Talos: The Destroyer, the Storm Lord (Greater Deity)

Symbol: An explosive lightning strike Home Plane: Fury's Heart Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Portfolio: Storms, destruction, rebellion, conflagration, earthquakes, vortices Worshipers: Those who fear the destructive power of nature, barbarians, fighters, druids, half-orcs

Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE

Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fire, Storm

Favored Weapon: A lightning bolt (longspear, shortspear, or halfspear)

Talos (taahl-ose) is a violent, short-tempered, and angry deity who exults in chaos and revels in destruction. Often petty and vengeful, the Storm Lord is a powerful bully and is often motivated by rage and the desire never to appear weak or compromising in any way to his followers. Known as Bhaelros among cali***es and Kozah among the Bedine, Talos appears as a one-eyed, broad-shouldered, and bearded man clad in half plate armor and black leather gloves. His empty eye socket is filled with whirling stars and covered by a dark patch.

The church of Talos is relatively small for a greater deity and almost universally despised, for his followers bring nothing but destruction and leave only ruin in their wake. They are fanatical in their love of destruction and are unafraid to call storms upon ships, towns, or cities in the name of their crazed deity. However, many fear and propitiate the Storm Lord, ensuring that he remains one of the most powerful deities of the Faerunian pantheon.

Talassans pray for their spells at different times of day over the course of a year, with the time varying with Talos' whim (he rarely has them stick with the same time of day for more than a tenday). Clerics of Talos celebrate his annual festivals (Greengrass, Midsummer, and so on) with great ceremonies that call down lightning and summon storms. Their most sacred ritual is Calling Down the Thunder, in which they slay an intelligent being by lightning. The most frequently seen ritual is the Fury, in which a cleric prays, then makes berserk attacks on people and items in an effort to visit considerable destruction on a place or encampment within a short time by hurling spells and burning torches while howling Talos's name, followed by praying again (if the cleric survives). It is considered most holy when performed by a lone Talassan cleric, but against formidable foes, clergy of Talos usually attack together or draw off defenders to destroy them singly. Talos's clerics tend to multiclass as barbarians, sorcerers, stormlords, and wizards. Those working with the Cult of the Dragon sometimes multiclass as wearers of purple.

HISTORY/RELATIONSHIPS: Talos was formed from the first battle between Selune and Shar. He is now the leader of the Deities of Fury: Auril, himself, Malar, and Umberlee. Although he has no compunction about usurping her portfolio, Talos has a close and cordial relationship with Auril. His relationship with Umberlee is simultaneously flirtatious and filled with rivalry. However, he only works with the Beastlord grudgingly, and Malar would kill him if he could. Talos has a history of elevating powerful mortals to divinity and then forcing them to deplete themselves in his service, the most recent of which was Velsharoon. Velsharoon has been more successful than most such demipowers elevated by Talos, in that he still survives and wisely shifted his nominal alliance to Mystra and Azuth. Talos tried to assume dominion over wild and destructive magic under the alias of Malyk, but was forestalled by Mystra and has since moved on to other brazen attempts to grab power. He hates deities that promote building, learning, and nature, and particularly hates those that would dare to alter the weather. His list of enemies include Chauntea, Eldath, Lathander, Mystra, Sune, Gond, Helm, Mielikki, Oghma, Shiallia, Silvanus, and Tyr.

DOGMA: Life is a combination of random effects and chaos, so grab what you can when you can, because Talos may take you to the afterlife at any moment. Preach the might of Talos, and always warn others of the forces only he can command-- the fury of all Faerun. Walk unafraid in storms, forest fires, earthquakes, and other disasters, for the power of Talos protects you. Do so publicly whenever possible, so that others see that only Talos can protect them. Make others fear Talos by showing the destruction he and his servants can cause. To avoid tasting his fury, pray to him energetically and tell all folk that such observances-- and only such observances-- can protect them from the furies of gales, hailstorms, winds, floods, droughts, blizzards, hurricanes, and other natural dooms. Hurl such forces at one's foes if Talos deems a place or a person worth defending. One cannot afford to ignore Talos, but must bow down and worship him. Proclaim this message to all and show everyone the destruction even the slightest of the servants of Talos can cause.