by Nomog-Geaya or Maglubiyet, however, and disrupting the influence of Hruggek will also often rile him up enough to take action.

Bargrivyek’s Avatar (Cleric 28, Fighter 20)
Bargrivyek appears as a tall, fit goblin with brick-red skin and a calm expression on his face. His high domed forehead is topped by well-groomed dark hair, and he often wears a gold circlet. His clothing usually consists of black banded armor and white leather leggings and a white cloak. He prefers to draw his spells from the spheres of charm, combat, divination, and law, although he can cast spells from any sphere.

AC −4; MV 12; HP 175; THAC0 1; #AT 5/2
Dmg 1d6+9 (flail +3, +3 Str, +2 spec. bonus in flail)
MR 20%; SZ L (8 feet tall)
Str 18/36, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 20
Spells P: 11/11/10/9/9/9/6
Saves PPDM 2; RSW 5; PP 4; BW 4; Sp 6

Special Att/Def: Bargrivyek wields Pacifier, a pure white flail +3. Any successful strike by this weapon stuns an opponent for 1d6 rounds if they fail a save vs. spells. He can speak all goblinoid and demihuman languages.

He can cast, once per day each, any spell that allows direct communication (such as speak with animals, plants, or dead; whispering wind; message, etc.) at the 20th level of ability. Twice per day he can cause fear, as the wand. Bargrivyek can cast babble (the reverse of the 3rd-level wizard spell tongues) twice per day. He is immune to weapons of less than +1 enchantment.

Other Manifestations
Bargrivyek manifests as a subtle glamour that affects a priest; while under this glamour the priest gains the benefit of a friends spell as well as a tongues spell at maximum effectiveness. Full moons are considered a good omen, seen as representing the head of the Peacekeeper’s white flail, and these nights are favored nights for priests to conduct rituals. Lunar eclipses are seen as terrible omens, representing Bargrivyek’s flail covered in goblinoid blood, and the clergy believes that any ventures or alliances taken on these days will end in disaster. The Peacemaker often sends omens in the form of distant atmospheric events which lead to or indicate the presence of new territory. Such events include lightning strikes, falling stars, and funnel clouds; priests will instinctively know whether such an event is an omen or a natural occurrence. Bargrivyek also often sends messages to his priests in the form of goblins speaking in tongues and violent stammering followed by automatic speech.

The goblin pantheon is served primarily by renegade baatezu (any least and lesser type), barghests, and wolves (normal and dire). In addition, Bargrivyek is served by apes of all sorts (except carnivorous apes), bakemono, hell hounds, imps, maelephants, and mites. He demonstrates his favor through the discovery of new lands suitable to goblin and hobgoblin habitation (abandoned dwarfholds and goblin warrens in good repair, for example), buried goblin clan standards in good condition (ready to be taken up again), grave pits filled with human or demihuman warriors clearly killed by goblins, black jasper, black sapphires, crown of silver (psilomelane chalcedony), hyaline, jet, moonbar, moonstone, onyx, and ravenar. The gems are considered especially favorable if a white stone is found embedded in a black stone, or vice versa. He shows his displeasure by the discovery of rent goblin battle standards and goblin skeletons slain or settlements destroyed by organized non-goblin forces.

The Church
Clergy:                      Clerics, specialty priests, crusaders, shamans, witch doctors
Clergy’s Align.:      LN, N, LE, NE
Turn Undead:           C: No, SP: No, Cru: No, Sha: No, WD: No
Cmnd. Undead:         C: Yes, SP: No, Cru: No, Sha: No, WD: No

All clerics, specialty priests, shamans, and witch doctors of Bargrivyek receive religion (goblin) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. All members of the clergy are forbidden from initiating attacks against goblins, hobgoblins, norkers, or koalinths, unless attacked first.

Priests of the Peacekeeper are common in the larger goblin and hobgoblin societies. They often serve roles similar to those of mediators and diplomats in human and demihuman societies, striving to ensure cooperation and lessen internal strife. They generally do not do this through careful study of laws and eloquent speech, although they aren’t averse to such tactics if they believe they will work. Most often they attempt to redirect conflicts outward, by placing blame or redirecting aggression onto non-goblin races, with orcs, dwarves, and elves being favored targets. They are subordinate to the priesthood of Maglubiyet, and will not contradict them publicly, although their private advice is usually taken into consideration by the priesthood of the Mighty One. In fact, it is considered a breach of etiquette amongst most goblin, hobgoblin, norker, and koalinth tribes to attack a priest of the Mediator unless directed to by the clergy of Maglubiyet, although this does not rise to a full-blown taboo. Followers of Bargrivyek work closely with the clergy of Khurgorbaeyag, as the unity and eventual dominance of goblins is of utmost importance to both deities. However, unlike those who follow the Overseer, the Peacekeeper’s priests oppose the interference of bugbears and the priests of Hruggek in goblin affairs. They work with Nomog-Geaya’s priests as well, but the relationship is quite strained, although both clergies agree in their opposition to the interference of Hruggek’s followers in goblin affairs. Bargrivyek’s priests tend to have somewhat more respect and higher status amongst those goblins living in Wildspace, as they were integral in keeping the goblin and hobgoblin troops allied to the other goblinoid races during the Unhuman Wars, and kept the focus on eliminating the elves, humans, and other non-goblinoid foes from space. The priests always seek to unite disparate goblin tribes into single unified nations, and they were surely involved any time such a political unity manages to take shape, even if it does not last.

Bargrivyek’s temples are similar in style to other goblin temples, although they are more often found above ground. They favor light colored granite for their walls and statuary, rather than the dark basalt of Maglubiyet. They decorate their temples with murals and reliefs of goblins and hobgoblins of clearly different tribes working together to slaughter orcs, elves, dwarves, humans, and other races that can be found in the vicinity of the temple. They will also display bloodied standards, banners, and trophies taken from all enemies of their tribe other than goblins and hobgoblins. Clean banners of neighboring goblins and hobgoblins will be given places of honor in the temple alongside the tribe’s own if they have managed to forge agreements or alliances with them. Shrines are very similar in style but on a smaller scale, with less impressive trophies and statuary. Altars of Bargrivyek are made of white marble, limestone, or granite, and draped in black cloth.

Novices in the service of the Peacemaker are called Scapegoaters, while full priests are known as Cooperators. The Bargrivyan priesthood adopts unique titles based on an individual’s achievements and role within the community. Specialty priests are known as uniters. The clergy of Bargrivyek includes goblins (63%), hobgoblins (36%), and a handful (1%) of norkers and koalinths. Few females (6%) are allowed in the priesthood, and they rarely rise above 4th level. Bargrivyek’s clergy is primarily composed of specialty priests (46%) and clerics (33%), with crusaders (10%), fighter/clerics (7%), and cleric/thieves (4%) filling out the remainder. Shamans and witch doctors are not part of the clerical hierarchy, although they are considered brothers of the faith. Shamans are found in about twice as many Bargrivyek-dominated tribes as witch doctors.

Dogma: Unity is Strength. Internal strife makes the goblin race weak. Focus your belligerence on enemies of the race, not your own kind. Expand the lands controlled by goblins through conquest of other races. Guide the people to create unified nations of multiple tribes, as the force of so many goblins can sweep away all enemies. Oppose the interference of outsiders in the affairs of goblins, but don’t hesitate to use outside forces to achieve larger goals. If enemies of the people are not directly responsible for strife within the tribe, make it appear they are. Focus your violence on your enemies, and stay calm and composed at all other times; anger only leads to internal strife.

Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Bargrivyek work tirelessly to prevent conflict from breaking out between, and within, goblin communities. They pride themselves on being neutral parties to any internal conflicts, always preaching the greater danger of external threats. They observe everyone within their tribe, as well as neighboring goblin tribes, to identify potential problems, and plan ways they can redirect blame outward onto elves, humans, or other races. They drop little hints to sow the seeds of blame in other tribemembers’ minds that any problems faced are caused by outsiders. Priests of nearby tribes always maintain close contact with each other, keeping each other apprised of threats to the goblin race as a whole, as well as informing them of potential intertribal conflicts. They won’t divulge secrets, however; as a victory for their own tribe over another is a preferred outcome if battle cannot be avoided.

All priests work to stay calm and keep anger and violent outbursts in check when not engaged in combat, believing that such emotions are best kept on the battlefield. They are fastidious, keeping their appearance and living spaces clean and orderly. They teach their tribes that anger directed at members of the tribe is detrimental to tribal unity, and to focus on constructive outlets for such feelings, such as contests of strength, rigorous exercise, or the smashing of elven and dwarven skulls.

The Bargrivyan clergy is often called upon to judge or mediate disputes between individuals or tribes. While such mediation is guided by customs and law, contests of strength, cooperative tasks (on a task that causes harm to outsiders), or battles to the death may be called for if there is no clear ruling. Such contests are believed to be watched by the gods, and all members of the tribe are expected to abide by the results or suffer their wrath. In the cases of battle and strength, the victor is declared innocent of charges or the winner of a dispute. Due to the sacred nature of these contests, participants in a battle to the death are expected to obey certain rules, such as no magic, be it priestly spells or from a device or weapon, and no poison. Combatants are expected to rely on their own skill and wits to win the battle; the use of available weapons, such as sand for blinding, are considered fair game.

Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: The full moon is sacred to Bargrivyek, thought of metaphorically as the head of his white flail. While there are no regular services on such nights, any ceremony held during the full moon is considered especially powerful and auspicious. No other specific day is held sacred, and there are no regular ceremonies amongst the priesthood, but commonly, the priesthood will celebrate when the tribe has overcome a major internal struggle, such as an extended and bloody succession dispute. Such celebrations may also be held when an alliance ends intertribal warfare, or when there is a solid battle victory over non-goblin enemies. These celebrations are raucous occasions, with feasting and heavy drinking, and the priests lead the tribe in songs and stories of the superiority of goblins, as well as praise for Bargrivyek and the rest of the pantheon.

The holiest of Bargrivyan ceremonies is the Ritual of Transference. This ceremony is performed when the priests embark upon a campaign of redirecting their tribe’s anger and aggression onto an enemy race or community. Lesser priests and lay followers pray and chant to the Peacemaker as a captive taken from the race or community to be targeted is lead in by high ranking priests. They are secured to the altar while the highest-ranked priest leads the rest in a lengthy prayer asking for Bargrivyek to transfer any aggression or ill-will within the tribe onto the specified foe. Once this prayer is complete, all of the members of the clergy gather around the altar and ritually bludgeon the victim to death with their flails while chanting supplications to the Peacemaker.

Major Centers of Worship: Many groups of goblins and hobgoblins who make their living in Wildspace have temples and shrines dedicated to the Peacemaker, due to the greater need to work together against the Elven Imperial Navy and other forces. However, recent reports from the vicinity of the Steel Star have revealed that the ogres have allied themselves with goblin and hobgoblin fleets that have strong faith in Bargrivyek and Maglubiyet. These fleets have started to build a large temple on one of the planets within the sphere.

Another known temple is the Hold of Unification, located in the Pomarj on Oerth. This temple works to promote the supremacy of the goblins and hobgoblins in the region, although since the accession of Turrosh Mak, this has taken a quiet back seat to ensuring the goblins and hobgoblins stay valued members of the empire.

Finally, in southeastern Amn on Toril, the growing army of the “Sythillisian Empire,” the dream of a pair of powerful ogre magi, has been helped considerably by particularly charismatic goblin and hobgoblin priests of Bargrivyek. While the priesthood of Maglubiyet amongst the allied tribes is nominally in power, it is the clergy of the Peacekeeper who hold true power. They saw the imperial ambition of the ogre magi and realized the potential such an empire would have for the goblins in the region. They have used their influence to turn the goblins and hobgoblins into a loyal fighting force for the ogres, and are biding their time until the empire is established before they plan to turn on the leaders and other humanoids, wresting control and establishing a goblin empire in the name of the High Chieftain and the Peacemaker.

Affiliated Orders: The Eyes of the Peacemaker is a group of cleric/thieves, clerics, and specialty priests who focus on planting information about nongoblin races, portraying them as plotting, or are actually responsible, for attacks on goblin tribes. They also attempt to ferret out actual plots by those enemies, although the truth behind what they reveal to goblins matters little, so long as the goblins focus their fury on them. The Eyes focus most on gnomes and dwarves, although not to an extent of ignoring other races, primarily because they have had a number of confrontations with the Knights of the Shadowy Cloak of Baravar and numerous orders serving Clangeddin.

Primarily composed of crusaders, fighter/clerics, and specialty priests, the Order of Pax Goblina is dedicated to convincing tribes of goblins and hobgoblins to join together to battle racial enemies. They travel from tribe to tribe, using their spells and powers to persuade them to join expansionist crusades against elves, dwarves, or other nearby nongoblins. They also attempt to use the force of their will and magic to end any inter-tribal conflicts they encounter. The Order is not very cohesive and has no base of operation, but instead is composed of small bands of between six and eighteen individuals who are constantly on the move, keeping established priesthoods of Bargrivyek in contact with each other. When not actively campaigning for holy war, they tend to execute raids and strikes on travelling merchants or isolated communities of nongoblinoids.

Priestly Vestments: Priests of the Peacekeeper keep their heads bare during all ceremonies, with some sects shaving their hair from the forehead back to the crown of their head. They also wear short beards, keeping both hair and beards well groomed and clean. Raiment worn by the priests when conducting services is usually comprised of a black leather breastplate, with pauldrons and a high collar worn over white robes. Priests also wear metal circlets to denote rank, starting with iron for the lowest rank, and ascending through copper, bronze, silver, and gold. The holy symbol of the clergy is either a small, white model of a flail or a full sized flail, with the heads painted white.

Adventuring Garb: When travelling or going to war, Bargrivyek’s priests wear the best armor and equipment they can obtain. They are prohibited from wearing any helmets that obscure their faces, as their faces and voices must be unobstructed at all times.

Specialty Priests (Unifiers)
Requirements:          Wisdom 14, Charisma 9 or Intelligence 10, Wisdom 9, Charisma 9
Prime Req.:                Wisdom, Charisma
Alignment:                LE
Weapons:                   Any bludgeoning (wholly type B) weapons
Armor:                       Any
Major Spheres:         All, charm, divination, elemental air, elemental earth, guardian, protection, travelers
Minor Spheres:         Combat, healing, law, war, wards
Magical Items:         Same as clerics
Req. Profs:                Flail, local history
Bonus Profs:             Etiquette

• Unifiers must be goblins or hobgoblins.
• Unifiers are not allowed to multiclass.
• Unifiers gain a +1 to attack any single intelligent, organized race that lives in land desirable by their tribe. Potential races that can be chosen include, but are not limited to, bugbears, dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, hill giants, humans, kobolds, and orcs. Once chosen, the race selected can never be altered. Neither goblins nor hobgoblins can ever be chosen. Dragons, and other individualistic intelligent creatures cannot be chosen.
• Unifiers can alter the mood of goblins, hobgoblins, koalinths, and norkers just as a bard can, using oratory only. The audience’s saving throws are penalized by −1 for every four levels of the priest.
• Unifiers can cast whispering wind (as the 2nd-level wizard spell) or friends (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 3rd level, unifiers permanently gain one point of Charisma. This gain can exceed their racial maximum, but cannot exceed 18.
• At 3rd level, unifiers can cast calm chaos or enthrall (as the 2nd-level priest spells) once per day.
• At 5th level, unifiers can cast charm person (as the 1st-level wizard spell) or know customs (as the 3rd-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 7th level, unifiers can cast suggestion (as the 3rd-level wizard spell) twice per day.
• At 7th level, unifiers gain one goblinoid, demihuman, or human language proficiency for every two subsequent levels gained.
• At 9th level, unifiers can cast modify memory (as the 4th-level priest spell) twice per day.
• At 14th level, unifiers can cast mass suggestion (as the 6th-level wizard spell) or symbol of persuasion (as the 7th-level priest spell) once per week.

Bargrivyan Spells

1st Level
Friends (Pr 1; Enchantment/Charm)
Sphere:                    Charm
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1d4 rds. + 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          4
Area of Effect:         60-ft. radius
Saving Throw:        Special

A friends spell causes the priest to temporarily gain 2d4 points of Charisma. Intelligent creatures within the area of effect at the time the spell is cast must make immediate reaction checks based on the individual’s new Charisma. Those with favorable reactions tend to be very impressed with the spellcaster and make an effort to be his friend and help him, as appropriate to the situation. Officious bureaucrats might decide to become helpful; surly gate guards might wax informative: attacking orcs might spare the caster’s life, taking him captive instead. When the spell wears off, the creatures realize that they have been influenced, and their reactions are determined by the DM.

The material component for this spell is the priest’s holy symbol.

4th Level
Manipulative Oration (Pr 4; Enchantment/Charm)
Sphere:                    Charm
Range:                     30 yds.
Components:           V, S
Duration:                 1 day/level
Casting Time:          7
Area of Effect:         1d4 creatures/level
Saving Throw:        Neg.

With the casting of this spell, a priest can manipulate the emotions and beliefs of an audience with an impassioned speech. Such oratory is filled with logical fallacies, heated invectives, and other rhetorical tactics in order to persuade or trick listeners to the caster’s wishes. Typically this spell is used to place blame on outsiders for internal ills, and drive up anger and aggression towards foes. The audience must be able to understand the priest in order to be affected by this spell. Manipulative oration cannot be used to lead creatures to intentionally harm themselves or lead them into an obviously harmful situation; for example, creatures cannot be convinced to commit suicide or attack a dragon. They can, however, be led to believe that a nearby community, or a specific individual is to blame for crop failures, which could cause the audience to attack the targets of the blame. The priest must declare the goal of the speech before the casting. The audience must make a saving throw vs. spell to avoid being taken in by the priest’s arguments. In addition to any situational modifiers that may apply (at the DM’s judgment), the audience gains their Wisdom’s Magical Defense Adjustment as a bonus, and the priest’s Charisma Reaction Adjustment is applied as a penalty to the saving throw roll. The saving throw is automatic for any creature the priest blames for problems using this spell. Any creatures who make their saving throw find the speech distasteful and unconvincing and maintain their normal beliefs on the issue.

At the expiration of the spell, those who failed their initial saving throw are allowed another save, unmodified, to come to their senses. Those who fail the second save adopt the arguments of the priest into their normal thinking, but these beliefs have no special status and they can be persuaded to other beliefs normally. If they make this save, they realize the manipulation and return to their original beliefs.

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