Chapter 1: Campaigns in tal'Dorei 19The Betrayer Gods
Those known as the Betrayer Gods are the deities who
strayed from the ideals of the Founding, taking to the
destructive chaos of the Primordial Titans, or were taken by
selfish impulses in the shadow of the early creations. Rarely
do the Betrayer Gods work together, considering each other
threats more than allies. This weakness allowed the Prime
Deities to defeat and banish them, ending the Calamity.
the ChaineD oBlivion
Alignment: Chaotic Evil • Domain: Deat h, Tr ic ker y
It is darkness unending, less like a god and more like
another world. Life and death do not exist within the
Chained Oblivion, an engine of utter destruction and
madness. Even the other Betrayer Gods treat this mad
god with caution. In its endless imprisonment, it dreams
the infinite depths of the Abyss into reality, along with
all its demonic legions. The Prime Deities had thought it
locked away during the Founding until it nearly returned
to ruin the world during the conflicts of the Calamity.
Now, its chaotic mind has fallen into more frightful
dreams, imagining nightmarish aberrations into existence
deep beneath Exandria. The Chained Oblivion’s demented
cultists work without word from their twisted patron, await-
ing the Epoch of Ends, when its freedom will be attained
and all beings shall be consumed in deathlessness unending.
The few remaining followers of the Knowing Mis-
tress are dedicated to ensuring the Oblivion is never
again unchained. Their goddess led the charge against
the all-consuming destroyer god’s re-emergence, and
though her bravery allowed the other gods of good to
shackle their enemy, the victory nearly cost her immortal
life. Some say the Knowing Mistress can only be fully
restored if the Chained Oblivion is destroyed for good.
Few attempts at depicting the image of the Chained
Oblivion exist, and the existing texts speak of a creature
of rolling, hungry ink and darkness; of a spreading cloud
of lightless destruction born from a thousand ravenous
mouths. Current references constrain the nightmare with
chains of black and gold, barely keeping the dark at bay.
Comm andments of the Ch ained obliv ion
- Offer and siphon power to the Chained Oblivion until his
liberation comes. - Uncover, restore, and exalt forgotten shrines and relics
in his honor. - Ruin and raze the realms to prepare for the Epoch of Ends.
the CloaKeD serpent
Alignment: Chaotic Evil • Domains: Trickery, Blood
Wanderer in shadow and creator of snakes and serpent-kin,
the Cloaked Serpent is the evil god of poisons, assassins, and
darkness. Much of ancient serpent-kin worships him over all
other deities, dragging screaming offerings to their temples
in his honor. Most of the Cloaked Serpent’s worshipers were
annihilated during the Calamity, and those who weren’t are
either suspended in self-induced stasis or hunted for sport
by the servants of the Spider Queen and the Crawling King.
But perhaps the Cloaked Serpent is merely biding his time,
waiting for the proper moment to unleash his hidden armies
upon the world once more.
The Cloaked Serpent loathes the Lawbearer and the
Wildmother, for he despises life, order, and love above all
things. His surviving worshipers relish in using poison
and fire to undermine civilization and consume nature,
hoping to throw the goddesses into fury and consequently
cast Exandria into chaos.
Many forgotten temples were once built to the Cloaked
Serpent, and within these chambers you would find
his image engraved within much of the architecture. A
human body with a half-dozen arms that houses a gar-
gantuan serpent head, fanged and frilled in aggression.
Strands of thick, dark hair that sprout from the scaled
body swirl around to form layers of shadow, obscuring the
entire form of the entity.Comm andments of the CloaKed serPent- Keep your acts obfuscated and secret. The night is your
greatest ally. - Strike quickly and without reason. Blind the target with
their own confusion. - Kill slowly. Agonizingly. Or worse, make them enjoy it.
the Crawling King
Alignment: Neutral Evil • Domains: Death, Blood
The dark god of the endless tunnels and caverns beneath
Exandria, the Crawling King acts as patron to torturers,
slavers, and jailers across the realm. His tears of pain
and anger carved the pathways under the world, and his
realm of imprisonment is a network of deadly caves and
manacles where few return. Those who rob others of their
freedom offer prayers to him in cellars and other sub-
terranean domains, and other creatures who live in the
darkness below worship him and seek his guidance.
The Dawnfather and the Everlight defeated the Crawling
King during the Calamity by drawing their nemesis above
ground. The Dawnfather pierced his body with 10,
lances of sunlight, and the Everlight imprisoned him within
her serene rays. The tears of suffering and rage the Crawling
King shed burned through Exandria, and his faithful fled
into these tunnels to escape their enemies’ holy light.
The Crawling king is largely rendered as a swollen,
malformed worm that slithers through the dark below, a
screaming, hairless human head at the helm with three
arms carving through the lightless rock.Comm andments of the Cr awling King- Seek and exalt places where no light touches.
- Revel in the pain you inflict upon others, and relish the pain
you suffer yourself as an offering to the Crawling King. - Imprison those who cannot resist you, and drag all life into
the darkness.