Illid

The Grave Watcher

For more information on the Dead Three, see: The Dead Three

Master of the skein of fate, Illid is the god of death and chief deity of the Dead Three. His gaze follows and marks the end of each mortal life, watching over the border between life and death and ensuring the natural transition is undefiled. Many funerals ask his blessing to protect the deceased from the terrible curse of undeath. Those who study ancient lore believe that the Patron of Death was once mortal himself and is the only known mortal to have ascended to godhood. His rise instantly obliterated the previous, now-forgotten goddess of death, and the other gods quickly and fearfully destroyed the secrets to his ascension.

Physical Description

No mortal has ever seen Illid until it was too late, and so those among the living know not his true visage. However, in scriptures and art, Illid is often depicted as a spectral, ghostly being; a skeleton wrapped in ethereal robes, holding a turquoise lantern by a chain, guiding the deceased to their final rest.

Divine Realm

Illid tugs at the threads of fate from his impossibly tall cathedral whose spire pierces the headwaters of Cocytus, the River of the Dead. From here, Illid judges each mortal soul, sealing their fate and deciding where souls will be ferried in the afterlife.

Tenets of Faith

• Death is the natural end of life. There is no pity for those who have fallen.


• The path of Fate is sacrosanct. Those who pridefully attempt to cast off their destiny must be punished.


• Undeath is an atrocity. Those who would pervert the transition of the soul must be brought down.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Illid makes no decision on whether a death is just or not; he views all with a cold and uncaring attitude, and decides on where every soul will spend eternity. Illid is also the god of birth and prophecy: from the moment a creature is born, he sees what its ultimate fate will be, but reserves final judgement until that soul finally stands before him. As the god of death and rebirth, he abhors the undead and considers them a perversion.

Worshipers

Illid employs a number of immortal beings as servants. Among them are the psychopomps, who are created from souls whose lives did not pull them toward good or evil, structure or chaos. They serve Illid in Cocytus as advisors, judges, caretakers, explorers, guides, guards, and even soldiers when needed. His divine servitor race is the ahmuuth psychopomps, humanoid creatures that battle undead and help lost souls find their final reward.
Many of Illid's worshipers are those closely aligned with either burgeoning life or terminating death. These include midwives, grave diggers, and morticians. Pregnant women often keep lit lanterns on their windowsills to protect their child. His followers dress in black and turquoise for his ceremonies (no matter the local custom) with clothes adorned with silver, and carry tiny vials of holy water.
His priests are typically clerics, diviners, and necromancers who choose not to create undead. His followers view the undead with hatred and consider them a great abomination. Illidites view putting the undead to rest as a holy duty. The creation of undead is outlawed, and commanding undead rather than destroying them is deeply frowned upon as well.
The temples of Illid have the appearance of dark and ancient cathedrals, usually found close to a graveyard, although a single stone in an empty field or graveyard can just as well serve as a shrine. Underneath the buildings are catacombs filled with crypts of the dead, more often than not managed in concert with followers of Illid's lawful counterpart, Vergil. The services held by worshipers include chanting and singing. They are typically considered a joyous occasion, and a celebration of the circle of life and death.
There are multiple sects and organizations surrounding Illid. The Mortal Ushers are a militant wing of the Illidite priesthood devoted to the extermination of undead. The Illidite Penitence is an extremist sect that views worldly pleasures as going against Illid's plans and actively seek out those whom they feel upset their beliefs by making life easier, for instance, arcane casters. The Casarmetzes are church midwives who are so skilled at the procedures of childbirth that they are able to keep both mother and child alive in dire circumstances.

Holy Books & Codes

The Lantern Guides the Way

"The Lantern Guides the Way" is the holy book of Illid. This work was written in several parts. The first part consists of vague, debatable predictions by an ancient prophet. The prophecies are inconclusive and esoteric, allowing a cunning reader to fit specific parts of the text to any number of situations, past or future. Later additions discuss childbirth, burial rites, and the prevention of undeath.

Contacts & Relations

Cocytus

DESCRIPTION

Vergil

The relationship between Illid and Vergil is one born of begrudging necessity. As a deity known to use the undead to enact his will, Vergil is one of many subjects of Illid's detestment. Illid views Vergil's use of the undead as eternal servants to be a slight upon death itself, and a direct undermining of his authority. Vergil believes that the use of the undead is not one of evil or an act against life, but of voluntary practicality. Simply put, his followers do not match the numbers of Illid's, and if followers of his would actively choose their afterlife to be in service to him, then who is he to judge? To this, Illid would say that he is to judge, not Vergil. Due to such arguments in times past, schisms arose between the two sects, leading to a period in which inquisitors of Illid once hunted down Vergilite priests who used the undead to conduct their work.
In the modern day, it appears as though Illid and Vergil have made their "peace", with Illid accepting Vergil's undead followers only under strict rules, rites, and regulations. Vergil can only use the undead at Illid's explicit permission. He must judge each individual candidate that would serve Vergil in death to determine whether this fate is acceptable. The resentment of this compromise is still prevalent in Illid's followers, some of whom abandoned him, considering him a hyprocrite of the values he stands for. Other Illidites still remember the scars of the schisms, and prejudice against Vergilites still exists within the faith, especially in those tasked with the eradication of the undead.

Divine Traits

General Information

Alternative Name(s)
God of Death
The Grave Watcher
Judge of the Damned
Lord of the Spire
Patron of Death

Alignment
Neutral

Pantheon
The Dead Three

Areas of Concern
Birth, death, fate, prophecy, time

Favored Weapon
Dagger

Sacred Animal(s)
Whipporwill

Sacred Color(s)
Black, turquoise

Symbol
Hanging lantern, glowing with a pale, turquoise light

Worshipers
Clerics, diviners, midwives, morticians, necromancers who do not create undead, pregnant women, priests

Worshipers' Adjective(s)
Illidite

Plane
Cocytus - Illid's Spire

---

D&D 5e

Domains
Death, Grave

---

Pathfinder 1e

Domains
Death, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Repose

Subdomains
Ancestors, Memory, Psychopomp, Resurrection, Souls, Thought

---

Pathfinder 2e

Domains
Cold, Death, Fate, Healing

Alternative Domain(s)
Knowledge, Soul, Time, Vigil

Divine Ability
Constitution or Wisdom

Divine Font
Harm or Heal

Divine Skill
Medicine

Cleric Spells
1st: Mindlink
2nd: Reaper's Lantern
4th: Phantasmal Killer

Divine Boons

• Minor Boon
  You see a momentary, prophetic glimpse of your fate. Once, you gain a +2 status bonus to a single check; you can apply this bonus after you determine the result, and it can potentially change the degree of success.
• Moderate Boon
  You gain a greater mastery over the energies of life and death. Your Strikes deal 1 positive damage to undead. Your spells that deal positive damage to undead gain a +1 status bonus to damage per spell level, and your spells that heal the living gain a +1 status bonus to the Hit Points restored per spell level.
• Major Boon
  Illid keeps you alive to fulfill your fate. The GM secretly chooses a fate Illid knows you must fulfill. Until you fulfill this fate, any time you would die, a grave but nonfatal misfortune instead befalls you. You take at least a full day to recuperate and you potentially face permanent consequences, but you don’t die. If you would have died even once without this boon, once your fate is complete, you let out a final sigh and then die peacefully.

Divine Curses

• Minor Curse
  Horrifying or enticing visions of your final judgment distract you from the task at hand. You take a –2 status penalty to Initiative rolls.
• Moderate Curse
  Fate turns against you and reveals dire portents. Divinations such as Augury cast by you or that involve you always suggest woe. Once per day after you attempt a check, the GM can make the result of the roll a natural 1.
• Major Curse
  Illid wills the end of your life and your lineage. You become unable to have children (or otherwise procreate by any means, including create spawn abilities) and are permanently doomed 2.