Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Black Wing of Tiamat

The Church of Tiamat is fivefold--comprising The Red Hand, The Pale Eye, The Cobalt Claw, The Jade Fang and the Black Wing. The Black Wing's color is black, and it seeks the powers of devouring, of night, of isolation, of words and divisions, and of long distances.
Each of the five sister churches has a unique purpose in the unfolding of Her glory, and the Black Wing's purpose is to erect temples and offices to Her glory. These are known as the Dimmu Borgir, or Dark Fortresses and are both physical and spiritual.
Creation of the physical fortresses--located in the doomforests in around the Kraal north of Vornheim--requires only time and the bones of beasts, mortared with frozen tears.

Creation of the spiritual fortresses requires various acts of despoliation and evolving terror designed to manifest and maintain far-reaching oppressive despair in the civilized lands, or, as Primarch Tjodalv's Glittertind Litany explains:

The sorrow black journey across the steppes over pale horizons unto judgement day, the path into the darkness of eternity, the new kingdom under the wings of the Dragon, ruler of the hidden truth--for all time.

The Black Wing does not hold that all must accept the coming of Her Gleaming Immensity, only that they fear it, and fear their merciful fate.
The known devotees and champions of the Black Wing are:

1. The Black Knight, an antipaladin
2. Two human pirate queens: Anne Dieu-Le-Veut of The Black Angel's Death Song, and Cthonia the Despoiler, Warmistress of the Rogue Traitors.
3. The Twelve Medusa Sisters: Princess Seela (likewise a pirate), Eshrigel (deceased), Thrace, Oscula,  Naxice, Dia Andine, Cylesia, MoroschkaVistula,  Orgula, Phrothphys, and one other
4. Twelve Beastmen: Gorguts,  Despised Icon, The Faceless, Malignancy, Nocturnus, Opeth, Pestilence, Wretched,  Winter, Brujeria, Asphyx and Quovadis
5. Twelve Frost Giants Of The Hatemountain: Venom, Mayhem, Hellhammer, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Samael, Kreator, Behemoth, Immortal, Krallice and Agalloch
6. Four Succubi: Isis, Candlemass, Sleep, and Grief




Black is the color of names and naming, and the several attributes of each servant can be known by the letters of its name. Repeated letters indicate increased or multiplied attributes.

A Agitate: Mortals save or become unruly, demanding revolution, regicide
B Brutal Truth: Knows one devastating fact about each foe
C Circle of Dead Children: Humans & deminhumans under thirteen winters die in a 12 foot radius
D Devourment: Gains best ability score of last foe eaten
E Extreme Noise Terror: Releases a bellow which deafens and panics those around
F Fleas and Lice: Served by dark creepers and gargoyles carved from living anthracite
G Gore Beyond Necropsy: All wounds inflicted cause "echo" damage (next lower die each round)
H Head Wound City: Any blow to the head of this champion will cause a dark fortress to slowly emerge on that spot over the coming years
I Impetigo: Carries a disease which makes foes' shadows attack them
J Jungle Rot: Causes disease
K Kaaos: Flora and fauna mutate for 100 feet around them
L Locust: swarm precedes them
M Mortification: Those who look upon them must save or stab themselves
N Nausea: Those who look upon them must save or vomit
O Orphaned Land: Is the leader of a small city-state around their Dimmu Borgir
P Phobia: Causes fear
Q Queens of the Stone Age: They rule an empire of throwback technology and also suck
R Repulsion: As AD&D spell
S Severed Head of State: Has openly or secretly replaced the ruler of a sovereign nation
T Terrorizer: Lacks all subtlety, demands immediate surrender
U Unholy Grave: Will rise as undead if proper rites are not performed
V Vomit Yourself: If reduced to 10 hit points, the champion will vomit out a clone of themselves with full hit points
W Wake: The champion's warband is an eternal orgy celebrating the death of the fallen, doombats serve as outriders
X Xysma: Served by Xysmas--a kind of hook horrors
Y Young and In The Way: Their presence turns children against their parents
Z Zero Content: Any writing not dedicated to Tiamat within 100' begins to burn

Doombat. They're, like, I don't know, 20 feet wide?




Xysma--THIS kind of hook horror
To generate a warband of the Black Wing, roll one of each die (a lot easier with a pop-o-matic bubble)(or this):

d4= Rank and file is: 1-Human 2-Beastmen 3-Both 4-Both and mounted on black destriers

d6= Leader. See "Devotees and Champions" above.

d8= Number of wizards or clerics (never more than 50% of the warband's size).

d10= (x4)=AD&D hit points of followers or (x6)=3.5 hit points of followers

d12= Power of magic axe carried by champion:

*1. Slayer: Successful hit causes a save or die vs one kind of demihuman

*2. Sepultura: Contains the soul of a fallen champion

*3. Testament: One of the Sacred Litanies is inscribed on the weapon

*4. Onslaught: Three attacks per round

*5. Annihilator: Disintegrates armor on a successful hit

*6. Sacrilege: Destroys cleric effects (bless, shield etc) at a touch

*7. Carnivore: Wounds inflicted on resisting foes add to wielder's hp

*8. Exciter: Wielder must attack nearest living thing once weapon is unsheathed

*9. Overkill: Slain foes cannot be raised, resurrected or turned undead

*10. Warbringer: None seeing a successful blow struck with this weapon can stop until their foes or slain or they are

*11. Hunter: Wielder will not die until whoever reduces him/her to 0hp is slain, so long as the weapon is held

*12. Violator: Clerics cannot heal the damage the weapon inflicts

All these instruments are known for their speed and attack at least twice per round.

d20=Size of the warband.



5 comments:

Unknown said...

The ambitious bugbear taxidermist has applied to all the sects but is still waiting to hear back.

Dungeon Smash said...

i appreciate your choice of band names

Neil Willcox said...

The succubi Isis and Candlemass both have a repeated s, implying that they have replaces the head of a sovreign nation twice, each. If they're seeking to create despair (also bones and frozen tears) then clearly they should be queens of two adjacent realms, in their hundredth year of grinding, never ending war with each other. Or one of the other less coherent ideas I got from it.

Logan said...

Dimmu Borgir...hehe...great!

Unknown said...

. Twelve Beastmen: Gorguts, Despised Icon, The Faceless, Malignancy, Nocturnus, Opeth, Pestilence, Wretched, Winter, Brujeria, Asphyx and Quovadis

That's some badass beastmen. 3 amazing bands from Quebec. Honor to Gorguts.

Hail.