Garagos
| Game background | |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | The Reaver, Master of All Weapons |
| Home plane | Warrior's Rest |
| Power level | Demi deity |
| Alignment | Chaotic Neutral |
| Portfolio | War, skill-at-arms, destruction, plunder |
| Design details | |
Garagos (pronounced GAH-rah-gohs[1]), is a lesser Faerûnian deity of war in the Forgotten Realms fictional campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, though he focuses more on destruction and plunder than war itself.
Publication history
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Garagos was first mentioned in the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993).[2] Garagos is further detailed in Powers & Pantheons (1997).[3]
His relationships with the nonhuman deities in the Forgotten Realms was covered in Demihuman Deities (1998).[4]
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
Garagos appears in 3rd edition in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book (2001),[5] and was further described in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).[1]
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
Garagos appears in 4th edition in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2008).[6]
Description
Garagos and Tempus are the only pair of deities that violate the otherwise strict rule against two gods of the same pantheon sharing the same portfolio, as both have the portfolio of war. Tempus merely tolerates Garagos for reasons of his own; many Realms scholars believe his reasons stem from the fact that Tempus dislikes mindless slaughter and destruction, and would be obliged to take on that portfolio if he slew his rival.
Though both are chaotic neutral in alignment, Garagos is wild and reckless, reveling in destruction and slaughter while Tempus values honorable combat; this distinction between the different modes of war they represent may be the reason that Lord Ao does not enforce his otherwise strict edict against portfolio sharing by stripping one or the other of his dominance over War.
In the game's 4th edition, Garagos is an exarch of Tempus,[6] though he focuses more on destruction than war itself.
Followers
Clerics of Garagos, known as Bloodreavers, spend their days fomenting strife throughout the continent, knowing that each conflict contributes to Garagos's continuing rebirth. They believe that Garagos eventually will regain his divine strength, unseating the hated Lord of Battles and reclaiming the mantle of Deity of War. They continually create and expand networks of spies, faithful warriors, and other agents to increase the power of the cult, and the leadership of a cult cell is usually determined by the result of power plays between the agents of rival clerics.
Relationships
Though chaotic neutral, the debased, insane Garagos stands on the brink of evil. A nearly elemental force of destruction, the Reaver has no allies in the pantheons of Abeir-Toril—the other gods deal with Garagos simply by staying away from him. Despite his vacant mind, Garagos still harbors deep resentment against Tempus and his catspaw, the Red Knight.
History
Centuries ago, during the age of Netheril, Garagos was part of the Netherese pantheon and known as Targus.[3] Tempus merely tolerates Garagos for reasons of his own, a reason that many Realms scholars believe stems from the fact that Tempus dislikes mindless slaughter and destruction, and would be obliged to take on that portfolio if he slew his rival. Though both are chaotic neutral, Garagos is far more heedless than Tempus in what war wreaks, reveling in destruction and slaughter while the greater deity values honorable combat; this distinction between the different modes of war they represent may be the reason that Ao does not enforce his otherwise strict edict against portfolio sharing by stripping one or the other of his dominance over War.
References
- 1 2 Boyd, Eric L, and Erik Mona. Faiths and Pantheons (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. ASIN B000K06S2E.
- 1 2 Boyd, Eric L. (1997). Powers & Pantheons. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-0657-X.
- ↑ Boyd, Eric L. Demihuman Deities (TSR, 1998)
- ↑ Greenwood, Ed; Reynolds, Sean K.; Williams, Skip (2001). Forgotten Realms: Campaign Setting. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- 1 2 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Wizards of the Coast. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.