Loki
God of Mischief, Loki
Loki is a deity in the Norse pantheon. An infamous trickster deity, he is at various times an ally and an enemy to the gods of Asgard. He is responsible for some of the greatest successes of the Norse gods, as well as some of the greatest crimes against them.
Prior to his imprisonment by the gods, Loki sits as one of the twelve most important gods at Asgard.
Loki is a handsome young man. He is capable of changing his shape, and often assumes female form. He stands six feet tall, and always wears red and black even when he takes other guises.
Personality and Alignment
Loki is restless, impulsive, talkative, and highly sociable. He is particularly clever, and enjoys subverting expectations. He often plays practical jokes on the other Norse deities. However, they also value him for his ability to think outside the box and solve problems in ways the other gods would not have considered.
Loki is proud and vainglorious. He believes himself the best of the Norse gods, and will always take an opportunity to prove himself smarter and better capable. This attitude often raises the ire of the gods of Asgard, and they are rarely motivated to help Loki with his own problems.
Loki's habit of treachery is so ingrained that it causes him significant psychological issues. Since he is so used to lies, he sees no truth or purpose in anything, and worships only his own mischief-making. This endless self-deception causes Loki to lead a hollow, unsatisfying existence.
Titles
Loki is known by many nicknames, often due to his exploits. He is called the Sly One; the Trickster; the Shape Changer; and the Sky Traveler. He is called the God of Mischief, Strife, and Fire. Some call him Lokar, the Great Deceiver. Abilities As a deity, Loki is immortal. He cannot die of natural causes, and is immune to normal dangers such as disease, paralysis, poison, magical imprisonment spells and planar banishment. He can still be slain.
He can see, hear and sense at to a distance of 16 miles from himself, any of his followers, holy sites, holy objects, or any place where one of his names or titles is spoken.
Loki can change his form at will, and often assumes the guise of a woman. He can take the form of other creatures or objects. In the past he has transformed into a bridesmaid, a mare, and a needle.
He is an excellent liar. His words act as mass suggestion magic. He can instantly tell the exact value of any treasure he can see, know every item carried by a creature he can see, and knows where on their body it is carried. He can perform any rogue skill instantaneously and with trivial ease.
He is swift in combat, can dodge attacks, and can inflict bleeding wounds upon his opponents. He is nearly impossible to sneak up on. He cannot be harmed by fire. He can instantaneously slay all mortals within one mile, or raise them back to life.
Loki casts sorcerer spells instantaneously, and counterspell magic that he knows. In addition to being able to cast sorcerer spells of 9th level, Loki can innately cast numerous spell-like abilities, including animate objects, chaos hammer, create undead, disintegrate, polymorph any object, and time stop.
Loki can create any magic item related to rogues or assassins, even legendary ones.
Most cultists of Loki revere the god's trickster aspect. They believe that practical jokes and pranks are beneficial to society, encouraging their victims to see the world from a different viewpoint. However, their tricks are often cruel and not well received by the victims.
Loki often sends omens to his worshipers in the form of illusions. He often calls upon his followers to help him escape from trouble he has gotten himself into. Loki rewards anyone clever enough to be able to steal from him.
Necromancy, considered shameful and dishonorable by the Aesir, is acceptable to Loki.
Worshipers
While the people of Hivendelge typically worship the Norse pantheon as a collective group, Loki is particularly followed by rogues and assassins, though social outcasts and troublemakers are often drawn to Loki. Some sorcerers also revere Loki. The yuan-ti tend to worship Loki in higher than average percentages.
Loki's followers worship in secret. They are mistrusted by society at large, and command little respect. Clerics who revere the entire Norse pantheon as a group do not sanction the worship of Loki. A few cults of Surtur and Thrym in Midgard have alliances with Loki's cult.
A few darker sects of Loki practice outright murder, mayhem, and chaos.
Notable followers of Loki include the cambion Rule-of-Three, who is said to have worshiped Loki for a while before he tired of it; Wastoure, a mage who worships him as Lokar, and Bersi, who disguises as a follower of Thor.
Clergy
Many priests of Loki are also rogues or sorcerers.
Rituals
Unlike most of the Asgardian pantheon, priests of Loki are not required to perform any particular services or rituals. Those clerics who pray to Loki for divine intervention for some personal gain may, on rare occasion, receive a personal visit from Loki's avatar, though no individual has ever received this gift more than three times in their lifetime.
Holy Sites
Temples of Loki are usually maintained in secret. They may be hidden in other buildings, or in caves. Some use legitimate businesses as a front for the cult. Temples are often full of weapons, poison, and supplies for causing mayhem. New visitors to Loki's temples are treated with suspicion, but giants are especially welcome.
Holy Symbol
Loki's holy symbol is flame.
Other symbols variously used to reprsent Loki include a pair of red and black boots, a drinking goblet filled with bubbling venom, and a fly.
Favored Weapon
Loki favors the dagger.
Loki is the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey. Despite his giant heritage, he is one of the gods of Asgard thanks to his adoption into the family of Odin, who considers Loki a blood brother.
Loki is also brother to the ancient storm god Aegir, whose brother is Kari.
With his first wife, Glut, Loki had two children, Eisa and Einmyria.
Loki also has three monstrous children with his second wife, the giantess Angrboða: the world-serpent Jormungandr; the wolf Fenrir, and the death goddess Hel.
Loki's third wife is Sigyn, who tends to him during his imprisonment. With Sigyn he has two sons, Vali and Narfi, who the gods will kill before his eyes when he is imprisoned.
Enemies
Loki imprisoned by the gods as punishment for his role in the death of Baldur. When he breaks free, he will fight agains the gods of Asgard at the final battle of Ragnarok.
Loki has special enmity for Heimdall, who he will fight at Ragnarok. Heimdall, watchman of the gods, often foils Loki's tricks and schemes.
He is envious of Baldur's beauty. Thrym and his cultists hold a grudge against Thor and Loki for thwarting his attempt to win Freya's hand in marriage.
The spider-god Korotiku is Loki's rival.
Allies and Minions Loki has journeyed alongside Thor and aided the other gods of Asgard on numerous occasions. However, thanks to Loki's arrogant attitude, they are rarely interested in helping him with his problems. Loki has attempted to form alliances with gods of other pantheons, but such alliances are exploitative and short-lived. Loki will side with the fire giant Surtur at Ragnarok. He is friendly with giants, as well as dwarves, who the gods of Asgard often look down upon. On more than one occasion he has hidden out in Bast's plane of Merratet. Loki has several divine proxies, giants with whom he has granted a portion of his divine power.[31] One is Starkad the Gnawer, a cloud giant who watches over Loki's realm of Winter's Hall.
Loki also has a domain in Pandemonium named Winter's Hall, where he hides from the Aesir for a time when he has done something to anger them, which is fairly often. The cloud giant Starkad the Gnawer is in charge of this domain, but does not take good care of it. It is the custom for visitors of this to speak poorly of the gods of Asgard, so as not to offend Loki when he comes here to brood.
Following his punishment by the gods for the death of Baldur, Loki is buried in a cave, bound by the entrails of his slain son Narfi, with venom dripping into his face. There he will remain until Ragnarok.
Loki once fled with Odin to Rime Isle, where Loki was imprisoned in a whirlpool off its coast. Loki's rage caused a great storm which sank an invading fleet.
A rumour holds that Loki is secretly the ruler of Svartalfheim in disguise.
Loki is the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey.
A legend says that Loki stood with Odin when the world of Midgard was first created.
Exploits of Loki
The stories of Loki are numerous and infamous.
Loki once transformed into a needle to sneak into the tightly-built hall Sessrumnir. He once cut off all of Sif's hair as a prank, but dwarves crafted her enchanted hair made of gold to grow in its place. On more than one occasion he gave Thor fleas. He has stolen the Golden Apples of Idun and the Necklace of Brisingamen from Freya. He once attempted to woo Selune of the Faerunian pantheon.
Loki once slew the dwarf Oter, brother of the blacksmith Regin and the dragon Fafnir. Forced by tradition to pay financial compensation, Loki robbed the dwarf Andvari to obtain the money. Andvari cursed a single golden ring so that men shall kill their own family for it.
Loki has often helped the gods of Asgard; it is for these acts that he was made blood brother of Odin, and that he is tolerated by the gods. He once assumed the form of a mare to distract the stallion of the giant who built the walls of Asgard, so that the giant would miss his deadline and could not claim payment; Loki became pregnant and birthed the horse Sleipnir. He helped return Thor's hammer Mjolnir when it was stolen by the frost gaint Thrym, by disguising himself and Thor as women. And when tasked with having the dwarves craft Sif's golden hair, Loki leveraged the situation to have them craft Odin's spear Gungnir, Odin's ring Draupnir, Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and Frey's ship Skidbladnir.
However, Loki has also performed great sins against the gods of Asgard. He tricked the blind god Hod into killing his brother Balder with a mistletoe dart, Balder's one weakness.
Ragnarok
For his role in the death of Baldur, Loki is punished by the gods. Odin turns Loki's son Vali into a wolf and has him slay Loki's son Narfi. The gods use Narfi's entrails to bind Loki in a cave, with a poisonous snake dripping venom into his wounds. Loki's wife Sigyn tries to catch the venom, but cannot protect him from every drop. The people of Hivendelge say that earthquakes are caused by Loki shaking in pain from the venom.
Loki is imprisoned for so long that the poison forms an entire lake of venom outside Loki's cave.
Before the final battle of Ragnarok, in which nearly all of the Norse pantheon will be killed, Loki will be freed from his imprisonment. He is fated to be killed by Heimdall, who will then die of his wounds sustained in the fight. Loki will steal Heimdall's sword before the battle, but this will not change his fate.
Current Events
Loki is imprisoned due to his murder of Baldur.
Cultural Significance
The name Loki is used by others, including the illusionist giant Utgard-Loki and the half-elf wizard Loki Spellsinger.
A series of spells known as Loki's Path, also called Trickster's Road, are traditionally taught in a fixed order by certain sects of mages. Those spells are grease, jump, spider climb, taunt, fool's gold, Tasha's uncontrollable hideous laughter, castise, fool's speech, fumble, reverse gravity, and Otto's irresistable dance.
Prior to his imprisonment by the gods, Loki sits as one of the twelve most important gods at Asgard.
Description
AppearanceLoki is a handsome young man. He is capable of changing his shape, and often assumes female form. He stands six feet tall, and always wears red and black even when he takes other guises.
Personality and Alignment
Loki is restless, impulsive, talkative, and highly sociable. He is particularly clever, and enjoys subverting expectations. He often plays practical jokes on the other Norse deities. However, they also value him for his ability to think outside the box and solve problems in ways the other gods would not have considered.
Loki is proud and vainglorious. He believes himself the best of the Norse gods, and will always take an opportunity to prove himself smarter and better capable. This attitude often raises the ire of the gods of Asgard, and they are rarely motivated to help Loki with his own problems.
Loki's habit of treachery is so ingrained that it causes him significant psychological issues. Since he is so used to lies, he sees no truth or purpose in anything, and worships only his own mischief-making. This endless self-deception causes Loki to lead a hollow, unsatisfying existence.
Titles
Loki is known by many nicknames, often due to his exploits. He is called the Sly One; the Trickster; the Shape Changer; and the Sky Traveler. He is called the God of Mischief, Strife, and Fire. Some call him Lokar, the Great Deceiver. Abilities As a deity, Loki is immortal. He cannot die of natural causes, and is immune to normal dangers such as disease, paralysis, poison, magical imprisonment spells and planar banishment. He can still be slain.
He can see, hear and sense at to a distance of 16 miles from himself, any of his followers, holy sites, holy objects, or any place where one of his names or titles is spoken.
Loki can change his form at will, and often assumes the guise of a woman. He can take the form of other creatures or objects. In the past he has transformed into a bridesmaid, a mare, and a needle.
He is an excellent liar. His words act as mass suggestion magic. He can instantly tell the exact value of any treasure he can see, know every item carried by a creature he can see, and knows where on their body it is carried. He can perform any rogue skill instantaneously and with trivial ease.
He is swift in combat, can dodge attacks, and can inflict bleeding wounds upon his opponents. He is nearly impossible to sneak up on. He cannot be harmed by fire. He can instantaneously slay all mortals within one mile, or raise them back to life.
Loki casts sorcerer spells instantaneously, and counterspell magic that he knows. In addition to being able to cast sorcerer spells of 9th level, Loki can innately cast numerous spell-like abilities, including animate objects, chaos hammer, create undead, disintegrate, polymorph any object, and time stop.
Loki can create any magic item related to rogues or assassins, even legendary ones.
Portfolio
Loki is a god of thieves, trickery, and murder. He automatically senses all crimes, cons, practical jokes and tricks, and knows them up to sixteen weeks before they happen. Loki has power over the domains of chaos, destruction, evil, and trickery. Loki is considered a patron of illusionists.Worship
DogmaMost cultists of Loki revere the god's trickster aspect. They believe that practical jokes and pranks are beneficial to society, encouraging their victims to see the world from a different viewpoint. However, their tricks are often cruel and not well received by the victims.
Loki often sends omens to his worshipers in the form of illusions. He often calls upon his followers to help him escape from trouble he has gotten himself into. Loki rewards anyone clever enough to be able to steal from him.
Necromancy, considered shameful and dishonorable by the Aesir, is acceptable to Loki.
Worshipers
While the people of Hivendelge typically worship the Norse pantheon as a collective group, Loki is particularly followed by rogues and assassins, though social outcasts and troublemakers are often drawn to Loki. Some sorcerers also revere Loki. The yuan-ti tend to worship Loki in higher than average percentages.
Loki's followers worship in secret. They are mistrusted by society at large, and command little respect. Clerics who revere the entire Norse pantheon as a group do not sanction the worship of Loki. A few cults of Surtur and Thrym in Midgard have alliances with Loki's cult.
A few darker sects of Loki practice outright murder, mayhem, and chaos.
Notable followers of Loki include the cambion Rule-of-Three, who is said to have worshiped Loki for a while before he tired of it; Wastoure, a mage who worships him as Lokar, and Bersi, who disguises as a follower of Thor.
Clergy
Many priests of Loki are also rogues or sorcerers.
Rituals
Unlike most of the Asgardian pantheon, priests of Loki are not required to perform any particular services or rituals. Those clerics who pray to Loki for divine intervention for some personal gain may, on rare occasion, receive a personal visit from Loki's avatar, though no individual has ever received this gift more than three times in their lifetime.
Holy Sites
Temples of Loki are usually maintained in secret. They may be hidden in other buildings, or in caves. Some use legitimate businesses as a front for the cult. Temples are often full of weapons, poison, and supplies for causing mayhem. New visitors to Loki's temples are treated with suspicion, but giants are especially welcome.
Holy Symbol
Loki's holy symbol is flame.
Other symbols variously used to reprsent Loki include a pair of red and black boots, a drinking goblet filled with bubbling venom, and a fly.
Favored Weapon
Loki favors the dagger.
Relationships
FamilyLoki is the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey. Despite his giant heritage, he is one of the gods of Asgard thanks to his adoption into the family of Odin, who considers Loki a blood brother.
Loki is also brother to the ancient storm god Aegir, whose brother is Kari.
With his first wife, Glut, Loki had two children, Eisa and Einmyria.
Loki also has three monstrous children with his second wife, the giantess Angrboða: the world-serpent Jormungandr; the wolf Fenrir, and the death goddess Hel.
Loki's third wife is Sigyn, who tends to him during his imprisonment. With Sigyn he has two sons, Vali and Narfi, who the gods will kill before his eyes when he is imprisoned.
Enemies
Loki imprisoned by the gods as punishment for his role in the death of Baldur. When he breaks free, he will fight agains the gods of Asgard at the final battle of Ragnarok.
Loki has special enmity for Heimdall, who he will fight at Ragnarok. Heimdall, watchman of the gods, often foils Loki's tricks and schemes.
He is envious of Baldur's beauty. Thrym and his cultists hold a grudge against Thor and Loki for thwarting his attempt to win Freya's hand in marriage.
The spider-god Korotiku is Loki's rival.
Allies and Minions Loki has journeyed alongside Thor and aided the other gods of Asgard on numerous occasions. However, thanks to Loki's arrogant attitude, they are rarely interested in helping him with his problems. Loki has attempted to form alliances with gods of other pantheons, but such alliances are exploitative and short-lived. Loki will side with the fire giant Surtur at Ragnarok. He is friendly with giants, as well as dwarves, who the gods of Asgard often look down upon. On more than one occasion he has hidden out in Bast's plane of Merratet. Loki has several divine proxies, giants with whom he has granted a portion of his divine power.[31] One is Starkad the Gnawer, a cloud giant who watches over Loki's realm of Winter's Hall.
Artifacts
Loki's envenomed dagger exudes toxic deathblade poison. It is infused with chaotic and unholy energy and is particularly deadly to beings of good and law. Loki's boots allow him to walk on water, fly, and travel with great speed on land. Loki is credited as the inventor of the sword of cowardice.Realm
Loki resided in Asgard with most of the other Norse gods.Loki also has a domain in Pandemonium named Winter's Hall, where he hides from the Aesir for a time when he has done something to anger them, which is fairly often. The cloud giant Starkad the Gnawer is in charge of this domain, but does not take good care of it. It is the custom for visitors of this to speak poorly of the gods of Asgard, so as not to offend Loki when he comes here to brood.
Following his punishment by the gods for the death of Baldur, Loki is buried in a cave, bound by the entrails of his slain son Narfi, with venom dripping into his face. There he will remain until Ragnarok.
Loki once fled with Odin to Rime Isle, where Loki was imprisoned in a whirlpool off its coast. Loki's rage caused a great storm which sank an invading fleet.
A rumour holds that Loki is secretly the ruler of Svartalfheim in disguise.
History
OriginLoki is the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey.
A legend says that Loki stood with Odin when the world of Midgard was first created.
Exploits of Loki
The stories of Loki are numerous and infamous.
Loki once transformed into a needle to sneak into the tightly-built hall Sessrumnir. He once cut off all of Sif's hair as a prank, but dwarves crafted her enchanted hair made of gold to grow in its place. On more than one occasion he gave Thor fleas. He has stolen the Golden Apples of Idun and the Necklace of Brisingamen from Freya. He once attempted to woo Selune of the Faerunian pantheon.
Loki once slew the dwarf Oter, brother of the blacksmith Regin and the dragon Fafnir. Forced by tradition to pay financial compensation, Loki robbed the dwarf Andvari to obtain the money. Andvari cursed a single golden ring so that men shall kill their own family for it.
Loki has often helped the gods of Asgard; it is for these acts that he was made blood brother of Odin, and that he is tolerated by the gods. He once assumed the form of a mare to distract the stallion of the giant who built the walls of Asgard, so that the giant would miss his deadline and could not claim payment; Loki became pregnant and birthed the horse Sleipnir. He helped return Thor's hammer Mjolnir when it was stolen by the frost gaint Thrym, by disguising himself and Thor as women. And when tasked with having the dwarves craft Sif's golden hair, Loki leveraged the situation to have them craft Odin's spear Gungnir, Odin's ring Draupnir, Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and Frey's ship Skidbladnir.
However, Loki has also performed great sins against the gods of Asgard. He tricked the blind god Hod into killing his brother Balder with a mistletoe dart, Balder's one weakness.
Ragnarok
For his role in the death of Baldur, Loki is punished by the gods. Odin turns Loki's son Vali into a wolf and has him slay Loki's son Narfi. The gods use Narfi's entrails to bind Loki in a cave, with a poisonous snake dripping venom into his wounds. Loki's wife Sigyn tries to catch the venom, but cannot protect him from every drop. The people of Hivendelge say that earthquakes are caused by Loki shaking in pain from the venom.
Loki is imprisoned for so long that the poison forms an entire lake of venom outside Loki's cave.
Before the final battle of Ragnarok, in which nearly all of the Norse pantheon will be killed, Loki will be freed from his imprisonment. He is fated to be killed by Heimdall, who will then die of his wounds sustained in the fight. Loki will steal Heimdall's sword before the battle, but this will not change his fate.
Current Events
Loki is imprisoned due to his murder of Baldur.
Cultural Significance
The name Loki is used by others, including the illusionist giant Utgard-Loki and the half-elf wizard Loki Spellsinger.
A series of spells known as Loki's Path, also called Trickster's Road, are traditionally taught in a fixed order by certain sects of mages. Those spells are grease, jump, spider climb, taunt, fool's gold, Tasha's uncontrollable hideous laughter, castise, fool's speech, fumble, reverse gravity, and Otto's irresistable dance.
Divine Classification
God
Current Status
Imprisoned
Church/Cult
Age
Immortal
Spouses
Siblings
Odin
(Blood Brother)
Children
Pronouns
he/him
Sex
Shapeshifter
Gender
Variable
Presentation
Variable
Eyes
Fiery
Hair
Fiery
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
White
Height
6'0"
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