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The last member of the goblin pantheon is the patron of the hobgoblins, Nomog-Geaya. A merciless combatant and commander, he is the perfect epitome of the ideal hobgoblin warrior. His priests are brutal and belligerent fighters, leading forces into battle at any opportunity. They are so well known for their rigid discipline that Nomog-Geaya has been known to punish those who show excessive emotion, even if it is from such spells as Tasha’s Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter. Enjoy!

Nomog-Geaya (PDF Version)
(The General, the Warrior, the Torturer, Grim-Visaged, the Grim-Visaged One)
Lesser Power of Acheron, LE

Portfolio:  War, authority, courage in battle, savagery
Aliases:  None
Domain Name:  Avalas/Clangor
Superior:  Maglubiyet
Allies:  Hextor
Foes: The orcish pantheon, the Seldarine, the dwarf and gnome pantheons
Symbol:  Crossed broadsword and hand axe
Wor. Align.:  LN, N, CN, LE, NE, CE

Second only to Maglubiyet in personal power amongst the goblin pantheon, Nomog-Geaya (noh-MOG GEE-ya) is the patron of the hobgoblin race. He is feared and respected as a merciless warrior and of the finest military commanders in the multiverse, exemplifying the coldblooded brutality and stoic courageousness that are the cultural ideals of a hobgoblin warrior. He exercises his tyrannical authority with nothing but a grim, tightlipped expression, speaking no more than is necessary and never letting strong emotion play across his face. He is known to enjoy eating the roasted flesh of his fallen foes.

Nomog-Geaya is an important deity within the goblin pantheon, being both a loyal lieutenant to Maglubiyet and an excellent warrior and commander. The Mighty One keeps a close eye on Nomog-Geaya, but the truth is, the General has no desire to supplant his lord. He knows his own skills well, and he realizes he isn’t qualified for the position. The Grim-Visaged One detests his rival Khurgorbaeyag, believing that he and his goblins do not pull their weight, but he grudgingly admits they have their uses. Bargrivyek, on the other hand, he views with barely constrained disgust and hatred. He sees the Peacemaker as a coward and a weakling, putting words and discussion to lead to unification over the right and proper use of military skill to join tribes and peoples. He makes no move against the Uniter, however, as he knows to do so would bring the Mighty One’s wrath down upon him. He has on occasion worked closely with Hextor against various good deities of the world Oerth. He has long wanted to pit his skills against both Ilneval and Anhur in a fight to the death, but has yet not had an opportunity to do so. Finally, he reserves his greatest hatred for Corellon Larethian. Long ago, when the Anti-Seldarine was brought against the elves, the Grim-Visaged One sought battle the elf god in single combat, but was foiled when Corellon moved to engage Gruumsh, leaving Nomog-Geaya to battle lesser elf deities and allies instead. He has never gotten over what he considers a snub to his personal honor.

The General is a fairly active deity. He most often sends an avatar to deal with tribes of hobgoblins who have lost the discipline he instilled in them, forcing them to shape up or die trying. Nomog-Geaya may also send his avatar to lead a large army against enemies of the hobgoblin race. He can be manipulated or tricked into conflict with goblins, but his wrath is terrible when he discovers such duplicity.

Nomog-Geaya’s Avatar (Fighter 30, Cleric 14)
Nomog-Geaya appears as a tall, imposing hobgoblin with rough, ash-grey skin. He is always armed and armored, wearing bright glossy red banded mail at all times. Little of his face can be seen beneath his great war helm, except for his cold, orange eyes and mouth full of shark-like teeth. While he can use priest spells from any sphere, he prefers those from the spheres of combat, law, and war, as well as reversed spells from the spheres of healing, necromantic, and sun.

AC −3; MV 12; HP 180; THAC0 −9; #AT 4
Dmg 2d6+14 (broadsword +3, +9 Str, +2 spec. bonus in broadsword) and 1d8+11 (hand axe +2, +9 Str)
MR 20%; SZ L (10′)
Str 21, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 17
Spells P: 6/6/6/5/3/2/1
Saves PPDM 3; RSW 5; PP 4; BW 4; Sp 6

Special Att/Def: Nomog-Geaya wields Lacerator, a broadsword of wounding +3, and Agonizer, a hand axe +2 which affects victims who fail a save versus spell as if by a symbol of pain. He attacks twice each round with both weapons, for a total of four attacks each round.

The General is immune to weapons of less than +1 enchantment, as well as fear, hopelessness, and any sort of magic or effect that drains strength. Any hobgoblin who fights alongside him in battle has a morale of 20 and gains a +1 bonus to both attack and damage.

Other Manifestations
Nomog-Geaya prefers to test his followers to determine if they are worthy for a beneficial manifestation. His most common type is a pale white aura that surrounds an individual, who then suffers 2d4 points of damage and must make a saving throw vs. death magic to avoid uttering a sound from the pain. If the follower fails the save, the Grim-Visaged One punishes him and he suffers the effects of a symbol of pain and temporary loses a level for 1d6 days. If he succeeds the save, he is smiled upon by the General, and temporary gains a level and is affected as if by an aid spell for 6d8 hours. Any time a priest is affected by spells such as symbol of pain or Tasha’s uncontrollable hideous laughter, there is a flat 1% chance that Nomog-Geaya notices and punishes the priest for showing emotion, and loses all clerical ability until he atones. The Grim-Visaged One most commonly sends omens heard in the tortured cries of prisoners. During torture sessions, there are often priestly observers who reverently listen to the cries specifically for messages from their deity. Finally, any weapon that breaks during battle or training is considering an especially bad omen, and prayers and ritual cleansing is required.

The goblin pantheon is served primarily by renegade baatezu (any least and lesser type), barghests, and wolves (normal and dire). In addition, Nomog-Geaya is served primarily by carnivorous apes, as well as all other sorts of apes, bakemono, hell hounds, imps, inquisitors, maelephants, and sword spirits. The Grim-Visaged One shows his favor through the discovery of bloodstone, carnelian, garnets, red jasper, and ruby, young or pregnant female carnivorous apes, and old battlefields where many died. He expresses his displeasure through the discovery of broken weapons, destroyed armor, and the corpses of goblins and hobgoblins slain by elven arrows.

The Church
Clergy:                      Clerics, specialty priests, crusaders, shamans, witch doctors
Clergy’s Align.:      LN, LE, NE
Turn Undead:           C: No, SP: No, Cru: No, Sha: No, WD: No
Cmnd. Undead:         C: Yes, SP: Yes, at priest level −3, Cru: No, Sha: No, WD: No

All clerics (including multiclassed fighter/clerics), specialty priests, crusaders, shamans, and witch doctors of Nomog-Geaya receive religion (goblin) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. All members of the priesthood are allowed to take proficiency with broadswords, battle axes, and hand axes, and are required to take a proficiency in one of those two forms of axe. In addition, they may all fight with two weapons, as long as they are broadswords and hand axes, but all other attendant penalties apply. Finally, all priests of the Torturer are unaffected by normal attempts to influence emotion, such as humor, and receive a +2 to all saves vs. spells from the enchantment/charm school due to their rigid discipline.

Within hobgoblin tribes, Nomog-Geaya’s priests rival those of Maglubiyet in terms of political power. Like the clergy of the Mighty One, they are advisors to secular chiefs, and high-ranked priests are often war leaders and battle commanders. The priesthood as a whole believes in strict adherence to rules and authority, as well as the superiority of the hobgoblin race and their priesthood in particular. As such, they encourage slavery and frequent torture, preferring humans, orcs, and other powerful non-goblinoids. The long term political goal of the priesthood is always domination of their tribe, although they do not attempt to achieve this goal through deviousness and assassination. Instead, they seek to gain leadership by proving they are the strongest and most able military commanders, and thus holding popular opinion at a time that a secular leader shows weakness. They do not directly undermine them through betrayal, lies, or trickery, however. The Grim-Visaged One’s clergy despises those of Bargrivyek and Khurgorbaeyag, seeing them as soft and weak-willed, although they work together for the advancement of the tribe and race, and grudgingly admit they have some valuable skills at times.

Temples dedicated to Nomog-Geaya are heavily fortified structures, and even the shrines are designed to be easily defendable. Surface temples have high defensible walls, and often have a watch tower near the entrance. Underground, the temples are built into a dead-ending passage, with a thick stone wall and small gate completely filling the entrance to the complex. Priests generally believe that if a temple is to fall to their foes, then their lives are forfeit, and they tend to defend them to the death. Within the temple, there is a large central altar chamber with a stone altar for sacrifices set before either a statue of the General or religious artifacts such as the weapons and armor of a famous priest. Most of the priests reside in military style barracks on one side of the temple, with the highest ranked priests and their aides having individual rooms on the other side. Shrines are also designed to be defensible if necessary, usually built into a rock niche or cleft. They also contain a small altar and an image of the god, just as the full temples do.

Novices in the service of the Grim-Visaged One are called the Commanded, while full priests are called Authoritants. Specialty priests are known as direlords. The rigid hierarchy of the clergy has well-defined advancement rules, requiring specific time of service or proof of skill to rise in the ranks. The priestly ranks have simple titles of First Rank through Seventh Rank, with higher ranked priests having unique titles based on their individual merits. The clergy of the General is overwhelmingly composed of hobgoblins (80%), with far smaller numbers of koalinths (11%), goblins (6%), and norkers (3%) making up the remainder. As with most other goblin deities, females are never allowed to join the ranks of the priesthood. Amongst the clergy, specialty priests dominate the ranks (48%). The remainder is split between clerics (25%), fighter/clerics (15%), and crusaders (12%). Shamans and witch doctors are considered brothers of the faith, although they have no place within the hierarchy. Shamans are found in about four times as many Nomog-Geaya-dominated tribes as witch doctors.

Dogma: Discipline is life; displaying emotion is a weakness. Show courage in battle, and show no mercy on foes. Authority is to be respected; disrespect for authority merits brutal punishment. Speak no more than necessary, but put force of arms behind your words. Hobgoblins are the superior race, and are destined to rule over all others.

Day-to-Day Activities: The Nomog-Geayan clergy spends the vast bulk of their time in harsh individual physical and/or combat training with the warriors of their tribe. They work to maintain fit physiques, and consider any goblin or hobgoblin who is obese to be an affront to the Grim-Visaged One. They force them into almost cruel physical fitness routines, and those who do not meet the expectations of the priest are likely to be exiled or killed. In addition, any priest who shows excessive emotion during formal or semi-formal events (such as laughing during torture sessions or religious ceremonies) will be harshly punished or executed. They engage in combat at any opportunity, often leading important war parties on raids and assaults. Such activities are required for advancing in the priesthood, so the clergy needs no provocation to engage in battle. In many tribes, they are the enforcers of tribal law and custom, often meting out harsh punishments for even minor infractions. Finally, they are the primary interrogators of captives, and take pride in their ability to extract the information they need while causing the most non-lethal pain to their victims.

Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: Lunar eclipses are the holiest day in Nomog-Geaya’s church. These events are metaphorically described as the General spilling the blood of his divine enemies across the face of the moon. Priests do not hold celebrations on these nights; instead, they consider them especially auspicious for waging battle upon enemies of their tribe. Other than such uncommon events, they hold a ceremony before major battles to rile up the tribe’s warriors, increasing aggression and bloodlust. After such battles, they hold a ceremony of thanks to Nomog-Geaya, and sacrifice a selection of captives in his honor, and then feast on their flesh in imitation of their god. Finally, once per year at mid-winter, priests hold the Ceremony of the Cacophonous Night. During this night of worship, the clergy tortures non-goblin prisoners en mass to create holy music from the screams of pain and fear, and viewed as especially favored by the General.

Major Centers of Worship: The Hold of Torturous Cries is located within the Rift Canyon in the Bandit Kingdoms on Oerth. This once-small and now expanding temple dedicated to Nomog-Geaya has gained substantial status due to the influx of goblin and hobgoblin refugees after the capture of Riftcrag by the forces of Iuz, and is crucial in training the warriors who wish revenge upon the invaders. Located in a cliff-wall cave, the temple has been much expanded with new tunnels carved deeper into the earth, and the outer wall has been rebuilt and reinforced to better repel attacks.

The planet of Garden in Realmspace is known to be the location of a temple of Nomog-Geaya and an associated settlement, called the Grimhold. The exact location of this temple is not known, but the elves have three Men-o-war patrolling the world specifically to locate it. This force has managed to destroy most of the spelljamming vessels the hobgoblins possess, dealing a serious blow to the priests. The clergy still manages to ambush and raid traders and settlements, but the frequency of attacks has been dramatically reduced. It is unknown if they have contact with other goblinoids within or outside the sphere.

Near the eastern border of Tethyr on the world of Toril lies the Gorge of the Fallen Idol, home to a large number of hobgoblins around five thousand years ago. Within a few hundred years they had, with the unwilling assistance of a number of enslaved dwarves, built a gargantuan statue of Nomog-Geaya the Warrior in the gorge. With the holy power of the Grim-Visaged One behind them, they built their strength and stood against all attempts to route them for over a millennium and a half, until the enormous idol and all hobgoblins in the gorge were finally destroyed by forces from Calimshan. The location is still a site of power, particularly for the clergy of the General, although few hobgoblins live in the area. All priests of Nomog-Geaya within the confines of the gorge are effectively one level higher, with all attendant spells, THAC0, etc., but not hit points.

Finally, deep beneath Tethyr in the ruins of one of the subkingdoms the dwarven realm of Deep Shanatar, lies the hobgoblin realm of Holorarar. Once the name of the dwarven subkingdom, the origin is now long forgotten by the hobgoblins who have dwelt in a united kingdom for over a millennium and a half. Many dwarven temples in the realm have been resanctified and rebuilt to honor the goblin pantheon, with the largest temple of Moradin now dedicated to Nomog-Geaya and called the Armory of the General. The rich and abundant kelp fields and herds of deep rothé the great cavern supports has operated as a moderating influence upon the normally aggressive hobgoblins and their faith; but they still have a strong military tradition, and external threats or a burgeoning population could end that moderation.

Affiliated Orders: There are many military orders attached to the church of Nomog-Geaya, most of which are unique to their tribe or nation. In general, these orders follow similar templates; they are mostly composed of specialty priests, crusaders, and fighter/clerics, although the specifics vary. About 60% of these groups are mounted cavalry troupes, three quarters riding dire wolves or exceptionally large worgs, the rest on heavy war horses; functioning as elite raiders or heavy cavalry. Infantry troupes are more often mercenaries, hiring on to support evil human or humanoid warlords in their military ventures, instilling great fear into their opponents for their silent brutality.

Priestly Vestments: The ceremonial garb of Nomog-Geaya’s priesthood is particularly militaristic. Priests wear iron or steel banded mail, painted a bright, glossy red to represent fresh blood. In addition, they wear full helms that cover their faces, except their eyes and mouths. In addition, many of the higher ranked priests wear cloaks made of bear fur. The holy symbol used by the priests is typically a small, crossed sword and axe made of iron, typically worn on a chain around the neck. Priests may also choose to use a broadsword, hand axe, or battle axe as a holy symbol, but the weapon must be consecrated, which takes an hour at an altar dedicated to their god.

Adventuring Garb: Priests of the Grim-Visaged One prefer to wear banded mail, like their ceremonial armor, but unpainted, as well as a full helm. They avoid using any worse armor unless absolutely necessary, and they rarely use any weapons other than axe or sword; sometimes they will use a bow or other ranged weapon if the situation requires it, but the priests switch to melee as swiftly as possible.

Specialty Priests (Direlords)
Requirements:          Strength 12, Constitution 11, Wisdom 9
Prime Req.:                Constitution, Wisdom
Alignment:                LE
Weapons:                   Any
Armor:                       Any
Major Spheres:         All, combat, healing (reversed only), law, necromantic (reversed only), protection, sun (reversed only), war
Minor Spheres:         Creation
Magical Items:         Same as fighters and clerics
Req. Profs:                Broadsword, hand axe or battle axe (choose one)
Bonus Profs:             Blind-fighting

• Direlords must be goblins, hobgoblins, norkers, or koalinths, although most direlords are hobgoblins.
• Direlords are not allowed to multiclass.
• Direlords gain a +2 to their saves vs. spells from the enchantment/charm school.
• Direlords can fight with a broadsword and a hand-axe as two weapons with no “to-hit” penalty.
• At 2nd level, direlords can cast command (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day. They can cast it an additional time for every three levels gained past 2nd (so twice at 5th level, three times at 8th level, and so on).
• At 4th level, direlords can cast ray of enfeeblement (as the 2nd-level wizard spell) or ray of maladroitness (as the 2nd-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 7th level, direlords can make three melee attacks every two rounds with a weapon in their primary hand. If they are wielding a weapon in their off-hand, they can still only attack once per round with that weapon.
• At 10th level, direlords can cast symbol of pain or hopelessness (as the 7th-level priest spells) once per day.
• At 13th level, direlords can make two melee attacks per round with a weapon in their primary hand. If they are wielding a weapon in their off-hand, they can still only attack once per round with that weapon.
• At 20th level, direlords can cast righteous wrath of the faithful (as the 5th-level priest spell) three times per day. This ability is cumulative with all other spells that grant similar bonuses.

Nomog-Geayan Spells
In addition to the spell listed below, priests of the Grim-Visaged One can cast the 2nd-level priest spells fortitude, detailed in Demihuman Deities in the entry for Selvetarm and Haela’s battle blessing (known to the priesthood as Nomog-Geaya’s battle blessing), detailed in Demihuman Deities in the entry for Haela Brightaxe, and the 5th-level priest spell battletide, detailed in Faiths and Avatars in the entry for Iyachtu Xvim.

2nd Level
Ray of Maladroitness (Pr 2; Enchantment/Charm)
Sphere:                    Combat
Range:                     10 yds. + 5 yds./level
Components:           V, S
Duration:                 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          5
Area of Effect:         1 creature
Saving Throw:        Neg.

By means of a ray of maladroitness, a priest causes an opponent to become clumsy and sluggish, reducing its Dexterity and thereby the attacks that rely upon it as well as defense. Humans, demihumans, and humanoids of man-size or less are reduced to an effective Dexterity of 5, losing all Dexterity bonuses and suffering an Armor Class penalty of +2, a missile attack roll penalty of −1, and a −1 reaction adjustment. Other creatures suffer a penalty of +2 on their Armor Class and a −2 penalty to any saves vs. attacks that can be dodged (breath weapons, lightning bolts, etc.). Furthermore, they suffer a +2 penalty to their initiative rolls. Other effects may apply, at the DM’s option. If the target creature makes its saving throw, the spell has no effect. This spell does not affect combat bonuses due to magical items, and those conferring increased Dexterity function normally.

3rd Level
Grim Courage (Pr 3; Conjuration/Summoning)
Sphere:                    Summoning
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1d4 + 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          6
Area of Effect:         The caster
Saving Throw:        None

By means of this spell, a priest can draw upon the power of Nomog-Geaya and enter a state of grim determination. While in this state, the caster is completely immune to the effects of fear, hopelessness (as the symbol), weakness, and enfeeblement. They have an effective Morale Rating of 20, and they radiate an aura that grants a +1 Morale bonus to all allies and a −1 Morale penalty to all enemies within 30 feet. They gain a saving throw against any emotion-affecting spell that normally allows none, as well as a +4 save bonus against those that already allow a save. However, if they are affected by such a spell (emotion effects other than those this spell grants immunity to, Tasha’s uncontrollable hideous laughter, etc.), or show any strong emotion (joy, anger, etc.) beyond a grim smile or a slight frown, they are immediately enfeebled (as the ray of enfeeblement spell) for the duration of grim courage or the emotion-affecting spell, whichever is longer.

The material components for this spell are the priest’s holy symbol and 100gp worth of powdered sapphire.

4th Level
Bloodfury of Nomog-Geaya (Pr 4; Alteration)
Sphere:                    Combat
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 3 rds.
Casting Time:          7
Area of Effect:         40-ft. cube, 1 creature/level
Saving Throw:        None

When this spell is cast, each affected creature gains an additional attack per round with every battle axe, hand axe, or broadsword wielded in melee combat. Movement, spellcasting, spell effects, or attacks with weapons other than these are not sped up. The weapons may be nonmagical or magical, and the spell can only affect goblins, hobgoblins, norkers, and koalinths.

This spell is not cumulative with itself or with other similar magic. A slow spell will negate the effects of a bloodfury of Nomog-Geaya but otherwise have no effect, and a haste spell will negate the effects of this spell and function normally.

The material components of this spell are the priest’s holy symbol and a small, sealed glass or pottery vial of blood taken from a creature slain by the priest.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2012 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Classes/Kits, Deities, F&A Format. 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.