Title(s) The Dark Mother Portfolio Malice, Caves, Pits | Power level Lesser | |
Home plane Tarterian Depths of Carceri Alignment Chaotic Evil (Chaotic Neutral) Domains Chaos, Earth, Evil, War | ||
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Beltar is the Suel goddess of Malice, Caves, and Pits. Her holy symbol is a set of opened fangs poised to bite.
Contents
Publication history
Beltar was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983), by Gary Gygax. Beltar was further detailed by Lenard Lakofka in Dragon #89 (1984), in the article "Gods of the Suel Pantheon III."
Beltar was one of the deities described in the From the Ashes set (1992), for the Greyhawk campaign.
Beltar's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000). Beltar's priesthood is detailed for 3rd edition in Complete Divine (2004).
Description
Although often depicted as a haglike human female, Beltar is known to also appear as a beholder, red dragon, or marilith. Some regard the later form as a likely cause of rumors of the existence of a Suloise snake-cult.
Beltar hates nearly everything, even other deities.
Relationships
Beltar was formerly a goddess of earth and mines, but was supplanted by other Suel gods (as well as nonhuman deities such as Moradin and Garl Glittergold, according to Complete Divine), until her only worshipers were nonhuman slaves. It is perhaps for this reason that Jascar is one of her greatest enemies.
Beltar will often take mates in her various forms, but few survive, as she eats them afterward, as well as any young born from such a union.
Realm
Beltar dwells on the plane of Carceri.
Worshippers
Beltar's followers are encouraged to mine and explore caverns for riches and foes to kill. Her worshippers are mostly savage humans and evil nonhumans, barbaric dwellers in vast subterranean caverns. She encourages her faithful to join together in great armies and ally themselves with beholders, demons, red dragons, liches, and other powerful creatures. Her followers are relentless explorers and raiders who take whatever they can find in the darkness and make it their own.
Beltar is worshipped in the Bone March, the Pomarj, Stonehold, and even in Erelhei-Cinlu. Some regard her marilith form as evidence that she is the Suloise snake-goddess worshipped in the Vale of the Lamia and the Isle of Serpents.
Clergy
Beltar's priests preach hatred of one's enemies, rather than fear. They are expected to take positions of leadership in their tribes, or to form their own. The priesthood makes examples of the weak-willed and traitors. They usually fight with their natural weapons, cesti, or spiked gauntlets. Devoted priests, within a year of their deaths, often rise from the grave as undead, often to return to their original tribes.
Rituals
Services to Beltar are usually held in caves or points of low ground, and often involve sacrifice of sentient beings.