Gharizol

Gharizol was a barbed devil who lived in service to Archduke Zariel. He made it his calling to exact vengeance upon the mortals of Faerûn in her name, during the late 15 century DR.

"Welcome to Baldur's Gate. Thank you for brining them to me. You can have him now."

- Gharizol, possessing the body of Harwin Lamlin.

Personality
Gharizol was consumed with power and wholly egomaniacal. He held nothing but utter contempt for mortals of the Realms.

Abilities
The fiendish being could communicate telepathically with mortals, as well as temporarily possess their bodies and speak through their voices.

Like other barbed devils, Gharizol was resistant to the effects of cold, and was not easily harmed by non-magical weapons. He could not be harmed by fire of flame, and was immune to the effects of all poisons.

Possessions
His only possession was a small leather pouch that held a single soul coin.

Relationships
Gharizol was served by many of Zariel's cultists, including Vollis Foote, and other unwitting servants like the unassuming Harwin Lamlin.

History
"You're telling me that his Gharizol is an actual devil, brought here by the Cult of Zariel to weak vengeance on the descendants of teh Hellriders? Well, we're about to find out if the saying is true: better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

- Flame Daryn Falburn, to a band of adventurers.

After Elturel was pulled down into Avernus in the, Gharizol believed the time was right exact revenge on that city's famed guardians, the Hellriders. Gharizol believed the mortal soldiers abandoned Zariel when she was a solar during their legendary crusade into the Nine Hells. The same year Elturel breifly descended to the Hells, Gharizol dispatched his minions to the Western Heartlands to slay the moral descendents of the Hellariders and punish the souls of their forebears.

First, Gharizol manipulated the humble dressmaker Harwin Lamlin into murdering Markus Hallgate with knitting needles and decorate his corpse with symbols written in his own blood. Gharizol took advantage of Harwin's affection for Markus' wife Bolnata. Soldiers of the Flaming Fist began investigations into the murders, but only turned up Gharizol's name, and nothing about his true nature.

A short time later, the cult of Zariel performed a ritual in her temple in the sewer system of Baldur's Gate to summon Gharizol into the city. It involved the ritual sacrifice of nine individuals, and a specific spell uncovered by her servants.

Eventually, the Flaming Fist uncovered the secrets of Gharizol's origin, and Duke Dillard Portyr pronounced to the city that the murders he was responsible for would be put to an end. Before his speech was concluded, a blood red arrow struck Duke Portyr in the chest, and body burst into an explosion of gore, an numerous lesser devils spawned from his corpse.

Gharizol finally appeared with a group of his cutlists to assault a warehouse on Stormshore Street, near the docks of Baldur's Gate, where refugees from Elturel were being sheltered. Two descendents of the ancient Hellriders, Segren Hall and Wellum Smith, were among the Elturgardians within. A group of adventurers bravely came to the refugees' defense, defeating the cultists and slaying Gharizol on the Prime. After the battle the adventures were approached by a servant of Ilmater named Dara, flanked by two angels, the planetar Rinzel, and a goat-legged deva named Ausuriel.

Appearances

 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Avernus Rising (Stopped at the Gate • Day of the Devil)
 * Escape from Elturgard • Hungry Shadows
 * Escape from Elturgard • Hungry Shadows