Buglore
by Marco Dalmonte English translation by Gary DaviesPatron of the Formians, Protector of Plants and Insects
Level, Alignment, Sphere: 9th (Temporal), LN, Matter
Symbol: a green ant seen from above
Portfolio: insects, plants, order, protection and studio of the environment, formians
Worshipped in: various outer planes
Appearance: a humanoid of bright green colour about a metre and a half high, with the head of an ant, the legs of a locust, the body of an ape (with a sting and two short wings on the back) and two human arms.
History: PROBABLE THEORY: during his mortal life, Buglore was an Emerondian that lived in the northern forests of Davania. Expert of insects and plants, he was one of the first and wisest student and xeno-manipulators (a sort of mage able to manipulate plants and animals for also obtaining living crosses between the two kingdoms) of the kingdom of Emerond, but his thirst for knowledge took him to also travel outside of his homeland, using his arts for hiding among the other races and not arousing too much attention. During these explorations he was to know of new species of plants and insects, as well as of natural and magical methods for growing and moulding them which until that moment were unidentified, recording all he found out in what much later would become the Natural Code, a fundamental text in the Emerondian culture. Little by little as his knowledge advanced, he also realised that his experiments and his research were blessed by his patron, Terra, and his curiosity took him finally to the outer planes, where he found himself face to face with the Immortal for finding answers to her questions. Appreciating the determination and the intelligence of Buglore, Terra proposed to him the making of an invasive experiment, attempting to live the life of his favourite insects for finally understanding their rhythms and secrets. It was thus that Buglore was reincarnated first as an ant, then as a bee and afterwards as a locust, and all the time he was able after a careful study to save the communities of insects of which he was part from an external threat, successfully protecting the queen. After which, Terra permitted him to return to Emerond to complete his studies, and he finished writing the Natural Code, later creating an enormous tree for keeping all the volumes of his immense work inside. So Terra recalled him to herself and gave him the task of scouring the plane of the formians and help to found their order, saving them from the creeping anarchy that was bringing an end to their culture. On the strength of his experience and of his different powers, after a century of effort Buglore succeeded to mould the new generation of the formians with rules similar to those of the societies of ants and bees, in which everyone has a determined role and all are led by the queen, becoming a sort of Immortality for them. It was at this point, around the II century BC, that Terra then revealed that he was worthy of entry among the Immortals of Matter.
From that moment Buglore became the patron of the formians, as well as the protector of plants and insects, and passionately continues to study the ecosystems present in the various worlds of the Multiverse, looking for a common formula to all those which hold back evolution. To his followers he preaches the respect and the protection of the environment, and in particular of their most precious and unprotected inhabitants, or the plants and the insects, which forms the first path of the chain, without whom the rest of nature could not exist. Buglore is a rather rigid Immortal in his way of viewing things and is evasive in his relations with others (mortals and Immortals), but at the same time he doesn’t lose any occasion to seek to always expand his knowledge and answers to his inquisitive research about his field or to question those that have demonstrated great wisdom or informed him about certain topics, thus demonstrating that he is not as snobbish or pretentious as he seems at first sight. Buglore is a fan of order and of the sense of belonging to a community, and belief that everyone must do their best for making the system function. For this he is often used by Immortals of Matter for the most disparate tasks, without ever moaning about the assignments he receives. Given his nature moreover, he has no particular enemies or even allies, to the fury of Terra, who has for him a sort of protective maternal affection.
Patron: unknown [presumed: Terra]
Allies: Terra
Enemies: none
Alignment of followers: Lawful or Neutral
Favourite Weapon: none (allowed all weapons made with wood, stone or bone)
Clerics’ skills and powers: +2 bonus to all the skills relating to the knowledge and treatment of plants. The clerics of Buglore can add 1st level druid spells to their spell list.
Domains: Matter, Law, Plant
Preferred Weapon: quarterstaff
Source: IM3