Nerull (Greyhawk Action)
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| Greyhawk Action! |
The god of the night and of death of the Flan, Nerull is Beory’s second husband and the rival and enemy of Pelor. Defeated numerous times in the legends, Beory always forgives him so that night can follow day.
As god of the dead and undead in the Common pantheon, Nerull is surprisingly respectable, his clerics tolerated as long as they play by the rules. Sometimes his cult exist under the auspices of the church of Pelor, an evil shadow kept to placate the forces of darkness.
In Synchretism Nerull is seen as the power behind Selvekar the Waster among the Baklunish, Telchur the lord of Winter to Oerdians, and has an aspect named Incabolous focused on disease and hopelessness.
Nerull (NEH-rul) is an ancient Flan god; few anywhere do not know and fear his name. He is a rust-red skeletal being with thick, blackish-green hair, a cowl and cloak of rusty black, and eyes, teeth, and nails the color of poisonous verdigris. His sable wood staff Lifecutter forms a scythe-like blade of red force that slays anyone it touches. Fiends answer his call out of fear rather than loyalty, for he hates all life and is not above destroying servants out of displeasure or spite. His symbol is a skull and scythe. Of all other divine beings, the only one he tolerates is Incabulos, whose gifts send many to his realm.
All are equal in Nerull's cold realm. Every living thing is an affront to the Reaper, and every death brings a dark spark of joy to his long-dead heart. Those who pray to Nerull to appease him only attract his attention and their own doom. Those who kill in his name shall be rewarded.
Nerull's clerics commit murder as offerings to their god; when their actions are discovered, they flee their hiding places and move far away to carry out their evil deeds, appearing innocent while occasionally killing wayfarers on their long journey.
According to Erik Mona in Oerth Journal #3, Nerull is known as Tharoth the Reaper among the Bakluni. Though unofficial, this name has proliferated in the fan community.
Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Weapon: Dagger, Scythe, and Quarterstaff.
Symbol: Skull and scythe.
Pathfinder Domains
Darkness (Night) Death (Murder), Evil, Trickery, Void.
Pathfinder Traits
Pathfinder Obedience
Watch a creature die. This can be a sacrifice you make to Nerull, or it can be an intelligent creature that died for any reason at all within the last day. Study the transition from life to death, anticipating and imagining the death of everything around you. Treat your caster level as 1 higher when casting spells with the evil descriptor.
Boons
- Master of Undeath (Sp) inflict light wounds 3/day, desecrate 2/day, or animate dead 1/day
- Bolstering Channel (Su) When you channel negative energy to heal undead creatures, you infuse the targets with negative energy made more powerful by Nerull’s influence. Any undead creatures healed by your channeled energy increase their movement speed by 10 feet for 1 round for every Hit Die you possess. If you cannot channel negative energy, you gain the ability to channel negative energy once per day as an evil cleric of a level equal to your Hit Dice.
- Ally from the Grave (Sp) The death lord's servants have taken notice of your deeds and answer your call. Once per day as a standard action, you can summon a bhuta (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 41) to serve you. You gain telepathy with the bhuta to a range of 100 feet. The bhuta follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute for every Hit Die you possess before vanishing back to its home. It doesn’t obey commands that would make it perform overly good acts, and such instructions could cause it to attack you if they are particularly egregious.