The Deceiver
From Reydala
Greater Deity
Symbol: Many, Often a meaningless Glyph.
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Corruption, Hatred, Weakness, Deception
Worshipers: Any (See Below)
Cleric Alignments: Any
Domains: Any. (Once Revealed:) Illusion, Trickery, Madness
Favored Weapon: Dagger
Home Plane: Unknown
Perhaps the most twisted deity of Reydala, The Deceiver thrives on driving all that is good into impossible depths of evil. The Deciever carefully monitors all of the races of Reydala for the signs of weakness, the tiny threads of hatred that often escape self-notice. He plays upon these threads, drawing them together, causing them to grow and slowly turning Love to Hate, Law to Chaos, Good to Evil. Evidence of the Deciever's existence is difficult to ascertain, as in every case he has used a different name, appearance, and symbol. Most of the deciever's worshipers have no idea as to his real purpose, instead believing their new "benevolent" God to be the new course to Salvation. Once the seed of belief is planted, the Deciever builds the trust of his victim, fulfilling his wishes, manipulating events to turn out in fortunate ways for the believer. This period can last from months to years, for the Deciever is a being of incredible patience and skill in his dark art. Eventually, the deciever places the seed of evil into the spells granted to the believer: Healing spells will function, but the recipient may then contract a horrible sickness instead, Curses are likewise removed, but leaving some other insidious function in their place. When questioned, the Deciever blames the occurances on his victim, urging him to rectify every failed spell - a downward spiral that only leads to more evil be let unto the world. Inevitably the faithful believer develops intense self-doubt, culminating with total dependence on the twisted whims of the Deity. This process only has three possible outcomes, the believer somehow wrests himself from the decievers control, the believer is found out and stopped before he can cause serious harm (Many faiths employ investigators that dedicate their lives to rooting out false new faiths), or, far more likely, the believer is thrust into a life of madness and evil in service of his dark master.
The other deities seem to know little about the Deciever, which hints that his origin may be totally seperate from Nathicana. No race has been safe from his influence, though humans with their great number and ambition have been his primary targets. He remains a constant threat, lurking in the shadows waiting to possess good minds for his own end. Sadly, in this way, the Deciever may be the one most concerned with the races of Reydala, the direct individual revelation given to his followers is the primary force of his persuasion.
The Deceiver wishes to eventually destroy the other Gods, especially Nathicana who he seems to bear a grudge against. To achieve this end he needs to find a mortal seed with the potential for incredible power, every follower of the Deceiver is secretly tested by him for tolerance of the unreal magic he gives to them. If they learn to weather the great pangs the arts place upon their minds, the Deceiver slowly begins training them further until they start to resemble a God themselves. If the required level of power is reached, the Deceiver spurs his self-made avatar against the Gods in an attempt to destroy them. Often times this attempt fails, and the Avatar is smitten down as soon as it makes it challenge, but the Deciever is patient: he knows that one day, a true prodigy will arise to bring his plans to fruition.
Dogma:
There is no set dogma of the deciever, as his revelations are custom tailored to drive the worshiper into a life of unspeakable madness and vice. Those fully corrupted by him go more on their own maniacal whims than divine guidance as well. But in general, the deciever begins with benovolence and ends with belligerance.
