Tis often inquired of me bie mine youngest students, acolytes, and lae men, somme basic questionnes regarding the Deceiver and his minniones. Over my longe years I have answered such questions so often that it worries me that these answeres shall be loste after I departe for the Halls of Slumber. Thus do I set for the herein somme of the moste frequent asked and answered questionnes concerning these topics moste dreadful.
Querie: Master, how powerful is the Deceiver?
Answere: Mine sonne, the Deceiver is of godlie borne and godlie made and cannot be unmade except bie the gods themselves who slumber away in bliss. All of the sorcerors and priests in all of the world, fromme the peacefull folke of Onlor to the craven Morakki together could not cast spells enough to slae the Deceiver, nor couldst every man in Jerranq, given a bow and quiver of magical arrows, pierce his godlie hide.
Querie: Master, if the Deceiver is undefeatable in battle, why doth he not comme forthe and slae us or enslave us all?
Answere: Ah, you ask wise questionnes beyonde your years mine childe. Many hath speculated uponne this fact, and I myself hath done much reading and pondering uponne the same. Here is mine belief, though twere the beliefe of others before me and therefore I do not claim it. We must remember that the Deceiver is an immortal being. Immortal I sae! Not merelie long-lived, like the treacherous elves, which of itself paintes the mind onne a different canvas than ours, but entirelie immortal. Think uponne this fact.
To a long-lived elf, a dae that passeth is a finite portionne of his daes on earth. True it be much less a portionne than a dae wouldst be to a dwarf or a man, but nonnetheless, everie dae passed to even an elf is a dae loste. Not so to the Deceiver. His daes are infinite. Time's passage therefore hath no meaning to him; it mae even be beyonde his comprehension - so alien a concept mighte it be to his mind. And when compared to the infinite, all finite blocks of time dwindleth to nothing. An aeon mighte seeme the same as a dae to the Deceiver.
Because of this, the Deceiver weighs risks differentlie than we mortals do. All mortals weigh risks in the context of time, even if thea doth not realize. Certain risks, when thea become small enough, may be disregarded bie the mortal mind. For example, there is a chance, no matter how small, that you mighte venture out of doors on a cloudie dae and be struck bie lightning from the skye. Certainlie, on a dae with bright sunne in summer with but a few clouds this is extremelie unlikelie to happen, so much so that we do not cringe within our hommes to venture outte only on the moste pristinelie unclouded dae. Our lives are not so long that we can afforde such perfection of not taking risks. Thus, because we have finite lives, time hath meaning, and therefore we must weigh our risks in the face of our mortal lifespans.
As well one mighte also believe that since we all knowe we are destined to end up duste in the grave no matter how careful we mighte be, we are perhaps more inclined to take chances, for we have less to lose.
Now, back to the Deceiver. He is infinite and immortal. Everie risk, no matter how small or insignificant, can and must be addressed bie him because, in the absence of any external threat, he hath infinite time to do so. And there is a risk in the Deceiver's coming forthe to do battle directlie. At leaste, I believe there is such a risk, and I believe the Deceiver recognizes such a risk as well.
We knowe that we as mortals have the power to wielde our energie or mana or whatever you wish to call it to intrude upon the dreams of the gods and to manipulate them to do our bidding. We call such abilitie praeing and/or priestlie spellcasting. Well, if it is a fact that punie mortals expending their punie energies canst stir the gods enough to tap their powers, think now what mighte happen should the energies of the Deceiver, wielding his full power, washe into the gods' subconscious dreams. Thea mighte awaken! It is as if the gods are asleepe in a shuttered building - mmm like that one across from the parke. Now, let us presumme the Deceiver wishes to choppe down a nearbie tree with his axe. He can hew the tree quicklie in a few mighty strokes, but the noise mighte be so loude as to waken the sleepers in the nearbie building. Or, he couldst make ten thousand small strokes over the course of a monthe. No one stroke wouldst be loude enough to wakenne the sleepers, but eventualie the tree wouldst fall.
So, even tho the Deceiver mighte reckon such a risk to be one
in a thousand thousands, or even one in a thousand thousand thousands,
tis a riske he need not, nae cannot endure. For time is onne his
side. The mortals do not growe stronger with each passing centurie.
Rather, we fighte and bicker and squabble and forgette lore and
forgette traditionnes and, alas, forgette knowledge. Meanwhile,
with everie war, tho he doth not prevail utterlie, the Deceiver
gaineth in strength. Think uppone it, never hath the Deceiver
taken the fielde and ever loste territorie. And each time he hath
comme closer to complete victorie. I pitie those who mae be alive
when he next strikes. This is why the onlie time we may ever see
the Deceiver is when it is too late and all is loste - tho I prae
that dae mae never come.
Querie: How can we ever hope to prevail against the Deceiver Master?
Answer: Who canst sae? The seven gemmes of power left to us bie the gods to openne the Halls of Slumber are no more. The Deceiver captured them and destroyed them before the eyes of manie. And Deceiver tho he be, there is no logicale reason any can muster to explain why he would not have destroyed them. There is no purpose in keeping them - in fact tis a risk of the kind that an immortal such as he couldst not endure to take (see mine answere to the querie above). It is true that he initiallie wore the gemmes in his ironne crowne in order to taunt and dishearten the mortals, but when the great heroes of Amoria came close to wresting a gemme from his crown, the Deceiver noticed his follie and then didst destroy them.
Now, somme folks believe that there are other waes to waken the gods. Somme believe, as do I, that shouldst the Deceiver wielde his full power in battle, the resultant energies mighte be enough to rouse the gods (again see mine answere to the above querie). Perhaps the Deceiver canst one dae be baited into emerging, and onne that dae wouldst our salvation or our doome be written. But alas, I knowe not of the means to deceive the Deceiver nor how to wear thinne the patience of an immortal.
The druids, mae the Emperor caste a pox on their groves, cowards that thea be, believe that no fighting or effort will prevail against the Deceiver, and that the Deceiver's coming is a test of mortals made bie the gods to see if thea wouldst abandonne their roles as caretakers of the world. Thea believe that if all mortals wouldst resumme care of the earth and its mysticale energies, then the gods would awakenne. I can onlie sae that this be pure rubbish. Not onlie can I not believe that the gods wouldst plae such a dangerous game with us mortals, but the thought of tending gardenne whilst the earth is enslaved around me is preposterous!
Now now - quiet downe folkes - enough laughing. Now where was I? Ah yes! We Pantheists, and bie that I mean true and right thinking Pantheists, believe that the gods mighte also be awakenned through worship. It is through worship of man and priests that the dreams of the gods are contacted and manipulated to performme miracles. This means we are able to contact the slumbering gods through their dreams in a verie rudimentarie and primal fashionne. Well, perhaps if somme wae were found to actuallie contact the consciousness of the gods themselves and not just their dreams, then perhaps we could awakenne them. Many of us priests believe that if everieone in the world worshipped the gods ferventlie and devotedlie and in the proper fashionnes, each god according to what is moste responsive to him or her, then enough devotionnal energie would be harnessed to punch through the gods' dreams and to awakenne them. Alas! Tis the follie of mankinde that he should be unable to unite his sense of purpose to this great and worthie goal, for moste secular rulers cast a suspicious eye onne us priests when we urge complete devotionne and thea accuse us of undermining their owne authoritie to gainne power for our churches. Hmmm - of course when I speak thuslie I do not refer to our revered Emperor, who hath given his complete patronnage to the Imperial Churches. I do refer of course to those secular rulers of other barbarianne and rebelle nations.
In additionne, there are heresies that subverte our attempts to awakenne the gods. Mordantism is the worste of these, for Mordants, in an effort to gainne divine power for themselves, seeke to worship all the gods simultanouslie. Thea are like a man who attempts to pick up a thousand pebbles at once, onlie to find that his grip is precarious and thea all slippe between his fingers. The wise man picks up a single pebble and grasps it firmlie. The Mordants are opportunists, and thea tend to be greedie, both in matters spirituale and in commerce and dae to dae living. Thus you hear the admonitionne of the marketplace "better a price too lowe than a price Mordant". Mordant worshippers contribute nothing to the awakening of the gods because thea dilute their devotionne amongst all the gods. Somme even speculate that the Mordants' constant "softe noise" actuallie masks out our Pantheistic devotionnal energies and hinders our attempts to awakenne the gods. Others have even suggested Mordants do this onne purpose, and that thea secretlie serve the Deceiver. I myself would not go so far as to suggest the latter.
Another heresy is Evangelism. This heresy takes Pantheism too far in order to promote a givenne religion's clergie's personal gainne. Evangelism saith that all the folk of the world shouldst worship a single god. Thea claim that the devotional energie to that one god would be so overwhelming, much more so than in a Pantheistic devotionne, that the chosen god wouldst surelie awakenne, and once awakenned couldst rouse the others. Whilst this be possible, we right and true Pantheists reject this argument for two main reasons. First, because nonne canst trulie decide which god shouldst be worshipped, and we therefore believe twould be impossible for mankinde to unite behind a single god. In addition, twould be dangerous to supplie all spirituale power of the world to one single priesthood, for we could easily find ourselves enslaved bie them.
Second, should a single god be awakened, what if he canot awakenne the others? He would then emerge from slumber and have to do battle with the Deceiver. Whilst in this he might prevail, the Deceiver was the cleverest of the gods and one of the mightiest. Who could contest him singularly? Furthermore, in such an even contest the two gods would have to use all of their powers to defeate the other. What would remain of our world after such a contest? And finally, remember twas the temptation of sole possession of our world that motivated the Deceiver in the first place. Should this single god defeat the Deceiver and find himself now in sole possession of the world, would he not also be tempted to become a new Deceiver?
Nae mine friends, Panthiesm is the best wae, the onlie hopeful wae to rouse the gods. I onlie prae we canst ignite the proper devotionne before it is too late.
Querie: What are the Maug?
Answer: Hush! Do not sae even that name in a holie place such as this. Thea are to be called the Minniones of Evil when thea need to be referred to. These are the lieutenants of the Deceiver, for in his steade, since he dareth not emerge in full battle from his accursed lair, thea do his bidding. Thea and thea alone have his audience and attentionne. The minionnes were those spirits and godlings who fought well in the godlie wars. Moste were created or birthed bie various gods as the generals of their armies. Moste were killed in the godlie wars, but somme survived. Manie of these were rounded up and entered Slumber with the gods. But the Deceiver hid his owne moste evil and moste powerful lieutenants so that thea could emerge and serve him once the gods were entrapped.
We do not knowe how manie such minionnes there are, though we do knowe of somme, even bie name. I shall not speake such names, and neither should you should you ever learn of them.
(In the interest of knowledge I herebie enscribe the names of the Maug I know of - I abjure the reader of these notes to speake not these accursed names aloud:
Demogorgon - whose verie touch corrupts absolutelie and who once served Yinkin but was corrupted bie the Deceiver
Orcus - Lord of evil undeade, who wounded Mergurr in battle and stole of him the powers over death
Juibless - Lord of Slime, who hath no name in the histories of the goldie wars and whose origin is unknowne
Gruumsh - One Eyed, revered bie orcs
Lolth - The Dark Queene, who once haunted the Blanthil Forests
Maglubiyet - The Warlord, who commandeth the Deceiver's armies
Tiamat - The Wyrmbitch, queene of the evil dragons
Yeenoghu - The Torturer, perverted inquisitor of the Deceiver
Geryon - The Strong, hammer of evil
Dispater - The Betraeer, corrupter of the innocent
Asmodeus - The Seducer, mouth of the Deceiver
Anthraxus - Bringer of Pestilence
These are the ones that are knowne to me and have beene witnessed and which survive to this dae. Several such beings are knowne to have perished since the Slumber. One whose name is forgotten fell to the ancient heroes in the first battles at the gates of Mordasht. Another was consummed bie his owne Wild Magicks when fighting against the Morakki overlords.
There is rumoured to be a minionne more powerful than all of these, who is knowne onlie as The Right Hande of the Deceiver, but that being doth exist in rumour onlie).
Querie: Master, tell me of Angels and Demons and nether creatures
Answer: You have already learned the basic structures of the netherworlds, of the planes of energie and of elements, and of aether and aster. A full detailing of the nether races is beonde the time we have available to us. Suffice to sae that juste as travelers to the Aster leave their essences here onne earth and travel in astral forme, so too do astral beings leave their essences onne the aster when thea travel to earth. Thus, moste of the nether creatures that we encounter onne earth are here onlie tenuouslie. Thea cannot wield their full powers and thea cannot abide long onne this plane. The gods too are like this, and it is speculated that the Hall of Slumber exists onne manie planes simultanesoulie, though the onlie entrance is onne Therra. The Deceiver, in order to fullie invest himself here onne Therra, had to cut the corde that bounde him to the Astral Plane. In other words, he has bounde himself to Therra. He cannot leave without relinquishing his power here. At leaste this is what is believed bie us scholars.
In fact, all of the gods left their Astral connections behinde in order to enter the world and the Hall of Slumber. It is certain thea and the Deceiver could re-enter their homes onne the Astral Plane, but onlie bie removing their influence from the earth. However, both the Deceiver and the gods left behinde minionnes to watch over their astral homes and to guarde the earth from unknowne perils outside of time and space. Thea left behinde minionnes not powerful enough to enter the earth and ravage it, but strong enough still to stoppe mortals from travelling to the Aster and possessing that which is meant for gods.
These beings are what we now call demons and devils (ta'anari and baatezu), as well as aasimons (devas, planetars, solars). The nether forces of goode seeke to guarde the gods' lands from becoming profaned - for thea hope for an eventuale returnne of the gods. The minionnes of evil seeke to possesse the riches of the gods in order to further their owne ends or to aide the Deceiver. Thus does a continual war wage between goode and evil onne that plane. And of course, there are a varietie of creatures that are neither goode nor evil onne that plane of thought, who serve their owne ends. And of a certain there are mindless creatures as well, creative detritus of the gods who prospered in their environment.
Thus endeth mine notes. Mae Cotrunal guide your learning.
Egerridus Monhemmian
[Game Notes: Gods in Therra are much more powerful than gods have been in AD&D in the past. The least of gods, even if they could be described with statistics, would need +5 weapons to hit, have an AC of -20 to -30, have statistics in the 100 range, have at least 25000 hit points, and have the abilities of 250th level character classes. Needless to say such powers are beyond the scope of AD&D and no character should ever harbour the illusion of being able to directly, with sword and shield, kill a god.
Maug are comparable in power to standard AD&D gods and demonlords, but upped by as much a scale as the AD&D old Type 1-6 demons were. In my estimation, new AD&D demons are about 3-4 times as strong as their first edition counterparts. This holds true with the Maug. Thus, Demogorgon might have 600-800 hit points, be AC -10 to -15, and have the abilities of a 60th level wizard, and need +4 or better weapons to hit. These are not precise statistics but are meant to give you an idea of the powers of Maugs. A party of well prepared 20th level characters could probably take out a Maug if they were able to meet it alone and unescorted, though most of those characters would die in the battle. A single 30th level character (the highest allowed in AD&D) with a few high level henchmen could do likewise. This is exactly what killed the Maug guarding the Deceiver's throneroom - the ancient hero mentioned was a 26th level paladin. He barely survived the battle and every one of his henchmen perished against the Maug. The hero then entered the throneroom of the Deceiver, made a last futile reach for the gems of power, and was destroyed by the god.]