Atzanteotl
by Aleksei Andrievski(Lord of Corruption, the Feathered Serpent)
Greater Power of Baator, LE/Hierarch of Entropy, C
PORTFOLIO: Corruption, betrayal, rotting
ALIASES: Menlil (Nimmur), Acchanital (Sind), Sobk (Nithia)
DOMAIN: Baator/Minauros/Tlalxicco
DATE OF ASCENSION: 1500 BC
SPONSOR: Thanatos
ALLIES: Danel, Hel
FOES: Ilsundal, Ixion, Ka, Karaash, Rafiel, Djaea, Halav,
Atruaghin, Ahmanni, Hattani, Mahmatti, Tahkati
SYMBOL: The silhouette of a feathered serpent
WAL: Any non-good
Atzanteotl was once an elven king Atziann, the only survivor of his
clan after the Broken Lands explosion in 1700 BC. Atziann fled
through Mystara's core, eventually emerging in 1650 BC in the Azcan
lands of the Hollow World. He learned the Azcan ways in disguise
until 1500 BC, when he achieved Immortality and took the name
Atzanteotl. Soon after, he corrupted most Azcans and many shadow
elves to follow his teachings.
The Church
CLERGY: Priests
CAL: LE, NE, CE
WEAPONS: Any piercing
ARMOUR: Any
MAJOR SPHERES: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Guardian, Summoning,
War
MINOR SPHERES: Divination, Law, Necromantic (reverse only),
Wards
GRANTED POWERS: Command Undead, Cause Light Wounds 1/day, immune to
all forms of alignment or personality detection and ESP.
BONUS PROFS: Persuasion
DOGMA: Atzanteotl's doctrine is to corrupt people and even whole
nations to the cause of evil. He delights in secretly advancing his
corruption, then springing it upon his enemies as a great surprise.
He thinks nothing of abandoning those whom he corrupted to their
fate, but often takes them as his own worshippers if they prove
interesting or important enough. Atzanteotl also oversees the
process of physical rotting, but it interests him much less.
DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES: Atzanteotl's priests are called Corruptors.
They worm their way in as advisers to powerful or important
figures, or as companions to famous good heroes. Of course, their
advice is ultimately targeted to corrupt these people and destroy
their reputation. Corruptors are pretty good at it, too - their
granted powers of non-detection and personal skill in formulating
advice (e.g. failing to mention possible bad consequences) make it
very difficult to detect anything until it's too late.
IMPORTANT CEREMONIES/HOLY DAYS: Thaumont 11 is the day when Atziann
reached the Hollow World after a long and hard track underground.
In Azca and Schattenalfheim it is called the Serpentsun. It is also
celebrated in Nimmur as the day when the manscorpions were led out
of the caverns into the Land Above; there it is called Light of
Menlil.
MAJOR CENTRES OF WORSHIP: Atzanteotl is worshipped in several
cultures, most of which he has corrupted and stolen from other
Immortals. His major follower bases in the outer world include the
manscorpions of Nimmur and the Tiger Clan. He has also swayed some
Broken Lands humanoids and shadow elves to his worship, while the
Sindhi have heard of him as Acchanital. In the Hollow World,
Atzanteotl is the sole Immortal of Azcan Empire and
Schattenalfheim; he is also known in Nithia as Sobk, lord of
crocodiles.
AFFILIATED ORDERS: The Tiger Claws is a force of elite warriors of
Tiger Clan who are all fanatics of Atzanteotl. They are notorious
for their bloodlust and battle rages (in game terms, use the
Berserker kit). There are also warrior orders dedicated to
Atzanteotl in the Azcan Empire.
PRIESTLY VESTMENTS: Priests of Atzanteotl use elaborate garments
made of colourful feathers. They wear similarly made headgear,
often with a sneering mask attached.
ADVENTURING GARB: Adventuring priests of Atzanteotl wear the normal
clothes of their home culture, if appropriate.
Atzan Spells
Corrupting Touch (Alteration)
Level: 3
Sphere: Charm
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: 10 cu. ft./level of non-magical matter
Saving Throw: Neg.
After casting this spell, a priest can corrupt any matter, which
then becomes deficient in some way. Magical matter and living
creatures are not affected. The affected matter will become
physically corrupted in some way - food becomes rotten, water
becomes disease-ridden, plants become withered, stones become
fragile and prone to crumble, etc. The matter receives a saving
throw vs. disintegration with a +3 bonus to avoid the effect. The
material component is a crumb of stale bread.
Shadow of a Doubt
(Enchantment/Charm)
Level: 4
Sphere: Charm
Range: 30'
Components: V
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 7
Area of Effect: 1 person
Saving Throw: Neg.
This subtle but nefarious spell causes its target to begin slightly
doubting his or her beliefs and convictions. For example, a priest
may begin to doubt his religion, a soldier may question the orders
of his commander, etc. The spell does not cause the affected person
to abandon his beliefs right away - instead it works over time,
slowly insinuating itself into the target's mind. The target
initially receives a saving throw to avoid the effect (Wisdom bonus
applies). If this is failed, the doubting thoughts start to appear.
When the target is next faced with a direct appeal to his beliefs
(an order from a commander, etc.), he is allowed a new saving
throw, with a -1 penalty for every day he has had time to develop
the doubts since the casting of the spell. Thus, a soldier who had
this spell cast on him, then had 2 days to himself before being
given a direct order from his commander, will have a -2 penalty to
his roll. If this new saving throw succeeds, the spell is broken.
If it fails, the person will act contrary to his beliefs (though
not necessarily in an obvious way; for example a soldier may appear
to obey the order but will secretly disrupt it). Every such failure
will bring an additional -1 penalty to future saving throws.
Finally, after three such failures, the target abandons his beliefs
completely.