Gargauth

Gargauth, or The Lord Who Watches, was the lawful evil demigod of betrayal, cruelty, political corruption and powerbrokers. He embodied the inevitable decay and corruption that accompanied all self-serving, greedy, and power-hungry leaders and groups.

Description
Gargauth's natural appearance was that of a terrible, evil apparition. He was a clawed and fanged monster with jagged shards and horns that jutted from his face and back, and flesh as rotten and warped as his clothing. However, Gargauth's real form only became apparent after he spent some time in an area, such as a town or a specific region. After about one to four months, he would begin twisting back to normal, but his enchanting aura kept those who met him in his thrall even after the physical transformation. Typically only those who met him after the reversion would be aware of his true nature.

Gargauth often appeared as an tall, mustached man of handsome and noble visage, his exact age indeterminable, but his maturity clear. He spoke with a voice that was deep and low, yet whispering and hollow, and at times even reptilian. Sometimes he was known to disguise himself as a mundane trader or old pilgrim, and in the past he had taken on the forms of various races, but only rarely did he appear as female. He often wore swash-topped boots, jerkins with slit and capaciously puffed sleeves, velvet-lined cloaks and other such intricate finery accessorized with pendants, cloak pins, buckle ornaments, and huge, sparkling knuckle rings.

Personality
Gargauth was a dangerous and thoroughly wicked being, the guise of civil compassion he wore at first only making the cruelty more horrible. He came off as a personable, reasonable and sagacious in most of his encounters, with nearly all he came across viewing him as the wittiest and wisest being they ever met. Even compared to the Lords of the Nine, he was a master strategist, a rival to even Asmodeus in terms of wiliness and guile. Despite his charming façade of intellectual sophistication however, Gargauth's true nature, that of a being so foul that supposedly even his fellow archdevils were repulsed, always revealed itself eventually.

Gargauth also had the most self-control of all the devils, and on top of believing himself to be one of, if not the, smartest of archdevils, he was certain he was the least impulsive. Part of Gargauth's self-control laid in the fact that he also had the strongest sense of humor out of all devilkind; this capacity for amusement moderated his emotional responses, allowing him to react with an even-temper even when Asmodeus would fly into a rage. A particular joy of the manipulative demigod was holding to the letter rather than the spirit of his agreements, forging pacts and poorly-worded contracts and binding others to them before relishing in the betrayal when he twisted them to serve his own ends.

Gargauth revealed nothing of his true personal feelings to anyone under any circumstances, and in general preferred to work in the shadows or in disguise with no one the wiser. When he spoke, it was always with a sense of contemplativeness and dispassionate detachment. He often pretended to hold certain beliefs and emotions so as to mislead and manipulate his current audience and was known to drop subtle hints to get others to reach false conclusions. So skilled was he in the art of intrigue that he could elicit obedience from creatures as unbelievably vain as blue dragons.

Powers
Gargauth radiated charm magic that was very difficult to resist and impossible to dispel. He was immune or resistant to most magical and physical attacks. His one weakness was being struck by silver, which had the potential to seriously injure him, and after an almost deadly encounter involving a thrown sack of silver coins, Gargauth ensured that he was protected with spells when meeting anybody he did not already have complete control over.

A unique power that Gargauth possessed, which he made efforts to keep secret, was an ability to entirely absorb all the abilities of any baatezu whom he managed to completely destroy. It was this power that allowed him to achieve apotheosis.

Possessions
Gargauth had access to an unlimited supply of +3 daggers, which he could withdraw from one of his sleeves and was noted as occasionally wielding a rapier. He often carried venomous snakes wrapped around his arms, that he would use as weapons in combat.

Relationships
Gargauth was opposed to many evil deities, Bane, Bhaal, Cyric, Iyachtu Xvim, Loviatar, Shar and Talona all counted themselves as Gargauth's foes. He posed a particular threat to Siamorphe, given his interest in corrupting those who she held up as shining paragons of virtue. Gargauth did not seek allies due to his nature as a loner, preferring to directly control minions instead. However, he could count on the support of the archdevils of baator, including Asmodeus, who was perhaps his closest ally. Gargauth himself opposed Ghaunadaur, who stole the aspect of Gormauth Souldrinker from him.

Gargauth sometimes employed a powerful blue dragon named Rathguul as a steed, whom he had dominion over due to an ancient infernal contract.

Worshipers
The church of Gargauth was a secretive faith, although there were some significant exceptions.

History
Gargauth was once the arch-devil Gargoth whose foul nature was too much even for others of his ilk. Exiled forever from the Nine Hells to the Material Plane under pain of complete destruction, Gargauth took to wandering the planes, returning time and again to the world of Toril. The only complete record of these journeys exist in a journal he wrote while making them, the original of which is kept in Oghma's library. During this time, he had established a cult following on Toril and absorbed the powers and followers of Astaroth, a tanar'ri who had become stranded on that world and later, several baatezu as well.

Gargauth was ultimately responsible for the destruction of the realm of Peleveran by virtue of his manipulation of nearly two dozen powerful members of the Cult of the Dragon.

He almost achieved lesser god status when his cult blossomed during the Harpstar Wars but the concerted effort of the churches of Bane, Bhaal, Loviatar and Talona crushed his followers to prevent such an occurrence.

During the upheaval caused by the Spellplague, Gargauth apparently lost his divinity when he became trapped within the Shield of the Hidden Lord.

Rumors & Legends
Despite being widely unknown to most people living in Faerûn, Gargauth appears in many cautionary tales and parables under the names of his aspects and guises. One of the most popular of these is the dwarven Legacy of Astaroth, which teaches dwarves that steel can be more precious than gold.