Bhaal

Bhaal, known as Niynjushigampo among his Gugari worshipers, was the widely feared, Faerûnian god of violence and ritualistic murder.

"I choose death...I can destroy your kingdom Bane, by murdering your subjects, and I can starve your kingdom, Myrkul by staying my hand."

- Bhaal

Description
Bhaal had three avatar forms: the Slayer, the Ravager, and Kazgoroth. The Slayer resembled a male, humanoid corpse with a feral face and ivory skin inset with deep lacerations that flowed with black ichor; he preferred to assume it when in urban areas. The Ravager meanwhile was a monster with a twisted, grimacing face that featured a flowing beard and mane,  horns and eyes full of the flames of Gehenna; he assumed that form when visiting the rural regions of Toril. Kazgoroth form was simply a shape-shifting monstrosity.

In some extreme cases, Bhaal's mortal Bhaalspawn children could actually turn into creatures said to be one of the listed avatars after Bhaal himself died, but these incarnations were even more monstrous and inhuman in shape, acting as little more than powerful killing machines. While powerful, they were weaker than a true god's avatars.

Divine Realm
In the centuries before the Time of Troubles, Bhaal’s divine realm was the Throne of Blood on Khalas, the first layer of the outer plane of Gehenna.

Relationships
A wholly evil, debased and sadistic god, Bhaal was reviled by a majority of the pantheon; his divine foes included Chauntea, Helm, Ilmater, Lathander, Lliira and Tyr. Bhaal was served by the goddesses Talona and Loviatar, who in turn served Bane and to a lesser extent, Myrkul.

During his godhood he was served by the imp "butler" Cespenar.

Worshipers


The clergy of Bhaal in Faerûn were known as Bhaalists or Bhaalyn, the latter being used more commonly in the lands east of the Dragon Reach. Together they were a disorderly network of local hierarchies, with the urban and rural branches maintaining distant relations from one another. Collectively, they believed that murder was both a duty to their god and a game for their enjoyment. Each cleric of Bhaal was expected to perform at least one murder every tenday, in the darkest moment in the dead of night.

Despite most throughout the Realms being terrified of him, especially those of the Moonshae Isles, the exact nature of what the Lord of Murder had power over was contested among sages and scholars, In his most generous incarnation, he was viewed as a figure that might have taken strength in violently punishing murderers and warmongers. Challengers of this notion insisted that he judged whether a murder was righteous or not. Yet another ideal was propagated by the Bhaalspawn, his half-mortal children who had been spawned on Toril, who insisted that he simply wanted more murder.

During the time that he was dead, Bhaal had many scattered cultist groups, the most infamous being the Deathstalkers of Bhaal, who attempted to bring him back to life. For a while after the Bhaalspawn crisis, it was believed his essence had been locked away on the Upper Planes, preventing his resurrection permanently. However, this proved to be incorrect. Bhaal's essence had been preserved in his half-mortal children, the Bhaalspawn, and after the death of the last two Bhaalspawn, Bhaal was revived.
 * Deathstalkers

Mortal
Before his ascension to godhood, Bhaal was a power-hungry adventurer on Toril. Along with his companions Bane and Myrkul Bey al-Kursi, he sought to attain the portfolio of the God of the Dead Jergal. After defeating one of the Seven Lost Gods, the three were able to travel to Jergal's domain, the Castle of Bone in the Gray Waste. Upon their arrival, Jergal willingly offered his realm to the Dark Three, though they couldn't decide amongst themselves who would rule.

Upon Jergal's suggestion, the three divided his power, deciding how to divide it based on the outcome of a game. The three played a game of knucklebones, and Bane emerged as the victor. He claimed the domains of hatred, strife and tyranny as his own. Myrkul, coming second, chose rule over the dead, the ultimate fate for all of Bane's minions. Finally, Bhaal chose the divine province of death. As he said:

Godhood
While Bhaal was originally the patron deity of assassins and their victims, it wasn't long before common murderers used a claim of his worship to justify their sadistic actions, warping the manner of his worship.

Time of Troubles
On Eleint 16, in the, having lost his powers and being forced to walk Faerûn like the rest of the gods, Bhaal was slain by the upstart mortal Cyric using the avatar of Mask, a sword named Godsbane. In doing this, Cyric stole Bhaal's divinity and portfolio elements. However, much like Myrkul—who invested his divine essence in the artifact known as the Crown of Horns—Bhaal was not utterly removed from Faerûn. Part of his divinity remained in the Winding Water, around Boareskyr Bridge where he was slain, his blood having flowed into the river. More importantly, Bhaal foresaw his death and impregnated many mortal women, creating his heirs, the Bhaalspawn. The Bhaalspawn were involved in a series of conflicts along the Sword Coast, with one standing above the others and ultimately foiling Bhaal's plan to return through his children.



After the death of the Lord of Murder, the city-dwelling Bhaalists quickly converted to the worship of Cyric, whom they referred to as Cyric-Bhaal. The rural priests maintained their faith for years to come, claiming they continued to receive their divine powers following their nightly prayers. The schism between Bhaal's remaining followers and the emerging Cyric-Bhaalists reached its apex in the, getting to the point where the factions would ambush and assault one another. Soon later, the remaining worshipers of Bhaal stopped receiving their divine powers and began gradually converting to Cyricism or Xvimism.

Reemergence
For a time, it was believed that any possibility for Bhaal's resurrection had been stopped. The last known Bhaalspawn, Abdel Adrian, resisted the murderous impulses caused by his lineage and became a famed and beloved figure in the city of Baldur's Gate. In the, near the beginning of the era known as the Second Sundering, Viekang, another Bhaalspawn who was thought to be dead, attacked Adrian as he spoke to a crowd in the portion of town known as The Wide. While the ultimate winner of the duel is unknown, the victor transformed into a massive, blood-soaked creature and began a rampage that was only stopped when a group of adventurers new to Baldur's Gate defeated and killed the monstrosity.

With all of his children dead, all of Bhaal's essence was freed, allowing for his resurrection. Bhaal was revived, and reclaimed the murder domain from Cyric. However, the Lord of Murder was no longer a true deity, and was instead a being of quasi-divine status. As with Bane and Myrkul, he was effectively a mortal.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Tantras • Waterdeep
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear • Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
 * Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Board Games
 * Betrayal at Baldur's Gate
 * Betrayal at Baldur's Gate

Connections
Bhaal