Nergal (deity)


 * This is an article about an Untheric deity. For the archdevil, see Nergal (archdevil).

Nergal was the Untheric deity of the underworld and the dead. His manifestation on Toril was killed during the Orcgate Wars. His symbol was a dark man holding a black shield.

Description
Nergal manifested as a human, and never appeared in any other form. In battle, he wore a night-black shield as both a weapon and a means of defense. When using the shield, no one could strike Nergal from behind, no spell of less than 8th level could affect him, and all feared the deadly aura that emanated from it.

Worshipers
Prior to Unther's destruction in the Spellplague, cultists of Nergal stood watch over the god-tomb of their master and searched for holy relics in the hope they might bring back Unther's lost glory.

Rituals
Nergal's worshipers practiced the sacrifice of good (including lawful good) creatures on their altars of black basalt. Another form of sacrifice was a "promised sacrifice," in which Nergal's worshipers would dedicate the proceeds of future actions to their deity's church.

History
Nergal presumedly came to Toril with the other Untheric deities aboard the Galley of the Gods. He was killed by one of the orcish gods in -1071 DR, and his body was laid to rest in a God-Tomb in Unther.

After his death, Nergal's manifestation was permitted to bypass the Imaskari barrier and was reabsorbed by his original self in his cosmology of origin. Much more recently, after the Time of Troubles, Nergal took part in a plot to murder the god Enki.