The Dark Gods

Some gods are forbidden, dangerous, and rapacious. They prey on their followers, extorting blood, gold, and sacrifices for power, health, and even life. These are the dark gods, the heretical deities, the blasphemous views into the corruption of the soul. Their temples are few, but their cults are more common than anyone thinks. The dark gods rarely boast an overt presence in civilized lands, but their worshippers are everywhere. They are powerful and willing to destroy entire cities and kill other gods to regain the heights of their power. Some say these dark gods can be tamed, and that each contains some seed of redemption, some remnant of goodness and light. Most of the time, any such seeds are difficult to see, and the entire idea of redeeming a dark god might be wishful and naïve. The dark gods offer power for blood and power for souls. They care little for followers, except insofar as those followers follow the dark gods’ commands. In this, at least, they are all the same.

Deity	Alignment	Province	Domain	Symbol
Addrikah	Chaotic Evil	Niflheim	Darkness, Death, Knowledge	A white bat
Boreas	Chaotic Evil	Midgard	Tempest, Travel	Circling line of wind
Chernobog	Evil	Midgard	Darkness, Death	A bears paw in a black square
Fenrir	Chaotic Neutral	Muspelheim	Apocalypse, Hunting, Prophecy, Nature, Moon	A wolf's head
The Huntsman	Evil	Midgard	Death, hunting, Moon	Two crossed arrows
Mammon	Evil	Niflheim	Darkness, Mountain, Travel	Three gold coins
Marena	Evil	Niflheim	Death, Justice, Lust	A red skull
Vardesain	Neutral	Niflheim	Darkness, Death, Life, Void	A purple snake consuming a white snake
The White Goddess	Evil	Midgard	Apocalypse, Darkness, Death, Hunting, Void	A black sun

Addrikah

Addrikah appears as a strange elderly hag who babbles constantly; her voice is said to “spill wisdom,” but her hymns are nonsense and her voice never answers followers directly. Despite her apparent age, Addrikah can crush skulls with her tiny hands, sucking out the juices within and then somehow transforming the shriveled brain matter into gemstones and rune stones. Her legends and worship are disjointed, even by hag standards.
Depiction. She is depicted as a large fat hag with greenish blue skin, long ratty white hair, and vile disgusting features.
Worshippers. Addrikah’s primary worshippers include the hags, the duergar, and deranged dwarves and humans.
Commandments

• The goddess of madness demands pure and unceasing insanity, chaos, and the baptism of all her followers’ children into her mad cult.
• She encourages kidnappings and sacrifices from her followers, and forcing dwarves into crazed madness brings Addrikah great burbling joy

Boreas

Boreas brings autumn storms and winter gales, and the biting wind carrying sleet, hail, and snow. Son of the Winter Maiden Marena, his duty is to deliver his mother’s killing cold to the world. It’s a job he takes seriously. Boreas aims to cover all of Midgard with eternal winter, and prophecies foretell that he’ll one day succeed. He works tirelessly to ensure that his day of victory comes soon. From the highest mountain in the North he brews storms and dispatches giants, thuellai, yeti, and other minions southward. He’s sometimes worshipped as a mere herald of Marena (called Mara in the North), much to his chagrin. He is a cackling lunatic plagued by lust, paranoia, and rage. He enjoys shapeshifting, sometimes appearing as a living storm or a massive white stallion, dragon, or hawk— and occasionally in more seductive forms. In horse form he impregnates the free-roaming mares of the steppes, producing the Winterborn, among the strongest, fastest, and toughest horses. Boreas also claims to be the grandfather of all winter wolves and other snow beasts. True or not, Northlanders curse his name as the progenitor of all manner of evils.
Depiction. Boreas resembles a winged old man with shaggy hair and a wild beard.
Worshippers. Giants, trolls, and ogres are the most common followers of Boreas, as are evil dwarves, winter wolves, and certain goblin tribes.
Commandments

• Those who serve him will be spared when he achieves his victory.
• Help destroy the power of other gods and cover all Midgard in winter storms.
• Worshippers must sacrifice creatures by exposing them naked to the winter night.
• Sabotage hearth fires and storehouses, and assist yeti, ice maidens, and other creatures to do Boreas’s will.
• Theft is no crime and burning the homes, hearths, and altars of his enemies is a sacred duty.

Chernobog

Chernobog is the embodiment of all mortal fears, and his shape is variable and horrifying. He is the master of the dead, not through respect but by compulsion; entire graveyards rise up in answer to his call. He is widely feared for his rapacious hungers and his raging strength, and even Tyr fears to fight him. Or so say the priests of Chernobog. When Chernobog walks the earth in the dark of the moon and during eclipses, winds rise and howl, animals grow skittish and dogs bite, and ghosts rise from every grave. All foul deeds are ascribed to Chernobog.
Depiction. He most often resembles an enormous black bear with horns and eyes like coals, his fur matted with blood and ichor.
Worshippers. Chernobog’s followers include the corrupt and the vile, especially witches, sorcerers, and wizards, but also thieves, murderers, and bandits and those seeking power, revenge, or wealth. Hags, trolls, ogres, dragons, and goblins follow Chernobog as well, and commit murders in his name. Some say Baba Yaga is secretly Chernobog’s greatest follower; others claim the two are rivals, or former lovers.
Commandments

• Be strong, fight to take what you want, and never show mercy, pity, or forgiveness. 
• The weak are less than you and should serve you, and as you are less than Chernobog, you must submit and serve him. 
• Make blood sacrifices as often as you can; human sacrifices are best, followed by black animals.

Fenrir

Fenrir is an important figure within the prophecy of Ragnarok. In it, he is supposedly the wolf-child of Loki and the female Jötunn Angrboða, first of the three siblings the pair spawned together, the other two being Hel and Jörmungandr. His existence causes great fear in the gods, particularly Wotan, who foresaw his own demise at the creature's jaws during Ragnarök. Much of what Wotan attempts to prevent during Ragnarök is due to his paranoia over Fenrir. As such Wotan had unbreakable chains made by the dwarves Brok and Sindri of Svartalfheim; with the help of Tyr, Fenrir was bound and cast into Muspelheim. Since then the drool of Fenrir eventually created a flow of lava throughout the realm and ignited the realm with a never ending blaze.
Depiction.  Fenrir is described as a wolf who grew into a monstrous size, he is bound by chains and his eyes, mouth and claws burn with the fire that ignited Muspelheim.
Worshippers. Many lycanthropes and other groups alike revere the wolf god. Those who are followers of Ragnarok and seek it follow Fenrir as one of its key figures.
Commandments

• Revenge must be swift, show now mercy or hesitation.
• Bear your fangs, seek out vengeance, kill all in your path.

The Huntsman

He walks in countless forms, including dire wolf, human huntsman, fell hound, centaur archer, pale king, fey assassin, blood demon, and goblin trapper. The god embodies the ancient and deadly animals lurking in the wild fringes, and those who chase and conquer them. The Blood God encourages the dark instincts that drive beasts to red fury and the kill. The Hunter revels in the chase and thrives on power, violence, and blood.
Depiction.  The Hunter appears with a crown of horns or claws, a rich fur cloak and deerskin leggings, and carrying a blacktipped spear. The Hunter’s eyes flash green and gold.
Worshippers.  The Huntsman has ancient roots, and his priests lead or influence the most violent centaur clans and bandit gangs. For the fey, the hunt is an undeniable, timeless rite. When  the Huntsman rides forth, all those who hear must heed his call to hunt—even Vanir gods have been enraptured by it. Mighty Wotan and Perun once rode at the head of the pack beside the Huntsman, in ages past. The Blood God enjoys a large following of human hunters and dwarven reavers as well as elves, lycanthropes, vampires, ogres, shadow fey, worgs, winter wolves, and hobgoblin, orc, and goblin tribes. The Huntsman's church has grown even among aristocrats of the civilized nations. Forming Blood Lodges, they follow the Huntsman's doctrine for sport as well as for assassination of personal enemies.
Commandments

• Kill without hesitation. 
• No one has truly lived until they have taken life and let the blood scent fill the air as they gut and drain a kill. 
• Hunt or be hunted. 
• Join the Master’s Hunt when it rides by, and hunt boar, deer, pheasant, and rabbits in season. 
• Learn to track, learn to kill, and eat what you kill. 
• Know that your life too might someday come to a violent end, and live well before that day.

Mammon

Mammon’s greed and lust for more, more, and yet more are unbounded and unstoppable. No matter how great the offerings given to him, he always looks to the next.
Depiction.  Mammon is an enormously fat devil with golden skin, horns, and a mouth capable of the widest smile, able and willing to devour the world. His clawed hands can hold enormous barrels, chests, and even entire treasuries; he wears jeweled rings, necklaces, bracers, and multiple crowns of gold, mithral, and diamonds.
Worshippers.  All those who lust after wealth are Mammon’s faithful, but his creed is especially common among humans, dwarves, and dragons. A coterie of gilded devils pursue his goals throughout the world. Fafnir was a dwarf from Svartalfheim that was consumed by greed, so much so that he turned into a dragon; he is said to be one of Mammon's greatest followers.
Commandments

• Coinage, wealth, and yet more wealth! 
• The corruption of officials, greater trade through bribery and false dealing, and the increase in temple treasuries through any means necessary. 
• Each day grow richer, and make sacrifices to Mammon, and learn how to profit from others through fair means or foul.

Marena

Marena is the dark face of human fears: all flesh fails, and unbridled lust and rampant plague can destroy any happy life. She is known and feared throughout the Crossroads, and her cults flourish in secret, especially in small villages when times are hard. In the great cities, her followers meet in cellars and sanctuaries within the poorer districts. Her face is both beautiful and chilling, and those who see her and survive are invariably marked with white hair, wine-colored birthmarks, or haunted silver eyes. Her followers believe that her strict worship grants them power.
Depiction. She is depicted as a young woman with ghostly white skin, red sunken in eyes, short red hair, a veil of black lotus flowers upon her head, and a white dress.
Worshippers.  She serves as the patron goddess of whores, vampires, ghouls, and the Order of Ghost Knights. Indeed, she is worshipped openly in the Blood Kingdom, and the vampires are building new temples to her glory. She is followed with somewhat less fervor on the Rothenian Plain in her aspect as the Winter Maiden, and hidden sects of her adherents exist throughout the Crossroads and the Seven Cities. Some kobolds worship her out of fear or awe.
Commandments

• Kill her foes and she requires rites of seduction, blood sacrifice, and flagellation.

Vardesain

All creatures hunger, and without food, life ends. Vardesain took this primal need and built a faith ranging from simple gluttony to cannibal feasting. Indeed, food is seen as a sacrament that builds life, health, and righteous strength in the faithful, and the followers of the hunger god can be both great gourmands and the world’s least picky eaters. Sacrifices to the god are invariably edible— and sometimes still living. The god’s best-known forms are those of scavengers and predators: white wolves, ghouls, and darakhul, but also undead of abnormal size. In any form, visions, depictions, and avatars of Vardesain are always feeding on something.
Depiction. He is depicted as a lich with the skin just barely hanging from the bone. He typically is seen with a bone staff that has a demi lich attached to the end.
Worshippers.  Vardesain’s followers are the hungry and the ambitious: power-hungry humans, monsters, and ghouls, vampires, darakhul, and the undead. They have no morals or standards, only instinct.
Commandments

• Flesh is weak, but your will is strong: show your strength.
• Hunt and kill what you eat when you can; scavenging is not dishonorable. 
• Fast when you must find focus and purity, for your hunger will give you strength to see the way. 
• Devour the hearts of your enemies.

The White Goddess

The White Goddess was born with pale skin and red eyes. When she emerged from her people’s home beneath the skin of the world, the sun god Khors challenged her with his radiance. She would not be intimidated and stared him down, chasing him as he ran, until he hid beyond the horizon. Along the way she crushed his subjects, the sun-kissed races, and tore out their bones, feasting on the marrow and armoring her flesh. Every time the sun sneaks back over the horizon she chases him away and her faithful follow after each night, tearing the flesh of the sunlit races and offering up bones and screams in tribute. She is a battle goddess who embodies the harshness of life, the sun’s cruel heat and blinding radiance. She is the will to go on and the blessed rest that comes to those who earn their indolence.
Depiction. The White Goddess appears as a massive albino orc, with red eyes that glow like embers and intricately carved tusks. She wears crude bone armor and carries a massive club in one hand and equally large sword in the other.
Worshippers.  Her primary worshippers are the savage and failing race of orcs, once numerous but now eking out their survival in the depths of the earth and the farthest reaches of mountain, forest, and desert. Tales of their viciousness bring other savage peoples to the worship of their brutal goddess: goblins, hags, ogres, even kobolds and centaurs sometimes venerate her.
Commandments

• Kill your enemies. 
• Do not shy from pain and light. 
• Your goddess’s names are the screams of the dying. 
• Take what is yours from the weak, and enslave or kill those who challenge your rule. 
• Pile high the bones of the fallen.