Erythnul (eh-RITH-nul)

The Many

Capricious malice, envy, hatred, ugliness, slaughter, and fearful panic

The Citadel of Slaughter/Phlegethon

Aliases: None
Domain Name: The Citadel of Slaughter in Phlegethon (Pandemonium)
Origin: Oeridian
Superior: None
Allies: Kurell
Enemies: Hextor
Symbol: Red blood drop or a hideous mask
Worshipper's Alignment: Any evil

Erythnul is the god of capricious malice, envy, hatred, ugliness, slaughter, and fearful panic. He is the undisciplined counterpart to Hextor, possibly predating him and losing worshipers to his ordered and intelligent rival. His worshipers include many humanoids, for Erythnul smiles on fickle, wicked deeds from them as much as from humans. Erythnul delights in the fear, rout, and terror of battlefields, and is himself depicted terrifyingly as a seven-foot brute, hairy and red-faced, with mad, staring green eyes.
Erythnul is called the Many, because in battle his features continually shift from human to bugbear to troll to ogre to gnoll and back to human again, and he carries a huge stone-headed mace. He is a summoner of creatures of battle, and if wounded, monsters spring from his blood.
Erythnul is worshipped by evil, embittered, cruel creatures. Services to him include playing of shrill and discordant reed instruments, the banging of gongs, and ritual drumming. Major rites include burnt offerings. Humanoids of the Bone March and the Pomarj include many devotees of Erythnul, as do evilly-inclined bands of bandits and brigands around the Flanaess.

The Church

Clergy: Clerics, Specialty Priests
Alignment: Any evil
Turn Undead: No
Command Undead: yes as a cleric 4 levels lower
Erythnul’s clerics are cruel, sadistic, and hateful. They foment rebellion, murder, and riots in civilized areas, lead troops of bandits, raiders, or nonhumans, and commit murder when they grow bored. They deface beautiful things and disfigure attractive people for fun. They aren’t above betraying their own allies to suit their own motives or protect their own hides. They travel to bring ugliness and strife to pleasant places or to escape those that would persecute them.
Erythnul's priests include many gnolls, bugbears, and ogres. There is no fixed hierarchy, and a junior may demonstrate his fitness to boss his fellows by dispatching an older priest (envy is a virtue, after all). The priests are bullies -- hateful backstabbers and wanton killers -- acting on evil impulse and reveling in bloodshed.
The chaos of battle is the sacred charge of the worshippers of Erythnul. In all the myriad forms of terror and suffering that war creates, there is a strange kind of unity. This is part of the reason that Erythnul is called the Many. Battle is a test of merit and strength, and living and dying by the sword is the definition of the good life.
Many of Erythnul's worshippers believe that blood spilled in battle feeds their god, increasing his madness and bloodlust. Chaotic neutral worshippers believe that non-combatants and weak opponents are meaningless, and that killing them does nothing to satiate their god or prove their ability; killing those unworthy of a warrior's death even angers Erythnul, they believe. Chaotic evil worshippers, who are far more common, disagree, believing that all slaughter is a sacrament, and that the dying screams of innocents are music to Erythnul's ears, hymns in the church of the battlefield.
Clerics of Erythnul get most of their training in large wilderness temple-fortresses. Senior clerics try to frighten would-be initiates into quitting; those who avoid flinching after many tests are accepted into the priesthood.
The ranks of Erythnul's priesthood are, from lowest to highest, Raider, Marauder, Reaver, and Incarnate.

Dogma

Destroy anyone who would take what is yours away from you. Covet that which you do not own. Blessed is he who can take something from a rival. Maim those you cannot destroy, and cause fear in the hearts that you cannot maim. Bloodshed for its own sake is reason enough, and if you can shed the blood of a hated enemy, so much the better. When Erythnul’s gift of blood rage comes upon you, be sure to use it well.
Any site where great bloodshed has occurred is considered a holy place by the church.

Services

Services include shrill reed instruments played in discord, gongs, and drums.
During major rites, a fire is built and victims are sacrificed. One famous rite is the "Bloody Howl," when soldiers captured from the previous battle are killed in order to bring Erythnul's favor just before the next one.
Prayers to Erythnul are customarily rhyming chants with gory subject matter.

Major Centers of Worship

Erythnul's temples tend to be hidden. Most towns and cities have small, secret cults (including evil fighters, barbarians, and rogues) dedicated to the Many within the thieves' quarter. In the wilderness, his worshippers build squat, ugly fortresses where sacrifice after sacrifice takes place. Any place where carnage and slaughter have occurred is considered holy.
Erythnul's profane altars are built on platforms reachable by steep flights of stairs.
In civilized lands, Erythnul's followers form small, criminal cults. In savage lands, evil barbarians, gnolls, bugbears, ogres, and trolls commonly worship him. They may foment rebellion and unrest, while in the wild they may lead groups of bandits.
Many factions of Erythnul's cult exist, fighting one another as often as they fight nonbelievers. In cities, they tend to be less overt, forming a nebulous organization known as the Temple of Carnage. Most of Erythnul's faithful are chaotic evil, though a few are chaotic neutral.
This is does not hold true for areas like the Great Kingdom, the Bone March, Stonehold or even areas like the Horned Society and the land of Iuz. Erythnul is openly revered in these places, especially amongst the soldiery. Certainly, these groups squabble and fight amongst themselves, vying for dominance. This is openly encouraged by Erythnul.
Erythnul is the official god of Stonehold.

Priestly Garb

Erythnul's clerics wear rust-colored garments. On ceremonial occasions they wear white robes, the better to display the bloodstains on them. They wear stylized masks symbolizing Erythnul's many aspects.

Specialty Priests (Ravagers)

Abilities: Strength 14 or Constitution 14
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral
Weapons: any, mace at 1st level
Armor: any
Raiment: rust-colored garments, blood-stained robes for ceremonies
Major Spheres: Combat, Healing (rev), Necromantic (rev), Summoning
Minor Spheres: Creation, Protection, Sun (rev), War
Initiates to the faith are often physically and verbally abused by the higher ranking priests as they are taught the ways of the faith and trained in the use of arms. If they make a mistake, they are beaten mercilessly by their teachers. Often the teachers and trainers will act like they are going to beat the initiate to gauge the reaction. Only when the initiate stops flinching or begins to fight back against the abuse are they elevated to the rank of Raider.
From there they are sent out into the world to adventure, gain experience in battles, and show no mercy to their enemies or opponents. In the eyes of Erythnul, only the strong will survive and rise to the top.

Granted Powers

4) can cast Fear 3 times per day
7) can cast Strength (increased by 1d8 points as for a warrior) 3 times per day
9) once per day, the priest may enchant an edged weapon for 1 round/level to act as a sword of wounding