Zelton, Demon Lord of Sloth
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Destruction, Evil, Liberation
Symbol: A broken millstone
Garb: Loose-fitting togas in red, orange, and yellow
Favored Weapon: Light crossbow
Form of Worship and Holidays: Feasts and debaucheries on all the major social and religious holidays, but held with great gluttony and excess and others doing the work.
Typical Worshippers: Rulers, the rich, con men
The North is a cruel and unforgiving place. Even in the relative peace and prosperity of the Storstrøm Vale, a person must work hard their entire lives in order to enjoy the basic necessities of food, shelter, and water. In lands of the South, perfumed potentates are free to laze about all day while their minions do the work for them; but a Northlander jarl cannot. Should he show himself to be lazy, his householders are free to leave, and his huscarls and hersirs can choose to swear allegiance to another jarl. Wealth is generally tied up in cattle and land, which require great effort to manage, and there are few luxuries to enjoy beyond good food and good company. Merchants from other lands have a hard time finding something that will interest the Northlanders, save for some rare clothes and other worked goods. Still, amber, furs, and other local resources fetch a good price in the markets of the Southlands, and thus every year traders from these lands make the long journey north. In addition to the more mundane items they can offer, some have brought something else — the promise of an end to toil and hardship and a life of unending pleasure and luxuries. The Cult of Zelton has come to the Northlands, and though it has found thin soil to root in, the temptations of this demon-god have proven too much for some to resist. The tenants of Zelton’s cult are simple: You deserve to be a king attended to by a horde of slaves who see to your every whim. Not only should you be able to live like a Southlander lord, but you really should not have to work hard to get this reward; it is yours by right of birth. Faith in Zelton is all that is required and, of course, doing a few small and insignificant tasks for the demon-god. That these tasks add up in unforeseen ways and lead to the deaths of villages and the fall of jarldoms is all part of the demongod’s plan. Other than bringing down civilization, none know what that plan might be. Zelton’s followers are easily marked for those who know what to look for, but sadly this knowledge is rather rare in the Northlands. Those who have fallen to the Demon Lord of Sloth appear vapid and unmotivated, are given to a strange demeanor of inappropriate self-worth and entitlement, often become obese and unkempt, and just as often grow weak in body and mind as they eat only to please and not for sustenance. It is not unusual for those deeply under the thrall of this demon-god to develop a powdery white rash called Zelton’s Favor. This rash is the most dangerous weapon of the cult, for it is a disease that offers those so stricken, as well as those who come in contact with its exudations, a feeling of euphoria that is matched only by the deep lassitude that it brings on. The normal organization for this cult is to have one member as the high priest, and his followers acting as lesser priests. Every member of the cult is a priest from initiation on, and as all believe themselves to be inherently superior to all other men, inner conflict is rife. Usually, the high priest is afflicted with Zelton’s Favor and maintains some degree of order among his followers by manipulating their addictions to his accursed secretions. Cult cells generally keep thralls in order that someone may do the dirty work, or serve as playthings for the more jaded cultists. Every full moon, the high priest receives his commands from his god, orders that if carried out will eventually lead to the ascendancy of the cult, or at least that is what the priests are led to believe.
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Destruction, Evil, Liberation
Symbol: A broken millstone
Garb: Loose-fitting togas in red, orange, and yellow
Favored Weapon: Light crossbow
Form of Worship and Holidays: Feasts and debaucheries on all the major social and religious holidays, but held with great gluttony and excess and others doing the work.
Typical Worshippers: Rulers, the rich, con men
The North is a cruel and unforgiving place. Even in the relative peace and prosperity of the Storstrøm Vale, a person must work hard their entire lives in order to enjoy the basic necessities of food, shelter, and water. In lands of the South, perfumed potentates are free to laze about all day while their minions do the work for them; but a Northlander jarl cannot. Should he show himself to be lazy, his householders are free to leave, and his huscarls and hersirs can choose to swear allegiance to another jarl. Wealth is generally tied up in cattle and land, which require great effort to manage, and there are few luxuries to enjoy beyond good food and good company. Merchants from other lands have a hard time finding something that will interest the Northlanders, save for some rare clothes and other worked goods. Still, amber, furs, and other local resources fetch a good price in the markets of the Southlands, and thus every year traders from these lands make the long journey north. In addition to the more mundane items they can offer, some have brought something else — the promise of an end to toil and hardship and a life of unending pleasure and luxuries. The Cult of Zelton has come to the Northlands, and though it has found thin soil to root in, the temptations of this demon-god have proven too much for some to resist. The tenants of Zelton’s cult are simple: You deserve to be a king attended to by a horde of slaves who see to your every whim. Not only should you be able to live like a Southlander lord, but you really should not have to work hard to get this reward; it is yours by right of birth. Faith in Zelton is all that is required and, of course, doing a few small and insignificant tasks for the demon-god. That these tasks add up in unforeseen ways and lead to the deaths of villages and the fall of jarldoms is all part of the demongod’s plan. Other than bringing down civilization, none know what that plan might be. Zelton’s followers are easily marked for those who know what to look for, but sadly this knowledge is rather rare in the Northlands. Those who have fallen to the Demon Lord of Sloth appear vapid and unmotivated, are given to a strange demeanor of inappropriate self-worth and entitlement, often become obese and unkempt, and just as often grow weak in body and mind as they eat only to please and not for sustenance. It is not unusual for those deeply under the thrall of this demon-god to develop a powdery white rash called Zelton’s Favor. This rash is the most dangerous weapon of the cult, for it is a disease that offers those so stricken, as well as those who come in contact with its exudations, a feeling of euphoria that is matched only by the deep lassitude that it brings on. The normal organization for this cult is to have one member as the high priest, and his followers acting as lesser priests. Every member of the cult is a priest from initiation on, and as all believe themselves to be inherently superior to all other men, inner conflict is rife. Usually, the high priest is afflicted with Zelton’s Favor and maintains some degree of order among his followers by manipulating their addictions to his accursed secretions. Cult cells generally keep thralls in order that someone may do the dirty work, or serve as playthings for the more jaded cultists. Every full moon, the high priest receives his commands from his god, orders that if carried out will eventually lead to the ascendancy of the cult, or at least that is what the priests are led to believe.
Divine Classification
Demon Lord
Children
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