Erythnul

The Blood God, The Many

Erythnul is the God of Hate, Envy, Malice, Panic, Ugliness, and Slaughter. He is known as The Blood God and The Many, and is worshipped by many gnoll, troll, ogre, and bugbear tribes, in addition to humans.
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. His spilled blood transforms into similar creatures. Erythnul delights in panic and slaughter. He can spread fear through his eyes.
Erythnul is the undisciplined counterpart to Hextor, possibly predating him and losing worshipers to his ordered and intelligent rival. He is a terrible sight to behold, with ruddy skin, red garments, a brutally strong build, and a great stone mace that is pierced to cause a fear-inducing shriek when he swings it.

Divine Domains

Hate, Envy, Malice, Panic, Ugliness, Slaughter, Chaos, Evil, Greed, Madness, Mysticism, Trickery, War

Divine Symbols & Sigils

His symbol is a red blood drop, or a bestial mask representing Erythnul's changing visage.
His favored weapon is a heavy mace/morningstar.

Tenets of Faith

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.
Erythnul admonishes his followers to shed blood for its own sake, to covet what is not theirs, and to destroy anyone who would deny them anything. He further urges them to bring ugliness and strife to the pleasant locales.
To take something away from someone else--especially from a rival--is an exalted act in Erythnul's eys. Foes who cannot be killed, should be maimed, and that which cannot be stolen should be destroyed.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

Erythnul resembles a seven-foot tall, brutal-looking man. He is a rubicund of complexion, hirsute, and muscular, with knotted muscles and a blocky frame. His dull-green eyes are filled with the madness of war. He typically wears red fur and red-dyed leather, and carries a stone-headed mace. A hole in the head of the mace creates a whistling noise as Erythnul swings it; the keening howl of the mace has been known to send those who hear it fleeing until they collapse from exhaustion.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Erythnul has a long-standing rivalry with Hextor, due to the latter stealing Erythnul's portfolio of War.

Divine Classification

Intermediate Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Impure

Church/Cult

Warriors of Erythnul

Gender

Male