Memnor

Memnor is the giant deity of pride, honor, mental prowess and control. His symbol is a thin black obelisk.
Memnor appears as a kindly, golden-skinned giant with piercing eyes, wearing a deep blue robe. He is subtle, intelligent, charming, cultured, articulate, and cruel beyond words. Many giants consider him to be a loyal servant of Annam, but this is a lie. Memnor, in his arrogance, wishes to usurp Annam and Stronmaus and become the new leader of the giantish pantheon.
Memnor is variously said to be the son, brother, or enemy of Annam, the giant god of creation. One myth says he was born from the severed head or ripped-out entrails of a titanic, sub-sentient, planet-eating monster slain by Annam or Stronmaus. The giantish pantheon of gods consists of the leader Annam, as well as Diancastra, Grolantor, Hiatea, Iallanis, Karontor, Memnor, Skoraeus Stonebones, Stronmaus, Surtr, and Thrym. Other powers worshipped by giants or giant-type creatures include Baphomet, Cegilune, the Elder Elemental God, Kostchtchie, and Vaprak.
Memnor is allied with Grolantor. Of all the gods, Stronmaus is Memnor's greatest and most implacable foe.
Memnor's realm of Thraotor can be found on the plane of Gehenna. His realm is similar to that of Stronmaus in the Beastlands, a palace built atop a storm cloud, but where Stronmaus's palace is made of silvery marble, Memnor's is made of black adamantine.
Annam has grown old and weak, Memnor argues, and the fall of the ancient giant kingdoms was due to the creator god's own ineptitude. The sharpest weapon ever forged is cunning; used with surprise and secrecy, cunning will win the day.
Memnor is worshipped almost exclusively by evil cloud giants, his chosen instruments in his bid for power. He corrupted them by telling them of their natural superiority, that they were the first-born of giantkind and that all other breeds are inferior. Memnor is worshipped rather perfunctorily by the cloud giant clan Azeil in the Barrier Peaks.
Memnor's clerics consider keeping their true ambitions a secret to be their highest duty. After sworn into the priesthood by the cleric of Amman, they are visited by senior clerics of Memnor and initiated in a secret ceremony, where they pledge to aid their master to overthrow the god of creation and put the god of pride, honor, and mental prowess on the throne. Even their followers do not know this, viewing their deity as an honest god of racial honor and pride. Memnor's clerics also play the role of wise counselors and advocates for the underprivileged. There is a special sign involving touching the left wrist with the index finger of the right hand that clerics of Memnor use to signal or warn one another, and several shades of meaning are possible through context and emphasis.
High-level clerics of Memnor receive wyvern servants from their god, which they summon by means of a fierce talon they wear in leather pouches around their necks.
Clerics of Memnor must be well-dressed and regal of manner. They proclaim the superiority of giants in general and cloud giants in particular.
Three times a year, Memnor's cleric hold feasts in which other giants are invited to attend. Among themselves, the clerics meet with Memnor's avatar and his wyvern servants on midnight every one hundred days. After these meetings, they gather their faithful cultists to discuss strategy and tactics.
Childhood games One myth tells of the childhood of the giant gods, when a malicious game played by Memnor and his brother Grolantor resulted in a minor war between the giants and ogres. As a result, Annam forbade either son from interfering with the affairs of giants and their kin as long as he ruled the pantheon. When Annam retreated, despairing, to the Outlands, Memnor and Grolantor managed to convince Stronmaus and Hiatea that this order was no longer valid. Since then, both have meddled incessantly.
Ancient war A rival myth has a more epic take, portraying Memnor as an extremely ancient and clearly evil deity, perhaps Annam's brother, who tried to take control of the giantish pantheon by force. Annam and Memnor battled, neither able to best the other, until finally Annam managed to banish Memnor to Gehenna. Annam himself, it is said, retreated to the Outlands in order to recover from his wounds.

---

God of cloud giants, pride, honor, mental prowess, and control Intermediate god

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Domains: Death, Domination, Evil, Knowledge, Mentalism, Mind, Rune, Sky, Trickery

Symbol: Thin black obelisk

Memnor is subtle, charming, intelligent, cultured, and deeply, intensely evil. His sin is pride, the desire to usurp Annam even in the prime god's withdrawn aspect, and to rule all of the affairs of giantkind. His chosen instruments in executing these plans are evil cloud giants, the only priests he accepts. To most members of the Jotunbrud, Memnor is a proud and determined servant of his father. Only his priests know the truth, and they share his ambition. He corrupted them by constantly telling them of their superiority, stressing their first-born status in the worlds, and by belittling other giant races. He taught his evil followers the secrets of harnessing wyverns and dominating them through force of will, and he ever bends his will toward increasing the power of evil giantkind.

When Memnor and his brother Grolantor were just children, their "play" resulted in a mischievous plot that ultimately thrust the Jotunbrud into a minor war against the ogres, As a consequence, Annam forbade the children from interfering in the affairs of the giants for as long as he sat atop the Ordning.

Once Annam exiled himself from Gudheim, however, Memnor and Grolantor managed to convince Stronmaus and Hiatea that the All-Father's decree was no longer valid. Since that day, the brothers have incessantly meddled in the affairs of the Jotunbrud, sometimes forcing Stronmaus and Hiatea to put an end to their shenanigans.

Memnor is subtle and wily and does not send avatars into the Prime Material Plane to fight, although the avatars will fight rashly if their pride is challenged. His concern is to increase the prestige and power of his strongest priests. Omens take the form of horrible visions accompanied by splitting headaches, but they are powerfully veridical.

Memnor's realm is Thraotor, an enormous thunderhead with a great palace of adamantine at its highest point, miles above the ground in Chamada, the second layer of Gehenna. Thraotor floats across the landscape, bringing destructive storms wherever it goes. At a whim, Memnor can turn the ordinary rain or hail beneath his realm into a storm of vengeance effect.

Ambiguously Related: Memnor is usually identified as a son of Annam and an unnamed sky goddess, but some myths instead regard him as Annam's brother.

The Beastmaster: Memnor was responsible for teaching his followers the secrets of harnessing wyverns and dominating them through force of will. Each of his priests must have a trained personal wyvern to progress beyond 8th level.

Cool Mask: Ancient depictions of Memnor often show him wearing a two-faced mask. Because of this, cloud giant nobles seldom show their faces, but instead wear exquisite masks made of precious materials adorned with gemstones. Each noble has a collection of these masks that they wear to conceal their face but still reflect their current mood. An individual might change masks many times during the day as their emotions shift. Similarly, the smiling ones, cloud giants who honor and emulate Memnor's craftiness and deceit above all else, take their name from the strange two-faced masks they wear. The smiling half of the face often looks more like a smirk or a triumphant sneer than a pleasant grin. The frowning half represents the displeasure smiling ones feel about their place in the ordning, second to the storm giants. The masks serve as symbols of their devotion, but they also conceal their wearers' true facial expressions.

Ethnic God: Memnor is the patron god of cloud giants, who have two distinct aspects of him to admire and emulate. Those of a benign disposition revere him for his charm, intelligence, and persuasiveness, while those of a more malign bent take Memnor's self-interest to heart and imitate his trickery. Cloud giants that take a particular interest in trickery, known as "smiling ones", wear two-faced masks as they practice their deceptions and prey on those who are susceptible to their charms.

Fantastic Racism: Memnor's priests must proclaim the superiority of giants in general and cloud giants in particular, belittling other giants save for storm giants (who outrank them in the Ordning), who are hated and hunted.

Manipulative Bastard: Memnor is regarded as the cleverest of Annam's offspring, and is not only clever, but also sly and deceitful. Tales of his exploits emphasize his charisma, his smooth manner, and his ability to manipulate and mislead his siblings and other legendary figures into doing exactly what he wants, usually to their great detriment.

Multiple-Choice Past: Although Memnor is generally regarded as a son of Annam and an unnamed sky goddess, his mythic history and place in the pantheon are shady. In some myths, he is actually the brother of Annam and is weakened by him in an epic battle, which resulted in Memnor being banished to Gehenna and Annam having to retire from the Prime Material Plane to heal his own wounds from this terrible confrontation. In others, Memnor is born from the head or guts of a vast, barely sentient world-devouring monster that is destroyed by Annam (or, rarely, by Stronmaus).

Path of Inspiration: Memnor's desire to eventually usurp Annam's throne atop the Ordning and become lord over all the affairs of giantkind is known only to the handful of evil cloud giants he has accepted into his priesthood. Keeping Memnor's true ambitions a secret is perhaps the most important duty of his servants, and, as a result, most members of the Jotunbrud view him as a proud and determined servant of his father. While operating within the mainstream of Jotunbrud society, Memnor's clerics play the role of wise counselors and advocates for the underprivileged. In reality, they are always looking for an opportunity to ascend the ordnings of the various giant societies, where they'll be more useful to their master.

Religion of Evil: Memnor and his priests desire to take over the Ordning and rule all of the affairs of giantkind. In order to accomplish this goal and ascend the ordnings of the various giant societies, his servants keep his true ambitions a secret and present themselves as wise counselors and advocates for the underprivileged. Just after the stormazîn accepts them into the clergy of the Ordning, Memnor's own high priest visits each of the new recruits and subjects them to his own secret ceremony. During this shocking rite, the initiates pledge to aid their master in his bid to seize Annam's throne and swear to keep their true plans secret from the uninitiated.

Savage Spiked Weapons: Memnor's favored weapon is a morningstar, which strikes with a feebleminding effect 3/day, as Memnor chooses.

The Starscream: Memnor plots to overthrow Annam and rule all of the affairs of giantkind. His creed proclaims that Annam has grown old and weak, and that his ineptitude was the cause of Ostoria's collapse.

Villain with Good Publicity: To an extent. While giants are generally aware of his evil and deceitful nature, they nonetheless believe that Memnor is a proud and determined servant of Annam, unaware of Memnor's desire to usurp Annam's throne.

Wicked Cultured: Memnor is subtle, charming, intelligent, cultured, and deeply, intensely evil. His priests are required to be similarly proud, well dressed, and regal of manner.

Member

Giant Pantheon

100

Memnor

100