Garagos

Garagos (pronounced GAH-rah-gohs ), the Lord of War, is a god of war and exarch of Tempus, though he focuses more on destruction than war itself.

Followers
Clerics of Garagos, known as Bloodreavers, spend their days fomenting strife throughout the continent, knowing that each conflict contributes to Garagos's continuing rebirth. They believe that Garagos eventually will regain his divine strength, unseating the hated Lord of Battles and reclaiming the mantle of Deity of War. They continually create and expand networks of spies, faithful warriors, and other agents to increase the power of the cult, and the leadership of a cult cell is usually determined by the result of power plays between the agents of rival clerics.

Relationships
Though chaotic neutral, the debased, insane Garagos stands on the brink of evil. A nearly elemental force of destruction, the Reaver has no allies in the pantheons of Abeir-Toril—the other gods deal with Garagos simply by staying away from him. Despite his vacant mind, Garagos still harbors deep resentment against Tempus and his catspaw, the Red Knight. Should these deities meet in the field of combat, there's little doubt that the Reaver would come out the worse of it. Eventually, however, Garagos's destructive capabilities might transcend his tactical weaknesses, and on such a day, the followers of Tempus are sure to know true despair.

Tempus merely tolerates Garagos for reasons of his own, a reason that many Realms scholars believe stems from the fact that Tempus dislikes mindless slaughter and destruction, and would be obliged to take on that portfolio if he slew his rival. Though both are chaotic neutral, Garagos is far more heedless than Tempus in what war wreaks, reveling in destruction and slaughter while the greater deity values honorable combat; this distinction between the different modes of war they represent may be the reason that Ao does not enforce his otherwise strict edict against portfolio sharing by stripping one or the other of his dominance over War.

When Garagos manifests his avatar, it is usually to wander Godswalk Keep in the Border Kingdom Barony of Great Oak during the Meeting of the Three. There he rails against the manifestations of Jergal and Sharess whom he cannot harm but inexplicably returns to.



History
Centuries ago, during the age of Netheril, Garagos was part of the Netherese pantheon and known as Targus. Some time around or shortly after the fall of Netheril, the interloper deity Tempus managed to slay Garagos. Survived by die-hard followers in several regions surrounding the Sea of Fallen Stars and a church in Westgate, Garagos mysteriously and unexpectedly reappeared in Westgate's harbour during the Time of Troubles. Much quicker to anger and slower to show mercy than he was before his death, Garagos found most of his followers in brigands, bandits and priests of the Deities of Fury who pay him lip service in battle.

In 1368 DR, Garagos appeared personally to slay a marilith named Glackzana who was building a temple to herself in his guise.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Garagos was mentioned in the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993). Garagos is further detailed in Powers & Pantheons (1997).

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
Garagos appears in 3rd edition in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book (2001), and was further described in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
Garagos appears in 4th edition in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2008).