Moander
| Game background | |
|---|---|
| Home plane | 2E: Offalmound (Abyss) |
| Design details | |
Moander is the god of rot and corruption in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Publication history
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Moander was first described in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set's "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987), which describes Moander as "a dark and forgotten god of the Realms, whose main temple was in what is now ruined Yulash, and whose faith died years before the erection of the Standing Stone and the coming of the Dalesmen".[1]
Moander plays an important role in the novel Azure Bonds (1988), by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb.[2]
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Moander also plays an important role in the novel Song of the Saurials (1991),[3] and later Finder's Bane (1997),[4] and Tymora's Luck (1998),[5] all by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb.
Moander was described fully in Faiths & Avatars (1996).[6] Moander's role in the ancient history of the Realms was detailed in Netheril: Empire of Magic (1996).[7]
His role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).[8]
His relationships with the nonhuman deities in the Forgotten Realms was covered in Demihuman Deities (1998),[9] which reveals that the Drow deity Lolth assumed his portfolio and identity after his death.
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
Moander is described in Lost Empires of Faerûn (2005).[10]
History
Although the deity's origins have never been made clear, Moander appears throughout some of Faerun's earliest historical recordings and folklore. One legend holds him responsible for corrupting Tyche, the goddess of fate in ancient times, which resulted in the deity splitting into the two "sister" goddesses of fate that exists today, namely Tymora and Beshaba.
In the time of Myth Drannor, the Cormanthyr Elves battled the god and sealed his essence in a spell-bound brick amid the area that is present day Yulash, to be released only upon meeting certain conditions. These conditions were met in the 1350s DR and the god was released for a time as described in the Finder's Stone trilogy by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb. The story culminates with Moander's death on his home plane at the hands of Finder Wyvernspur who then takes the divine mantle for himself and becomes a demi-power of change in the arts.
Though Moander drifts among the bodies of other dead gods in the Astral plane, which provided an interesting level in the SSI computer game Pools of Darkness, the god is not completely dead.
In 75 DR, Moander the Darkbringer hurled his forces and the "creeping evil" against the elven city of Tsornyl, blighting much of the surrounding woods. The magic of Moander twisted all life, both follower and victim alike, into corrupt monsters, including deepspawn and shambling mounds. While the evil could not be destroyed, High Magic severed the creeping evil from Moander and imprisoned the corruption at Tsornyl (soon to be called the Darkwatch). This weakened the Darkbringer's presence in Toril, though it cost the lives of thirty-two elves, including two High Mages, to sever and bind the power.
This evil still lurks in the area known as the Darkwatch and awaits a sliver of divine energy to return Moander to life.
References
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb and Karen S. Martin (1987). Forgotten Realms Campaign Set. TSR, Inc. ISBN 0-88038-472-7.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak (November 1988). Azure Bonds. TSR, Inc. ISBN 0-88038-612-6
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak (March 1991). Song of the Saurials. TSR, Inc. ISBN 1-56076-060-5
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak (August 1997). Finder's Bane. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-0658-8
- ↑ Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak (January 1998). Tymora's Luck. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-0726-6
- ↑ Martin, Julia, and Eric L Boyd. Faiths & Avatars (TSR, 1996)
- ↑ Slade and Jim Butler. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, 1996)
- ↑ McComb, Colin. On Hallowed Ground (TSR, 1996)
- ↑ Boyd, Eric L. Demihuman Deities (TSR, 1998)
- ↑ Baker, Richard, Ed Bonny and Travis Scott. Lost Empires of Faerûn (Wizards of the Coast, 2005)
Additional reading
- Powers and Pantheons, Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition accessory, by Eric L. Boyd, TSR.
- Faiths and Pantheons, Dungeons & Dragons 3e accessory, by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona, Wizards of the Coast.